Lady Wu clenched her teeth, boiled three eggs every morning, and also quietly conveyed Qian Sangui's intentions to Qian Manjiang. As a result, Qian Manjiang started to exercise some restraint, getting into fights only every other day.
In between, Qian Manjiang found time to take a trip to the county town. He bought back tea leaves, and thanks to the acquaintance Qian Xiang found, he got a bit more than what one would get in the market. He had learned from Qian Sangui how to weave things, and he specifically went to the backyard to cut some bamboo and made several large-bellied and small-mouthed baskets with the bamboo strips, filling them with tea leaves. He also made small wooden stoppers, wrapped them in cloth, and tightly sealed the mouths of the small bamboo baskets.
Qian Yixiu was incredibly impressed and praised her father, remarking how intelligent it was to use a nice packaging for the gifts for the officials. Such a person was truly burying his talents by spending a lifetime in the countryside.
More than ten days passed in a flash, and on the night before Qian Manjiang was to leave, Old man Qian's couple and the people from the Old Qian Family all came to the third house to see him off.
Old woman Qian made her grandson a cotton shoulder cape, Qian Dagui's wife, Lady Wong, and daughter-in-law, Lady Xu, made him a pair of cotton shoes and a pair of thin shoes. Qian Sigui's wife, Lady Wang, also made a pair of cotton shoes and a pair of thin shoes.
Lady Wu gratefully said, "Sister-in-law and Wife of Manchuan are with child and yet did so much work; we'll remember your kindness."
Qian Xiang took her young son Dongzi back to Huaxi Village during the day. Knowing that Qian Manjiang needed tea, she gave him half a pound of Second-class Peak Tea, leaving Lady Wu and mother and son Qian Manjiang deeply grateful.
Lady Tang, the wife of Qian Ergui, did nothing, but her words were pleasing, "I was thinking of making a pair of shoes for Manjiang, and I'd even prepared the cloth, but then my headache came on. Oh, it's killing me..."
Lady Wong and Lady Wang scoffed.
Old woman Qian snorted coldly, "Humph, what headache? I think it's more like laziness that's struck you, you lazy trickster."
Lady Tang was not upset and cheerfully said, "Why would mother-in-law speak of her daughter-in-law like that? I really did suffer from a headache. If you don't believe me, just ask Manhe, he even brewed herbal medicine for me to drink."
Old woman Qian glanced at her but said nothing more. The young Qian Manhe's face turned beet red.
From previous discussions between Lady Wu and Qian Manjiang, Qian Yixiu understood that among the wives of the Old Qian Family, Lady Wong, although competitive and a bit scheming, was clear about right and wrong on major issues and always gave Qian Dagui face in front of others. Lady Tang was selfish and domineering, keeping Qian Ergui under tight control. Lady Wang was shrewd and good at dealing with people and got along best with Lady Wu.
Seeing the scene unfold today, Qian Yixiu thought Lady Tang was an extreme case, not even bothering to keep up appearances. Apart from Lady Tang, Qian Yixiu was relatively content with the other members of the Old Qian Family; they may be a bit scheming and somewhat selfish, but these were not serious faults. At least they weren't like the families in some transmigration novels, where almost everyone was extremely problematic, constantly coveting relatives' possessions, with the heroine constantly having to fight upon arriving there.
Cheng Yue was shy with strangers, and seeing so many people, she had hidden away in her room early on. Only after everyone had left did she come to the main hall.
When Qian Manjiang saw her with swollen eyes and her little nose red from crying, he exclaimed in alarm, "What's wrong, Yueyue? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
With tear-streaked cheeks, Cheng Yue clung to Qian Manjiang's sleeve and said, "Is Brother Jiang leaving? Yueyue doesn't want brother to go."
She knew that Brother Jiang would leave tomorrow and had cried alone in her room for a long time without daring to make a sound. Although she was somewhat simple-minded, she understood what was good for her. She knew Brother Jiang was kind to her, the closest person to her, so she couldn't bear to see Brother Jiang leave.
