Chapter 68: Leaving Home 1/3

Fang Jinniang walked towards Sister Wang’s house as usual.

Various emotions churned inside her.

She had always known that her mother didn’t like her, but she still wanted her mother’s affection. So, in the past few years, she had worked hard to embroider and earn money.

Yet her mother still didn’t like her, intending to sell her to an old man as a concubine.

What would her life be like after becoming Mr. Wang’s concubine?

If she didn’t get pregnant, perhaps she could live a decent life for a few years, and then, after Mr. Wang’s death or his disinterest in her, she would be either driven out or sold.

If she did get pregnant… if she was forced to take abortifacients, even if she survived, she would likely have many health issues.

Either way, her life would be over.

Fang Jinniang was literate. Her father had taught her to read, and she had read some books. At that time, she had hoped to marry a scholar and have an equal partnership.

Who would have thought that she would end up in this situation?

Fang Jinniang knew that her mother and Mr. Wang had only made private arrangements for now. If she took back all the silver stored at Jin Xiaoye’s place, and her mother knew that she could earn two taels of silver a month, she probably wouldn’t be willing to marry her off.

But what then? If she became unable to work one day, she might be sold to someone even worse!

And her younger sister…

Last night, not long after she had gone to bed, her younger sister came back too.

She hadn’t slept all night, and her younger sister had cried all night.

Would her younger sister end up like her?

Fang Jinniang was gentle by nature, but at this moment, an inevitable resentment rose in her heart.

She knew that her mother cared most about her younger brother.

If she went to her younger brother’s school and caused a scene, saying that her brother wanted to sell her for the sake of his education, and then died in front of her brother…

By then, her brother would surely be disgraced, unable to take the imperial examination, becoming a figure of scorn among all the scholars in Chongcheng County!

At that moment, what expression would her mother have?

Would her mother regret it?

Once this thought emerged, it couldn’t be stopped.

Fang Jinniang, who was originally heading towards Sister Wang’s house out of habit, now thought about turning back to Li Xiucai’s place.

However, at that moment, someone called out to her: “Jin, Jinniang.”

Fang Jinniang’s footsteps halted, and she looked towards the person.

Jin Xiaoshu thought about how Fang Jinniang had praised him yesterday, and couldn’t help but blush. He walked up to Fang Jinniang and, as usual, intended to put the roasted chestnuts in Fang Jinniang’s basket, but found that Fang Jinniang didn’t have one.

As Jin Xiaoshu hesitated, Fang Jinniang grabbed his arm. “Why didn’t you come yesterday?” she asked.

“Sorry, it’s all my fault…” Jin Xiaoshu must have misunderstood Fang Jinniang’s intentions at the time. Fang Jinniang didn’t pay attention to him, probably because she was shy!

Thinking like this, Jin Xiaoshu placed the roasted chestnuts in Fang Jinniang’s other hand. “These are roasted chestnuts, for you to eat.”

As he said this, Jin Xiaoshu felt a bit embarrassed.

How should he put it… If he gave these snacks to the girls from their village, they would definitely be very happy.

But who was Fang Jinniang? She was the daughter of a scholar!

Fang Jinniang did needlework at his sister’s place and could earn two taels of silver a month, more than he could!

She probably wouldn’t care for the snacks he gave her.

But he still wanted to give them, really wanted to.

Fang Jinniang held a packet of chestnuts in her hand, and when she lifted it up, she saw a wrinkled paper bag filled with chestnuts.

Her father used to buy chestnuts for the family, and although they weren’t a large family, they still had five members. She wouldn’t get much.

Chestnuts weren’t sold early in the morning, so they must have been bought yesterday… Fang Jinniang asked, “Have you tried these chestnuts?”

“No… no, why? Are they not good?” Jin Xiaoshu hadn’t tried the chestnuts after buying them yesterday; he had hidden them away and hadn’t shared them with anyone, nor had he eaten them himself.

He just wanted Fang Jinniang to try them.

Speaking of which, he hadn’t even tried chestnuts before; his brother-in-law had never bought them. He didn’t know what roasted chestnuts tasted like, but they smelled so good; they must be delicious, right?

Thinking like this, Jin Xiaoshu swallowed his saliva.

At this moment, Fang Jinniang asked again, “Are you married?”

“No, no, I’m not married yet,” Jin Xiaoshu replied.

Fang Jinniang also thought he definitely wasn’t married. This person had been giving her things for a month but didn’t dare to speak to her; it was clear he had no experience.

Thinking like this, Fang Jinniang leaned towards the person in front of her, wanting to see his face clearly.

Jin Xiaoshu stiffened. Why did Fang Jinniang suddenly get so close to him? Wasn’t this too close?!

He felt that he shouldn’t get so close to a girl, he should move farther away, but he couldn’t move his legs.

This was the girl he liked!

Then Jin Xiaoshu saw Fang Jinniang tiptoeing, leaning towards him as if to kiss him.

Fang Jinniang wanted to kiss him?!

Jin Xiaoshu’s heart was about to leap out of his chest!

At such a close distance, he could even see the pores on Fang Jinniang’s face clearly. Fang Jinniang’s skin was not only fair but also exceptionally smooth, and her hair was jet black…

Just as Jin Xiaoshu was feeling dizzy, Fang Jinniang stepped back.

Fang Jinniang saw Jin Xiaoshu’s appearance.

He was tall, and although his face was a bit weather-beaten, he looked fairly young, probably in his twenties. Besides, he was quite good-looking, despite his dark skin, and clearly someone who worked hard under the sun every day. His family probably didn’t have much wealth.

The food he brought her was likely bought with the money he had saved through hard work.

Fang Jinniang knew that if she married a poor man, she might face hardships, especially since she didn’t know anything about him.

But when facing her, he seemed so awkward and unsure, unlikely to hurt her.

As for their future life… she would still be able to work and support herself to some extent.

Regardless, it was still better than marrying Mr. Wang, living under his authority, and dealing with his wife and son!

“Do you want to marry me?” Fang Jinniang asked.

“I do!” Jin Xiaoshu, overcome with excitement, even choked up a bit. His body couldn’t help trembling: “I… I’ve saved six taels of silver. My parents have saved a bit, and I can borrow some from my sister. I don’t have a hundred taels, but I should be able to gather thirty, maybe even borrow some more… Should I go to your house to propose?”

In their village, the groom’s family usually provided a ten-tael silver dowry. Jin Xiaoshu knew that his parents had about five or six taels saved. With some borrowed from his sister and her husband… it wouldn’t be a problem to gather thirty taels of silver. Maybe he could borrow a bit more from his sister. But Fang Jinniang’s mother had demanded a hundred taels before…

When Fang Jinniang was doing embroidery work, she could earn three or four taels a month, so six taels of silver were nothing to her.

But the appearance of the tall man in front of her pleased her.

“You don’t need to bring a dowry. If you really want to marry me, just follow me,” Fang Jinniang said.

“Huh?” Jin Xiaoshu was a little confused, then nodded vigorously: “Oh, okay!”

His boat was still moored near Sister Wang’s house by the riverside. Although it was daytime in the county town, and there should be no one stealing boats, some kids might come aboard and steal small things.

But could Jin Xiaoshu think of that now?

Fang Jinniang took his arm and started walking forward, with him following behind, feeling like flowers were blooming in his heart.