Li Qinghe was convinced by this reason.
"So we still have to pay the debt in the future, right?" The ten taels of silver, of course, must have been borrowed. The marriage of the Zhou brothers would never have taken place if the Zhou family had not been able to borrow it.
He didn't contradict, but rather said, "In the future, I will earn money for you. I will do whatever you ask of me. If you want me to go to the east, I will never go west."
Then, seeing Li Qinghe glare at him, he laughed and explained, "There is a lot of involvement here. My third brother borrowed it from me, and the Zhang family insisted. In case I do not borrow, the debt will be my mother's, then she will not have to do anything for the rest of her life, just repay the debt. However, if I take five taels, the situation will be different. When the time comes..." The Zhou family's eldest and second sons were also supposed to help their mother, but they were reluctant to do so. In the end, those who used the money were responsible for paying it back.
Li Qinghe went to see the chickens, while Zhou Chengkang fed the fish. It was still a little warm during the day, but it got cold at night.
The chickens didn't grow much, and their fur looked a little dirty; they looked wretched. "Should we light a brazier? It would be best to separate and keep them away from each other at night."
Zhou Chengkang listened carefully, "I'll try."
Following spring planting, the villagers actually cut the weeds at ordinary times and were not overly busy.
During Zhao Wanwaw's stay with them, Li Qinghe did not feel anything odd. However, a month after Zhao Wanwaw left, while Li Qinghe was picking out ripe vegetables in the backyard, she started to feel strange. They still have a few days left to eat the vegetables that they grew out of the plants in the backyard. But after these batches of vegetables were cut, there would be no more food once they were eaten.
She didn't say anything about it. Li Fu would still feel that she provoked Mrs. Qian if she had talked too much about this to him. In addition to not saying anything, Li Qinghe also went inside to get a hoe and began digging the ground. Li Fu will eventually know when the food runs out two to three months from now.
She heard a knock on the door as she was planting the seeds. After a few seconds, Yu Yan walked into the backyard. In a low voice, she asked, "Are you still planting vegetables?"
Li Qinghe understood what she was saying. It was time to prepare for the wedding, and it was too late to embroider the wedding dress. Additionally, Yu Yan, who lived nearby, noticed that Mrs. Qian did not like to work.
Li Qinghe's disbelief was evident on her face as she said, "I have to eat, too." She has been working in town for the past two years, but she also ate at home for the last few months, and she should plant vegetables.
"That's true." Yu Yan held her face in her hands as she squatted aside and watched her work.
It was rare that she sat like this disregarding her image. As Li Qinghe looked at her several times, she noticed Yu Yan seemed dazed and asked, "Why do I feel like something happened to you?"
Yu Yan looked at her, "Xu Changjie came to me again and told me he was pleased with me. If I am willing, he will fight with his mother. What do you think...about the family Xu?"
"No." Li Qinghe shook her head, "I have a good relationship with you, and I will tell you the truth. A lot of people have seen the things between Xu Changjie and the girl from the Yang family in town together. What is it you find so attractive about him?"
"He's good-looking," Yu Yan said in a firm voice, before saying tentatively, "Say, then the Yang family doesn't like him as well. I heard the Yang family's daughter is already negotiating a marriage."
Li Qinghe was speechless and asked, "You look good too, and your craftsmanship is superb. You can earn more money with your craftsmanship than men. What kind of people will not want to marry you? It's just a matter of finding the right person. His mother was aggressive that day. Are you not scared of her?"
"You seem to be prejudiced against him?" Yu Yan wondered, "You're not familiar with the Xu family either, right?"
I can't tell you about my past life when I was married into the Xu family.
Li Qinghe waving her hand said, "You are right, I have a prejudice against him, you can weigh it yourself. If you ask me whether the Xu family is good, I have only two words for you!"
Not good!!
Yu Yan nodded, "I understand." She stood up and grabbed the seeds on the side, helping Li Qinghe to spread them.
It was quite easy to plant vegetables. The ground in the backyard, including the corners, was planted in a single day. The next day, Li Qinghe fed fish and chickens in the field and then embroidered dowry clothes at home.
Later in the day, Zhou Chengkang took her to see the new furniture in the town. The furniture was almost finished and if everything was okay, they could take it back right away. Zhou Chengkang gestured towards the carriage as she was getting into it. Li Qinghe discovered Zhang Haiyao seated in the carriage with a bag when she lifted the curtain.
After Li Qinghe lifted the curtain, Zhang Haiyao also greeted her enthusiastically, "Sit over here, don't be polite."
Li Qinghe: "... " My own fiance's carriage, I won't be polite.
"I'll just sit outside." Li Qinghe smiled and refused. Zhang Haiyao extended her hand unexpectedly and said, "Come in and talk," while grabbing Li Qinghe's hand.
Even though it was a bit awkward due to their unfamiliarity with each other, the familial relationship between them was close, which wasn't something to be ignored. Following a moment of contemplation, Li Qinghe entered the carriage and asked, "Where is my sister-in-law going?"
Zhang Haiyao smiled, "I'm going to visit my family. I still want to ask you to come."
Zhao Haiyao's father and Master Zhang, Mother Xu's husband, were cousins. Since they have no other brothers, these two cousins get along as brothers would.
As soon as Li Qinghe heard of the offer, she immediately refused, saying, "I won't go. I have to see the furniture today. If it's good, I have to take it back today and keep it dry."
"Fine." Zhang Haiyao said with a stunned expression on her face. She lowered her voice a little and said, "Actually, I think we're destined to be sisters. We're still sisters. One day we'll be sisters-in-law."
