Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Refusal_1

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Refusal_1

Lady Wu took out the money and items and sighed as she talked about how capable her granddaughter was and how she nearly got abducted by bad people who wanted to take her into an opera troupe.

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Qian Sangui hugged Qian Yixiu close, his heart aching, and said, “Ah, it’s all because Grandpa is incompetent, letting Xiu’er, such a young girl, go out to think of ways to make money and even suffering such a huge fright. Remember, never risk your safety like this again. We can manage even if we’re poor, but the important thing is that you must not come to harm.”

Qian Yixiu cried in Qian Sangui’s embrace. In the feudal society, it was not uncommon for families to sell their daughters for money, but her own grandparents would rather starve than sell her, their granddaughter.

Cheng Yue cried again when she heard that someone had tried to snatch Xiu’er. Qian Yeejin went over, took hold of his sister’s hand, and said, “From now on, little sister need not go out to earn money anymore, leave these matters to your brother to handle.”

Qian Sangui looked at the table full of money and purses and said, “With this money, Jinwa doesn’t need to worry about going out to make money either. Settle your heart, in a few days I will send you to school. Once you succeed in the future, you’ll be able to protect this home and your younger sister.”

Looking at the table piled with copper coins, small silver ingots, silver ingots, and several purses, everyone started to count.

The old lady and Lady Song had each given five taels, then the old lady added six two-coin silver ingots, five ten-tael silver ingots, Young Master Liang gave twenty taels, and from selling flowers, someone had tipped two and one tael of silver. All these added up to over eighty taels of silver.

There were also three fat silver pieces and more than two hundred bronze coins.

Opening the jewelry box, it contained a jade hairpin shaped like a plum blossom, a red gold peacock hairpin. Qian Sangui estimated that they would probably be worth no less than a hundred taels of silver.

There were also the ten packages of medicinal herbs from Qian Sangui, containing several precious ingredients, which would definitely be worth at least over ten taels of silver.

This unexpected wealth made the family feel as if they were dreaming. So much money was enough for the family to live well for over a decade.

“The old lady suddenly gave fifty taels of silver, and there were these two pieces of jewelry. What kind of wine could be so valuable?” Qian Sangui exclaimed.

“Xiu’er doesn’t know, she only knew that the jar the wine was in looked especially nice,” said Qian Yixiu, blinking her naïve eyes like those of a little girl.

She thought to herself that the deed was much more valuable than these items. The Zhang family, feeling awkward about mentioning the deed, could only make a fuss about the wine instead. However, given Zhang Zhongkun’s character, he owed Qian Yixiu such a big favor and would certainly help them in the future.

Qian Yixiu was also happy. After spending so much of her mental and physical effort, it was a decent achievement. Then she thought of the nice things in the mountains that she had appraised, and she pinched her own short, thin little legs. She had to grow stronger quickly. If someone else found those things before her, it would be a huge loss.

Seeing that Qian Sangui and Lady Wu were still somewhat anxious, Qian Yixiu added, “But Xiu’er feels that what’s inside that jar doesn’t seem like wine, it’s not heavy at all.”

Qian Sangui listened and seemed to understand; perhaps the jar contained something more important that people were reluctant to mention, which put his mind at ease. He laughed and said, “Since they said it’s wine, let’s just consider it wine. With so much money in the house, if we use it frugally, it can be enough to support Jinwa’s education. However, we must not let anyone know we have money; living in such an out-of-the-way place, we don’t want to attract any unwanted attention.”

Qian Yeejin said, “Dad, with so much money, let’s fix the courtyard wall, so we can sleep peacefully.”

Qian Sangui nodded and said, “Mm, we do need to repair the courtyard wall. We should also replace the thatched roof with tiles and fix up the collapsed rooms, but let’s talk about this in a month or two. Our kind of family, sending you to school is already enough to invite envy and suspicion, let alone repairing the house.” Then, suspiciously, he asked, “Xiu’er, how come you know how to sing opera and treat flowers?”

