Chapter 351: Chapter 351 Perseverance
Yang PeiMin felt that Zhang Minghua was being too assertive and hurriedly said, “Mom, let Yingzi take her time and see what she thinks. Yingzi, tell us your thoughts. We are your closest family. If you can’t even talk to us, who can you talk to? If you keep quiet, we’ll never know what you think or consider your feelings.”
Yang Peiying’s eyes reddened, and she nodded slowly before she finally spoke, “I understand, sister. I was thinking earlier that dad and mom, and everyone, really liked him. I thought the fact that he peeked wasn’t a big deal. If it were me, I might have looked too. And it’s not often someone comes to propose to me; I was really happy because I’ve always felt that no one would want to marry me, someone like me. I hadn’t expected the Yu Family to be quite agreeable. If they don’t mind, I don’t either. Then there’s the thing with Peidi. She knelt down and begged me, saying she couldn’t go on living if Third Aunt made her marry that old man—she’d rather die. I couldn’t bear to see her die. When we were kids, she secretly helped me out several times, taking beatings from Third Aunt…Whether she’s scheming against me or not, her past actions towards me were genuine, and compared to that Yu person, they are more significant…”
“After I agreed to help her, I started to think it over and realized that the man surnamed Yu really isn’t suitable for me. The more I think about him peeking, the more I feel that he wouldn’t like me. I know I’m not pretty; I even had nicknames given by peers before. Even if he marries me following his parents’ wishes, he might treat me poorly later…I’m not afraid of hardship, but, I just wish for someone who could treat me like dad treats mom, like my brother-in-law treats my sister. I might not find someone like that, but right now, I just don’t want to accept Mr. Yu…”
Zhang Minghua was stunned.
Yang PeiMin understood her meaning, which was simple: regardless of whether Yang Peidi was genuinely scheming or not, she was using this match to repay a debt of gratitude.
This pure and sincere sister.
Her long explanation was simply to reinforce her dislike for Mr. Yu, intending to pass on the suitor to Yang Peidi and to convince Zhang Minghua more effectively. Who says Yang Peiying is naive? She has her cute little schemes too.
Zhang Minghua felt a mix of emotions and asked her again, “You really want to give up on Mr. Yu? You won’t regret it later?”
Yang Peiying nodded decisively, “Mom, I won’t regret it.”
Zhang Minghua also nodded, her expression turning cold, “I hope you truly won’t regret it. If later you marry someone from the countryside, and the living conditions are much worse than those in town, don’t blame your parents.”
Yang Peiying nodded again, “Mom, I won’t. It’s my own decision; how could I blame you?”
“That’s good to know.”
Yang PeiMin, seeing that the mother and daughter had settled the matter themselves, suddenly remembered another problem, “Hey, we are just assuming here. What did Peidi say? She wouldn’t think that the match given to her is hers by right, would she? If the Yu Family doesn’t favor her, she won’t blame us, will she?”
These matters needed to be settled in advance to avoid later backbiting.
Zhang Minghua scoffed, “I don’t care about her. Since she has the gall to take, she should be prepared to face the consequences. But you reminded me of something, the Yu Family’s visit is somewhat known publicly, whether Yang Peidi succeeds or not, the gossip will be harsh. Does Yingzi not want to go out anymore? No, even if we don’t want Mr. Yu, we can’t let Yang Peidi be with them!”
Yang Peiying grew anxious, “Mom, I’m not afraid of gossip…”
Zhang Minghua raised her hand as if to strike and, seeing her daughter’s fearless expression, felt so angry she wanted to throttle herself. Yet, the slap never fell. “All this gossip, it’s nothing new to our family, is it? Wasn’t your sister talked about? What was it like for her back then? Did anyone come proposing? Those fellow peers were all kept far away by their families. If it weren’t for your brother-in-law, her marriage would have been a huge problem. Do you really want to end up unable to marry too?”
Yang PeiMin: “…” (Accidental collateral damage.)
Yang Peiying softly said, “Then let them talk, it will pass eventually. I know what they’ll say—it’s always about how ugly I am and how no one fancies me…”
“Even knowing they’d say…”
“I’ve been talked about since childhood…”
“Enough, enough, Mom, don’t be angry. Dad and the others are coming back. Yingzi, go fetch a cup of hot water for mom.”
Yang Peiying hurriedly left.
Zhang Minghua pointed at Yang Peiying and said to her eldest daughter, “She’s going to be the death of me. I’ll have a word with your father later!”
“Right, consulting dad is best.”
It wasn’t long before Yang Dahai and the others really did return.
Before they even entered the courtyard, their loud voices mixed with laughter, indicating they were in good spirits, could already be heard from inside the house.
Zhang Minghua quickly got off the kang and picked up her grandson, eager to go out and see, “Your dad and the others are back. It looks like they’ve brought back some fish.”
Yang PeiMin also stood up, “I’m going to have a look too; it’s been so long since I’ve had fish, I can’t help but salivate at the thought.”
“Take it easy… Yingzi, help your sister.”
“No need, no need, it’s not like I’m an old woman.”
The few of them went out to the yard and indeed saw Yang Peijun carrying six big fat fish in one hand, and Yang Dahai along with Shen Yiguang were just a step behind.
Zhang Minghua’s previously angry face now broke into a smile, “Oh, the fish are truly big.”
“Exactly. Tonight, we can enjoy fish, look there are twelve in total, enough to indulge.”
In the kitchen, three daughters-in-law of the Shen family also came out, all smiles.
Yang PeiMin’s eyes sparkled as she envisioned dishes like braised fish, steamed fish, sweet and sour fish, fried fish, and fish soup. Shen Yiguang looked up and caught her dreamy expression, nearly unable to suppress a cough.
While in front of him, his father-in-law had already approached Yang PeiMin and her sisters, glanced at his wife and daughter, “It’s cold, let’s head inside.” But seeing that the children were still glued watching the fish discussions and not willing to go in yet, he gave up on them.
Zhang Minghua complied, after many years of marriage, her husband could read her face well. She followed him inside.
After sitting down on the kang, Yang Dahai asked Zhang Minghua, “Did something happen again?”
As she brought up the topic, Zhang Minghua’s mood turned somber again. She personally poured him a cup of tea and said, “It’s about your younger daughter again.”
Only the two of them were in the room now, so Zhang Minghua quietly recounted Yang Peiying’s ordeal.
Suddenly, Yang Dahai slammed his teacup down forcefully.