Chapter 432: Third Sister Is Getting Engaged!
Beiguan Village. Hot Pot and Grill Restaurant!
When Li Yi pulled up in his car, Long Zhanjun and the others were hard at work.
Since Li Yeqiao had been busy with matters at the cotton mill alongside An Hong and the others lately, Long Zhanjun had been juggling the roles of manager and bookkeeper, running around like a top.
As soon as Li Yi walked in, he called over Long Zhanjun and Third Sister Li Na!
“Xiao Yi, just spit it out—I’ve got to head over to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative in a bit!” Third Sister said.
“What are you going to the supply and marketing cooperative for?”
“We’re running low on soy sauce at the store, so I need to go buy some!”
“The soy sauce isn’t urgent. Let’s talk about the two of you first!” Li Yi said.
Hearing this, Long Zhanjun and Third Sister exchanged a glance, both blushing slightly.
“Don’t worry about us—we can handle it ourselves!” Third Sister said.
“I actually wanted to discuss the engagement with you two. If you don’t think it’s necessary, then I won’t get involved!”
Hearing this, Third Sister quickly replied, “It’s necessary—who said it isn’t?”
Li Yi smiled and said, “Mom and Dad are coming back in a day or two. Shouldn’t you two discuss it? Why not just get engaged first? It’s making us nervous seeing you like this!”
“We’re just dating—why does that make you so nervous?” Third Sister asked, glaring at him.
“I’m just afraid you two won’t be able to control yourselves. I certainly don’t want to see you get pregnant before marriage!” Li Yi said.
“You have no right to lecture me on this matter. I don’t have that kind of ability, but certain people certainly do…”
Before Li Na could finish, Li Yi hurriedly cut her off: “Just tell me if you want to get engaged. If you do, I’ll have my parents stay a couple more days. If not, I’ll send them back to the village tomorrow!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Long Zhanjun hurriedly said, “Let’s do it. We absolutely must!”
“But doesn’t an engagement require both sets of parents to be present? Can your mother even make it here in such a short time?” Li Na asked, looking at Long Zhanjun.
Although Li Na had never been engaged before, she knew exactly what was involved in an engagement.
Normally, before the engagement banquet, the parents from both sides should meet to discuss and decide on details such as the date, the dowry and bride price, and the banquet proceedings, to avoid last-minute disagreements and conflicts.
But she was also aware of the situation in Long Zhanjun’s family. Although his mother and sister had both undergone surgery, they were still recovering.
Furthermore, the journey from Yong County to Beijing would take at least three to five days, even under the best circumstances.
Given the frail health of Long Zhanjun’s mother and sister, traveling two thousand kilometers to the capital would be quite a challenge.
Nevertheless, Long Zhanjun looked at Li Na and said, “I’m the head of my household. If my mother can’t make it, she won’t come!”
Long Zhanjun understood exactly what Li Yi meant; he was seeking a commitment.
Of course, this might also reflect Uncle Li and Aunt Li’s wishes.
Therefore, if he wanted to continue seeing Li Na, this engagement had to be formalized.
Li Yi nodded and said, “The engagement is mainly to give each other a promise and a guarantee, and also to silence the gossip of others, so people won’t say you’re being promiscuous or immoral. As long as you two agree, that’s all that matters!”
“Should we treat everyone to a meal then?” Li Na asked.
“That depends on your personal circumstances,” Li Yi replied. “If you want to keep things simple and save the big celebration for the wedding, then a simple meal at home will suffice. But if you want to hold a larger engagement ceremony, you’ll need to put more effort into the preparations.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Third Sister said, “Let’s keep it simple. Everyone’s been pretty busy lately!”
Long Zhanjun shook his head and said, “No, that wouldn’t be fair to you!”
“What’s so unfair about that? We can just have a big celebration when we get married!”
Then Li Na spoke up again: “Xiao Yi, this afternoon, bring Mom and Dad and Xiao Xue to the shop. We’ll prepare a meal, and we’ll just go through the motions.”
Before Li Yi and Long Zhanjun could object, she added, “All right, it’s settled then. I’m heading to the supply and marketing cooperative now!”
Then, under the stunned gazes of Li Yi and Long Zhanjun, she strided away with a flourish!
After Li Na left, Long Zhanjun asked, somewhat at a loss, “What do we do now?”
Li Yi gave a wry smile. “What else can we do? We’ll just have to go along with it!”
“Alright then. I’ll head into town this afternoon to get some engagement supplies and buy some meat and vegetables. Even though we’re keeping it simple, it can’t be too plain!” Long Zhanjun said.
“I’ll handle the banquet arrangements—that’s the bride’s family’s responsibility. I’ll also take care of bringing Mom and Dad over!”
Li Yi continued, “Your job is to prepare the betrothal gifts and the monetary gift, including the ‘Four Treasures’: cigarettes, liquor, tea, and candy. You’ll need two sets of each.”
“And don’t forget the wedding pastries, wedding fruits, fish, meat, and so on. All gifts must be wrapped with red string or red paper—it’s festive and brings good luck.”
Long Zhanjun nodded and said, “Alright! But how much should I prepare for the betrothal gift?”
“Just a normal amount. Anyway, whatever you give will eventually be handed over to my third older sister—our family won’t keep a single penny!” Li Yi said.
“Got it!”
“Hmm…”
………
After discussing the engagement, Li Yi didn’t linger at the shop and immediately returned to the courtyard house in the city.
When Li Yi explained the situation to his parents and Jiang Xue, everyone was stunned.
None of them had expected Li Na to be so hasty, settling the matter so easily without even taking the time to choose an auspicious date.
But since it had come to this, Li Shankui and Zhang Yuehong had no choice but to start making preparations.
Whether it was an engagement or a wedding, this was a matter for both sides; preparations weren’t limited to the groom’s family—the bride’s family also had to prepare return gifts, an engagement banquet, and so on.
After lunch, Li Yi took his parents to a large department store in town to buy a return gift for Long Zhanjun.
According to local custom, when the groom’s family presents the betrothal gifts, the bride’s family must immediately prepare a return gift.
The bride’s family’s return gift typically consists mainly of clothing—one or two outfits, a pair of shoes, or jewelry such as a watch.
In short, the specific items and their value depend on the bride’s family’s financial situation.
The Li family’s circumstances were now far better than they had been a year ago, and since Li Na was the only unmarried member of the family, Li Shankui and his wife naturally didn’t want to shortchange their daughter.
With Li Yi “stirring the pot” on the sidelines, the family went on quite a shopping spree once they arrived at the mall.
By the time the three of them emerged from the Wangfujing Department Store, Jiang Longcheng’s small SUV was already packed to the brim.
After purchasing the return gifts, Li Yi didn’t go home but took his parents straight to the store.
Upon arriving at the shop, Li Yi immediately wrote a notice of temporary closure himself and posted it outside the door.
After that, he directed Dongzi and the others to get busy preparing for the evening’s engagement ceremony.
Just as Long Zhanjun had said, Third Sister intended to keep everything simple so as not to disrupt the shop’s business.
But as her younger brother, he couldn’t let everything be kept simple. After all, whether it was the engagement or the wedding, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event for Third Sister—it simply couldn’t be too slapdash.
Therefore, Li Yi decided outright to close the shop for the evening and invite the whole family over to witness Third Sister and Long Zhanjun’s engagement ceremony together!