Chapter 67: Diligence 2/2

Upon hearing this, Fang Jinniang couldn’t help but say, “Shopkeeper Jin, your brother is really good.” Her brother never did any work at home. Her mother always wanted her brother to study hard and pass the imperial examination, so she never let him do any work.

Returning with water, Jin Xiaoshu exclaimed, “!!!” Fang Jinniang praised him!

At Sister Wang’s house, the only physical labor was chopping wood and fetching water. After Jin Xiaoshu finished his work, there was nothing else for him to do but reluctantly leave.

However, he immediately went to buy a bag of roasted chestnuts, intending to give them to Fang Jinniang tomorrow.

Although he didn’t know what had happened yesterday, Fang Jinniang obviously didn’t dislike him!

When Jin Xiaoye returned home that day, he saw Jin Xiaoshu rowing the boat and singing, “Floral dresses, long braids, the girls in the water town have such beautiful faces…”

“Stop, stop, what are you singing?” Jin Xiaoye shouted to stop him. This song was meant for a man to sing to a woman he liked!

Suddenly realizing that there were only him and Jin Xiaoye on the boat, Jin Xiaoshu knew he couldn’t sing that song. He switched to another song and sang, “In my left hand, a chicken, in my right hand, a duck, on my back, I’m carrying a chubby child…”

Jin Xiaoye: “…” His brother’s brain was broken! This was a song sung by a young bride when she returned to her parents’ home!

“Have you reconciled with the girl you like?” Jin Xiaoye asked.

Jin Xiaoshu nodded repeatedly.

No wonder… Jin Xiaoye said, “Even if you want to sing, can you sing something normal?”

“Sis, this is the only song I know. Mom used to sing it to lull me to sleep,” Jin Xiaoshu said with a hint of grievance. He only knew a few songs.

“Forget it, sing it then,” Jin Xiaoye said, then went straight into the cabin.

With Jin Xiaoye no longer present, Jin Xiaoshu continued to sing “Floral dresses, long braids,” thinking it was about Fang Jinniang.

On the other side, when Fang Jinniang returned home, she gave five coins to her mother.

Seeing the five coins, Fang’s mother’s expression softened a bit, but she said, “This is too little! Many people earn more than a tael.”

Fang Jinniang explained, “Mother, my eyesight is poor, so I work slowly.”

“But don’t they have other work to do, not just one task for the whole day?” Fang’s mother asked.

“I also need money when I eat there,” Fang Jinniang explained.

“Then why do you have to eat there? Skipping one meal won’t starve you.”

Fang Jinniang felt a chill in her heart.

Indeed, skipping a meal wouldn’t starve her, but at home, she could only afford to drink some thin soup or porridge. If she only ate that twice a day, she wouldn’t have the energy to work.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Fang’s mother continued, “Oh right, Jinniang, Mother has arranged a marriage for you. Mr. Wang, who runs the boat rental business, wants to take you as a concubine. He’s willing to offer sixty taels of silver…”

“Mother!” Fang Jinniang looked at her mother in disbelief.

Although she didn’t go out much, she had heard a lot of things recently while working at Sister Wang’s house.

She had heard of Mr. Wang who ran the boat rental business. He lived not far from Sister Wang’s house and had some distant relatives with Sister Wang’s family. Sister Wang also knew quite a bit about him.

In the county town, there were quite a few wealthy men who took concubines.

Some men who took concubines treated them fairly well, like Li Xiucai. Both of his concubines were rural women from poor families. Although life with Li Xiucai wasn’t luxurious, they could at least have three meals a day without going hungry, eat meat, and wear new clothes. Even their children were well-raised. They were actually quite content.

But there were also men who, after marrying a concubine, treated them poorly, treating them like servants.

When the concubine grew older, they might even drive her out.

Mr. Wang belonged to the latter category. He had driven away his concubines who had no children.

His wife’s temper wasn’t very good either. Afraid that the concubines’ children would inherit the family property, if one of Mr. Wang’s concubines became pregnant, she would force her to take abortifacients.

A few years ago, one of Mr. Wang’s concubines died from excessive bleeding after taking abortifacient drugs.

Like Li Qingzhi, that concubine had escaped to Chongcheng County after her hometown was hit by disaster. After her parents sold her to Mr. Wang, they left Chongcheng County. She had no relatives here, and after her death, no one spoke up for her.

Fang Jinniang felt that if she married Mr. Wang, she might end up with a similar fate!

If she died, her mother would definitely make some noise, but when Mr. Wang offered some money, her mother would probably calm down, right?

Moreover… Mr. Wang was nearly fifty years old, an old man.

Her mother actually wanted to sell her to such a person as a concubine?

Fang Jinniang felt a chill all over her body.

Fang’s mother said, “It’s your good fortune that Mr. Wang fancies you. He doesn’t mind your poor eyesight and is willing to spend a lot of money to marry you…”

If Fang Jinniang could still earn a lot of money, Fang’s mother wouldn’t bear to marry her off.

But now Fang Jinniang couldn’t earn much money, and her eyesight was getting worse!

If Fang Jinniang went completely blind one day, who would be willing to marry her? Then she would be left with nothing!

Fang’s mother had long wanted to marry off Fang Jinniang, but she had refused many suitors before. Now, no one comes to propose marriage anymore. Occasionally, there were some who were willing to offer only ten taels of silver as a dowry.

Of course, Fang Jinniang wouldn’t agree!

If she were asked to actively find a husband for Fang Jinniang, she wouldn’t agree either. She was the wife of a scholar, so how could she actively seek a husband for her daughter?

Coincidentally, recently when Fang Jinniang went to work at Sister Wang’s house, Mr. Wang took a fancy to her!

Initially, Mr. Wang was only willing to offer fifty taels of silver to marry Fang Jinniang. It wasn’t until she had her matchmaker negotiate several times that he agreed to raise it to sixty taels.

“I won’t marry,” Fang Jinniang said.

“I’ve already agreed with Mr. Wang. Whether you want to marry or not, you have to!” Fang’s mother said impatiently.

Fang Jinniang gritted her teeth, but her teeth kept chattering. She finally said, “Aren’t you concerned about your reputation? Marrying me off as a concubine, aren’t you afraid of being criticized for selling your daughter?”

“You’re already this old. I’ve found a good family for you. What else are you dissatisfied with?” Fang’s mother said.

That night, Fang Jinniang didn’t know how she returned to her room or how she fell asleep.

Fang’s mother didn’t lock her up; perhaps she thought Fang Jinniang couldn’t escape.

Indeed, she couldn’t escape. Where else could she go?

The next morning, Fang Jinniang went out as usual.

“Where are you going?” her mother asked.

“I’m going to work,” Fang Jinniang replied.

In the crowded city, news spread quickly among neighbors. Considering her son’s reputation, Fang’s mother didn’t want to argue loudly with Fang Jinniang. She softened her tone. “Eat breakfast before you go. I cooked eggs for you. Jinniang, there’s nothing wrong with being a concubine for Mr. Wang. You’ll have a good life in the future… After your father passed away, our family went through a lot of hardships. Please understand, dear…”

“I’m not hungry, so I won’t eat,” Fang Jinniang said flatly.

With that, Fang Jinniang left the house.