She did not want Madam Feng to fall ill again due to excessive longing.
Physical illnesses can be treated with medicine, but a sickness of the heart is the hardest to cure.
If a person gets stuck in a rut over something and sinks into sorrow, unable to pull themselves out, it becomes difficult to have the energy to face the days ahead.
Grandma treats her well, so she naturally hopes that Grandma can be well too.
"You... are you telling the truth?" Madam Feng's eyes lit up instantly, like dust-covered pearls suddenly being polished. "Is it possible that your Father is still alive? Then... then what about your Grandfather?"
She wept with joy, her tears falling like beads from a broken string, yet she wore a smile of relief.
All these years, she had often resented her husband in her heart.
But if her husband and Younger son were truly trapped somewhere, then he did not intentionally abandon them.
This thought took root in her heart like a seed; he must also be longing to come home.
Madam Feng's back seemed to straighten a little, the wrinkles on her face smoothed out, and she revealed the first heartfelt smile she had shown in years. "As long as they are still alive, even if they cannot return, I hope they are doing well."
"They will. Grandfather and Father will definitely come back alive," Jiang Tang said earnestly, meeting Madam Feng's gaze.
Even though she knew this hope was slim, she was willing to keep telling this lie.
Because she had categorized Madam Feng as a relative, she did not want her to be crushed by sorrow.
"Grandma, you still have me and A Yi," she said, holding Madam Feng's withered hand, the warmth of her palm passing through the rough skin. "For our sake, you must live well and let us show filial piety to you."
"Good, good," Madam Feng nodded repeatedly, wiped away her tears, and suddenly, as if remembering something, patted Jiang Tang's hand. "Grandma will definitely live well and watch you and A Yi start your own families. You are already fifteen this year. In a few days, when my health improves, I will go ask Matchmaker Wang if there are any steady and honest young men. Grandma will help you look around."
Jiang Tang was stunned. This topic changed way too fast! How did it end up on the subject of marriage? This was a disguised way of urging her to marry!
She was only fifteen. In modern times, she would still be a middle school student, at the age when parents strictly guard against puppy love. How did she end up at the age of being urged to marry here?
Jiang Tang muttered to herself: with her small frame, thin as a bean sprout, how could she possibly get married?
"Grandma..." Jiang Tang just wanted to say that she did not want to get married.
A crisp voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate, interrupting her: "Grandma Feng, who are you trying to find a match for?"
It was Song Jiuxi.
She and Su Lianxue stood side by side outside the fence, while Jiang Yi followed behind holding a headlamp, the beam stretching their shadows long, reaching all the way into the courtyard.
Earlier, Jiang Tang was afraid that the two girls would not be safe walking at night, so she specifically asked Jiang Yi to go to the village entrance to support them.
As soon as Madam Feng saw them, the cloud of sorrow on her face instantly dissipated, and she waved with a smile: "It's Jiuxi and Lianxue, come in quickly. I was just saying I would look around for A'Tang. She is already fifteen; if we don't settle it soon, I'm afraid she will become an old maid."
Jiang Tang·······
It was getting more and more ridiculous. She was still a budding flower; how could she be an old maid? The marriage concepts of these ancient people were truly strange.
"I'm not getting married." Jiang Tang hurried to state her position, taking the opportunity to use the "old grandpa in her dream" as a shield. "The old grandpa in my dream said that a girl is not truly an adult until she is eighteen, and twenty is the suitable age for marriage. I still want to earn more money and make our family life better first."
Song Jiuxi immediately chimed in to help: "Exactly, our A'Tang is still young. If anyone is to marry, Jiang Yi should marry first. My A'Tang is beautiful as a flower, a great beauty, no need to worry. Unlike Jiang Yi, who is as dark as charcoal; when it's dark, you can't even tell he's a person."
"I'm a man, why would I be the one marrying into a family?" Jiang Yi held the headlamp, the beam shining right on his face, and he glared at Song Jiuxi indignantly.
"With your charcoal-like appearance, I'm afraid no one would be willing to marry you. You'll just have to marry into someone else's family then," Song Jiuxi raised an eyebrow, teasing him on purpose.
"Song Jiuxi······" Jiang Yi was so angry he stomped his feet. "Every day you are either hitting me or snapping at me."
"Hey, I'm here, I'm not deaf," Song Jiuxi replied nonchalantly, making a face at him. "Grandma Feng is in poor health and can't handle your loud voice, keep it down."
"If I can't find a wife, you won't be able to get married either!" Jiang Yi held it in for a long time before throwing out a harsh remark.
Song Jiuxi shrugged her shoulders indifferently: "If I can't get married, I'll just marry you. Then I'll annoy you every day just like now, and see what you can do about it. Anyway, besides marrying me, no one else would be willing to marry someone who says I can't get married."
Jiang Yi was so angry his face turned red, and he couldn't speak for a long time, only stiffening his neck to glare at her: "Song Jiuxi, are... are you even a girl? Have you no shame!"
"If I'm not a girl, are you?" Song Jiuxi laughed even more happily.
The two of them argued back and forth lively, and Madam Feng was so disrupted by them that she forgot most of what she wanted to say.
She could only shake her head with a smile: "Alright, alright, stop arguing. How old are you two, still fighting. Jiuxi, you too, this kind of joke shouldn't be made."
Her tone carried a hint of seriousness: "If outsiders heard this, it would ruin your reputation. Which family would dare to come and propose in the future?"
Song Jiuxi, however, indifferently lifted her chin and leaned against the door frame: "It's better if they don't dare to propose. My Father said he could support me for a lifetime, and I never thought about getting married anyway."
Jiang Tang and Su Lianxue looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.
They knew Song Jiuxi's temperament too well; she looked carefree, but in reality, her thoughts were very clear.
She didn't really not want to get married; she was just afraid that Grandma Feng would keep urging Jiang Tang, so she deliberately diverted the topic to herself.
Madam Feng was blocked by Song Jiuxi's words and sighed: "You children, you really don't understand the thoughts of adults."
She turned to look at Jiang Tang, her tone softening: "A'Tang, the matter of marriage is not urgent, let's put it aside for now. But you must remember, a girl always needs to find support; you cannot always work so hard."
"Grandma, a woman doesn't necessarily need to get married to have support," Jiang Tang looked at Madam Feng and said earnestly. "Think about it, for a family like ours, what kind of in-laws could we marry into? If the other party dislikes our family for being poor and marries me off to work like an ox or a horse, would that life be better than now?"
Madam Feng opened her mouth, wanting to say "there will always be good families."
But she was blocked by what Jiang Tang said next.
"If getting married is just to serve parents-in-law and please a husband, then why bother? Does our family not have Elders to show filial piety to? You are right here, Grandma; I will serve you well. Why bother going to serve someone else's Elders and living by their expressions?"
She paused, thinking of the women in the village who were mistreated by their husbands' families, and her tone became even firmer: "If it's just to go to a husband's house to work, then there's even less need. Does our family not have work to do? Why bother going to another place to continue suffering?"
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