CHAPTER 47

Su Wan and Shen Lin have decided on their marriage and have also agreed on when to get married. They will just wait for the right time.

In winter, there was not much farm work to do in the fields. Shen Lin picked up the broom and swept the yard clean. Su Wan and Mrs. Shen boiled a pot of tea on the stove and talked around it.

Shen Lin was sweeping the yard. As he was sweeping, he swept near the gate. Shen Lin opened the door and went out, sweeping the area near the gate as well.

Wang Luosheng had been waiting for the Shen family to bring Su Wan back from Qingzhou Prefecture these days, and he was looking forward to it day and night. When Mrs. Wang heard the sound of giggling outside the yard, she hurried out.

As soon as she went out the gate, she saw Shen Lin cleaning in front of the Shen family’s gate. It was obvious that the Shen family had returned from Qingzhou Prefecture. Since Shen Lin was back, Su Wan must have returned as well.

Mrs. Wang finally felt relieved.

These days, Mrs. Wang was troubled by the daily trivialities and finally remembered the good things about Su Wan. The two maids she hired before were not as good as Su Wan.

In the past, Su Wan cleaned the house inside and out and cooked delicious meals for the family every day. As for chores like wiping the table and washing clothes, Mrs. Wang and Wang Luoxue didn’t have to worry about them.

Mrs. Wang felt that having Su Wan around was more cost-effective than hiring three maids at home.

Mrs. Wang also heard from others that when Shen Lin brought Su Wan back from Qingyun County Clinic, the doctor thought Shen Lin was a good person and did not ask for any money. So, naturally, Su Wan had no debt.

Since she has no debts and is a good worker, it would be best for her to return to the Wang family.

Mrs. Wang smiled at Shen Lin, which was rare. “Shen Lin, you are back from Qingzhou Prefecture.”

Shen Lin raised his head and answered yes.

Mrs. Wang said, “Oh, you are finally back. I missed Su Wan so much.”  After Mrs. Wang said that, her eyes rolled around, and she turned back to her yard.

Mrs. Wang went into the kitchen, took out a bag of snacks that she had bought in Qingyun County a few days ago, then left her house and entered the Shen family’s house.

Because Shen Lin was cleaning the yard outside, the gate of the Shen family’s courtyard was ajar. Mrs. Wang pushed the door open and ran in.

Shen Lin was trimming the broken branches of flowers and plants at the door when he saw Mrs. Wang slipping in, but it was too late to stop her.

Shen Lin thought that the reason why Mrs. Wang came to find Su Wan was definitely because she had some wishful thinking, and she probably wanted Su Wan to come over and help her with the work.

Shen Lin believed that Su Wan would not agree. After spending time with Su Wan, Shen Lin had a good understanding of Su Wan’s personality. Su Wan was definitely not the kind of person who could not figure things out.

Mrs. Wang walked into the Shen family’s yard with a bag of snacks she had bought a few days ago, looking very happy, and then went straight into Mrs. Shen’s room. As expected, as soon as she came in, Su Wan and Shen Yaya were sitting together, eating melon seeds and snacks and talking.

“Su Wan, I missed you so much when you were away these days.” A smile appeared on Mrs. Wang’s face.

Su Wan got goose bumps all over her body. As far as she could remember, Mrs. Wang had never been so nice to Su Wan.

“Sister Shen, how is your illness being treated in Qingzhou Prefecture? It must have cost you a lot of money.” Mrs. Wang spoke to Mrs. Shen again.

Mrs. Shen remembered what she had agreed with Shen Lin and Su Wan on the way, saying that she was going to Qingzhou Prefecture to see a doctor and spent all the money in the family and the harvest from the land. This was to prevent Shen Lin’s grandparents from coming to ask for money again.

In the years before, including when Shen Lin’s father was alive, every year after the autumn harvest, Old Man Shen and Old Woman Shen would come to ask for money.

Mrs. Shen pretended to cry and laugh, “It cost a lot of money. Lin’er worked hard for a year, but he spent all the money on my medical treatment.”

Mrs. Wang said, “Sister Shen, don’t worry too much. Money is meant to be spent. If you don’t spend it, it will just be a bunch of junk.”

Su Wan thought to herself that it was easy for Mrs. Wang to talk without any pain in her waist. It wasn’t her money, so of course it was easy for her to talk.

Mrs. Wang said, “But your illness cannot be cured with just a few taels of silver. Don’t worry. As long as you can see Shen Lin get married, it won’t be a waste of time to go to Qingzhou Prefecture and spend so much money.”

Su Wan, Mrs. Shen, and Shen Yaya didn’t say anything, but Mrs. Wang’s words touched these people’s hearts.

Mrs. Wang took Shen’s hand and said, “Oh, I forgot that your family has spent all the money on your medical treatment. How will Shen Lin propose marriage in the future?”

