The next morning, Qin woke up late.

There wasn't much work to do at home during this period, and there was no strict rule about getting up early, since He Jiuniang hadn't come out yet.

When Qin came out, Lianhua was sweeping the yard, and the three bookworms were diligently reading by the window inside the house, asking each other questions. The others were nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Auntie!"

Lotus greeted her with a smile.

Qin responded and asked, "Lianhua, where are your grandmother and the others?"

"Grandma went to the village chief's house to deliver some things, Grandpa and a few uncles went to clean the greenhouse, Aunt Guilan and the others went to the river to wash clothes, and the younger sisters are still sleeping."

Lotus spoke, but her hands never stopped moving; she was very serious about what she was doing.

Seeing that there was no one around, Qin pulled Lianhua to sit down and said, "My aunt has something to tell you."

Qin rarely spoke to her so seriously. Lianhua thought it was something important, so she nodded to indicate that she was listening.

"You'll be fourteen after the New Year, the age to start looking for a husband. Now that it's just the two of us in the Qin family, your aunt will arrange your marriage. Our family is better off now, so your aunt will definitely find you a good husband from a good family who is kind and considerate."

Lianhua never expected her to say these things, and blushed instantly, saying awkwardly, "Auntie, I'm still young, I don't want to get married!"

"My dear child, there's nothing to be shy about with your aunt. Girls all grow up and get married. Don't be afraid, this is your family home. Last night, your uncle said he treats you like his own daughter!"

Qin, speaking from experience, felt that Lianhua was just a shy young girl who was too embarrassed to discuss such topics, so she said these words to comfort her.

But that was only half right. Lotus was indeed shy, but more than that, she genuinely didn't want to get married.

"Auntie, the family business is just starting to pick up. I enjoy doing business, and I want to learn more skills."

She looked at Qin Shi very seriously, her refusal quite obvious.

In this era, not every family is as open-minded as the Lu family, willing to let their women go out and show their faces in public. Lianhua felt that if she didn't meet such a family, she would definitely stay at home to be a wife and mother after marriage, and it would be difficult for her to go out.

She felt that she didn't want to live that kind of life.

She wanted to be like Aunt Jiu Niang, to have a skill that would allow her to support herself and then do whatever she wanted.

When she mentioned this, Qin Shi realized that Lianhua now occupies a major position in the Lu family's business. If her husband's family does not allow her to do business, who will be in charge of the Lu family's business?

Of course, Madam Qin hoped that her niece would become more and more outstanding. With He Jiu Niang's example, she felt in her heart that the children in the family should have some abilities, but she did not want them to delay their marriage because of these things, so she was very conflicted.

Lianhua thought that if she said that, Qin would let her off the hook. But after hesitating for a while, Qin simply stopped hesitating and changed the subject, saying, "I've noticed that Lu Xiaoyang has been hanging around you a lot lately. It's obvious that he has some feelings for you. Remember to keep your distance. Lu Xiaoyang's temperament is unstable. He might change at any time. You can like anyone, but you can't like him."

Qin was prejudiced against Lu Xiaoyang. Back in their hometown, she thought he was an uneducated good-for-nothing and a petty hoodlum. Later, he did something that implicated his clan on the way to escape famine. She could accept that her family would give Lu Xiaoyang a job, but she could never accept marrying her only niece to him.

She just hoped that Lianhua could find an honest and upright person and live a stable life.

Lianhua was stunned, staring at Qin Shi in disbelief, and exclaimed in surprise, "Aunt, what are you talking about? Little Sheep and I have nothing going on!"

She spoke very seriously; if Qin hadn't suddenly brought it up, she would never have thought about it in that way.

"There's no best option. I'm just reminding you that you're all young and often spend a lot of time together, so I'm worried you might get scammed."

Qin patted her hand and sighed. Lianhua was beautiful, and people often asked her if she was engaged when she set up a stall on the street. She was worried that Lianhua and Lu Xiaoyang would develop feelings for each other over time.

Lianhua was both amused and exasperated. She genuinely hadn't considered that possibility. She and Lu Xiaoyang only worked well together; they weren't particularly close in private.

She had asked him before how he was so good at arithmetic, but Lu Xiaoyang couldn't give a reason, so she gave up. During this period, whenever she didn't understand something, she would directly ask He Jiuniang.

"Don't worry, Auntie!"

Lotus patted her chest to assure him, and Qin, who was so strong, was worried that Lotus would hurt herself by patting her, so she hurriedly said, "Okay, okay, I believe you."

Just then, He Jiuniang came out, stretched, greeted Qin Shi and Lianhua, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Qin Shi didn't treat He Jiu Niang as an outsider, saying, "I just thought Lianhua was getting old enough to arrange a marriage for her, but she said she didn't want to get married and only wanted to do business."

Lotus didn't expect the topic to circle back to itself, and her little face blushed again, much to her chagrin.

He Jiuniang was a little confused and asked, "What's the conflict between getting married and doing business?"

Qin knew that He Jiuniang was unaware of the old-fashioned thinking of some families, so she explained to her: "Not every family is as open-minded as our parents. Many families do not want their women to go out and show their faces in public, saying that it is immoral."

"Heh~" He Jiuniang couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Why would a family like that want to marry him? Lianhua is so outstanding, shouldn't we find her a family that's good in every way? Not everyone is as open-minded as her parents, but there are exceptions. We can take our time to find someone. In any case, we can't let Lianhua suffer."

When He Jiuniang said these words, it seemed casual, but every word resonated with the two of them. Yes, why should Lianhua be wronged?

But Qin was still a little worried: "But it's not easy to find a family like that. I'm worried that in a few years, Lianhua will be too old."

“What’s wrong with getting older? Second sister-in-law, I only learned this after I studied medicine. It’s best for a girl to get married and have children when she’s seventeen or eighteen. Otherwise, like in our time, she was too young and it hurt her health. She’ll have a lot of illnesses when she gets old.”

She spoke so formally and deliberately that she completely stunned Qin.

"Third sister-in-law, is that true? Aren't seventeen or eighteen-year-olds already considered old maids?"

Qin swallowed hard, feeling as if she had been shocked.

In this era, normal girls can usually be betrothed at thirteen or fourteen, get married at fifteen, and become mothers of one or two children by seventeen or eighteen.

It's not uncommon for women to remain unmarried until they're seventeen or eighteen, but most of them have some unspeakable difficulties or their families are difficult to get along with, so they end up not finding a good family to marry into.

"Of course it's true. I only learned this after I started studying medicine. We didn't understand these things back then, but now that we do, we naturally can't let our children suffer. Second sister-in-law, don't you think that makes sense?"

As He Jiuniang spoke, she secretly glanced at Lianhua, who nodded frantically in agreement.

She absolutely adores Aunt Jiu Niang; Aunt Jiu Niang truly understands her!

She doesn't care whether she can get married in the future, at least she doesn't want to get married now. Besides, at the speed at which she saves money, she can support herself completely, so why should she suffer in her husband's family?

P.S.: Happy 520! Forgive me for indulging myself today, reading sweet romance novels all day. The next chapter will be a little late. Love you all~