In ancient times, I just wanted to be a salted fish

Chen Ruotong brought Old Man Chen back from the farm and discussed with him about going to Magistrate Zhang's house to propose marriage for her third brother three days later.

Old Man Chen was incredulous when he heard the news. He was happy but also a little worried: "My old grandson, she is an official and we are just peasants. We are not worthy of her! Even if we get married, your third brother will be inferior to her. How can he live his life depending on his wife's mood all day long?"

Chen Ruotong comforted him, "Grandpa, you think too much. It was Madam Zhang who first mentioned this to us. That means she has set her sights on our third brother. Miss Zhang is also a good person. It seems that she likes our third brother very much. Two people who like each other will definitely be happy together. Our third brother is smart and capable. Our family is not short of money now. We have to give him more gifts just to save his face! We should try to marry Miss Zhang with a grand ceremony. With such a grand ceremony, the Zhang family will definitely think highly of our third brother!"

Old Man Chen thought about it and it was true. The two children were in love with each other, and this kind of marriage was the most perfect. So he smiled and nodded: "Then we have to prepare the gift quickly, and we can't miss any part of the proposal process."

So, Old Man Chen explained to Chen Ruotong some of the procedures of blind dating.

The dating process in Daliang Dynasty was similar to that in Song Dynasty. The betrothal ceremony generally went through three steps: betrothal gift, betrothal gift and betrothal gift. The amount of betrothal gift given by the man's family to the woman's family was agreed upon by the man and woman's families through the matchmaker. When giving betrothal gift, the rich family prepared "three golds" namely gold bracelet, gold bracelet and gold cape pendant to give to the woman's family. The man and woman agreed on a time to meet, usually at the woman's home, or in a more pleasant garden or lake boat. The man's family had to bring gifts. During the blind date, if the groom was satisfied, he would insert a gold hairpin into the bride's hair, which was called "inserting a hairpin". Inserting a hairpin meant a successful match. What if the groom looked down on the bride? He would give the woman's family two pieces of colored satin, which was called "suppressing the fear", implying that the marriage could not be concluded.

These three days were really busy for the whole family. They customized a blind date outfit for Chen Sanhe, a blue embroidered robe, which was suitable for the hot summer. It was made of the finest Xiangyun gauze from inside to outside, and black thin brocade boots. The whole outfit cost fifty taels, which was the most luxurious outfit at that time.

Then Chen Ruotong found the most beautiful enamel-colored phoenix-headed gold hairpin inlaid with pearls in the space gold shop. We have plenty of gold bracelets, but the gold shop really doesn't have gold bracelets and gold pendants, so we have to ask the gold workshop to make them. But there is no rush, we can make them before the betrothal gift is given. The betrothal gift will be given within a month after the betrothal gift, so there is enough time. And we can invite Miss Zhang to the gold workshop to study and design new styles together. By the time the betrothal gift is given, it is estimated that Old Lady Chen and others will have come to Pingyang City. When the elders go to betroth, it will be more solemn.

Chen Ruotong also took two bottles of imported red wine from the tobacco and alcohol gift area. Because they were all foreign-language trademarks that no one could understand, they were obviously shipped from overseas. They were very high-end and were not available in Daliang Dynasty. She also wrapped a large bag of various candies with the skins removed, two large bags of cakes, and a large box of the best Yunwu Mountain Tea. Four boxes of gifts were complete.

Three days later, on the fifth day of August, Old Man Chen, Chen Sanhe, and Chen Ruotong came to the house of Prefect Zhang early in the morning with Zhang Yishun, carrying gifts and riding in a carriage. Old Man Chen was wearing a purple gauze robe with dark patterns and a silver crown on his head, looking very happy; Chen Sanhe was wearing a light white gauze robe, a sleeveless blue gauze embroidered cloak, and a white jade crown on his head. He was a handsome young man, rich and elegant. Chen Ruotong was amazed and admired Miss Zhang's vision. They were really handsome men and talented women. In order not to steal the limelight from her third brother, Chen Ruotong only wore a black outfit, combed her hair into a high ponytail, and held a small folding fan.

