Chapter Eighty-Five: Discussing and Adding Dowry

  In the kitchen, Mrs. Sun was burning fire under the stove, while Mrs. Mao had a towel draped over her neck, stir-frying dishes in the scorching heat and chatting idly at the same time.

  "Great Aunt, Second Aunt." Zhen'er and Hu'zi entered the kitchen together, calling out in unison.

  "Ah, it's Zhen'er and Hu Zi! Have you eaten? You'll be having dinner at my aunt's place tonight."

  "Auntie, we've eaten," said Zhen'er. "Today is the first day of harvesting wheat, let's go see how Bai Wei and Bai Ji are doing."

  The Mao family laughed even more happily, and Sun's face brightened with a smile. "They're both in the house, go find them."

  "Ah, Auntie, you're busy." After exchanging greetings with Mrs. Mao and Mrs. Sun, Zhen'er took Hu Zi to the east wing.

  Looking at Zhen Er's young age, yet steady figure, Mao Shi unconsciously said: "This Zhen Er really doesn't look like a child from a farming family."

  Mrs. Sun nodded slightly, saying: "Indeed, it's not like that, not to mention her words and deeds, but the etiquette and rules, I think they are no different from those young ladies in the city, just a bit more cautious." Mrs. Sun has been following Jiangshi in the established noblewomen circle for many years, even if she hasn't spoken to anyone, she has still observed the behavior of those people from afar, which is not much different from Zhen'er's.

  Mrs. Mao's heart skipped a beat as she thought of Zhen'er being familiar with the county magistrate's daughter, and she pondered secretly, wondering if it was really true.

  The discussion about herself downstairs, Zhen'er didn't know, she was laughing happily at this moment.

  Zhen'er didn't expect that as soon as she entered the door, she saw Ye Baiwei sitting on a chair beside the bed embroidering a quilt cover, while Ye Baizhi was lying on the bed with no image at all. Hearing the sound of lifting the curtain, he suddenly got up and straightened his clothes, with a gentle and quiet expression on his face, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "You little scamp, what are you smiling at? Come and give me a shoulder massage." Ye Baiji rolled her eyes unattractively and rubbed her sore shoulders.

  Ye Baiwei raised her hand and made a gesture as if she was going to hit her. However, the expression on her face remained gentle, with a hint of a smile, "If you don't behave, I'll tell your aunt."

  Ye Baiji was not afraid of heaven or earth, and even her father's anger didn't scare her. But when her mother's eyes turned red and she looked at her with tears in her eyes, Ye Baiji felt a chill run down her spine and was completely helpless. The people in the Ye household also knew that her mother was her weakness, and using Madam Sun to reason with her would absolutely be effective against Ye Baiji.

  Ye Baiji heard this and immediately stood up straight, then carefully sat back down.

  Not only Zhen'er, even Hu Zi and Ye Baiwei couldn't help but laugh. Hu Zi, still young, knew how to tease her: "Sister Bai Zhu is a mother tigress, afraid of Auntie."

  Ye Baiji was teased like this, her face turned red, and she wanted to chase after Hu Zi. Hu Zi was used to teasing her and wasn't afraid of her at all, running away while making a ghostly face at her.

  Ye Baiji was even more unwilling, lifted her skirt and prepared to chase after Hu Zi to fight, but was pulled back by Ye Baimei. "How do you still have so much energy? You've been drying in the fields all day. Aren't you tired?"

  Ye Baiji took a deep breath and sat back down, looking unhappy. "How can you not be tired? Look at my hands, they're all red and blistered. And look at my face, it's stinging and painful, my mother said I've broken skin." She stretched out her hand and pointed to her face, bit by bit showing off how miserable she was.

  Qī Zhēn ér looked at her sun-scorched face and was also surprised, saying: "How did you get so sunburned? Didn't you have a straw hat?" Was it because she was too pampered and had delicate skin? The more Qī Zhēn ér thought about it, the more she felt that this possibility was great. She had been working since she was young, and this bit of sunlight didn't bother her, but for Yè Bái zhǐ and Yè Bái wēi who had never worked in the fields before, it was a big problem.

  "I don't know either, I was fine at noon and then suddenly became like this. Eldest Aunt said it's nothing, just that I haven't been exposed to the sun for a long time, my skin isn't used to it. Look, Baiwei's face is also like this."

  Ye Baiwei's face was also peeling, but it looked better than Ye Baizhi's. "I just saw the rice water that Aunt and the others used to cook with hasn't been poured out yet. Why don't I bring some over for you all to wash your faces with? It might help a bit."

