Rebirth and making money first

My brother-in-law's wedding was scheduled for the next day at noon, and a meeting between the parents of both parties was scheduled. Zhang Jing's mother-in-law came home early to discuss the matter. She explained that both sides had already met each other's parents, but the two families had not yet met. The meeting was scheduled for the next day, and she asked Zhang Jing and Achen to go together to meet the other party's parents and relatives. Zhang Jing felt it was unnecessary.

Of course, the mother-in-law refused to agree. She said angrily, "This is your brother's lifelong event. As his brother and sister-in-law, you must come forward! Otherwise, people will think that you don't value your brother and that the brothers are not getting along. So you must go and meet him!"

Zhang Jing was very curious, so she asked her mother-in-law, what kind of family is the other party? What does the girl do? How did the two of them meet? ... When her mother-in-law heard this, she became interested.

My mother-in-law said the girl was a teacher from Chaoshan, named Xie Lina. She said, "She's fair-skinned and petite. She has an older brother. She's a great girl, a perfect match for my son. Her family likes the fact that my son is a civil servant!"

Zhang Jing asked again, "Does their family have any requirements?" The mother-in-law said, "No, but we have to be considerate too! Although the betrothal gifts in Guangdong aren't that high, I heard that some Chaoshan families offer up to 80 yuan." Zhang Jing's eyes widened when she heard this: "So much?"

The mother-in-law rolled her eyes at Zhang Jing and said, "What's that? Some people are really rich, some have over 120 million!"

Zhang Jing said, "Oh my god! At this price, how much money do you have to give me? How much are you going to pay?"

My mother-in-law said, "Alas! We really don't have that much money. Think about when you got married... compared to this, their family would have offered at least 18 yuan, which is acceptable."

Zhang Jing said, "18 yuan isn't a lot. They say Guangdong people only give a few tens of thousands of yuan as a betrothal gift. How can it be so much?" Her mother-in-law said, "Well, that's just the price they offered. If they really don't have that much, they'll have to consider it. Let's both sides take a step back and discuss this meeting."

Zhang Jing thought that since they could bargain, it must be true love!

Zhang Jing asked again, "So, was this girl introduced to you by someone else? Or did you two just fall in love?"

My mother-in-law smiled and said, "They are in a free love relationship. They met while hanging out with friends. The girl is also very well-mannered and gets along well with my son Xiaoxu. It seems that they are both quite satisfied with each other. As parents, we can't do anything to force a couple to fall apart. It would be best if they could reduce the betrothal gift. We don't have a house yet, so they will live at your place for the time being. As soon as the house is moved in and renovated, they can move in. As their brother and sister-in-law, you must support them this time."

Zhang Jing added, "People in Chaoshan tend to like having many children. Did their family discuss how many children they would like to have? Did they also discuss whether the children would take the woman's surname?"

My mother-in-law said, "Civil servants can only have one child, regardless of gender. How could it be possible for her to have the woman's surname? Lina has a brother who's already married with children. I won't let my son marry into the family! Besides, if a girl marries into our family, her child must have our family name. How could it have theirs?"

Zhang Jingwen asked again, "Is their family richer than ours?" The mother-in-law replied, "Of course they are. They are from Chaoshan. Her father was a leader at one point. They wanted their daughter to marry into a Chaoshan family and were not happy that our family was from outside."

Zhang Jing said: "Since the two of them can get married like this, I think my brother-in-law should try harder. If his wife is pregnant, then you don't have to pay such a high price. That way, everyone can make concessions. If not, then you have no say."

The mother-in-law said, "Oh, I know my son. How could he be so dishonest? We are a decent family. We would never do such a thing!"

Zhang Jing asked again, "Mom, if the whole family goes there tomorrow, will Grandpa go too? Isn't it because there are too many people going from our family?"

My mother-in-law said, "It's okay. You, my brother and sister-in-law, and grandpa, we'll all go. They're one family, too. We've all booked a hotel, so we can just go. You can hold the child and have a meal together. We can all get to know each other and have a good chat."

"Then what should we prepare? Or what gifts should we bring? We can't just go there empty-handed, right? It would be embarrassing."

My mother-in-law said, "We're just having a meal, so you don't need to bring any gifts. We'll pay for the meal too! You just need to go with Ah Chen. It's tomorrow at noon, and everyone must be there."

