"Ahem."
A light cough interrupted Zhao Liangcai and Qin Junyao's gaze.
Qin Junyao looked up and saw Qin Daniu, withdrew her hand from Zhao Liangcai's, and picked up the cleaver to continue cutting wolf's bane.
Qin Daniu's eyes were fixed on Zhao Liangcai, and he forcefully dumped the wolf's bane from the basket onto the ground.
"General Zhao and my sister are not yet married, so it's best not to be too close."
Zhao Liangcai rubbed his nose, stood up, and moved further away from Qin Junyao.
He was older than Qin Daniu, but Qin Daniu was Qin Junyao's biological brother, his future elder brother-in-law, and someone he couldn't afford to offend.
Qin Daniu left with the empty basket, occasionally turning his head to look back at Qin Junyao and the two of them. Both Qin Junyao and Zhao Liangcai couldn't help but smile at Qin Daniu's behavior. Sudan Novel Network.
Qin Junyao's movements didn't stop. "I cried yesterday, not because of you."
"Then why?" Zhao Liangcai wanted to take the cleaver from Qin Junyao's hand, but Qin Junyao didn't let him.
"My eyes were stung by the chili powder that Xiaoyu smeared on them."
Qin Junyao could only give Zhao Liangcai this reason.
Last night, Qin Junyao had thought it all through. She wasn't crying because her grandmother had kept decisions from her and made them on her behalf, nor was she crying because she was going to marry Zhao Liangcai.
She was crying for the Qin Junyao of modern times, who could freely choose the life she wanted, who had disappeared.
Here, she had to get married, had to have children, and had to abide by those rules that were extremely unfair to women.
None of these were mandatory in modern times.
Zhao Liangcai stood up and used his left hand to move the wolf's bane, which was far from Qin Junyao, closer to her. "Chili powder hurts your eyes, try to use it less. The Sun family will be driven out of Yangshu Village, and Village Chief Hao won't cause trouble for now."
Qin Junyao nodded in understanding. "Okay."
"By the way, how can my second uncle come home and not have to mine salt?"
"He can come back whenever he wants. He doesn't need to do anything. I'll send someone to tell them when I get back. Do the Hou family members need to come back too?"
"Don't send anyone. It's my idea for my second uncle to come back. I still need to discuss it with my grandmother and second aunt."
Qin Junyao stopped her movements at this point and looked up at Zhao Liangcai, pointing to a pile of wolf's bane roots with their leaves cut off. "Do you know how many catties this is?"
"Over two hundred catties, probably."
"Oh my, elder brother, second brother, stop digging, that's enough."
Zhao Liangcai helped Qin Junyao and the others carry the wolf's bane roots back to the Qin family, and found many people in the Qin family's courtyard.
The matchmaker knew that Grandma Qin had temporarily agreed to the marriage, so she left the gifts and departed.
She would return in three days to inquire about the names.
The reason Grandma Qin only temporarily agreed was that, according to etiquette, the three days between the inquiry of names were for the woman's family to inquire about the man's character, family members, household assets, and other circumstances.
If the information gathered during these three days did not match what the matchmaker had said, or if there were any changes, the woman's family could refuse to exchange the birth date charts on the day of the inquiry, return the betrothal gifts, and the marriage would be called off.
If the woman's family agreed on the day of the inquiry, they would exchange birth date charts with the man's family.
After the man's family took back the woman's family's birth date charts, they needed to use the tea cup used for serving tea to press the birth date charts onto the offering table beneath the statue of the Kitchen God. If no arguments occurred in the household within three days, and no bowls or plates broke, this would be a preliminary compatibility of the horoscopes.
Then, the man's family would need to hire someone to calculate whether the horoscopes and zodiac signs of both the man and woman were compatible.
Only if the inquiry yielded a good omen would the man's family bring gifts to the woman's family again, informing the woman's family that the marriage negotiation could continue. This was called "Na Ji" (receiving good fortune).
Rules were rules, but if a general wanted to marry a peasant girl, even incompatible horoscopes had to be made compatible. If he didn't want to marry, even a match made in heaven wouldn't get him into the house.
