114: Price increase

Liu Nansheng took a deep breath and pushed the door open first. Chen Li followed half a step behind her, stepping into the house in her wake.

The eyes of the three people in the room turned in unison toward the doorway, focusing on Liu Nansheng and Chen Li just as they entered.

The scene in the living room was clear at a glance—Mr. Liu and Mrs. Liu were sitting side by side on that somewhat aged fabric sofa,

and on the single sofa beside them sat a Young Man who looked to be seventeen or eighteen, engrossed in playing with his phone.

Seeing the guests enter, he merely lifted his eyelids lazily, too lazy to even offer a greeting, before burying his head back into the world of his game.

"Hello, Uncle and Auntie, I am Chen Li." He said with a smile on his face, gently placing the gifts in his hand next to the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

Mr. Liu and Mrs. Liu heard him and came out from the living room to greet them, their faces plastered with polite smiles.

Mrs. Liu took the gifts while looking Chen Li over. "Oh my, you're here, that's enough, why bring so many things?"

Although she said this, her hands accepted them readily.

Mr. Liu also nodded. "Xiao Li, right? Come in and sit."

Chen Li followed Liu Nansheng into the living room, and Mrs. Liu greeted him with a beaming smile. "Xiao Li, come over and sit."

He did as asked, walking to the side of the sofa and sitting down opposite Mr. Liu.

"Nansheng, come and wash some fruit." Mrs. Liu pulled her daughter toward the kitchen and closed the sliding door behind them.

In the kitchen, while rummaging for a fruit platter, Mrs. Liu lowered her voice. "Can this Chen Li really afford a bride price of one hundred thousand? He looks so young; what kind of work does he do?"

In the living room, Mr. Liu was asking the same question.

Chen Li, following the story he had agreed upon with Liu Nansheng beforehand, answered calmly. "Uncle, I am a project manager at a technology company, with a monthly salary of a little over twenty thousand."

At this moment, Liu Nansheng and her mother returned to the living room carrying the sliced fruit.

The smile on Mrs. Liu's face faded noticeably. She placed the fruit platter on the coffee table and let her gaze sweep over Chen Li.

A monthly salary of twenty thousand? In her view, this figure was really not much.

Although the repair shop owner was a bit older, at least he was his own boss and could continue to support the family in the future.

This Chen Li looked like just an employee; one hundred thousand for the bride price was probably his limit. What else could they expect from him in the future?

The little abacus in her heart clicked away—the one hundred thousand bride price was just a stepping stone; what mattered was whether the son-in-law could become a long-term 'blood bank' for the family.

Her son was about to start college, and later he would need to buy a house and get married; wasn't money needed for all of it?

"Xiao Li, have some fruit."

Mrs. Liu handed over the fruit platter, her smile tinged with scrutiny. "Young people have a lot of pressure these days. Have you bought a house? When do you plan to buy one?"

Chen Li took the fruit and smiled modestly. "I'm looking, but it mainly depends on where Nansheng likes."

Mrs. Liu nodded thoughtfully, but in her heart, she was even more certain of her judgment.

It seemed he had no potential; it would be better to have her daughter meet the repair shop owner sooner rather than later.

Mrs. Liu's face was piled with a warm smile, but her eyes revealed shrewd calculation.

While handing fruit to Chen Li, she mentioned it casually:

"Xiao Li, to tell you the truth, our Nansheng has been very popular since she was little. Recently, several people have come to propose marriage for her.

Among them is a boss who runs a repair shop. He became his own boss at a young age, and he is willing to pay a bride price of two hundred thousand."

She paused deliberately, observing Chen Li's reaction. "Heh heh, young people these days really have guts."

The meaning behind these words could not be clearer—someone else is offering two hundred thousand; if you, Chen Li, don't want to pay this amount, don't even think about marrying our daughter.

Hearing this, Chen Li felt as disgusted as if he had swallowed a fly. This wasn't marrying off a daughter; it was clearly auctioning off a commodity.

Although Liu Nansheng had warned him beforehand that they could offer up to two hundred thousand, and that she would pay this money herself.

But they had clearly agreed on one hundred thousand before. Now that they saw there was competition, they were raising the price on the spot?

"Mom, what are you saying!"

Liu Nansheng immediately retorted, her face full of embarrassment and dissatisfaction. "Didn't we say one hundred thousand before? How did it suddenly become two hundred thousand?"

"They just raised the price yesterday; I haven't had time to tell you yet."

Mrs. Liu brushed it off lightly and turned back to Chen Li, her smile becoming even more earnest:

"Xiao Li, there's really nothing I can do. The other party likes our Nansheng too much and is willing to pay this price. I don't know about your side...?"

Chen Li deliberately pondered for a moment, pretending to consider it seriously. "Auntie, I can pay two hundred thousand. However, this should be the final price, right? It won't change again later, will it?"

Upon hearing that Chen Li was willing to pay two hundred thousand, Mr. and Mrs. Liu's eyes lit up instantly.

Even the younger brother, who had been playing games on the side, looked up and eyed his future brother-in-law properly for the first time.

In fact, the repair shop owner hadn't offered any two hundred thousand at all; Mrs. Liu said this purely to make Chen Li retreat in the face of difficulty.

In her view, a son-in-law who was his own boss was always better than someone who worked for others.

She hadn't expected Chen Li to actually agree, which left her both pleasantly surprised and regretful—surprised that someone was actually willing to pay such a high bride price, and regretful that it seemed two hundred thousand wasn't Chen Li's psychological bottom line.

A shrewder idea quickly formed in her mind: first, get him to treat them to a meal.

"Then thank you so much, Xiao Li."

The smile on Mrs. Liu's face became even more radiant. "Look, Auntie didn't prepare any food today; why don't we all go out for a meal?"

In proposing to go out to eat, Mrs. Liu had other plans in mind.

Chen Li would definitely have to pay for this meal, and she could take the opportunity to see if this Young Man was generous with his money, and whether he was willing to spend when ordering dishes.

She would thoroughly investigate Chen Li's background and then raise the price again when the time came.

"Mom, Chen Li has things to do in a little while." Liu Nansheng hurriedly tried to stop her.

She hadn't expected her mother to suddenly make this request; it was completely beyond her expectations.

For someone of Chen Li's standing, time was money; it was already very difficult for him to squeeze out time to come to the house.

She had thought it would be over once the two hundred thousand was agreed upon; she hadn't expected they would have to go out to eat, which made her feel very apologetic.

She glanced quietly at Chen Li, her eyes full of apology.

Chen Li gave her a reassuring look, signaling her not to worry.

"What nonsense are you talking about? No matter how busy you are, you still have to eat."

Mrs. Liu waved her hand dismissively and looked at Chen Li eagerly. "Xiao Li, don't you think so?"

"Auntie is right. Then let's go eat." Chen Li readily agreed.

"That's great!"

Mrs. Liu stood up immediately and asked as if casually, "Xiao Li, you drove here, right?"

She could take this opportunity to see what kind of car Chen Li drove, to better judge his true financial strength and prepare for the subsequent 'negotiations'.

Mr. Liu, who was on the side, remained silent throughout. In his view, these matters could just be left to his shrewd wife to handle; anyway, she never let the family suffer a loss.

"I drove here, Auntie. Let's head out now..."