It took Arui two full days to finish making Qin Lie’s new outfit.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, and the two chi of dark blue fabric she’d bought had been used up perfectly.
The stitches were neat and even, the fit neither too loose nor too tight. Qin Lie had never cared much about what he wore, yet the moment he put it on, he felt that this set of clothes was somehow more comfortable than anything he’d ever owned.
“How is it? Does it fit?”
Arui still held a needle between her fingers, ready to make adjustments if anything felt uncomfortable.
Qin Lie swallowed, his throat suddenly tight.
“It fits perfectly. Thank you.”
Since childhood, aside from the few little jackets his birth mother had sewn for him while he was still wrapped in swaddling clothes, no one had ever made clothing for him.
His warm breath brushed against Arui’s ear.
Her cheeks instantly grew hot. Pressing her lips together, she shook her head.
“Why are you thanking me? You’ve given me a place to live and food to eat. I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
Without Qin Lie, she had no idea where she would be now. Considering how much the Qin clan had despised her, wherever she ended up certainly wouldn’t have been anywhere good.
She truly was grateful to him.
Qin Lie watched her quietly for a long moment.
The sun had nearly disappeared behind the mountains, leaving only the last traces of evening light. Yet the look in his eyes seemed even warmer than the sunset itself.
Arui’s heart pounded wildly, unsure of what he intended to do.
Fortunately, after a moment, he simply looked away.
Qin Lie stepped outside for a while. When he returned, he placed two silver ingots into her hands.
“Buy whatever the house needs.”
The weight of the silver startled her. Her breathing almost stopped.
“I… I have money of my own.”
Silver.
She had lived her whole life without ever holding something so valuable.
She cupped the ingots carefully, almost afraid they might break if she dropped them.
“Keep your own money for yourself. If you run out, ask me.”
Then, after a brief pause, knowing full well that someone as reserved as Arui would never ask, he added,
“I’ll give you more at the beginning of every month.”
“No, no, this is already far too much!”
She grew anxious.
Their family wasn’t wealthy. Two taels of silver could easily support an ordinary household for an entire year. What Qin Lie had just handed her was at least five taels. Even if they ate fish and meat every single day, it would still be impossible to spend it all in a month.
She had assumed that because he lived in such a run-down house, he had very little savings.
Who would have guessed he’d managed to save so much?
Then again, Qin Lie was strong and capable. Just a few days ago, he’d carried home an entire wild boar. Selling that alone in town would have earned six or seven taels of silver.
If other people knew he was this well-off, matchmakers would probably wear out the doorstep trying to introduce women to him.
Even if he truly couldn’t father children, there would still be plenty of women willing to marry him.
Not to mention…
Brother Lie was genuinely a good man.
Arui covered her burning face with both hands before carefully putting the silver away. Only after the heat in her cheeks faded did she finally step back outside.
…
It took her another five days to finish the four embroidered pouches.
The patterns were cheerful and attractive, and every stitch was delicate and precise. Shopkeeper Su paid her one hundred copper coins for each pouch. Including the five copper coins reimbursed for the fabric, she now had a total of four hundred and twenty copper coins.
Compared to the five taels Qin Lie had given her, it wasn’t much.
But every single coin had been earned through her own hard work, one stitch at a time.
Seeing Arui’s slightly reddened eyes, Shopkeeper Su couldn’t help reminding her,
“A few days ago, your mother and older sister also brought embroidery to sell. Their needlework isn’t nearly as good as yours, so their handkerchiefs don’t fetch a good price. You’d better keep quiet about how much money you’re making.”
It was easy to grow used to a comfortable life, but much harder to return to hardship.
With the Zhou Family losing an important source of income, they might very well start targeting Arui again.
Fortunately, Arui was already married. Whatever money she earned had nothing to do with her birth family anymore.
Shopkeeper Su only intended it as a casual reminder.
What she didn’t know was that Arui’s situation was far more complicated than most.
Her warning couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I understand. Thank you.”
Clutching her money pouch tightly, Arui smiled gratefully.
No matter what happened, she couldn’t allow anyone to take away the money she’d earned.
From the moment her parents insisted on marrying her into the Qin Family, her heart had already gone cold toward them.
