Chapter 3: Leaving Her Behind This is the vegetable garden in the backyard of the Xiao family...
Lin Qiuran said, "Mom, just keep the money. I can't take it."
It was already very good that the Xiao family was willing to give her a dowry. Sun was also sad about losing her son. The two of them should leave some money for retirement and make plans for the future.
Sun said, "Take it if I give it to you, Qiuran. I have something to say from the bottom of my heart. My family has never seen anything like this in all the years we've been hunting. We found it after Xiao Xun left. He must be watching over you from the heavens, and he wants you to have an easier life in the future. Think about it, that road is well-traveled, so how did I see it?"
Her first marriage turned into her second. If Xiao Xun had gotten into trouble a few years after her marriage, it would have been fine, but it had only been more than two months. This is why Sun always felt sorry for Lin Qiuran.
Lin Qiuran said, "Mother, this is also Xiao Xun's gift to you."
Sun scolded, "If he really meant it, he should have lived well. It was so easy for him to just leave, and those who stayed behind felt sad for him."
Seeing that Sun was about to cry again, Lin Qiuran quickly said, "How about this, I'll take five taels, and you and Dad can keep half. I can't take all the silver."
Sun nodded, took a deep breath, and gave five taels of silver to Lin Qiuran. "Keep it. I'll go take food to your father."
Lin Qiuran sighed inwardly and handed the bamboo basket filled with rice to Sun. After the others left, she sat down to eat. Although there was no meat today, the spicy flavor of the chili peppers paired with the soft and tender eggplant was delicious.
The pancake was a little dry, but the vegetables were wrapped in it and it went well with rice. This was a simplified version of the preserved egg and eggplant with peppers that Lin Qiuran used to eat. The Xiao family didn't have preserved eggs, but they had plenty of eggplant and peppers.
In the afternoon, Lin Qiuran slept for a while and then went to weed the vegetable garden. Sun and Xiao Dashi also did the same thing. In summer, there is a lot of rain and the grass grows fast. If the weeds are not removed diligently, the grass will grow fast and compete with the crops in the field for nutrients. After a long time, it will grow taller than the crops, and the crops will naturally not produce food.
The sun was a bit strong, so Lin Qiuran found a straw hat to put on, took a small hoe and a bench and went to the vegetable garden.
She would sit down, hoe a piece of land clean, and then move on to another place.
Someone from her parents' home will probably be coming tomorrow. She should go back first and abort the child. As for remarriage, she can put it off. Lin Qiuran doesn't want to marry, and as long as she can make money, no one will force her to marry. Perhaps her original self wanted to keep the child, but as a time traveler from the modern era, Lin Qiuran couldn't convince herself to be a mother. Especially since her husband is dead, and Sun and Xiao Dashi are getting older, the burden will definitely fall on her shoulders.
As he was thinking this, the hoe dug up something hard. Lin Qiuran was stunned for a moment, then dug down a few more times and found a small square box.
It looked like an old thing, as there was some rust on it. The box also had a lock, which was also rusted. Lin Qiuran hit it twice with a hoe, and the lock fell off, revealing the object. The object was wrapped in cloth, and the cloth looked very delicate, but a little rotten.
Lin Qiuran weighed it and found it was still a bit heavy. She was afraid that it was something bad, so she just shook it open, and a golden bracelet and a pair of gold earrings fell out.
Lin Qiuran was really stunned this time. Did she dig up gold in the vegetable garden in the backyard of the Xiao family?
That must be when Sun hid here.
Lin Qiuran put the things away, stopped hoeing the ground, and hurried back to the house. She had dug it out, and if Sun Shi looked for it later and couldn't find it, she would be worried.
On the other side, Sun followed Xiao Dashi and almost finished weeding the field. Three acres of land was not very big, and weeding was not a very troublesome job. It was just that her waist hurt from bending over all day.
Xiao Dashi was still angry because Sun had given the money to Lin Qiuran. He could be angry if he wanted to, but Sun didn't care. He couldn't just say he treated her like his own daughter while being on guard against her. Now that their son was gone, Lin Qiuran was their only hope. After all, she was better than the Xiao family's relatives.
If we take this money, I'm afraid we won't even hear a sound.
When she got home in the evening, Sun went to look under the tree she had been at yesterday. There was no Ganoderma today. Such good stuff can only be picked up once, but it can be picked up every time.
Sun and Xiao Dashi carried their farm tools home. Seeing them arrive home, Lin Qiuran breathed a sigh of relief. "Mom, I'm going to weed the vegetable garden today."
