1444 Dowry
“What’s there to be afraid of! I’m no longer doing business in secret anymore. Now, my income all comes from proper channels and Eldest Brother has made sure that the paperwork is done! Our family is rich and we have plenty of money! We’re even richer than the He family! I’m happy to hire a chauffeur to send you around! What’s so bad about that!” Qiao Mei said in a fit of pique.

The reason why she worked so hard to earn money was not only to ensure that she could live out her old age in comfort. She also wanted to let the people around her live a blissful life.

“Why are you getting angry? You’re so easily worked up today. Does the money fall from the sky?” Xia He sat beside Qiao Mei and patted her hand as she said, “I know what you’re saying and I know that you’re nice to me, but isn’t my bicycle already good enough? Most people can’t even afford it. I’m the first person in my workplace unit to buy a bicycle! If you want to be nice to me, then you can make me a serving of braised pork.”

Her favorite food was braised pork. Every time she went to a restaurant, she had to order a serving of braised pork. Even the helper at home had to learn how to cook this dish. When she came and stayed at Qiao Mei’s place, she managed to convince Qiao Mei to make the dish for her once. After that, she could not get the taste out of her mind and would pester Qiao Mei to cook the dish for her every day.

To her, the braised pork that Qiao Mei made was the most delicious braised pork in the world!

Qiao Mei looked at Xia He helplessly and said, “Eat, eat, eat! You only know how to eat! Who knows when you will be taken disadvantage of outside! Just you wait! I’ll definitely tell Deng Fan about this!”

“Don’t! He’s been so busy recently. Don’t tell him these things,” Xia He said worriedly.

“Then be careful when you’re on your bicycle! Don’t make me worry about you!” Qiao Mei rolled her eyes and continued, “The factory is about to be completed. The two of you should be able to get married soon.”

Xia He turned her head away shyly and muttered softly, “I have told my parents about this some time ago and they have already agreed. Now, all we need is for both sets of parents to have a meal together and then we can go and register our marriage!”

“That’s fantastic! Why don’t I halt the factory construction work for now? The two of you should grab the chance and get married immediately!” Qiao Mei said anxiously.

“We’ve already waited for so long. These few more days don’t really matter. There’s no hurry,” Xia He said.

“Then what about your wedding banquet? Where should we hold it? Are you doing it at their house or ours? Is the venue big enough? If not, you can just use my house. I can give you the house next door as part of your dowry!” Qiao Mei said excitedly.

Xia He had not discussed this matter with Deng Fan yet, but Xia He was the one who made all the decisions in the family. Deng Fan always respected Xia He’s opinions.

“I think it’s good enough for the relatives on both sides to have a meal together. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it. It was only a while ago that Brother Xing’s issue had made Grandfather so unhappy, plus I’m getting married for the second time, so why make it so ostentatious? I don’t want to embarrass anyone at this juncture,” Xia He said.

“Sigh…” Qiao Mei took a deep breath. She had thought that Xia He would be able to get married in a grand manner. She did not expect that the situation in the capital was worse than in the countryside! There were so many rules here!

Qiao Mei went to her room and took out a wooden box containing the dowry that she had prepared for Xia He. The moment she found out that Xia He and Deng Fan were a couple, she had started to make preparations. She did not expect to buy more and more things until she needed a box to contain everything.

“Open it and take a look,” Qiao Mei said as she pointed at the box.

Xia He opened the box curiously. The moment she opened it, she was stunned by what she saw inside. Not only was there the wedding dress which Qiao Mei had embroidered for her, but there was also an exquisite pearl headpiece. That was a treasure which Qiao Mei had sourced for and was worth a lot of money.

The dress itself could be considered a work of art. The embroidery on it was all done using gold thread. In particular, the phoenix’s eyes were sewn on using special embroidery techniques.

“How… how long did it take you to prepare all this?” Xia He said with a trembling voice.

“It’s been a while. I always feel that the thing a woman looks forward to the most in her life is her marriage proposal and getting married. I couldn’t have a grand ceremony when I got married but I thought that it would be possible for your wedding. Who would have thought that you can’t do it at your wedding either” Qiao Mei said regretfully.

“I’m sorry… I have let you down. My younger brother has let you down. The Xia family has let you down,” Xia He said as she looked at Qiao Mei guiltily. If Qiao Mei had not married into the Xia family but into any other family in the capital, that family would have been able to give Qiao Mei a grand wedding.