"Mother, how could you ask Third Sister for money?" Yu Ziqing said with dissatisfaction.
"Why don't you ask her? When you go to see your grandfather, do you need to bring him something? Do you need to give them some money?" Yu Ziqing's mother, Old Lady Yu, raised her eyebrows and glared, her expression both matter-of-fact and extremely dissatisfied. "Doesn't she want to marry you? If she wants to marry you, she has to give something, right?"
"Mother!" Yu Ziqing felt extremely embarrassed, his face burning with shame. He didn't even dare to look at Jiang Sanniang anymore. He had been holding onto Jiang Sanniang's hand, but he let go because of his mother's words. He was a scholar, a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level). How could he ask a woman for money?
"It's alright..." Jiang San Niang couldn't bear to see Yu Ziqing in a difficult position, so she smiled generously, "It's only right to be filial to the elderly."
As soon as Jiang San Niang spoke, Jiang Qiao'er became unhappy and called out in dissatisfaction, "Sister."
Jiang San Niang glanced at Jiang Qiao'er without saying a word, then turned around and went back behind the counter to take out twenty taels of silver and several bolts of silk, handing them to Granny Yu. "Auntie, please take these."
Old Mrs. Yu touched the silver and held the silk in her hands, and her expression softened a little. She reluctantly snorted, "You're smart enough, Ziqing, let's go."
"Third Sister, I'll come see you another day." Yu Ziqing dared not disobey his mother, so he could only hold Jiang San Niang's hand and bid her farewell with reluctance.
"Go ahead." Jiang San Niang reached out to straighten Yu Ziqing's clothes and waved her hand. "I'll wait for you."
"Shameless!" Old Mrs. Yu had seen everything and was very unhappy. She grabbed Yu Ziqing and said, "Let's go!"
As soon as the mother and son left, Jiang Qiao'er couldn't help but ask, "Sister, why did you still give them money? How much money have they taken from us? Look at them, they're living much better than us."
“Qiao’er…” Jiang San Niang couldn’t help but defend Yu Ziqing, “Ziqing is your brother-in-law, don’t have such a big prejudice against him. He’s still studying, if I don’t help him, where will he get the money?”
"Not yet!" Jiang Qiao'er became angrier as she spoke, throwing the scissors she was holding onto the table. "Another day's work for nothing."
Jiang San Niang then noticed that Bai Nuo was still there. She was stunned for a moment, then came back to her senses. "I'm sorry, miss, you must have found this amusing." Although this wasn't the first time something like this had happened, Jiang San Niang still felt very embarrassed.
Bai Nuo shook her head. "I'm leaving now." Although she felt that Yu Ziqing was a bit weak, and that old woman Yu was not a good mother-in-law, asking her future daughter-in-law for money to support her elders before the marriage, and doing so in a condescending manner, Jiang San Niang might not have a good life after marrying into the family. But that was their business, and Bai Nuo felt that she shouldn't say too much to Jiang San Niang.
*
It was already evening when Bai Nuo returned to the sugarcane field. As he walked along the village road, the setting sun bathed everything in golden light, casting long shadows on all things.
Bai Nuo walked lightly towards the Bai family home, stepping on her own shadow. At this time, Bai Dalin had not yet returned, and Chen Qiuling should still be resting in bed. She had time to put all these things away.
"Silly Bai, what are you holding? Are you going to town?" Just as Bai Nuo was thinking about how to quietly put the things away, a woman walked out from the fields on both sides of the road. Bai Nuo's face froze when he looked at the woman in front of him.
The point isn't about meeting the villagers, but about this person. Bai Nuo hadn't formally met this woman, but she remembered her. She was involved in everything in the village, good or bad, and she was very gossipy. She was also quite close to Chen Qiuling.
"Aunt Yanfen, hehe, hello." Bai Nuo greeted her dryly. She couldn't ignore the person standing in front of her.
"Oh, you know my name now? Looks like you're not so stupid after all..." Huang Yanfen saw that Bai Nuo was holding a pile of fabric and immediately started flipping through it, saying as she did so, "Cotton fabric? Bought it for your mother?"
That little slut Chen Qiuling is really willing to spend money. Look at this cotton cloth, isn't it brand new? Bai Dalin is really willing to spend money on her, unlike that deadbeat of hers, who asks all sorts of questions and inquiries about every penny spent.
"Give me one, I'll talk to your mother later." Huang Yanfen chuckled and reached out to snatch the cotton cloth from Bai Nuo's hand.
She had finally managed to get this little bit of cotton cloth, and she wasn't about to let this gossipy woman take it. Bai Nuo looked at the twitching fat on Huang Yanfen's face and wanted to say, "You're dreaming."
But she didn't say anything. She forcefully tucked the cloth back into her arms and chuckled, "Auntie, this belongs to my stepmother. If you want it, ask her. I wouldn't dare give it to you. I won't say any more, I'm going back to cook now." Then she slipped away.
Back at the Bai family's door, Bai Nuo turned and headed towards the dilapidated house. She rolled the cotton cloth into a tattered mat and stuffed it under the bed before stopping. If Huang Yanfen, that gossipy woman, found out, Chen Qiuling and Bai Dalin would definitely find out too. She didn't dare leave it in Bai Yu's room or her grandmother's room; they would surely find out.
Her things aren't meant to benefit those people.
When she got home, Bai Dalin was indeed not back. Bai Nuo guessed that it was time to make dinner, so she went to Chen Qiuling's room to ask her what she wanted to eat. Chen Qiuling didn't even get up and just waved her away, saying, "Check what's in the kitchen. Be careful, I'm pregnant and can't eat just anything."
So Bai Nuo withdrew. She really didn't understand. The doctor only told Chen Qiuling to rest the pregnancy and not to disturb the fetus, but he didn't tell Chen Qiuling to lie down all the time. Wouldn't it be tiring to lie down like that? And isn't it true that pregnant women should also do some exercise?
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