Chapter 154 Second Sister

Song Chunxue was somewhat displeased.

Although she knew that her second sister was doing it for her own good.

As soon as I entered, the sisters were talking with tears in their eyes. How did they end up talking about men?

"Fifth brother, don't be angry. I think this person is really good. He has studied and worked as a carpenter. He worked outside for eight or nine years and saved a lot of money before returning home. He has been delayed in getting married and has no children."

"His leg is slightly lame, but his facial features are very regular. Several matchmakers have been trying to find him a wife recently, and I'm afraid he'll be snatched away if I'm too late, so I thought I'd ask you to help me find a match."

At this point, the second sister's eyes reddened again. "You and the fourth brother, how come you both lost your husbands so early? The fourth brother is better off. He only had two children. His daughter got married and he only has one son left. His burden is much lighter than yours."

Song Chunxue comforted her, "Second sister, I'm fine. I've made it through all these years. Now that my child is about to get married, I don't want to find a man that would make people gossip about my child."

She smiled and said, "Let's not talk about that. Where are your kids? Why aren't they home?"

"They've gone to the river to water the donkey, they'll be back in a bit." Her second sister grabbed her hand and said, "Come on, let's go to the kitchen to talk, I'll make you some noodles with minced meat sauce tonight."

"good."

They went to the kitchen, where the second sister kneaded the dough and Song Chunxue helped by tending the fire, talking about their respective situations over the years.

The second sister was astonished when she learned that she had sent her third child to school.

“You’re really something. All five of your children have been to school, and for quite a few years. The third one is a bit pitiful, but he’s already engaged and still studying. There’s no need for him to continue.”

Song Chunxue corrected, "It's necessary, otherwise I would owe him for the rest of my life. The money for the other students' schooling was earned by him herding sheep. Otherwise, I would feel more and more guilty as I get older."

The second sister chimed in, "That's true. If you can't treat everyone equally, there will always be complaints. If the child is suffering, you won't have a good time either."

At this point, she lowered her voice and chuckled, "Actually, the reason I brought you and my cousin together was that if you remarried into our family in the future, we sisters could keep each other company."

Song Chunxue smiled but didn't say anything. What kind of company is this? My second sister passed away quite early too.

If she were to actually marry into this family, she would be asking for trouble.

During the meal, her two sons greeted her with silly smiles, then buried their heads in their food.

"Has your son gotten married yet? You probably haven't saved up enough money for his wedding, have you?" my brother-in-law said casually. "Four sons, after all that education, you probably don't have much money left for their weddings."

"If you ask me, given how difficult things are for you, you shouldn't have let your children go to school. If they had helped you with farming and other work earlier, by now your two children would at least be married and have divided the land out earlier, so you wouldn't have to farm so much and wouldn't be so tired."

Song Chunxue felt something was off.

Are you afraid she'll ask you for money?

“The eldest son is already married, the second son went to the army and will definitely not need my help in the future. The third son is engaged, and only the fourth son is left. It's not too hard, we've gotten through it all.”

The second sister glanced at the man and smiled at Song Chunxue, "Come on, try the wild leek pickles I made. I went to a very far mountain to pick them. You used to be a picky eater, but you could eat two big bowls of soup with this."

Song Chunxue picked up the bowl with both hands and took the pickled vegetables that her second sister had put on her plate.

This kind of wild chives is becoming increasingly rare, and it tastes even better than the ones grown at home. Back then, they were still living at their second uncle's house, and their second sister hadn't gotten married yet.

At that time, Song Chunxue was no more than five years old and didn't even have pants to wear. She ran around naked on the mountain with other children her age.

My second sister talked about the days when she was a child, shoveling grass and herding donkeys. She also mentioned that when she was a child, a wealthy landlord hired people to perform operas. At that time, she was the youngest and didn't have to do any work.

She remembered that one year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, there was a performance of opera to worship the gods on the mountain. Although she wasn't wearing pants, her second sister somehow got money and bought a pair of earrings from a peddler.

At that time, she had already gotten her ears pierced along with her sisters. It was the first and only time she ever wore earrings.

However, after the show ended, on her way home, she discovered that one of them had fallen off.

That day was unforgettable for her.

In the days leading up to her death, she often thought about it and blamed herself for not putting it away, but instead wearing it on her ears to show off to others, only to lose it in the end.

That afternoon, she searched back and forth countless times between the theater and her second uncle's house, her head bowed.

We still couldn't find that earring.

Although she didn't remember exactly what the earring looked like, she knew it was very beautiful.

She hadn't seen such beautiful earrings since then.

Although she later had a pair of silver earrings, she never wore them for fear of losing them, but later still, no one knows where they went.

She raised her hand and touched her ear piercing, which was inlaid with thin stalks of grass to prevent it from growing together. She wondered why, now that she had money, she hadn't thought to buy a pair of earrings?

After dinner, the second sister slept in the same room as Song Chunxue, so that the two sisters, who hadn't seen each other for many years, wouldn't chat endlessly and disturb the rest of others.

Before going to sleep, Song Chunxue opened her bundle and took out a white cloth bag.

"Second sister, this is the fabric I bought for you. Do you like it?"

The second sister, seeing the weight in her hands, took it with some surprise, "You bought so much, it must be four or five feet long, right?"

"Yes, it's six feet long, enough to make a long jacket with a front opening."

Upon opening it, I found a vibrant peacock blue satin fabric, shimmering under the oil lamp, its sparkling light instantly warming my second sister's heart.

"Fifth brother, you..." Second sister was somewhat shocked, picking up the fabric with great interest to examine it closely, "This fabric is so expensive, why are you wasting money, and buying so much?"

She raised her hand and slapped Song Chunxue hard, her eyes slightly red, a mixture of reproach and gratitude in her expression.

"You don't have much money, buying one piece is fine, but you bought six feet? How are you going to make a living in the future?"

The second sister wiped away her tears fiercely and pushed her heavily into her arms. "Quickly take it back and return it. Don't get it dirty. This cloth must have cost several hundred copper coins. Why don't you buy yourself a new outfit?"

Song Chunxue's eyes welled up with tears at her reaction. She picked up the cloth bag and smiled, "I bought it. A few days ago I found a jar and bought some money, thinking I'd spend it on myself."

"Life is short. Since you got married and had children, you get older every day. What have you gained by saving all this money?" Song Chunxue tossed the cloth back to her. "You're over forty years old. What's wrong with wearing nice fabric once in a while?"

“I bought this especially for you. You should wear it yourself. You are not allowed to give it away or cut it off to give to your daughter as a dowry. I just want my sister to wear a beautiful dress.”

As she spoke, she patted her bundle, "Third and fourth sisters both have them; we all need to wear satin clothes at least once."

The second sister wiped away her tears while carefully touching the smooth fabric. "Oh dear, look how rough my hands are, the fabric is all stuck to them."

Song Chunxue laughed, "Then don't touch it with your hands. Apply some oil when you sew, otherwise it will be sticky and you won't be able to sew it together."

"Hmm, such fine fabric, I never imagined I could make clothes with it in my entire life." The second sister looked up, her voice trembling with tears, and asked, "Fifth brother, is something wrong? Why are you suddenly buying so many nice things? Are you thinking of doing something rash?"