"Big sister, can I really learn to make clothes from Zhao Di's mother?" Upon hearing this news, Xia Dongmei felt like she was dreaming.
Do you want to learn?
"Big sister, I want to learn. Once I learn, our family won't need to spend money to hire Zhaodi anymore, which will save us money."
Xia Dongmei felt that once she learned the skill, she could save her family a lot of money in the future.
"Why save money? You spent so much money learning the trade. My sister and I worked ourselves to the bone to prepare the banquet, and we don't even know how long it will take to earn it back."
Xia Qiumei was very unhappy about Xia Chunmei making her third sister learn a trade.
"Big sister, will it cost a lot of money?" Xia Dongmei was shocked. "Maybe we shouldn't learn it."
Before Xia Chunmei could speak, Xia Qiumei said, "The fabric they lost is worth at least one tael of silver. Not only did you waive the compensation, but you also made you send food to Zhaodi and Xiangnan every few days. It's such a waste and extravagant thing. If you ask me, since they're all going to get married anyway, why spend so much money learning a trade?"
Hearing this, Xia Chunmei frowned and said, "Qiu Mei, Dong Mei, do you know why Zhao Di's mother is always being beaten and scolded at home?"
Xia Dongmei: "I know, because she didn't have a son, Aunt Deng often said she was a hen that didn't lay eggs."
Xia Chunmei looked at Xia Qiumei: "Qiumei, what do you think?"
"Third Sister is right, because Zhao Di's mother didn't give birth to a son."
"Then why did the old lady's attitude towards Zhao Di Niang change when we asked her to make clothes?"
Xia Qiumei: "Because she can make money."
"Yes, so do you now think it's important for girls to have a skill?"
After Xia Chunmei pointed it out, Xia Qiumei seemed to understand something.
At this moment, Xia Chunmei said earnestly, "There is a saying that it is never a burden to have many skills. No one can take away the skills and knowledge you have learned."
If Zhao Di didn't have this skill, she wouldn't be able to earn eggs from us.
Xia Dongmei quickly answered again: "If she doesn't earn eggs, Aunt Deng will beat and scold her every day, just like before."
Xia Chunmei patted Xia Dongmei's head: "Dongmei is right, so girls need to be capable to stand tall."
Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei seemed to be deep in thought.
"What I also want to tell you is that although children come from their mothers' wombs, it is not up to the mothers to decide whether they have a son or a daughter."
So if you get married in the future and don't have a son, don't feel inferior or guilty, and don't mistreat your daughters.
Our daughter will only be at home for a little over ten years. After she gets married, she'll have to integrate into a completely new environment, which will definitely be difficult. So we need to cherish our daughter even more, you know?
Xia Dongmei is still young and quite naive, but she always does whatever her older sister says. If her older sister says to treat her daughter well, she will definitely do so.
However, Xia Qiumei is eleven years old, and she doesn't quite agree with what Xia Chunmei says.
She was particularly unhappy that Xia Chunmei had asked Xia Dongmei to secretly subsidize Tian Cuiya's daughters.
Yes, in her opinion, Xia Dongmei secretly giving Zhao Di and her sisters some food was a way of subsidizing them!
Why should they be given subsidies? Xia Qiumei was very unhappy.
Before we knew it, it was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, another market day.
When building a house, the family had to feed the workers. There were about ten people, and they needed to prepare three fish weighing five or six jin each day for the workers. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, they also asked their aunt Xia Hongfen to take one back. So today, Xia Chunmei only had six bighead carp weighing a little over six jin to transport to the market to sell.
The six fish sold out as soon as they arrived at the market, earning the owner 288 coins.
He spent ten coins to buy half a catty of meat and four large bones, and then spent thirty-five coins to buy eight catties of yam.
The bone and yam stew was for the workers. Although I prepared fish myself, I got tired of eating it every day, so it was nice to give them a change of pace. This dish was not impolite.
Xia Chunmei used to think that it was a bit embarrassing to serve the workers only one dish. Later, Xia Ping'an told her that when other people built houses, they only had one or two dishes, and they might not even be able to eat fish every meal.
If Xia Chunmei cooks a few more dishes, people will not only think she's stupid, but they'll also think she's made a fortune and is showing off.
So Xia Chunmei gave up on that idea and chose to do as the locals do.
I got home around noon.
"Chunmei, you're finally back! The thief who stole the fabric has been caught. It was Niu Shi. Gouwa's family is in an uproar."
Xia Gouwa is Tian Cuiya's husband.
In fact, Xia Chunmei had already discerned from Tian Cuiya's appearance that the thief was close to her, so she was not surprised to learn that the person who stole the cloth was Niu Shi.
"Tian Cuiya, I knew you were no good, you bitch! You deliberately dug a pit for me to fall into!"
"You vicious woman, your heart is utterly wicked!"
