Fuzi happily held Grandma Qin's hand and walked into the courtyard together.
"The Madam ordered that the young master play outside the courtyard," Sun Pozi, a newly hired servant of Madam Qian, stopped the two.
"Oh, if your Madam won't let this old lady into the courtyard, fine, but it's not right to not let your young master into his own home."
"Everyone, be the judge! Madam Zhao won't let her son in," Grandma Qin loudly called out to passing villagers.
The sun was just right, perfect for watching drama.
Especially a drama between the nosy red-scarfed old lady and the kind and benevolent Madam Zhao.
"What? What happened?"
"Who isn't allowed in the courtyard?"
"Oh my, how could Madam Zhao not let her own son in? Old Lady Hong, don't talk nonsense."
"She's surnamed Qin..."
Before Grandma Qin could speak, the chattering villagers around them made the gatekeeper's head sweat.
Not letting them in would ruin the Madam's reputation, and letting them in would defy the Madam's orders. Neither option was good.
Grandma Qin said nothing and raised her hand to knock on the door. The gatekeeper immediately blocked her.
This made the villagers even more curious, why were they locking their son outside?
"How can you not let the child in? The sun is getting strong, it'll be bad if the child gets tanned."
"Exactly, I've seen the child playing outside for a long time, let him come in for a drink of water."
Hearing the words from behind, Grandma Qin raised her eyebrows at the gatekeeper, implying it was up to her.
The gatekeeper thought that there were other servants in the courtyard, and at worst, the young lady and the cousin were there. Nothing serious should happen. With this thought, the gatekeeper moved aside. Sudan Novels.
Fuzi was the first to pull Grandma Qin inside. He felt that the man had ill intentions and he wanted to protect his mother.
Inside the house, Madam Qian was still persuading the man in his forties, "You are a second wife after all, and it's hard to find a girl of such appearance in these ten miles."
"Madam Zhao, I fear their family will ask for an exorbitant price. I heard her brother and uncle are also unmarried."
"Why am I letting you go first? You go and interact with that Qin family girl first. I have some jewelry here, take it and give some to her. If she agrees to you, won't the betrothal gifts be whatever you propose?"
"But..."
"Bang," a door slam interrupted their conversation.
Grandma Qin's eyes seemed to shoot daggers at the two people sitting opposite each other in the room, followed by curious villagers looking at the man and woman alone in the room.
Fuzi stomped to Madam Qian's side, glancing at the hairpins on the table and the man who was clearly stunned.
When he came in, Grandma Qin didn't let him eavesdrop, but a grown man asking his mother for hairpins must be a bad person.
"How did you get in?" Madam Qian slammed the table and stood up. When she saw the surprised expressions of the villagers, she immediately shouted, "Sun Pozi, why aren't you treating these villagers well?"
"The General's subordinate came to tell me about something and I couldn't get away. Don't you know?"
Madam Qian's explanation made the onlookers understand. This was about delivering gifts.
Looking at the items on the table, they all pouted secretly. Giving hairpins was too stingy.
"Madam, please forgive me, it is this old servant's fault. Please guests, we have prepared tea and refreshments," Sun Pozi bowed her head, not daring to look at Madam Qian.
She hadn't expected that no one was in the courtyard.
Everyone in the courtyard had been sent away by Granny Ma, who was looking after Fuzi, when Grandma Qin was talking at the door. As for Zhao Rui and Qian Duo, they were so annoyed by the villagers that they wanted to hide as far away as possible.
This allowed Grandma Qin to hear Madam Qian's "kind intentions."
The villagers went to the guest room for refreshments. Grandma Qin clearly remembered the face of the man in the room, then turned and left, going straight home.
Making a scene would not benefit Junyao. This was Madam Qian's revenge for her good image in the village.
If you are unkind, don't blame this old lady for being unjust.
Grandma Qin completely forgot that she had made the first move.
Back home, Mother Qin, Aunt Qin Er, and Qin Sanniu had already gone out to set up their stalls. Qin Junyao was at home frowning as she mended socks.
"Are the socks not finished yet?" Grandma Qin wanted to chat with her granddaughter and saw that the socks in her hands seemed to be the same ones from three days ago.
"I finished them yesterday, and my mother took them apart again, saying the stitches weren't neat. Grandma, these socks are for me to wear, it doesn't matter if the stitches aren't neat," Qin Junyao had planned to go to Yan County today, but it would be postponed by another day.
Grandma Qin leaned in and chuckled, "You used charcoal to draw straight lines to sew them neatly? Tsk, you're so clever."
"Yaoyao, has anyone approached you recently?" Grandma Qin sat on the kang and asked Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao looked up at Grandma Qin strangely, "No."
"That's good. If an older man approaches you, stay away from him. Don't accept any gifts from him, he wants to marry you as his second wife."
Qin Junyao: ???
After noon, Qin Junyao went up the mountain with Qin Daniu and the others to gather leaves and branches. Mother Qin needed a lot of firewood for her stall, so they had to collect firewood every day.
Qin Junyao followed to collect firewood because she could cheat with her spatial ability, putting the excess into the flatbed cart in her space and taking it out when she got home.
Qin Daniu and Qin Erniu went to deliver firewood. Qin Junyao used a rake to gather the leaves together and piled the branches separately.
"Is that the eldest daughter of the Qin family ahead?" A middle-aged man called out to Qin Junyao from the foot of the mountain. It was the same man who had been talking to Madam Qian in the morning.
Madam Qian thought that if Grandma Qin heard anything, she would surely fly into a rage on the spot. Her calm departure must have been due to her ignorance.
She was very supportive of her niece marrying Zhao Liangcai, as this would allow her to legitimately be the old Madam without having to look at Zhao Liangcai's face.
Although Qin Junyao's status was low, her appearance was not bad. If Zhao Liangcai took a fancy to her and made her a concubine, she would be a threat to Qian Rui. Moreover, with the good deeds of Old Madam Qin, it was best to marry off Qin Junyao sooner rather than later.
This led to the meeting today.
The man's surname was Jiang. He was indeed from one of the eight divisions of Zhao Liangcai's salt army, but he was not a soldier, but a small leader in the cooking unit.
Qin Junyao didn't pay attention when she heard someone calling. There was more than one family surnamed Qin in the village, and she wasn't the only one gathering leaves here.
"Eldest daughter of the Qin family?"
Only when the voice sounded close did Qin Junyao look up. She looked at the man in front of her and then at her surroundings, "Are you calling me?"
"Yes, it is inappropriate to come uninvited, but I don't have much rest time. Um... I'll help you with the work," the man surnamed Jiang reached out to take Qin Junyao's rake.
Qin Junyao took two steps back and raised her rake, pointing it at the man surnamed Jiang's face. If she had a pitchfork in her hand, she would have aimed directly at his lower body.
"Stop, who are you? What do you want?"
The man surnamed Jiang heard Madam Qian say that this eldest daughter of the Qin family was gentle, introverted, and not good at speaking.
He thought about making physical contact first, then giving gifts and apologizing, and becoming familiar with each other through interactions.
It seemed to be different.
"Miss Qin, don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person. My wife died three years ago, and I haven't remarried. Hey? Hey? Why are you hitting me?"
Qin Junyao used the rake in her hand like a pitchfork, specifically poking at the back of the man surnamed Jiang's knees and ankles.
She had discovered recently that Grandma Qin's direct action was both stress-relieving and satisfying.