“What are you thanking me for? Just embroider a few more pouches for me, and that’ll make me happy.”
Shopkeeper Su had truly come to admire the young woman.
Arui learned quickly, worked diligently, and the embroidery on these pouches was even finer than that of many professional embroiderers in the county. Paying only one hundred copper coins each was practically taking advantage of her.
“All right.”
After selling the pouches, Arui bought several more chi of fabric.
Cui Zhu’s family had recently fluffed a fresh batch of cotton, so she decided not to buy any in town. Besides, she wasn’t strong enough to carry everything home herself.
Leaving the embroidery shop, she stopped by the butcher’s stall and bought two jin of pork.
Money was no longer a problem for the household, and she didn’t want to keep pinching pennies.
Besides, Qin Lie was such a large, sturdy man. He burned through so much energy every day that he needed proper meals with enough meat and fat to keep up his strength.
Carrying her purchases, she took the small path back to the village.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she spotted someone standing outside the rundown house.
The woman had a long, narrow face, heavy makeup, and lips painted a striking shade of bright red.
Before Arui even got close, the woman smiled.
“You must be Qin Song’s wife. I knocked for quite a while, but no one answered. Turns out you’d gone into town.”
Her eyes immediately settled on the fabric and pork in Arui’s hands.
The calculating look in them made Arui instinctively uncomfortable.
She quietly shifted the bundles behind her back.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Lihua from the village chief’s family. Just call me Sister Lihua.”
The woman behaved as though they had known each other for years and immediately reached out to help carry her things.
“I just returned to my parents’ home, and I don’t really have anyone to spend time with. I figured we’re both in similar situations, so we’d probably get along.”
Only yesterday had she learned that Qin Lie was living under the same roof as his younger brother’s widow.
They might technically be sister-in-law and elder brother-in-law, but living together day after day, who could guarantee nothing would happen between them?
Lihua was a woman, but she understood men well enough.
Her former husband had been completely incapable in bed, yet he still clung to her constantly.
Someone as powerfully built as Qin Lie…
How could he possibly be any different?
Especially when Arui was so soft and beautiful, exactly the kind of woman men found irresistible.
Lihua bit down on her lip.
She had deliberately dressed up today, hoping to outshine Arui.
Instead, standing beside her, she felt completely overshadowed.
Arui had only heard Lihua’s name a few days earlier. Now she was finally meeting her in person.
Avoiding the woman’s hand, she greeted her politely.
“Sister Lihua.”
Although both Lihua and Cui Zhu were naturally outgoing people, Arui simply couldn’t bring herself to like Lihua.
In fact, she didn’t even want her entering the house.
“Our home is very simple. There’s really nothing I can offer you. Why don’t you come another day instead?”
Cui Zhu had told her that if there was something she didn’t want to do, she should refuse directly.
This was the first time Arui had ever turned someone away.
Her words came out awkwardly, but at least she managed to make herself clear.
Unfortunately, Lihua had an exceptionally thick skin.
She had already decided that Arui was easy to bully.
“Oh, that’s all right. We’re both country folk. There’s no need to fuss over hospitality. I just wanted someone to chat with.”
Without waiting for permission, she followed Arui inside.
Arui’s hands were full, making it impossible to stop her. She could only watch helplessly as the woman walked through the door.
Lihua strolled around as though the place belonged to her, inspecting every corner.
She had already looked around from outside earlier.
Calling the Qin Family’s home poor was almost an understatement.
When she had married Zhao Shibo, although he had been useless in the bedroom, the Zhao family had been one of the wealthiest households in Xiaohe Village.
Otherwise, she never would have married into that family.
Whether as a daughter or a wife, Lihua had never suffered hardship.
The thought of marrying Qin Lie someday and living in this dilapidated house made her expression darken.
“Isn’t Qin Lie supposed to be an excellent hunter? Why hasn’t he repaired the house?”
She had heard that skilled hunters could earn more than ten taels of silver in a single day.
“I don’t know.”
Arui carried the purchases inside and set them down.
By now, even the polite smile had disappeared from her face.
She had never truly disliked anyone before.
But deep down, she found herself genuinely unable to like Lihua.