Chapter 16 Steamed Taro with Pork
The Wu family mother and son had a sleepless night. The next day, before leaving, Wu Ermao made a special statement that he would not consider the Yu family.
After saying that, Wu Ermao went to the military camp.
Aunt Wu was so angry that she couldn't eat, but her son refused to go, so she had to find the matchmaker and ask to postpone it for a few days.
After hearing this, the matchmaker clapped her hands and said it was simple, "I thought it was something incredibly difficult, but this is very easy. Come closer, let me tell you..."
Marriage requires the consent of both parties. After listening to the matchmaker's words, Aunt Wu immediately went to the riverbank to find Lin Xiahe.
"Xia He, why are you alone today?"
Aunt Wu was washing clothes on Lin Xiahe's plate, carrying a basin of laundry. "Where are your mother and your older brother?"
Lin Xiahe glanced at Aunt Wu's clothes. "My mother has a stomachache and went to the outhouse. My older brother went to deliver some goods and will be back later. Aunt, would you like to go upstairs and wash some more? Don't let me get them dirty." Out of kindness, she still reminded her.
However, she was a little curious, because ordinary people wouldn't come here to wash clothes, as it wasn't close to their alley.
"Okay, I'll move up a bit." Aunt Wu shifted her position, but she had something on her mind. After a while, she put down her clothes and squatted down next to Lin Xiahe. "Xiahe, you're really capable. Has your mother arranged a marriage for you recently?"
Lin Xiahe was slightly taken aback, not understanding why Aunt Wu brought this up.
"If not, how about I introduce you to a potential spouse?" Aunt Wu was so eager to find Lin Xiahe a marriage partner that she didn't notice Lin Xiahe's darkening expression. "I have a nephew on my family's side, a couple of years older than you. He owns a few acres of land, and as long as he works hard, his family can have enough to eat and wear. I think you're really good, and I figured it's good to keep the wealth within the family. Would you like to consider it?"
Lin Xiahe's biological mother and stepfather are both alive. Even if marriage is arranged, the Lin couple are not consulted first. No one would bypass the elders to approach them.
She thought about it for a moment and guessed why. A lump formed in her throat, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Auntie, you are an elder, but you shouldn't be telling me this. My parents are both fine."
"I'm..." Aunt Wu was anxious, but when she saw Qiao Jiawang in the distance, she could only give up for the time being. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm doing this for your own good. You are the child I watched grow up. I won't harm you. I can guarantee that my nephew's character is a million times better than that Yuan Qiang's."
She was willing to introduce Lin Xiahe to her nephew because she thought Lin Xiahe was capable and a good person. Seeing that Lin Xiahe was not happy, she thought that she was indeed too anxious. After watching the Qiao siblings leave, she learned that Lin Xiahe's stomach was not feeling well, so she went home and brought a bag of herbs over.
Only Lin and her parents-in-law were at the Qiao family home. Aunt Wu greeted Zhang and his wife, then went inside and found Lin. "Sister, did you eat something bad?"
"It's too hot, so I drank two bowls of well water to cool off. Please sit down." Lin felt dizzy and nauseous, and pointed to the stool in the room.
"Then you have heatstroke. I brought you some herbs. I'll have Xia He brew some for you later, and you'll be better by tomorrow." Aunt Wu looked at Lin with a smile, making Lin feel very uncomfortable.
After a while, Lin noticed that Aunt Wu was smiling but not saying anything, so she couldn't help but ask what was wrong.
"Actually, it's a good thing, I just didn't know how to bring it up." Aunt Wu talked about her nephew's situation. "I was so busy the other day that I was thinking about Er Mao coming back and forgot that Xia He and my nephew were a good match. Luckily, the matchmaker reminded me, so I rushed to find you. Xia He is such a good girl. If she could be my nephew's wife, my Wu family would be burning incense in gratitude."
She became more and more excited as she spoke, praising her nephew to the skies. "Sister, I watched Xia He grow up. You know me, I can be a bit gossipy, but I have a good heart, don't you think?"
At first, Mrs. Lin genuinely thought it was good news, but the more she listened, the more suspicious she became. She hadn't asked the matchmaker to mention her daughter's marriage again, so why was the matchmaker telling Aunt Wu these things?
Moreover, Aunt Wu says how good Xia He is, but why doesn't she say the same to her own son?
Lin was already upset, and hearing this made her feel even more uncomfortable. They had been neighbors for over ten years, and from Aunt Wu's usual conversations, she knew that Aunt Wu's sister-in-law was a shrew, and her brother was a coward. Regardless of what kind of person Aunt Wu's nephew was, she couldn't marry into a family with such in-laws.
