The Village Chief looked at Mo Qishen and said, "Xiaomo, today is your and Yangyang’s big day. I won’t say much, but if you dare let Yangyang suffer even the slightest grievance in the future, the villagers of Jinghua Village will be the first to punish you! All of us here are Yangyang’s family!"
"That’s right!"
The villagers behind the Village Chief raised their right fists and responded in unison.
Mo Qishen bowed to everyone. "Please rest assured, from now on, I will love Yangyang more than I love myself. I promise I won’t let her suffer even a tiny bit. If I break this promise, may lightning strike me from the sky!"
The Village Chief nodded. "With those words, I’m relieved. By the way, here’s the dowry that all the villagers have prepared for Yangyang."
Just as he finished speaking, a villager approached, carrying an object covered with a red cloth.
The Village Chief slowly lifted the red cloth to reveal a tray filled with brand-new gold bars!
There were 18 gold bars in total!
Each gold bar weighed 400 grams; with 18 gold bars totaling 7200 grams, the total weight exceeded 10 kilograms.
All the money used to buy this gold had been voluntarily contributed by the villagers.
Some donated 1,000 yuan, others with better financial conditions contributed 1,500 yuan, and even those in the poorest families offered 500 yuan. Truly, many hands make light work!
After collecting such a substantial amount, the Village Chief discussed with several elders and ultimately decided to buy gold as a gift for Ni Yang.
This was because Ni Yang had regularly mentioned to everyone that if they had extra money, they should invest in real estate in Beijing and also purchase more gold.
Since everyone trusted Ni Yang’s words, the villagers of Jinghua Village bought properties in Beijing—at least two apartments each—and also saved up some gold in their households.
"Thank you all!" Ni Yang bowed deeply to express her gratitude.
The Village Chief held Mo Qishen’s hand firmly. "Xiaomo, don’t disappoint us!"
"You and the elders can rest assured."
Just as the Village Chief was about to step aside to let Mo Qishen pass, a skinny old man suddenly ran over from a distance. "Wait a moment! Groom, please wait!"
"Old Yuan?" The Village Chief turned to look at the skinny old man.
Old Yuan happened to be the Village Chief of the neighboring Western Village.
Old Yuan continued, "Groom, hold on. Several other neighboring villages also want to send dowry gifts for Yangyang. Additionally, we’ve prepared gifts of our own."
With that, Old Yuan glanced behind him and waved his hand. "Hurry up! Come on, hurry up!"
A group of people carrying various items followed behind.
As they approached—
Wow!
The dowry gifts were truly spectacular!
Eighteen large fat pigs, ten plump young lambs, ten hefty roosters, and ten giant carp!
Don’t underestimate these dowry gifts; when converted to RMB, they’re worth quite a substantial amount. It would be hard to settle for less than tens of thousands of yuan.
Though 10,000 yuan may not seem much in later years, back in the economically modest eighties and nineties, 10,000 yuan was equivalent to 100,000 yuan in modern times!
Despite the value, these contributions weren’t seen as excessive, as Ni Yang was worth every bit of them.
If it weren’t for Ni Yang, they wouldn’t even have the opportunities they enjoyed today.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Rebirth of a Village Girl