Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

Holding the heavy copper coin in her hands, Maihua was speechless for a moment. After a while, she sniffed and said, "This is the first time in my life that I have ever touched money, and I earned it myself."

"Not only that, you have more here. Do you want to take them out and count them, or touch them?"

Maihua shook her head: "I won't touch it. If I touch it and take it back, it won't be mine anymore."

"Don't overthink it. You can still work and earn money for yourself in the future. Money is sometimes the most reliable thing, unlike people's hearts, which can change and are the most unreliable."

Maihua smiled and said, "Ling'er, you're so young, how come you have so many profound insights? But some of what you say makes a lot of sense when you think about it..."

Before Maihua could finish speaking, her younger sister Xinghua's voice came from outside the door.

"Elder sister, Mother asked me to ask you, why haven't you gone back yet?"

Maihua smiled helplessly at Ji Yongling and said, "I'm going back now." With that, she held the copper coins in her clothes and walked outside.

As they reached the door, Maihua turned back and said, "Ling'er, I'm truly grateful to you from the bottom of my heart. I will always remember your kindness to me."

Ji Yongling waved his hand.

A person who is not loved will be extremely grateful for even the smallest kindness shown to them and will want to repay the other person tenfold.

Maihua brought Xinghua home, where Fengshi was already waiting at the door.

Maihua called out softly, "Mother—"

Feng raised her eyelids slightly and asked, "How much did you bring back?"

"Two hundred and fifty coins."

"Hmph, that's all! We've already eaten. I thought the Ji family would treat you to a meal today, so I didn't leave any for you. Go wash the pots and pans." After saying that, Feng poured the copper coins from Maihua's clothes into her own clothes, and turned and walked towards the cave dwelling where Taohua lived.

As soon as Feng Shi walked away, Xinghua tiptoed and whispered to Maihua, "Big sister, when I was tending the fire just now, I left you a roasted potato. I buried it in the fire pit. When you go down to cut grass, take it to the ditch to eat."

Maihua patted Xinghua's fluffy hair, thanked her, and went inside towards the kitchen.

Feng poured the copper coins onto the peach blossom kang (a heated brick bed), rolled her eyes, and said, "They're really useless, only this much."

Peach Blossom sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and continued embroidering the handkerchief in her hand, saying, "Mother, this is all small change. After I get married, I'll open a needlework shop for you to manage."

After thinking for a moment, Feng was overjoyed and said, "One needlework shop is not enough. We need at least an embroidery workshop and a cloth shop."

Peach Blossom replied without looking up, "Yes, yes, Mother says so, so it is."

Feng sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), crossed her legs, and strung the copper coins together with a rope. She said, "We haven't heard from the Lu family for the past two years. I'm going to the county market tomorrow to inquire about them. You're all grown up now, and the Lu family still hasn't written to us. Could it be that they're thinking of reneging on this marriage?"

Peach Blossom was startled, her finger pricked by the needle. She looked up at Madam Feng and said, "Mother, no, that won't happen. Scholars value their reputation most. The Lu family wouldn't joke about their own name."

Feng spat and said, "They had better not break their promise, or I'll go to the county magistrate and file a complaint..."

Before Feng could finish speaking, Taohua interrupted her: "Mother, you absolutely mustn't. If we report this to the county magistrate, then there will be no chance for our two families. The Lu family hasn't contacted us for the past few years; perhaps they're facing some difficulties. Let's go and inquire first; maybe there's some misunderstanding."

Feng glared at Maihua and said, "You child, why are you always siding with outsiders? I'm doing this for your own good. If the Lu family really doesn't want to acknowledge us, I'll make them tear off a piece of our flesh."

Peach Blossom remained silent for a moment, feeling somewhat uneasy. The years of waiting had already made her doubtful, but she absolutely refused to let her path to marrying into a prestigious family be cut off.

She said softly, "Mother, let's go to the county to inquire about it."

Feng said irritably, "Fine then, I'll go to the county first thing tomorrow morning."

In Lao Ji's courtyard.

Just as Ji Yongling saw Maihua off, several other aunties came to settle their wages.

Hengsheng's wife chuckled and said, "When I heard that Yongning had come to ask me to settle my wages, I was so anxious that I even put on the wrong shoes and rushed over."

The other wives laughed and joked, saying, "I look forward to getting my wages every day, I'm so excited I could cry." "I dream about holding a handful of copper coins every day, oh my, I wake up feeling so happy every morning."

Hu Xirong had just returned from feeding the pigs when she heard the women laughing and joking. She said, "Look how happy you all are. You haven't even gotten the copper coin yet, and you're already this excited."

Hengsheng's wife patted Hu Xirong's arm: "Aren't you beautiful? We women can earn our own money. This is the first time I've earned money on my own. I'm more capable than the men in the family. How can I not be beautiful?"

Shuanzhu's wife, Hou Manfang, chimed in, "That's right, that's right. It's so much better for us women to earn money than to ask men for it. We don't have to worry about anyone's opinion."

Hengsheng's wife: "We earn our money through hard work, without stealing or robbing. We earn it honestly, so why can't we enjoy it?"

Niu Lao Er's daughter-in-law, Gou Chunlan, said, "Now that we've received our wages, are we going to the market tomorrow?"

Hou Manfang sighed, "When I was doing needlework the other day, all I could think about was how to spend the money I got. But now that I actually have the money, I'm reluctant to spend it. I still want to save up for the New Year to buy a couple of feet of cloth and make new clothes for my children. My two children have never worn new clothes before. They always wear their cousin's old clothes or clothes that I've altered myself."

Wu Qiaoxia said, "Now that you mention it, I also want to make clothes for the children at home, and also make two sets of clothes for the elderly."

Hu Xirong looked at them and said smugly, "You guys are going to spend money tomorrow, but I'm going to make money."

The others assumed she was going to the county to hand in her medicine pouch, so they joked, "From tomorrow on, should we call you Manager Hu or Boss Hu?"

Hu Xirong said with a smile, "I dare not call myself shopkeeper. The boss is our Ling'er. Others can just call me 'Hu Niangzi'."

Hou Manfang: "Oh my goodness, you're calling her 'Hu Niangzi' now? Isn't that just like the manager's wife in the shops in the city?"

Hu Xirong puffed out her chest, patted her patched clothes, and said, "That's still a long way off, but who knows what will happen in the future."

"Look how happy our 'Lady Hu' is."

The women chattered excitedly, as happy as orioles in a tree.

Ji Yongling smiled and said, "Aunties, don't just be happy, let's settle the wages first."

Several women looked at Ji Yongling expectantly.

Ji Yongling followed the ledger, putting handfuls of money into the bags or bundles of the aunts one by one.

Hou Manfang took the money from the bundle, wiped her eyes excitedly, and said, "You've all laughed at me. This is the first time I've earned a copper coin on my own at my age."

Wu Qiaoxia patted her arm and said, "Who's laughing at whom! We country women are not like city women, who can do embroidery or wash clothes to earn some money. We have no way to make money on our own."

Hengsheng's wife sighed, "That's right. Before we got married, when we were young girls, we did all the spinning and weaving. In the end, all the money we earned went to the family. Now, we can decide how to make our own money."

Hu Xirong: "Alright, alright, you should be happy to get your wages. Why talk about these unhappy things? Put your money away, we're going to the market tomorrow!"

The women then resumed their chatting and laughing, and left the courtyard with the money in their pockets.