Pastoral Splendor

The room was dimly lit, and the family gathered around the table, chatting and laughing.

Aunt Xiao also came out of the inner room into the outer room, holding Qi Hua in her arms. Qi Hua's eyes were bright and shiny, and she was sure to be a beauty in the making. Yan Ying glanced at Aunt Xiao. Her features were very pleasing to the eye. Perhaps the Xiao sisters all inherited their mother's looks, as they were all beautiful and charming, with lovely features, especially their eyes, which were very lively.

"Sanhua, how much silver do you have now?" Aunt Xiao chuckled and bounced Qihua around in her arms. The past month had felt like a dream. Sanhua had fallen off the mountain, hit her head, and seemed doomed, as if she had stopped breathing. But miraculously, she came back to life!

After Sanhua came back to life, she became much more agile and seemed capable of doing anything. She managed all the big and small matters at home in an orderly manner, and now she could even earn money! Aunt Xiao couldn't believe that her own third daughter had such abilities and could earn so much money so easily.

"Mother, don't ask me how much money I've earned." Yan Ying smiled and hugged Qi Hua. "As long as everyone works together, our family's life will get better and better!"

"Yes, yes, yes." Erhua nodded firmly: "That's definitely how it will be!"

Liu Hua tugged at Yan Ying's sleeve, her voice sweet: "Third Sister said she'd let me eat meat every day!"

Xiao Laoda just sighed and didn't say anything. Sihua quickly went over and massaged his shoulders: "Father, don't worry, just like Third Sister said, everything will be alright."

“Sanhua, you only earned some money because of that young master. If it weren’t for him, I don’t know where you would have found money!” Boss Xiao shook his head, feeling really unsure. “Keep the money you earn to yourself. Use it wisely and don’t be extravagant. It will be good to give it to you as a dowry later.”

Yan Ying was both amused and exasperated. Her dowry was only a few dozen taels of silver? Looking at Xiao Laoda, Yan Ying said solemnly, "Father, you must believe your daughter. Sanhua will not let our family go hungry or poor. This few dozen taels of silver is just the beginning. In the future, our family will earn more and more. When the time comes, each of us sisters will have at least a thousand taels of silver as our dowry!"

"What? Over a thousand taels?" Boss Xiao's hand trembled, spilling some water from the cup in his hand. He frowned and said, "Sanhua, just dream about it. Don't say it out loud. If others hear it, they'll laugh themselves to death."

"What's so funny?" Yan Ying was somewhat unconvinced. In her past life, she was a top student at an agricultural college. She returned to her hometown to start a business, contracting a mountain and a section of the reservoir's tail. She built her own flower and seedling nursery and even opened her own handicraft shop in the city. In her previous life, she led the people of her village to work hard for seven or eight years, earning a lot of money and accumulating rich experience. If she used it well in this life, she would definitely have an inexhaustible supply of food and drink. She didn't believe she would be short of money!

"Father, I not only want to save a thousand taels for each of my sisters' dowries, but I also want to rebuild houses, big tiled houses, with glazed tiles on the walls so they sparkle in the sun." Yan Ying reached out and tapped Qi Hua's delicate cheek: "Qi Hua, what do you say about us living in a big tiled house?"

Liuhua sat there, her little hands supporting her chin, her eyes shining: "Third Sister is right, I want to move into this house right away."

"You won't believe me if I tell you you're dreaming!" Old Master Xiao raised the oil lamp and shone it around: "Third Girl, open your eyes and take a look at what our house really looks like!"

Yan Ying handed Qi Hua back to Aunt Xiao, took the lamp, and turned the small lever, making the light much brighter: "Father, people should always think more about good things, so they will have the energy to work, right? There's nothing wrong with San Hua thinking this way first."

Aunt Xiao nodded in agreement: "What the child said makes some sense. No one can be poor forever."

