CHAPTER 1339: CHAPTER 1317: DOWRY PART THREE (BONUS CHAPTER FOR THE REWARD FROM THE READER "LUO QING")

Everyone quietly let out a breath of relief. Although eight taels was still quite expensive, it was much easier to accept than a hundred or eighty taels, right?

Ms. Qian and Junior Ms. Qian, however, felt something was off. They knew Manbao wasn’t the type to lie, so they continued staring at Zhou Wulang.

Zhou Wulang scratched his head and, catching his mother’s gaze, hesitantly said, "But this bolt, this bolt, and these over here—they were all rewards from the royal palace. Lijun and I went out and asked around. Because they’re tributes, they’re quite precious, each worth at least a hundred taels, and you can’t even buy them outright."

When he talked about this, Zhou Wulang felt rather aggrieved and said, "The fabric shops in the capital are so weird. When you ask if they sell it, they say it’s a tribute, so you can’t buy it. If you really want to purchase it, you’d have to pay one or two hundred taels to get one or two bolts that were left out of the tribute allocation. But when they found out we had these, which were rewards from the palace, and we offered to sell them, they turned around and said this embroidered silk and satin was worth at most sixty taels, claiming it’s hard to sell tribute goods in the capital. They even added that if the court found out we were trading tribute items, we’d be prosecuted."

The women in the room listened, dumbfounded.

Zhou Wulang said, "Both Erya and I think they’re too greedy. Something worth one or two hundred taels going for sixty? We’d rather cut and wear it ourselves than let them take advantage of us. So we decided not to sell."

Ms. Feng couldn’t help but say, "Wearing fabric worth sixty taels—don’t you feel like it’s weighing you down? For the price of this, it’s basically like wearing a house on your body."

It was akin to wearing the cost of a house.

Zhou Wulang lowered his head and muttered, "This was Manbao’s idea. Fabric like this isn’t something we often wear. Only Manbao, because she often visits the palace and wealthy households, would find use for it. It’s just that there were so many royal rewards, and Manbao rarely makes clothes, which is why there’s so much saved up."

"Mother, if you don’t want to wear clothes made from fabric like this, just keep it stored. I heard Manbao say this stuff can be as good as money," though it does depreciate.

Ms. Feng quietly reached out to touch the silk fabric, feeling both pained and tempted.

The other daughters-in-law also stared at the satin and silk piled on the bed without speaking.

Ms. Qian saw this and sighed deeply. These fabrics had already been gifted to them, and if they were taken back, even if the daughters-in-law didn’t say it out loud, they’d certainly feel resentment in their hearts. So she closed her eyes for a moment and then waved her hand, saying, "Forget it. You all just take them back."

The daughters-in-law, hearing this, immediately went to retrieve their bundles of silk and carried them back into their arms. Only now noticing that, apart from the fabric given to Ms. Qian and Junior Ms. Qian, the others’ materials included one bolt of tribute fabric and one ordinary bolt.

Daya and Sanya’s fabrics were even better—bright-colored silk and satin, lively and fresh, perfect for them.

Ms. Qian allowed them to leave but held Zhou Wulang back. She was worried his calloused hands might damage the silk, so she lightly touched it with the back of her hands and asked, "Did Manbao bring all the rewarded silk back home?"

"No, she selected these specifically to gift to the sisters-in-law. There’s still plenty left in the capital."

Ms. Qian finally exhaled in relief. She glanced at the four remaining bolts of fabric on the bed—the ones for her and Old Zhou. After some thought, she said, "Later, go to the county town and see if anyone wants to buy them. This fabric is too valuable. We often work in the fields, and wearing such expensive clothes would ruin them quickly—it’s not worth it."

Zhou Wulang frowned when he heard she wanted to sell. "Mother, this material is already being maliciously underpriced in the capital, so it’d be even worse in the county."

"Then take it back to the capital to sell. Hold onto the money you make and bring it back here when you find time—your dad and I will save it."

Zhou Wulang blinked. "Not giving it to Manbao?"

"No, she can’t hold onto money," Ms. Qian scolded, glaring at him. "Tell me, how much money did you all spend this year in the capital from Manbao’s savings?"

Zhou Wulang shrank his neck and muttered, "But isn’t the restaurant the family’s business..."

Ms. Qian glared at him again, and Zhou Wulang finally said softly, "Mother, let’s wait until Fourth Brother comes back to discuss this. He knows more people; maybe he can sell it for a better price."

Ms. Qian thought for a moment and nodded.

Junior Ms. Qian carried the four bolts back to her room, where Daya was sitting on the bed sewing shoes. She placed the fabric on the bed.

"Mother, why bring them back again?"

"Your grandmother just wanted to take another look. These are from Manbao to you; keep them yourself," Junior Ms. Qian paused and whispered, "These fabrics are expensive. We don’t have much use for them either, so hold onto them. If you need money urgently in the future, you can exchange them for cash."

She added, "Each bolt is worth one hundred and eighty taels."

Daya nearly poked herself with her needle and exclaimed in shock, "So valuable?"

Junior Ms. Qian nodded.

After a pause, she said, "Manbao said she doesn’t want the shop in town and wants to give it to you as your dowry."

Daya hurriedly replied, "How can that be? That was something Auntie gave to Mother."

Since learning how much this fabric was worth, Junior Ms. Qian no longer felt the shop was particularly expensive. Just look at all the fabric Manbao had sent back home—this was equivalent to a dozen shops.

Her tone became more relaxed as she smiled and said, "Your aunt gave it to you, so you take it. Later, I’ll talk to your father and ask him to discuss it with your grandfather. Then, we’ll officially record it under your name."

Junior Ms. Qian wasn’t interested in using the method Manbao had planned. Since they were giving the dowry to their daughter, they might as well do it cleanly. Why wait until she was old and keep dragging it out? That would only cause trouble with the Guan family.

She added, "Once it’s settled, we’ll have the matchmaker mention to the Guan family that, aside from contributing to the communal fund, the rest of the shop’s earnings will be split between the two of us—me and you. Since you’ll have the shop as your dowry, the Guan family will need to buy a house for Guan Yong in the county town. It’ll be more convenient for the two of you to live."

Daya shyly lowered her head.

Junior Ms. Qian continued, "Don’t be embarrassed. These are proper matters. Isn’t Guan Yong going to study at the County School? You can’t have the two of you living apart—one in the school, one in the village."

"The Chief is still fit and healthy, and Guan Yong’s parents are still in their prime. For now, they don’t need you two youngsters to take care of them. As such, you two should be together. You need to stand your ground when it matters. Understand?"

Daya nodded, her face flushed.

Junior Ms. Qian sighed in relief and quietly whispered various tips about managing a marriage and dealing with her in-laws.

Sanya didn’t have such good luck. Ms. Feng took her fabric and said to her, "This fabric isn’t something you can use yet. I’ll keep it for you, and when you get engaged and need to make a wedding dress, I’ll give it back."

Sanya had overheard the adults’ conversation earlier in the room and was speechless for a long time.

She was only eleven years old! Who knew when she’d get married? Didn’t her mother worry about the fabric fading?

Fine, it was a tribute item, so it probably wouldn’t fade easily. But from the look on her mother’s face, it was unlikely she’d ever give the fabric back.

Sanya puffed out her cheeks unhappily but didn’t say anything, hugging her books and running back to her room.

Erya had said it right—you need to study hard. Once you’re strong and capable, you can earn lots and lots of good things, just like Auntie.