Chapter 28 : Since it is hard to find a husband, you have to be more prudent with your own money

Xiao Hechuan usually enjoyed playing with Goudan and the other kids. The children ran in and out of the house all the time, so it wasn’t safe for Jiang Sui to keep so much silver on her.

Besides, Mother Xiao was the one who truly ran the household now, so it made sense to be more thoughtful and hand the money over.

What Jiang Sui was thinking was, she’d have to rely on the future top scholar for the rest of her life. The Xiao family wasn’t in great shape at the moment, so helping them improve their situation now was just part of the plan. She’d help them live well in the early days, and in return, they’d help her live well later on. A perfect win-win.

More importantly, Mother Xiao was worth trusting, she was a good mother-in-law.

Jiang Sui’s words touched Mother Xiao deeply. She looked at her with even more affection. This wasn’t just a daughter-in-law, this was like gaining a real daughter.

“Alright, since you insist, I’ll keep the money for you. When you need it, just ask me. I won’t touch a coin of it carelessly.”

To Mother Xiao, it meant a lot that the girl trusted her, but she also knew she couldn’t just keep the money for herself.

“No need to hold it just for me,” Jiang Sui replied. “Use it wherever the family needs it, don’t worry about me. We’re all one family, we shouldn’t be calculating with each other. Besides, if Hechuan gets better one day, he’ll need to study again, and studying costs money, right? We can save this for his future education.”

Jiang Sui knew that once Xiao Hechuan recovered, he’d return to his path toward the imperial exam. And when that day came, there’d be costs paper, brushes, ink, inkstones… Becoming a top scholar had never been cheap.

When Mother Xiao heard Jiang Sui’s words, her eyes turned red with emotion. She looked at her with a complicated expression and asked

“Suisui… do you really think Hechuan will recover one day?”

Everyone had said her son would never get better, and that this was just how his life would be.

Even her own family had believed it was just a temporary issue at first. But as the years passed, one by one, they all slowly gave up hope.

Jiang Sui nodded firmly, her voice full of conviction

“He will. He absolutely will. Hechuan isn’t an ordinary person, he’s like the moon in the sky, and one day, he’ll shine in full. A golden fish can’t be kept in a shallow pond forever. He was so smart as a child, if heaven has any justice, it won’t let a pearl like him stay buried in the dust!”

Her words reignited the hope in Mother Xiao’s heart. Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.

“That’s beautifully said, Suisui. You’re not an ordinary person yourself, ordinary people can’t say things like that. Honestly, you don’t seem like someone who never went to school.”

Mother Xiao spoke from the heart. In just a few words, Jiang Sui sounded exactly like a learned scholar. If she hadn’t known for certain that Jiang Sui never went to school, she might’ve believed there was a sage living inside her.

Of course, if she’d actually said that out loud, Jiang Sui probably would’ve broken out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Sui only smiled awkwardly. Honestly, pretending to be uneducated was harder than she thought, it was tough holding herself back from sounding too polished.

“Oh, Mother also, from the 25 taels of silver, take out three and give them to Lanlan. She’s worked hard too, this is her share. Make sure you give it to her directly and let her use it as her own money. I know her situation. It’s hard for her to find a good match, so she needs to have her own resources to protect herself in the future.”

Jiang Sui always remembered Xiao Lanlan’s situation. Lanlan struggled with her fate, unable to find a good husband. Having money would make everything easier, as money could buy happiness and security.

Seeing that Jiang Sui still cared about Lanlan, Mother Xiao was once again moved.

After Jiang Sui left, Mother Xiao gave Xiao Lanlan the three taels of silver as requested. Just as Xiao Lanlan was about to lie down and sleep, her mother came to see her.

She explained what the fourth sister-in-law had meant. When Xiao Lanlan saw the three taels of silver, a wave of thoughts filled her mind.

The fourth sister-in-law was so kind and thoughtful. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t touched, especially when Mother Xiao repeated Jiang Sui’s words to her:

“Since it’s difficult to find a husband, you should be more self-sufficient and protect yourself in the future.”

She remembered it clearly!

“Your fourth sister-in-law cares about you so much. You must never forget her kindness,” Mother Xiao said, holding her daughter’s hand.

“I understand, mother. I won’t forget. Among the three sisters-in-law, I get along best with the fourth one. We’re about the same age, and there’s a lot we can talk about. We’ll always have each other as confidantes in the future.”

“Good, keep the silver safe. Don’t lose it. It’s getting late, I’m going to bed.”

Mother Xiao had been busy all day and was exhausted, yawning as she spoke.

—

A few days passed peacefully, and with the work in the fields almost finished, Father Xiao and his sons had nothing to do. The brothers discussed going out to find work so they could earn some money to save for the rest of the year.

Although the eldest son was a widower, he still had a son. His parents helped take care of the child while he worked to help the family. The second and third sons also had their own families and couldn’t keep asking their parents for money. They had to save some money for their own households, especially the third son, who was about to become a father. Now was the time to save money for his wife’s confinement.

As for Xiao Lanlan and Jiang Sui, they had already picked enough mushrooms. The yard was filled with mushrooms and wood ears drying, so they hadn’t gone up the mountain for the past two days. Instead, they stayed at home and helped Mother Xiao with the work.

It was April, and the sun felt warm. The family was enjoying the sun in the yard, discussing where to find work. Coincidentally, Liu’s mother and her brother Liu Jiang came to visit.

They arrived suddenly. As the saying goes, “People don’t come for no reason.” They weren’t from the same village, and it had taken them a whole day to come and go. Their sudden arrival must have been for something important.

When Liu saw her family arriving, she was delighted and began preparing sweet soup, asking Zhou to cut some meat and cook.

Mother Xiao received them politely, offering all the melon seeds and peanuts she had in the house.

Only the third brother, Xiao Yi, scratched his head in confusion. He probably knew why his mother-in-law had come.

It happened to be lunchtime when the in-laws arrived. Mother Xiao had cooked some meat and eggs and steamed some large buns, showing all the proper hospitality.

During the meal, Liu’s mother announced that her eldest son, Liu Jiang, was getting married next month, and everything had been settled. She had come to share the good news and invite the whole family to the wedding.

Getting married was a joyful event, so Father Xiao and mother congratulated them with smiles. During the meal, Liu kept placing meat into her mother’s and brother’s bowls. Liu’s mother glanced at Mother Xiao several times, as if wanting to say something but holding back. Meanwhile, Liu Jiang kept nudging his mother under the table.

Mother Xiao was very perceptive and suspected that her mother-in-law’s visit this time was likely related to money.

She thought to herself that if the loan request was only for one or half an ounce of silver, she would be willing to lend it. However, if the amount was larger, she wouldn’t be able to afford it.