Xiao Ning was led through the crowd by her mother’s hand, and as soon as she entered the house, she saw Xia Chuan sitting next to her father, looking at her with a warm smile. Her already rosy cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.
"The eldest girl is shy, she’s shy, hahaha."
"The second girl just ran into the room, bring her out too."
"You’re going to be the Minister’s wife soon, don’t be shy, come out and let everyone have a look."
Unable to withstand the teasing of those around her, Xiao Ning quickly freed herself from her mother Lin Lan’s hand and ran directly into her own room.
Xiao Kangcheng looked at his usually composed eldest daughter, showing such a shy demeanor, and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He clasped his hands toward Xia Chuan and said, "My daughter was out of line, please forgive her, Minister."
Xia Chuan shook his head with a light laugh and said, "Father-in-law, there’s no need to call me that anymore. After the betrothal, we are family, you should start calling me Xia Chuan from now on."
Although Xiao Kangcheng had already heard the term "father-in-law" earlier, hearing it again brought a satisfied expression to his face, with his eyes unable to hide a smile. He replied softly, "Very well, from now on we are family, I will boldly call you Xia Chuan."
Among the onlookers in the crowd, many were around Xiao Kangcheng’s age, with daughters of their own, whether married or not. Witnessing this scene, they couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sense of emotional stir.
In the Ice Abyss World, relationships between men and women have always been casual.
This casualness doesn’t imply promiscuity; rather, people simply don’t take it seriously. Young men and women would get together if they liked each other, without needing parental consent or going through any procedure, just a verbal agreement, and it’s considered done.
Due to men’s inherent advantages in hunting, and generally being stronger than women in cultivation, families were typically patriarchal after forming, with women’s ties to their families being more emotional than practical.
In this way, a tradition favoring men over women isn’t really surprising, mainly because it affects the bond between the husband’s and wife’s families, often leading to complete estrangement over time, with scarcely any interaction.
Marrying off a daughter, in the Great Xia Camp, used to be no big deal.
After all, women themselves were not deemed important.
Such a tradition, once you get used to it, seems fine, since everyone follows it.
But Xia Chuan’s visit today made everyone realize that all of this could be changed.
Moreover, there’s now a protocol to follow!
All eyes unconsciously focused on Qiu Peng beside Xia Chuan, or more precisely, on the book scroll in his hand, with expressions filled with inexplicable meaning.
Seated on the chair, Xia Chuan noticed the crowd’s attention, shifted slightly, and nodded at Qiu Peng beside him.
Qiu Peng understood the cue, clapped his hands with a smile.
Immediately, six people cheerfully carried in six wooden boxes from outside.
"Today, for the daughters Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu of Xiao Kangcheng, Minister Xia Chuan wishes to propose marriage and has sent down six betrothal gifts, sincerely asking for your acceptance, dear father-in-law."
Qiu Peng opened the book, clearly reading from its contents.
The others, including Xiao Kangcheng, listened intently, not paying much attention, waiting for his next words.
"Gift one, a hundred pounds of Beast Meat."
The first box was opened on cue, revealing ten pieces of deep blue Cold Beast Meat inside, causing the crowd’s eyes to light up instantly.
"Tsk tsk, a hundred pounds of Cold Beast Meat, that’s 50 Contribution Value points!"
"What a grand gesture, I’d have to chop trees for days to earn that."
"Going out hunting, you’d have to catch three animals to get that much."
"And that’s just the first item, quiet, quiet, there are still five boxes to go!"
"Gift two, ten meters of cotton cloth."
The second box was opened, containing a roll of pure white, soft fabric.
"Gift three, two longswords."
"Gift four, six beast tooth-carved chairs."
"Gift five, ten pounds of aged wine."
"Gift six, two thousand pounds of coal stone."
As the remaining boxes were opened, the six betrothal gifts displayed, everyone inside the room was stunned, their expressions frozen in place.
"Cotton cloth, made from Bamboo Silk, if I remember correctly, the Camp Supply Department recently set the price at 20 Contribution Value points per meter."
"Two longswords alone are 600 Contribution Value points!"
"Aged wine, can’t trade for less than 80 points per pound, ten pounds is 800 points?"
"Beast tooth-carved chairs, I’ve seen them, slightly less exquisite than the ones in the leader’s room, but still 40 points for one, six is 240 points."
"Two thousand pounds of coal stone, that’s 100 Contribution Value points, so the first item, the Beast Meat, is the cheapest of the six?"
"These six betrothal gifts add up to about 2000 points?"
"Hiss... these gifts are way too much!"
"2000 points, the Hunting Team would take two to three months to earn that!"
After a long silence, the room suddenly filled with animated discussion.
The crowd’s emotions shifted from shock at the betrothal gifts to envy toward Xiao Kangcheng’s family, with most of the women exhibiting intense envy in their eyes, while the few unmarried ones were filled with longing.
"This... this... the betrothal gifts are too much, absolutely not, Sir... Xia Chuan, I cannot accept these things!"
Xiao Kangcheng jumped up from his chair with a start, disregarding his wife Lin Lan tugging at his arm, and directly refused Xia Chuan’s betrothal gifts.
To be honest, he certainly wanted these things, especially the aged wine. Last time Xiao Yuan exchanged a pound and gave him a taste, he’d been thinking about the flavor for days, waiting to save more Contribution Value points to trade again. Now, with ten pounds given, how could he not want them?