After lunch, they sat for a while longer before Zhao Xiu said she had to go back. The village chief was still waiting for her and her two children in town, and they couldn't delay any longer.
Zhao Guihua said, "Why didn't the village chief just send you and your two children to the county town?"
Zhao Xiu: "The child's father had some business to attend to in town, so we came to the county town in a horse-drawn carriage from an acquaintance in town." We had originally agreed to go back together at noon, but it seems that the other party has already gone back first.
Zhao Guihua originally wanted the three of them to stay overnight, but since the village chief was waiting in town, it was not appropriate to keep them any longer. However, Chun Chun did not want to go back too soon. She had finally met with Xingxing and did not want to part so quickly.
"Let Chun Chun stay for a few days. We'll be going back to the village in a few days, and Chun Chun will come back with us then," Xingxing pleaded with Zhao Xiu.
Zhao Xiu thought for a moment and readily agreed, "Okay, then let Chun Chun accompany you for a few days. I feel at ease letting her stay at your home."
Then he called Chun Chun aside and gave her a lot of instructions, mainly because he was worried that she wouldn't know the rules in other people's homes, and he had to explain what she should and shouldn't do.
"Mom, I know, we're not little kids anymore, we won't cause trouble." Chun Chun pouted, feeling that her mother was being too nagging.
"You child, I'm trying to teach you properly, but you're still not happy. Uncle Zhou and your Aunt Guihua are from the same village as us, and they can take care of anything. But Xingxing's status is important, so we have to be careful. Don't let her easygoing and approachable nature make us lose our manners. That won't do." Zhao Xiu muttered for a long time before she finally finished.
After she finished instructing her daughter, when she came out, the Zhou family had already arranged a carriage and paid for it. Not only that, Zhao Guihua also had many things put on the carriage.
“Take these two bolts of silk back to make new clothes for the children, and take these pastries back to eat as well. In this box are a pair of silver bracelets that I gave to Qiuqiu as part of her dowry, and a gold hairpin that Xingxing gave to Qiuqiu. Ruru also gave her a pair of silver earrings,” Zhao Guihua said to Zhao Xiu in a low voice.
"No way, this is too valuable, we can't accept it." Zhao Xiu gasped. These pieces of jewelry were indeed too valuable, even more than what her family had given them.
"Don't refuse. Xingxing's status is different. Giving her a gold hairpin is nothing. It's because she has a deep bond with Qiuqiu and Chunchun since they were young. Otherwise, she has never given any gifts to the girls in the village who got married. She only cares about your children."
Zhao Xiu understood what Zhao Guihua was saying. Xingxing and her daughter had a good relationship. It wasn't about money. She was only being so generous because of the good relationship between the two families. Xingxing valued this relationship, so she couldn't refuse.
"I understand. I really don't know what to say," Zhao Xiu said, feeling touched. She squeezed Zhao Guihua's hand and whispered, "Then let's go back first. When you come back, come to our house for dinner."
"Why be so polite? The autumn harvest is just around the corner, there's no time for a meal. Let's not bother with all this. We'll come over for the wedding banquet on Qiuqiu's wedding day." Zhao Guihua patted the other woman's hand, indicating that she shouldn't take the jewelry too seriously.
When Zhao Xiu got into the carriage, Chun Chun came over and stuffed something into her hand. It was wrapped in a handkerchief. "Mother, this is the silver hairpin that Xingxing gave me. Please take it back and keep it for me."
Zhao Xiu didn't react at first, then stared blankly at the handkerchief containing the silver hairpin for a while. Only after the carriage had gone far away did she remember something. She quickly opened the handkerchief and saw that inside was a finely carved, heavy solid silver hairpin.
“Chun Chun isn’t married or engaged yet, so why did she accept a silver hairpin? That must have cost a lot of money.” Zhao Xiu hesitated, wondering whether she should go back and return the silver hairpin.
"Mother, didn't Xingxing buy this silver hairpin at the hair salon this morning? It cost a full ten taels of silver." Qiuqiu was standing to the side at the time and saw it clearly. Because the hairpin was really beautiful, she took a few more glances at it.
"Really? It's so expensive, no, we can't accept it." Zhao Xiu said, and was about to tell the driver to turn around.
"Mom, since they gave it to us, let's accept it. It's not nice to refuse. This is Xingxing's heartfelt gift, a token of the friendship she and Chun Chun have had since childhood. If we don't accept it, wouldn't we be ungrateful?" Qiuqiu gently advised.
Zhao Xiu thought about it for a while and finally stopped worrying about it. After a moment of hesitation, she went to get the wooden box next to her. After opening the lid, she saw several items wrapped in a handkerchief inside. She opened them one by one to look at them.
The first thing I opened was the silver bracelet that Zhao Guihua had given me. It felt heavy in my hand, indicating that it was a solid bracelet, and the style and pattern were very fashionable.
Then came the silver hairpin that Chen Yueru gave her. It was solid and carved with patterns, and it was worth a lot of silver. I didn't expect Ruru to give such a valuable gift.
Finally, there was the gold hairpin that Xingxing gave her, which was carved with vines and was quite beautiful. This gold hairpin cost more than twenty taels of silver.
"These are all for your dowry. You're lucky to have received these valuable pieces of jewelry when the Zhou family prospered." After her initial sentimentality, Zhao Xiu began to worry again.
“Guihua has five sons. When Fuge gets married, we’ll have to give him some expensive gifts. But the thought of spending so much money makes my heart ache. Your brother’s exam will cost a lot of money, which is really difficult for us,” Zhao Xiu muttered in a low voice.
After thinking for a moment, Qiuqiu comforted her, "Mother, don't overthink it. Aunt Guihua and the others probably didn't think that way. They just felt that their family was well-off and had a good relationship with our family, so they gave a more generous gift. They didn't expect us to give the same gift in return. When Fuge gets married, we can give a more valuable gift than other families. There's no need to return it."
"...Yes, let's leave it at that for now. It's really a dilemma – accepting this gift is one thing, refusing it is another." Zhao Xiu was truly at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
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