Zhou Qingcha listened to the steady breathing of her third younger sister beside her and could not help but feel that being young was truly good—free of worries.
A trace of sorrow lingered in her heart. She stared at the bright moon outside; faint light filtered through the thin paper window, hazy and indistinct.
In her heart, she understood that it would be difficult for her to marry into the town. First, her family had no relatives in town at all, so there was no connection to rely on.
Second, although the family had some money, it would never be spent on her. It could only be used to arrange a marriage in the countryside.
Thinking of this, her breathing grew heavier, and frustration welled up inside her.
How was she supposed to secure a good future for herself?
Relying on her family to plan for her was completely unreliable. Yet she truly did not want to continue living this life of facing the soil with her back bent to the sky. She had already had enough of this miserable rural existence.
Although her parents treated her fairly well—at least better than her younger sister in this household—that was only because she had skills.
When the third child was young, all the household chores had fallen on her. Only after the third child grew a little and could help did her life become easier.
This was mainly thanks to Sister-in-law Qian in the village. Her embroidery skills were excellent. When Zhou Qingcha was young, she often went to learn secretly from Sister-in-law Qian. With a sweet tongue and flattery, she managed to get a few pointers and learned how to embroider simple handkerchiefs.
Although her needlework was considered decent in Yangliu Village and people often praised her for being able to earn money for the family at such a young age, in the town it was nothing remarkable.
Each handkerchief only sold for five copper coins, and after deducting silk thread and other costs, very little remained.
Over the years, she had secretly saved some private money for her future plans.
Although her parents did not seem anxious about her elder brother’s marriage expenses, it was because once she came of age at the end of the year, that gap could be made up from her.
Her only advantage was her pretty face. Had she not often “slacked off” and quietly pushed chores onto the third child while her parents turned a blind eye?
Because the third child was not as attractive as she was. Without a good-looking face, one could not fetch a good price. So she had to carefully plan and use her advantage to find a well-off family.
In her mind, she went through the few people she had met in town, calculating who she should target next.
At the same time, the eldest son, Zhou Guanghai, was also unable to sleep.
Just thinking about the bride price demanded by his fiancée Lin Guihua’s family made him feel so troubled that he could not rest.
During the day, Guihua had secretly found him and told him her family had already asked a matchmaker to find her a husband.
He had heard it was a butcher from Dahe Village—Butcher Wu, infamous in the surrounding villages. Everyone knew his reputation: he had killed three wives in succession. Ordinary families who loved their daughters would never send them into such a den of wolves.
Butcher Wu was willing to offer twenty taels of silver in order to marry a wife.
At the time, Lin Guihua had hidden under the window eaves. Upon hearing that her parents intended to marry her into such a household, she was terrified.
At this point, she had no choice but to cling tightly to Zhou Guanghai—the only person she could rely on to escape that “wolf’s den.”
Lying in bed, Zhou Guanghai turned over repeatedly. Thinking of Guihua’s tearful confession during the day—that if she could not marry him, she would rather die—his heart wavered again.
He felt that his life was already worth it if a woman was willing to die for him.
The resolve that had once been shaken now became firm again.
But then he thought of where the money would come from. Twenty taels of silver—not twenty copper coins. If he went to town to do manual labor, he could only earn about thirty coins a day. Even without eating or drinking, it would take two years to save that much—and that was only if there was work every day.
Wasn’t this simply making things impossible for him?
If he had that kind of ability, would he still be eating coarse grains every day?
The more he thought, the less he could sleep. He kept tossing and turning, and the old wooden bed creaked loudly.
The third child, Zhou Guanghe, who shared the room, was unable to sleep because of the noise. Angrily, he complained without hesitation.
“Big brother, will you let people sleep or not? How long are you going to keep tossing around? I still have to go to the village school tomorrow!”
Zhou Guanghai, already irritated, flared up immediately upon hearing this.
“Then don’t go! Save the family some money! You’ve been studying for three or four years and still haven’t achieved anything. The whole family tightens its belts just for you!”
Zhou Guanghe shot back at once, sitting up in bed. “At least I’m better than you! Fighting with our parents over a woman—how unfilial! And it’s Father and Mother who are paying for my studies. What does it have to do with you?”
Just as the brothers were about to escalate into a fight, Mother Zhou’s stern voice came from the main room.
“Enough! Go to sleep!”
With that single command, the two brothers immediately quieted down.
The next day, the eighth day of the seventh lunar month was market day. Of course, it had nothing to do with Zhou Qingling going to town.
Zhou Qingcha took out her treasured box and removed a carefully kept hair ornament, placing it in her hair. It was her only piece of jewelry, and she valued it greatly. She only wore it when going to town.
She stood in front of the wooden basin and looked at her reflection in the water, revealing a delicate little face.
Zhou Qingcha smoothed the loose strands of hair near her temples and smiled softly. The reflection in the water smiled back, giving her a gentle and refined elegance.
She was very satisfied with her appearance. Afterward, she took the handkerchiefs and tassels she had recently embroidered, greeted Mother Zhou, and went to the village entrance to wait for the ox cart.
Since many villagers were going to the market that day, she had arranged to go with a few village girls. Mother Zhou felt at ease.
She had raised her daughter this far; it was finally time for her to repay the family. Mother Zhou did not want anything to go wrong at this point.
Otherwise, she would have accompanied her herself, but that would have cost an extra two copper coins for the cart. Life had to be lived frugally like this.
Upon arriving in town, Zhou Qingcha headed straight for the cloth shop. The handkerchiefs she embroidered were always delivered to Madam Zhang’s cloth shop, and they had been working together for two or three years.
Just as she reached the entrance of the shop, an ox cart in front suddenly turned. Startled, she fell to the ground.
The items in her basket scattered everywhere.
The man driving the cart quickly pulled the reins, not expecting someone to suddenly appear.
At that moment, Zhou Qingcha was extremely frightened—but when she lifted her face, she appeared like a tearful beauty, perfectly striking. The man’s eyes immediately lit up, as if a fire had been ignited within him.