Quick Transmigration: The Love Rescue Plan

After Dong Ping finished looking at the decorations in the main hall, Master Dong still hadn't made a decision.

Dong Ping couldn't help but sneer inwardly. So he really is a businessman.

A simple decision requires such deep thought and countless considerations, all for the sake of maximizing one's own benefit.

However, the Guo family doesn't really offer the Dong family any benefit now.

Even so, the Dong family was still reluctant to give up so easily.

"The bugles and drums resound as the battle begins, the lone city in the desert rises with the sound of horns. The warhorses in the camp neigh almost to death, half of the soldiers at the front are dead or wounded. The wind blows, the rain falls, the water flows freely, the roots and leaves are covered with tears. Pity the pine and cypress trees, their graves piled high, all are the dreams of those in their spring boudoirs." Dong Ping tapped the small table and recited slowly.

Mr. Dong's brow twitched slightly.

You have to understand that ancient battlefields were incredibly brutal, and who could guarantee they would come back alive?

Dong Ping sighed softly, then a bitter smile appeared on her lips: "Mr. Dong, is it really that difficult?"

“You have been kind to me, and I, Dong Ping, am not the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity.” Dong Ping said helplessly, “Although the Guo and Dong families are old friends, it is difficult to help each other in long-term poverty.”

"If the bride is a close relative of yours, and we are so poor now, shouldn't you help us? If you should, how long can you help us? A month? Half a year? A year? Two years? Or... a lifetime?"

Dong Ping continued with some melancholy, "How many have returned from ancient battles? If it were my husband... the Guo family would be left with only the elderly, the weak, women, and children..."

“Mr. Dong, you are a businessman, and you surely know better than I whether this deal is worthwhile or not. As the saying goes, ‘A long illness will leave no filial sons at the bedside, and a long poverty will leave no virtuous wife in the home; when poor, neighbors will not care, but when rich, relatives will come from afar.’”

Dong Ping stood up and bowed to Master Dong and Madam Dong, saying, "You have saved me from suffering, which is already a great favor. How can I be a burden to you?"

"If Master Dong is so concerned about his reputation, and he really decides to let me marry into the Guo family as a close relative or adopted daughter, then he should be prepared to take care of the Guo family's elderly, weak, women and children for the rest of his life!"

Dong Ping sighed deeply: "After all, if you don't help from the beginning, you'll only be criticized. But if you only help temporarily, what will happen to the Guo family's elderly, weak, women and children? If something happens to them, it will give them something to talk about. Mr. Dong, think it over carefully before you act."

"Sigh, well, well. It seems you came prepared today. Even so, tell me what kind of distant relative you wish to be." Master Dong stopped turning the ring on his finger and sighed helplessly.

“My mother-in-law told me that Madam Dong has a half-brother who also has the surname Dong and lives in Yezhou, which is quite far from here.” Before Dong Ping came, Guo’s mother had mentioned to Dong Ping that Madam Dong had a half-brother who also had the surname Dong.

"As for me, Dong Ping, I am a cousin of Madam Dong's brother. In this way, it would be reasonable for us distant relatives to help each other, and it would be justifiable not to. Helping may leave a good reputation for a while, while not helping will not leave any criticism. What do you think, Master Dong and Madam Dong?"

"You've really managed to distance yourself from this!" Madam Dong couldn't help but slam her hand on the table. "Not even a distant relative of the master's side!"

"After all, the marriage between the Guo and Dong families was arranged because of the good relationship between Guo's mother and Dong's mother, wasn't it?" Dong Ping explained with a smile, "It would be more accurate to say that they are distant relatives of Dong's mother rather than distant relatives of Dong's father."

Dong Ping glanced at Master Dong and continued, "Besides, since they are distant relatives of Madam Dong, as a married woman, it's only right for Madam Dong to help them out, and it's perfectly acceptable for her not to. There's absolutely no reason for her to be criticized."

"Alright, I'll grant your request. I'll write you a marriage certificate in the name of Dong Ping, the distant niece of your half-brother." Master Dong waved his hand weakly and said, "What's the third thing?"

"The third thing is something Dong Ping feels somewhat ashamed to say, but she has no choice but to shamelessly ask for."

"You want the dowry, don't you!" Upon hearing Dong Ping's words, Madam Dong understood.

"Dong Ping's marriage was very rushed this time, and she didn't even have a decent dowry." Dong Ping smiled slightly and curtsied to Madam Dong: "Although I am no longer the second young lady of the Dong family, and even... just a distant niece of Madam Dong who is not related to me at all, here, Dong Ping can only rely on Madam Dong, a distant relative, to take care of her dowry."

Madam Dong snorted coldly: "You certainly know how to seize an opportunity to ask for your dowry."

Dong Ping didn't care about Madam Dong's sarcastic remarks; after all, who would turn down money?

"Dong Ping doesn't ask for a luxurious dowry, she only asks for a decent one that won't be looked down upon by the neighbors. I'll have to trouble Mr. and Mrs. Dong to take care of this matter."

"Don't worry about that. Whether you are my own daughter, Dong Yunqing, or my wife's distant niece, Dong Ping, since you are married out of our Dong family, you will certainly not lose face." This time, Master Dong did not hesitate and said very decisively.

"It's just that you got married in such a hurry that we didn't have time to prepare. In a few days, I'll send someone to deliver the wedding arrangements along with the wedding gifts, how about that?" Master Dong gestured to Madam Dong, telling her to get ready.

“A gentleman’s promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold. I believe that Mr. Dong, as a businessman, is not a man of his word. So, Dong Ping will wait at home for good news.” Dong Ping stood up and smiled slightly, “Dong Ping has another request.”

Madam Dong now finds fault with everything Dong Ping does, and glares at her with displeasure, saying, "You really have a lot of problems!"

Ignoring Madam Dong's words, Dong Ping continued, "Could Dong Ping ask Master Dong and Madam Dong for an advance of half a string of cash for her dowry today?"

Dong Ping said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This time, I have almost used up all my travel money. Since it is rare for me to come to the city, I would like to ask for half a string of cash in advance to buy some things to supplement my household expenses."

“It’s not appropriate for a woman like you to carry half a string of cash. How about I exchange it for something lighter?” Master Dong said after thinking for a moment.

Dong Ping thought about it and agreed. A string of coins weighed about five kilograms, and half a string would weigh at least two kilograms. Although it wasn't so heavy that she couldn't carry it, it would still be quite inconvenient to carry it around.

"it is good."

“A bolt of silk is exactly half a string of cash. But it’s inconvenient for a woman like you to carry a bolt of silk. A bolt of silk is ten zhang (a unit of length), so I’ll give you two zhang, which is one hundred wen. A bolt of silk is one tael of silver, and one tael of silver is exactly one string of cash. One chi (another unit of length) of silk is ten wen. As for the remaining four hundred wen, I’ll give you one hundred copper coins and three chi of silk, how about that?”

Dong Ping quickly calculated in her mind: one horse equals ten zhang, one zhang equals ten chi, and one chi equals three meters.

One zhang is thirty meters, which is still a bit too big. Even if packed like a modern flight attendant, it would be far too enormous. Silk is nine meters, which is a reasonable size, but if it were all made of silk, it would only be twelve meters.

However, silk cloth was more frequently used in daily trade compared to silk.