She slept soundly and blissfully. Hua Erqiao, feeling sympathetic towards her younger sister’s exhaustion, didn’t wake her up early in the morning. Consequently, Hua Xiaomai stayed wrapped in her covers until the sun was high, finally crawling out lethargically due to her rumbling stomach.
She had been busy most of the previous day and hadn’t even eaten dinner when she returned ho. She was starving...
Hua Xiaomai swiftly tidied up the bedding, well aware of her unsightly, disheveled hair. She was about to head to the washroom for a clean-up when she opened the door, only to see Hua Erqiao adding water for the chicks in the corner of the courtyard.
Perhaps hearing the noise behind her, she imdiately turned around, tossed the basin she was holding aside, and within a few quick steps, was in front of Hua Xiaomai, launching into a barrage of nagging.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, look at you, reeking of cooking fus all over, worse than a beggar!" Hua Erqiao said with a face full of disdain, grabbing Hua Xiaomai by the collar and scrutinizing her from head to toe. "You ca back and slept like a log, didn’t even take your clothes off, did you? What a pity for the good clothes I sewed for you stitch by stitch! A young lady, yet you insist on suffering in the kitchen, looking all haggard... What am I to say about you!"
Having just woken up, Hua Xiaomai’s mind was still a ss. Being scolded by Hua Erqiao only added to her headache. To stop her older sister from going on, she decisively ran back to the western room and brought out the two silver ingots, smiling ingratiatingly, "Sis, look, this is what Uncle Ke from Lianshun Escort Agency gave yesterday, a full ten taels, not a single cent less!"
"Really... there are actually ten taels?" Hua Erqiao was indeed successfully distracted, eyeing the gleaming silver ingots in her hand, her words faltering, her palm rubbing the edge of her trousers repeatedly, her eyes filled with desire yet hesitating to take them. "The owner of Lianshun Escort Agency must be quite the wealthy patron, this money..."
"This money, given to us, is of course ours now!" Hua Xiaomai grinned and pushed the silver ingots into her hands, "We earned this money fair and square, why hesitate to take it? Here, keep it safe."
Just as she was about to turn and head for the washroom, she suddenly rembered sothing important and stopped in her tracks.
"Right, Sis, we’re not in a hurry to spend this ten taels at ho now, are we?"
Hua Erqiao was still standing there, dazed, as if still not quite catching on. Hearing her sister’s question, she looked up as if snapping out of a dream, "Ah... your brother-in-law’s blacksmith shop doesn’t earn much, but it does have a steady inco every month, and there’s also the money you earned from doing catering and selling those candied pastries, so we don’t need to spend it... Why, do you have a use for this money? Then you might as well keep it on you, I..."
She was about to push the silver ingots back when Hua Xiaomai quickly dodged to the side, muttering with a hint of amusent and frustration, "I’m not in charge of the finances," then added with a smile, "I have so ideas, but I haven’t thought them through completely. Once I’ve figured it out, I’ll co to ask you for the money later."
"... That’s fine then." Hua Erqiao anxiously stowed away the silver ingots, her fingers caressed them for a long mont before she pushed Hua Xiaomai gently, "I’ve already heated the water for you; go clean yourself up, I’ll make you a couple of sugar eggs—you must be starved, right?"
Hua Xiaomai stuck out her tongue in response and cheerfully dashed into the washroom with the hot water.
...
Soaking blissfully in the hot water and scrubbing herself clean, even washing her hair, Hua Xiaomai also washed the clothes she had changed out of. Just as she was about to leave the washroom, she heard Hua Erqiao’s voice in the courtyard.
"Oh, Huosheng, you’re here again?"
Her tone was surprised and sowhat helpless as if the appearance of the person in the Jing Family’s small courtyard was a great annoyance yet she didn’t know how to turn him away.
Huosheng? Who is that?
Hua Xiaomai quizzically furrowed her brows and yanked open the door of the washroom, imdiately spotting a person standing at the entrance of the courtyard.
It was a young man of about eighteen or nineteen, of dium build and solid appearance, with a face that radiated simple honesty though quite handso in its own right. However, he seed a bit unfamiliar, as if he were not from Fire Knife Village.
Hearing the noise behind him, the young man imdiately turned his head, and upon seeing Hua Xiaomai, his face flushed red. He quickly averted his gaze and awkwardly smiled at Aunt Hua, saying, "Aunt told that Taihe is busy every day at the blacksmith shop and probably doesn’t have ti to take care of things at ho. Weren’t you tilling the ground? I’m free anyway, so let lend a hand. I’m strong; this is nothing for ."
After laughing a bit, he picked up the hoe beside him and headed to the back of the house.
At this mont, Aunt Hua was too flustered to exchange pleasantries. She rushed over, tugging at Hua Xiaomai, pushing her vigorously toward the west room. She hustled her in and blurted out incoherently, "Your hair is still wet! If you catch cold and get sick, I will have to take care of you! Hurry up..."
Before she could finish, the door was slamd shut with a bang.
Hua Xiaomai was utterly confused, picked up a towel and slowly wiped her hair, hearing the two in the courtyard seemingly exchange a few more words. Their voices gradually moved behind the house, and soon after, soft footsteps approached the room. Aunt Hua sneaked back in.
"What’s the situation?" Hua Xiaomai stared at her, threw the towel onto the bed, and briskly walked over to grab her arm. "Hua Erqiao, you’ve gone too far! Taking advantage of your brother-in-law’s absence to stir up trouble, aren’t you? You see if I don’t report you!"
"Smack!" Aunt Hua slapped her hard on the back. "Hold your tongue! I walk the straight path and sit upright. If you dare make up things, I’ll tear your mouth apart!"
Speaking thus, she sat on the bed, sighed worryingly and said, "The man you just saw, that’s Aunt Geng’s nephew, nad Chen Huosheng. Ah, he arrived early yesterday morning, insisting on helping till the land and wouldn’t take no for an answer. I really underestimated that Aunt Geng. She’s really capable of doing this!"
"Chen Huosheng? Is his life missing fire, ha ha ha..." Hua Xiaomai caught the first half of her words and started to joke, laughing uncontrollably, but then she suddenly realized, paused abruptly. "No... second sister, you an to say, he’s the one Aunt Geng ntioned, ant for to be with him... "
"Yes, that’s him." Aunt Hua glanced nervously at her younger sister.
What a joke! Who says that people in this era are simple and conservative in thought? They have co directly to the door!
Hua Xiaomai was so shocked she took three steps back and blurted out without thinking, "Second sister, stop joking around, I already made it very clear that I absolutely refuse this! That man ca out of nowhere to our house, and if this spreads, it’s all going to beco a scandal for sure! I can’t handle it; this ss you’ve made has to be cleaned up, you can’t just throw people under the bus!"
"I know you’re unwilling," Aunt Hua uncharacteristically kept her temper and hung her head, rubbing the hem of her clothing into wrinkles, like a child who had done sothing wrong, "but... he ca with good intentions to help, how can I just kick him out with a broom?"
"What’s wrong with that? Isn’t your aggressive and fierce nature known to all in Fire Knife Village?" Hua Xiaomai was frantic, tightening her grip on Aunt Hua’s arm, her eyes intensely focused on hers, "But second sister, you and , we’re in agreent, right?"
*********
Was too sleepy to update yesterday... making up for it today.
Also, thanks to JanSam for the reward of the peace charm~
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