Chapter 348: Chapter 348 Asking
In the room, only Zhang Minghua, Yang PeiMin, Yang Peiying, and Bai Hehua, the four adults, remained, while the men had gone out to see about smashing the ice at the lake to catch fish.
Yang PeiMin felt shocked. What kind of thinking did her cousin Peidi have? To so readily agree on a blind date prospect?
She looked at Zhang Minghua, who was already so angry she couldn’t stand it. Zhang Minghua suddenly stood up, "I’m going to ask your Third Aunt, is this really her idea or her daughter’s?"
Zhang Minghua strongly supported her, "Mother, I’ll come with you, and let’s see if I don’t scold her so much she’ll want to crawl into my pocket!"
Yang Peiying hurriedly stood up, "Mother, second sister-in-law, you... please don’t go... I didn’t agree to her... let it be..."
"Goodness, you naive girl, how can you be so easy-going? If we don’t teach her a lesson this time, she’ll plot against you again next time," Bai Hehua sighed at Yang Peiying.
"It’s not that..." Every time Yang Peiying thought about it, she wanted to cry. She had just taken the clothes over to Grandma Yang when her uncle’s family was there, and when they saw her coming, they were very happy.
The several male cousins stared intently at the bundle in her hands, eyes sparkling, "Sister Yingzi, what good things have you brought over?"
Inside were a set of clothes and a packet of pastries. Yang Peiying handed the items to Grandma Yang, "Grandma, this is my sister’s way of showing her filial respect."
Grandma Yang was smiling from the moment she walked in and took the items, "What’s this? Minmin is so filial, traveling such a long distance to bring me these things. Did they bring this from the army? Oh, look how nice these clothes are, were they bought from a big department store? What’s an old woman like me doing wearing something so nice? It would be better to just have a few pieces of fabric. Your cousins didn’t get new clothes for the New Year..."
Yang Peiying, listening to Grandma’s babbling, didn’t know how to respond and sat on the side with her head down.
Grandma Yang gave her a glance, also helpless, "Oh well, why do I even say anything to you? It’s not you who bought it. Oh, and there’s a packet of pastries too. How were these made? Did you buy them from a store outside?"
Yang Peiying then lifted her head a little, "They were purchased from a store. Sister said that they are suitable for the elderly like Grandma because they are not hard but soft."
Grandma Yang smiled and nodded, "Minmin is thoughtful."
Third Aunt stood by, smiling as she spoke to Grandma, "Mother, let me take care of this. We just had lunch, so we can save them for later, to enjoy slowly..."
Grandma Yang did indeed avoid her outstretched hand, "Alright, then let me keep them myself."
But the younger boys below were not willing to wait, clamoring to have some.
Third Aunt also looked helplessly at Grandma Yang.
Grandma Yang ultimately adored her grandsons, took out two pieces of cake, and gave a small partition to each, with Yang Peiying receiving a piece as well.
Third Aunt, however, said, "Minmin brought quite a bit over, didn’t she? Yingzi, you have food at home too, right? Oh, look, your younger brothers have never tasted such rare treats. It’s all because your Third Uncle and I are useless; we haven’t found your Cousin Peidi a good family to marry into. If we had found a good one, she could have helped out her younger brothers..."
Third Aunt rambled on to Yingzi while Yang Peiying didn’t know how to respond, only murmuring softly, "I heard from my mother that my brother-in-law fancied my sister a lot, and that’s why he came over to propose marriage. It wasn’t someone my parents found..."
Third Aunt was momentarily speechless upon hearing her reply.
Yang Peiying stopped speaking and slowly began eating the pastries in her hand, glancing around the room. Cousin Peidi was standing to one side, mending clothes. She hadn’t been offered any pastries; Third Aunt had said they would save some for her to eat once she was finished with her work.
Suddenly remembering something, Yang Peiying turned to Grandma Yang and said, "Grandma, try on the clothes to see if they fit. If they don’t, we can alter them..."
Grandma Yang nodded her head cheerfully, "They look very fitting." Though she said this directly, she still picked up the clothes and tried them on.
Third Sister-in-law touched the fabric with her hand, envy filling her eyes, "I don’t even remember the last time I had new clothes made for me..."
Then, turning to Yang Peiying, she said, "It’s rare for you to visit, Yingzi. Go have a chat with your Cousin Peidi."
Yang Peiying didn’t expect such a candid response and immediately stood up, following Yang Peidi into her room.
Yang Peidi shared a room with her two youngest brothers. There were other rooms in the house, but Third Aunt claimed there weren’t enough blankets to spare, and besides, the two young boys didn’t sleep soundly, often kicking off their covers, so they needed Yang Peidi to keep an eye on them.
Once inside the room and seated on the kang, Yang Peiying started telling her about Yang Peimin’s return and then asked, "Why didn’t you come over for lunch? We made a lot of delicious food."
Yang Peidi shook her head, "My mother had me repairing my brother’s torn clothes at home."
"Have you not finished mending them yet?"
Yang Peidi nodded, "It’s not just clothes, but also quilts... I heard you had a matchmaking session this morning. How was it? What’s the young man like? You’re lucky, saying he’s from a family in town. You might marry into a town family. But I’m not so lucky. My mother wants to marry me off to a widowed old man..."
Yang Peiying was startled, "What do you mean? This morning, Third Aunt was asking Second Aunt to set you up with someone!"
Yang Peidi shook her head, "She was just saying that. If Second Aunt really were to introduce someone and the dowry offered by that old man was higher, I wouldn’t have to marry him... Earlier, when Second Aunt came over, she said it wasn’t certain, she couldn’t guarantee anything, and told us not to get our hopes too high. Your good fortune this time was just a stroke of luck... When my mother heard this, she immediately got upset, argued with Second Aunt... Grandma was there too, siding with Second Aunt... After Second Aunt left, my mother started talking to me about marrying the old man. He’s from Upper River Village. He used to be the village accountant and lost his wife two years ago, leaving him with three children. But if I marry him, he can offer a dowry of three hundred..."
Yang Peidi’s eyes reddened as she spoke, "Yingzi, I don’t want to marry him... I heard that he beat his wife to death... Now that he has two sons, he’s not looking for a wife to have more children... It’s for doing chores and looking after his kids... Yingzi, I really don’t want to marry him... If I do, I might not survive. He’s quite ruthless when he hits people. He lost his accounting job because of his violence..."
Listening, Yang Peiying was shocked, "Doesn’t Third Aunt know about this?"
"She knows, but she said that since the man is offering such a high bridal price, it will help when my brothers want to marry... It would ease a lot of burdens for the family. My father thinks the same..." Yang Peidi started crying, "Yingzi, what should I do?"
Yang Peiying also began to feel distressed, "What can be done? Grandma agrees too? You, you just say you don’t want to, right?"