Chapter 62

Li Qinghe didn't often see Qian Laixing. He was mild-mannered, though not as handsome as Xu Changjie. Madam You had always sheltered him, never letting him get too close to any family's girls.
In Li Qinghe's memory, he and Qian Laiwen were close, both students who came and went together. They were both bookish and frail; most of their study expenses were paid for by Qian Laiman and his parents. They couldn't shoulder heavy work or manage money, apart from studying, there wasn't much they could do.
For a man like that to want to marry Yu Yan, any talk of love was nonsense. He had his eye on her needlework. Rather than marrying a wife, he was after someone who could bring in money.
With that thought, Li Qinghe quickened her pace to make it clear she was shaking Madam You off.
Madam You, used to farmwork, easily caught up. "Qinghe, rest a moment. I need to talk to you properly."
Li Qinghe kept going, even faster. Luckily someone up the hill greeted Madam You, and she finally lost her.
She'd just put the firewood down and taken a sip of water when someone knocked on the door, it wasn't over yet.
Li Qinghe opened the door and, sure enough, Madam You was standing there. Not even put off by Da Huang, she squeezed inside.
"Qinghe, I'll be frank. My Laixing was out yesterday and met Miss Yu; he liked her at once. He sent me to ask, could you ask on my behalf?"
Li Qinghe sighed. "Yu hasn't been thinking about marriage lately. Wouldn't it be better if you asked Third Aunt yourself?"
Madam You waved it off and lowered her voice. "I can't go myself. If they refuse, the gossip would reflect badly on both families. If she isn't thinking of marriage it just means she hasn't met the right man. Laixing will take the county exam next year; if he passes he'll be a xiucai, who would refuse then?"
"You two are close, and Third Aunt isn't her birth mother, so it's easier for her to talk with you. Help me ask, if she refuses, just say I never came."
Li Qinghe gave a helpless look. "I'll go now. Do you want to come with me?"
Madam You nodded. "I can't show my face. I'll wait outside; you go ask for me and let me know. Then we can come formally to propose."
They were already talking about a formal proposal, confident, indeed.
When she arrived, Third Aunt was out in the yard drying clothes. Seeing her, she looked surprised. "Qinghe, what brings you here?"
"I'm here to talk with Yan." Saying that, she went into Yu Yan's room as if by habit.
Yu Yan teased, "What brought you to me? Is this something important?"
"Actually, yes." Li Qinghe lowered her voice. "You ran into Qian Laiman's brother yesterday, didn't you?"
Yu Yan blinked. "I don't know. I was in town yesterday. There were so many people, how could I tell which one was him?"
"His mother went up the hill today to trap me and insisted I come ask what you're thinking. She even said her son had bad luck this year but next year he'll surely be on the county list."
Yu Yan snorted. "Your brother-in-law said the same thing last year. Who knows if he'll be on the list this year?"
The county exam results would be announced in just a couple of days.
"She said she just needed one definite answer from you, and then she'd leave us alone," Li Qinghe shook her head. "She chased after me the whole way and insisted I ask you."
"Why doesn't she come herself and ask?" Yu Yan asked with a smile.
Li Qinghe shrugged. "She says if you refuse it will be bad for both families' reputations. Probably she's afraid you'll say no and that would hurt her son's prospects."
Yu Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Why would I agree to a family like that?"
"Fair enough," Li Qinghe said, not the least surprised by her answer. "I'll reply like that. I thought I didn't need to ask, but I worried, what if you said yes?"
Yu Yanbai gave her a look. "Go and reply."
They laughed and teased each other for a while longer before Li Qinghe left the yard. Not far off, Madam You hurried over, smiling as she asked, "Well? How did it go?"
Li Qinghe shook her head. "She refused. Said she doesn't even know the family, we're not familiar with one another."
At that, Madam You's smile froze. "Wait, did you tell her that he might pass the county exam next year? How could she just refuse outright?" She eyed her up and down, suspicious. "Or maybe you didn't even ask?"
