Chapter 26

The basket was heavy, and so was Yin Huaixi’s heart. She even had the urge to return all the iron tools she had bought.

“Mom, don’t think about it, we’re home now~”

Jiang Wanwanted her own house but wasn’t in a hurry, and she didn’t want to put too much pressure on her mother.

When the three of them got home, the full basket of items nearly stunned the Yin family.

Yin Huaishan was holding a chopping knife, his eyes wide in disbelief.

“Little sister, when you left, you only had a corner of silver and 41 wen. You couldn’t even buy this knife with that, where did you get the money?”

He couldn’t believe they’d made much money from the herbs.

“From selling fish!”

Yin Huaixi didn’t try to hide anything from her brother and sister-in-law. She explained that she had sold the East Star bass for fifteen taels, and the couple immediately beamed with joy.

“That’s great, great! Little sister, you should go to the village head and ask for land to build a house right away!”

“Yes, yes, you need to build a house first,” agreed Song Wenhui, since having a house of their own was essential for being considered a true villager. Renting a house cost a few dozen wen each month, while owning one was much better.

The money had been earned by their niece selling fish, and the couple hadn’t thought much about it—they were just focused on helping their sister.

Yin Huaixi’s face turned red as she quietly said, “I’ve already spent quite a bit of money. I only have six taels and a few hundred copper coins left. Let’s talk about the house later.”

The couple was stunned.

“You spent eight or nine taels just like that? What did you buy?!”

Yin Huaishan rummaged through the basket, and sure enough, there were piles of iron tools. Iron wasn’t cheap, no wonder she’d spent so much.

“You bought too much! You could’ve skipped the shovels. I can use a wooden or bamboo one for clam digging. And the cloth… we live in the village; buying fine cotton is too eye-catching.”

When Song Wenhui heard the fine cotton, she suddenly remembered what Yin Huaixi had said about getting new clothes for Aning. If there was enough money, she’d buy more fabric for the two girls to make undergarments.

The fine cotton…

Her nose tingled, and she pushed her husband away, interrupting his scolding.

“Little sister, you’ve already bought everything, why keep talking? When you have time, go reinforce and heighten the back thatched house.”

Leaving the strict confines of Kyoto, Song Wenhui had become more independent, though she was still a little surprised by her own transformation. Yin Huaishan, though surprised, didn’t get angry.

He hesitated for a moment before taking the chopping knife to the back house.

“Sister-in-law, put the grain in the cupboard. I forgot to buy a lock today, but I’ll ask Xiao Man’s family to bring one back tomorrow.”

Yin Huaixi handed the grain to her sister-in-law and asked Yin Ning to carry the fabric to her room. Since both families were still living together, it was better to keep the things here, as there was no one in the small stone house to keep an eye on them, and they might get stolen.

Once the basket was nearly empty, the pile of iron tools was poured onto the ground. Yin Huaixi thought for a moment; the family didn’t even have an egg, so they needed to buy some from the villagers. Also, they needed to get some boxes made by the villagers to store clothes; otherwise, the clothes would get damp and moldy if piled on the bed. She also wanted a box for storing herbs. Besides the herbs she had sold, they also needed to keep some common medicines at home.

Another round of expenses was inevitable.

There was no way around it; they had to spend the money they had.

After talking with her sister-in-law, Yin Huaixi went out, and as Jiang Wan was organizing things, she suddenly remembered she had promised to return the small shovel to Lian Yinzhu after three days.

“Cousin, I’ll go return these to Yinzhu. Do you want to come?”

Yin Ning shook her head, not wanting to go around the village, as she didn’t want to be scrutinized by the villagers.

“Then I’ll go by myself.”

Jiang Wan thought for a moment, then grabbed two sea urchins wrapped in dry straw as a thank-you gift, though she wasn’t sure if Yinzhu and her brother would like them.

Last time, Yinzhu had mentioned there was a big banana tree outside her house, and Jiang Wan easily found her home. However, just before entering, she overheard voices in the yard, arguing with a tone of persuasion.

“Yinzhu, you’re almost of marrying age—how much longer can you take care of your brother? Your second uncle is willing to take you both in, that’s his kindness. What else is there to think about?”

“After your parents left, there’s no pillar left at home. What use is the house? If you live with your second uncle, you won’t have to worry about anything. Even after you marry, your family will still have support.”

“Even though your family was separated before, your situation is special. It’s your grandparents’ decision. You should listen to the elders; you can’t be unfilial.”

Jiang Wan felt suffocated just listening from outside.

It was clear that Yinzhu’s parents had passed away, and her second uncle wanted to take over her older brother’s family property.

