In short, this meal was eaten uneasily.
Both Yang Dahai and Zhang Minghua wore unhappy expressions.
Yang Peimin was going to stay at her parent’s house for one night and would share a bed with Yang Peiying.
After Yang Peimin arrived, and under her deliberate spread of goodwill, her sister talked more than usual in her presence.
The two sisters sat on the kang chatting, with Yang Peiying knitting a scarf in her hands.
Yang Peimin asked about the recent situation at home.
Yang Peiying told her, "We’ve run out of fine grains at home, and only some coarse grains like buckwheat, cornmeal, and rice bran are left. Mother said the team’s debt hasn’t been paid off yet, so we’re making do with coarse grain bun... The elder sister-in-law complained about not having enough breast milk, and Xiao Bao has gotten skinny... The third brother grumbled that the elder sister-in-law caused so much trouble that we couldn’t even eat meat... The elder sister-in-law said all the family’s money went into the third sister’s dowry..."
Yang Peimin rubbed her forehead, in sum, it was mutual complaining.
She felt sorry for Yang Dahai and his wife, who had gone gray dealing with this group of adversaries.
"Actually, I think it’s not as if we cannot eat. We’ve survived before. We still have three meals a day in our house, and I’ve never gone hungry... Cousin Peidi from Uncle’s family eats only twice a day, and she is often so hungry at night that she can’t sleep. She gets up in the middle of the night to guzzle water and accidentally spilled it on Peicang when it was dark, causing him to cry. Then the third sister-in-law got up and beat Cousin Peidi..."
Yang Peimin was silent; she could imagine that happening.
She was also pleased with Yang Peiying’s contentment and sense of stability, "Right, our family is already quite good. When you look around, there are many who are worse off than us. Father and mother have worked hard for us all their lives, and now, in their old age, they still have to endure these complaints."
Yang Peiying nodded, "Mother heard about this and deliberately starved the elder sister-in-law and third brother for a day. She said if they complained about the food not being good enough, they should try to earn it themselves... Afterward, they both stopped making those complaints..."
Yang Peimin blinked. Okay then, her mother had her ways.
Tonight, probably because they saw her coming and they finally got to eat meat, plus there were two pregnant women, some people’s innermost thoughts became more active.
Yang Peiying confided in her secretly, "I know mother wants everyone to understand that we really have no money at home and that we need to save whatever we can. She also said, she also said that I need to start saving for my dowry again..." She said bashfully, blushing and looking down.
Yang Peimin chuckled as she watched her, "Hmm, it’s time to start saving." Yang Peiying was two years younger than her, and at seventeen this year, following the local custom of early marriage, it wouldn’t be long before her marriage would be on the agenda too.
Yang Peiying shook her head, "I don’t need a dowry. Marriage isn’t good either..." While saying this, she lifted the scarf she was knitting, "Xiaoqun asked me to knit this scarf. She is getting married in a few days; she sneakily brought it to me for knitting. I didn’t know how, but she taught me... She hopes to wear it on her wedding day."
Zhang Minghua shifted her gaze to the knitting in her hands, no wonder she had been puzzling over it, knitting and unraveling in turns—she was still not very skilled. She took the scarf, which was seven or eight centimeters long, and gave it a look, her curiosity piqued, "Why did she ask you to knit this?"
"Sister, have you forgotten? Her stepmother’s biased. If she sees it, she’ll definitely take it away. Right now, Xiaoqun has finally been introduced to a potential suitor by her great aunt. Although the family isn’t providing her with a dowry, she still hopes it won’t look too shabby. The yarn is leftovers from her cousin, given to her so that she can make a short scarf."
Yang PeiMin wiped her sweat; she hardly remembered those little sisters of her sister. Bending over, she could only compensate by checking and fixing the mistakes in the scarf, which was being knit with the most basic garter stitch. "You go in from underneath, then hook it back up, ... Right, once you get the hang of it, you can knit quickly without even looking."
Yang Peiying tried it for herself and nodded repeatedly, "Sister, how do you know this?"
Yang PeiMin turned her face away to hide her guilty expression, "My elder sister-in-law taught me." Actually, she had a whim in her previous life to knit scarves with intricate, aesthetically pleasing patterns and a sweater with the Lovebrand for her family. It was a short-lived passion, as the knitting process was long and tedious. After a while, she had put it down, now only remembering two or three knitting techniques.
Although she had learned a little, she had managed to figure out how to knit baby shoes. She hadn’t intended them as gifts, just thought they were cute, knit them for fun, and used them to hold small loose items.
But now it was March, and the snow had melted; there was no place for woolen products, and even if she wanted to try selling them, it wouldn’t be feasible.
"Now it’s much faster, and I can rest easy after I finish knitting this for her... Sigh, I just don’t know if she’ll be despised by her in-laws for not having a dowry," muttered Yang Peiying.
Yang PeiMin couldn’t help with that but tried to reassure her, "It depends on her. If she’s independent, it won’t matter whether she has a dowry or not. If she’s successful, she can earn back her dowry on her own and leave the in-laws with nothing to criticize." She knew that in their area, although brides’ prices and dowries weren’t strict requirements, they were still a matter of face, and some used them as a benchmark for comparison.
The fact that Xiaoqun’s family accepted a bride price from the groom’s side but refused to even allow a quilt for Xiaoqun to bring along was quite frustrating.
"How can she earn it? Once married, working the fields and earning work points are expected of her, and others won’t think it’s her own doing," Yang Peiying said, looking up, somewhat puzzled.
Yang PeiMin smiled, "Do you want to earn your own dowry?"
Seeing Yang Peiying even more puzzled, she continued, "We could make some snacks and sell them at the Cooperative Society, earn a bit of money. Accumulating it, we wouldn’t need to ask our parents for money anymore, no matter if we’re at our marital home or with our in-laws, we’ll stand tall."
Yang Peiying instinctively objected, "Sister, didn’t Dad say we shouldn’t engage in that kind of speculation..."
"Don’t worry, we’re not selling stealthily. It’s like how we take eggs to the Vice Grain Station; selling foodstuffs at the Cooperative Society. As long as they accept our goods, no one will report us."
Still uncertain, Yang Peiying questioned, "Sister, can we really do that, would they accept our goods?"
Yang PeiMin reassured her, "They will!"
"Think about it, Yingzi, our family still owes money to the village team. Everyone has some complaints about food, and although Mother can handle them, it’s only temporary. No matter what, Father and Mother are still worried and distressed. We might as well try. If it works out, we could reduce the burden on our parents and also earn some pocket money for ourselves, not letting others look down on us."
"Didn’t your elder sister-in-law casually tell you to help look after Xiao Bao tonight? Wasn’t it enough that you took care of her during her confinement? Look at your hands, they’ve been washing so many of her diapers in the cold weather, and these cuts haven’t even healed. While helping her is justifiable and lessens Mother’s burden, she’s out of confinement now. How can she continue to boss you around as if you were a servant?"