"How could both families end up with nothing after all this effort?"
After holding the several taels of silver in his hands, the girl's father thought that even if he couldn't marry his daughter off to the old rich man, he could still receive silver for marrying her off elsewhere. In any case, his daughter hadn't suffered any loss by being married off to a distant rich man.
Mrs. Lai's relatives had overheard the conversation from around the corner and heard about the several taels of earnest money. How could they allow the money that was within their grasp to just slip away!
Eventually, the two families discussed and agreed that Mrs. Lai's relatives would take thirty percent, meaning they would receive one hundred taels once the deal was done, and the girl's family would get seventy taels.
The two families, having conspired successfully, were excited about the significant sum of money soon to be in their hands, not caring about familial affection.
