Chapter 38

Li Qinghe accepted that explanation.
"So that means we'll still have to repay the debt later, right?" Of course she understood, ten taels of silver had to be a loan. If the Zhou family could have produced it outright, they wouldn't have made such a mess of the brothers' marriages.
Zhou Chengkang didn't argue, his face full of apology. "I'll earn it back for you. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. Any silver I make, you keep. I'll chase chickens but never chase dogs."
When Li Qinghe glared at him, he smiled and explained softly, "There are a lot of complications. Third brother's was borrowed, the Zhangs insisted. If I refuse to borrow, the debt would fall entirely on Mother, and she'd spend the rest of her life just paying it off, perhaps never finishing. But if I take five taels, things change… it also drags in the Zhou family's eldest and second sons, they won't be willing to help, and in the end whoever spent it will be the one to repay it."
Zhou Chengkang fed the fish while Li Qinghe went to check the chicks. They were all right in the daytime, but the nights were cold; the chicks weren't growing and their down looked scruffy, as if they were struggling. "Should we light a brazier? Partition off a corner so they can't crowd together, that might help," she suggested.
"I'll try," Zhou Chengkang said after listening carefully.
After spring planting, the villagers were mostly busy with weeding; they weren't especially occupied.
When Zhao Wanwan was here Li Qinghe hadn't noticed, but a month after she left, Li Qinghe went into the backyard to pull vegetables and suddenly sensed something was wrong. Where there had once been one crop after another, one bed still producing while another was already sprouting, now only a few old scraggly plants remained. Once those were harvested the patch would lie fallow, and when these last vegetables were gone, there'd be none left to eat.
She decided not to say anything. If she complained to Li Fu too often he'd accuse her of stirring trouble. Instead she took a hoe, dug the plot, and planted vegetables herself. Even saving them, the harvest would be gone in two or three months, by then she'd be married, and when the household ran out of vegetables, Li Fu would understand for himself.
While she was planting someone knocked at the gate. Soon after, Yu Yan came into the backyard and lowered her voice, "You're still planting vegetables?"
Li Qinghe understood the implication: this was the time to prepare for marriage, and she hadn't even had time to embroider her wedding clothes. Besides, Yu Yan lived nearby and had noticed that Madam Qian didn't seem inclined to work.
She waved it off with a smile. "I have to eat too." Although she'd spent the past two years working in town, she'd been at home for the last few months, planting was only right.
"That's true." Yu Yan crouched beside her, resting her chin in her hands as she watched Li Qinghe work.
She didn't often let herself be so lax about appearances; Li Qinghe glanced at her and, seeing her staring off, asked, "You look like you're miles away. Something on your mind?"
Yu Yan looked up. "Xu Changjie came to see me again. He says he fancies me, and if I'm willing he'll try to win over my mother. What do you think… what are the Xus like?"
"Not good." Li Qinghe shook her head. "We're close, so I'll be honest. Lots of people have seen what's gone on between Xu Changjie and the Yang family's girl in town. What do you see in him?"
"He's handsome!" Yu Yan said confidently, then hedged, "Besides, the Yang family don't want him either, I've heard the Yang girl is already being courted."
Li Qinghe was speechless. "You're pretty and you've got skills, your sewing earns more silver than many men. What do you need him for? And after the way his mother behaved that day, aren't you afraid?"
"You seem biased against him?" Yu Yan asked. "You're not familiar with the Xu family, are you?"
I can't very well tell you about the years I spent married into the Xu family. Li Qinghe waved a hand. "You're right, I am biased. You decide for yourself. If you want my verdict on whether the Xu family is good or not, it's two words:"
No good!!
Yu Yan nodded. "I understand." She stood, grabbed the seeds at hand, and helped scatter them into the prepared holes.
Planting the vegetables didn't take long, they finished the backyard, corners and all, in a day. The next day, apart from going out to feed the fish and chickens, Li Qinghe stayed home to embroider her dowry.
That day Zhou Chengkang took her into town to look at the furniture. They said it was almost finished and, if so, they'd need to find time to bring it back. As they climbed into the carriage, Zhou Chengkang motioned toward the compartment. Startled, Li Qinghe lifted the curtain and saw Zhang Haiyao sitting inside, holding a bundle.
"Qinghe, hurry up and get in." When she saw the curtain lifted, Zhang Haiyao greeted her warmly. "Sit here, don't be shy."
Li Qinghe: "..." That's my fiancé, I don't have to be polite.
"I'll just sit outside," Li Qinghe said with a smile and refused, but Zhang Haiyao reached out without asking and pulled her in. "Come on in, let's talk."
It was a little awkward, they weren't well acquainted, yet their families were close, so there couldn't be any cold silence. Li Qinghe had been thinking she'd simply sit outside, but now that she was inside she smiled and asked, "Where is third sister-in-law going?"
"I'm going back to my mother's," Zhang Haiyao said with a smile. "I was hoping you'd come along."
Zhang Haiyao's father and Madam Xu's Mr. Zhang were cousins. Since neither had other brothers, their cousinly relationship was as close as that of blood brothers.
She refused at once. "I won't go. I'm a little busy today, I have to inspect the furniture, and if it's ready we'll have to bring it back straightaway and find a dry place for it so it won't get damp."
"Is that so," Zhang Haiyao said with a sudden look, her voice dropping a little. "Actually, I think we have a lot of fate between us, in a way we're already sisters, and one day we'll be sisters-in-law."
