The Shen Family
When Shen Mama received the call from Shen Baba, she was utterly stunned. What was this all about?
Mo Chen's father had arrived?!
Frightened, Shen Mama immediately ran to the neighbor's house to find a few cleaning ladies, offering them overtime pay to clean the entire Shen residence from top to bottom.
Hearing about the overtime pay, the ladies naturally put their hearts into their work, tidying up the Shen house efficiently before Shen Baba returned.
By the time Mo老爷子 and the old butler arrived at the Shen family's parking area, they were both awestruck by the scene before them.
It wasn't that they hadn't seen more luxurious places, but to have such a courtyard house in a rural village was indeed very surprising.
"Come, come, Brother Mo and Brother Xu, please come in." Shen Baba hurried to welcome Mo老爷子 and the old butler. On the way, Shen Yao had already told Shen Baba that the old butler's surname was Xu.
Mo老爷子 and Shen Baba were actually not far apart in age; Shen Baba was nearly sixty, and Mo老爷子 was sixty-three.
However, despite their similar ages, the two men seemed like they belonged to different generations. Although Mo老爷子 was well-preserved compared to others his age, he couldn't compare with Shen Baba and his peers.
Thus, when Mo老爷子 heard Shen Baba call him "Brother Mo," he felt a sense of helplessness because Mo老爷子 had assumed Shen Baba was at most in his early forties.
Shen Baba welcomed Mo老爷子 and the old butler into the Shen home and immediately learned that his wife had already arranged for people to clean the house.
The meeting of the two families caught the Shen family by surprise, but arrangements were quickly made.
Mo老爷子, Shen Guan Jia, and the bodyguards were all arranged by Shen Baba to stay at the neighboring farm-to-table restaurant. Mo Chen, primarily, continued to stay in Mo Xuan's room.
Shen Baba quickly arranged for the kitchen to prepare a meal while he personally accompanied Mo老爷子 and the others, chatting with them.
After an exchange of pleasantries, Shen Baba instantly felt that it was fortunate his eldest son was going to Hong Kong. If it were his second son, he truly wouldn't be confident in handling Mo老爷子.
After dinner, Mo老爷子 brought up the matter of Mo Chen and Shen Yao's marriage.
Shen Baba immediately agreed that the wedding procedures could be the same as in their hometown, as long as the young couple lived a good life after marriage.
Upon hearing Shen Baba say the bride price would only be 80,000 yuan, Mo老爷子's expression immediately soured.
"Why can the bride price only be 80,000 yuan? Young people online today say that ordinary families get two to three hundred thousand for weddings. What is our Yao Yao lacking? Why should the bride price be so much less than others?" Mo老爷子's tone was one of strong disagreement.
This left Shen Baba completely bewildered, as were the other members of the Shen family.
Was Yao Yao their daughter or the Mo family's daughter? Who would be unhappy about receiving less bride price?!
"No, we are marrying off our daughter, not selling her. What's the point of asking for such a high bride price? Wouldn't people say we are greedy for wealth?" Shen Baba said sternly.
"No, this matter must be decided by me. I've even brought 8.88 million yuan for the bride price. Not a penny can be less. Our Yao Yao is countless times better than others, so the price naturally has to be doubled!" Mo老爷子 said with utmost seriousness, and then the butler immediately took out a bank card from his pocket and placed it on the table.
Shen Yao couldn't help but twitch her lips. Butler Grandpa, didn't you say you wouldn't offer such a high bride price? Why did you still bring so much?!
The Shen family: Is millions of yuan really that casually offered!
Both sides remained steadfast, and the matter could not be settled.
In the end, to the bewilderment of the younger generation, both sets of parents "parted on bad terms" over the issue of the bride price.
Consequently, for the next few days, Mo老爷子 could always be seen constantly talking to Shen Baba about Shen Yao's virtues and the matter of the bride price.
Each time, Shen Baba would be driven to the point of jumping with frustration but felt helpless.
From this, it was evident that Mo老爷子 truly adored Shen Yao, and by extension, he doted on the two young children immensely.
Hearing this, even though Shen Baba was reluctant to part with his daughter, he admitted that he was very relieved to entrust his daughter to the Mo family.
Finally, he reluctantly accepted the 8.88 million yuan bride price. In any case, he would not touch this bride price and would let Yao Yao take it back, effectively considering it her pre-marital property.
Then, they would add some of their own money to cover all the furniture for the couple's new house and buy them a car!
This was the custom in their region. For marriages, the bride price was not usually high; it ranged from 20,000 yuan to seven or eight thousand yuan, with the latter being considered quite high for the local financial situation.
Furthermore, after marriage, most parents would give their daughters half or even more of the bride price to use as their own, and the responsibility of furnishing the marital home, excluding the bed, fell to the bride's family.
Those with means would also provide their daughters with a car or property as pre-marital assets.
Shen Baba did not mention these customs to Mo老爷子, as he genuinely feared Mo老爷子 would pester him for days, just like before.
Mo老爷子 was very fond of the local environment and proposed to live there permanently, which was met with unanimous approval from the Shen family.
With Mo老爷子 staying here, even if Yao Yao married out and wanted to remain here, no one would say anything.
Mo Chen also directly became a hands-off manager, informing Luo Yunping and Xue Zhu that he would return to the capital once every half month to handle matters, and for the rest of the time, they were to take charge.
Because of this, Luo Yunping and Xue Zhu, for the first time, truly resented how convenient modern transportation was!
Pitifully, the two could only stay at the company, working overtime diligently.
The next day
Mo老爷子 and the old butler, driving the first tricycle they had purchased since arriving, headed straight for the mountain.
Watching the two elders, whose combined age exceeded 130, speeding away in their newly purchased tricycle, even the Shen family members, who had seen them several times already, couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety for them.
Since Mo老爷子 and the old butler arrived at the Shen family's home, Shen Baba and Shen Mama had, for various reasons, dragged them out for morning exercises every day.
They were taught martial arts, shown how to exercise, and coupled with the spiritual spring water that Shen Yao secretly added for them, the two men visibly looked several years younger than when they first arrived.
Mo老爷子's originally graying hair had also turned significantly darker, and the old butler had even taken off his reading glasses.
As a result, the two elders were like birds that had been released from their cages.
"Mo Chen, do you think your father is going through a rebellious phase in old age?" Shen Huaisang asked, looking at the small tricycle that had already climbed halfway up the mountain.
Mo Chen: ...
What could he say? He didn't want to agree, but the reality was precisely that.