Er Niu glanced at Da Bao, then continued, “Here’s the thing—this time I wanted to set aside the things I’ve been preparing for He’er and Chen’er’s dowries first. He’er will be marrying off soon enough, so it’s about time we discussed this now.”

“He’er is marrying into the Wen family, and they are quite established. They sent such a generous betrothal gift, so I thought for He’er’s dowry, we could add twelve sedan chairs worth of items, plus the four shops in Qinghe County, and also the land property I recently bought in the neighboring town to designate for her dowry. We can see if there’s anything else later to add, but for now, this should be about it. Do you all have any objections?”

Lin He listened to Er Niu speak. She honestly felt that the betrothal gift was already quite substantial. Her father was talking about adding all this extra—it would probably surpass even many wealthy families’ provisions. Her own family truly didn’t need to make such a grand affair of it. Lin He said, “Father, I will accept the land and the shops, but please don’t bother preparing any more for the dowry. It’s already more than enough. We are just a small family; making such a fuss will surely invite gossip.”

“He’er, we are not afraid of gossip. In truth, giving you all this still feels insufficient to your mother and me. How can our family stop here? Everyone in the family knows this. Just accept it. We can afford to prepare these things; what is there to be afraid of people laughing about?” Er Niu looked at Lin He and said.

Da Bao chimed in from the side, “That’s right, He’er, this isn’t much. Just take it. Marrying into a family like the Wens, these things aren't optional. This will be your private fund from now on, so you should keep it safe.”

Lin He knew she couldn't win the argument against them, so she nodded. She thought that what her parents and older brother were saying was correct. Perhaps she personally didn't care about these things, and Wen Ningxuan didn't either, but in the eyes of others, this was about face. Her family's background already had a gap compared to the Wen family; if her dowry was meager, it might indeed look bad. Besides, the family could afford to prepare these items, so she decided not to argue further.

Seeing that Lin He had no more objections, Er Niu turned to Chen’er: “Then there is Chen’er. I plan to set aside the two shops in Tianxin Town as her dowry, and there is also a plot of land elsewhere that I intend for her. Chen’er is still young, so we can decide on the specifics later, but these things—the family must not touch them from now on. These are for the two sisters.”

Chen’er, hearing her father mention her name, looked around. Seeing that he wasn't speaking directly to her, she settled back down properly. She had even less concept of these things. She didn't care; she wasn't even engaged yet, so why talk about dowries?

Seeing that her parents had clarified these matters, Lin He then handed the keys and account books, which she had managed for the family over the years, to Huang Shi in front of everyone. She stated that once her eldest sister-in-law arrived tomorrow, she would hand over control of the household finances to her mother. She then discussed the monetary allocations for the family's ointment workshop with Da Bao.

Da Bao trusted Lin He completely, saying, “He’er, keep this money with you. We can discuss it if the family needs a major outlay. Right now, with the pastry shop, rent from some other shops, plus all this land, we won't be short of funds. You keep it all. When Yun Qi arrives, you don't need to tell her about this in detail; after all, this money was earned through your hard work alone.”

Er Niu and Huang Shi shared Da Bao’s sentiment. Lin He smiled and nodded. The real reason she wanted to hold onto the money was to help them save it first. Her parents weren't skilled at managing finances; if she gave it all to them at once, they wouldn't know what to do. If she held it for them, she could use it later to buy things for the family when the time was right, or save it until the younger ones grew up and needed it.

By the time the family finished discussing everything, it was already deep into the night. Er Niu and Huang Shi urged them to sleep, saying they had a busy day ahead tomorrow and would need to wake early. Everyone was feeling tired, so they retired to their rooms.

Finally, the day of Da Bao’s wedding arrived. It was unprecedentedly lively. The rooms inside and out were draped with the red silks used for weddings at that time, and red 'double happiness' characters were pasted everywhere outside the doors. Every face in the household was beaming with joy. Huang Shi truly possessed the air of a mistress of the house today, directing the maids in the courtyard and giving instructions about the procession to fetch the bride. Lin He smiled; people were often shaped by necessity. She rarely saw her mother act this way before, but today she looked quite the part.

Huang Shi saw Lin He standing there smiling at her and also smiled, saying, “He’er, why are you smiling at your mother? Is this outfit not nice? I told them I didn't need to wear this; your father insisted. I’m just not used to it.”

Lin He looked at Huang Shi. Today, her attire was indeed more refined than usual. Her top was a short, broad-sleeved style with a slanted collar, deep blue as the base with goose-yellow lapels. On the bottom, she wore a dark purple ruqun skirt, complemented by the jewelry set Lin He had bought her, pinned in her coiled hair, which gave her an air of dignified maturity. Lin He smiled and said, “No, Mother. I think you look magnificent dressed like this today.”

Huang Shi gave a playful glare and said, “Stop making fun of your mother here. Go see if your elder brother’s clothes are ready. I haven't asked him to do a single thing all morning, and I don’t know what he’s doing in his room, taking so long to come out when the bride will be arriving soon.”

Lin He agreed with a smile and headed toward Da Bao’s room. Before she even reached the door, she could hear Chen’er and Xiao Bao talking inside.

“Big Brother’s clothes look nice! Look at the flower pattern on this hat—it’s lovely. Let me try it on,” came Xiao Bao’s voice.

“Are you an idiot? Only the person getting married can wear this hat. You’ll have to wait a few more years if you want to wear one,” Chen’er retorted.

When Lin He walked in, she saw Chen’er and Xiao Bao wrestling over the groom’s hat. Da Bao, already dressed, was smiling as he watched them. Lin He said with a smile, “Stop fighting! Give the hat back to Big Brother quickly. If Mother sees this, she’ll scold you both again.”

Chen’er saw Lin He enter and smiled, saying, “Big Sister, look at Xiao Bao, being so shameless. He just wants to get married!”

“Big Sister, don't listen to Second Sister making things up. I just said the hat was nice, look!” He then handed the hat to Lin He.

Lin He smiled, took it, and handed it back to Da Bao. She then adjusted his clothes and said, “Mother said if you’re ready, you need to go out soon. It won’t be long before you have to leave to fetch the bride, and many guests will be arriving too. You need to go out and greet them.”