  Ye Baiwei and Ye Baizhi both heard with joy, but still had some doubts. "Can rice water be used to wash your face?"

  Of course, she has washed her face many times. In her previous life, she was dark and thin, wearing men's clothes made it impossible to see any femininity, one of the reasons why she was chosen by Master Qi Si as a servant. Later, it was Old Lady Rao who taught her some ways to take care of herself when she got a bit older, using rice water to wash her face is one of them.

  "I heard others say that washing face with rice water is good. I thought the rice water looked very clean, and anyway, it's all well water, so I think it should be fine." said Zhen'er.

  Ye Baiji and Ye Baimei both thought it was reasonable, but Ye Baimei still had some misgivings in her heart. Thinking that she would be getting married soon, she couldn't afford to ruin her face at this time. She thought of asking her mother and said proactively: "Zhen'er, Huizi, sit down, you two stay here and chat with Baiji for a while, I'll go get the rice water."

  Yè Bái Wēi stepped out of the doorway and saw that the curtain had fallen. Yè Bái Zhī quickly pulled over Zhēn ér, a mysterious look on her face, saying: "Zhēn ér, I have something to ask you." Zhēn ér used her eyes to indicate she was listening, and after getting the indication, Yè Bái Zhī pulled Zhēn ér even closer, not caring that Hǔ Zǐ was curiously staring at her. She glanced around and whispered: "Tell me, what should I do with the silver?"

  Her voice was too small, Zhen'er didn't react for a moment, Ye Baiji impatiently repeated: "Silver."

  Yin Zi, Zhen Er was still in a daze, thinking it was no big deal, "If you want to use it, just ask Grandpa for it."

  Ye Baiji heard and felt like she had found a sense of security, but still gritted her teeth and said: "This isn't right, is it? Where can you just let someone go after paying silver? Grandfather will say I'm not trustworthy if he finds out."

  "So you don't trust Grandpa?"

  "No, no," Ye Baiji shook her head repeatedly, as if afraid of being suspected, and said hastily, "How could I doubt Grandfather? Since returning to the countryside, Grandfather and Eldest Uncle's family have been the kindest to us. Not only did they not give us a hard time, but they also took the money from my father's hands to buy land. Knowing that my mother and I couldn't cook, they kindly let us join forces with them, only asking us to contribute grain. They even taught us how to live." Sighing, she said, "Although life is harder now, I'm happier than before, and my mother is more at ease too."

  Zhen'er listened with a sympathetic ear, and not wanting the topic to be so heavy, asked: "What do you want silver for?"

  Zhen'er's voice was a bit loud, and Ye Baiji was startled and said: "Dead girl, why are you so loud?" She glanced around the room with a sly expression and said: "Isn't it almost Dragon Boat Festival in half a month? This year, Lin Xiuzai is coming to give gifts for the festival. My mother said that we need to discuss the betrothal gift. Bai Wei's 18th birthday is approaching, and everyone says she will definitely get married by the end of the year. I was thinking of making her two pieces of jewelry as a dowry."

  Zhen'er listened and realized it was this matter, she had been so busy lately that she almost forgot about it. Mao Shi and Ye Baiwei were being so good to themselves, they couldn't lack this dowry matter. "This is a good thing, you have this heart and Grandfather will be delighted, how could he think too much? You just tell Grandfather about the matter, he will definitely give you money." Zhen'er said: "When the time comes, call me, I'll also give Baiwei sister some dowry."

  Ye Baiji was also delighted when she heard the news. She had been worried that her dowry was too extravagant, but now with Zhen'er by her side, she wasn't afraid of others gossiping about her.

  "Let's keep it a secret for now, and when the time comes, let Grandpa give us his blessing. When Baiwei gets married, we'll make sure to give her a good face." In rural areas, dowries usually consist of some cloth, shoes, and other small items. Only if they have some extra money will they get something like a silver hairpin or a gold-plated hairpin, but this is rare. Ye Baiju and Zhen'er both want to get something heavier for Ye Baiwei, so she can save face in her husband's family.

  The two of them discussed it and both thought that using their own money to give Ye Baiwei a dowry was a very remarkable thing, and they burst out laughing.

  Ye Baiwei carried a basin of rice water in and saw the two of them mysteriously smiling at each other, knowing that Ye Baizhi was also being mysterious, she didn't bother to greet her as she washed her face.