Chapter 34: Marrying a Man Means Looking at His Mother Too

“Mother, let’s go a little deeper. The flowers inside are blooming beautifully,” Du Wanchun said, carrying a basket as she walked further into the sea of flowers.

The breeze carried waves of floral fragrance, filling the air with its sweet and pleasant scent.

Before long, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had gathered two large baskets full of flowers. On their way home, they also picked a few wild citron fruits.

They returned home with their baskets full.

As Du Wanchun placed the flower petals in the backyard, she heard Granny Zhou chatting with Aunt Wang at the front of the house.

“Oh, Sister Zhou, you should have seen it! That woman from the Chen family—your sister-in-law—almost had her hand bitten clean off by a snake! When Chen Laoda carried her back, his face was as pale as a ghost.”

Aunt Wang wasn’t a native of the village; she and her husband had moved to Changliu Village a few years ago. They had no children, and though she was quite talkative, she had always treated the Zhou family well.

After all, Granny Zhou had been raising three sons on her own, never having worked in the fields before. If it weren’t for the kind-hearted neighbors in the village helping her out, she wouldn’t have been able to establish herself so easily.

Granny Zhou handed Aunt Wang a few freshly harvested radishes and said, “She’s completely cut ties with our family. She’s no longer my sister-in-law.”

Aunt Wang took the radishes and smiled. “That’s how it should be! If she ever comes begging you for help, just ignore her.”

Granny Zhou nodded firmly. “Don’t worry. I have nothing to do with the Chen family anymore.”

Aunt Wang patted her hand approvingly. “That’s the right attitude.”

After chatting for a while, Granny Zhou went inside and began calculating the household’s savings.

Over the past few days, she had taken the family’s duck eggs to the village to sell, earning about three hundred copper coins.

That amount was more than enough for food and fabric.

However, it was far from sufficient for making floral extract.

She needed to buy a large pot for distilling the essence and bottles to store the extract.

Seeing her mother-in-law’s worried expression, Du Wanchun approached and took out her bejeweled hairpin. “Mother, why don’t I pawn my hairpin? We can redeem it once we’ve earned some money.”

Granny Zhou immediately refused. “Absolutely not! That hairpin was left to you by your mother. You can’t pawn it.”

Du Wanchun gazed at the delicate hairpin in her hand and said softly, “Mother, money is just an external possession. My mother left this to me in case I ever faced starvation, so I could exchange it for silver and survive. I think now is exactly one of those times.”

“If we succeed in making floral extract, we won’t have to worry about going hungry ever again.”

But Granny Zhou remained firm. “No, I know your mother meant well, but no matter how poor we are, our Zhou family will never use a daughter-in-law’s dowry.”

She firmly pressed the hairpin back into Du Wanchun’s hand, gripping her fingers tightly. “I’ll find another way to get the money. You keep this safe.”

Du Wanchun was stunned. When she had gone back to the Du family to retrieve these items, it was with the intention of helping the Zhou family. She hadn’t expected Granny Zhou to have such strong principles.

She was momentarily surprised but quickly felt that it was only natural.

She had indeed chosen the right family.

People often said that when marrying a man, one must not only look at the husband but also his mother. This was proving to be true.

Granny Zhou was an upright and principled woman, and naturally, her son would not be lacking in character either.

Du Wanchun carefully tucked the bejeweled hairpin back into her sleeve.

Just then, Zhou Ruiyuan stepped out of the room and said, “Pawn this instead.”

Du Wanchun turned around to see that he was holding the same brush he had used the previous night. “Husband, you…”

Zhou Ruiyuan spoke slowly, “This brush is made of rabbit hair and ivory. Although it’s somewhat worn, it should still be worth a bit of silver.”

Du Wanchun looked at the seemingly ordinary brush in surprise.

She hadn’t expected Zhou Ruiyuan to own such an expensive writing instrument.

Granny Zhou strode over to him with a look of astonishment. “Ruiyuan, you’ve carried this brush with you since you were a child, treasuring it like your life. How can you just pawn it?”

Zhou Ruiyuan had always kept this brush close, not just out of sentiment for having it since childhood, but because it represented the last vestige of his identity.

But now, he had made the decision to pawn it.

However, this wasn’t about abandoning his past. It was because he believed in his wife—he trusted that she would redeem it for him one day.

That kind of trust was something outsiders could never understand.

Just as he firmly believed that, one day, he would return to where he once belonged.

“Mother, just like Wanchun said, we’ll redeem it once we earn the money.” Zhou Ruiyuan lifted his gaze and looked at Du Wanchun.

Granny Zhou let out a long sigh. “Since you’ve thought it through, then I’ll give it a try and see how much silver this brush can fetch.”

“I’ll go,” Du Wanchun immediately stepped forward and took the brush into her hands. “Mother, I’ll take care of it. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the county and pawn it.”

She knew that deep down, her husband was reluctant to part with the brush. Otherwise, no matter how poor they had been before, he would have pawned it already.

If Granny Zhou or Zhou Ruiyuan were the ones to take it, it would undoubtedly be pawned.

But if she went, there might still be a sliver of hope.

Granny Zhou hesitated. “Wanchun, how can we let you go alone? I’ll go with you.”

Du Wanchun glanced outside and said, “Mother, tomorrow, you and my husband should stay home and wait for me. I’ll be quick.”

Granny Zhou initially wanted to refuse, but Du Wanchun was insistent, and so the family came to an agreement.

Once the brush was pawned, they would use the silver to buy a large distillation pot and bottles for making floral extract. After that, they would take the finished extract to the county to sell.

The next morning, at the break of dawn, Du Wanchun borrowed Aunt Wang’s carriage and set off for Cheng’an County.

Because it was still early, the streets of Cheng’an County weren’t as crowded as they had been during her last visit.

Carrying the brush, Du Wanchun walked along the shopfronts, surveying them as she went.

Finally, she stopped in front of a pawnshop.

The shopkeeper took one look at the brush she presented and shook his head. “This brush won’t fetch much silver.”