Sun said, "You don't have to do that job. Your father will go there one morning and you can just take a rest."
Lin Qiuran nodded and continued, "Then I dug something out of the ground. This must be what you buried earlier."
Everyone knows that wealth should not be shown off. If there are any good things, they will definitely be hidden to prevent them from being robbed by thieves in the future.
Sun's expression was unclear. "I haven't buried anything in the vegetable garden."
Lin Qiuran quickly took out the box. "I looked at the things, but I didn't touch them. There was a bracelet and a pair of earrings inside."
Sun was stunned, "Qiuran, this really wasn't buried by me."
Sun looked at the box carefully. It was made of wood with patterns on it. She looked at the things inside. The bracelet and earrings were very clean and beautiful. How could the Xiao family have such good things?
Sun shook her head. "I haven't buried this, and I don't have anything like it at home. If I had, I would have told you long ago."
Lin Qiuran looked at the box in confusion. Did she really dig this out of the garden? Yesterday, Sun had just picked up some Ganoderma lucidum, and today, she had unearthed a gold bracelet in the garden. Lin Qiuran thought it might be fake, but the bracelet was radiant gold, and there was no technology to fake it in that era.
Fearing it might be damaged, Sun gently bent the gold leaf on the earring. "It moves, so it's gold. I don't know who used it, though. I guess someone fled here and buried it in the ground. Then they turned the soil while growing vegetables, and it landed on it. Since you dug it up, you can keep it. If you're worried it might be unlucky, you might pawn it. It looks pretty heavy."
Lin Qiuran nodded and put the things away. With money, she could open a small shop or rent a stall, and also take care of her health.
She smiled at Sun and said, "Thank you, mother."
Sun said, "What's there to thank me for? You were the one who dug it out in the first place. It's a happy occasion."
Lin Qiuran nodded and planned to exchange it for silver and leave some for the two of them.
Since she had nothing to do, as farmers work from sunrise to sunset, Lin Qiuran returned to her room. She put the silver and other things together, including the gold bracelets, gold earrings, the money she had saved before and the money given by Sun, which totaled more than eight taels of silver.
In this era, there are so many of them in the countryside. This bracelet can probably be worth more than ten taels of silver.
Lin Qiuran was lying on the bed. In the village, other people had large families and were crowded together. It was already good enough for her to have a room by herself.
She reached out and touched her belly, but still felt nothing. She was not her original self, and had no feelings for Xiao Xun or the child. She had been eating and working as usual these past two days, and had not suffered from morning sickness. Overall, the child was very obedient.
If I say I'm reluctant, no, but what happened in the past two days has made Lin Qiuran think more. Leaving the Xiao family and returning to her parents' home is a way out, but in this day and age, she can't stay there forever. If she gets married, marrying someone with good character and having someone to rely on is not bad. But if she marries someone bad, then it's all over.
In this society, if you get married you will probably have to have children, so it would be better for you to stay in the Xiao family.
Now that she has money, maybe she can give birth to the child and raise him well, with Sun and Xiao Dashi helping to take care of him. Besides, Sun has a good personality and looks okay, so Xiao Xun won't be too bad either, as he has good genes.
What's more, medical facilities in this era are primitive and abortion is harmful to the body, so Lin Qiuran hesitated whether to give birth to the child.
Nowadays, money is not lacking, and this unexpected wealth should be enough to give birth to a child in this era. Sun thought that she picked up the Ganoderma lucidum because of Xiao Xun, but she also felt that it was because of this child.
At first, she was afraid of having a child because she was afraid that the Xiao family elders would be bad-tempered and leave the burden to her. But after spending a few days with her, she found that Sun was kind and considerate. She didn't give her less food just because she wanted to abort the child.
Xiao Dashi is honest and doesn't like to talk, but he is capable of working.
For a married woman, her sister-in-law might still be thinking about her things.
At dinner, Lin Qiuran still had eggs. He was still thinking about these things at night, but he didn't suffer from insomnia and fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, Lin Qiuran woke up and found Sun and Xiao Dashi nowhere to be found. She went to the vegetable garden and saw Sun weeding, digging deeper than usual, fearing someone might have buried something, but there was nothing.
Sun gave up and could still pick up money every time.
Lin Qiuran asked Sun, "Where's Dad?"
Sun said, "He went to the river to fish."
There were no chickens left at home, and she needed to take care of herself during the postpartum period, so drinking some fish soup would be just right. Mrs. Liu had come last time, and Mrs. Sun would probably come again today. She would then have a good talk with Mrs. Liu.
Sun said, "I left some eggs for you, go eat them quickly."