Boss Xiao didn't speak, just kept his mouth shut, his brows furrowed tightly. His gaze fell on Da Hua across from him, and seeing that Ye'er was already asleep, nestled on Da Hua's shoulder, he suddenly remembered that his in-laws had sent Da Hua back. Da Hua had been back for half a month, and although she had been helping with the work, it had still added two more mouths to feed. If it weren't for San Hua earning some money recently, the family really wouldn't have had enough food to support the mother and daughter.

Thinking of his wretched son-in-law, Xiao Laoda couldn't help but sigh. They had agreed on everything back then, and he was determined to marry his daughter, Dahua, but before three years had even passed, he had changed his mind! It was also because his wife was useless, giving birth to only daughters. It was only natural that his in-laws were uneasy about it... However, sending Dahua back to her parents' home was really not a good thing to do.

"Father, didn't you say last time that as long as I could earn five taels of silver in half a month, not only would you let my eldest sister get a divorce, but you could also take control of the family and make all the decisions?" Yan Ying saw that Xiao Laoda was looking at Da Hua with a thoughtful expression on his face, and she also thought of Da Hua's divorce: "How about it, did you let our eldest sister get a divorce?"

"Divorce...that's not a good idea." Old Xiao shuddered. What would happen to Da Hua if she got divorced? How could she remarry with a child in tow? She hadn't dared to go out these past few days, afraid of the villagers gossiping. What would she do if she really got divorced? Would she just stay at home, listening to the villagers' spittle flying everywhere?

“Father, Wang Fugui is a scoundrel, and the Wang family is a living hell. How can you watch my eldest sister jump into that hell?” Erhua couldn’t hold back any longer and grabbed Dahua’s arm. “Can’t you see how thin my eldest sister has become?”

Da Hua lowered her head sadly, her eyes glistening with tears: "I know I've caused trouble for the family. The family is already struggling financially, and now there are two more mouths to feed, me and Ye'er..." She choked out, "Father, I'll go and ask Grandma in a few days to help me talk to Fu Gui and ask him to take me back."

"Big sister, don't even think about going back to the Wang family!" Yan Ying shook her head. How could Da Hua not understand? The Wang family was so heartless, sending her back to her parents' home before dawn, and Wang Fugui even chased after her to bring Ye'er over. It was obvious they didn't want her anymore, yet she still insisted on going there to suffer? "Big sister, just stay at your parents' home without worry. I'll take some people to the Wang family to get justice for you and give them a divorce decree!"

Da Hua wiped her eyes, not daring to look up at Yan Ying: "San Hua, no matter what, Fu Gui is still the father of my child. If I give birth to a boy this time, I can go back to the Wang family! I will stay at my parents' house for now and wait until the child is born. As long as you don't dislike me."

Yan Ying looked at Da Hua in surprise. She hadn't expected that even after being back for so long, Da Hua still hadn't figured it out. In the past two weeks, Wang Fugui hadn't even seen a shadow of her. It seemed that he had no intention of taking Da Hua back. If he still had any feelings for Da Hua and her daughter, he would have come to see them. Even if he didn't want to see Da Hua, he could at least have come to see Ye'er.

This man is utterly despicable, and Da Hua actually wants to continue living with him? Yan Ying really didn't know how to describe her feelings. Everyone has their own thoughts about life, and only the person experiencing it truly knows whether it's hot or cold. She couldn't force Da Hua to divorce him now. The Great Zhou Dynasty had some serious restrictions on women's thinking; perhaps Da Hua hadn't come to terms with it yet. Perhaps she should think of a way to make Da Hua give up on Wang Fugui, so she could encourage her to throw away the divorce papers.

Hearing Da Hua insist on not divorcing Wang Fugui, Boss Xiao nodded approvingly: "Da Hua is right. Divorce is no small matter; how can it be decided so hastily!" He glanced at Yan Ying, put his water glass on the table, and shook his head somewhat unhappily: "San Hua, you're too young to concern yourself with this. This little girl keeps talking about divorce all the time; let's see who dares to marry you then!"

