Chapter 855: Doing It Personally

Wang An smoked in silence, and Wang Daliang's family of four remained silent as well; the entire room fell into a heavy stillness.

After a long while, Second Uncle Wang Daliang finally spoke, his brow furrowed.

"The bride price her family is asking for is just too much. The most expensive bride price around here in recent years has only been 100 yuan, yet they're asking for 500 right off the bat. What kind of family is this?"

Wang An continued smoking beside them without responding. Mainly, he didn't want to respond, nor could he.

Because, as the saying went, Wang An had paid a full 600 yuan in bride price to marry Mu Xueqing!

Second Aunt Yao Ping also frowned and said, "Exactly. Just hearing about it makes one feel uneasy. If she's the kind of woman who doesn't know how to run a household, how heartbreaking will it be once she's married into the family?"

Clearly, the 500-yuan bride price had truly shocked Wang Daliang and his wife.

However, the couple's concerns weren't entirely without merit; asking for 500 yuan upfront was indeed something a normal person would find unacceptable.

It couldn't help but make one wonder what motives Li Xiuyu's family actually had.

Just as the couple finished speaking, Wang Li said quite displeasedly, "Li Xiuyu isn't that kind of person. Besides, didn't Fourth Brother say her family has run into some difficulties?"

It had to be admitted that although Wang Li was only 17, because he hung around Wang An, he had earned a fair amount of money. Consequently, Wang Li spoke with much more authority at home now.

Furthermore, from these words, it was clear that Wang Li had once again fallen for Li Xiuyu.

As for the 500-yuan bride price, Wang Li didn't care about it at all.

Hearing Wang Li's words, Wang Daliang and his wife looked at each other, both seeing a sense of helplessness in the other's eyes regarding their son's attitude.

After a pause, Second Aunt Yao Ping said to Wang Li, "Your father and I just don't know what the deal is with that Li Xiuyu. We have to do some digging first and see what's going on."

Wang Daliang added in explanation, "Exactly. It's not that your mother and I are stingy with the money, but everything has to be taken slowly!"

Wang Li stiffened his neck and said with a wronged expression, "Anyway, I think Li Xiuyu is great. In all the surrounding villages, there's no one better than her."

Wang An could tell at a glance that Wang Li was willing to accept whatever the cost; his heart was set entirely on Li Xiuyu.

To be honest, Wang Li was not thinking clearly at the moment, and there was absolutely no need to arrange a match-making meeting right now.

Since the two had no emotional foundation, rushing into things was useless; on the contrary, it would cause one to lose the ability to think rationally.

However, from Wang Li's perspective, it wasn't wrong for him to act this way.

At seventeen or eighteen, one is in that stage of naive ignorance regarding love, while simultaneously longing for a beautiful romance.

People of this age believe in "being with the one I love."

Moreover, they are often extremely confident—believing that as long as they are together, they can definitely make the other person like them back; more accurately, they believe they can move the other person with their sincerity.

Little did he know that love is actually a very simple thing, unrelated to everything else, and so-called "moving" someone might just be moving oneself.

Of course, Wang An remained silent, quietly watching the three of them argue.

Actually, watching the drama was quite interesting.

A mother always understands her son; seeing Wang Li's persistence, Second Aunt Yao Ping looked at Wang Daliang again. Seeing that Wang Daliang remained silent, she said helplessly to Wang Li, "Since it's about finding you a wife, we'll do it your way. We'll set up a meeting some day, and if it works out, we'll discuss with them how to handle the gifts."

The "handling of gifts" Yao Ping mentioned was a local method of delivering the bride price.

Simply put, it meant either giving it all at once, or giving half at the engagement and the other half at the wedding.

Wang Daliang opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately held back.

Clearly, Wang Li was very happy to hear this. His face, which had previously looked like that of a victim, instantly broke into a beaming smile.

Seeing that the show was over, Wang An said with a smile, "Fifth, if you're in a hurry, go find Brother Mu tomorrow. If you're not, find someone to dig into their background first, then go find Brother Mu. Alright, I'm heading home; I've got work tomorrow."

With that, Wang An left Wang Li's house.

Over the next two days, Wang Dazhu and Wang An became very busy.

Wang An and two carpenters began cutting glass to fit into the windows, and then applying the glazing putty.

Although the job was simple, cutting glass was a skilled task. One slip of the hand while scoring and tapping the glass, and the whole pane would shatter.

Unfortunately, the carpenters of this era weren't very proficient at cutting glass, and while Wang An had learned many skills in his previous life, he was a complete amateur at cutting glass.

Fortunately, practice makes perfect. Through the clumsy efforts of the three men, they didn't waste too much glass.

While Wang An and the carpenters were glazing the windows, Wang Dazhu led the masons and several laborers to continue building the courtyard walls.

Building the walls was even simpler; there was no need to dig foundations. They simply laid a layer of stone and started laying bricks, so the progress was quite fast.

It wasn't until the third day that the brick delivery truck sent by Hao Dayou finally reached Wang An, Mu Xueli, and Wang Li's houses.

Since all three families had helpers, the bricks were unloaded very quickly.

Thus, amidst the hustle and bustle, several more days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, not only were all the windows in Wang An's house glazed, but the courtyard walls were also completely finished.

After letting them air out for a while, the two new houses would be ready for occupancy.

Meanwhile, the front and back beams for Wang Li and Mu Xueli's new houses were finished. Once the beams dried, they could set up the frames—that is, the triangular rafters.

However, Wang An's family was still busy; of course, the carpenters weren't idle either.

The houses were finished, but the furniture hadn't been made yet.

To be honest, Wang An really looked down on the furniture made by the village carpenters.

Whether it was the tables in the living room or the lounge chairs, they were made so clumsily and crudely that they possessed zero artistic value.

But he couldn't blame them for this. For a village carpenter, being able to produce a functional table or chair was already good enough; why have so many requirements?

To put it bluntly, why be so demanding?

Consequently, Wang An took it upon himself to make the furniture, and the two carpenters ended up becoming his assistants.

(End of Chapter)