Chapter 19: Finally, I am the one who can eat the fine bran

When the two of them returned home, Jiang Qiyang was sitting by the courtyard gate, eagerly waiting for them. Seeing them come back, he happily ran over, shouting, “Little Uncle! Little Aunt!”

“Hey, be careful! Don’t run so fast—you might fall!” Jiang Peiyu quickly jumped off the cart and rushed over to hold his hand, afraid he might trip. “Come on, let’s go home. Your little aunt bought sponge cakes.”

“Okay!” Jiang Qiyang beamed at the sponge cakes in her hand and followed her inside excitedly.

Inside the house, Li Shuzhen was home. Since the Lu family was coming over in the afternoon, she had decided not to go work in the fields.

“Mom, we’re back.”

“Back already? You must be hungry. I’ve kept food warm in the pot for you,” she said as she headed to the kitchen to bring the food to the table.

Jiang Peiyu gave two sponge cakes to Jiang Qiyang and let him sit on a stool to eat. She handed the rest to Li Shuzhen. “Mom, these sponge cakes are for you.”

Li Shuzhen accepted the sponge cakes and placed them on the table. “Keep them in your room. If you want some later, just eat them. You don’t need to give them to me.”

“I’ve already had some. I counted—there’s just enough for everyone in the family to have two pieces.”

“You eat them. We don’t need things like this… mmmf…”

Before she could finish, Jiang Peiyu shoved one into her mouth.

“You little rascal…” Li Shuzhen took the sponge cake out of her mouth, laughing. Her face lit up with a smile. Her daughter was so thoughtful—so much better than that ungrateful white-eyed wolf.

She actually thought about saving some for the family and cared for her as a mother. She never had this kind of treatment before. When Xia Lizhu was still around, she’d hide away and eat everything herself.

Mmm… the sponge cake really was fragrant and delicious…

Jiang Peiyu, of course, understood. In her past life, she’d read so many “soul-stirring quotes” and heartfelt stories—parents don’t not want to eat nice things; they just can’t bear to eat them, always wanting to save them for their children instead.

After they finished eating, Li Shuzhen urged Jiang Peiyu to go change into something clean and nice.

“Mom, that’s not necessary, is it? I look fine.” She was wearing black cropped slacks and a white short-sleeved cotton blouse with little floral prints.

“No such thing. Go do your hair nicely and put on a dress. Don’t you have a few pretty dresses?”

“…Alright.” Jiang Peiyu obediently went back to her room to freshen up.

Before she was even done, at just a few minutes before three o’clock, Lu Huaijin arrived carrying gift bags. Alongside him were Wang Juying and the matchmaker, Wang Sanmei.

Wang Sanmei was from the same village as Wang Juying—they had married into the same place years ago.

Before they even reached the house, Wang Sanmei’s loud voice could be heard from the courtyard.

“Shuzhen! Come out, we have guests!”

Li Shuzhen straightened her clothes and hair and enthusiastically came out to greet her future son-in-law and the in-laws.

“Coming, coming! It’s hot outside—come in and have a seat!”

“Yangyang, go to the fields and get your grandpa. Hurry!”

“Okay!” Jiang Qiyang dashed off to call Jiang Fugui back home.

Wang Juying entered and greeted Li Shuzhen with a warm smile. “Shuzhen!”

“Hello, Aunt Li.” Lu Huaijin also greeted her with a smile and handed her the gifts.

The dress and the mahua (fried dough twists) were packed together in a paper bag—he wanted to give those to Jiang Peiyu personally. He looked around but didn’t see her.

“Come, have a seat. I’ll pour some water for everyone,” Li Shuzhen said cheerfully as she accepted the gifts, then called loudly toward Jiang Peiyu’s room.

“Girl, come out! The guests are here!”

“Okay, coming!”

Jiang Peiyu had changed into a light blue, cinched-waist dress and tied her hair into a low ponytail with a matching ribbon. When she opened the door and saw the room full of people, she immediately felt a bit shy.

She wanted to shut the door and hide, but knew she couldn’t, so she forced herself to step forward and greet everyone.

“Aunt Juying.”

“Ah, sweetheart, you look so lovely today! Oh right, this is Aunt Wang—you probably haven’t met her before.” Wang Juying was beaming as she looked at the prettily dressed Jiang Peiyu. The more she looked, the more she liked her. She wished she could have her son marry her on the spot.

Knowing Jiang Peiyu didn’t recognize the matchmaker, she helpfully introduced her.

“Aunt Wang.” Jiang Peiyu smiled politely and greeted her. Then, a little shyly, she looked at Lu Huaijin and said softly, “Brother Huaijin.”

Lu Huaijin had intentionally worn the military uniform from the photo Jiang Peiyu had seen. At over 1.8 meters tall and with a handsome face, his years in the military had tanned his skin, making him look even more masculine and rugged. He exuded the aura of a mature man.

Seeing him like this made Jiang Peiyu’s heart race. Honestly, with looks like his, he’d stand out even in the modern world—like a movie star.

At nearly thirty years old, Jiang Peiyu finally felt like she was eating “refined grains” instead of roughage. This kind of man had real flavor, and she silently swore she had to keep a close eye on him—no way would she let another woman snatch him away.

Seeing her standing shyly with her head down, Lu Huaijin handed her the paper bag.

“I bought this for you.”

Lu Huaijin had never been this nervous in all his thirty years—not even on the battlefield. His palms were slightly sweaty.

“Thank you.” Jiang Peiyu quietly accepted the bag and whispered her thanks.

“Come, come, have some tea. These are homegrown melons—try a slice.” Li Shuzhen brought out three glasses of water and a plate of sliced melon from the kitchen.

Wang Juying took a slice and bit into it—sweet, fragrant, and very juicy.

“I heard your second son and Peiyu have been going to the city every day to sell melons?”

“Yes, they’ve been selling for a few days now. Last year’s harvest rotted away and was fed to the chickens and ducks because we couldn’t sell it. This year, we finally see some hope.”

“Yanwen said it’s all thanks to his little sister—she’s good at calling out to customers and has a sweet mouth. Now they’ve got a lot of returning customers.”

As she spoke, pride spread across Li Shuzhen’s face. Both her son and daughter were doing well, and it gave her a sense of pride too. Even though it was a small business, in this era, as long as you could make money, people would look at you with respect.

“That’s wonderful. I always said Peiyu is a smart girl—brave, independent, and capable. She’s someone who can really accomplish things.”

Otherwise, Wang Juying wouldn’t be so fond of her and so determined to have her as her daughter-in-law.

The group chatted for a while until Jiang Fugui came back with Jiang Qiyang. As soon as they entered the house, there was another round of polite greetings before everyone sat down again to continue talking.

Now that the head of the household had returned, Wang Juying didn’t stand on ceremony. She got straight to the point.

“Fugui, I came today to talk about the marriage between our two children. I won’t beat around the bush.”

“Our family is very fond of Peiyu—such a good girl. If you’re willing, we’ll increase the bride price by another 200 yuan.”

“In addition, we’ll buy her a bicycle and a new set of furniture—a big wardrobe, a dressing table, and a new bed.”

This was all her son’s idea; they had discussed it together the night before. After all, he had saved up quite a bit during his years in the military, and she really liked this future daughter-in-law.

Spending a little more money was no problem. As long as they could bring this daughter-in-law home, no price was too high.

Besides, what’s the point of a man earning money if not to spend it on his wife? Stingy men will never get a wife.