"Little foxes have to buy a house to mate..."
Upon hearing that the little fox wanted to manage finances, Yu Xueqing rubbed her forehead in exasperation, but she still understood and comforted Xiaolan by saying:
"Xiaolan, don’t be scared. In Jiule City, the traditional dowry is usually two to three times the bride price."
"How about we switch it up, I’ll help you solve the bride price issue, and you help me with the dowry problem."
Mentioning marriage, Yu Xueqing suddenly thought of her own situation and couldn’t help but feel a little touched.
In Xia Dong, traditions for bride price and dowry vary by region.
In the early days of Jiule City, the bride price ranged from three to five thousand to thirty to fifty thousand, and the bride’s family would usually return two to three times the amount in dowry to the groom’s family.
Then came the schemer—since I’ve provided a car and a house for the marriage, shouldn’t I be able to get some money back from the father-in-law and mother-in-law?
The bride price increased from thirty to fifty thousand to over a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, with even absurd cases of the groom taking out loans and receiving over six million dowry from the bride’s family.
In Jiule City, when asked about bride price and dowry, ordinary people usually remain silent.
During her high school years, Yu Xueqing actually had quite a few female friends and buddies from the same study group.
But either they were already married or engaged, with lives revolving around family, leaving little time for them to reunite with old friends.
Sometimes, the way to get rich isn’t just about lacking paths; it’s simply that the local customs and the parents-in-law don’t see eye to eye.
"What? Jiule City has such customs, don’t you usually spend around eight hundred thousand on a wedding?"
The little fox was visibly shocked after hearing what Yu Xueqing said.
Ansheng displayed a look of existential doubt.
But then he became at ease.
The matchmaking candidates from his past life weren’t from Changxi Town but rather Changping Mountain. Different counties, different customs—it seemed normal.
However, comparing the two, Ah Qing’s customs are a bit outrageous!
No wonder, in the matchmaking market of the past life, there was never a saying about girls from Changxi Town not finding a match.
Your lips are sealed tight!
No wonder I come here every year for Oolong tea!
Feeling touched, Yu Xueqing, holding her little fox, headed out to the tea house and ordered two cages of char siu buns.
And there was Ansheng, crouched and sitting inside the tea house, looking oddly at the direction of the street.
The wish list in his mind occasionally refreshed.
"Wuwu... wasn’t it said that fools have their fortune? I’m about to work myself silly, and the only fortune is my weight gain. Pulling an all-nighter on the PPT and heading to work in the morning, wuwuwu Mazu, I really don’t want to try hard anymore! I want to venture out!—The tea master, who graduated at 7:30 a.m. for a full attendance bonus of three hundred bucks, cries out in prayer."
"Wish granted: a job that makes big money"
"Tea Academy graduates... I remember they should all have specialized in plant cultivation, right?"
In the past, Ansheng didn’t take these kinds of wishes to heart at all.
Because he himself was relying on being cute to get by, now even foxes in this world must come out to work, earning by being cute.
But ever since Changxi Town produced a Chen Nian, whenever Ansheng heard wishes requesting visas from Mazu, he would subconsciously look over to see what’s going on with the wisher.
The wishing girl’s soul floated in front, with her body trailing behind like a zombie, emitting a dense aura of resentment stronger than even a tormented ghost.
Ansheng looked strangely at the street, then at the Californian phone number in the wish list.
"Sending talent over to America ... seems a bit off no matter how you look at it, right?"
"No, no, no, a mere fox like me shouldn’t get involved in such matters, better pretend I didn’t see anything! That Chen Nian, apart from shaking flower hands, is also a master at playing American Iaido now."
Ansheng forced himself to ignore the desire for drama, shifting his attention to the shrimp dumplings on his plate.
"Xiaolan, why does your face look so weird? You don’t have to... you know, do you?"
Seeing Xiaolan’s odd expression, Yu Xueqing, while picking up some food for the little fox, asked.
Ansheng shook his head, pondering whether to inform old Chen about an outstanding young talent from their village.
Couldn’t get the overseas gossip on Chen Nian.
But seeing old Chen jump up with joy would also bring some amusement to Ansheng.
After morning tea, Yu Xueqing took Xiaolan to a nearby shopping street and bought a large piggy bank.
Her little fox said he wanted to save money, and naturally, Yu Xueqing had no reason to refuse.
A fox that makes money with its skills deserves to get paid.
After buying the piggy bank, Yu Xueqing took Xiaolan back to her Hongfa Tea House to grab some tea samples for live streaming sales demonstrations.
As she got out of the car, she heard a series of fox yips echoing by her ears.
’Bro, there’s no meat in your pure meat sausage!’
Yu Xueqing glanced sideways with a strange expression, noticing two tea-selling uncles squatting by the roadside, teasing an Arctic Fox.
The Arctic Fox, looking extremely unwilling, even refused the food handed into its cage, yipping with a strong and authentic foreign accent.
"Dad... what are those uncles doing?" Hugging her little fox, Yu Xueqing tried to stay far away from the yipping Arctic Fox, her expression puzzled as she entered the tea house and asked Yu Zhenghong.
"Heh... what else could they be doing, they’re envious."" Yu Zhenghong replied smugly, "Earlier, when they saw how our Master Fox welcomed guests at the door."
"Last night, when the live stream suddenly flooded with traffic, your dad naturally broadcasted it widely, fooling those old folks to come over and boost your stream’s popularity."
"When they saw Master Fox earned thousands in rewards and helped sell nearly a thousand worth of tea leaves, they went into a frenzy of envy."
"So, early this morning they went to the pet market, saying they’d get the most spiritual one back."
Yu Zhenghong, looking full of himself, feeling more pleased than worried about the profits.
His joy and pride stemmed from gaining face among old friends.
Now, with Master Fox’s protection, Ah Qing really did bring back a genuine Fox Immortal.
"Enough about those old folks, let me get a whiff of Master Fox’s fortune, come here grandpa’s little treasure!"
"I have top-grade votive incense here..." Yu Zhenghong, rubbing his hands together, placed Ansheng on the altar and solemnly lit the votive incense.
"Dad... I still feel there’s something off about the Arctic Fox the uncles brought back."
"It’s just a fox, what’s the problem?" scoffed Yu Zhenghong, then, holding the incense with a fawning expression, looked towards his household’s Master Fox.
"You’re too young to believe in those things, rely on your own two hands and hard work, don’t be superstitious."
’Bro, your goods aren’t legit, give me another batch.’ The Arctic Fox’s yips translated into a bizarre West Coast accent in Yu Xueqing’s mind, making scenes from ’The Godfather’ pop into her head.
Yu Xueqing always felt.
That Arctic Fox was full of rebelliousness....
Another tea house owner brought back an Arctic Fox from the pet market.
The owners were pondering how they could train their Arctic Fox to be like Ah Hong’s, able to draw in customers at the door and earn online through live streaming.