Wen Wan never imagined Song Wei would agree directly, leaving her unsure how to react.
"Aren’t we going to listen to a lecture? Get up first." Song Wei said, reaching out to her, but realizing his abruptness, he withdrew his hand naturally, without seeming deliberate.
Wen Wan’s cheeks felt a bit hot, feeling like an innocent child in front of him.
As she stood up, she pretended to brush off the dust on her pants, even if her disguise was good, the subtle thoughts under that action couldn’t escape the eyes of a man who had seen everything.
Song Wei rarely chuckled.
When Wen Wan straightened up, Song Wei had already turned his back and walked straight ahead.
She patted her chest lightly, breathed a sigh of relief, and followed at a distance.
In late September, the sorghum was mature, with red tassels waving in the wind, rustling, forming walls of sorghum on both sides. Wen Wan followed behind Song Wei, stepping through, her steps uneven.
Song Wei listened to her irregular footsteps, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
When Wen Wan returned home, she saw Granny Wu had come again. The mother and daughter were talking inside, but their voices were so low that she couldn’t hear.
Wen Wan put down her basket, which contained pigweed she picked on her way home.
She got up to head towards the cow shed, quietly letting the cow out while Mrs. Zhou wasn’t paying attention, then slipped into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Before long, Wen Shun dashed in from outside, shouting, "Mom, why did you let the cow out?"
Inside, Mrs. Zhou twitched at this, immediately pulling aside the curtain to come out, "What did you say?"
Wen Shun pointed outside, urgently saying, "Our cow ran out, fighting with the big bull from Er Gou’s family, one of its horns got knocked off."
Mrs. Zhou’s face went pale, "Where is it? You quickly take me to see."
If her husband found out she stayed home all day and couldn’t even keep hold of a cow, she’d definitely get scolded tonight.
Mrs. Wu came out, seeing movement in the kitchen. She knew it was Wen Wan, wanting to ask that mute girl if she knew about the cow, but just as she reached the door, a basin of vegetable washing water came splashing out, soaking Mrs. Wu thoroughly.
Mrs. Wu jumped with anger, "You careless girl, can’t you see?"
Wen Wan seemed just aware of Mrs. Wu, stood awkwardly by the stove with a perfunctory apology on her face.
With most of her body wet, Mrs. Wu was furious, wanting to scold her, but Mrs. Zhou came in and whispered, "Mom, let it go. Why bother with a mute? If she gets upset, when Mr. Zhao comes in a few days to fetch her and she causes trouble, it’ll be hard for us to explain."
For her daughter’s sake, Mrs. Wu had to suppress her anger temporarily, snorted coldly, changed into a set of Mrs. Zhou’s old clothes, and hurried home.
In the evening, Father Wen returned home, and on hearing the cow had run loose and gotten into a fight, he indeed scolded Mrs. Zhou.
Mrs. Zhou sobbed, wiping her tears, explaining that her mother had come and they stayed indoors, unaware of when the cow ran out.
Thinking of this, she glanced at Wen Wan.
Wen Wan quietly ate her meal, ignoring Mrs. Zhou’s gaze.
Mrs. Zhou was irritated by being ignored but dared not act up in front of Father Wen, "Wan Niang, you were in the kitchen all day, didn’t see the cow run out?"
Wen Wan shook her head and turned to gesture to Father Wen.
Even after marrying into the Wen family for years, Mrs. Zhou often couldn’t understand Wen Wan’s sign language.
Father Wen understood, frowning deeply.
Wen Wan said she returned home not long before Father Wen and immediately went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, having no idea about the cow.
"If I knew it’d be such trouble, I’d rather sell it directly." Father Wen said with a stern face.
Mrs. Zhou was not pleased, "It’s just one horn, nothing major. We won’t need the cow for now, raising it till next spring would be fine."
Mrs. Zhou suspected today’s incident was linked to Wen Wan, but since Father Wen didn’t blame her, she dared not speak up, yet secretly grumbled about Wen Wan.
Before, despite not getting along, the mother and daughter could manage. Now, with new thoughts, they were eager to quickly marry off this burdensome girl for money, sparing themselves her daily presence.
Wen Wan could see her stepmother’s intentions, so she packed her things after washing up.
Father Wen sat in the small courtyard, smoking a pipe. Seeing Wen Wan carrying a bundle to leave, he stood up alarmed, "Wan Niang, what are you doing?"
Inside, Mrs. Zhou heard the commotion and pulled aside the curtain to look outside, staring blankly at Wen Wan.
Wen Wan used sign language to tell Father Wen she dreamed last night that her stepmother sold her for five taels of silver, feeling scared, she wanted to hide at her aunt’s for a couple of days.
Father Wen looked at Mrs. Zhou at the doorway with a complicated expression, then reassured Wen Wan, "Dreams always mean the opposite. Don’t overthink it. Your stepmother isn’t such a person."
Wen Wan pretended to wipe tears with her sleeve. She was so beautiful that when she "cried," Father Wen was immediately at a loss.
Mrs. Zhou, seeing Father Wen constantly watching her, was puzzled, "What are you two discussing?"
Father Wen, seeing his daughter sobbing, reluctantly explained Wen Wan’s "dream," then sat back down, tapped his pipe on the stool leg, "Even if we were so poor we couldn’t cook a meal, we wouldn’t do something so low as sell our daughter, right?"
Mrs. Zhou’s heart skipped a beat, yet she forced a smile, "Exactly, Wan Niang, don’t overthink it. Just a dream, where’s the truth in it?"
Wen Wan ignored them, crying forcefully, and eventually, under Father Wen’s pressure, Mrs. Zhou had to swear she wouldn’t ever consider such a thing, only then did Wen Wan calm down.
Wen Wan was satisfied, but the stepmother suffered, reluctantly returning the five taels of silver she already pocketed. The town’s master refused to acknowledge them, saying they breached their agreement first and demanded double repayment, or threatened to report them.
Mrs. Zhou, scared after hearing about going to the government, had her legs tremble, unwillingly seeking help from her mother, Mrs. Wu.
Granny Wu hadn’t expected the flawless plan would be ruined by that girl’s "dream," bitterly took out her long-hidden private savings, adding up to ten taels to return to the town’s master. Frustrated, she planned to go to Wen’s house to settle with Wen Wan, only to find they had a visitor.
This "guest" was none other than Matchmaker Feng, who had previously mediated for Limp Wang.
When Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Zhou entered the main room, Matchmaker Feng was talking with Father Wen. Judging by her attitude, which had taken favors from the groom’s family, she was polite, "Brother Wen, think carefully about this match. Song family’s conditions are good. Wan Niang is nominally a stepmother if she marries, but Song Yuanbao isn’t Third Son’s child, and he’s already seven years old, doesn’t need much care. If Wan Niang works hard and has a child next year, she can soon live smoothly. In my opinion, there’s no better match than this one; your Wan Niang is indeed fortunate."
Matchmaker Feng’s words almost bluntly reminded Father Wen: Take a good look at your own daughter, and consider yourself lucky Song Wei doesn’t mind she’s mute. It’s like your Wen family’s ancestral graves are smoking with luck. If you miss this marriage, you’d be nothing short of blind!
Father Wen smoke-ringed silently.