The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 524 Your Sister Is Calling You Home for Dinner (4)_1

Chapter 524: Chapter 524 Your Sister Is Calling You Home for Dinner (4)_1

Li Bao Lian’s expression stiffened slightly.

"He seems to like eating noodles," Pei Qin added. If you want to send some sort of pastry, and you’re serious about pursuing him, just invite Fang Liuming out to eat. If he’s willing, he’ll naturally go.

Since Li Bao Lian couldn’t make anything at the Sun family’s home, she went to the market to see if anyone was selling sun-dried twist pastries. She bought some, wrapped them up, and had Li Bao Xiang deliver them to Fang Liuming.

When Sun Tingyu only heard about her buying things, and didn’t see her bring anything home or eat any, she guessed that Li Bao Xiang had taken them to Fang Liuming. In a fit of pique, she too made some snacks at home and hurriedly sent them over in the afternoon. Even Sister Peiqin and her brother got a share, and suddenly everyone was pleased.

Pei Qin watched the commotion with great interest, "Young boys and girls in the throes of springtime!"

Zhang Gengshan chuckled from the side, "The young madam is also of the same age as them!"

Mo Heng frowned and gave him a sidelong glance.

Zhang Gengshan was somewhat perplexed; he was complimenting the young madam!

Mo Heng extensively questioned Pei Qin about her past life, and when he finally inquired about her age, her complexion turned sour. Wisely, he did not inquire further, nor did he mention her age again.

Pei Qin chuckled. She had lived through two lifetimes, and finding Mo Heng was like an old cow eating tender grass.

Zhang Gengshan felt that both of their expressions were a bit off.

Mo Heng sent him away and held Pei Qin’s hand, "I am someone who is over a thousand years older than you."

"Hiss—" Pei Qin nodded hastily, "That explanation... makes a lot of sense!" Why does it sound so nice! Hahaha!

Mo Heng watched her laugh and silently counted the days in his heart.

Soon, the twelfth lunar month arrived, and with the next visit to the market, it gradually began to take on the festive atmosphere of the New Year.

The Pei sisters got their soy sauce ready and took another trip to the county town. They brought back some roasted sunflower seeds and prepared peanuts, waiting for the New Year market day to set up their stall.

Last year, before the New Year’s market, they earned about two taels of silver a day, and with several days of markets before the New Year, they could sell a total of more than ten taels of silver.

As things at home got busier, Mo Heng no longer had time to tutor Fang Liuming and Li Bao Xiang, so he recommended some books for Li Bao Xiang to read.

Sun Xiujin had also finished her confinement, and Li Bao Xiang had to go back home. It was no longer appropriate for Li Bao Lian to stay.

Li Bao Xiang came over to invite Sister Peiqin and her brother to the full-month celebration.

Mo Heng, using Pei Qin’s discomfort as an excuse, declined and sent Zhang Gengshan to drive, with Lu Hai accompanying Pei Yuan and Pei Qian to the event.

After returning from the full-month celebration, Pei Yuan carried a bag full of red eggs, "Her mother-in-law insisted I take them with me. It seems there weren’t fewer eggs than what the Sun Lizheng family gave. So many boiled eggs, how are we going to eat them all?"

"Leave it to me!" Pei Qin rolled up her sleeves, took the eggs, and started peeling, "I’ll make you all some fried tiger-skin eggs!"

Pei Yuan helped peel the eggs on the side and whispered, "During the market, big sister doesn’t have to show up. By now, people are probably already speculating that big sister’s discomfort is because she’s expecting."

Pei Qin had always been full of energy, strong, and a good eater; she rarely felt unwell.

Since Sun Xiujin’s daughter’s full-month celebration, she hadn’t appeared in public, nor had she been actively working during the market days, often just standing to the side. Zhang Gengshan, upon hearing anyone inquire about Pei Qin, would respond with a beaming smile, "Our young madam is feeling a bit under the weather." He seemed so happy even mentioning her discomfort.