The nice way of saying it was that he wanted to take them in, but Yinzhu was already grown up. He likely wanted to use her as a servant, and once she was old enough, he could take a dowry for her and marry her off, leaving her younger brother to be manipulated as well. The house would eventually belong to her second uncle.

This was family…

When Jiang Wan heard Yinzhu crying, she immediately stepped forward, knocked on the door, and called out to her.

“Yinzhu, open the door, it’s Jiang Wan.”

The voices inside immediately quieted, and Yinzhu quickly opened the door. Her eyes were red, and she instinctively tried to smile at Jiang Wan, but her smile didn’t quite make it.

“Little Wan, come in and sit.”

Yinzhu pulled her in, and with someone else present, the relatives in the yard couldn’t continue their persuasion.

She carefully thought it over and then left her house.

After closing the door and fastening it, the young girl couldn’t hold back and broke down in tears in front of Jiang Wan.

Jiang Wan felt heartbroken but didn’t know how to comfort her, so she gently patted her back.

“Where’s your brother? Why didn’t I see him?”

“He was taken by my grandmother. She said… she said he’d come back after eating.”

Yinzhu sniffled and looked up, her mood very low.

“Xiaowan, my parents went out to sea a month ago and were swept away. My grandparents said that my brother and I should live with them, and later, my second uncle will take care of us. This house will also go to him. I don’t want to go, but what they said kind of makes sense. But my grandparents never liked our family; they only care about my second uncle’s son. If we live together, I’m afraid Jinbao will be bullied.”

Jiang Wan sighed.

“Foolish girl, it’s not just your brother who’ll be bullied, it’s both of you.”

“Xiaowan, do you think I should agree?”

Yinzhu’s heart was in turmoil. Though she and Jiang Wan hadn’t met often, she now sought her opinion.

Jiang Wan didn’t answer directly but asked her instead,

“Think about it. If you don’t live with them, can you cook for yourself? Can you take care of your brother? Without any income, how will you survive?”

Yinzhu thought for a moment, stopped sniffling, and answered seriously, “I can wash clothes and cook. I’ve been taking care of my brother since we were little. Even though we don’t have a boat anymore, my parents saved a lot of silver. If we’re careful with our spending, it should last us seven or eight years. And I can still go to the shore every day to gather clams, fish, and shrimp. We’ll be fine.”

Jiang Wan was speechless.

This girl was a bit foolish, and she had just told her all about their savings.

“Then why do you want your second uncle to take care of you? Have you thought about what it’ll be like living together?”

Yinzhu’s face turned pale. Of course, she had thought about it.

Her parents had passed away only half a month ago, and already her grandmother had taken her and her brother’s clothes and given them to her cousins.

If they lived together, her grandparents would surely make her wash all their clothes and cook for the whole family. They might even scold her for being useless and not having enough to eat. Her brother would be bullied by Xiao Shitou too.

“I know living together means I’ll be bullied, but I’m already fourteen. I’ll be married next year or the year after. If I leave, what will happen to Jinbao…”

Jiang Wan understood. Actually, Yinzhu had already compromised in her heart. She was just scared of what the future might hold, and right now her heart was torn.

“Who says that a girl has to get married at fourteen? Or do you already have a fiancé?”

“No, no… I haven’t thought about marriage yet. My mother said we’d wait until I’m a little older to look for a match.”

When Yinzhu thought of her mother, tears fell again.

“I… I don’t actually want to get married.”

She just wanted to stay with her brother, take good care of him, and let her parents rest in peace.

“Then don’t get married. There’s no law that says a girl has to marry at fourteen. Or you can say that you won’t consider marriage until you’re eighteen. By then, Jinbao will be ten and can take care of himself.”

Jiang Wan’s words were quite rebellious for this time. In this era, if a girl was still unmarried at eighteen, she would be considered an old maid. Encouraging someone to delay marriage at this age would be seen as ruining their chances.

But for Jiang Wan, eighteen was when a girl was just beginning to mature. In her opinion, getting married at twenty would still be considered early.

Fourteen was still a child. What marriage was there to talk about?

But, as a small person in the grand scheme of things, she couldn’t change such outdated customs. She could only lightly influence the people around her.

“If you’re worried about what others will say, just tell them that your parents appeared in a dream and asked you to wait until later to marry and to take good care of your brother.”

“You can’t trust what relatives say, especially now when they’re trying to grab your house. There’s no family love left. Even if you have relatives like that in the future, they won’t be reliable. Jinbao is more trustworthy than them.”

Jiang Wan spoke at length, and Yinzhu listened with shining eyes, her gaze growing more determined.