Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 4 Partiality
After everyone was seated, no one spoke first.

Only the constant thumping of Grandpa Wang Degong on the table seemed like a boulder, striking the heartstrings of Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua again and again.

The more silent he became, the more uneasy Wang Chengpeng's parents grew.

Finally, Liu Chunhua couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Father, Mother, what have you decided?"

"Although the Liu family's demands are somewhat high, given the Wang family's situation, we can still grit our teeth and come up with the dowry money."

"This is a major event that concerns Cheng Peng's entire life. Please, Father and Mother, make the decision for Cheng Peng."

However, Liu Chunhua's seemingly reasonable request was not only rejected, but also met with Zhao Yuju's angry rebuke:

"Chunhua, you really dare to ask for such an exorbitant amount."

"That's five hundred yuan for three turns and one ring, and you think it's just a bit high? Let me tell you the truth, even if we emptied our Wang family's pockets, we wouldn't have that much money."

"The Liu family's gate is just average, neither high nor low. I really don't know where they got the courage to make such a request. Don't they even know if they are worthy of it?"

Although Wang Degong was in charge of the Wang family, Zhao Yuju always held the real power over the finances.

By saying that, she had almost certainly concluded that Liu Chunhua was unlikely to receive much money from the Wang family as a bride price for Wang Chengpeng.

It was at this moment that both my eldest and second uncles breathed a sigh of relief.

Even without dividing the family property, the Wang family lived a life similar to that of sharing a common pot of rice.

If the Wang family has spent a lot of money on Wang Chengpeng's wedding, it's foreseeable that their lives will be very difficult going forward.

Let alone cornbread and pickled vegetables, I'm afraid we'll only be able to survive on watery soup from now on.

Normally, if Zhao Yuju refused, Liu Chunhua would not have said a word.

But now it's different; she's fighting for a dowry for her son's marriage, so naturally she won't back down. She immediately argued her case logically:
"Grandma, you can't say that."

"Yanran wouldn't say it's better than Biafang, but it's not much worse either."

"Since Ya Fang deserved a similar dowry back then, Yan Ran naturally deserves one too."

"Why is it that we can raise money for Chun'an's grandson's betrothal gifts, but not for Cheng Peng's?"

As the saying goes, many hands make light work. The Wang family had many able-bodied young people, each of whom was adept at earning work points.

In addition, through frugality, their family fortune was quite substantial.

In terms of work points, she and Wang Tieshan earned no less than anyone else; in fact, due to their hard work and endurance, they were the two people in the Wang family who earned the most work points.

When Wang Jinshan's son, Wang Chun'an, got married, the Wang family gave a generous dowry and brought Zheng Yafang home in a grand ceremony.

However, when Wang Chengpeng wanted to get married, Zhao Yuju made all sorts of excuses and refused to contribute any money.

How could Liu Chunhua, as a mother, tolerate such differential treatment?

Liu Chunhua was merely stating the facts, but Zhao Yuju, as if provoked, slammed her hand on the table and shouted:

"Then was then, and the present is now."

"It's because we paid for the bride price for our eldest son that our family is now broke."

"Third daughter-in-law, you can't be so selfish. You can't drag the whole Wang family down because of your son's problems."

It was at this moment that Wang Jinshan, who had remained silent until now, spoke up, immediately launching into self-reproach:
"Third brother's wife, this is all my fault. I blame myself for spending too much of the family's money on Chun'an's wedding."

“Look at the kind of life we’re living now. We hardly ever eat meat, and we don’t even have much dry food.” “It’s all my fault. You can blame me, but please don’t blame Mother. She’s been working so hard to take care of such a big family all by herself.”

“It’s all my fault. Not only did my son’s wedding cost the family so much money, but my daughter-in-law’s pregnancy was also at the worst possible time.”

“Ya Fang is currently five months pregnant, which is exactly when she needs money the most.”

“If it weren’t for that, how could my nephew’s wedding have been delayed?”

"But Ya Fang is pregnant with the Wang family's eldest grandson, so it's not just a matter for our family."

“If it weren’t for this, I would really want Ya Fang to have an abortion.”

The eldest grandson, that's the Wang family's precious eldest grandson, he absolutely cannot be aborted!
Zhao Yuju's eyes immediately reddened, and she said, "Boss, don't talk nonsense. How can you let such a small matter affect Ya Fang?"

"Don't worry, no matter how hard or tiring things get for the Wang family, they will never let Ya Fang suffer the slightest grievance."

"As for the third daughter-in-law, it's not that I don't want to help you, but the Wang family is really powerless right now."

"Alright then, I'll take the initiative and give eighty yuan as Cheng Peng's betrothal gift. That's settled then."

"You don't say anything more, and even if you did, the Wang family wouldn't have it."

Even Wang Zidong could readily give Wang Chengpeng 100 yuan, but Zhao Yuju was only willing to give him 80 yuan, which was simply outrageous.

Liu Chunhua couldn't help but widen her eyes and exclaim in disbelief, "Only eighty yuan?"

"Old Wang and I work so hard to earn work points, we can earn at least a hundred yuan a year for our family, not including food and such."

"We've worked so hard for so many years, and you're only planning to give Cheng Peng eighty yuan for his wedding?"

It's no wonder Liu Chunhua was so agitated; Zhao Yuju's proposed solution was simply too outrageous.

She had considered that her family could only contribute 700 yuan, 500 yuan, or 400 yuan, but she never imagined that Zhao Yuju would only plan to contribute 80 yuan for Wang Chengpeng's wedding.

Faced with Liu Chunhua's questioning, Zhao Yuju said unhappily, "Chunhua, you really don't know the value of firewood and rice when you're not in charge of the household."

"What do you eat, use, and wear every day that doesn't cost money? The fact that you can come up with eighty yuan is the result of my hard work and thrift."

Women are inherently weak, but mothers are strong!
Normally, Liu Chunhua, who values ​​filial piety above all else, would never argue with Zhao Yuju over money.

But now that it involves Wang Chengpeng getting married, she finally snapped and started cursing:
"What a thrifty and hardworking person! What a diligent and conscientious person!"

"Mother, I don't want to deal with your messy accounts, nor do I want to know how much money we have left."

“Since my family gave Chun’an 800 yuan as a bride price when she got married, I won’t ask for more; I’ll still ask for 800 yuan.”

"As for the remaining money, you don't need to worry about it. Even if I have to sell everything I own and beg my family, they will find a way."

"Mother, you don't want people to say you're biased towards my eldest brother's family after this gets out, do you?"

The difference between eight hundred yuan and eighty yuan is enough to make Zhao Yuju's spine break in the surrounding villages.

Family scandals should not be aired in public. Liu Chunhua would never have said such a thing if she hadn't been forced into a corner.

Wang Degong prided himself on being fair and upright, and he valued his reputation and the Wang family's reputation the most.

Upon hearing this, he finally couldn't sit still any longer, because he realized that his previously unshakable position had collapsed!

(End of this chapter)