"This was originally a family matter, but now you've made it public knowledge. Aren't you afraid the whole family will be gossiped about? Are you no longer a member of the Xia family?"
Xia Chunmei could hear Niu's voice from afar.
Ironically, Niu Shi, who made the mistake, refused to admit it and instead blamed Tian Cuiya, her finger practically poking Tian Cuiya's face.
Tian Cuiya looked so aggrieved that anyone who didn't know better would think she was the one who stole the cloth.
Xia Chunmei sighed inwardly. A woman can't stand on her own two feet; no one else can help her.
"Chunmei, you've come at the right time." Xia Xintian's wife, Zhuang, saw Xia Chunmei. "The cloth was stolen by Niu Shi. She sold her younger brother from her own family."
Niu blushed.
Tian Cuiya saw Xia Chunmei as if she had seen a savior.
Zhuang asked, "Chunmei, what do you plan to do?"
"That depends on what Sister Cuiya wants to do. I'm not asking for compensation for the lost fabric anymore, as long as Sister Cuiya can teach my sister her skills. But if Sister Cuiya doesn't want to teach my sister, then she'll definitely have to compensate." Xia Chunmei looked at Tian Cuiya, "Sister-in-law, what are you thinking? Are you still willing to teach my sister?"
Tian Cuiya looked at Xia Chunmei in horror, never expecting Xia Chunmei to say such a thing. Wasn't this just passing the buck to her?
Of course she wanted to get the fabric back, but how could she possibly do that? And how could Madam Niu possibly listen to her? If she asked Madam Niu to compensate her, Madam Niu would only bully her even more.
Her idea was for Xia Chunmei to get the fabric back and then secretly give it to her. She knew Xia Chunmei had the ability to get the fabric back, but...
“Cuiya is already teaching Dongmei, so the fabric has essentially become part of the tuition fee. Since it’s part of the tuition fee, it naturally belongs to our family, so we don’t need to pay for it!” said Madam Niu.
Tian Cuiya looked at Xia Chunmei with pleading eyes, but Xia Chunmei pretended not to understand and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you mean, are you going to continue teaching my sister or not?"
Tian Cuiya burst into tears.
Zhuang shook her head, saying she had never seen such a stupid and cowardly person.
"Your family can discuss it first, and then give me the result."
Given Xia Deng's personality, she would most likely get the fabric back from Niu's family, or at least demand money.
Now that she has the money, she definitely won't agree to compensate Xia Chunmei; she'll absolutely want Tian Cuiya to teach Dongmei a lesson.
After Xia Chunmei finished speaking, she got up to leave.
Zhuang also got up, and before leaving, she warned Niu: "Niu, if you steal again, don't blame us for kicking you out of the village."
Niu was embarrassed and didn't say anything. She could be domineering towards Tian Cuiya, but she wouldn't dare to be domineering towards Zhuang.
Xia Chunmei's prediction was correct. After returning from the market, Xia Dengshi learned about these events and severely reprimanded Niu Shi.
Then he got back one or two taels of silver from the Niu family, but as for returning it to Xia Chunmei, he shouldn't even think about it.
“Mother, it’s going to get cold soon. Chunmei said it’s especially cold today. Could you buy Zhaodi a cotton coat?” Tian Cuiya mustered up her courage and said.
Upon hearing this, Xia Dengshi's triangular eyes widened immediately: "You worthless brat, you deserve to freeze to death if you want to wear a cotton coat! Let me tell you, Tian Cuiya, if you can't give birth to a son, you have no right to make demands! Don't even think about this money, it has nothing to do with you, this is what I'm saving for Tiancai to get married."
Although Niu was beaten and scolded, she was in a good mood because the cloth was taken by her younger brother Niu Bo to sell, and it was originally agreed that the two siblings would split the money together.
However, her family, greedy for money, refused to agree to the division of the property and even claimed that there was no such thing, which infuriated Niu Shi. But now, the money will still be spent on her son.
Tian Cuiya was so sad she was about to cry, but Zhaodi comforted her, saying, "Mom, it's okay if I don't wear a cotton-padded coat. I'll just gather more firewood and make a fire more often in winter."
While wiping away her tears, Tian Cuiya hugged her three children and said, "It's my fault for being useless. I can't even make you a padded jacket."
Thinking of this, Tian Cuiya couldn't help but envy Xia Chunmei. She dreamed of living a life like Xia Chunmei's.
“Zhaodi, you should help Dongmei more in the future and be more diligent. In the future, your mother can ask your Aunt Chunmei to teach you cooking skills. With her guidance, you will be able to live a good life in the future.”
Tian Cuiya felt that knowing how to make clothes and embroider was useless. It would be better to be able to cook like Xia Chunmei, so that she wouldn't starve and could earn money.
If Zhao Di learns the skills, she can take care of Xiang Nan and Duo Yu in the future, and the three sisters won't end up like I am.
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