So, the villagers who came to watch saw the gifts and stayed in the Qin family's courtyard, all coming to congratulate them.
Qin's mother kept up a fake smile, greeting the villagers.
Some asked why a wild goose was sent, others asked why only one was sent, and some asked if today was the engagement ceremony and when the wedding banquet would be.
Qin's mother didn't know any of this.
The weddings she had seen were simple: the matchmaker would come and mention it, if agreed, they would choose a date for the engagement, and after the engagement, it would be the wedding.
As for herself, she hadn't even had an engagement. Her mother-in-law had asked a fellow villager to speak to her parents, and after the betrothal silver was decided, she was married three days later.
"Sister-in-law, Yao Yao and Er Niu are back, and General Zhao is also here," Second Aunt Qin came out of the house with water and saw Qin Junyao and the others outside the courtyard.
When the villagers in the courtyard saw that Zhao Liangcai was indeed there, they all made excuses about having something to do at home and left.
This morning, it had spread throughout the village that General Zhao had personally ripped off Granny Sun's head.
The Sun family's money had been confiscated by the village chief, and when the family members who worked at the salt lake returned, the entire family would be driven out of Yangshu Village.
Now, the villagers saw Zhao Liangcai and wished they could burrow into an ant hole to avoid being seen by him.
"Xiao Chui Zi is here, put down the things and go back," Grandma Qin only came out of the house after everyone had left. She said this to Zhao Liangcai.
Zhao Liangcai was obedient. He put down the wolf's bane roots he was carrying in the courtyard and left.
"Put these things in the杂货间 (misc. storage room), no one is allowed to touch them. Give the wild goose and the lamb some water and food, don't let them die."
"Yao Yao, come here."
Qin Junyao followed Grandma Qin into the room and heard Grandma Qin ask, "What did you and Xiao Chui Zi talk about?"
"We didn't talk about anything much, just asked if second uncle could come home and not mine salt. He said he could return anytime. Grandmother, let's let second uncle come back."
"Did you really not say anything you shouldn't have?" Grandma Qin looked at Qin Junyao's expression with some doubt.
"Really not. You found such a good family for me, I didn't say a single inappropriate word."
"Hmm, you can't say it now. When we rise up later, using Xiao Chui Zi's influence, you can get a divorce, and we'll go far away," Grandma Qin nudged her granddaughter with her chin.
"Grandmother~~"
"Alright, you go out and tell your mother and the others how to wash and soak that grass root, don't you still need to plant that big meat root tomorrow?"
"When your second uncle returns with those salt workers, I won't let him go anymore. The family is too busy."
As Qin Junyao stepped over the threshold, Grandma Qin called her back. "I almost forgot, you, you make a pair of socks for Xiao Chui Zi. Use the soles your mother prepared, for the inquiry in three days."
"Grandmother, I don't know how to make socks," Qin Junyao's voice was filled with shock. Why would she need to make socks?
"How can you not know how to make socks? Didn't your mother teach you?" Grandma Qin was even more shocked than Qin Junyao.
"My mother only taught me to sew stitches on that piece of cloth for two days, and then the snack stall went to the northwest."
"I really don't know how."
Grandma Qin put her hands on her hips and paced back and forth in the room. "You go out now and tell your mother and second aunt how to wash and soak that grass root, and then come back, and I'll teach you."
"You can't learn to make socks in two days? I can teach you in one day."
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In the evening, the other rooms in the Qin family were dark, with only four oil lamps lit in Grandma Qin's room.
Besides Grandma Qin, there were Qin Junyao, Qin's mother, and Second Aunt Qin.
"Sew a straight line, do you understand? Yours is slanted."
"It needs to turn here, the cloth is already cut for you, can't you just sew along this edge?"
"Rip it, rip it, socks need an opening for the foot to go in. You've sewn it shut, how can you wear it? If you sewed this like this on a quilt, you'd sew yourself into the quilt."
Qin Junyao used her needle to pick at the sock she had sewn incorrectly again and stole a glance at Grandma Qin.
Her grandmother hadn't noticed. This time, she had even sewn the sock to her own clothes.