books44 Chapter 167 Qualifying Match (1)
Chapter 167 Qualifying Match (1)
Qiu Niang's uncle's family lived in the village.
The maternal uncle's family warmly welcomed this hen that could lay golden eggs.
When she first arrived at her uncle's house, since she hadn't brought any servants, her uncle specially asked his eldest daughter to be her maid.
Serving her tea and water and talking to her every day made Qiu Niang feel much happier.
When he was in a good mood, he was generous, and his uncle's daughters all received some gifts.
Her aunt also cared about her a lot, always asking how she was doing at the Chen family's house, and would even join her in complaining.
Qiu Niang received the care she had long missed.
Staying for a day or two is fine, but after two months, and without mentioning going back, my aunt is getting a little unhappy.
In particular, Qiu Niang's money, beautiful clothes and jewelry have been almost all given away, and if they don't go back to Chen's family soon, they will have to spend money to support their niece.
This won't do. Auntie started to probe indirectly: "Qiu Niang, you weren't kicked out of the Chen family, were you?"
Qiu Niang, of course, didn't think so: "No, it's just that both young masters of the Chen family are out busy, and it's not very interesting for me to be alone in the Chen family."
My aunt said nice things, that I could stay as long as I wanted, and that I should treat this place like my own home, but deep down I wasn't entirely convinced.
A few days later, she sent her son, Qiu Niang's cousin, to town to inquire.
My cousin stayed in town until the next day before returning home shouting: "Mother, something terrible has happened! Qiu Niang has indeed angered the Chen family!"
He inquired everywhere and finally pieced together the whole story.
Qiu Niang seduced the eldest son of the Chen family, who wanted a divorce, and even made the second son of the Chen family break off the engagement.
Now that both sons have been kicked out, how could they possibly tolerate Qiu Niang?
My cousin felt he had figured out the truth.
The aunt gritted her teeth in anger: "I knew that slut wouldn't behave."
That evening, Qiu Niang felt that her treatment was starting to decline.
In the past, she was always the first to eat the best things in the house.
She was used to eating fine food, and occasionally eating these rustic dishes gave her a unique pleasure.
If you get tired of the food, you can spend money to buy other food from other people in the village.
But tonight, the atmosphere at the dinner table was a little strange.
There were only a few flatbreads made of coarse flour and a few sweet potatoes on the table; there wasn't even a single vegetable dish.
Qiu Niang was immediately displeased; she didn't say a word, but her displeasure was written all over her face.
She couldn't eat such a rough pancake.
The aunt said sarcastically from the side, "She really thinks she's some kind of pampered young lady. If you're not going to eat, then get back to the Chen family."
Qiu Niang hadn't heard such words in years, and tears streamed down her face.
"I've brought back so many things over the years, and you're already complaining about me after just a few days."
"That's just you showing filial piety to your uncle's family, isn't that what you should do? Why are you crying? You're crying away all your luck."
My aunt slammed down her chopsticks, while my uncle and cousin continued eating as if nothing had happened.
Qiu Niang didn't expect her uncle's family to be so shameless and deny their debts. She was secretly relieved that she hadn't brought back anything of real value.
“Since my aunt can’t tolerate me, I’ll go back to the Chen family tomorrow.”
Aunt scoffed, "Who doesn't know you offended the matriarch of the Chen family and were kicked out?"
“How could that be?” Qiu Niang said confidently. “If you send a message to the Chen family, someone will definitely come to pick me up.”
I don’t know where the confidence comes from.
Seeing her attitude, her aunt became suspicious again: "Then let the Chen family come to pick you up tomorrow."
"Hey, it's just that we're out of rice to cook," the uncle tried to smooth things over. "Why are you arguing with the child?"
My aunt's expression softened: "We're really poor, and this is all we eat."
"Make do with this. Once we get back to the Chen family, there will be plenty of good food for us."
If Qiu Niang can really summon the Chen family, then we can't afford to offend her.
Then, we can also calculate with the Chen family the expenses Qiu Niang incurred while staying at home during this period.
My cousin went to town again as soon as it was light.
The town was so much fun. He spent almost all the money his aunt had given him before going to find the Chen family.
The doorman informed the masters of the house of my cousin's purpose in coming.
"She wants to come back again?" Gu Shijiu didn't seem too concerned. "But all the cars at home are out on business, so let her go back on her own."
She doesn't have that problem of having to keep a car for herself.
Because Chen Wangnan was going to the north to discuss business, Gu Shijiu let her take the car with her.
It would be more convenient to take the train, but since he needed to haul goods, Chen Wangnan took the truck with him.
Although cars are now available, they are only driven by important figures in Shanghai.
In their small town, horse-drawn carriages are still the most convenient mode of transport.
After all, there aren't even roads for cars.
My cousin returned empty-handed and took his anger out on Qiu Niang: "You dare to lie to me? The Chen family told you to come back by yourself."
Qiu Niang was struck dumb; she never expected her mistress to be so heartless.
A sense of resentment arose in her heart: "If they don't come, I won't go back."
Her aunt slapped her across the face: "Don't you understand what the Chen family means? They don't want you at all."
Qiu Niang never expected that her aunt would dare to hit her. She covered her face and looked at her uncle with tears in her eyes: "How could you bully me like this?"
The bullying was yet to come.
The next day, the aunt threw Qiu Niang into the woodshed.
Originally, she was supposed to live in the best house in the family, which her uncle and aunt had specially vacated.
She definitely doesn't deserve to live there now.
As for food and clothing, we can only pick up what others don't want.
Since arriving at the Chen family, Qiu Niang had never experienced such torment, and her face became noticeably thinner within a few days.
She no longer wanted to argue with Gu Shijiu and begged her aunt to let her go.
But her aunt was certain that the Chen family didn't want her and refused to bring her to town.
Not only that, but seeing that Qiu Niang could no longer be swindled out of a single penny, she secretly hatched a plan.
Recently, Qiu Niang's uncle's house has been bustling with visitors.
Whenever guests came, Qiu Niang would be released from the woodshed, but she felt no joy at all.
The way these guests looked at her was as if they wanted to devour her whole.
Qiu Niang was right; her aunt was planning to find her a husband.
After repeated comparisons, they finally settled on a local gentry from the neighboring town.
Qiu Niang is beautiful and grew up with Mrs. Chen, so she certainly shouldn't be given away to a peasant.
After meeting Qiu Niang, the local gentry was willing to offer fifty silver dollars as a betrothal gift, which was a huge sum of money.
Nowadays, people don't like to use silver for transactions; silver dollars dominate the market.
Fifty silver dollars is enough for the family's son to get married, and maybe even enough to buy a few more acres of land.
My aunt thought this business was worth doing.
Qiu Niang was unaware of this.
But she was very perceptive and had already realized what her uncle's family wanted to do.
Her cousin gradually became less respectful towards her, and would occasionally touch her inappropriately.
If my aunt hadn't stopped me every time, I can't even imagine what would have happened.
As for her cousins, they disliked her in every way.
Not only that, she also had to work.
Her aunt complained that she used too much oil when cooking, so she wouldn't let her do any of the cooking; she had to do all the other chores.
Within a few days, my delicate hands became rough.