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Chapter 599: Chapter 599: Dowry
After a few rounds of drinking, the men were starting to get tipsy, their boasting reaching grandiose levels. Tong Yao felt the timing was right. She gave Gu Hongwei a look, then asked with a laugh, "Uncle Guo, I heard you say earlier that your family has also bought a house in the city?"
At these words, Deng Qiuxia became tense. She tried to give Guo Xinpei a hint, but he was too caught up in his bragging to take notice.
Guo Xinpei boasted, "Of course! Everyone knows we own a house in the city!"
Unaware that Guo Xinpei had mortgaged the house, his elder sister nodded in agreement, "My brother does indeed own a house in the city, it’s no lie."
Fearing that Tong Yao would not believe, she even provided the location of the house without mentioning that it was bought with the money Guo Jinnian had earned.
Guo Jinnian was irritated and blurted out, "I bought that house."
Guo’s elder sister retorted, "What you buy is rightfully your parents’, isn’t it? You’re not married yet, nor have you divided the family property. The money you earn and the house you buy, aren’t they all supposed to belong to your parents? There is no precedent in our area for a daughter to give all her earnings to her husband’s family before she’s even married."
Deng Qiuxia added, "Jinnian, we’re all family. Why do you need to separate everything so clearly?"
She said this, but inside, Deng Qiuxia was very nervous. She feared that the fact the house was mortgaged would be discovered. If Tong Yao and Gu Hongwei were to learn that her husband was a gambler and he lost their house, they might look down on their family.
Hearing these words, Guo Jinnian became even angrier. He was about to retort but was stopped by a look from Tong Yao.
Guo Xinpei felt insulted by Guo Jinnian’s remarks and reproached him with a grimace, "Everything you have is provided by me, what do you have that’s truly yours?"
A cold light flashed in Tong Yao’s eyes before she laughed and said, "Uncle Guo is right, the grace of parents is indeed greater than heaven."
Guo Xinpei felt better and praised her, "You do understand things very well because of your education."
Tong Yao asked with a glint in her eye, "Uncle Guo, we’ve come this far, but we haven’t discussed how to handle Jinnian and Hongwei’s wedding yet."
Upon hearing this, Deng Hongxia quickly interjected, "Your Uncle Guo has had a bit too much to drink. Let’s talk more about it when he’s sober!"
Knowing her husband’s behavior when drunk, Deng Hongxia was worried that Guo Xinpei would let something slip.
Guo Xinpei glared at Deng Qiuxia, "I’m discussing Jinnian’s wedding with my sister-in-law. What are you butting in for?"
Deng Qiuxia fell silent fearing Guo Xinpei’s drunken rage as he had been known to get violent.
Seeing that she had backed off, Guo Xinpei turned to Tong Yao with a smile, "They say an elder sister is like a mother. Since your parents aren’t here, you’re in charge. What do you plan to do?"
Tong Yao, observing his behavior, knew she had succeeded halfway. She said, "Uncle Guo, we respect your side’s ideas. Aunt Deng here also comes from Kyoto, so she knows. The wedding customs are different in Kyoto compared to here, and since Jinnian will be marrying far away, we have two options. One is to organize it according to Kyoto customs, and the other is to follow the customs from here."
Being the type of person who likes to puff himself up, Guo Xinpei, thrilled by alcohol, put on a generous front, "Since Jinnian will be marrying into Kyoto, there’s no need to follow our local customs. Let’s follow your customs."
Guo Xinpei secretly thought that families in Kyoto are usually rich, therefore, according to Kyoto customs, the groom’s family would need to spend a good amount of money. In the end, the advantage would still be his.
If they follow the local customs, all he would need to provide were three substantial dowry items. Compared to what Tong Yao had promised, how could they compete?
"Well..." Tong Yao pretended to be embarrassed and responded, "Uncle Guo, if it were up to me, I’d rather we follow the local customs here. If we follow our customs, I’m afraid these might be unacceptable on your side."
"What could be unacceptable?" Guo Xinpei said dismissively, "A man’s word is as good as a bond we can’t just go back on it easily. We will follow your customs. If there is any problem, just speak up."
Seeing Guo Xinpei getting more and more caught up in Tong Yao’s trap, both Guo Jinnian and Gu Hongwei couldn’t help but be impressed.
Impressive. Truly impressive.
Tong Yao had perfectly gauged Guo Xinpei’s temperament and was gradually leading him into her trap.
Tong Yao chimed in, "Uncle Guo, since you’ve said so, I can now be upfront. Back where we come from, if the groom’s side provides a substantial betrothal gift, the bride’s family also needs to provide a symbolic dowry."
Before Guo Xinpei could respond, Tong Yao continued, "Uncle Guo, you know we are wealthy and don’t care about such a small amount of money. The main issue is our relatives, who are all business people. They might laugh at us if we don’t follow the customs. We’ve decided to set up a breeding farm for your family and also wish to provide a betrothal gift of 5,000 yuan for road and housing construction. If you provide a dowry, my parents might agree to a betrothal gift of 10,001 yuan, symbolizing one in ten thousand."
"Let’s follow local customs then!" Deng Qiuxia, anxiously interrupted.
They are so poor at the moment, where would they find money for a dowry?
Guo Xinpei, infuriated, threw his drink at Deng Qiuxia, "Who told you to butt in? What’s it to you?"
Deng Qiuxia was silenced by the near miss. She had been hit multiple times by Guo Xinpei and was now scared of him.
Knowing Guo Xinpei’s temper Guo’s elder sister also remained silent.
Tong Yao feigned concern over their argument and egged him on, "Uncle Guo, my parents had said that they respect your family’s opinions. You can discuss with auntie when you’re sober before making a decision. You don’t have to decide now."
Even though Guo Xinpei was drunk, he was not entirely out of his senses. He had committed to it and couldn’t back out just because of the dowry issues. Wasn’t that equivalent to slapping his own face?
If they followed the local customs, they wouldn’t receive such a huge betrothal gift.
It’s just a dowry, right?
They could just allocate the city house as a dowry, considering it was only worth 3,000 yuan. Compared to the betrothal gift from the Tong Family, that’s insignificant. Any fool could do the math.
Moreover, even if they officially give the house as dowry, the people of the Tong Family are in Kyoto and won’t come to live here. It will still be their house to live in, won’t it?
At this moment, Guo Xinpei had totally forgotten about the fact that he had mortgaged the house.
"We will go by your customs, and I will give the city house as a dowry to Jinnian. Although the house might not be very valuable, it’s uncommon for parents here to give a house as dowry for their daughter," he said.
