Su Qingluan's question was a fatal question. For a moment, except for Su Qingluan herself, the rest of the girls looked very embarrassed.
On the other hand, the girl who seemed to be the oldest and had been following behind Tian Xing'er without saying a word sighed: "What's the point of all these wild thoughts? In the end, it's just a matter of words from my parents, and I'm going to get married."
Su Qingluan raised her eyebrows and looked over, only to see a hint of sadness on the girl's face, completely different from the lively and indignant expression she had before.
"Sister Que'er's father arranged a marriage for her a few days ago. She will get married in the spring after the New Year!" Tian Xing'er said in a low voice.
Liu Er was indignant: "How could Sister Que Er marry that old man who's almost forty? And he's a second wife, too! I heard that old man's son is already eleven or twelve years old!"
"Liu'er, please stop talking..." Que'er sighed softly, "My father wants me to marry into the Chen family because he wants to buy some money for my two younger brothers to marry..."
Su Qingluan frowned, thinking that if there really was such a cruel father, he would not even be as cruel as the master who adopted her.
But she did not express any opinions rashly. After all, this was barely her second meeting with Que'er today. They were not very familiar with each other and did not know if she had any difficulties. Therefore, she could not give any opinions from a God's perspective.
But she was curious why Que'er accepted such an unfair marriage so easily.
The next moment, Que'er's words answered this doubt: "My mother once secretly gave me some money and asked me to go to my uncle, but I'm afraid that if I run away, my father will beat my mother to death..."
Su Qingluan tried to hold back, but couldn't help asking, "Doesn't the village head care?"
The girls didn't say anything, but they all looked at Tian Xing'er at the same time, which made Su Qingluan feel uneasy.
As expected, Tian Xing'er sighed, "My father is willing to do anything that brings him honor, but he turns a blind eye to this kind of household chores."
Oh no, now it's Su Qingluan's turn to be embarrassed. It turns out that Tian Xing'er is the daughter of the village head.
Wait...Su Qingluan suddenly thought of a question: "I remember the village head's surname is Tian."
Tian Xing'er nodded: "Yes, that's why my name is Tian Xing'er." Seeing Su Qingluan still looking surprised, she smiled and said, "Don't mind it too much - after all, as the daughter of the village head, I'm not very popular with my father, because I'm a girl, but not a well-behaved or pretty girl."
Only well-behaved and pretty girls can get a better "price" when proposing marriage and bring in greater benefits.
Su Qingluan felt a little short of breath when she heard Tian Xing'er talk so calmly about the reasons why she was unpopular.
At this moment, she realized very clearly that not every family's parents are like Su Guangfu and Yang, who love every child as much as possible. Some parents' preference is only superficial, and even colder and more realistic than strangers.
No one spoke for a moment, but Que'er was the first to cheer up: "Aren't we going to teach Daya to compete in cleverness? We still have to make a wish to the Weaver Girl for blessing later!"
"Yes, yes!" Liu'er nodded hurriedly. "Goddess Zhinu will definitely bless Sister Que'er. She will live happily after getting married. Don't you think so, Xiaoman?"
It turned out that the fifth girl was called Xiaoman. Su Qingluan looked at the round-faced girl.
Xiaoman nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Sister Que'er, the Weaver Girl will definitely bless you!"
Su Qingluan also joined the girls in comforting Que'er, but in her heart she was not optimistic about Que'er's future - it could even be said that she was pessimistic.
In this era, whether a woman lives a good life after getting married probably depends not only on getting along with her husband's family, but also on the support of her own family.
Que'er's original family was a scam that sold their daughter, and her husband's family was able to let a girl who was more than 20 years younger than him be his second wife. What's more, his son was already in his teens. If they could still arrange the marriage, it seemed that they were not a very respectable family.
At this moment, Su Qingluan suddenly wanted to do something for Que'er, but she also knew that she could give her nothing except a few cheap and light words of comfort.
Collecting her thoughts, Su Qingluan thought that at least she could distract Que'er from this marriage, so she asked, "Sister Que'er, what is Dou Qiao? Since it's a 'dou', it should be a competition, right?"
When Que'er heard Su Qingluan's question, she turned around and explained with a smile, "That's right. If you do your best, it's called 'getting lucky'. If you don't meet certain requirements, it's called 'losing luck'."
Led by several girls, Su Qingluan came to the stone table in the yard.
She was curious to find that in addition to the obvious paper-cuts, colored threads and silver needles on the table, which were obviously a competition between paper-cutting and needlework, there was also a basin of clear water.
Su Qingluan leaned closer to look at the basin of clear water, then leaned over and smelled it. It seemed to have no smell, just an ordinary basin of water.
"I can understand those. They're paper-cutting and needlework competitions." Su Qingluan pointed to a pile of small items nearby, then to the basin of clear water in front of her. "What's this for? Are we supposed to throw coins in there?"
Tian Xing'er raised an eyebrow: "Why throw the copper coins in?"
Huh? Not right?
Su Qingluan said vaguely, "I heard that throwing copper coins into clean water can bring blessings."
Liu Er smiled and said, "That should be a spiritual place between mountains and rivers or a Buddhist temple or Taoist temple, right?"
Su Qingluan knew that she had guessed wrong, so she could only ask, "So what is this basin of water used for?"
"It's also a kind of competition of ingenuity, called 'needle throwing'." Que'er explained.
"...It sounds like throwing a needle into the water." Su Qingluan muttered.
"That's right," Tian Xing'er said with some pride, "but there are some requirements - the needle needs to float on the water and not sink. Of course, this level is only the first step."
Xiaoman came over and teased, "Sister Xing'er is really good at throwing needles. Not only can she keep the needle from falling, but she can also make the projection into various shapes!"
Su Qingluan stared at the water and pondered, "So, as long as the needle doesn't fall into the water and there are projections of various shapes, that's considered a 'lucky move'?"
Xiaoman nodded, but added, "Don't make it look so simple! It's all about keeping the needle out of the water. Every year, someone fails—but Sister Xing'er always succeeds first. She's really good at throwing needles!"
When Tian Xing'er heard Xiaoman praising her, she smiled with a smugness that was both a little embarrassing and self-conscious. "You're not as exaggerated as you say. It's just luck... But since it's your first time throwing an acupuncture needle, you just need to keep the needle from falling. That's the hard part... eh?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
