Fourth more, seeking votes, strive for another more (^_^)

  ***

  The summer solstice has some meaning, but thinking about it again, I feel that this is also reasonable. In recent years, Xia Xiuzai has been working hard to satisfy the needs of the Tian family, and he has been struggling to make ends meet, on the one hand, he wants to increase his income, and on the other hand, he also wants to reduce his expenses.

  This might be unknown to other gentlemen, but Xia Xiuzai noticed it due to his special circumstances.

  Because Xia Xiuzai mentioned making money, Xia Zhì vaguely guessed what he would say next, so she didn't make a sound. She wanted to see how Xia Xiuzai would bring it up.

  When Xia Zhi fell silent, Xia Xiucai thought he had said something wrong. He let out a soft sigh, put down the unicycle, and walked to Xia Zhi's side.

  "Sixteen, your mother wants to prepare some money for your maternal grandparents' household. It's needed by the Dragon Boat Festival. You know about this, right?"

  Xia Zhi nodded. This matter was still her who wanted Xiaoshu to eavesdrop and then deliberately made a scene in front of Old Man Xia.

  "Your maternal grandmother's family wants two hundred taels of silver to betroth your eldest brother. Your mother only has this one nephew, the only descendant of her family. Eldest brother is like that, ah, the ancestral line of the Tian family cannot be cut off with him, your mother can't bear it! I've discussed it with your mother, by the Dragon Boat Festival, we must prepare at least half of it."

  Xiao Hei Yu Er was furious, his eyes wide with anger, just about to scold Xia Xiu Cai. Xia Zhi gently tugged on Xiao Hei Yu Er's sleeve, signaling him not to say anything.

  The little black fish was swollen with anger. It was only the summer solstice that held him back, and he would temporarily endure it. If someone else tried to hold him back, they wouldn't be able to stop him.

  The little black fish secretly holds its breath.

  Xia Xiuzai seemed to be unaware of anything, and seeing that Xia Zhi was not speaking, he continued. "I originally planned to borrow some salary from Li Shanzhang in advance, and then make up for it, even if it's a bit short, it won't be much different. But..."

  At this point, Xia Xiuzai's face was completely shrouded in dark clouds of pain and worry. He told Xia Zhi: "Originally, Shan Chang had already agreed. But two days ago, he called me over. Something happened at the academy, and it didn't work out to advance my salary."

  Xia Zhi heard him say this and intentionally asked: "Then how much money did Father borrow?"

  Xia Xiuzai's face was increasingly heavy with a look of pain and worry: "Originally, I could have borrowed some, but... the flow of years is unfavorable, it can't be blamed on others, heaven has unpredictable winds and clouds..."

  In short, I didn't borrow a single penny. Nor do I know if the "unlucky year" and "unpredictable wind and cloud" he mentioned refer to himself, or the person who originally intended to lend him money, or both?!

  "Dad, so how much money have you raised in total?" Xia Zhi asked cautiously, scrutinizing Xia Xiucui's expression.

  "I only have two months' salary in my hands now..." Apart from this, he has been giving students articles to read these days, and also helping people annotate the selected works of Ci. All in all, it's just ten taels of silver. This is still the money he earned by working day and night, painstakingly, and even doing odd jobs for others.

  "In addition to the festival these days, there should be students sending some festive gifts... …" Xia Xiuzai didn't plan to move these festive gifts at all, and still followed the usual practice of finding someone to sell them out. As for how much silver money Xia Xiuzai could exchange for, he couldn't say an accurate number now, but it was just six or seven taels of silver, no more."

  "These all add up to twenty taels in total." Xia Xiuzai had to cut back on food and clothing to save up this twenty taels.

  Twenty taels of silver was far from meeting Tian's demands. Thinking that he would not be able to account for himself to Tian, Xia Xiuzai had been worried sick for days, unable to eat or sleep.

  If he didn't have to, he wouldn't say these things to Xia Zhi, nor would he...

  Xia Xiuzai looked at Xia Zhi with a mixture of guilt and expectation. This little girl had always been considerate and thoughtful towards others. He had said as much, she should know what to do. But this time, Xia Zhi seemed not to have grasped his intention.

  "Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount. With this money, an ordinary farming family like ours can live comfortably for two or three years." Xia Zhi carefully calculated the daily expenses of their farming household with Xia Xiuren. Then she said, "Even if Dabao decides to take a wife, this money should be just enough."

  But that's still not enough, Xia Zhi also asked Xia Xiuzai:

  "Dad, how much silver did you spend when you married mom? How much did my second uncle spend when he got married? And how much did my third uncle and aunt spend when they got married?"

  Xia Xiuzai sighed bitterly. Generally, when a farmer's family marries off their daughter, they would handle it in a simple and ordinary way, twenty taels of silver might not be enough, but it could still work out somehow. However, the Tian family wanted to marry off Tian Dabao, and this amount of money was insufficient.

  "Sixteen, you know how your big brother is... " Tian Dabao was an idiot, so he couldn't get married like a normal person. If it wasn't for the money, who would marry their good daughter to an idiot?

  Even so, it's still not worth two hundred taels of silver. Does Tian Jia want to buy the fairy back for Tian Dabao?!

  Xia Xiuzai is very clear about everything else and can talk about it in a straightforward manner, so why does he become muddled when it comes to matters related to the Tian family?

  Xia Zhi suppressed the anger in her chest. In her opinion, Tian Dabao shouldn't have gotten married. But she also knew how people viewed descendants of concubines in this era.

  It's not just this era, but also the one she was in before crossing over, which is said to have gotten rid of feudal constraints and is relatively open-minded and advanced, such problems still exist.

  "Father, if my brother wants to marry the daughter of the old man, they want a betrothal gift of 10,000 taels. Would you agree?" Xia Zhi thought for a moment and then asked Xia Xiucan.

  Xia Xiuzai was stunned for a moment, and soon understood Xia Zhi's meaning.

  "Sixteen, things can't be compared like that. Your brother doesn't need to spend 10,000 taels of silver as a betrothal gift to marry a wife. But Dabao, if he doesn't have money, it's hard for him to find a wife."

  It's said to be very difficult, this is Xia Xiuzai's euphemistic way of saying it.

  "It's not like that." Xia Zhi smiled and changed his words, "My brother doesn't need 10,000 taels to marry the daughter of the Grand Councilor. Tian Dabao doesn't need so much silver to marry a girl better than him. My brother can use ordinary betrothal gifts to marry a wife who is equally matched with him in terms of family background and personal qualities. Tian Dabao also doesn't need that much money to secure a marriage with a woman who is equally matched with him."

  If you must marry Tian Dabao, then don't go and harm a good girl from another family. Marry someone similar to Tian Dabao, it won't cost that much money.

  "Sixteen..." Xia Xiuren completely understood Xia Zhi's meaning and was extremely embarrassed. He called out his own daughter with a deep sense of meaning.

  Xia Zhi chuckled twice, and she understood Xia Xiuzai's meaning: "I know, is my maternal family's status high?"

  This sentence explains everything.

  (。)