“Look at Old Madam Huang’s face—it’s like someone overturned a dye vat on her. All those colors are really something.”
“Her daughter-in-law brought the family’s god of wealth from her maiden home into the household, yet this fool dragged things down from behind. In just one night, she drove the girl out. She must feel as miserable as if she’d swallowed shit.”
“Qiu Mengyuan doting on his niece is one thing, but Huang Dachao is someone who always schemes for profit. He never lifts a finger without benefit. Bringing his niece here must’ve been part of some grand plan. But before his scheme could even warm up, his own mother and children smashed it apart.”
“If you ask me, the fact that Yuanche’s wife could wear such an expensive wedding outfit to the ceremony means her family probably isn’t short on money at all. They definitely don’t care about that two thousand yuan.”
“I think so too. Her family absolutely couldn’t have been so poor they were drowning in debt. Even if they really owed money, just selling that set of wedding clothes and jewelry would fetch far more than two thousand yuan. There’d be no need for Qiu Mengyuan to cover for them.”
“Didn’t Bigmouth Yu just say earlier that her full set of silver jewelry weighs 32.8 jin—not 32.8 grams? Last time Old Hao’s family bought a silver ring, they said silver cost 2.8 yuan per gram.”
“Xiangzi, you’re good at math. Hurry and calculate how much her jewelry is worth!”
“One jin is 500 grams. So 32.8 jin is 16,400 grams. At 2.8 yuan per gram, that’s a total of 45,920 yuan,” the teenage boy who’d been called out quickly calculated in his head.
“Hiss! Forty-six thousand!”
The moment that number came out, all the villagers attending the wedding banquet widened their eyes in shock. Every gaze in the courtyard stuck firmly to Qiu Yinong.
The newlywed couple heard the conversation clearly as well, and Cheng Yuanche’s brows furrowed slightly.
Qiu Yinong also noticed everyone staring at her. She sensed the jealousy and hidden emotions in many of their looks, so she slowly stood and explained:
“The jewelry I’m wearing is Miao silver. It’s different from the silver commonly seen around here. Its silver content is much lower, so the price difference is quite large. It mostly circulates within the Miao community and is used for making traditional ethnic jewelry.”
“You probably haven’t met many Miao people before, so you don’t know much about our customs. Actually, this kind of jewelry is very common where we come from. Almost every Miao woman owns a set, and they’re all beautifully crafted.”
“My full set may look extravagant and gorgeous, but the material cost only adds up to a little over one thousand yuan. The real expense comes from the labor. Since every piece is handcrafted, it takes a long time and requires highly skilled silversmiths.”
She said “just a little over one thousand yuan” lightly, yet those words soothed the restless hearts around her.
Compared to forty-six thousand, one thousand-plus yuan sounded far more acceptable. If they had belonged to the same ethnic group, they felt that gritting their teeth and saving up might let them afford one too. Somehow, their hearts balanced out.
“Yinong, we rarely meet people from ethnic minorities, and we’ve never seen jewelry this beautiful before. Let us take a closer look later, okay?” Yuan Yi said with a smile, speaking to her warmly after bonding over gossip earlier.
“Sure.”
Qiu Yinong agreed readily and greeted everyone with a smile. “Everyone, eat and drink well first.”
She sat back down on the stool. A peeled shrimp was suddenly brought to her lips.
Qiu Yinong smiled at the man beside her. “Thank you. I can do it myself.”
When she smiled, she was dazzlingly beautiful. Cheng Yuanche even had the urge to drag her into the house and hide her away. Still, he insisted on feeding the shrimp to her.
“I’ll peel them for you. Don’t dirty that pretty wedding dress.”
“All right then.”
Qiu Yinong stopped acting shy and bit into the shrimp. After one bite, she nodded repeatedly.
“It’s delicious—so sweet.”
“Have you never eaten sea shrimp before?” Cheng Yuanche continued feeding her.
“No.”
Qiu Yinong shook her head. Looking at the dishes on the nearby table, her eyes sparkled brightly.
“Our hometown’s transportation isn’t convenient, so we can’t buy seafood. We don’t even have dried kelp. Out of all the dishes on this table, I’ve only eaten pork and vegetables before. I’ve never tried the others.”
“Yuanche’s wife, then what do you usually eat?” a middle-aged man at the table asked curiously.
“Hello, Uncle. Our meat dishes are mainly pork, chicken, duck, and mutton. Actually, our region produces a lot of cattle and sheep, but we have unique beliefs and customs. In our Miao villages, cows are considered auspicious creatures, so we normally don’t eat beef. Only during sacrificial ceremonies do we slaughter cattle for offerings and blessings, after which the whole village shares the meat.”
“These days, marriages between ethnic minorities and Han people are becoming more common. Many young women marry outside the villages, and some families move into county towns to live among Han communities. Gradually, their eating habits change too. But those who remain in the Miao villages still live relatively traditional lives.”
Cheng Yuanfeng and the other men were helping serve dishes while listening to her speak. Curious, he asked, “Sister-in-law, do you really live deep in the mountains?”
“Yes, deep within endless mountains.”
Qiu Yinong answered openly, her bright smile widening.
“Our village really is hidden high in the mountains. Everywhere around us are continuous mountain ranges stretching beyond sight. Transportation isn’t convenient, but the scenery is unbelievably beautiful. The landscapes look like paintings. It’s also an area where many ethnic minorities live together. There are lots of people from other ethnic groups nearby too, so the population is actually quite large.”
“Maybe because our cultural beliefs are different, we don’t feel as much pressure in life as Han people do. There are especially many centenarians in our villages.”
“Also, we live off the mountains, and the mountains are rich in resources. There are wild vegetables all year round, and plenty of game too—wild boars, pheasants, rabbits, muntjac deer, and more. As long as someone is good at hunting, a family never lacks meat.”
“We also have abundant freshwater resources, lots of hilly farmland, and fertile soil. We grow crops and medicinal herbs.”
“In recent years, more and more Chinese medicinal herbs are being cultivated, and prices keep rising every year. The government sends Han technicians to guide the planting, and pharmaceutical factories come to purchase the herbs too. Every household earns a fairly stable and decent income each year.”
“There are also many mines nearby—gold mines, silver mines, coal mines, as well as lead, zinc, and copper mines. As long as people are hardworking and not afraid of hardship, the young laborers in the villages can always find temporary work during the off-season. Life is actually quite good, unlike the rumors about people surviving on tree bark and grass roots.”
“And every ethnic group has its own unique inherited crafts. For example, our Miao people are famous for silverwork, weaving, batik dyeing, embroidery, and brewing wine. Most Miao women know at least one or two of these skills, and they can earn daily living expenses from them.”
After hearing her explanation, the villagers of Wankou Village instantly lost all their misconceptions about mountain life.
How was this some poor, remote backwater?
It was clearly a hidden paradise.
“Sister-in-law, how many of those skills do you know?” her second brother-in-law, Cheng Yuanchi, asked.
Qiu Yinong gave a playful smile.
“My family used to be fairly well-off. I grew up pampered like honey in a jar. I was good at eating, drinking, having fun, singing, dancing, and playing instruments—but I never seriously learned the other skills.”
Everyone had already labeled her a “young lady from a wealthy family.” After hearing this, they were completely certain.
The Qiu family must once have been very rich. While her elders were still alive, they had protected and spoiled her dearly. She had probably never worried about making a living and had grown up living the refined life of a wealthy family’s cherished daughter.