“Like my Luosheng, even girls from all over the village want to marry him. If your Shen Lin has the same ability as Luosheng, you don’t have to worry.”

Mrs. Shen, “…”

Su Wan sneered in her heart. This Wang family really knew how to praise her own son Wang Luosheng and at the same time pull down Shen Lin.

When Wang Luosheng was mentioned, Mrs. Wang’s pride rose again: “Let me tell you quietly, Miss Shen, even the girls in Qingyun County care about my Luosheng. By the way, Shen Lin also went to school. You know the daughter of Master Yang in the academy; she also likes Luosheng very much. She gives my Luosheng purses and sachets all day long, and we can’t refuse them.”

Mrs. Wang deliberately lowered her voice, but Su Wan and Shen Yaya could still hear her “lowered” voice clearly.

Both Mrs. Shen and Su Wan thought in their hearts that Wang didn’t care about the girl’s reputation at all.

Su Wan recalled that in the book, Yang Yunyan and Mrs. Wang got along very well, and Yang Yunyan coaxed Mrs. Wang into obedience. She wondered if Yang Yunyan would still be filial and considerate to Mrs. Wang as in the book if she knew that Mrs. Wang disregarded her reputation behind her back.

Mrs. Shen smiled and continued with Mrs. Wang’s words, “Yes, Luosheng is a good boy.”

Mrs. Wang said hurriedly, “That’s right. If Shen Lin was like Luosheng, you wouldn’t need to worry about him getting engaged. But now, tsk tsk tsk, I guess no girl would be willing to marry Shen Lin.”

“If you ask me, when Shen Lin is looking for a wife, he shouldn’t care whether she is pretty or ugly. As long as she can give birth to a child for Shen Lin, even if she is a little stupid, he can still get by.”

Every word Mrs. Wang spoke was full of concern, but every word was also full of ridicule and belittlement.

What Mrs. Wang meant was that Shen Lin would never be able to find a good girl.

Mrs. Shen was unhappy. No one wants others to say that about their son, but as neighbors for many years, even though she seldom interacted with Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Shen knew Mrs. Wang’s temper well. Mrs. Wang was always like this. On the surface, she looked warm and friendly to others, but when she started talking, every word she said was full of ridicule and belittlement.

This is also the reason why Mrs. Shen was unwilling to interact more with Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Shen looked up and asked Mrs. Wang, “Sister Wang, I think Su Wan is a good kid. She is good at taking care of things outside and is pretty. There is no prettier girl than Su Wan in Qingshi Village or Qingyun County.”

“Not to mention Qingshi Village and Qingyun County; even when I went to Qingzhou Prefecture, I didn’t see anyone prettier than Su Wan.”

The reason why Mrs. Shen asked this question was to show that Su Wan was a good girl. Mrs. Wang said that Shen Lin couldn’t find a good one, but Shen Lin was engaged to Su Wan.

These days, Su Wan’s goodness is obvious to everyone, and even the gossipy Mrs. Wang cannot deny it.

Mrs. Shen did not mention the engagement of Su Wan and Shen Lin. Mrs. Shen felt that the first person to know this good news should not be a gossipy woman like Mrs. Wang; otherwise, who knows what nonsense she would say?

This was what Mrs. Shen meant, but it had a different meaning when it reached Mrs. Wang’s ears.

Mrs. Wang also noticed that Su Wan and Mrs. Shen had a good relationship. Presumably, during the time Su Wan and Mrs. Shen had been together, she had already told Mrs. Shen how much she liked Luosheng and how much she wanted to stay with him.

That was why Mrs. Shen had mentioned to herself how good Su Wan was, and this was also for the purpose of allowing her family to accept Su Wan again.

Originally, Mrs. Wang came here with the intention of saying some nice words to Su Wan and coaxing her back to the Wang family. For this reason, Mrs. Wang, who was usually generous to herself and stingy to others, specially brought a bag of snacks from home.

But after listening to Mrs. Shen’s words, Mrs. Wang roughly guessed Su Wan’s intention. Since Su Wan was determined to return to the Wang family, why should she bother to coax her? Besides, even if she coaxed her back, it would not be as easy for her to serve her as if she came herself.

Mrs. Wang made up her mind not to coax Su Wan and let Su Wan take the money she earned from selling candied haws back to the Wang family by herself and expressed that she would serve the Wang family well in the future.

Mrs. Wang changed her smiling face and raised her chin slightly, looking proud, and said, “Actually, whether a woman is pretty or not doesn’t matter at all.”

Mrs. Wang had seen Su Wan become as beautiful as a fairy during this period, but of course she could not help boost Su Wan’s prestige, so she said that her beauty was worthless.

Mrs. Wang picked up the snacks on Shen’s table and said slowly, “If you ask me, when my Luosheng marries a wife, we won’t look at how pretty she is. After all, beauty can’t be eaten, right?”