The eggs at home were saved and now they are almost gone, so she has to go exchange them with other families.
Lin Qiuran nodded and went out of the vegetable garden. Coincidentally, Xiao Dashi came back from outside. He carried two bamboo baskets, one in front and one behind. Lin Qiuran saw from a distance that both baskets were filled with carp longer than his forearm.
Caught two baskets of carp in one morning?
Xiao Dashi said, "Hurry up and call your mother to put it in the water and feed it. It will be edible for a long time."
Lin Qiuran hurried to the vegetable garden. She lowered her voice and said, "Mom, Dad is back and wants you to come over."
Sun brushed the dirt off her body and stood up, "So fast."
When she got home and saw the two baskets of fish, Sun was stunned for a moment. Then she closed the door and quickly went to find a wooden basin and barrel, using whatever she could to release the fish. She counted twenty-one. How long would it take to eat them all?
Sun said, "You are quite capable. You caught so many, and they are all alive."
I've fished before, but I've never seen so many catches.
Xiao Dashi said, "I was lucky today. There were so many fish in the river. I caught several at a time, more than anyone else. I let the small ones go and only kept the big ones. There were still so many left. I hurried back because I was afraid someone would see me."
Something happened to the Xiao family, but jealousy does not know when to stop.
Sun smiled at Lin Qiuran and said, "This is enough to last for a long time. I'll make you some fish soup later."
Lin Qiuran nodded, feeling a little moved.
Xiao Dashi moved the fish to a cool place. Lin Qiuran wanted to help, but Sun asked her to rest.
Lin Qiuran didn't rest for long, as someone from her parents' home came. Liu came with her daughter-in-law Yu, but her son didn't come.
Yu looked at the pot of fish placed in front of the Xiao family's door, and then saw Sun stewing fish soup in the kitchen, her eyes rolling around.
Liu said hello to Sun and went inside to see her daughter. After closing the door, she asked anxiously, "Why is your mother-in-law still stewing fish? You said you didn't want this child?"
Lin Qiuran nodded hesitantly, and Liu heaved a sigh of relief, "Then go back with mother soon."
Yu said, "Why are you in such a hurry, sister? Where are the fish? These old couple do have some conscience. If I were to ask you to remarry into the Xiao family, you would have to pay a betrothal gift. My sister is a good virgin, but her husband died right after she got married, and she's pregnant. She should at least make up for it. Don't worry, sister, your good days are ahead. I helped you find a match a few days ago. The previous one died, and the family has two sons. They are willing to pay a betrothal gift of five taels of silver."
Yu smiled and said, "Although your first marriage was not good, the next one will be a good life."
Lin Qiuran frowned: "Widower?"
Yu said, "What's wrong with being a widower? You're also a widow. The bride price is high. You're lucky to have such a good marriage after your husband's death."
Lin Qiuran said, "Mother, sister-in-law, even if I go back to my parents' home, I don't want to get married so soon..."
Mrs. Yu raised her voice, "Why not get married? Just eat free meals at home."
Lin Qiuran glanced at Liu. Liu lowered her head. If she took her daughter back, her daughter-in-law would be unhappy, and she had no say in other matters.
"Sister, I have to advise you not to be so picky. If you miss this opportunity, you will never find it again. It will be too late to regret if you find something as good as this one later."
Lin Qiuran had recently sorted out her original body's dowry: a chest, two sets of clothes, two quilts, and nothing else. Her original body's mother was soft-hearted, and since her sister-in-law was the head of the household, she had no say. But she was her younger sister, and since her husband had just died and she had no children, she was being sold for the bride price.
Not even as good as the Xiao family.
Lin Qiuran was about to say something when Sun pushed the door open and said, "What the hell? A widower with two sons, how can you be considered a good family? You're still my mother and sister-in-law, so get out of here! I'm making this clear today: once Qiuran marries into our Xiao family, she's a member of ours. Even if she remarries, she'll have to marry someone from the Xiao family!"
Lin Qiuran was stunned for a moment, looking at Sun and forgot to speak.
Yu raised her chin and said arrogantly, "Aunt, this matter is not up to you. After all, Qiuran is also a member of my Lin family. What does it have to do with the Xiao family? Don't worry about it."
Lin Qiuran: "Mom, sister-in-law, you two should go back first. I'm not a fool. Why would I kill my own child to raise someone else's? I was planning to go back to my parents' house and tell them. You coming here will save me the trouble. I plan to keep the child. You two should go back."
The author has something to say:
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Cub: Mom, I will bring my own food and also bring food for you.
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