Siheyuan: I am Banggeng's uncle

Chapter 920 An Unpleasant Meeting!

After everyone entered the private room, Tang Jiansheng instructed Tang Guohua to announce the serving of dishes. Bang Geng took out the wine that Tang Jiansheng had brought from home, poured the wine for everyone, and then sat down next to Tang Jiansheng with the wine bottle in hand.

The dishes were quickly brought into the private room by the waiter. Tang Jiansheng picked up his wine glass, looked at the Liu family members sitting in the room, and said loudly, "Old Liu! Sister-in-law Liu, I toast you all with this first glass of wine. Thank you for giving me, Old Tang, face to attend today's lunch. I'll drink this first glass as a sign of respect. You can drink as you please."

Upon hearing Tang Jiansheng's words and seeing him drink his wine in one gulp, Liu Erwa and his family also drank their wine in one gulp.

When Tang Guohua saw that Tang Jiansheng and Liu Erwa had finished their drinks, he immediately picked up the wine bottle that was in front of Bang Geng and walked quickly to Liu Erwa. He first poured a glass of wine for Liu Erwa, then poured a glass for Tang Jiansheng, and then poured wine for the rest of the Liu family before returning to his seat.

After finishing his first drink, Tang Jiansheng didn't continue toasting. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks and called out to Liu Erwa, "Old Liu! Aunt Liu! Everyone, don't just stand there. Eat something to fill your stomachs. We can talk about everything while we eat."

After Tang Jiansheng and the others had eaten something to fill their stomachs, they put down their chopsticks, picked up their wine glasses, and said to Liu Erwa sitting next to them, "Old Liu! Come on! Let's have a drink!"

Wen Xiaorong watched Tang Jiansheng and Liu Erwa drinking with their glasses, and said with a smile to Liu Yuexiu's mother, "Sister-in-law! My Guohua and your Xiuxiu have been dating for almost a year now, and my husband and I are very satisfied with Xiuxiu."

“Logically, after the two children confirmed their relationship, we should have taken the initiative to find a matchmaker to propose marriage. However, because Guohua was still an apprentice at the time, and the rooms in our house were too cramped, we were worried that Xiuxiu would be mistreated if she married into the family. So we never asked a matchmaker to propose marriage.”

"Now that Guohua's job has been officially promoted and he has become one of the eight key personnel, a purchasing agent, our house has also been renovated. We can set aside a room for them as their wedding room. So we asked Guohua to invite you out to discuss the wedding arrangements for our two children."

Upon hearing Wen Xiaorong's words, Liu Yuexiu's mother recalled the discussion she and her husband had made at home. She then smiled and said to Wen Xiaorong, "Guoqiang's mother! We naturally have no objection to the marriage between your Guoqiang and our Xiuxiu."

“Over the past two years, more than a dozen people have come to our house to propose marriage, but Xiuxiu is our only daughter. In the eyes of her father and me, Xiuxiu is the apple of our eye. For Xiuxiu’s happiness, we are very careful when choosing a husband for her, which is why Xiuxiu’s marriage has been delayed again and again and is still not settled.”

Tang Jiansheng, who was drinking with Liu Erwa, immediately understood the meaning behind Liu Yuexiu's mother's words. Xiao He then said to Liu Erwa, "Old Liu! I completely understand your and your sister-in-law's thoughts. After all, we only have one daughter, so we're worried that Xiuxiu might suffer if she marries into our family. That's why we're waiting until Guohua's job is permanent and our family can provide them with a separate wedding room before inviting you out." Hearing Tang Jiansheng's words, Liu Erwa thought of his third son's job, put his wine glass on the table, and said to Tang Jiansheng, "Old Tang! Since you've put it this way, we won't beat around the bush. I heard from your Guohua that when your son-in-law married your daughter, the dowry was exceptionally high. You only have one daughter, and so do we. If you can agree to this condition, we'll agree to Xiuxiu's marriage to your Guohua."

"What! You want a gift of one thousand and one yuan!" Wen Xiaorong's face showed disbelief when she heard Liu Erwa's offer. Then she glared at Tang Guohua with disappointment and said to Liu Erwa.

Tang Jiansheng was equally shocked when he heard the conditions Liu Erwa offered, but he quickly calmed himself down and said to Liu Erwa with a smile, "Old Liu! My son-in-law is right here. When our two families were discussing the marriage, we told our in-laws that the dowry could be given as we pleased, and we never mentioned how much money we wanted."

"Because our in-laws value our daughter so much, they gave her a 'one in a thousand' offer. But we're marrying off our daughter, not selling her. So we didn't accept a single penny of the dowry from them. In addition, we also gave our daughter the salary she had saved with us over the years to take to her husband's family. So, the conditions you've proposed are a bit difficult for us."

Liu Erwa had naturally heard Tang Guohua mention that the Tang family hadn't accepted any gifts. The reason he had asked for such a high amount of money wasn't for the money itself, but to find a job for his third son. This was to put some pressure on the Tang family and pave the way for his later demand for a job.

Upon hearing Tang Jiansheng's reply, Liu Erwa smiled and said to Tang Jiansheng, "Old Tang! You just said that the reason your daughter's in-laws gave such a high dowry is because they value your daughter very much. You also just said that you are very satisfied with our daughter, and even worried that she might be wronged. That's why you waited until your son got a permanent job before inviting us to discuss the marriage of the two young people."

"Of course! Your son-in-law comes from a cadre family, which is why he can afford such a high dowry. Your family, like ours, is just an ordinary working-class family. In addition, your family just renovated a house and spent a lot of money. If we ask you to prepare a dowry that is one in a thousand, it would be asking too much. So we only need to select one in a hundred. However, you need to agree to one condition."

Upon hearing Liu Erwa's reply, Tang Jiansheng immediately realized that Liu Erwa's demand for a "one in a thousand" dowry was actually a prelude to his so-called conditions. Because of this, Tang Jiansheng's impression of the Liu family plummeted.

Considering the marriage between Tang Guohua and Liu Yuexiu, Tang Jiansheng suppressed his dissatisfaction and pretended to be curious as he asked Liu Erwa, "Old Liu! Since you've come this far, tell me what your conditions are. As long as it's something my wife and I can do, we will try our best to meet your needs for the happiness of our two children."

(End of this chapter)