Qian Yixiu leaned into Qian Sangui’s arms and said softly, “Mmm, I learned the song from the old lady that day, I just changed the lyrics a bit. I don’t know how to treat a sick tree either, but I felt that the tree surely wasn’t dead, it was just leaning, so I thought to straighten it up to earn a few more tips.”

Qian Sangui, stroking Qian Yixiu’s head, sighed and said, “Children of the poor household have to grow up quickly, it’s tough for Yixiu. Remember, in the future don’t meddle too much in the affairs of the wealthy families. You were lucky today – the Zhang family are kind-hearted. If you had encountered those arrogant and domineering families, you would not only miss out on tips, but you might even end up being beaten.”

Qian Yixiu obediently nodded and replied, “Mmm, Yixiu understands.”

Lady Wu saw her grandson drooling over the sweets and pastries on the table and quickly unwrapped a serving, handing him a pastry, and distributed another one to everyone in the family. Lady Wu herself didn’t feel like eating, “Save it for Yixiu and Jinwa to eat.”

Qian Yixiu said, “There’s plenty, Grandma should eat too.” She forced the pastry into Lady Wu’s mouth.

Lady Wu got up and took the money and jewelry to her room, but soon came out with something in her hands. She said to Qian Sangui with difficulty, “Head of the family, we have so much money, where should we put it? I don’t feel it’s safe anywhere.”

To find a hidden place to keep the money safe, the family racked their brains. In the end, they decided to put the big silver ingot and jewelry into a small jar, then had Qian Yijin crawl under Qian Sangui’s bed to dig a small pit and put the jar into it. After they leveled the soil, they sprinkled some dry earth on top from the yard.

Only then did everyone feel relieved.

Qian Yixiu thought to herself that they were still being too cautious because the family was too weak. She was determined that, once they had earned more money, she would convince Grandpa to hire a servant. Dashan, as fierce as he might be, was still a dog and didn’t have the intelligence of a person.

They originally wanted to buy some meat, but they didn’t manage to after the scare. Lady Wu and Qian Manxia went to the kitchen and cooked a pot of smooth corn mash, and chopped up some chives to fry with a few eggs.

The family ate their meal joyfully, without reserve, and each person had their fill. How long had it been since their home felt this relaxed and at ease? It seemed like ever since they moved into this courtyard, they had never been so carefree. Qian Sangui was filled with emotion, his eyes becoming a bit moist.

After dinner, instead of being frugal and forbidding the lighting of lamps as usual, Lady Wu allowed the little oil lamp on the table to burn like an orange moon, casting a warm and bright glow over the room. The family gathered around the table, chatting about day-to-day matters, content and cozy.

Qian Manxia remembered the clothes given by Ah Zhu and brought out the cloth bag to show, revealing several sets of eight or nine parts new outfits and skirts, brightly colored, made of silk, and styles that the villagers had never worn. The young girl was overjoyed, holding up a skirt against herself to see how it looked.

Lady Wu laughed and said, “The big households are so wealthy, even the clothes their maids don’t want are this nice. Oh, these two outfits look as if they’ve never been worn.”

After figuring out her own outfits, Qian Manxia picked out a peach-colored garment and handed it to Cheng Yue, saying, “Sister-in-law would look best in these colors.”

Cheng Yue pursed her lips and declined, “These are maid’s clothes; Yueyue cannot wear them.” Unlike her usually slow and hesitant speech, her voice became chilled and decisive.

The family had guessed that Cheng Yue came from a rich and noble background, but they didn’t expect that, even after being senseless for so many years and enduring such a long time of hunger, she would still have such integrity, firmly refusing to wear a servant’s clothes.

…………………

Thank you, Life Like Water, for the clown gift and purse, and thank you to readers 151104144321502, Jian and Rose, Hera@Qianlin for your purses, thank you all for your support and recommendations. Please continue to click, recommend and collect.