Zhang Jing asked her mother-in-law again, "Does the other party know about Achen's situation?" Her mother-in-law paused and said, "They should know, right?" Zhang Jing's heart sank. "Mom, you have to make sure about this. Let them know so that there won't be any awkwardness between them and Achen!"

The mother-in-law agreed. "By the way, don't let anyone know that I'm borrowing your house to get married. Just say it's Xiaoxu's house, and tell them after we get married."

Zhang Jing said, "Ah? Mom, isn't this just like lying to me? Besides, you already have a house, you just haven't moved in yet. Can't you just tell the truth?"

My mother-in-law said, "You don't understand. Some people insist that the house belongs to them."

Zhang Jing asked, "What if they see the property deed?" The mother-in-law said, "No way?" Zhang Jing said, "Of course not. Some people these days are so cunning. They have to see the property deed and only acknowledge it if it's the brother-in-law's name. If it really comes to that, they have to add the woman's name too. Oh, it's a lot of trouble."

The mother-in-law was immediately unsure when she heard this and hurriedly said, "Please don't make so much trouble. I hope nothing goes wrong. If not, I need to go back and discuss it with your father."

After her mother-in-law left, Zhang Jing thought about it. Marriage is a complicated matter. She didn't know if her brother-in-law and his wife could get through this. Forget it, she would just go out for dinner tomorrow and keep quiet. If it really came to that, there was nothing she could do. Anyway, her mother-in-law was there to watch. She'd see how she could cover up this lie!

You can't just transfer Achen's house to my brother-in-law, right? If Zhang Jing wanted to do that, she wouldn't agree. She asked for 18 yuan as a betrothal gift, but her mother-in-law also gave her 8 yuan. Comparing them, they were about the same, so her mother-in-law was being fair.

The next day at noon, the two families gathered at a restaurant with two large tables. Perhaps there were too many people, as Zhang Jing's family consisted of six adults and two young children. In addition, the other party's parents and brother and sister-in-law also arrived, making up two tables. Everyone introduced themselves to each other in a friendly atmosphere and ate politely.

Zhang Jing saw that the food on the table was substantial. After the two families finished their meal, they began discussing marriage. As expected, at the table, the other party's father said, "My dear friends, the two children have almost met each other. We both understand each other's situation. What do you think, should we arrange a marriage for them as soon as possible?"

My father-in-law said, "Oh, that's what we thought too! The child is old enough, so we should arrange his marriage as soon as possible. Let's discuss how we would like to arrange the marriage. If you have any requests, please feel free to tell us!"

The other party's father said, "Since your in-laws think so, let's just talk about the specific situation. Since your family already has a house, we will pay for the decoration and furniture together!"

Zhang Jing thought, "My house has to be renovated again! Oh, how terrible! But I won't have to pay for the renovations in the future, right?" Before Zhang Jing could figure it out, the other parent said:

"We hope for a betrothal gift of 18 yuan. After all, we're not selling our daughter. In our area, in Chaoshan, betrothal gifts have reached 8 yuan and over 88 million yuan, but we think that since our two children truly love each other, a formality is enough. What do you think?"

The father-in-law said, "Sure, we have no objection!" Then the other girl's parents said, "As for the dowry, we will give our daughter a car as a dowry. We will also give her all the household items. So your family will also be responsible for the hardware for my daughter. Do you think this is acceptable?"

The mother-in-law said, "Of course we can accept it. Once the child marries into our family, we will definitely treat her as our own daughter!" The other party's father then asked, "Can my daughter's name be added to the title deed of the house?"

Zhang Jing was surprised to hear this: "Sure enough, they're here! They actually want to add their names to my house and make it theirs!" Zhang Jing wanted to see what her mother-in-law would say, but her father-in-law waved his hand generously and said, "No problem! The house will definitely be in the young couple's names. But our house is resettlement housing. When we move back, they'll move in. The property title will definitely be in their names. I hope they live happily together and grow old together."

Upon hearing this, the other party immediately asked, "Where are we going to live now that we're married?" The father-in-law calmly explained the situation, and the other party was relieved. Zhang Jing also breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Achen's house was saved. She didn't understand why the father-in-law and mother-in-law changed their minds and told the truth.

My father-in-law then said, "I heard that people from Chaoshan like to have many children, but now they're civil servants, that's no longer possible. We just hope they can live in peace and happiness. We treat boys and girls the same; they're all our children. Let's not put pressure on these two young people."