If Mother Xu had brought her into the Zhang family, she could barely be considered a daughter, and so she could be considered a sister. But she had never made more than a few visits to the Zhang family, and she hadn't met any members of the Zhang family. Since she had never met Zhang Haiyao's father, let alone Zhang Haiyao, what kind of sisters could they be?
As she smiled, she did not answer, waiting to hear what Zhang Haiyao would say next.
Zhang Haiyao continued by talking about the child born to Mother Xu in the Zhang family, "In two years Haiya will be able to go to the county for the county exam, and if he wins fame, his identity will be changed."
While Zhang Haiyao continued to talk, Li Qinghe had no idea what she wanted from her. Even when they arrived at the town's entrance, Li Qinghe kept silent.
After parting, Li Qinghe asked Zhou Chengkang in a low voice, "What is your third sister-in-law trying to say?"
He was also suspicious, "It might be to get and share some gossip. It must have been awkward to sit there."
After that, Li Qinghe stopped thinking about it and went to the furniture store with him. For the house, she wanted two sets of tables, chairs, cabinets, and dressing tables, along with some wooden basins. However, all girls with better backgrounds will prepare these. They decided to take back the furniture now that they were done.
When a guy was moving furniture into the carriage, Qian Laiman approached from the opposite furniture shop and asked, "Qinghe, are these yours?"
"Yes." Li Qinghe faced him calmly.
Qiao Laiman also seemed quite calm, "Why didn't you come to my shop, I can also do a better job for you, and talk to the proprietor about a cheaper price."
Zhou Chengkang walked over, smiled, and said, "I'm familiar with this shop, and it's just as cheap."
As Qiao Laiman reluctantly smiled, he said, "I still haven't congratulated you both."
"You got engaged earlier than us, why haven't you set a wedding date?" Zhou Chengkang looked at him, "No matter how much money you earn, you must also pay attention to your wife. You still have to marry her before you feel at ease."
Hearing the last sentence, Li Qinghe pinched him secretly, but Zhou Chengkang's face remained unchanged, "You must come to our wedding, ah."
After the furniture had been loaded into the carriage, the two got into their carriage and rode off. However, they could still see Qiao Laiman observing them from some distance after reaching some distance. The two were sitting outside this time. Li Qinghe only spoke in a voice loud enough for him to understand, "Don't I see that he has an ulterior motive?"
Zhou Chengkang snorted softly.
Li Qinghe burst into laughter.
There weren't many people in the town today since it wasn't a market day. Almost no one returned to the village. They expected to go home alone this time. However, they did not expect to see Zhang Haiyao standing by the road with a bag on her back when they left town. As soon as she saw them, she waved her hand at them quickly.
Zhao Haiyao climbed up the carriage when it stopped. She was surprised to discover that it had stuffed furniture inside. "How can I sit here?" she asked.
"It's impossible to sit down." Zhou Chengkang thought about it, "Why don't I go back first and come back later to pick up my third sister-in-law?"
"That's fine." Then Zhang Haiyao grabbed Li Qinghe by the hand and said, "You go back first, we'll walk slowly and talk."
As the carriage left, Li Qinghe looked at her, "Is there something you want from me?"
When Zhang Haiyao's thoughts were revealed, she felt somewhat embarrassed, "There are indeed some things to discuss with you. It's complicated, so let's talk slowly."
As Li Qinghe started walking, Zhang Haiyao sprinted to catch up. "There are some things you don't know, and your mother didn't tell you. On the Haiya side, the eldest aunt did not want him to continue his education, so she sent him to the shop to study. Afterward, he will be an accountant."
Despite being half-siblings, Li Qinghe has never seen the child born to Mother Xu during her two lifetimes.
When she went to town to visit Mother Xu, she wasn't able to see him at all. In truth, he was not as familiar with her as Zhao Wanwan, who does not have a blood relationship with her.
Then Zhang Haiyao paused, waiting for Li Qinghe to ask, but when she saw her walking ahead without looking back, she had to again catch up with her, saying, "Your mother was left with no choice but to ask my father for help."
Finally, Li Qinghe turned around to look at her, "What do you want to say?"
Seeing her reaction, Zhang Haiyao was satisfied. "My father is still thinking about it. As Second Uncle and my father have a good relationship, if my father really asks, Second Uncle would agree."
"Is your father in favor of it?" Li Qinghe asked.
"Yes. Haiya can stop after two more years. My father said so. I just want to borrow some money from you, I've been in a bind lately." She said with a smile.
Borrow money?
The purpose of going around in such a big circle was to borrow money. With her brows and eyes so complacent, she hadn't given much thought to Li Qinghe refusing to lend her money, let alone repaying her later.
Listening to her words, one could determine that she asked only for a loan but did not mention a return date.
After walking for a while, Zhang Haiyao couldn't help but say, "We are all related, let's help one another."
"I have no extra money." Li Qinghe finally looked at her, "My money is for urgent needs."
Zhang Haiyao was taken aback, paused, reacted quickly, and ran after a few steps, "No, my father will help to intercede for Haiya. He spent too much money on studying for a year, and his eldest aunt would not be happy to get this silver. Haiya probably wouldn't be able to read it without my father's help!"
The last sentence almost caused her to yell out in frustration.
Li Qinghe turned around and sighed. "So many people cannot read and write, but still live their lives. Furthermore, he still has his parents. He can study for the county exams and marry and have children. I can't be bothered with that!"
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