As for being 'sisters': from Madam Xu's point of view, if Xu had brought her into the Zhang household she might be counted as a Zhang daughter, and then sure, they'd be sisters. But she had scarcely ever been to the Zhangs' place and couldn't even recognize all the people there. She didn't really know Zhang Haiyao, and she certainly didn't know Haiyao's father. What kind of sisters was that?
She smiled but didn't answer, waiting for her to go on.
Zhang Haiyao went on about the child Madam Xu had borne. "Haiya has been studying for several years now. In a couple of years he might be able to go to the county town for the county exam. If he takes a degree then his status will be entirely different."
She rambling on and on, it wasn't clear what she was trying to say. The carriage to town would have them there soon; by the time they reached the town gate she still hadn't come out with anything concrete.
After they parted, Li Qinghe asked in a low voice, "What is third sister-in-law after?"
Zhou Chengkang was suspicious too. "Probably just idle chatter. It'd be awkward to sit in silence, wouldn't it?"
That made sense, so Li Qinghe didn't dwell on it. She went to the furniture shop; she'd had two full sets of tables and chairs made, along with the cupboards and dressing table for the house, and several wooden basins, the kinds of things any girl from a decent family would prepare. With everything finished they were loading it onto the carriage when Qian Laiman walked over from the shop opposite. "Qinghe, is this yours?" he asked.
"Yes." Li Qinghe faced him calmly.
Qian Laiman seemed calm too. "Why didn't you get them from my place? I could've made them a bit better, and I could've spoken to the owner to get you a discount."
Zhou Chengkang came over and smiled. "I'm familiar with this place, I can get them just as cheap."
They sparred politely without backing down. Qian Laiman's smile was strained. "I haven't congratulated you yet."
"I heard your betrothal was even earlier than ours, why haven't you set a wedding date?" Zhou Chengkang looked across. "Making money is important, but you have to look after the bride too. It's only when she's brought home that you can feel secure."
At that last line Li Qinghe pinched him discretely; Zhou Chengkang didn't change expression. "You must come then," he said.
Once the furniture was loaded and they were seated in the carriage, they could feel Qian Laiman's gaze from behind. Both of them were sitting outside this time, and they heard him say, "Do you think I can't see she has ulterior motives?" with a soft snort.
Li Qinghe couldn't help smiling. It wasn't market day, so the town was quiet and hardly anyone was heading back to the villages; they had expected the two of them to ride all the way home. But just after leaving town they saw Zhang Haiyao standing by the roadside with a bundle slung over her arm; when she saw them she waved urgently.
Zhou Chengkang had the carriage stop and Zhang Haiyao climbed aboard. Seeing how crammed it was inside, she looked dazed. "How are we supposed to sit?" she asked.
"There's no room," Zhou Chengkang said after thinking a moment. "Why don't I go on ahead and come back to pick up third sister-in-law in a little while?"
"That works." She grabbed Li Qinghe's hand. "You go ahead. Qinghe and I will walk slowly and have a talk."
Watching the carriage leave, Li Qinghe looked at her. "Did you want to see me about something, third sister-in-law?"
Zhang Haiyao was put on the spot and felt a little embarrassed. "There are things I wanted to discuss with you. It's a bit complicated, we'll talk it over slowly."
Li Qinghe set off walking and Zhang Haiyao hurried to catch up. "There are things you don't know; your mother didn't tell you. As for Haiya, the eldest aunt doesn't want him to continue his studies. She wants him home at the shop learning bookkeeping so he can become an accountant."
Li Qinghe had scarcely seen the child born to Madam Xu in her whole life, only a few times. Though called half-siblings on their mother's side, whenever she went into town to look for Madam Xu she seldom found anyone there. In fact, she was closer to Zhao Wanwan, her non-blood sister, than to this child.
At that point Zhang Haiyao paused, waiting for Li Qinghe to press for more, but Li kept walking without turning. Haiyao had to hurry to catch up. "Your mother had no choice, she went and pleaded with my father."
Li Qinghe finally turned to look at her. "How did he respond?"
Seeing she was interested, Zhang Haiyao grew a little pleased. "My father is still considering it. He's close with my second uncle, and if he were to speak up in appeal, second uncle would surely agree."
"Your father didn't agree?" Li Qinghe asked.
"He did agree," Zhang Haiyao said with a smile. "My father said Haiya could come down from his studies after two more years. What I want is…" She hesitated, then added, "to borrow some silver from you, I'm short on cash."
Borrow silver?
So after all that circling around, it came down to borrowing money. From the satisfied look in her eyes, she clearly hadn't imagined Li Qinghe would refuse, much less expected to have to repay it.
From what she'd said earlier she only asked to borrow, she hadn't said when she'd pay it back.
They walked on for a while. When Li fell silent, Zhang Haiyao couldn't help saying, "We're family, we should help one another."
"I don't have any extra silver," Li Qinghe finally said, looking at her. "All my money is already needed for urgent things."
Zhang Haiyao was stunned and stopped in her tracks, then quickly recovered and hurried after her. "No, my father will help plead Haiya's case. Another year of study costs too much; the eldest aunt isn't willing to pay. Without my father's help, Haiya definitely wouldn't be able to continue!"
That last line she practically shouted, sounding a little out of breath and flustered.
Li Qinghe turned, spread her hands, and said, "So what if so many people are illiterate? They still get through life. Besides, he has his parents, studying, taking the county exams, getting married and having children, none of that is my concern!"