The other mother smiled and said yes, "Your son's older brother and sister-in-law gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. That's great! This way, we can have a baby with just one child! If they could also have one child like this, I'm afraid I'd be so happy!"

Zhang Jing thought about how lucky she was to have given birth to twins, a boy and a girl. She had no idea her husband's parents were envious. She wondered if her family had this genetic trait. If her brother-in-law also had twins, her parents-in-law would have a lot of work to do.

Both sides were quite happy to talk about this.

After agreeing on the time for the betrothal gifts, everyone also decided on the date for the wedding. The other party decided to ask someone for details on a good date for the wedding banquet, and the dinner ended happily.

Before leaving, the mother-in-law came over and held the twins, saying they were a blessing. The two children don't look alike now, the boy is older.

The mother-in-law smiled and said, "Boys can eat. This is what twin boys and girls are like. If they are identical, then it's almost the same." The mother-in-law was very satisfied and called her daughter, saying, "Come here and hold the baby. As an aunt, you should hold the baby and share in the joy. Who knows, you might also give birth to twins!"

After hearing this, the beautiful Lina came over and hugged the twins one by one. She also said to Zhang Jing, "Sister-in-law, these children are so cute, I love them so much."

The two children were also very proud, smiling at their aunt. Zhang Jing looked at her brother-in-law and thought he was particularly handsome today. He was silent and smiled all day. He answered all the questions of his father-in-law and mother-in-law with three answers.

His eldest brother-in-law was very aggressive. He patted his younger brother-in-law on the shoulder and said, "Be good to my sister in the future. If you bully my sister, I will not let you go!"

After hearing this, Achen interrupted and said, "No, no, your brother will treat your sister-in-law well, just like I treat my wife!" Everyone then looked at Achen and felt that he was indeed a little different.

Zhang Jing looked at it, quickly pulled Achen, and said with a smile: "Oh, you don't have to worry about these things as the eldest uncle. If there is anything, if the younger brother-in-law is really not good to his sister-in-law, the mother-in-law will not let him go!"

After hearing this, the mother-in-law hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, I will definitely treat Lina as my own daughter. If you don't believe me, ask Jing, I treat her as my own daughter too! Zhang Jing is just like my own daughter, and when Lina gets married, I will treat her the same way, too. Don't worry! Look at these two children, we are helping to raise them, and we all get along very well."

After returning, Zhang Jing kept asking her mother-in-law if she and Achen really wanted to renovate their house. After some thought, her mother-in-law decided to leave the house alone and live there temporarily. She would wait until her own house was returned and renovate it for them to live in.

Zhang Jing listened thoughtfully. After the gifts were exchanged, the two families agreed on a wedding date, which would take place next month. Zhang Jing wondered if next month was too soon, but her mother-in-law said it couldn't be helped because Lina was already two months pregnant.

Zhang Jing thought, my brother-in-law is really awesome. He's already pregnant, and he's still asking for a dowry and a grand wedding. If it were some of those scumbag men's families in the countryside, they might not even give a cent. Anyway, you're pregnant, so if you can, just get an abortion.

However, this kind of novel plot doesn't happen in real life. The two families happily decided on the wedding. Zhang Jing was thinking about what gift to give for the wedding next month, but after a long time of thinking, she still had no idea. Giving money didn't seem like a good idea. After thinking about it, Zhang Jing asked her mother-in-law, what should she give?

The mother-in-law said that she had not yet configured the hardware, so she asked Zhang Jing to buy the hardware. Zhang Jing thought: Why didn’t anyone buy hardware for me when I got married?

Zhang Jing rejected her mother-in-law's suggestion, saying it was her parents-in-law's decision. She wouldn't join in the fun. But since she was going to give a gift anyway, she might as well just give the gold bars.

Zhang Jing didn't expect that the gold bars she gave would actually make her parents-in-law look at her with a higher regard. Zhang Jing simply took out two gold bars from her safe. When her sister-in-law saw that her sister-in-law had given her a gold bar that would preserve its value, her eyes widened. She even secretly asked her brother-in-law if her sister-in-law was very rich.

The brother-in-law said ambiguously: "How can I put it? It's hard to say. In fact, I can't say for sure." This made Lina very dissatisfied: "You don't even know whether your sister-in-law is rich or not? I think you are the stupid one, right?"