Lin Moli stepped out of the courtyard, but returned a short while later. Her face regained its delicate and concerned expression, and even her voice softened, like a sparrow that had just been drenched in the rain: "Sister Wanqiu, look at my memory, I almost forgot the important thing—my mother asked me to bring you some herbal medicine for coughs, saying that it's been getting cold lately and she's worried that you and your nephew Nian'an might catch a cold."
As she spoke, she pulled an old paper packet from the bottom of her cloth bag. Inside were several withered herbs, most of their leaves yellowed—clearly wild roots picked haphazardly from the mountains. Lin Wanqiu glanced at the packet, knowing perfectly well—this was no cough remedy! She'd seen it last year when she went herb gathering with Aunt Wang; it was called "foxtail grass," and was only good for feeding rabbits. Lin Moli was treating her like a fool!
But she didn't expose it. Instead, she deliberately showed her gratitude and took the paper package: "Oh, cousin, you're so thoughtful! I have a bit of a cough lately and I was worried about not having any medicine. Your mother is really something, still thinking about such a small thing for me."
Seeing that she had taken the bait, Lin Moli's eyes lit up like a mouse that had stolen oil. She leaned forward and affectionately took Lin Wanqiu's arm, but her fingers inadvertently brushed against Lin Wanqiu's coarse cloth jacket, as if she were feeling the texture of the fabric: "Sister Wanqiu, your jacket looks a bit old. Do you want me to sew you a couple of new ones? I recently learned a new stitching technique, and the clothes I sew are both beautiful and durable."
These words sounded like concern, but were actually a ploy to probe Lin Wanqiu's financial situation—if Lin Wanqiu said she didn't have money to buy fabric, she could then conveniently ask where the money came from; if Lin Wanqiu said she had fabric, she could use the excuse of "helping to sew clothes" to go inside and look around. Lin Wanqiu knew exactly what was going on, but deliberately sighed, "No, cousin, I can still wear this jacket. Sewing new clothes would use up too much fabric, how could I bear to?"
As she spoke, she deliberately pulled her arm away from Lin Moli's grasp, turned around, and walked into the house: "Nian'an will be awake soon too. I'll go boil some water for him. Cousin, why don't you sit for a while longer?"
Lin Moli was overjoyed and immediately followed him into the house, her eyes scanning the room like radar. The house wasn't large, and the mud walls were somewhat mottled, but it was spotless. The coarse cloth quilt on the kang (a heated brick bed) was folded neatly, and even the dust on the corners of the tables was wiped clean. What caught her eye most was the enamel basin on the table—although the rim was chipped, it was gleaming, unlike hers, which was long since rusted beyond recognition.
"Sister Wanqiu, your room is so clean, much better than mine." Lin Moli said casually, but her hand reached into the drawer of the table cabinet. "Let me see what you have in this drawer. If you have any old fabric that you don't need, I can help you alter it and make a little bib for Nian'an."
Lin Wanqiu reacted quickly, pressing down on the drawer. She still had a smile on her face, but her tone was firm and unquestionable: "No need to trouble your cousin. The drawer is full of Nian'an's old clothes and it's a mess. Don't get your hands dirty."
Lin Moli's hand froze in mid-air, a little annoyed—Lin Wanqiu wasn't like this before. Before, she could rummage through whatever she wanted, and Lin Wanqiu wouldn't dare utter a sound. Now, she dared to stop her? Suppressing her anger, she turned her gaze to the wooden box beside the kang (heated brick bed): "Sister Wanqiu, what's in that wooden box? It looks quite heavy. Is it your dowry from your mother?"
That's a very pertinent question. The original owner's dowry was indeed in that wooden box, but it only contained a few pieces of old jewelry and a thin quilt; most of it had already been pawned by Old Madam Shen. Lin Wanqiu now kept some odds and ends from her spatial storage inside, such as a few packets of seeds and a few bars of soap—all inexpensive but practical items. Knowing that Lin Moli was after the dowry, she deliberately feigned reluctance: "It's just some old stuff, nothing valuable, just taking up space."
“Old things can still come in handy!” Lin Moli immediately chimed in, moving even closer. “For example, old jewelry. If you don’t need it, I can help you take it to the jewelry shop in town to exchange for some money to buy some nutritional supplements for Nian’an. It’s not easy for you, a woman, to take care of a child alone, so you have to be careful with your money.”
These words sounded like they were for her own good, but in reality, they were just trying to find out if she had any money and wanted to take the opportunity to swindle her out of her old jewelry. Lin Wanqiu sneered inwardly, but pretended to hesitate on the surface: "This... isn't that a bit inappropriate? Those pieces of jewelry are keepsakes left to me by my mother. If I sell them, my mother in heaven will be unhappy."
"Oh, Sister Wanqiu, why are you so rigid!" Lin Moli exclaimed anxiously, her voice rising several decibels. "Can dreams feed you? Nian'an is at the age where she's growing. What if she becomes malnourished and develops health problems later? If you're too embarrassed to go, I'll go for you and guarantee you a good price!"
Lin Wanqiu almost burst out laughing at her impatient look. She paused deliberately for a moment, as if she had been persuaded, before slowly saying, "Well... alright, but I need to look for any leftover jewelry first."
She walked to the wooden box, deliberately lingering for a while before opening it. She took out an old cloth bundle containing a copper ring—something she'd found in her spatial storage, worth little money, specifically to appease Lin Moli. She handed the ring to Lin Moli: "This is all I have left. The rest were pawned by Old Lady Shen."
Lin Moli took the copper ring, examined it closely for a long time, and then a look of disappointment appeared on her face—the copper ring was old and small, without even a pattern on it, worth at most two cents, not even enough for her to buy a new pair of shoes. She inwardly cursed Lin Wanqiu for being stingy, but outwardly she had to feign regret: "Oh dear, what a pity! Old Mrs. Shen is too much; how could she take your dowry! Sister Wanqiu, don't worry, when I have time, I'll definitely help you get it back from Old Mrs. Shen!"
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com