It's easy to understand, both of them love gossip. So on their way to the fish market, they started chatting.
"Hongyan had stomach troubles last night and called for a doctor."
"What happened? She seemed fine when I saw her during the day."
"It was from arguing with Niu Dajiao."
"Ever since Ma Kouzi married Hongyan, he's stopped being stingy and does things openly. Niu Dajiao must be fuming."
"Being upset is useless. Her husband's heart isn't with her anymore. No matter how much she dislikes it, she just has to endure it."
"To be honest, Niu Dajiao deserves it. She used to be the biggest rumor-monger and even drove a young bride to her death." Liang Maimiao had no sympathy for Niu Dajiao at all.
After finishing with Hongyan, they moved on to talk about the two children adopted by Ma Xiaokou and Chunxing.
"The boy was found by Niu Dajiao's maternal family. Her family is actually decent; the family they found had eight sons in a row. They couldn't afford to raise them all, so they wanted to give the child away. I heard Ma Xiaokou gave 1 tael of silver, 6 jin of pork, and two jars of wine."
"That much!"
"Boys are worth some money, but girls aren't. Their eldest girl, Daya, was just exchanged for a piece of cloth and brought home. The very next day, Niu Dajiao made Daya sweep the floor."
"How old is Daya?"
"Supposedly three and a half, but she looks like a one-year-old, staggering when she walks."
"Oh dear, how pitiful."
"Exactly. Luckily, Chunxing stopped it and made Ma Xiaokou sweep instead."
"Ma Xiaokou and Chunxing are treating Daya quite well."
"If you start working a child hard right after bringing her home, she definitely won't bond with her parents."
"That's true too."
Ye Yunniang listened to their conversation from behind. She calculated in her heart that in a few days, when Li Pan and Li An had a break, she would go to the temple to pray for that child's safety.
That child hadn't had a smooth birth, and Ye Yunniang felt uneasy about it.
Ye Yunniang thought she had come very early, but someone was there even earlier.
The seafood stall was packed with people.
Jiangcheng is quite far from the sea, so transporting goods here isn't easy. Everyone who got the news came early.
"Charge!" Without another word, Liang Maimiao pulled Ye Yunniang and Chunyao and charged into the crowd.
Ye Yunniang managed to grab 5 jin of large shrimp, 6 jin of kelp, two liang of dried scallops, and some other salted fish. She spent all 10 taels of silver she had on her and it still wasn't enough. She borrowed 3 taels from Liang Maimiao and Chunyao.
After buying, the three returned home satisfied.
Back home, Ye Yunniang first took the silver to repay Liang Maimiao and Chunyao, then went into the kitchen.
At noon, the Li family enjoyed a sumptuous seafood feast.
Cai Damei, for once, ate the steamed egg with dried scallops without vomiting.
Overjoyed, Ye Yunniang regretted not buying more dried scallops. She handed Li Ping over to Liang Maimiao to look after and ran back to the fish market.
"Old Chen, do you have any more dried scallops?"
Old Chen shook his head; they were all sold out. Dried scallops are one of the prized sea delicacies, and he had gone through great trouble to get some this time.
Disappointed, Ye Yunniang headed home, only to see quite a lot of dried scallops placed in the main hall.
"Happy?" Tong Mo leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"You bought these?"
"Uncle bought them." Tong Mo wanted to buy them, but unfortunately, he had no money on him.
He thought to himself, why hadn't his stepfather and stepmother sent him any money orders yet? If they didn't send money soon, he'd have to go back.
But going back to the capital made Tong Mo uneasy. He was afraid if he left, Ye Yunniang would forget about him even more.
He knew that besides Jiang Mingzhe, who couldn't return, that Tie Xiong also had his eye on Ye Yunniang.
The more he thought about it, the more worried Tong Mo became. He decided to write another letter, urging his stepfather and stepmother to send money to their son quickly.
Otherwise, their future daughter-in-law would be gone.
Ye Yunniang had no idea of his thoughts. She was calculating how to use the dried scallops to make soup for Cai Damei in the evening, to nourish her.
"My uncle treats my aunt so well. You should persuade your mother-in-law. Marrying into the Bao family earlier and becoming the magistrate's wife would be wonderful."
