"Mother, do you really think we’ve earned much money from raising fish? Everyone in the village has started raising fish these past few years; the fish aren't selling well anymore, so how much money can we really make? It’s not as much as Father earns alone," Song Yuemei exaggeratedly stated.

"Don't you know where all your father's money goes? It goes into supporting your endeavors. If that’s the case, you don't need to contribute money. You can pay off the rest yourselves; your father and I will have nothing to do with it," Madam He declared loudly.

"What do you mean I should pay it off? I never saw any of that money; why should I pay? Whoever used it should pay for it!" Song Yuemei cried out, starting to get agitated upon hearing Madam He's words.

"Yuemei, it’s just five taels of silver. Our immediate family can manage that much. Don't argue anymore; we definitely have to provide this money," Qingshan said, showing an uncharacteristic firmness.

Qingshan then turned to Madam He and said, "Mother, I will bring the money over shortly. Please let me know what needs to be done for Yu'er’s dowry and when you plan to arrange it; I will go with you."

Madam He’s expression finally softened upon hearing Qingshan’s words. She replied, "We have already discussed it with the Zhao family. Neither of them is getting any younger, so we will hold the wedding in a month. We need to start preparing now."

Qingshan nodded to the side, while Song Yuemei remained silent, calculating in her mind. She certainly couldn't be expected to produce all five taels herself. Dongyu, that little slut, must have squirreled away a good amount of private savings; she ought to cough some of it up. Thinking this, she opened her mouth and asked, "Dongyu, as Yu'er is getting married, why are you just sitting there without saying anything? After all, Yu’er is technically your sister-in-law."

Dongyu hadn't said anything while they were arguing about the money. She felt that this debt didn't concern her at all and that she didn't need to get involved, preferring to watch the fireworks between Song Yuemei and her mother-in-law. Being unexpectedly called out by Song Yuemei made her pause slightly. After a moment of stunned silence, she looked at Madam He and Qingshan watching her, then smiled and said, "Indeed, Yu'er is marrying out, and I should offer something from my heart. But Mother, as you know, in this household, I have no money, no authority, and nothing valuable to offer. I will have to trouble Big Sister to handle the heavy lifting."

Dongyu was also a capable woman. She knew Song Yuemei wanted to drag her into this mess. With those few sentences, she managed to convey her difficult position while also signaling her willingness to contribute sentimentally. However, since Song Yuemei intended to involve Dongyu, she wouldn't let her off the hook so easily. Song Yuemei also smiled and said, "Dongyu, you truly jest. What do you mean, no money, no authority? Look at your own clothing and daily expenses—they are no less than mine. Qingshan gives me money to manage the entire household’s needs, but the money he gives you, you’ve kept for yourself, haven't you? You must have quite a bit stashed away by now. Why don't you just cover this expense? I will take care of the rest of the dowry preparation. If I have no money, I will just have to work harder."

"Big Sister, you can take Maomao with you, or you can pay the money, and I will prepare the dowry items. I have more time," Dongyu replied with a forced smile.

"We all know how skilled you are at embroidery, but that’s only good enough for your own clothes. It’s best not to use your work for Yu'er’s dowry. Otherwise, once Yu'er marries into her new home, her in-laws might mock our family because even the embroidery work is so careless," Song Yuemei scoffed dismissively.

"You... Fine, don't have me do the embroidery. I have no money anyway, and both Qingshan and Mother agreed that you should cover it. You are the one managing the household finances; it’s not my place to speak up," Dongyu conceded. Her embroidery truly wasn't as good as Song Yuemei's, so she chose not to argue the point.

"I don't care who pays this money, but it must be delivered to me before Yu'er’s wedding. You two go back and figure it out yourselves. I also have matters to discuss with your grandmother," Madam He said, standing up.

Song Yuemei and Dongyu watched Madam He walk into the inner room, then both stepped out of the courtyard entrance. Qingshan also followed his family back. Seeing Qingshan's family leave, Madam He went into Yu'er's room. Yu'er sat on the kang (heated brick bed) doing embroidery. When she saw Madam He enter, she called out "Mother," then lowered her head back to her needlework. Madam He sat quietly for a while before finally speaking, "Yu'er, what your father said is actually true. Your life after marriage might not be as rosy as I described. I arranged this match for you because I was too eager at the time. Do you blame me?"

Yu'er looked up at Madam He and said, "Mother, don't overthink it. Nobody can predict how good or bad it will be; it is my fate, and I blame no one. It’s just, Mother, there's really no need to gather such a large dowry for me. We are just an ordinary farming family; ten taels of silver is quite a substantial dowry. Can our family really manage it? We still owe money to Second Uncle's family. After I marry out, I won't even have the small income from my embroidery work. We will be paying that debt off for years; you and Father will have it even harder."

"You don't need to worry about this matter. Father and Mother will handle it. You just focus on doing your own tasks well. I will take you to town tomorrow to buy some fabric. Plus, there was some fabric included in the betrothal gifts from the Zhao family yesterday. You can make yourself some new clothes so you won't be laughed at by your in-laws," Madam He instructed.

Yu'er nodded. In truth, what did she feel? She didn't truly blame Father or Mother. Since they returned from town, even though the family wasn't wealthy, Mother and Father still treated her as if she were living in town. Her disposition was naturally different from the average girl in Linjia Village. If she were to marry into a common farming family, she might feel a sense of unfairness.

This Zhao Yu was actually quite suitable for what Yu'er desired in a husband. He was a scholar, and his family's financial situation was decent enough. This made Yu'er feel that marrying someone like him wasn't a complete loss for herself, so she had agreed when her mother first mentioned it. But now that Father and Grandmother were saying all this, though she didn't fully understand the details, she knew they only had her best interests at heart. Therefore, Yu'er felt conflicted. However, things had reached this point; no matter how conflicted she felt, she still had to marry. So, rather than dwelling on these thoughts, it was better to marry happily.

What surprised her, though, was how much effort Mother and Father were putting into this marriage. The five taels of silver was practically the entire family's liquid wealth. Since money had been scarce these past two years, Mother would likely have to go to great lengths to scrape together those five taels. On top of that, they still needed to procure other dowry items, which would cost a significant amount. Regarding the money owed by Big Brother, Yu'er felt he absolutely should pay. Big Brother had never contributed anything to the family but had siphoned off quite a bit. She felt that even asking for ten taels wouldn't be excessive. But she considered asking Big Brother for the money so she could leave some for Mother and Father, ensuring their lives wouldn't become too miserable after she left.