"Really?" Lian Manman expressed her skepticism.
Zhao Xiu E seed completely indifferent to being sent back ho, let alone scared. In Lian Manman’s view, there could only be two reasons for Zhao Xiu E’s behavior. Either she had sothing to rely on, perhaps a generous dowry, that subdued Erlang? But if the Lian family elders made up their minds, that reliance would be useless. The Lian family could live without her dowry, and Erlang still depended on the family for his livelihood; he couldn’t make decisions on his own.
Or maybe, Zhao Xiu E never liked this marriage at all. This wasn’t just wild guessing from Lian Manman; watching Zhao Xiu E’s attitude toward Erlang, there was no "subduing," nor could she see any deep affection.
"As long as we firmly stand our ground here, the Old Zhao family will have to send soone to bring Zhao Xiu E back," Lady Zhang patiently explained the reasoning to her two daughters, "She is already married to Erlang. If she goes back now, it’s as a divorced woman. Can her family support her for a lifeti? That reputation isn’t sothing nice to hear either. If she wants to marry soone else, her value would be lower, and finding a family like the Lian family would be extrely difficult."
It wasn’t pleasant to hear, but it was a very practical truth.
"Moreover, on the other hand, it isn’t easy for our tenant farr families to marry off a daughter. Look at your granny, she also didn’t talk about divorcing her at first, did she? She left so leeway, which must have been agreed upon with your granddad. She just wanted to see Zhao Xiu E’s character, that she wasn’t suited to be soone’s daughter-in-law," Lady Zhang added.
Zhao Xiu E’s departure left Lady Zhou so angry that she skipped two als.
Soon, news spread that after Zhao Xiu E returned to the townhouse, she packed a bundle and went back to the Zhao family, even telling Erlang that soone would co to move her dowry out later.
Old Master Lian called Erlang back to the village and let it be known that he wanted to sell the townhouse.
Afterward, Zhao Xiu E, with her bundle, moved back into the townhouse and sent word for Erlang to co and live there.
The Lian family grounded Erlang, forbidding him even to step out the front door.
The Zhao family was active in town, preventing anyone from buying the Lian family’s townhouse. The Lian and Zhao families remained at an impasse.
...
In a blink, it was the eighth day of the month. Lian Shouxin found out that the mountain project was resuming on the twelfth and that craftsn had already started to return these past few days. He thought about reopening the breakfast shop early.
After breakfast that day, the whole family went to the shop to clean and tidy up.
"Got any food?" As they were cleaning, the shop door was pushed open from the outside and Old Uncle Huang strode in, carrying a bucket in one hand and a thick stack of red papers in the other.
"We’re just tidying up today and haven’t opened for business yet," Lian Shouxin hurriedly went to greet him.
Old Huang put the things in his hands on the table and sat down.
"Uncle Huang," Lian Manman, carrying a rag, ca out to greet him. Old Huang was a regular custor with a generous nature and got along very well with the Lian family, "We have atballs at ho. Would you like to wait for a while, and I’ll stew a bowl of atballs for you?"
"You hear this child? Those atballs were made for the New Year’s celebration; we can’t serve those to guests," Lian Shouxin hastily interjected.
"atballs?" Old Huang stroked his beard and didn’t stand on ceremony with them, "You got any with at filling?"
Seeing that Old Huang was plain-spoken, Lian Shouxin also smiled.
"We have dumplings at ho, filled with cabbage and pork, the sa taste as the buns we sell here. If you don’t mind..."
"That’s good, serve more. I’ve been busy all morning and am starved," Old Huang interrupted Lian Shouxin and agreed imdiately.
Wu Lang hurried ho to fetch the dumplings and atballs, while Lian Manman boiled water for tea and brewed a pot for Old Huang.
"Uncle Huang, what are you using all this paste for?" Lian Manman asked, looking at the two items on the table.
"Isn’t the mountain project about to start? These past two days, a lot of skilled craftsn and the like have been coming over. The Emperor recruited them from all over. There’s a lot of work to do in the spring, and there aren’t enough workers on the mountain, so the authorities have sent down word to recruit more people. These past few days, unable to find labor, I’ve been posting these red recruitnt notices everywhere. It’s freezing to death."
Lian Manman picked up a red paper; it was a recruitnt announcent, and the listed wages seed generous.
"Uncle Huang, how about I find soone to post these for you?" Lian Manman offered.
"That’s fine; I’ll pay for the labor," Old Huang was a straightforward man, "There must be thirty or forty left, right? I’ve posted them all over town, just leaving several nearby villages. Post a few in each village, and once you’re done with all of them, I’ll pay you one large coin per three posters."
"I’ll have the kids help stick them up; we don’t need any wages," said Lian Shouxin honestly.
"Lian boss," Old Huang liked to teasingly call Lian Shouxin the boss, "If you were posting for , I certainly wouldn’t pay you. But if the kids are doing the work for , then I should pay them. It’s a job for the governnt, after all..."
Wu Lang entered with a food container, followed by Lian Yeye.
"Sister Manman, I can help post too," Lian Yeye whispered to Lian Manman.
"Alright, we can all earn so pocket money." Lian Manman divided the paste and notices among a few children, who went off to post them. When they returned and calculated the labor costs, even Lian Yeye had made three wen money.
Holding the coins in her hand, Lian Yeye’s eyes sparkled. Lian Manman rembered how Xiao Qi had looked when he first earned wages.
"Sister Manman, can you keep this money for too?" Lian Yeye handed over the money to Lian Manman.
"Sure, I’ll keep a separate record for you," Lian Manman agreed.
"I wish I could always earn money," Lian Yeye said under her breath. She envied how Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman worked and earned money to keep as their private stash.
As they talked inside, soone knocked at the door.
"Is this Thirty Mile Camp, and how do I get to the Lian family?"
...******...
Who could it be?
The month’s end is approaching, asking everyone for their pink support. (To be continued. If you like this work, please support by voting at qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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