Chapter 34 When it comes to marriage, it's not just about the man, it's also about the mother.
"Yes, Mother, let's go a little further in. The flowers there are blooming beautifully." Du Wanchun carried her basket and walked deeper into the sea of flowers.
The breeze blowing in my face carries the fragrance of flowers, a pleasant aroma.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quickly filled two large baskets, and on their way back, they picked a few wild citrons along the way.
The two returned home with their loot plentiful.
Du Wanchun placed the flower petals in the backyard with a smile. When she returned to the front house, she heard Aunt Zhou listening to Aunt Wang gossiping at the village entrance.
"Hey, Zhou, you didn't see it, but Chen's wife, your sister-in-law, almost had her hand bitten off by a snake. When Chen's eldest son carried her back, her face was as white as a ghost."
Aunt Wang is not from this village. She moved to Changliu Village with her husband a few years ago. She has no children. Although she talks a lot, she is quite nice to the Zhou family.
To be honest, Aunt Zhou was a woman raising three sons all by herself and had never worked in the fields before. If it weren't for the help of these kind neighbors in the village, she wouldn't have been able to gain a foothold in the village so easily.
Aunt Zhou handed her a few freshly picked radishes and said, "She's completely fallen out with our family. She's not my sister-in-law anymore."
Aunt Wang took the radish and said with a smile, "It should have been done a long time ago. In the future, even if she begs you, you should ignore her."
Aunt Zhou nodded emphatically, "Don't worry, I have no relation to the Chen family."
Aunt Wang held her hand and patted it, saying, "That's right."
After chatting for a while, Aunt Zhou went inside and started calculating her family's savings.
These past two days, she took the duck eggs from her home to the village and sold them for some copper coins, about three hundred coins.
These are more than enough to buy grain and cloth.
However, much less of it is used to make perfume.
She wanted to buy a large boiler for making perfume, as well as bottles for storing the perfume.
Seeing her worried expression, Du Wanchun walked to her side, took out her hairpin, and said, "Mother, how about I pawn my hairpin and redeem it when I earn some money?"
Aunt Zhou quickly refused, saying, "No, the hairpin is something your mother left you; you can't take it."
Du Wanchun looked at the hairpin in her hand and said slowly, "Mother, money is just an external thing. My mother left these things to me in the hope that if I were to starve to death one day, I could exchange them for silver to help me get through a crisis. I think now is the time to get through that crisis."
"Once we earn money from making fragrant dew, we'll never have to worry about going hungry again."
Aunt Zhou still refused, saying, "No, I know your mother means well, but no matter how poor our Zhou family is, we cannot use our daughter-in-law's dowry."
He then tightly placed the hairpin into Du Wanchun's hand, gripped her hand, and said, "I'll find a way to get the money later. Keep this safe."
Du Wanchun was stunned. When she went back to the Du family to get these things, she was just thinking of helping the Zhou family. She never expected that Aunt Zhou would be so principled.
She was quite surprised, but also felt it made sense.
She was right about him.
It is a common saying that when choosing a husband, one should consider not only the man but also the woman, and this is indeed true.
Aunt Zhou was an upright and righteous person, and her son was naturally no less so.
Du Wanchun carefully put the hairpin back into her sleeve.
At this moment, Zhou Ruiyuan came out of the room and said, "Let's pawn this."
Du Wanchun turned around and saw the pen she had used last night: "Husband, you..."
Zhou Ruiyuan said slowly, "This pen is made of rabbit hair and ivory. Although it is a bit worn, it should be able to be pawned for some silver."
Du Wanchun was quite surprised when she saw the pen, which looked unremarkable.
I never expected that Zhou Ruiyuan would have such an expensive pen.
Aunt Zhou strode over to his side, looking surprised, and said, "Ruiyuan, you've carried this pen with you since you were little, cherishing it like your lifeblood. How can you just pawn it like this!"
Zhou Ruiyuan kept this penny with him not only because of the affection he had for it since childhood, but also because it represented his last stubbornness regarding his identity.
But now, he has made a decision, not to abandon his obsession with the past, but because he believes his wife will help him redeem the pen.
This kind of trust is something that others cannot understand.
Just as he believed that he would be able to return to that place sooner or later.
“Mother, just like Wanchun said, we’ll redeem her once we’ve earned enough money.” Zhou Ruiyuan raised his eyes and slowly looked at Du Wanchun.
Aunt Zhou sighed, "Since you've thought it through, then I'll give it a try and see how much silver this pen can fetch."
“I’ll go.” Du Wanchun stepped forward, took the pen from her, and said, “Mother, I’ll pawn it. I’ll take it to the county tomorrow.”
She knew that her husband was reluctant to part with the pen; otherwise, he wouldn't have pawned it when they were so poor.
If it were Aunt Zhou or Zhou Ruiyuan who were to go this time, they would definitely be accepted.
But if it's her, then there's still a sliver of a chance.
Aunt Zhou said embarrassedly, "Wanchun, how can I let you go alone? I'll go with you."
Du Wanchun glanced outside and said, "Mother, you and my husband will wait for me at home tomorrow. I'll be right back."
Aunt Zhou originally wanted to refuse, but Du Wanchun insisted, and the family made the agreement.
After Du Wanchun pawned his pen, he used the money to buy a large boiler and bottles for making fragrant dew, and then took the finished fragrant dew to the county to sell.
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Du Wanchun borrowed Aunt Wang's carriage and rushed to Cheng'an County.
Because it was early morning, the streets of Cheng'an County were not as crowded as they had been last time.
Du Wanchun carried a pen and looked around the shops, finally stopping in front of a pawnshop.
When the pawnshop owner saw the pen that Du Wanchun took out, he shook his head and said, "This pen won't fetch much money."
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