Chapter 64: Headstrong
Zhong Lanhua muttered as she entered the door and saw that there was no firewood in the courtyard yet. She flew into a rage and rushed into the room to find Jiang Yihuan.
Jiang Yihuan was combing her hair.
She had washed her hair and needed to apply high-quality osmanthus scented paste to it so that her hair would emit a pleasant osmanthus fragrance.
When Zhong Lanhua pushed the door open and came in, she looked over in confusion: “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“That Zhang Dachun next door didn’t deliver firewood for us again, and you’re just going to ignore it? Without firewood, how are we supposed to cook?” Zhong Lanhua said displeased. “If he won’t deliver it, then you go deliver it. Either say some sweet words to coax the man into doing it, or do it yourself—handle it however you see fit!”
“Mom, don’t worry. Zhang Dachun won’t deliver it, but someone else will.” Jiang Yihuan fiddled with her hair and said confidently, “It’ll be delivered soon.”
Hearing this, Zhong Lanhua’s expression softened with satisfaction: “Smart girl, you know this man is unreliable and there’s another one waiting.”
“I saw Mom’s expression wasn’t great earlier. Besides the firewood matter, is there something else?” Jiang Yihuan put down the comb in her hand. “What happened?”
“That woman Zhang Zhaodi actually bought an ox cart. We have you and me doing embroidery work, and we can earn about one tael of silver a month, but we didn’t dare even think of buying an ox cart.” Zhong Lanhua said with unhappiness. “I can lose to anyone in this lifetime, but not to Zhang Zhaodi. Zhang Zhaodi isn’t as pretty as me, her mouth isn’t as clever as mine, and she doesn’t bear children as well as I do—how can she live better than me! Back in our youth, that embroidery shop chose her instead of me—why? And Su Dalang, why did he choose Zhang Zhaodi over me?”
Jiang Yihuan wasn’t surprised at all by what Zhong Lanhua said, clearly having heard such words from her more than once before.
Zhong Lanhua said that back then she fell in love with Su family’s eldest son at first sight, but he came to the Zhang family to propose marriage. Unwilling to accept it, she tried every means to attract his attention, but still couldn’t change the wedding date. Zhong Lanhua was unconvinced; if she could snatch the embroidery shop spot from Zhang Zhaodi, she could snatch her man too. So she also picked a household from the same village.
Originally, she planned to marry on the same day as Zhang Zhaodi, but when Zhang Zhaodi was about to get married, her grandma passed away, so she stayed home for three more years. Instead, Zhong Lanhua married first.
She picked Jiang family’s eldest son, who wasn’t as handsome as Su family’s eldest son but listened to her. She just wanted to prove she would live happier than Zhang Zhaodi and make Su family’s eldest son regret it, letting him know what an excellent woman he had missed.
After marriage, she even seduced Su family’s eldest son, but it was no use—that man was like a blockhead, not swayed by beauty at all. Once Zhang Zhaodi’s three-year mourning period ended, she immediately married Su Dalang. But good times didn’t last; just two months after marrying over, the imperial court conscripted soldiers, he was pushed out by the Su family to serve, and never came back.
Jiang family’s eldest son didn’t die from conscription, but from a fierce common cold; without seeing a doctor in time, he just passed away like that.
“I thought it was something big. Is this little thing worth Mom getting so worked up?” Jiang Yihuan said. “If our family directly buys a horse-drawn carriage, won’t that put us ahead of them?”
A gleam flashed in Zhong Lanhua’s eyes.
But soon, the gleam faded, and she calmed down.
“Even the cheapest horse-drawn carriage costs twenty taels of silver. Where do we have that much money on hand?”
The money earned over these years had almost all been spent on Jiang Yihui.
“Steward Li’s madam loves peonies the most. I embroidered a peony painting; tomorrow I’ll take it to the Li family, and it will surely sell for a good price.”
Zhong Lanhua saw the embroidery frame placed not far away, with the peony painting on it. Upon seeing this peony painting, Zhong Lanhua was loath to part with it.
Her daughter was prettier than her, and her talent for embroidery was better too. She had merely taught her what she had learned herself, and her daughter’s embroidery skills had surpassed her own as a mother.
“Even that wouldn’t be enough for twenty taels!” Zhong Lanhua said.
“I know the son of the horse market manager; when the time comes, I’ll ask him to give us the cheapest price. If that still doesn’t work, have him front the money for us first.”
Zhong Lanhua understood and looked at Jiang Yihuan with even more gratification in her eyes.
It was called “fronting,” but if a man was willing to spend money on a woman, how could he possibly ask her to pay it back? Once fronted, it would vanish without a trace—equivalent to giving it for free.
“The manager’s son should have some money, right?” Zhong Lanhua was tempted. “You’re fifteen now; do you want to…”
“Mom, what’s the rush?” Jiang Yihuan said. “I’m still young; I can wait. Look, there are already two scholars studying at home. If big brother passes the exam for an official position, I’ll be the daughter of an official, and might even marry into a better family. And that Xiao Yanci—his scholarship even earns praise from the teacher, his chances of passing the exam are high too, and he has great potential.”
Zhong Lanhua understood; Jiang Yihuan wanted to aim for an even higher branch. The richest man around her now was just a merchant doing small business—how could he compare to a promising future official? If Jiang Yihui passed for an official position, he’d also need in-laws to help; Jiang Yihuan really couldn’t marry just anyone—she had to marry well.
Voices came from outside; it sounded like a man’s voice.
“The firewood deliverer is here.” Jiang Yihuan said. “Mom, go deal with him, so those men don’t think they can win my favor just by delivering some firewood or fetching water for me. I’m not roadside weeds that can be so easily coaxed into hand!”
Zhong Lanhua said satisfied: “Well said. You’ve got a bit of your mom’s brain.”
After the young man delivering firewood put it down properly, he wiped his sweat and looked toward Jiang Yihuan’s room.
A coughing sound came from the room, followed by Jiang Yihuan’s soft and sweet voice: “Thank you, Brother Hu Zi, for helping me. My mom and I are both weak women; every time we do these chores, our backs ache for days. Luckily there’s a kind person like Brother Hu Zi; otherwise, us mother and daughter probably couldn’t live a peaceful day in the village.”
“Huan’er, are you sick again?” Yang Hu said with heartache. “Don’t worry, I’ll go fetch Doctor Lin for you.”
“No need, I’ve already taken medicine.” Zhong Lanhua stopped him. “My daughter has too soft a heart; she’s always thinking of doing more work for me without considering if her body is up to it. It’s my fault too—my body’s not good either, aching here and there, so out of heartache for me, she forces herself to do it.”
“Auntie, from now on, leave the fetching water and chopping firewood to me. I’ll do it—don’t let Huan’er do it.” Yang Hu said. “Huan’er still has to do embroidery; it’s too taxing on the body.”
“Alright, then I’ll trouble you.” Zhong Lanhua said. “She can start again once her body’s better.”
After receiving a few words of praise from Zhong Lanhua, Yang Hu left in a cheerful mood.
On his way out, he ran into Zhang Dachun next door returning from the field. He walked past Zhang Dachun smugly, like a victorious rooster.
