In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 171 A Bitter Scent

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Dao and the others, who had been chatting at Li Qian's house for a while, left Li Qian's house and walked happily towards Zhao Kang's house with gongs and drums.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Xiahe Village, who were watching from the sidelines, were suffering from decision paralysis.

They wanted to follow Chen Dao and the others, but they also wanted to go to Li Qian's house to find out more about the situation from Li Qian and the village chief. For a moment, they hesitated.

"Never mind! Let's go and see what's going on!"

The middle-aged man named Lao Jiang stamped his foot and chose to follow Chen Dao and the others in the betrothal procession.

Seeing this, the other villagers suppressed their curiosity and followed suit.

Soon, Chen Dao and his entourage arrived at Zhao Kang's house. Zhao Kang and Li Shi, who had already heard the commotion, were waiting outside.

Seeing that everyone had stopped, the two hurriedly stepped forward and said to Liu Yan, "Mother-in-law, please come in quickly."

After saying that, he welcomed Chen Dao and the others into the house.

The villagers from Xiahe Village who followed behind felt even more heartbroken when they saw the undisguised smile on Zhao Kang's face as he turned back.

"Zhao Kang has really gotten away with this!"

A man from a small river village said with a resentful look, "A daughter's dowry is three taels of silver, so wouldn't two daughters cost six taels?"

Six taels of silver was an immense fortune for the villagers of Xiahe Village, since in those days, it was rare to find a family in the entire village with even a tael of silver.

"Damn it, Zhao Kang really hit the jackpot, managing to find such a good family for his daughter!"

"Why can't my daughter find such a good family?!"

"Six taels of silver as a betrothal gift! It seems Old Zhao's family is going to live like landlords from now on!"

"That's right! I've never seen so much money in my life! A full six taels of silver!"

"..."

A sour smell filled the air again. The villagers of Xiahe Village felt terrible at the thought that Zhao Kang's family would receive a dowry of six taels of silver!

That's a full six taels of silver! They couldn't help but think: If their own daughter could marry into Chenjia Village, wouldn't they also receive a dowry of six taels of silver and never have to worry about going hungry again?

Upon realizing this, the villagers immediately sprang into action.

An old man from Xiahe Village, with a wrinkled face and looking to be about sixty years old, stopped a young man from Chenjia Village who was playing drums and gongs and asked, "Young man, my family also has a granddaughter who is about to get married. Are there any other men in your Xiahe Village who need to find a wife?"

The young man who was pulled aside was taken aback, then said, "Yes, there are, but not everyone can afford such a large dowry."

Qingzhuang knew very well that Chen Cheng was able to offer such a generous dowry entirely because of Chen Dao's help, and that other people probably wouldn't have such good fortune when they got married!

After all, the others weren't like Chen Cheng, who was a favorite of Chen Dao, so Chen Dao wouldn't pay their betrothal gifts for nothing.

"That's it!"

The old man sighed in disappointment, but still said with some hope, "Even if there isn't that much betrothal gift, half of it would be fine."

half?

After thinking for a moment, the young man from Chenjia Village said, "There are quite a few people in our village who can afford half of the dowry, but if your granddaughter wants to marry into our village, I'm afraid you'll have to find a matchmaker yourself."

Upon hearing this, a thoughtful look flashed in the old man's eyes. He didn't know much about Chenjia Village, but it wasn't hard to tell from the young man's words that the villagers of Chenjia Village were definitely living better lives than those of Xiaohe Village.

Perhaps... we could really find a matchmaker to go to Chenjia Village to propose marriage. Even if we can't get a generous dowry, at least our granddaughter will be able to eat her fill after marrying into Chenjia Village, which would also reduce the family's food burden.

Not only the old man, but everyone else was also deep in thought. Those with daughters at home were already thinking about which matchmaker to find to go to Chenjia Village to propose marriage.

Meanwhile, in Zhao Kang's living room, Zhao Kang and Li Qing were so happy that their eyes almost disappeared as they looked at the four yellow-feathered chickens that Liu Yan had placed on the ground.

"Father-in-law and mother-in-law"

With a beaming smile, Liu Yan stuffed two red cloth bags into the two men's hands. "This is our betrothal gift: four yellow-feathered chickens and a total of 1776 copper coins."

"My dear in-laws, you're too kind!"

Li Qing happily accepted the cloth bag, then invited everyone to sit down inside the house, chatting with them with a joyful expression.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Zhao Xiaoyun and Zhao Xiaomei were listening to the sounds outside while talking to each other.

According to the customary rules of the Xia Kingdom, the bride's family is not allowed to meet outsiders when the betrothal gifts are presented. Therefore, the two women did not go out but stayed in the bedroom to wait.

but……

Because the house is small and the soundproofing is practically nonexistent, the two women in the bedroom can hear everything that's happening outside.

"Sister, did you hear that?"

Zhao Xiaomei lowered her voice and said, "The betrothal gifts from Chen Cheng's family included four chickens and more than 1,700 copper coins!"

As she said this, Zhao Xiaomei unconsciously licked the corner of her mouth. It wasn't that she was hungry, but rather that she missed the taste of meat. She couldn't help but wonder: I wonder if my parents will kill those four chickens to eat?

"heard it!"

Zhao Xiaoyun nodded gently, her gaze lingering. Judging from the generous betrothal gifts, Chen Cheng's family was very sincere and valued her and her sister highly. That was good; after she married into the family, she wouldn't be bullied anymore.

"elder sister."

Zhao Xiaomei then asked, "After we marry into Chenjia Village, will we really be able to eat our fill of steamed buns every day?"

"should be."

Zhao Xiaoyun smiled and nodded, saying that her parents had already confirmed the situation in Chenjia Village and told them, so Zhao Xiaomei must know as well. Her question was probably just due to her uncertainty.

"very nice!"

Zhao Xiaomei's eyes crinkled with joy upon receiving a positive answer. She was clearly delighted, and the thought of being able to eat her fill every day, especially white flour steamed buns, filled her with a sense of excitement.

She had heard her father describe the taste of those steamed buns. According to him, they were soft, delicious, and incredibly sweet, even better than white rice!

"It seems there's no sound outside!"

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoyun, hearing the sounds outside fading into the distance, immediately realized that the procession from Chenjia Village delivering betrothal gifts must have left their home.

Realizing this, Zhao Xiaoyun tried to pull Zhao Xiaomei out of the bedroom, but at that moment, a commotion arose in the living room outside, and Zhao Xiaoyun quickly focused her attention to listen.

"Did the villagers come to my house?"

Zhao Xiaoyun recognized many of the sounds outside, so she guessed that villagers had come in.

So Zhao Xiaoyun quickly pulled Zhao Xiaomei, who was about to leave the bedroom, back and made her stay in the bedroom to eavesdrop.