Chapter 550 - 565: Delivering the Dowry

Blushing, Jiang Xia hastily turned and hurried back to the house next door, not seeing the look of annoyance in An Ning’s eyes.

No one noticed their brief interaction; it all happened in a flash.

After the pig was butchered, there was still much to do.

An Ning took on the heavy task of chopping the bones. An Guoping went even further, taking on the job of carving the meat himself, rendering the professional butcher unnecessary.

In An Sancheng’s words, if a future doctor didn’t even dare take a knife to a pig, how could he possibly treat patients?

Hearing this, An Guoping could only agree. He had a point!

Fortunately, he didn’t embarrass himself, nor did he let his years of study go to waste. Although the carving knife felt a bit awkward in his hand, he really did get a feel for "dissecting the meat."

By the end, as An Guoping was carving the meat, he was muttering about how healthy the pig’s body was.

"The liver’s good, lungs are good, the heart is good," he mumbled on.

If his family didn’t know what he was doing, it would have been, frankly, a little unnerving.

While An Guoping was handling the pork, Master Tang from next door came over to cook.

With his professional technique and fantastic recipe, he started stewing a pot of his modified pig-butchering feast on the wood-fired stove in the courtyard.

The rich aroma filled the air, tempting everyone’s appetite.

Hei Dan’er, with his twin younger brothers, squatted guard in front of the stove under the noble pretext of watching the fire.

Master Tang was very fond of Hei Dan’er. Although the boy was mischievous, he wasn’t the type to be an unreasonable pest.

Aside from being a bit expensive and a drain on his father, he was a great kid.

The courtyard was bustling with people from Uncle An’s family, the Jiang family from next door, and An Ning’s own family, all coming and going, checking on details and filling in the gaps as they prepared for the wedding.

With so many people around, An Ning had nothing left to do after she finished chopping the bones, so she decided to go see Yin Xuemei.

She took a parcel with her and headed toward the other end of the village.

Yin Xuemei hadn’t returned to her home in the city. Instead, she had acquired a residential plot in the village and built a house. Whenever she wasn’t in Beijing, she would come back here to live.

Over the past five years, Yin Xuemei’s career had taken off. Her birth family had come to cause trouble a few times, but Yin Xuemei never once gave in.

However, to shut some people up, Yin Xuemei personally went to court and filed a petition stating that aside from a portion of monthly support payments, she wouldn’t give them another cent.

This amount was also what was left after being split among several children, so it really wasn’t much.

After that, Yin Xuemei had almost completely cut ties with her family and had no contact with them.

An Guoming had definitely done something behind the scenes; otherwise, those people wouldn’t have backed off so quickly.

Through their repeated interactions and mutual support, the two of them slowly got together, and their story became a heartwarming local tale.

Along the way, An Ning greeted the villagers, calling out a whole series of titles like "Second Grandpa" and "Third Great-Aunt."

Whenever An Ning passed by, people would praise her, saying what a sensible and well-spoken child she was.

In reality, all she did was greet them.

An Ning figured that other children didn’t speak up or greet people because they couldn’t remember so many different titles.

She had to admit, she was really starting to enjoy it.

She arrived at Yin Xuemei’s home—a small, picturesque courtyard. Unlike other people’s yards, it wasn’t packed with vegetables.

Yin Xuemei’s little courtyard had flowers, grass, and a water feature, complete with a pavilion, a swing, and a grapevine trellis.

’This courtyard is so beautiful, I almost want to move in myself.’

"An Ning!"

Yin Xuemei, who had been watering her flowers, dropped her watering can and ran toward An Ning, pulling her into a tight bear hug.

"You’re finally back."

"You missed me that much? Don’t tell me my second brother has been bullying you."

"Heh, of course not."

Yin Xuemei let go of An Ning and led her by the hand to the pavilion, where she poured her some flower tea and set out some snacks.

"These are all your favorites. I heard from your second brother that you got back yesterday, so I figured you’d come over today. I just made them."

"I also made you some tea eggs, just how you like them. They’re a little hot right now, but they’ll be ready to eat in a bit."

"Oh—right, right, I made you an outfit. Wait a moment."

’Watching Yin Xuemei bustle about,’ An Ning thought, ’I can’t help but feel my good friend and future sister-in-law is turning into a sort of surrogate mother.’

Yin Xuemei had thought of everything for An Ning, from food and clothing to lodging and travel.

By the time the two of them finally sat down, the table between them was laden with things.

"You’re making me feel embarrassed. How can I possibly present my little gift now!"

An Ning held up the parcel in her hands, but Yin Xuemei quickly snatched it away.

"Stop being cheeky."

"Whoa—it’s so heavy! What on earth did you put in here!"

Yin Xuemei’s movements were fast, but she opened it with exceptional care.

Inside the red wrapping was a three-tiered rectangular box. When Yin Xuemei opened it, her eyes went wide. She quickly put the box down and said:

"No, no, this is too valuable!"

"Take it back right now!"

An Ning placed a hand on the box, pressing it down onto the tabletop.

"You know I’m not going to take it back."

"Besides, this is a dowry I’ve prepared for you as a good friend. How could you have the heart to refuse it?"

Yin Xuemei understood An Ning’s intentions but still felt it was far too precious.

The box had three tiers. The first was filled entirely with gold.

Heavy, Jin Cancan little gold bars were packed without a single gap, stacked two layers deep, right up to the lid.

Yin Xuemei pushed the first tier shut and pulled open the second. Her pupils reflected a deep red.

The second tier contained a box filled to the brim with exquisite pigeon’s-egg-sized rubies of the highest grade.

"An Ning, did you stumble upon a mine or something?"

Sipping her tea, An Ning shook her head and chuckled. She thought for a moment, then said, "Something like that, I guess."

Yin Xuemei closed the second tier and pulled open the third.

Lustrous, green, top-grade jadeite—a complete set of jewelry.

Earrings, a necklace, a bracelet, and a hairpin. It felt cool and smooth to the touch.

"This—"

Now Yin Xuemei was even more reluctant to accept it.

"Yin Xuemei, I told you, this is my dowry gift to you. It has nothing to do with my second brother; it’s based on our relationship alone. Or am I not worthy?"

Yin Xuemei shot An Ning a look and said, "You and that sharp tongue of yours. It’s getting more and more formidable."

"I’m afraid I’m the one who’s not worthy."

An Ning smiled warmly and said in all seriousness, "You are."

Those two words made Yin Xuemei’s nose tingle as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

She closed the box and looked at An Ning. "Do you know why I agreed to marry your second brother?"

"Isn’t it because you love him?"

"Well... I do love him, of course, but your second brother had one major bonus point in his favor."

An Ning thought hard. Her second brother...

"My second brother is... sharp-tongued? Black-hearted?"

Yin Xuemei laughed through her tears.

"Oh, you. I should really record that and play it for your second brother."

"You don’t get it. If my second brother heard it, he’d just say, ’My sister is right!’"

Yin Xuemei and An Ning burst out laughing, doubling over in hysterics. They both agreed that An Ning had hit the nail on the head.

After they finished laughing, Yin Xuemei said with a hint of seriousness, "Your second brother’s greatest advantage is that he’s your second brother."