“There are many girls who are willing to pay a few hundred taels to marry our Luosheng.”

Mrs. Shen thought she was just kidding a fool. “Yes, yes, Luosheng is extremely talented, and the girl who marries her will naturally have to bring a dowry of a huge sum of gold.”

Mrs. Wang was very pleased with Mrs. Shen’s words. She nodded and looked at Su Wan. “Su Wan, you sold candied haws a few days ago and made at least 700-800 cents.”

Su Wan deliberately said, “It’s not; I got only a few dozen or a hundred cents; it’s not a lot of money.”

Wang thought to herself that Su Wan must also know that she has a little money and it is not worth mentioning. She must not be able to hold her head up. It is right not to be able to hold her head up. Only if she cannot hold her head up can she be willing to do housework to supplement the family.

Mrs. Wang did not continue to talk about the money Su Wan earned from selling candied haws but continued to talk about Wang Luosheng’s standards for marrying a wife: “With my Luosheng’s talent and appearance, if she doesn’t bring a dowry of a hundred or so taels, how can she be worthy of my Luosheng?”

Su Wan raised her eyebrows. “If the dowry is worth a hundred taels, then no one will have a chance to be with Brother Luosheng.”

Mrs. Wang said, “Even if there is not that much dowry, if she is virtuous and hardworking, can take care of the house inside and outside, and is filial to me, her mother-in-law, a dowry of more than ten taels is also acceptable.”

This was also a loophole that Mrs. Wang deliberately left for Su Wan. She had to teach Su Wan what to do. Otherwise, Su Wan might feel that she was not worthy of Wang Luosheng and would not dare to come forward on her own initiative.

Mrs. Wang felt that as long as she could trick Su Wan’s money back and get her to work, she could be honored by making her a concubine.

Su Wan was not annoyed and just said, “Aunt Wang is right; Brother Luoshen is well-educated and handsome; if he has to get married, he will naturally have to have a dowry of a thousand taels.”

“If there wasn’t so much dowry, they would naturally have to serve you and Uncle Wang well and take care of Brother Luosheng and Sister Luoxue.”

“If not, how can they be worthy of Brother Luosheng?”

Su Wan said this in all seriousness. It was easy to talk without any worries. Whoever was willing to curry favor with Wang Luosheng and marry him could marry him. Anyway, she would not have any relationship with Wang Luosheng anymore.

Mrs. Wang heard this and thought that Su Wan was expressing her loyalty to her. To Mrs. Wang, Su Wan meant that she did not have a huge fortune as a dowry, but she could work more.

Mrs. Wang nodded with satisfaction, “If they want to be the daughter-in-law of my Wang family, this is the way to go.”

Mrs. Shen also agreed, “That’s what should be done.”

Su Wan couldn’t bear to listen to Mrs. Wang’s daydreaming any more, so she said, “Aunt Wang, it’s getting late. I’ll go out and clean up.”

Mrs. Wang raised her chin again. Su Wan must be so happy that she was packing up and leaving with her.

However, she can forget about going back with her. That would be too logical. She would have to carry her things to the Wang family’s door by herself and formally prove her loyalty to her before she would allow her to come back to work.

Mrs. Wang picked up the snacks she had brought and stood up, “It’s getting late; I won’t sit down anymore; I’ll go back first.”

Naturally, I have to go back and wait for Su Wan to come to me. I can’t just take her back with me.

Mrs. Wang took the snacks she had brought back intact and left in a very swaggering manner.

Su Wan thought to herself, Only someone as shameless as Mrs. Wang could take back the souvenirs she brought.

In the book, after Wang Luosheng passed the imperial examination, he had to give gifts to his superiors and colleagues as a token of his friendship.

But Mrs. Wang was reluctant to do so and often secretly unwrapped the gifts and replaced the good gifts that Su Wan was preparing to give to Wang Luosheng’s colleagues of the same level with bad gifts, simply because Mrs. Wang believed that since they were all of the same level, there was no need to give such expensive gifts and that Su Wan was too extravagant.

Now, Mrs. Wang is still as shortsighted as ever.

Shen Yaya looked at Mrs. Wang’s back as she left, stunned. “When did Aunt Wang become stupid? Was it during the few days we were away?”

Su Wan smiled and said, “Do you want to come with me to tidy up the vegetable garden in the backyard?”

Shen Yaya got off the kang and said, “Let’s go and tidy up the vegetable garden.”

When Mrs. Wang returned home, she saw Wang Luoxue mopping the floor with a worried look on her face. Wang Luoxue mopped the floor in some places, leaving some wet and some dry, which was worse than not mopping at all.

Mrs. Wang said, “Don’t do that anymore. Leave it there until Su Wan comes back to do it.”

Wang Luoxue was delighted. What? Is Su Wan coming back? She had suffered a lot during these days when Su Wan was away. From now on, she could live her pampered life as a young lady again.