The incident where the eldest daughter-in-law almost miscarried was spread by some unscrupulous woman. It spread like wildfire, and almost everyone in the surrounding villages knew about it. The Cai family not only lost face, but their sons' marriages became even more difficult.
Granny Cai had to take her second son's marriage very seriously. She was determined to marry the girl no matter what.
That way, there will be one less bachelor in the family.
She managed to gather all the money she had saved up, but it only amounted to two strings of cash, far short of eight taels. She had been trying to persuade them for days, and finally managed to get two taels down, but she couldn't persuade them any further. This time, the family was determined to stick to their word and insist on six taels of silver, not a single coin less.
There's still a shortfall of four ounces, but where can we borrow it? Everyone in the village is in a similar situation, and none of our relatives are wealthy.
Ugh, this is really worrying me.
It seems the only way to pay for this is through the eldest daughter-in-law.
I heard that her second sister married a rich young master from town. She herself married into a good family, so she would definitely help her eldest sister out. Therefore, she was not surprised at all that her eldest daughter-in-law had money.
Today, after the father and sons carried buckets to the fields to irrigate, Granny Cai pushed open the door to her eldest daughter-in-law's room and began to pester her relentlessly.
Lin Daya almost miscarried a few days ago. Although she took some medicine, the baby in her belly was fortunately saved, but she still looked very bad and had no strength. She could only lie in bed to rest.
The mother-in-law was afraid of spending money and wouldn't even hire a doctor, let alone give her, a pregnant woman, special treatment.
The family's hens need to be kept to lay eggs, and those eggs need to be sold at the market for money. The money needs to be saved for the second son's wedding, as well as for buying oil and salt. There's no money to be spent on others.
Therefore, Lin Daya, who had just escaped death, did not take any tonics except for a few doses of medicine. Since she was feeling unwell, she decided to rest in the house and let her in-laws scold her as they pleased, ignoring their complaints.
She originally wanted to be more diligent and do more work to please her in-laws.
Now she's come to terms with it. Her in-laws don't treat her like family at all. No matter how much she tries to please them, it's like trying to feed a dog to a sheep.
Instead of trying to please others, it's better to establish yourself first. When others know that you are not someone who can be easily manipulated, they won't dare to bully you, and you'll have a better life.
Her second sister is a good example. Since she became more assertive, she not only looks much happier, but she also got a good marriage that is the envy of the surrounding villages.
Er Ya has already set an example for her, so she, as the eldest sister, can't be too timid.
Therefore, when her mother-in-law couldn't find any money and came to her crying about how difficult life was for the family, and how her second brother was almost twenty and still couldn't get married and was being laughed at by outsiders, she could only shed a few tears along with her.
She knew perfectly well that her mother-in-law was trying to be gentle now that her tough approach hadn't worked.
Fortunately, she had hidden the money that Er Ya had given her very well, so that no one but herself could find it. She only put twenty or thirty copper coins in the rat hole in the house as a mere formality.
This time, she used the copper coins from the rat hole to call the doctor. As for the cost of the medicine, she and the doctor agreed to pay on credit first, and he would send it to her when she was able to get out of bed.
When Granny Cai learned from her eldest son that Er Ya had married into a wealthy family, she felt proud and spread the word. The doctor, who lived in a neighboring village, happened to have heard about it and, not worried that she couldn't afford the medicine, readily agreed to help.
A few days ago, she was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), struggling to survive, when her mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to search the house, but they didn't find a single copper coin.
Instead of feeling angry and upset, she actually felt relieved.
If she hadn't been more careful back then, she would never have seen her usually domineering mother-in-law being so good to her.
She couldn't help but feel even more grateful to her second sister, who not only saved her and her unborn child's lives but also gave her the confidence to be independent.
“Da Ya, your second brother finally found a marriage partner. Now that you’re in the Cai family, we’re all family now, so we should all work together. I can see you’re a good person, so I’ll help your second brother this time.”
Once we've brought your second brother home with a wife, there will be more people to help with the work, and your burden will be lighter. You're feeling unwell this time, so just rest on the bed for a few days..."
Suddenly, the courtyard gate was pushed open with a loud bang, and a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes walked in.
"Mother, Mother—" the young man rushed into the yard in a panic and shouted into the house.
From the side room, Granny Cai shouted impatiently at the outside, "In broad daylight, are you trying to summon a soul here?"
The shouts outside stopped abruptly, and a moment later the young man came out of the house, slipped inside, and knelt down with a thud: "Sister-in-law, you really have to help me this time, otherwise I won't be able to get a wife."
This sudden kneeling startled both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Granny Cai quickly went to help her son up: "You silly boy, what's wrong with you? Get up and we'll talk about it later. Your sister-in-law is a kind and righteous woman. How could she bear to see her brother-in-law unable to find a wife?"
This kid has never even knelt before his parents, so why is he kneeling before his sister-in-law?
Granny Cai felt both sorry for her and jealous.
“Mother, sister-in-law, Guilan just ran over to me and said that someone from another village came to our house to propose marriage to her parents. They said they could offer five taels of silver as a betrothal gift. Since her parents see that we haven’t been able to come up with six taels of silver as a betrothal gift, they’re considering agreeing to the marriage proposal. They said the engagement is to be held the day after tomorrow. How can I not be anxious?”
“Sister-in-law, I’m begging you! Consider this money a loan, and I will definitely pay you back in the future. My parents have two taels of silver, and if you lend me another four taels, that will be enough. After I marry Guilan, I will bring her with me to kowtow to you, sister-in-law.”
Cai Erlang spoke so quickly and urgently that it felt as if a wolf was chasing him from behind.
How could he not be anxious when his wife, whom he had almost gotten, was about to leave him?
Lin Daya, leaning against the kang (a heated brick bed), had a rather complicated expression. When the Cai family married her, they didn't give her a single tael of silver, and of course, she didn't bring any dowry either, so that matter was left unmentioned.
But how could she, as the elder sister-in-law, possibly give four taels of silver to her younger brother-in-law for his wedding?
She knew this door couldn't be opened; once it was opened, it would be opened again and again, until they squeezed every last penny out of her.
Just when she was in a dilemma, someone appeared to help her out.
"Is anyone home? Is your older sister home? It's me, Er Ya, I've come to see you!"
Hearing that incredibly familiar voice, Lin Daya breathed a sigh of relief. She had just been thinking about her younger sister, and here she was, arriving at just the right time.
The Cai family couldn't possibly force her to give money to her brother-in-law for his wedding in front of her own family, could they?
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