The commotion here attracted the attention of other villagers who were also gathering leaves, and they called out to ask Qin Junyao what was wrong, with some aunties holding rakes ready to help.
The man surnamed Jiang had no choice but to stop pestering her and head down the mountain.
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At the dinner table that afternoon, Qin Junyao chewed on a cornmeal pancake and stared at Grandma Qin.
Grandma Qin placed the soup bowl in her hand on the table and stared back at Qin Junyao, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you always looking at me?"
The others looked at each other, unsure who she was talking about. Qin Junyao swallowed the food in her mouth, "Grandma, how did you know someone would come looking for me?"
"Someone really came looking for you? When?"
"Just now, on the back mountain while gathering leaves."
The people at the table followed the gazes of the two speakers, not understanding.
Qin Er Niu wanted to ask, but Grandma Qin raised her hand and pointed, and the words he was about to speak were swallowed back.
Grandma Qin withdrew her hand pointing at Qin Er Niu and gestured on her own face, "That person had eyebrows this thick, a beard here, a mouth this big, and a neck this short..."
Although her description was somewhat abstract, Qin Junyao, who had seen the person, could match every detail.
When she heard the color of the clothes, Qin Junyao was basically certain that Grandma Qin was talking about the person she had met.
Grandma Qin was so amused she almost laughed. She picked up the soup bowl again and said to Qin Junyao, "Go to Yan County tomorrow and bring back a pork belly for me, more fat and less lean."
Qin Er Niu finally couldn't hold back, his eyebrows raised in unison, "Grandma, can we finally eat meat?"
"And can we have some white flour buns? We eat corn, sorghum, and potatoes every day, and my mouth is so bland."
Grandma Qin placed the salted radish strips in front of Qin Er Niu, "Eat. Eat it as your meal and see if your mouth has any flavor. After a few days of having enough to eat, you forget your own name?"
"The white flour is for your mother and the others to use at their stalls, it can be exchanged for copper coins. Even the manure you produce won't fertilize a thumb-sized patch of land."
Qin Fu, Qin Mu, and the others, who had originally wanted to ask Qin Junyao about who she met, could only lower their heads and continue eating.
After dinner, Qin Sen and Qin Xiaoyu were responsible for washing the dishes. The matriarch of the Qin family had declared that from now on, no one would eat for free. Since the women were out earning money, the men had to help in the kitchen.
After Qin Junyao and the younger generation went to gather leaves, Grandma Qin called Qin Fu, Qin Mu, Qin Er Shen, and Qin Sen into the house.
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"Find a husband for Junyao?" Qin Mu hadn't expected her mother-in-law to bring this up. She thought Qin Junyao's hidden copper coins from setting up stalls had been discovered by her mother-in-law.
"Yes, find one now. Betroth her next year, and if she's not married the year after, we'll have to pay taxes."
Qin Mu looked at Qin Fu, then back at her mother-in-law, "Mother, I'll go find a matchmaker tomorrow."
"How can a woman's family look for a matchmaker? It should be a case of a hundred families seeking one daughter. What I mean is for you to spread the word in the village, and then matchmakers will come to us." Su Dan Fiction Network
"However, none of you are to agree to anything?"
Qin Fu and the others were confused by this again, and they asked about it along with the matter at the dinner table.
Grandma Qin rolled her eyes at them and explained, "Qian Shi wants our Yao Yao to become a concubine to an old man. The person Yao Yao met today is that man."
"All of you sit down. Listen to me finish."
Those who had stood up after hearing Grandma Qin's words did not sit down. It was too much of a bullying situation.
"Damn it, sit down! Do you think I'd let Yao Yao be at a disadvantage?"
"Each of you either has a chicken's brain or is full of mush. What's the use of standing up? Are you going to go and ask them? Then our daughter would still have any face left?"
Scolding was more effective. No one would sit down until Grandma Qin cursed, but after a few curses, they all obediently sat down.
Qin Mu clasped her hands tightly, "Mother, why not agree even if a matchmaker comes? If we can marry Junyao to a suitable person, wouldn't that cut off Qian Shi's intentions?"
Grandma Qin sighed, "It's impossible to teach them." "Yes, that's what Qian Shi is thinking too."
"We are refugees, with no money or land. This house will take Old Second many years to pay off. Look around the village yourselves, now that the autumn harvest is over, aren't there many matchmakers in the village?"
"Are any coming to our two families?"
Qin Er Shen was completely confused, "Mother, you just told us to spread the word in the village to get matchmakers to come, and yet you don't want us to agree."
"Oh, that's for Qian Shi to hear. I'm just afraid that if a matchmaker really comes, they'll turn those rotten melons and lumpy dates into big meat buns, and you'll be tricked into agreeing."
"If Qian Shi doesn't find people to harass Junyao, I'll give her some trouble. In the meantime, Third will go with you to the stall, and meet Zhao Liangcai to probe his background."
Qin Sen understood Grandma Qin's meaning when he heard this, "Mother wants to marry Junyao to General Zhao?"
"Qian Shi probably wants Qian Duo to marry into the Zhao family, and then the aunt and niece can control the Zhao family."
"If Junyao marries in, Qian Shi's plan will be overturned. That Qian Duo and Zhao Rui are not young and will get married in a couple of years. Junyao just needs to be careful of Qian Shi."
Grandma Qin stood up and patted Qin Sen on the back to show her approval.
This was the closest the mother and son had been since returning from the Hall of Illness Dispelling.
Qin Sen's eyes reddened from this pat, or perhaps because of the pain.
"No, I disagree," Qin Mu suddenly stated with strong conviction.
She had heard in this village that Zhao Liangcai was a ruthless killer who beat his wife.
If Junyao married him, she would have to face a stepmother and two sisters-in-law. Absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
To take a step back, Zhao Liangcai is rarely home, but noble families have many rules. The mother-in-law could easily set up one or two rules that would be enough for Junyao to suffer. Moreover, Junyao is different from others, what if...
After some thought, Qin Mu still disagreed, "Mother, Junyao cannot marry Zhao Liangcai."
Grandma Qin tightened her headscarf and sat down again, "Why are you so agitated? It's not as if he'll marry her just because you mentioned it. For now, this is the plan. And again, would I let Yao Yao suffer a disadvantage?"
"You tell me, is it okay for a grandmother to go and stay at her granddaughter's house for a couple of days?"
"And if the grandson-in-law is not home, is it okay for me, the grandmother, to accompany my dear granddaughter?"
"The granddaughter is filial and insists on inviting me, her grandmother, to stay. Is that okay?"
These three "is it okay" questions left everyone in the room bewildered. Of course, there were problems, big ones.
If Qin Junyao were here, she would be unable to resist asking Grandma Qin for a line of dialogue.
This kind of idea was not just unthinkable for ancient people, but also for modern people.
If the mother-in-law is difficult to get along with, the grandmother moves in to help her granddaughter deal with her. It's simply a domestic drama.
"Mother, this is not proper," Qin Fu believed Grandma Qin's idea was too outrageous.
Having sons and grandsons, she still didn't live in her daughter's home, let alone her granddaughter's.
Grandma Qin raised her eyebrows, "What rules? Did that official say that grandmothers can't live in their granddaughters' homes? I'm not letting her support me, I'm just staying for a short while."
"This is truly interesting. Does our Qin family have such a rule? Did your father tell you in a dream?"
Qin Fu was so choked that he couldn't speak. He had never even met his father, and the name his mother told him was fake. How could someone be named Qin Laogou?