The news of her "expectation" quickly spread.

Fang Liuming returned home on Laba Festival and mentioned to his family, "It seems that cousin is with child."

"She’s expecting so soon!?" exclaimed Lady Yu joyfully.

"Brother-in-law didn’t say anything, but it looks like that’s the case," Fang Liuming replied with a smile.

Grandma Fang was overjoyed, "Qinqin is steady, but she doesn’t pay enough attention. Now with the year-end approaching, she might still be careless. She might do heavy chores without realizing it. Rongniang is no longer with us, and there’s no one to keep an eye on her. I should go see her and remind her to be careful."

"Mother! It’s Rongniang’s memorial in a couple of days. Let’s go then!" Lady Yu said, smiling as she held her back.

"Yes! Yes! I was so excited that I completely forgot about the date. I wanted to go there right away!" Grandma Fang said, her eyes reddening as she remembered her eldest daughter.

Seeing this, Lady Yu suggested, "She must be having poor appetite at the start of her pregnancy. Let’s prepare some things in advance and take them with us when we go!"

They discussed what things needed to be prepared.

Fang Liuming smiled again and returned to Taiping Town.

On the day of the memorial for Lady Fang, several relatives came, including people from the Zhao Xiaochen family.

With the addition of new members to the family, the procession to the gravesite grew larger.

Many in Back Mountain Village hadn’t seen Mo Heng yet, and upon hearing about him, they came out to see what sort of handsome, young face Pei Qin had found for herself.

As Pei Qin and her group passed by, most of the villagers who came out were stunned, especially the girls in the village.

Pei Qian shot jealous glances their way.

Some people didn’t even notice, but those who did found it difficult to look away, having never seen such a handsomely attractive man before. Had Pei Qin hit the jackpot? How did she manage to marry such a handsome husband!?

Pei Wenlee watched from within the crowd, her eyes turning red with envy. That Zhao Junchao, he couldn’t even compare to Pei Qin’s little finger. Even if Mo Heng was just a pretty boy kept for show, his charm had won her so much face! She was determined to call off the betrothal; she would rather die than marry Zhao Junchao!

"But it’s just someone spending money on a little pretty face. When she’s left penniless and in despair because of him, she’ll have nowhere to regret it!" Grandma Zhang muttered bitterly, grinding her teeth.

Some who heard this couldn’t stand it and responded, "When she was willing to marry, you flat-out refused. Now that she doesn’t want to, you’re ruining her reputation. Your family has already welcomed a new daughter-in-law; you’re no longer related, so why bear such resentment? It’s just ridiculous!"

Not far away, Mo Heng glanced sideways and caught a glimpse of Grandma Zhang.

"Who asked for your opinion!?" Grandma Zhang snapped back.

Her retort made the people around look at her with scorn.

Old Pei watched Pei Qin and her group moving farther away and then went home, asking once more, "When will the second son and his family return?" He was determined to find out all there was to know about Mo Heng. With his learning and Pei Qin’s good relations with the County Government Office, should Fang Liuming decide to participate in the upcoming spring examinations, success would be a breeze.

"They’re busy with business right before the New Year. They don’t have the time to come back," Grandma Fang answered.

With them being unavailable to return, Old Pei took a trip, "to buy some New Year goods while I’m there."

However, there was still no news from Qian Wanxiu. She had asked her family to inquire in Capital Jingcheng and found out that Mo Heng was the scion of the aristocratic Mo family, known for his handsome appearance and literary talent. But as for why he had left the Mo family, there was no information at all. "There must be something unspeakable about it! And to willingly stay in a small town and marry Pei Qin, he’s definitely not someone who would settle down with her!"

Old Pei pursed his lips. "The key is next year’s spring examination. We cannot allow the Fang family to produce another Scholar!"

Qian Wanxiu’s eyebrows raised slightly. Was she thinking about cutting off Fang Liuming’s path to academic success?