Chapter 202 - 191: Play Together
He said, "The Zhou Family is generous, and we won’t make things difficult for them. The betrothal gift will be three taels of silver. We’ll keep two, and give one tael to Eryuan along with her dowry furniture, and that should be about right."
There’s a saying in the countryside, money or no money, getting a wife makes for a better New Year.
Generous families would marry off their brides before the Winter Solstice, allowing the new bride to have an easier two months before the hectic period after the New Year began.
But sometimes the timing isn’t right—for instance, they didn’t pick an auspicious day, or, like these two families, they negotiated the marriage late—most would rush to wed before the New Year. Although it is now the Little New Year, country folks aren’t picky; as long as the betrothal gift is handed over quickly, wrapping up the wedding feast in three days is normal.
By doing so, there will be an extra pair of hands at home right at the start of the busy spring.
Some families are stingier. Even if the marriage is agreed upon early, they deliberately schedule the wedding around the Little New Year to save some provisions, managing to wed right before the spring rush.
The even stingier families choose to marry after the New Year, in January, so the new bride will start off straight into the spring labor.
Honestly, since their marriage negotiations were late and Zhou SiLang is not young anymore, the Fang Family was really worried that the Zhou Family might choose to wed after the New Year. In that case, Eryuan would have to work in the fields immediately upon entry, while also adjusting to her new life with her in-laws and sisters-in-law.
The Zhou Family’s decision to actively delay the wedding to May showed that they were sincerely considerate of them.
The Zhou Family is generous, and the Fang Family is not unreasonable either. After going back and forth through the matchmaker, the details of the engagement were settled.
Currently, three taels of silver for a dowry is not a small amount, but it’s not a lot either. Given the Fang Family’s situation, only asking for three taels is modest.