Miao Fengqin announced that it was the old material she had kept from her own wedding to Wang Zhenguo, intended all along to form her daughter’s dowry.
Despite it being just cloth, it was exceptionally beautiful silk satin, creating an incongruous sight with the simple house.
Under the gaze and comments full of envy from others, Wang Jiao applied Friendship Snowflake Cream to her face in front of the mirror, and a faint fragrance enveloped her.
After having her hair combed, a red flower pinned on her temple, and tying the red kerchief that Zhang Yuejin had given her, she looked around and asked, "Where is Xiaoxue? Why isn’t she here? We live so close, she would have still come, even if it were snowing."
At the end of her statement, her sister-in-law Wu Cuihua chuckled.
"Xiaoxue is pregnant, she can’t be in your departure room, have you forgotten?" It was an old custom, but everyone complied with it.
"I see!" Wang Jiao was hoping to flaunt her glory to Feng Qingxue.
Wu Cuihua could easily understand her sister-in-law’s intentions and laughed: "When Yuejin comes to pick you up and you all leave, Xiaoxue in the courtyard will surely see you and admire how beautiful the bride looks. Everyone in the brigade is envying your dowry!"
Wang Haiping and Feng Xiaohui giggled behind their hands.
The sight of Wang Jiao leaving the house was no less grand than Lu Jiang’s wedding. It would definitely be a topic of much discussion for many years to come.
The reason being, Wang Jiao’s dowry was immense!
Truly immense, not at all exaggerated.
A completely new set of old elm furniture, polished so that they shone with a lustrous sheen, including a wardrobe, tables, chairs, cabinet, toilet, basin, shelves, a pair of enamel basins, a pair of red kerchiefs, a pair of pillows, two silk satin quilts, and two large chests.
Although Feng Qingxue had a substantial dowry when she got married, it didn’t include furniture, which accounted for the major items.
Another significant thing was, four hundred jin of grain was also part of Wang Jiao’s dowry when she married into the Zhang family. It would ensure their food and drink for the next year.
Besides the watch, Zhang family gave sixty-six yuan as a betrothal gift, Wang Zhenguo, and Miao Fengqin didn’t keep a penny of it, but put it all in their daughter’s dowry, along with some reserve money and goods.
Zhang Yuejin wore a brand-new army green polyester-cotton uniform, Badaling three-joint leather shoes, looking exceptionally energetic.
He pushed his bicycle, followed by mule carts and ox carts borrowed from the brigade, driven by youths from the bride-groom’s side.
Feng Qingxue, wrapped in a military coat, wearing a Lei Feng hat and a large scarf, stood under the eave laden with countless icicles, smiling as she watched the bustling scene in the courtyard. Seeing Zhang Yuejin taking Wang Jiao away and her dowry items one by one being loaded on the cart.
It wasn’t quite the ten-mile procession of a bride’s red dowry, but in the countryside, it was no less than that.
"Just based on the dowry, Jiaojiao will have a sense of confidence all her life and won’t be bullied by her husband’s family." Feng Qingxue heard people discuss around her, their comments tinged with envy and jealousy. They envied Jiaojiao for having parents like Wang Zhenguo and Miao Fengqin, and three pairs of older siblings. They were all her support system, so Zhang’s family wouldn’t dare bully her.
"The secretary really loves his daughter, no wonder Zhang Yuejin’s family never called off the engagement, despite Jiaojiao’s numerous faults."
"Listen to you, talking as if the Zhang family is only interested in Jiaojiao’s dowry. The conditions at the Zhang’s might be lacking, but Zhang Yuejin isn’t. He’s good to Jiaojiao, and her being able to marry him is also Jiaojiao’s good fortune."
The wind picked up outside, and Feng Qingxue didn’t stay to continue listening. As she entered the house, she saw her eldest brother, Feng Qinglei.
Although he had neglected his sister, Feng Qinglei didn’t want to lose his potent uncle, Wang Zhenguo. So, he came to participate in Wang Jiao’s wedding on behalf of his own family and his younger brother, and gave a cash gift of one yuan.