The old woman rummaged through the cabinet for a long time before finding an old piece of wrapping cloth. Good heavens, even though it was old, this thing was clearly high-quality.

Cheng Ying touched it; it was very smooth, and the embroidery on it was clearly done by her own grandmother. The craftsmanship was exquisite.

Even Auntie noticed, "Mom, this is good stuff; the needlework is truly impressive." The old woman said, "It's something from my old days. If you like it, I'll make you a scarf later." Cheng Ying replied, "Change the color, and it's a scarf." The old woman said, "You quiet down for a moment.

I want to look at this dress; it's really nice." Cheng Ying quipped, "Of course, look at whose handiwork it is." Aunt Gan took out a pair of high-heeled sandals made of calfskin. "Try them on." Cheng Ying exclaimed, "Oh, Auntie, you even prepared these!" Aunt Gan said, "I figured you'd favor Mom's layered-sole shoes, but they don't go well with the dress.

Luckily, it’s just for today, so bear with it, or this qipao will be wasted." Cheng Ying cooed, "Oh, Auntie really knows how to dress someone up. Look how pretty I am, like a newlywed." Aunt Gan examined Cheng Ying—the deep purple qipao, the kidskin shoes—they managed to make the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl exude a sophisticated charm, maturing her by several years.

It actually suited Yingzi's temperament very well. "She is a newlywed, essentially." The old woman slapped her forehead.

"Did you prepare the items?" Cheng Ying asked, "What items?" The old woman replied, "The things to be wrapped in the handkerchief, the ones for Chi Wu—those are the betrothal tokens." Cheng Ying thought to herself that she had only heard of exchanging rings at weddings; she never knew betrothal required exchanging tokens. Forgive her; she had never attended a betrothal banquet in the village and truly had no idea.

Aunt Gan said, "So you didn't prepare anything? What is Mom supposed to do?

The outsiders are waiting for the two children to exchange tokens." The old woman exclaimed, "Oh, you unlucky child, what have you been busy with? You didn't prepare for something this big?

What can I possibly prepare? I don't have anything valuable to pull out right now either!" Cheng Ying held the red silk in her hand.

"This is good enough. What else is needed?

Don't worry, Wu Zi isn't picky." The old woman snapped, "You know nothing! This isn't about whether Wu Zi is picky.

Relatives and friends are all watching. You unlucky child!" Cheng Ying felt helpless; no one had told her beforehand.

"Then what should we do?" Aunt Gan offered, "Oh, I have a necklace here, but this might not seem suitable for a man." Cheng Ying asked, "What do others usually put inside?" Aunt Gan explained, "Usually, it's something relatively valuable. Some wrap twenty yuan, some fifty yuan, generally depending on the family's situation." Cheng Ying decided, "That's easy, let's just put money in." Aunt Gan looked at Cheng Ying, thinking her niece was usually quite sharp; why was she so slow now?

"Did you and Wu Zi talk beforehand about what he's putting in his red handkerchief? This matter, ideally, the items in both handkerchiefs should be similar.

That way, both sides save face. If yours is too extravagant, it slights the other party.

If you put in too little, it implies you look down on them. This needs careful consideration." This, she thought, was social etiquette.

Cheng Ying realized this was tricky. "How about I ask Wu Zi what he's putting in?" Aunt Gan thought that would be the best solution.

But before Cheng Ying could speak, the Village Head shouted from outside, "Oh, where is Yingzi? Hurry out and exchange tokens!

This marriage is settled. Are you shy now?

It’s late for that." A crowd of young people followed, cheering boisterously. Cheng Ying thought to herself, Shy my foot.

Chi Wu thought that once these tokens were exchanged, Cheng Ying would officially be his wife—a wife without a marriage certificate, but a wife nonetheless. In the eyes of the villagers, they were already a family unit.

From now on, they would jointly manage affairs. Nothing was more nerve-wracking than this moment.

Yingzi, please don't go back on your word at this crucial juncture! Chi Wu’s heart hammered so hard he felt it might leap out of his chest.

Cheng Ying glanced out the window and told her grandmother, "It's fine, I have something. Don't worry." The old woman warned, "Don't mess around, this is the most critical moment!" Cheng Ying assured her, "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you.

Last time Wu Zi and I came back, I hid some good things in the cabinet. I’ll find them for you." Saying this, Yingzi went back to rummaging through the cabinet and emerged holding two gleaming, golden bars.

"Will these do?" The old woman froze. "You prodigal girl, you just tossed something like this casually into the cabinet?

You're going to anger me to death! There hasn't been a soul in this house for half a year!" The old woman forgot about her granddaughter's engagement and slapped her across the face.

Cheng Ying thought to herself, I'm willing to do it! I took them out of my space.

Can I tell you that? I'm so wronged!

Aunt Gan had the same reaction as the old woman upon seeing the items in Yingzi's hands: this child had no sense of proportion. This truly wasn't something left lying around in an old house.

However, wrapping this for a betrothal was indeed impressive. "I'm just afraid it’s too much, overshadowing what Wu Zi has, which might not be good." Cheng Ying stated firmly, "It’s fine.

This shows how much we value the other party; it definitely won't be wrong." She thought to herself that she would rather outshine Chi Wu than have less than him. Chi family's old woman was asking for trouble; if she wasn't put in her place now, she’d become unbearable later.

This was the moment to bring glory to her own grandmother. With that, she swiftly wrapped one gold bar in the red silk embroidered with some unknown flower and turned to leave, giving the old woman no chance to backtrack.

