Qin Daniu ran out and was soaked in the rain for half a day. When he returned, he calmly talked with his parents for a long time.
This showed his mother a stubborn side of their eldest son.
Qin Daniu's matter was taken seriously by the Qin family. The bride for the eldest son and grandson could not be handled carelessly.
When they were not busy with farm work, everyone would go out to inquire about the Zhang family.
Qin's mother wished she could investigate the family's lineage completely.
Qin Junyao was also not idle. Using her good hearing, she overheard quite a bit of news.
Zhang Dani, Zhang Dani's reputation was excellent. Her neighbors had nothing but praise for her.
It was currently the wheat harvest season. Many neighbors, seeing the family's children were pitiful, helped them with the harvest first.
It was known that many families had already experienced reduced yields due to delayed harvests caused by the rain.
Being able to help Zhang Dani with her harvest at this time showed how well she maintained neighborly relations and navigated social interactions.
The better Zhang Dani was, the more anxious Qin's mother became. If she could find even one flaw, she could stick to her stance.
Now, the more she learned, the more she pitied this girl, and her resolve wavered.
Ten days after the Dragon Boat Festival, the Qin family's wheat had been dried, bagged, and stored.
With a mouth full of blisters, Qin's mother knocked on Qin Grandmother's door.
"Mother," Qin's mother entered her mother-in-law's room feeling a bit constrained.
"Mm, sit," Qin Grandmother sat at the table by the window and gestured to the stool opposite her for Qin's mother to sit.
Qin's mother sat on half a stool, gathered her courage, and told Qin Grandmother what she had been thinking about for a long time.
"Mother, I want twenty taels of silver. Zhang Bailiang wants to marry Zhang Dani to a fifty-year-old widower as his replacement wife. He also owes twenty taels in gambling debt at the casino."
"That widower is offering ten taels as a betrothal gift. He needs the remaining ten taels by selling his other two daughters. Each daughter is worth five taels, but the price is a bit high, so they haven't been sold yet."
This matter had already been mentioned to Qin Grandmother by Qin's father, who had told Qin's mother to speak to her herself.
Qin Grandmother placed her hands on her abdomen and leaned back in her special chair. "You want twenty taels. Do you want Daniu to marry Zhang Dani?"
"No, Mother."
"I met that child. She's a good kid."
"She wants our family to help send Zhang Bailiang to the Salt Lake to dig salt, without any wages, as long as her father isn't allowed to leave the Salt Lake."
"That twenty taels of silver is a loan from her. She'll earn money over a year to repay it. Her matter with Daniu can be discussed after the debt is repaid."
Qin Grandmother shook her head and sighed, placing her hands on the table. "Honestly, who came up with these ideas?"
Qin's mother clutched her pants, her eyes looking towards the window, afraid to meet her mother-in-law's gaze.
"Seeing Daniu like that, I agreed to let him marry Zhang Dani."
"Xiao Sen suggested dealing with that Zhang Bailiang first, and asking Zhang Dani if she was willing to let her father go to the Salt Lake to dig salt."
Qin's mother clutched her pants even tighter. "Jun Yao said it's not good to use twenty taels of betrothal gifts to repay her father's gambling debt. She suggested borrowing money first, and then hiring Zhang Dani to plant saxual trees, help at the snack stall, and dig wolfsbane root in the autumn so she could earn money." Soudan Fiction Network
Qin Grandmother chuckled. She knew it.
"You brought it up, and Zhang Dani agreed?" Qin Grandmother asked Qin's mother, moving her somewhat stiff neck.
Qin's mother nodded. "She took the initiative to say she didn't need wages for her father. She also proposed discussing her and Daniu's matter after the debt was repaid. She also wants to..." Qin's mother hesitated.
"Wants to what?"
"Wants to sign a deed of severance of kinship with her father after repaying his debts for her and her two sisters. I think..."
"Silence," Qin Grandmother stopped Qin's mother from speaking, knowing what she thought without needing to hear it.
This Zhang Dani was quite clever, knowing how to leverage a situation and when to retreat.