“We’ve been neighbors for so many years, you don’t need to beat around the bush. Don’t worry, even if I raise Xiahe for the rest of my life, I will never let her marry your Er Mao.”
Still unable to swallow her anger, and feeling unwell herself, Lin spoke without holding back, "Go ahead and try to climb the social ladder; our family will never interfere with Er Mao's future. But I'm telling you this now: if I hear anything bad about Xia He from the matchmaker, I'll fight you to the death!"
A young woman's reputation is of utmost importance. Madam Lin does not aspire to sell her daughters for personal gain; she only wishes for her daughters to find good husbands.
She would usually be tolerant, but when Aunt Wu mentioned discussing her daughter with the matchmaker, she had to make a statement.
Aunt Wu froze. "Sister, what are you saying? I..."
"Alright, stop pretending. We've been neighbors for so many years, I know what you're after the first word you say."
Lin took a deep breath. "Your Er Mao has become successful. It's normal for you to want to marry into a wealthy family, I understand. But you can't push my daughter into a fire pit. Our two families have never discussed marriage. You don't need to come running around in fear to talk about Xia He's marriage. I will take good care of my daughter, and please take good care of your son as well."
A person lives for their pride, and Lin couldn't swallow this insult, so she didn't hold back.
She turned and lay down. "Take the herbs with you, I'm going to sleep."
Aunt Wu watched Lin's retreating figure, feeling extremely embarrassed. She hadn't expected Lin to be so direct. She was doing it for the good of the two children; did her son really want to marry Lin Xiahe instead of choosing a better family?
Aunt Wu, holding her breath, stormed off with the herbs in her arms.
After a while, Zhang came in and asked what happened.
"It's nothing. Maybe I was too tired and not very enthusiastic towards her, so she was unhappy." Lin said softly, her back to her mother-in-law, tears silently streaming down her face.
Zhang knew something was wrong, but her daughter-in-law said it was nothing and didn't want to say more. "Then you rest. I've made some medicine for you, and Xia He will bring it to you later."
Madam Lin hummed in agreement, and only after her mother-in-law left did she raise her hand to wipe away her tears.
From the moment she married into the Qiao family, she treated her two stepsons well, was filial to her parents-in-law, and devoted herself to maintaining the household, all so that her two daughters could have a place to live.
Later, as her daughters grew up, she couldn't bear to hit or scold them, thinking that finding them good husbands would bring her peace of mind. Now, however, her second daughter's marriage was proving difficult, and she wondered if she wasn't capable enough.
"mother."
The word "Mother" made Lin quickly wipe away her tears. She thought it was her second daughter, but it turned out to be her youngest daughter bringing in medicine.
"Fourth Sister went to gather herbs for you. You should drink the medicine that Grandmother brewed first." Qiao Mianmian sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her mother to finish the medicine. She noticed that her mother's eyes were red and asked what was wrong.
Lin couldn't tell her parents-in-law her worries, let alone her husband. Facing her youngest daughter, she sighed and started talking about the Wu family, "It's because I'm useless that your fourth sister is looked down upon. That Wu family is infuriating. I haven't even expressed any intention to arrange a marriage with them, but they're afraid we'll cling to their son, so they came to me all this time."
She held her youngest daughter's hand and said, "You should keep this to yourself and not tell anyone. Especially your fourth sister, she'll be upset."
It wasn't because she couldn't marry into the Wu family that she felt bad, but because she felt inferior due to being looked down upon. From a young age, Lin taught her two daughters to be obedient and sensible so that they wouldn't be disliked.
Looking back now, I wonder if my two daughters felt wronged many times.
"I know, but I won't tell anyone." Qiao Mianmian frowned slightly, thinking that Aunt Wu must have failed to persuade Wu Ermao, so she turned her attention to Fourth Sister.
This is outrageous!
After calming Lin down, Qiao Mianmian went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. She cut the taro into chunks and the fried pork belly into long pieces as well, and marinated them together with seasonings for a while.
She washed a handful of dried plum vegetables, intending to steam them with the meat later. When she saw her fourth sister come in with herbs, she wanted to help, but her fourth sister said no need.
"I'll take care of it. How is Mother? Is she still feeling unwell?" Lin Xiahe had already washed the herbs and crushed them to make tea later.
"I'm feeling a bit better." Qiao Mianmian noticed that her fourth sister looked a little listless. After washing the dried plum vegetables, she squatted down next to her fourth sister. "Fourth sister, is something on your mind?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Lin Xiahe smiled. "There's so much work to do at home, I'm busy every day."