Magistrate Zhang, his wife and two young masters of the Zhang family came to greet them at the door. It can be seen that Magistrate Zhang's family attaches great importance to this blind date.

The group came to the main hall and sat down as host and guest. After some polite words, Matchmaker Li asked the maid to invite Miss Zhang out. Zhang Ruixi was wearing a red gauze dress today, pure and warm, without the shyness of a little girl, but greeted the elders openly. Then, Matchmaker Li asked Chen Sanhe and Zhang Ruixi to exchange the betrothal gifts, which were the tokens of blind date, and the relatives of both parties served as witnesses. Chen Sanhe gently inserted the beautiful phoenix hairpin into Zhang Ruixi's bun, looking at Zhang Ruixi with affection; Zhang Ruixi, with a smile in her eyes, personally hung a jadeite double fish pendant on Chen Sanhe's waist. This process shows that the man and woman like each other and the blind date has been completed.

Then they exchanged their birth charts and read their horoscopes. In fact, this was just a process. The horoscopes had been revealed before. Mrs. Zhang had already asked someone to read their horoscopes. They were very lucky. So the two families agreed on the date for the betrothal gifts, which was August 28th. The wedding date could be agreed on on that day.

The blind date ceremony was very successful, and both parents were very satisfied. Therefore, Old Man Chen and his two companions stayed at Zhang's house for lunch, proving that the Zhang family was very satisfied with the blind date. If you don't respect the other party, you won't invite the other party to dine at home.

When we returned to Chen's house in the afternoon, it was also full of joy. Chen Sanhe was so happy that he couldn't stop grinning. Old man Chen looked at the heartless Chen Sanhe and sighed: "Alas! The marriage is over, but we have to prepare the betrothal gifts quickly! The one we want to marry is Miss Zhang! Old Third, do you have money to prepare the betrothal gifts?" Chen Sanhe stopped laughing immediately. Yes, I forgot about it. I have no money! I only have more than 100 taels in my hand! This is the salary my younger sister gave me. How can I marry Miss Zhang with nothing in my hands? Chen Sanhe was dumbfounded.

Chen Ruotong covered her mouth and laughed: "Grandpa, please don't scare my third brother. As your grandson, I have the financial resources now, it is easy for me to find a wife for my third brother. Don't worry, third brother, I have prepared everything for you. Here, this is the gift list, let me show you."

Chen Sanhe smiled again and took the gift list and looked at it. My God, poverty really limited his imagination. There were shops, farms, cloth, grain, livestock, porcelain tea sets, glass tableware, gold and silver jewelry, so many!

"Fourth brother, this, this is too much. How can Third Brother afford it?"

"I'm not asking you to pay it back. I'm asking you to work for me for the rest of your life. Is that possible?" Chen Ruotong joked.

"Okay, okay, Third Brother will work hard and earn enough money for the gift!" Chen Sanhe said in a firm voice.

Chen Ruotong prepared two shops on South Street and a small farm of 200 mu for Chen Sanhe's betrothal gifts. She asked Zhang Yishun to buy them within three days. She spent 6,000 taels of silver in total, which was only the price of a glass vase. For Chen Ruotong, it didn't matter. In addition to some miscellaneous betrothal gifts, plus a betrothal gift (betrothal gift is also called wedding gift) of 10,000 taels of silver, this can be said to be a relatively expensive betrothal gift in the entire Pingyang Prefecture.

Old man Chen felt that his eldest granddaughter was not his eldest granddaughter, but a god of wealth. Since the birth of his eldest granddaughter, his fortune has been prosperous and he can do anything. His eldest granddaughter is his family's little god of wealth and a big baby. He looked at his eldest granddaughter and wiped away tears with joy.