Chapter 32 [VIP]
Wang Ying, as if she had never seen the world before, kept peering out the car window.
Chen Qingyan then used his hand to shield his head, afraid that the bumpy ride would cause him to hit his head.
Uncle Chen had visited his third aunt's house a few times with his father in earlier years, so he was quite familiar with the Lin family. He drove straight to Que'er Hutong in the east of the city.
"Tell me about your third aunt's family situation, so we can greet them when we get there."
Chen Qingyan said, "My third aunt's husband's surname is Lin. He was also a scholar. He used to run a private school, but he stopped and now works as an accountant at a pawnshop. My two cousins are named Lin Qiu, who is a year younger than me, and Lin Sui, who is the same age as Qingyun."
Wang Ying memorized everything. After about 15 minutes, the carriage finally arrived at the Lin family's gate.
Before I even entered the door, I could hear arguing coming from inside.
"A family like the Fang family is a marriage prospect! Isn't this pushing my Qiu'er into a fire pit? Are you so poor you can't even afford to eat, that you've resorted to selling your children!"
"Don't put it so harshly. What's wrong with Fang Erlang? He's good-looking and from a good family. He and Qiu'er are a good match."
"Pah! Drinking and frequenting brothels can't lead to a good marriage! How could you say such a thing? You're supposed to be a scholar, but you've wasted all your education!"
"Chen Rong, don't push your luck!"
Wang Ying couldn't stand it anymore, so she jumped off the carriage and knocked on the door. "Knock knock knock, is Third Aunt home?"
The courtyard was quiet for a moment. The gate opened, and Chen Sangu looked at Wang Ying, seemingly unsure if she recognized her. She asked hesitantly, "Who are you?"
Chen Qingyan stepped forward and said, "Third Aunt, it's me."
Aunt Chen's eyes lit up. "Yan'er? Ying'er, what brings you here!"
"It's almost Chinese New Year, so I've come to visit you and your third aunt's husband."
"Oh dear, you've come all this way! Come on in!"
The Lin family's courtyard was not large, with only three main rooms and two side rooms. Although the family was small, they had enough space to live in.
Seeing that they looked a little uncomfortable, the third uncle greeted them and left.
Chen Sangu ignored him and pulled the two of them into the house.
A stove was burning in the house, giving off a warm, comforting smell of firewood.
"Qiu'er, Sui'er, come out and see who's here!"
Two men who looked similar came out of the west room. The older one, Lin Qiu, had slightly red eyes, while the younger one, Lin Sui, looked at them with curiosity.
Auntie San pulled her son forward and said, "This is your cousin Qingyan and his husband. Quickly greet them."
"Cousin, cousin's wife."
"Yes," Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan quickly agreed.
The last time we met was a year ago. Back then, Chen Qingyan came to take the county exam and stayed at her aunt's house for a few days. Now everything has changed.
Auntie looked Chen Qingyan up and down and said, "When I left, you weren't fully recovered yet, but you're all better now, and you look much more energetic!"
Chen Qingyan nodded.
"You have no idea how I felt when I went back last time and heard it was for your funeral..." Chen Rong's voice choked up a little.
Wang Ying comforted her, "Third Aunt, don't think about those things. She's perfectly fine now."
"Yes, let's not talk about it. Were you cold or tired on the way? You haven't eaten yet, have you? Qiu'er, go to the street and buy some meat and a pot of wine. I'll make you dumplings."
Chen Qingyan said, "There's no need for that."
"It's no trouble at all. You don't come here often. Listen to your aunt, once you're here, it'll feel like you're at home."
Lin Qiu took the money to buy things, while Lin Sui looked at the mule cart in the yard with great curiosity.
Wang Ying instructed Uncle Lin and Dunzi to unload the New Year's gifts prepared for her third aunt from the car. They were all packed in bamboo baskets, six large baskets in total.
"Why are you carrying so much stuff and wasting money?"
"These are all worthless things, I hope Auntie doesn't mind."
Chen Rong chuckled and said, "You're too polite, child. We're not strangers. Even if you came empty-handed, your aunt wouldn't mind."
After the items were moved into the back room, Chen Rong saw a lot of green vegetables and asked in surprise, "Where did these come from? There are still vegetables for sale on such a cold day?"
“We grow vegetables here on our farm. There’s a warm spring over there, so it’s not cold around here in winter.