The old woman looked at the remaining items in her hand. "Didn't they say that trading private gold gets you arrested?

Where did this child get this stuff?" Aunt Gan looked at the item in the old woman's hand. Although trading private gold was illegal, people had always done it.

Not to mention others, even her own husband could easily procure a couple of these bars through unofficial channels. "Mom, now is not the time to discuss this; let's go out first." The old woman wrapped the item in a handkerchief and tucked it into her bosom.

"I don't feel secure just holding it like this. Lanzi, stay close to Mom, don't let Mom lose it." Aunt Gan looked at the old woman, wondering why she was so attached and so thoroughly down-to-earth.

"Yes," she replied, before helping the old woman out. Outside, the entire courtyard was gathered.

The exchange should have been a private affair between the young couple. But the villagers knew this pair was wealthy and everyone wanted to see what they exchanged for the betrothal.

They enthusiastically insisted, preventing Chi Wu from pulling his fiancée away. Cheng Ying felt fortunate; thankfully, although her space didn't recognize paper currency, it recognized precious metals.

Ever since she discovered she could store these items, whenever Cheng Ying acquired excess money, she would get a couple of bars and put them away. It was just that buying such things was inconvenient in this era.

Buying from formal institutions involved exorbitant markups, and the era was unstable; showing off wealth was dangerous. Cheng Ying didn't want anyone to know she was hoarding these.

So, these items were procured through special channels arranged by Sun Pangzi. The group of young people called out, "Hey, open it up and let us see what you city folks put inside!

Let us broaden our horizons!" This sort of teasing was fine from the youngsters. Chi family's old woman sat primly on the side, her chin angled at a forty-five-degree angle, exuding elegance and nobility.

Her grandson's red handkerchief held items that were certainly presentable; they could hold their own in any setting. Chi family's old man watched the young people with a smile.

Whether they showed the contents or not didn't matter; as long as his grandson was happy. Cheng Ying felt dizzy from the commotion, already tired to begin with.

"What's the big deal? You just want to see it, right?

I’ll show you all later, why must it be right now?" Cheng Ming retorted, "We want to see it now! Is what you sent something that can't see the light of day?" Cheng Ying couldn't be bothered to respond.

Chi Wu generously opened his handkerchief. "Take a look." It was an ordinary red handkerchief printed with the double happiness character, inside which were a pair of gold wedding bands.

Chi Wu picked up the smaller one and slipped it onto Cheng Ying’s finger, putting the other one on himself. The villagers weren't particular about this custom, but rings for a betrothal were indeed rare in those days—that was solid gold!

Inside the handkerchief was also a jade bangle; this was what Chi family's old woman had prepared for Cheng Ying. Unfortunately, the villagers couldn't recognize this item.

They only knew it was jade; no one had ever discussed its true value. It was like a pearl hidden in the dust; no one recognized the splendor of the jade bangle.

They only heard a few young loafers exclaim, "Wow, gold! Wu Zi, how can you be so generous?

How are we supposed to find wives now?" Indeed. Chi Wu had made such a display; if their fiancées compared favorably, they would be in trouble when it came to their own betrothals.

Cheng Ming grumbled, "I regret it, I regret it! I shouldn't have let you open it." The old woman's face flushed deep red.

A bunch of country bumpkins! The valuable thing is that bangle, alright?

No, that’s not something measurable by monetary value—it’s jade, it nourishes a person. Chi Wu replied, "I'm only getting engaged once, so naturally, I must prepare properly.

If you're afraid of comparison, then don't get married." The group of rowdy kids shouted, "Yingzi, open yours and let us see! Let us see!" Those drinking at the table craned their necks to watch the excitement over here.

Cheng Ying felt a little embarrassed. Compared to the preparations made by Chi Wu and his family, her offering seemed rather crude, lacking in thoughtfulness.

But the kids insisted on making a fuss. As Yingzi held out the red silk with one hand, Chi family's old woman’s eyes lit up—a good item.

Seeing the embroidered mandarin ducks on the silk, she nodded in satisfaction; it truly showed effort. The rude kid Cheng Ming scoffed, "What good thing is this, wrapped in such a large piece of rags?

Why didn't you prepare a proper handkerchief?" Chi family's old woman couldn't stand it anymore and glared at the boy. That’s due to your lack of taste.

Cheng Ying said weakly, "What do you know?" She felt shaky saying it herself. Then she unfolded the silk, revealing a glittering gold bar.

"This." Chi Wu looked at what Yingzi had brought and was quite satisfied. Yingzi valued money so much; giving him a gold bar proved that her regard for him had risen to the same level as money.

Cheng Ming exclaimed, "Oh my God! If my fiancée gave me this for the token exchange, I’d consider it worth giving her a pair of rings!

Wu Zi, you made out like a bandit!" The villagers had never seen anything like this. They looked at Cheng Ying as if she were crazy.

The Cheng family's foolish girl is being wasteful again! It's just a man, a man going to the top university, and she gives him something worth a gold fish?

The Eldest Aunt’s face turned red seeing this scene. What a prodigal girl!

She thought, If her own child could make the family proud by getting into university, how could she bring out something like this for the betrothal? It’s forcing him to sell blood!

She insists on overshadowing us, doesn't she? The Eldest Aunt's chest felt ready to explode.

Looking at her own hapless son, she thought, What the hell are you cheering for?