"Believe it or not, go ask her yourself." Li Qinghe, annoyed, started to walk off. "I've got work to do."
She really was busy, and it wasn't that she was furious, mostly she didn't want to be drawn into any fuss with Madam You. She still remembered how, when Madam You first came with money, she acted all high and mighty, convinced her son was a prize. People like that were best kept at a distance, ideally avoided entirely.
This time Madam You didn't follow, and Li Qinghe breathed easier and went back up the hill to work.
A couple of days later she heard that Madam You had gone to Madam Qian and then on to Third Aunt's house, and had been turned down there as well.
In mid-April, Li Qingmiao gave birth. Mother and child were both well. They named the baby Li Guangyao, and her parents were so pleased they went around telling everyone and inviting people to the full-month celebration.
When Li Qinghe heard, she took some eggs to their house. On the way she ran into Mrs. Zhou carrying a pot of chicken soup. "Mother, let me help you with that," she said.
Mrs. Zhou waved her off. "It's too hot, I'll carry it." Her gaze casually flicked to Li Qinghe's belly. "Better to have a child sooner rather than later. A home with a child is livelier; a couple's relationship grows closer. No matter how much money you have, nothing is as dear as a child. Your yard is so big, don't you find it a bit empty?"
Caught off guard by the urging, Li Qinghe paused in surprise before recovering and smiling, "Mther, children will come when they come."
Mrs. Zhou glared at her. "You look fine to me. You two are so close, why has it been over a year with no good news?"
Li Qinghe blushed at that and cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment. "It's not on purpose, really."
In truth it was deliberate. They had agreed to wait until they'd cleared all the wasteland before having children. They had planned to finish by next spring, but they'd managed to get it done this year and still wanted to wait a little longer, better to be a bit older and it's less risky.
Mrs. Zhou dropped the subject. "You two are set in your ways; I can't change your minds. But for my sake, won't you have children? If you both have kids, I'll be at ease, I can die and at least face your father... and your eldest and his wife too..." She shook her head, at a loss for words.
By the time they finished talking they were at the Li household, the yard full of celebratory bustle. Li's mother had boiled red eggs and was handing them out so people could share in the good fortune. Mrs. Zhou stared longingly at the baby wrapped in swaddling, unable to let go. She couldn't resist and went to take two red eggs back for herself.
Li Qinghe put the two red eggs in her pocket, Mrs. Zhou's urging still ringing in her ears. When she got home she saw Zhou Chengkang sweeping the yard; she peeled one and handed it to him. He smiled, "Your mother insisted we take them, said to let us share in the luck."
Zhou Chengkang ate the egg from her hand, even kissed her fingers, and laughed, "No rush. It'll happen sooner or later. We won't let your ma down, we'll have ten, eight, whatever it takes."
"Do you think we're pigs in the sty, popping out ten or eight? At most three... maybe two," she replied.
Zhou Chengkang laughed out loud, clearly pleased.
After their teasing they actually began making plans. After going over it, they decided it would be best to wait until this time next year. It wasn't ideal to have a baby during the autumn harvest or the spring plowing, he couldn't really spare the time to care for a newborn then. March would be best, after spring sowing, when the weather was mild.
While they were making plans, word came two days later that Meihua was pregnant.
They didn't just learn that Meihua was expecting, they heard the Zhou family was in an uproar. A neighbor from next door had come over to tell them.
The visitor was a plump woman in her forties. "You'd better hurry, Granny Liu and your mother are fighting," she said.
Li Qinghe was puzzled, Meihua had married Eldest Brother Zhou, so of course she'd have a child. What was there to argue about?
They hurried back, worried an argument might turn physical. When they arrived, the yard was quiet. Zhang Haiyao stood under the eaves holding the baby; seeing them come in she scoffed, "You're only just back, if they'd come to blows, would this still be in time?"
Li Qinghe paid her no mind and went inside. Sure enough, Mrs. Zhou and Granny Liu sat facing each other with sour expressions, neither speaking.
Zhou Chengkang asked straight away, " Mother, I heard you two had a quarrel, what happened?"