Yan Ying remained silent, sitting there secretly plotting how to make Da Hua see Wang Fugui's despicable nature so she could persuade her to divorce him. Yan Ying's silence immediately chilled the atmosphere in the room. Wu Hua became restless, glancing at Yan Ying and then at Xiao Laoda, seemingly wanting to say something, but remaining silent, simply staring blankly at Qi Hua in Xiao Da Niang's arms.

"Oh dear, you're all here!" Xiao Wangshi's voice came from the doorway. Yan Ying frowned. Why was this step-grandmother here tonight?

The faint moonlight cast a pale silver glow on the doorway, mingling with the dim yellow light inside the house, creating a somewhat somber atmosphere. Xiao Wangshi stood in the doorway, holding the hand of her youngest grandson; her expression was not clearly visible.

"What are you doing here?" Erhua jumped up, rushed to the door, and put her hands on her hips. "Are you here again to see if we have any mutton to eat?"

"How dare you speak to your grandmother like that!" Xiao Wangshi shrieked. "Eldest son, don't you know how arrogant your girl has become?"

Xiao Laoda remained silent. Although he was an honest and simple man, he had always harbored resentment towards Xiao Wangshi for urging his father to divide the family property. He hadn't received a single paddy field, only this dilapidated mud-brick house and a few acres of dry land on the mountain. He just hadn't dared to say it out loud. Now, seeing Erhua being rude to Xiao Wangshi, he secretly felt a sense of satisfaction and wasn't about to shut Erhua up.

"Grandma, just say what you want to say. Stop looking around like that and peering into our house." Yan Ying stood up and walked to Er Hua's side. Xiao Wangshi couldn't help but take a step back. She remembered clearly the time Yan Ying had thrown her out of the yard, and she dared not provoke her.

"I'm not going to talk to you little brats!" Xiao Wangshi muttered, taking her grandson's hand and slipping sideways into the house: "Eldest son, I want to talk to you."

Chapter Thirty-Two: Selling People

Although the lights were on, Xiao Laoda's face still seemed to be all scrunched up, making it impossible to see his features clearly. He opened his eyes and glanced at Xiao Wangshi: "Mother, just say what you want to say. Erhua and Sanhua are getting old now, so let them discuss family matters together."

Xiao Wangshi clenched her free hand into a fist, feeling her palm was damp with sweat. She glanced at Erhua and Yanying, still feeling a little scared. She only felt at ease after leading her grandson to the table.

“Eldest sister, you’re having a tough time these days.” She feigned sympathy: “You two have six maids with you…” Glancing at Da Hua, Xiao Wangshi’s face lit up with a happy expression: “Da Hua is back too, with Ye’er in tow, making things even tighter.”

Hearing Xiao Wangshi's words, Da Hua felt ashamed and lowered her head, not daring to utter a sound. Seeing her like that, Xiao Wangshi became even more smug: "Eldest daughter, do you want me to point you in the right direction? Trust me, I guarantee you'll make a lot of money."

"What kind of way?" Old Master Xiao was somewhat surprised. When did Madam Xiao become so kind? She was actually thinking of finding a way for him to make money. "Mother, tell me, if I can do it, I will definitely go."

"Do you still remember that family surnamed Jiang from a couple of years ago?" Madam Xiao leaned closer, a smile on her face. "Remember them?"

"The one surnamed Jiang?" Boss Xiao frowned, and suddenly a spark flew from his eyes, landing on Xiao Wangshi. His expression turned somewhat ferocious: "The one who wanted to buy Liu Hua last time?"

"That's right!" Madam Xiao laughed and patted the table, nodding repeatedly. "You still remember his family? He remembers you too! His wife only had boys, and he wanted a girl. Back then, his family saw that Liu Hua was smart and clever, and they wanted to buy her to raise as a daughter, but you refused!"

Boss Xiao frowned and remained silent, while Madam Xiao spoke with great enthusiasm, spitting as she went: "Back then, they offered fifteen taels of silver to buy her, and you, as if you had lost your mind, pushed away that hard-earned money! Those wealthy families would only pay seven or eight taels for a maid, and even the smartest ones would only cost ten or so taels at most. But he offered a full fifteen taels!"