Chapter 674: Chapter 674: If There is a Bride Price, There Must Be a Dowry
“But now Cindy is married to Adrian Zhekova, and they are officially husband and wife. She is the lawful wife of Adrian.”
Old Madam raised her eyebrows, didn’t interrupt her, and just wanted to listen to what Christy was trying to say.
Christy continued, “Since Cindy has married into the Zhekova Family in a legitimate manner, there is no secret or bitterness between us. You willingly married her, and the rituals on both sides of the marriage should be observed by the Zhekova Family, right?”
To show confidence and fighting spirit in order to get the money, Christy was being particularly tenacious.
Christy also said, “Just now, Old Madam, you mentioned that your family is quite particular about manners and customs, so naturally you shouldn’t overlook the bride price. Before, it was because we were not in Belfard when Cindy got married, so we didn’t know about it, and there was no other way. But now that we are here, you should give us the bride price.”
Old Madam looked at Christy with amusement.
The Old Master looked toward Joshua, who sat beside Christy, maintaining an honest and naive expression, “Is this your idea too?”
Joshua was taken aback, not expecting the Old Master to ask him.
He hesitated for a moment before saying, “This is the result of our family’s discussion. Ordinarily, both parties would sit down and discuss before getting married. But now there is no dowry, and the children got married first. The order might be reversed, but the necessary procedures must be followed.”
“Exactly,” Christy chimed in.
She thought to herself that at least Joshua wasn’t holding them back.
Christy added, “Besides, the Zhekova Family is such a large family, and Adrian Zhekova is the future heir. If everything goes as planned, Cindy will become the future head of the Zhekova Family. If you don’t even give a dowry to your future mistress, won’t people laugh at you?”
“As for this matter, we haven’t told anyone outside; it’s just to maintain the dignity of the Zhekova Family. Since we are in-laws, it’s natural to share each other’s honor and disgrace, fortune, and misfortune. So regarding the fact that we won a daughter-in-law without spending a penny and not even meeting the in-laws, we haven’t mentioned a word about it outside.”
Wendy was too kind, asking for only 5 million is too little.
Just based on the Zhekova’s status and wealth, even doubling Mr. Lopez’s 10 million would still be too little to match the Zhekova family’s reputation!
However, Christy still spoke politely: “Considering the strength of the Zhekova family, how much is 5 million worth? Even a wedding won’t be enough. We are marrying off our daughter, not selling her, so we don’t want more to avoid misunderstandings on your part.”
“But we are afraid that if we ask for too little, it will damage the reputation of the Zhekova family. After all, ordinary families have a starting bride price of at least 200,000 dollars. The Zhekova family’s bride price should be at least 100 times that. Our family is asking for 5 million, but we will actually declare a higher amount to outsiders to give face to the Zhekova family.”
Old Madam chuckled, “So, should we thank you for considering the Zhekova family and Cindy’s well-being?”
Christy either didn’t hear Old Madam’s sarcasm, or pretended not to.
Regarding Old Madam’s comment, Christy modestly replied, “Old Madam, don’t be so polite. We are in-laws after all, and we naturally need to take each other into account. And since Cindy is now a daughter-in-law of the Zhekova family, I will definitely think of her well-being in order for her to live a better life in the family.”
“We were afraid that you would misunderstand us before and didn’t know much about us. In reality, our family is not poor, nor do we covet vanity. So today, we wanted to clear up these misunderstandings by sitting down and talking.”
Old Madam said, “Having a bride price for marriage is not unreasonable; it’s quite normal. Asking for 5 million is not beyond the Zhekova family’s reach. However, if there is a bride price, there should also be a dowry.”
Old Madam spoke with a smile, “Let’s not compare ourselves to those big families. After all, your family is just ordinary, with a little bit of money. It’s a bit difficult to use the standards of family alliances for you.”
“For example, my nephew’s family, my nephew’s wife brought her family business shares when she got married, and this was just one part of her dowry. Besides, there were numerous properties all over the country, and she also had her own company, which she brought into the marriage.”
“Among the younger generation in my maternal family who got married, it was the same. Although they can’t compare to the Zhekova family, they are also from prominent families. Just to keep their daughter from looking bad in comparison to their sisters-in-law, they brought quite a lot of dowry. Not to mention company shares, real estate, even the jade, and jewelry prepared for the daughters at home, many of them had to be stored in bank vaults.”
“During the wedding, the bride wore gold necklaces and bracelets on her hands and neck, filling up half her arm. After all, marrying into a family like the Zhekova family, they couldn’t let their own family lose face, right? They had to give face to their family.”
“However, since the Clarke family is just running a small restaurant, it’s a little too poor for us to ask too much of you. Even if we asked Cindy to bring the family restaurant shares into your family, it’s not worth much, is it?”