Chapter 426: Chapter 220 New Year_2
"Really?" Lian Manman expressed her skepticism.
Zhao Xiu E seemed completely indifferent to being sent back home, let alone scared. In Lian Manman’s view, there could only be two reasons for Zhao Xiu E’s behavior. Either she had something to rely on, perhaps a generous dowry, that subdued Erlang? But if the Lian family elders made up their minds, that reliance would be useless. The Lian family could live without her dowry, and Erlang still depended on the family for his livelihood; he couldn’t make decisions on his own.
Or maybe, Zhao Xiu E never liked this marriage at all. This wasn’t just wild guessing from Lian Manman; watching Zhao Xiu E’s attitude toward Erlang, there was no "subduing," nor could she see any deep affection.
"As long as we firmly stand our ground here, the Old Zhao family will have to send someone to bring Zhao Xiu E back," Lady Zhang patiently explained the reasoning to her two daughters, "She is already married to Erlang. If she goes back now, it’s as a divorced woman. Can her family support her for a lifetime? That reputation isn’t something nice to hear either. If she wants to marry someone else, her value would be lower, and finding a family like the Lian family would be extremely difficult."
It wasn’t pleasant to hear, but it was a very practical truth.
"Moreover, on the other hand, it isn’t easy for our tenant farmer families to marry off a daughter. Look at your granny, she also didn’t talk about divorcing her at first, did she? She left some leeway, which must have been agreed upon with your granddad. She just wanted to see Zhao Xiu E’s character, that she wasn’t suited to be someone’s daughter-in-law," Lady Zhang added.
Zhao Xiu E’s departure left Lady Zhou so angry that she skipped two meals.
Soon, news spread that after Zhao Xiu E returned to the townhouse, she packed a bundle and went back to the Zhao family, even telling Erlang that someone would come to move her dowry out later.
Old Master Lian called Erlang back to the village and let it be known that he wanted to sell the townhouse.
Afterward, Zhao Xiu E, with her bundle, moved back into the townhouse and sent word for Erlang to come and live there.
The Lian family grounded Erlang, forbidding him even to step out the front door.
The Zhao family was active in town, preventing anyone from buying the Lian family’s townhouse. The Lian and Zhao families remained at an impasse.
...
In a blink, it was the eighth day of the month. Lian Shouxin found out that the mountain project was resuming on the twelfth and that craftsmen had already started to return these past few days. He thought about reopening the breakfast shop early.
After breakfast that day, the whole family went to the shop to clean and tidy up.
"Got any food?" As they were cleaning, the shop door was pushed open from the outside and Old Uncle Huang strode in, carrying a bucket in one hand and a thick stack of red papers in the other.
"We’re just tidying up today and haven’t opened for business yet," Lian Shouxin hurriedly went to greet him.
Old Huang put the things in his hands on the table and sat down.
"Uncle Huang," Lian Manman, carrying a rag, came out to greet him. Old Huang was a regular customer with a generous nature and got along very well with the Lian family, "We have meatballs at home. Would you like to wait for a while, and I’ll stew a bowl of meatballs for you?"
"You hear this child? Those meatballs were made for the New Year’s celebration; we can’t serve those to guests," Lian Shouxin hastily interjected.
"Meatballs?" Old Huang stroked his beard and didn’t stand on ceremony with them, "You got any with meat filling?"
Seeing that Old Huang was plain-spoken, Lian Shouxin also smiled.
"We have dumplings at home, filled with cabbage and pork, the same taste as the buns we sell here. If you don’t mind..."
"That’s good, serve me more. I’ve been busy all morning and am starved," Old Huang interrupted Lian Shouxin and agreed immediately.
Wu Lang hurried home to fetch the dumplings and meatballs, while Lian Manman boiled water for tea and brewed a pot for Old Huang.
"Uncle Huang, what are you using all this paste for?" Lian Manman asked, looking at the two items on the table.
"Isn’t the mountain project about to start? These past two days, a lot of skilled craftsmen and the like have been coming over. The Emperor recruited them from all over. There’s a lot of work to do in the spring, and there aren’t enough workers on the mountain, so the authorities have sent down word to recruit more people. These past few days, unable to find labor, I’ve been posting these red recruitment notices everywhere. It’s freezing me to death."
Lian Manman picked up a red paper; it was a recruitment announcement, and the listed wages seemed generous.
"Uncle Huang, how about I find someone to post these for you?" Lian Manman offered.
"That’s fine; I’ll pay for the labor," Old Huang was a straightforward man, "There must be thirty or forty left, right? I’ve posted them all over town, just leaving several nearby villages. Post a few in each village, and once you’re done with all of them, I’ll pay you one large coin per three posters."
"I’ll have the kids help stick them up; we don’t need any wages," said Lian Shouxin honestly.
"Lian boss," Old Huang liked to teasingly call Lian Shouxin the boss, "If you were posting for me, I certainly wouldn’t pay you. But if the kids are doing the work for me, then I should pay them. It’s a job for the government, after all..."
Wu Lang entered with a food container, followed by Lian Yeye.
"Sister Manman, I can help post too," Lian Yeye whispered to Lian Manman.
"Alright, we can all earn some pocket money." Lian Manman divided the paste and notices among a few children, who went off to post them. When they returned and calculated the labor costs, even Lian Yeye had made three wen money.
Holding the coins in her hand, Lian Yeye’s eyes sparkled. Lian Manman remembered how Xiao Qi had looked when he first earned wages.
"Sister Manman, can you keep this money for me too?" Lian Yeye handed over the money to Lian Manman.
"Sure, I’ll keep a separate record for you," Lian Manman agreed.
"I wish I could always earn money," Lian Yeye said under her breath. She envied how Lian Zhizhi and Lian Manman worked and earned money to keep as their private stash.
As they talked inside, someone knocked at the door.
"Is this Thirty Mile Camp, and how do I get to the Lian family?"
...******...
Who could it be?
The month’s end is approaching, asking everyone for their pink support. (To be continued. If you like this work, please support by voting at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