Qian Manxia had wanted to cry for a long time, but she had held it in until now. Seeing her sister-in-law in tears, she couldn't hold back any longer and clung to her brother, crying her heart out. Lady Wu, overwhelmed with grief, couldn't restrain herself either and burst into tears, hugging her son.
Surrounded by the weeping of the three women, Qian Manjiang felt his heart sour but fought to keep his tears from falling. He consoled them with a smile, "Don't cry, don't be sad. In a few years, I'll come back. I'll strive to earn my achievements and become an official, then I can get a phoenix crown and cape for mom and Yueyue, buy medicine for dad to treat his illness, save up for my sister's dowry, and even take you to the Capital City for fun, to see the great gates of the Palace, to taste the roasted duck there..."
Qian Yixiu, standing in a corner, was also immensely saddened by this scene, but as a ghost, she had no tears to shed, so it was like thunder without rain. She stared hard at her "Little Dad," thinking if he was unfortunate and couldn't return, she would etch his voice and smile into her heart forever.
After a good while of crying, it was Lady Wu who first stopped her tears. She lifted Qian Manxia into her arms and into the bedroom. Qian Manjiang wiped away Cheng Yue's tears with his sleeve, saying with a teary smile, "Yueyue, be good, don't cry now. Brother will be back in a few years."
"How long is a few years?" Cheng Yue's eyes filled with a fresh layer of mist as she sobbed her question.
"A few years is..." Qian Manjiang paused, considering how best to explain, then pulling Cheng Yue into his embrace, he countered, "Did Yueyue see the many flowers blooming at the entrance of our home?" Seeing her nod, he continued, "When those flowers wither and bloom again, then wither and bloom again, over and over a few times... just like that, a few years will pass, and brother will be back. While brother is away, Yueyue must be filial to dad and mom, take care of your sister, help mom with household chores..."
Qian Manjiang knew his young wife might not fully understand all his words, but he still took the time to instruct her as seriously as if speaking to an ordinary person.
Cheng Yue, somewhat naive and not quite comprehending, just lay blankly against Qian Manjiang's chest.
Qian Manjiang asked softly, "Yueyue, did you hear what brother said?"
Although not completely understanding, Cheng Yue still looked up at Qian Manjiang and said, "Yueyue is good, Yueyue will listen."
Under the lamplight, the young wife was pure and beautiful, her naïve, large eyes fluttering a few times, making Qian Manjiang feel an insatiable love for her. He mussed her hair and kissed her cheek before hurriedly pulling her out to wash up.
That night, Cheng Yue didn't ask any silly questions like "why does brother have to do this," and instead obediently went along with Qian Manjiang's desires multiple times, to his great delight.
Their activity was quite loud, and even though Lady Wu had the foresight to take her daughter back into her own room to sleep early, they could still hear some noises. With her hands covering her daughter's ears, urging her to sleep, Lady Wu whispered to the frowning Qian Sangui, "It's good for a son and his wife to be like this; we might even get a grandson out of it."
Qian Yixiu also felt it wasn't appropriate to continue eavesdropping around the corner. "Little Daddy" was pretty skilled for his age when it came to such matters. It reminded her of a saying from her previous life that there was no man who wasn't lecherous—how apt it was.
But tonight, she just couldn't muster the interest to wander into the mountains and instead drifted to the backyard, settling next to the empty donkey shed in the vegetable garden, watching the moon sink from the zenith to the western mountains.
The chickens hadn't crowed yet when Lady Wu got up. She was cooking when she saw Qian Manjiang, with dark circles under his eyes, come in. She hurriedly said, "Why are you up so early? Go back to sleep; I can manage on my own."
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Thank you, yh_yh1166 and Hera@Qianlin, for your red envelopes, thank you all for your recommendations and comments. The new book baby seeks your care, continue to seek clicks, recommendations, and favorites.