"Alright, I'll make you something to eat with this dish later, so we don't have to buy any more."
Auntie San settled Uncle Chen and Dunzi in the back room to rest, while the rest of the people went into the main room. Auntie San asked Lin Sui to boil water and make tea.
"How is your mother's health?"
Chen Qingyan said, "It's fine, but I've been thinking about you."
"Sigh, I miss my sister-in-law too, but there have been many things going on at home these past few years, and we live far away, so it's not easy for her to go back."
Wang Ying recalled what he had overheard outside, but since his aunt hadn't said anything, he felt embarrassed to ask any further questions.
Chen Qingyan took the initiative to speak, "I heard my third aunt and uncle arguing outside the door just now, did something happen?"
Chen Rong felt a headache coming on just thinking about it. "Sui'er, go play in the west room first. I need to talk to your brother and sister-in-law for a bit."
"Oh." Lin Sui put down the kettle and went out.
"Since you've all heard it, your third aunt won't hide it from you anymore. Your cousin Lin Qiu will be seventeen after the New Year, which is the age to get married. When our old lady was alive, she arranged for him to marry into a Zhang family in the county. They were just waiting for the two children to come of age before they got married."
Who would have thought that the Zhang family boy would die of illness last year, and Qiu'er's marriage would suddenly be in jeopardy.
I was originally planning to find him a few more families, but a while ago his father suddenly came back and said he had found a good family for Qiu'er. When I asked him which family it was, he wouldn't tell me. He only said that Qiu'er would live a life of luxury after marrying into the family.
The more I thought about it, the more something seemed wrong. Marriage is all about matching social status. As you can see from our family, we rely on me and the two children to weave cloth, while he works as an accountant at a pawnshop to earn a living. Although we're not struggling financially, we're not exactly wealthy.
Later, after I pressed him several times, he finally revealed that the man he wanted to arrange for Qiu'er to marry was the Fang family in the city, to be the second wife of their second son.
Just then, Lin Qiu returned from outside. Hearing his mother's words, he put down what he was holding and ran crying to the west room.
Third Aunt's eyes also reddened. She took out a handkerchief from her clothes and wiped her eyes. "That Fang family is no good family at all. They indulge in all kinds of vices, such as eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring. Fang Erlang had a wife before, but I heard that she died of an illness. Some people say that she was beaten to death, so he has never been able to find a wife."
I figured he must have pawned things at the pawnshop a few times, which is how he got on good terms with your uncle, and then he used sweet talk to get your uncle to agree to marry Qiu'er to him.
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyan's face grew even uglier. "Uncle, you're being foolish! Marriage is a major event. How can you agree to it so hastily? What if he doesn't turn out to be a good match? It will be too late to regret it then!"
“Who can argue with that? I argued with him for days, but he’s determined to marry into the Fang family. He even said he’d get engaged after the New Year.”
In ancient times, women and men had no say in their marriages; they could only obey their parents' wishes and the matchmaker's words. Fortunately, my third aunt was a sensible person; otherwise, this cousin would have had a hard time later on.
Chen Sangu wiped away her tears and forced a smile. "Let's not talk about these upsetting things anymore. I'll go cook first. You two should get some rest."
Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan wanted to help, but Chen Rong stopped them, saying, "You've come all this way, how can we let you lend a hand? Just stay put."
After everyone left, Wang Ying and Chen Qingyan exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat helpless.
"Brother, what do you think we should do about this?"
Wang Ying: "Why don't we try to persuade my third uncle? If he has any difficulties, he can tell us. If we can help, we can."
"good."
As evening approached, my third aunt's husband, Lin Changbin, returned, carrying a smoked chicken wrapped in oil paper.
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Qiu'er, chop up this chicken and bring it up to add some dishes for your cousin."
Lin Qiu reluctantly got up, took the roast chicken, and went to the kitchen. Lin Changbin washed his hands, took off his cotton hat, and sat down.
He was in his early forties, thin, with sunken cheeks that made his cheekbones appear particularly high, giving him a somewhat mean look.
This is probably related to the dietary habits of the ancients. People had a relatively low average lifespan and aged quickly, with gray hair appearing as early as their forties.
"This must be Qingyan's husband. You didn't even tell us you were married, so we didn't know you were married."
