She should also carefully keep the face cream that her second sister gave her, lest it benefit someone else.
Unexpectedly, beneath her clothes was not only a large box of what looked like expensive face cream, but also a bulging purse.
Upon opening the bag, Lin Daya gasped in shock and immediately dropped the purse as if it were biting her hand.
The purse fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and some copper coins and silver scraps rolled out.
Staring at these unfamiliar things, tears welled up in her eyes and quickly filled her eyes. She had never touched a single copper coin in her entire life.
Seeing so many copper coins and silver coins all of a sudden was a huge shock to her.
Before, her mother was in charge of the household at home, but after she went to her husband's family, her mother-in-law took over. She rarely even had the chance to see a copper coin, let alone touch it.
When she got married, her family made two trunks for her, a new set of clothes as her wedding dress, and a set of bedding for her on the kang (a heated brick bed).
But she wasn't given a single penny of her dowry money.
Whenever she heard other new brides boasting about how much dowry money their families had given them, Lin Daya would quietly walk away, because she couldn't get a word in edgewise and didn't want to flatter anyone.
Lin Daya never expected that her second sister would give her so many surprises and warmth during this trip back to her parents' home.
*
The second branch of the Lin family then returned to its previous dull state.
Lin Musheng simply stayed on the kang (a heated brick bed), diligently weaving things.
With her large pregnant belly, Xu would wander in and out of the house, either lying around inside or going outside to gossip and chatter with people. When it was time to go home, she would wait for her meal.
Lin Momo and Lin Sanya have once again taken on the role of mothers.
Lin Momo, who had taken on the complicated housework, was no longer as hardworking and conscientious as before. Instead, she adopted the mentality of a wage earner, slacking off whenever possible, taking the time to avoid work, and hiding away whenever possible.
Xu Zhiqiang has recently gone mad for some reason, making a scene at home insisting on marrying Zhang Erni, the youngest daughter of the Zhang family in the village.
He even threatened that he would not live if he could not marry Zhang Erni.
This terrified Mrs. Xu.
After inquiring around, they learned that a wealthy old man in a neighboring village, who couldn't have a son, had heard that Zhang Erni was fertile and was willing to pay 20 taels of silver as a bride price to take her as a concubine. Zhang Erni refused to marry an old man and cried her heart out at home.
His silly son got anxious when he saw his dream wife about to be snatched away by someone else.
Madam Xu felt that her son had no chance; who would want to marry their daughter to a wealthy man like Liu? So she went home and advised her son, "How can our family compete with that rich man Liu? Let's just forget about it. I will definitely have a matchmaker find you a girl even better than Zhang Erni in the future."
To everyone's surprise, Xu Zhiqiang confidently declared, "The Zhang family said that as long as our family can afford a dowry of twenty taels, they will marry Erni to me."
"Really? But we don't have that much money!"
Xu Zhiqiang suggested to his mother, "Why don't we just sell those two disobedient brats?"
It's fine if I didn't manage to sell them last time, but this time I can use the money from selling them to get myself a wife.
"Sold it? Who will do all the housework then?"
It wasn't that Madam Xu was reluctant to part with her daughter, but the housework still needed to be done. She certainly wouldn't lift a finger, and besides, Dongyue was about to give birth, so how could she manage without someone to take care of her?
Lin Zhiqiang, unusually quick-witted, said, "Mother, why can't you think outside the box? Once I marry Erni, you'll have a daughter-in-law to serve you, won't you?"
“But, but your grandfather won’t allow it to be sold. Besides, there’s your father. Would he let you sell those two girls? He can’t get out of bed right now, and he still needs those two dead girls to serve him.”
Despite the old man's imposing presence, Madam Xu remained somewhat hesitant.
Xu Zhiqiang, however, became defiant: "I don't care. If I can't marry Zhang Erni, I won't live anymore. I'll jump into the river right now!"
“You come back here right now! What, is Zhang Erni more important than your parents? Look at you, so spineless. If your dad hears this, he’ll definitely give you a beating.”
Xu's face turned pale with fright, but she still managed to scold the person back.
Xu Zhiqiang was just putting on an act for her. He hadn't even left the house when his mother scolded him, so he came back, but he stubbornly turned his head to the side and refused to look at his mother.
The commotion between the mother and daughter inside the house could be heard in the yard.
But it's not real.
But ever since Lin Momo learned that Xu Zhiqiang was making a fuss about getting married, she was wary of what bad intentions the mother and son might have and planned to get away as soon as possible.
When she waited in vain for a long time and still did not receive a reply, she even considered going to the county academy to look for Fan Chongyang.
Right now, it's the time of transition between autumn and winter.
Lin Momo felt she couldn't wait any longer.
She had to find herself a shelter in the mountains before the first snow fell.
So, at dawn that day, Lin Momo finally took action.
After dressing herself in the dim light streaming through the window, she tiptoed out of the house, opened the courtyard gate, and quietly left the Lin family home.
Outside Linjia Village, on the road leading to the county town.
A man dressed as a man, with a small stature, was walking unhurriedly, with a coarse cloth bundle hanging on his shoulder.
This person was none other than Lin Momo.
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