Chapter 23 – I Have Given Such a Big Gift

Xia Tian pulled Xia Yue into the room and saw that Xia Niangzi was sitting on the edge of the kang. When she noticed them entering, she quickly stood up, looking a bit nervous as she gazed at them.

Xia Tian quickly pulled Xia Yue and introduced her, “Sister-in-law, we’re Xia Yang’s sisters. I’m Xia Tian, and this is my older sister, Xia Yue.”

Xia Niangzi smiled and greeted them, “Sisters.”

Xia Niangzi had a round face, big eyes, and when she smiled, her eyebrows and eyes curved, giving her a charming appearance.

She was from the Hehewan area, a few villages away from Xia Jia Village, and deep in the mountains.

When Xia Yang was still hesitant about marriage, if it weren’t for her uncle’s third child reaching the age to be married, perhaps Xia Laozi wouldn’t have remembered to arrange Xia Yang’s wedding.

When the marriage proposal was made, Xia Yang was already eighteen years old, and Xia Laozi didn’t want to give too much in dowry, so they went to the mountain village to ask for her hand.

Xia Niangzi’s family had many daughters, and they were barely getting by.

Compared to Hehewan Village, Xia Jia Village was a little wealthier. When someone came to propose, they quickly agreed.

Xia Niangzi’s father was a kind person, as evidenced by the clothes Xia Niangzi wore—she was clearly not treated harshly by her family.

Xia Tian put down the basket she had been carrying all this time. There were too many people, and she was worried about losing things if she left it in the room.

She took out the wine-red fabric she had bought and handed it to Sun Maimiao, “Sister-in-law, this is a gift for you and my brother for your wedding. Please accept it.”

Typically, gifts from a daughter who is getting married are recorded as part of the dowry, which makes it easier to reciprocate the gift.

Xia Tian wasn’t worried about it being recorded because Xia Laozi would probably secretly take the gift, and they wouldn’t know who benefited from it.

So Xia Tian directly gave it to her sister-in-law.

Sun Maimiao was clever and didn’t ask any questions. She simply thanked Xia Tian and accepted the gift.

Xia Tian raised an eyebrow, sensing that her sister-in-law was probably aware of her family’s situation. With such a personality, it seemed that she wouldn’t be taken advantage of.

Things in the house might improve now.

The three of them chatted for a while in the room, and then Xia Shiji and Xia Chen ran in to visit their sister-in-law.

Xia Tian took out the pastries and potato cakes she had prepared in the basket and shared them with everyone.

She also handed out the hairpins she had bought for Xia Yue, Xia Chen, and her sister-in-law. The three girls were overjoyed and repeatedly thanked Xia Tian.

They had never worn purchased hairpins before; they always tied their hair with scraps of cloth.

Xia Tian gave Xia Shiji the toy she had bought for him and told him to play outside for a while. The four girls huddled together and began whispering.

Xia Yue, noticing all the things Xia Tian had brought, asked her worriedly, “Sister, these things must have cost a lot of money. Won’t brother-in-law mind?”

“It’s fine, sister. Shen Nian is very kind.”

“Still, be careful in the future. Don’t spend too much money. Save it for yourself, don’t worry about us.”

“Don’t worry, I came back because of big brother’s wedding. I won’t come back unless it’s necessary.”

Xia Yue still looked uneasy and pulled Xia Tian aside to give her a few more instructions. Only after Xia Tian repeatedly reassured her did she let go.

Mai Miao, watching the few sisters speak, felt a lot more at ease. At least, Xia Yang’s sisters were good-hearted and not troublemakers.

As for the rest of the family, it didn’t matter. They could get along if they could, and if not, that was fine.

Listening to Xia Tian mention that she would leave after eating, Sun Maimiao took out the welcome gifts she had prepared for the Xia family and awkwardly handed them to Xia Yue and the others.

“I made these myself, for you all.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law,” the others said happily as they accepted the shoe insoles.

Xia Tian looked at the carefully sewn insoles and couldn’t help but think more highly of her sister-in-law.

She hadn’t expected that her sister-in-law had prepared a welcome gift for the married little sister.

It seemed that as long as Xia Yang could stand on his own, their family’s life wouldn’t be too bad.

They chatted for a bit more. Xia Yang came in once, saw his sisters were all laughing, and went back outside to greet the guests.

Soon, they heard the call for dinner.