If Zhang Dani and her two sisters signed a deed of severance of kinship with Zhang Bailiang, their father could no longer scheme against his three daughters in the future.
Zhang Bailiang currently only had one son. If he sold his son, he would have no heir.
Digging salt at the Salt Lake without wages, coupled with his reputation, even if he managed to get out, he wouldn't have the money to remarry. Thus, Zhang Dani's younger brother would be safe.
Zhang Dani had a good relationship with her neighbors. If her father wanted to do anything else, these neighbors would not stand by. And her matter with Daniu being temporarily postponed provided Qin's mother with a buffer.
Truly smart.
The third child and Yao Yao also did well.
Qin Grandmother got up, used her key to open a cabinet, took out two silver ingots, and walked back to place them in front of Qin's mother.
"Here is the silver. Have the third child write an IOU, and have Zhang Dani's neighbors press their fingerprints as witnesses."
"Tell Zhang Dani to go to the casino to repay the money only after her father goes to the Salt Lake."
"Understood, Mother," Qin's mother replied and quickly left Qin Grandmother's room with the silver.
Having helped someone, and without having to marry her son to Zhang Dani for now, Qin's mother was very pleased.
She thought about finding a few more suitable girls for Qin Daniu, perhaps her son would change his mind.
Qin Grandmother closed her door, took out the red cloth she had put away from the chest again, and sat by the window, continuing to embroider peonies.
These patterns were all drawn by Qin Grandmother herself. She hadn't touched an embroidery needle for decades. Her hands were rough, and her speed was slow, but her skill remained.
.
The Qin and Hou families had planted over ten mu of saxaul these days. Qin Junyao felt this was far from enough and hesitated about hiring more people.
Once Qin Daniu's matter was resolved, and after Qin's father and others helped the villagers they were close to with the wheat harvest, Qin's mother and her snack stall would be back on the move.
With fewer people, when would they be able to finish planting saxaul in all the areas cleared of wolfsbane?
"Jun Yao, your brother and I will go to spread manure this afternoon. It needs to be fermented before use," Qin's father informed his daughter at noon, after returning from the fields, that she wouldn't be planting saxaul this afternoon.
Qin Junyao washed her hands and replied weakly, "Understood, Father."
Just as she was contemplating whether to go plant saxaul in the afternoon, she saw Qin's mother come out and pull Qin's father aside. "After you wash your face, go to the Yan family. Mother has already promised. Ask Dengzi Tui to help get that Zhang Bailiang to the Salt Lake as soon as possible."
"I heard he went to the neighboring village. Don't let him go gambling again."
"Mother, I'll go. I have something else to do," Qin Junyao interjected.
Qin's mother thought for a moment and instructed, "Alright, go and come back quickly. Dinner is almost ready."
Qin Junyao actually had something to ask Dengzi Tui. She wanted to inquire if it was possible to set up another food stall at the Salt Lake.
The vinegar and wolfsbane incident had earned the Qin family forty taels, and the Hou family's help was indispensable.
The Hou family and the Qin family had a relationship as close as life and death. She couldn't forget them while making money herself.
Qin Grandmother had disagreed to her teaching the Hou family the method for vinegar and wolfsbane. However, it was acceptable for her to let the Hou family join her in running a snack stall.
Her space's warehouse was already stocked with a large amount of ingredients. Taking them out could earn her more money.
Qin Junyao lowered her head, thinking as she walked about what kind of food would be good for the Hou family to make. She noticed someone blocking her path ahead and took a step to the left to go around.
As she moved left, the other person also avoided her in the same direction. Qin Junyao then stepped to the right, and the other person again blocked her path.
Qin Junyao was too lazy to look up to see who was in front of her and stood still. The other person also stopped.
"Please, you first," Qin Junyao said, meaning "Hurry up and leave."
"Long time no see. Do you not look up when you walk anymore?"
A familiar voice reached Qin Junyao's ears, making her look up and reveal a smile.
Zhao Liangcai had returned, which meant she could enter the deep mountains.