Wang Ying quickly stood up to greet him, "Hello, Third Uncle. Qingyan was not in good health when we got married, so the wedding was arranged in a hurry and no news was sent. Fourth Uncle didn't go back either."
"It's alright, please sit down."
Soon after, Aunt San and Lin Qiu brought the wontons to the table. In addition to the meat wontons, there were also scrambled eggs with cucumber, celery stir-fried with cured pork, and roast chicken. These dishes were quite presentable for entertaining guests.
Lin Changbin picked up a piece of cucumber and asked, "Did you buy this from a vegetable shop in the city?"
"No, Qingyan and the others brought it from their hometown."
"Do you have leafy greens in your hometown?"
“There is a warm spring in the village, and some plants were planted next to it.”
"This is incredible! Now the county town has started selling vegetables. Guess how much a cucumber costs? Thirty-five coins! Who can afford that?"
Wang Ying clicked her tongue in surprise, guessing that the vegetables sold in the county town were sourced from her by Cao Bin, so it seemed that her price of twenty coins per pound was indeed not expensive.
"Do you grow a lot of vegetables on your farm? If so, you can sell them in the county."
"We don't grow much, just enough for the whole family."
Upon hearing this, Lin Changbin gave up his thoughts. After drinking some wine, he started talking, "How's Qingyan's studies going? Will he try the county exam next spring?"
“I’m not very knowledgeable and I’m afraid I won’t do well in the exams. I’ve already opened a private school at home to supplement the family income.”
"That's right. Don't waste your time on useless things. Look at me, I've taken the exam more than ten times and still can't pass. There are plenty of rich and powerful scholars in the provincial examination. We can't compare to them in how they study."
Third Aunt snorted, "Then how come Fourth Brother was able to pass the exam? It's all because you're useless."
“Your fourth son is incredibly lucky. Not everyone can be as fortunate as him. Listen to your uncle, work hard to make money. These days, you can only stand tall with money.”
Chen Qingyan gave a perfunctory "uh-huh".
"Your father wouldn't listen to my advice back then, and instead he took the money to open a few shops in the county. Now he's counting his money with his eyes closed. Ten years ago, a shop on Changping Street cost only seventy taels of silver. Look how much it's worth now!"
Chen Qingyan smiled but didn't answer. Seventy taels of silver didn't sound like much, but the cost of opening a shop was far more than that. Besides, he was unfamiliar with the county town, and his father had never done business before, so he wouldn't dare to invest the money so easily.
"Besides, when the old master divided the family property, he only gave your third aunt a small share. After all, she was a married-out daughter..."
His aunt stomped on his foot and said, "Why are you saying this? Eating meat won't shut you up!"
Lin Changbin was about to get angry, but then he remembered that there were guests at home, so he snorted, picked up his wine glass, and downed it in one gulp.
Wang Ying glanced at Chen Qingyan and, seeing that he didn't look too good, rubbed her leg against him.
"I heard my cousin is getting engaged?" Chen Qingyan brought up the matter.
Lin Changbin hummed in agreement, glanced at his wife beside him, and said, "It's a good family, but your third aunt just listened to outsiders' nonsense and refused to let Qiu'er marry into that family no matter what. I'm his father, would I harm him?"
"The Fang family owns six shops and is quite wealthy. Fang Erlang is not as bad a person as outsiders say. I have interacted with him a few times, and he is impeccable in his words and deeds. It's just that it's hard to find a second wife, otherwise Qiu'er would not have had the chance."
Lin Qiu, who was sitting next to him, put down his chopsticks and said, "I'm full." Then he got up and went back to his room.
Lin Sui also wanted to leave, but she couldn't bear to leave the food on the table. She picked up a few pieces of meat, quickly finished the rice and food in her bowl, and went back to the west room.
After losing her child, the third aunt finally spoke up, "Could he have bewitched you? The other day I asked someone to inquire, and they said he frequents brothels and doesn't even come home. How could such a person be considered a good son-in-law in your eyes?"
Lin Changbin said nonchalantly, "Aren't all men like this? Once they get married, they settle down."
"Bullshit! If you were like this before we got married, would my father have agreed to marry me to you? Now that it's our son, you're not picky at all. Are you determined to push my son into a pit of fire? What good will it do you to suffer in the future?"
"Show some respect when you speak. What do you mean I'm pushing him into a fire pit?"
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Wang Ying quickly pulled Lin Sangu to the outer room.
A note from the author:
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