"I listen to my mother-in-law. Whatever she wants is fine with me." Ye Yunniang stuck to her usual line.
"You mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are both so stubborn. I just don't understand. My uncle, such a distinguished and impressive man, how could he take a fancy to your mother-in-law, a peasant woman?" Tong Mo genuinely didn't get it.
"You should also advise your uncle. A forced marriage is not a happy one." Ye Yunniang threw the words back at him.
If Tong Mo could persuade his uncle, he wouldn't be coming to talk to Ye Yunniang.
Forget about his uncle.
"Ye Yunniang, are you really not considering me?" Tong Mo straightened his back.
"To use your own words, I'm just a peasant woman, not worth your attention, young master." Ye Yunniang retorted, her tone firm but not harsh.
"You are you. Your mother-in-law is your mother-in-law." Tong Mo felt the two were different.
"We are the same." Ye Yunniang didn't see any difference.
"I misspoke." Tong Mo realized and apologized.
"Tong Mo, you're not young anymore. Settle down, marry a wife, and live a proper life." Stop being slick in front of her every day.
"I am sincere." Tong Mo explained he wasn't just fooling around.
"Whether you are sincere or not, my answer is the same. There is no possibility between us." Ye Yunniang had never considered Tong Mo.
"You
could even consider Jiang Mingzhe, a man whose wife ran off with someone else. Why can't you consider me?
I, Tong Mo, am tall and straight, with dashing eyebrows, bright eyes, red lips, and white teeth. My family is wealthy, I don't lack for money, and I work as a clerk in the magistrate's office. More importantly, I am the eldest son of the Huang family." No matter how Tong Mo thought about it, he had more advantages than Jiang Mingzhe.
"I never thought about marrying Jiang Mingzhe." These words made Tong Mo happy, but the next sentence ruined it.
"And of course, I have also never thought about marrying you."
Ye Yunniang genuinely felt her life was quite good now. Her mother was by her side, her three sons were sensible, the family had land, a house, and a shop, with no lack of money. Why bother remarrying just to serve a husband's whole family?
"Not marrying is fine too. We could also be like my uncle and aunt." Tong Mo thought he could learn from his uncle first.
"No." Ye Yunniang refused. She didn't want to get tangled with Tong Mo and be unable to shake him off.
"Tong Mo, have your mother find you a good girl from a proper family. Live a good life." Ye Yunniang spoke sincerely.
"I've set my heart on you, Ye Yunniang. I, Tong Mo, am stubborn. I'll spend my whole life waiting for you." Tong Mo dropped this alarming statement and left.
Ye Yunniang chased him to the door, wanting to advise him further, but Tong Mo's figure was already gone.
Seeing it was getting late, Ye Yunniang went to pick up Li Pan and Li Ping from school first. Once the two children were home doing their homework, Ye Yunniang went into the kitchen.
For dinner, Cai Damei ate a lot and said with a smile, "Finally had a full meal after a month."
After putting the three children to sleep, Ye Yunniang went to the backyard to check on Cai Damei.
Cai Damei was taking a walk in the backyard.
"I went to see Tie Yi this afternoon and asked him to help keep an eye on Wang Qiang," Cai Damei said, then instructed Ye Yunniang to be extra careful when going out.
"Alright, I understand." Ye Yunniang promised to be cautious.
After walking with Cai Damei for a while, she saw her back to her room to rest.
Ye Yunniang returned to the front courtyard, first checked on the three children—they were sleeping soundly.
Returning to her own room, she lay down to rest.
She got up early to make breakfast.
After eating, Cai Damei went to Xiaocaiji to check on things.
Ye Yunniang took Li Pan and Li An to school.
"Hurry inside, you two. Pay attention in class. Mother will come pick you up in the evening."
Lady Du's school provided lunch, so the children went in the morning and returned home after school in the afternoon.
Once the two children entered the school, Ye Yunniang turned and headed to the market to buy groceries.
I bought a chicken, a pound of pork belly, and a few types of vegetables. Seeing some wild jujubes for sale, I remembered Cai Damei saying yesterday that she craved something sour, so I bought two pounds to take back.
Bang!
"Oh no, my groceries!"
