The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 189 A Concubine is Better than a Mistress (7)_1

Chapter 189: Chapter 189 A Concubine is Better than a Mistress (7)_1

Sister Peiqin and her siblings had simply set up their new home and settled down in the town.

Though not far from each other, only a walk away, Grandma Sun often came over to check on them. Seeing that the siblings rarely left the house, but stayed indoors to read and practice their calligraphy, she couldn’t help but wipe her eyes when talking about them.

Lady Zou had given birth to a big, chubby son and was still confined for the postpartum period, unable to visit, so she sent Zou Xing over to lend a hand more often.

After Lady Fang’s death, details emerged about Jian Xiao, and Zou Xing insisted on marrying Pei Qin, even saying he was willing to wait for her for three years. Grandma Zou thought this was quite good, and Old Man Zou no longer objected. After all, by the time Pei Qin’s three-year mourning period was over, she would be seventeen, and his son would be twenty.

With their mother gone, and although Grandma Sun had intentions to matchmake, it wasn’t proper for her to propose it directly. She could only feel out Pei Qin’s inclinations.

Pei Qin said directly that she wouldn’t consider it for three to five years.

Grandma Sun thought Pei Qin was a clever person and must have sensed Zou Xing’s intentions. Such a response meant a rejection, so she told Zou Xing it was futile, advising him to look elsewhere to avoid awkwardness in future encounters.

That she thought so meant she overestimated Pei Qin. When Pei Qin mentioned three to five years, that was already the shorter end of things. For those who got married and had children in their teens, it was as if they were playing with their lives! It wasn’t just Grandma Sun who came to gauge her thoughts; Grandma Miao had also inquired, saying how she had a nephew from her maternal family and how great her sister’s little son was.

Later, seeing Pei Qin unresponsive and realizing there was no chance, they came back saying that Grandma Zhang had changed her mind again and now wanted Zhang Dayun to marry her. They argued that getting married during her mourning period wouldn’t be too soon, and if she truly waited three years, she’d be an old maid and it would be hard to find a marriage.

Thus, there were those who probed, and Pei Qin’s response that she wouldn’t consider marriage for three to five years. What she was considering now was money.

The earnings split between skateboards and hand-pulled carts had to be used for their future expenses and for Pei Wendong’s next year school supplies, like paper and ink. The fifty taels of silver had halved after building their house, leaving only thirty taels, but that wasn’t enough to build a round of brick-tiled houses.

After setting up her siblings’ studies, Pei Qin went out to find someone who sold abacuses and spent all thirty taels of silver, bringing back more than a hundred abacuses in one go.

When Si Ya saw those abacuses, she immediately got upset. "What are you buying these for? How much money can you even make selling them? You’ve taken all those silver and spent it on this! We still have to build a new house after the New Year. What if these things just sit on hands?!"

"Do you earn the silver for building a new house after the New Year?" Pei Qin glanced at her sideways.

Si Ya was at a loss for words. "But if you squander the silver, what will we do?"

"Which of your eyes saw me squandering it?" Pei Qin shot her a look. The New Year was approaching, and buying a batch of abacuses now was the cheapest option. Without another glance at Si Ya, she called out and headed to Sun Tiezhu’s house.

Si Ya’s face darkened with anger, and she stamped her foot.

San Ya furrowed her brow, her gaze filled with disapproval. "Si Ya! Our eldest sister already told you to adjust your temper. Why are you still like this? Our eldest sister has never been unreliable; whatever she does, she always manages to make money. She does everything for our sake. You’re disrespectful and distrustful of our eldest sister, and that can hurt her feelings!"

Si Ya pursed her lips and remained silent. After a while, she murmured grudgingly, "I’m just afraid it’ll backfire! We only have so much silver, and we’re counting on it. If it gets stuck on our hands, there’d be nowhere to even cry!"

"Our eldest sister won’t let that happen! I believe in her!" San Ya said with conviction. "Besides, all the silver at home was hard-earned by our eldest sister. Even if it really backfires on us, we still haven’t gone hungry. It’s not easy for her to support the three of us, and we can’t complain or blame her!"

"Just take her word as the gospel," Si Ya huffed and went back inside. Who said the eldest sister couldn’t do something unreliable? That big bag of rice at home, said to be for making rice noodles, turned out not to be, and they had barely started eating from it. It would be a while before it was gone! Whenever something struck her mind, she seemed eager to jump into action!