Chapter 13: Human Happiness is Achieved Through Comparison
Deng Shirong saw the hesitation in Guan Dewei and his wife's eyes and said, "Cousin, let me be honest. Although the man's family took the initiative to increase the bride price by 400 yuan, compared to the land that would be lost, your family is definitely at a disadvantage.
However, if your two families become relatives, you don't have to worry too much about these things. Compared to letting Yongying get land from her parents' home before getting married, I think it's more beneficial for her to marry there first.
After all, it takes time to divide the land and work independently. If Yongying gets married quickly, she won't only get an extra piece of land from her husband's family, but even when their children are born, they might be able to catch this train and get one or two pieces of land as well.
As parents, don't we all want our children to live a good life? Yongying will have done a great service to her husband's family by marrying in, so her life will definitely be good."
These words convinced Guan Dewei and his wife.
Although most rural people of that era favored sons over daughters, this didn't include Guan Dewei and his wife. They still loved their eldest daughter.
After all, she was their first child. Besides, their eldest daughter was hardworking, capable, obedient, and sensible, so they naturally hoped she could live a good life in her husband's family.
For this reason, even sacrificing some of their son's interests wasn't unacceptable.
Of course, there was another important reason: the man's family was very sincere this time and took the initiative to increase the bride price by 400 yuan. In addition to giving part of the money to their daughter as a dowry, most of it could be saved for their son's future marriage.
Thinking of this, Guan Dewei took a deep breath and said, "Uncle Jiu, you're right. As parents, we all hope that our children can live a good life. If my Yongying has no objection, then this matter can be discussed."
Deng Shirong nodded, looked at Guan Yongying, who had been listening, and asked, "Yongying, what do you think? Are you willing to marry as soon as possible?"
Seeing that her parents and the matchmaker were all looking at her, Guan Yongying was truly confused because everything had happened so quickly.
Before yesterday, no matchmaker had ever visited her house, but just over a day later, they were already talking about marriage.
Guan Yongying was somewhat at a loss, so she could only whisper, "I'll follow my parents' arrangements."
Deng Shirong had an idea when he heard this and said to Guan Dewei, "In that case, why don't we arrange the house visit before the production team starts harvesting rice?"
Seeing that his daughter had no objection, Guan Dewei made the decision, "Okay, then I'll follow your arrangements, Uncle Jiu."
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Today is the 19th, so how about we schedule the visit for the 22nd?"
Guan Dewei responded, "Yes!"
After deciding on a date for the house visit, the next step was to consider who would go.
The way of visiting the man's house in this era was very different from that in later generations.
In later generations, when a woman visited a man's home, she could bring as many people as she wanted without having to inform the man.
But in this day and age, when visiting the man's family, the woman had to tell the matchmaker clearly how many people she wanted to bring, and the matchmaker would then convey the information to the man's family.
Because the woman's family went to the man's house to visit, in addition to giving out red envelopes, the man's family also required each person to take a piece of pork belly back home, so it was necessary to know how many people were coming to ensure enough pork was prepared.
After some discussion, they finally decided on the people to visit the house. Deng Shirong then stood up and said goodbye, walking toward home under the scorching sun.
When he returned to the village, Deng Shirong was already sweating profusely from the heat.
It wasn't until this time that Deng Shirong realized that being a matchmaker wasn't easy.
Especially for matchmakers of this era, who had no means of transportation and had to rely on walking. If the matchmaking was to be done far away, it would take countless pairs of shoes to pass messages back and forth between the man's family and the woman's family to arrange a marriage.
Therefore, buying a bicycle was actually an urgent matter.
But now Deng Shirong only had a little over 64 yuan on him. He had to build a new house and buy a bicycle, so the funding gap was really huge.
After returning home to rest for a few minutes, drinking a bowl of rice soup to quench his thirst, and smoking a few cigarettes, Deng Shirong walked toward Deng Yunqiang's house again.
Noon.
In a dormitory of Pine Mountain High School, Deng Yunheng was eating with relish.
On his rice, in addition to the greasy fried radish, there was also a palm-sized piece of braised pork and a few green vegetables. The meal was extremely rich, and it almost made his roommate cry with envy.
In those days, except for a few students who were willing to buy vegetables in the school cafeteria, most of the students' families had poor living conditions, and all they ate were dried radishes brought from home.
As for why they were all dried radishes, it was because other vegetables weren't durable and would spoil after two days in hot weather. Unlike dried radishes, you could eat them for a week without them going bad.
A classmate with acne on his face came over with a lunch box and asked, "Yunheng, did you pick up any money on your way home last week?"
Deng Yunheng, the smartest among the seven siblings, naturally understood what his classmate meant. He swallowed the food in his mouth and laughed, "I didn't find any money, but my brother didn't get into college, so my dad placed his hopes on me, hoping that a college student would come from our family. To make me study hard, he even improved my living allowance at school."
Hearing this, the student with acne said with envy, "Your dad is so good to you!"
Deng Yunheng picked up the braised pork, took a bite, and nodded, "Well, my dad is really good to me."
While speaking, Deng Yunheng also glanced at his classmate's lunch box and saw that there was only a layer of dried radish on it. The satisfaction in his heart was truly indescribable.
Human happiness is achieved through comparison.
Before this, his living standard in school was similar to that of this acne-prone classmate and other roommates. Everyone ate dried radishes brought from home, and occasionally buying some vegetables in the cafeteria was a luxury.
Now, his classmates still ate the same thing as before, but he could not only eat vegetables but also dared to buy a piece of braised pork to improve his life. This created a huge gap invisibly.
After the two chatted for a few words, the student with acne couldn't bear it anymore, so he walked out of the dormitory with his lunch box and joined the other students who were eating dried radishes.
It was already uncomfortable enough for everyone to eat dried radish for every meal, and it would be even more uncomfortable if they saw others eating meat while they themselves were eating dried radish. So, to avoid affecting their appetite, the other students tried to stay away from Deng Yunheng as much as possible.
Deng Yunheng smiled when he saw this and then started eating with gusto. The more he ate, the more delicious the braised pork tasted. Summer vacation was about to start, and he had to have a good chat with his brothers and sisters about this topic when he got home.
(End of Chapter)