Chapter 16 A Condition
Zhao Qiao'e put down her chopsticks and looked at Song Yuntang in a negotiating tone.
"Tang'er, mother has thought about it. It's not a good thing that the bastard from the Huang family is always thinking about you. Just in case, mother will ask the matchmaker to find a family that is a little far away for you tomorrow. We can settle the marriage first. As long as the person is considerate, even if he is not rich, it should be no problem for you to live a stable life."
If Song Yuntang had not undergone some changes in the past few days, she would not have dared to persuade her like this.
Song Yuntang shook his head without even thinking.
"I don't want to entrust the rest of my life to someone I don't know so easily. You don't have to worry about Huang Heyu's affairs. Mr. Xu said he would help me settle it."
"Mr. Xu?" Zhuzi said frankly, "He doesn't seem like someone who would meddle in other people's business."
Song Jinsheng clicked his tongue and glared at him.
Seeing this, Zhuzi retracted his head again.
"After lunch today, I went to see Mr. Xu. It just so happens that I can cure his illness. We agreed that I would help him with his illness and he would help me settle the matter with Huang Heyu." She looked at Zhao Qiao'e, "So, mother, don't worry about my marriage. I will always meet a suitable one."
If it really doesn't work, then don't get married.
But she didn't dare to say the last sentence.
"Mr. Xu is a prudent man. He will definitely do what he says. But we can't be sure that Huang Heyu won't use some dirty tricks to deal with you behind your back." Zhao Qiao'e looked at Song Yuntang with worry in her eyes. "Mother still thinks that it is safest for Tang'er to get married smoothly. You are already sixteen years old. Even if there is no Huang Heyu, you should consider marriage."
Song Jinbao nodded and said, "Your mother is right."
Song Yuntang pursed his lips and said, "My second brother hasn't even gotten married yet, why should I be in such a hurry?"
"How can it be the same?" Zhao Qiao'e said earnestly, "If our family had money, your second brother would have married a wife a long time ago. Now there is nothing we can do about it, right? If it weren't for the incident with Huang Heyu, mother would have wanted you to stay at home for another year or so, to spend more time with me and your father."
Song Yuntang said "oh" lightly.
"Don't you have to prepare a dowry when you marry off your daughter? Since you have no money, there's no need to worry about it."
Zhao Qiao'e had thought of this a long time ago.
"Our family has had a lot of expenses over the years, but I still have a few taels of silver left. I'll keep some for household expenses, and give the rest to your in-laws." She looked at Song Jinsheng apologetically, "But if this happens, Jinsheng's marriage will have to be postponed for another year or two."
Song Jinsheng didn't care, "I'm fine, just take care of your sister first."
But in fact, he was reluctant to let his sister get married at this critical juncture. He felt that his sister had just begun to accept this family and get more familiar with him as her brother. If his sister got married, they would not have so many opportunities to spend time together in the future.
When Song Yuntang talked about the dowry, his original intention was not for the money at home. He simply had not considered the matter of marriage yet and wanted Zhao Qiao'e to give up.
Now the mother and son were speaking in unison, leaving her speechless.
"In that case, I have one condition."
"What conditions?" Zhao Qiao'e asked.
"Before the marriage is decided, I must at least meet the other party and get to know him/her first, and you cannot make a decision for me without my permission." Song Yuntang looked at her seriously, "If you can't meet this condition, I would rather not get married."
Zhao Qiao'e nodded happily to this.
"That's for sure. It's you who's getting married, so naturally I have to please you."
Little did she know that this promise almost made her worry until her hair turned white.
Song Yuntang nodded and looked in the direction of Song Jinbao with his clear eyes.
"Dad, can we use the wood stored in the beams of the pigsty?"
Song Jinbao still felt strange when he heard Song Yuntang calling him dad again.
He looked puzzled.
"What do you want the wood for?"
The wood was what was left over from building the current mud brick and tile house when the family split up five years ago. Since the wood was in good condition, I wanted to save it first. It wouldn't take up much space if I put it on the beams, and it would be perfect for use when I expand the house by two more rooms in the future.
However, the two younger sons were not yet old enough to have their own rooms, and the family was not well-off, so nothing had been done.
Song Jinsheng rushed to say before Song Yuntang, "Dad, don't ask yet, it's definitely a surprise."
After hearing what Song Jinsheng said, Song Jinbao nodded after a slight hesitation.
"Okay, you guys go do it yourselves. At worst, when you add on the house, I can go to the mountains to chop wood."
After finalizing this matter, Song Yuntang fumigated some mugwort in the room and then went out to wash up. He had not eaten enough in the first place, so he had to go to sleep before the food in his stomach was completely digested. Otherwise, it would be very uncomfortable to sleep on an empty stomach.
…
The next day, Song Jinsheng called Song Mazi home early in the morning. With the help of Song Jinbao and Song Jinyuan, they quickly took down the wood needed for the waterwheel from the beams.
After several people delivered the wood to Song Mazi's house on a cart, they went back home and each carried a bucket of water to the fields.
Now that they have the wood, they can start making the waterwheel first. Tung oil can be said to be the biggest expense for the waterwheel, but there is no rush. It will be the same if they go to buy it in ten days, or they can just ask Song Mazi to buy it for them, and she will pay for it then.
After what happened yesterday, Song Yuntang didn't dare to go to the mountains alone, but she couldn't sit still at home without any entertainment.
Lying on the bed, she thought about this and that. The conditions here were limited. It was OK that the mountains were empty in the famine, but Huang Heyu was watching her closely from behind, which really affected her performance.
Suddenly, the voices of Liu and her next-door neighbor sister-in-law Tian were heard outside the door.
"Xiangyun, you're already over four months pregnant, how come you don't look pregnant at all? Is there something wrong with the baby?"
Liu touched her belly and smiled gently.
"That shouldn't be the case. Jinyuan even got me some medicine from the town. I feel much better after taking the medicine these days."
Tian held her half-year-old son who was already asleep in her arms, glanced at Song Yuntang's room with a strange expression, and whispered, "The medicine he prescribed for you, couldn't it be prescribed by your sister-in-law who knows nothing?"
Hearing this, the smile on Liu's face disappeared.
"Don't talk about her like that."
Tian glanced at her sideways. "You are so careless that you dare to take the medicine she prescribed. I heard that she went to see Mr. Xu yesterday. I have never heard that she can treat diseases before. If something goes wrong, wouldn't it harm people? Fortunately, Mr. Xu has a good temper."
Liu shook her head, "I believe Tang'er won't harm me."
I've been with Song Yuntang for such a long time, but I've never seen her hurt anyone.
In the past, she did have the temper of a young lady from a wealthy family, but there was nothing she could do about it. After being a daughter of Mr. Lin's family for more than ten years, it was normal that she couldn't get over it all of a sudden. But recently, she seemed to have changed a little and was not as aloof as before.
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