Xia Tian led Xia Yue, Xia Chen, and the others out to find seats at the table, waiting for the dishes to arrive. Xia Yue wanted to help, but Xia Tian pulled her back, saying that there were many neighbors helping, and their own people weren’t needed to serve.

Just as the dishes were about to be brought out, Xia Laozi, who hadn’t been paying attention for a while, suddenly started looking for trouble.

“Four Ye, you little girl, your brother is getting married, and you came empty-handed. How dare you sit at the table?”

Xia Tian wasn’t angry at all. She smiled and replied, “Why shouldn’t I sit at the table? I’ve brought such a big gift.”

“Really shameless. Where’s your gift? Even your third uncle didn’t see you bring anything.”

Xia Tian’s third uncle had been standing by the door, recording the gifts. He had seen her come in but hadn’t noticed her bringing anything, so he told Xia Laozi.

“I’ve sold myself and brought thirty taels of silver. How can you say I didn’t bring a gift?” Xia Tian replied calmly.

“You little troublemaker, you…” Xia Laozi was so angry that her hands shook, unable to continue speaking.

Xia Yang’s fourth uncle, Xia Zhengnian, stood up and scolded Xia Tian, “Four Ye, how can you speak to your grandmother like that? Is this how a junior should talk?”

“Sorry, grandmother. You know my temper. As a junior, I shouldn’t argue with elders,” Xia Tian said apologetically, though not very sincerely.

By this time, the dishes had begun to arrive, and with so many people watching, Xia Tian didn’t continue to argue, not wanting to upset Xia Laozi or have her accused of being unfilial.

Besides, her sister-in-law’s family was still there. She didn’t want them to look down on Xia Yang.

The Xia family saw that Xia Tian had stopped speaking and reluctantly sat down, not continuing to cause a scene.

After the meal, Xia Tian didn’t stay long. She greeted her mother, Xia Yang, and Xia Yue before leaving.

It was probably around 3 p.m. when she returned home.

The courtyard was quiet.

Xia Tian went to the upper room, lifting the curtain to check, but Shen Nian wasn’t there. She wondered where he had gone.

She then checked the kitchen and saw that the rice in the pot had been eaten.

Xia Tian thought that Shen Nian might have gotten bored in the house and gone out for a walk.

Since she had left early in the morning, her dirty clothes hadn’t been washed yet. After resting for a while, she took a basin and went to the river to wash clothes.

When she returned, she saw Shen Nian sitting under the big tree in the yard, slowly flipping through a book.

“Shen Dage, did you go out earlier?” Xia Tian asked as she hung the clothes to dry.

“Yeah, I went for a walk behind the house. Are you back?” Shen Nian looked up, his voice slightly raised.

Xia Tian smiled, seeing that Shen Nian seemed to be in a good mood, “Yeah, I just got back. You should go out more, it’ll make you feel better.”

“Yeah,” Shen Nian nodded with a smile.

As his health gradually improved, his internal energy had also recovered by about 10%.

Feeling happy, he went to speak to Mu Yang’s grave.

Ever since his poisoning incident, Mu Yang had been worried about him, and they hadn’t had a peaceful day together.

If it hadn’t been for the need to find a divine doctor, they wouldn’t have encountered the assassination attempt, and Mu Yang might not have died.

This kid was always concerned about him. Now that he was getting better, he wanted to share the good news with him, to let him rest easy.

He would live well and get revenge for Mu Yang in the future!

Shen Nian thought to himself but didn’t let it show on his face.

Xia Tian noticed that Shen Nian seemed lost in thought, so she didn’t disturb him. After finishing the laundry, she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

In the evening, Xia Tian made rice porridge, prepared a cold dish with dried bamboo shoots, and stir-fried some potato strips.

After the meal, Xia Tian remembered her idea to set up a stall selling braised dishes. She mentioned it to Shen Nian, “Shen Dage, I’m thinking of going to town tomorrow to buy some pig intestines and tofu, and try setting up a stall the day after tomorrow to sell them.”

“Mm, you can try if you want. Do you still have money?” Shen Nian nodded in agreement with Xia Tian’s plan.

“I still have enough!”

Seeing that Shen Nian didn’t oppose the idea, Xia Tian was happy and continued talking to him about what she needed to prepare for the stall.

Shen Nian smiled, listening and nodding occasionally, offering suggestions that surprised Xia Tian.