“But I can tell you’re unhappy.” Qiao Mianmian keenly sensed her fourth sister’s mood. “If something’s wrong, just tell me. We’re sisters. Tell me what’s wrong, and I can give you some advice.”
Lin Xiahe glanced in the direction of the door. She wasn't surnamed Qiao, so there were many things she couldn't discuss with her grandparents. She also didn't want her mother to worry about her. After Aunt Wu came to see her, she thought about it carefully and realized that Wu Ermao had indeed been coming to see her frequently since he returned.
Seeing her sister's concerned look, she lowered her head and looked at the ground, then told her about Aunt Wu's visit. "I never even thought about what would happen between me and Wu Ermao, but Aunt Wu just wants to arrange a marriage for me. Mianmian, I know my circumstances are average, but... but they're not that bad, are they?"
"Of course you're good-looking, and you're also considerate and hardworking. Everyone in our alley praises you. It's just that Aunt Wu is a snob. She only started to have ambitions after seeing that Wu Ermao became a centurion."
Qiao Mianmian said angrily, "Moreover, it was Wu Ermao who was only in love with you. You had nothing, and she rushed over in such a hurry. It was really bullying."
After a pause, Qiao Mianmian suddenly remembered something, "Fourth Sister, you don't like Wu Ermao, do you?"
"Of course I don't like him." Lin Xiahe hadn't gotten over Yuan Qiang's incident yet, so how could she be interested in someone else so quickly? "I still remember the time he climbed a tree when we were kids and was too scared to come down, so he soiled his pants. How could I like him?"
She remembered it was a persimmon tree, full of bright orange persimmons, very beautiful. The host allowed her and Wu Ermao to pick two, but they had to pick them themselves. As a result, Wu Ermao climbed up but couldn't get down, and the host went out, so the two of them could only wait until evening.
Wu Ermao couldn't help but wet his pants, and people in the alley still talk about it and make fun of it. She feels ashamed just thinking about it. Because of the word, as more and more people talked about it, it became the story that she and Wu Ermao both wet their pants in the tree.
Qiao Mianmian didn't remember this incident. After thinking for a moment, she laughed and said, "Then he's really embarrassing."
“Yes, that’s why I definitely won’t like him.” Lin Xiahe sighed as she spoke. “I’m just worried that if he comes looking for me again, Aunt Wu will definitely be unhappy, and I don’t want my mother to worry.”
"By the way, don't tell your mother, you absolutely mustn't!"
Neither mother nor daughter wanted to upset the other, so they both asked Qiao Mianmian to keep it a secret.
Qiao Mianmian was stunned for a moment, thinking that this must be what family is like. She had never felt the kinship in her previous life, but now she had a loving family. She forgave God for not giving her a life of great wealth and honor in her transmigration.
"Okay, I won't tell Mother." Qiao Mianmian's eyes darted around. "Are you sure you don't want Wu Ermao to come looking for you again?"
"Um!"
"Then leave it to me, I'll go find him tomorrow." Qiao Mianmian heard voices outside, it was her second brother and the others returning. "I'll cook first, don't think too much, we have nothing to hide, we haven't done anything wrong."
As they were talking, Qiao Jiaxing arrived at the kitchen door and asked impatiently what they wanted to eat.
"We're having taro steamed with pork, and some wild vegetables that Grandma picked." Qiao Mianmian used dried plum vegetables as a base, then layered taro and pork belly on top of each other, and put them in a pot to steam with rice.
The wild vegetables have been washed; they'll just need to be stir-fried with lard later.
Soon, the aroma of taro, mingled with the oily fragrance of meat and the sweet scent of rice, filled the entire kitchen.
While waiting for the meat to steam, Qiao Mianmian put the braised meat in the pot. She had just bought a new pot and put it in the yard to cook the braised meat.
Without the kitchen walls blocking the way, the aroma of braised meat can more easily waft out of the courtyard.
The neighbors were used to the smell, but the newly arrived Lu Zhao and his servants all had stomachs rumbling in unison.
"Sir, what's that smell of braised meat again?" Qingjiu tiptoed, following the aroma. "It seems to be coming from this family. Why do they cook braised meat every day?"
After they moved in, they left early and returned late, rarely running into their neighbors in the alley. They didn't know that the Qiao family across the street sold braised meat.
Qingjiu was really craving it, and kept swallowing his saliva. "Sir, don't you want to eat?" He really wanted to freeload a meal.
Looking at the burnt rice in the pot, Lu Zhao also wanted to ask, "Why is the rice burnt again?"
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