Even though Chen Xuan looked extremely serious, Wei Nian couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at!" Chen Xuan didn't understand why Wei Nian laughed for no reason. She should be the one laughing. She had been worrying for half a year, and finally she paid off the money she owed Wei Nian. Wei Nian didn't take the money from Chen Xuan, and said with a smile, "I was just joking with you before, but I really took your money!"
"Why don't you accept it?" Chen Xuan urged Wei Nian, "Give me the IOU quickly."
"I don't know where I threw it."
"Really? Why did you throw the IOU away? If someone finds it, I won't acknowledge it." Chen Xuan still insisted on giving the money to Wei Nian, saying solemnly, "It's lost, so it's lost. If someone comes to your house with the IOU in the future, you go and pay it back, don't look for me. I'll give you this money first, and you can give me fifty cents."
"Oh, I really don't need it." Wei Nian is a real man, how could he accept the money from Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan frowned, "Do you look down on me?"
"I don't mean that." Wei Nian saw that Chen Xuan was unhappy, and was afraid that Chen Xuan would make him another mutton pie, so he quickly said, "Okay, okay, then I'll keep it first, and ask me for money when you need it." He accepted Chen Xuan's money. He wanted to find Chen Xuan's money, but he searched through her wallet and couldn't find any change. The thirteen yuan and eighty cents in his hand were to be paid to the grandfather, and it was not easy to give it to Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan said generously, "It's okay. Come back to me when you have some change." Finally, she was debt-free. After paying off her debts, Chen Xuan was in a particularly good mood. She said to Wei Nian, "You should also give the money to the old man and Ah Yin."
Wei Nian went with a smile, and took Chen Xuan's account with him to show his father.
Old Master Wei didn't check the account, he just asked his wife to collect the money and lock it in the cabinet. He didn't say much, just said to Wei Nian, "Your wife has been married for so long, and I see she has never made new clothes. Take two fresh fabrics from the cabinet and ask her to make two sets of clothes by herself."
Old Mrs. Wei purred her lips but didn't say anything.
Wei Nian took three or five kinds of colorful materials from the counter and gave them to Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan was shocked and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Dad asked me to get some fabrics from the counter to make clothes for you. Ah Yin and my sister-in-law also have some, so we'll make some new clothes for you." Wei Nian felt careless when he said that. Thinking about it, it was true. Since Chen Xuan came into the family, she has only worn these two sets of clothes, and she has never seen Chen Xuan wear other clothes. Wei Nian asked her, "Why did your aunt buy you these two sets of clothes? Didn't she give your family 20 yuan at that time? Even if it was one yuan for each piece of clothing, she should have prepared 20 sets for you."
Wei Nian felt that the Chen family's uncle and aunt were really stingy. Chen Xuan said honestly, "My aunt said that the family is having a hard time making ends meet."
"They are just trying to fool you." Wei Nian said, "I heard that your uncle and aunt have more than 100 acres of land, so they are not poor."
The one hundred acres of land was true. Chen Xuan knew that she was not her uncle and aunt's biological daughter, so they would not treat her as a younger sister. Chen Xuan asked Wei Nian, "You won't ask me to pay back the betrothal money, will you?"
Wei Nian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What are you thinking? I just said it casually. Your uncle and aunt are not kind. You know what's going on."
Chen Xuan knew about her uncle and aunt. Of the more than 100 acres of land in her uncle and aunt's family, half should actually belong to her parents. However, when she got married, her uncle and aunt did not mention it. In her previous life, she returned to her hometown. When her uncle and aunt saw her, they just said that she was not ambitious and asked the Wei family to divorce her, and still let her work in the fields. Her parents' land was still not mentioned. Later, she fell ill and died. Who would have thought that the first thing she saw after death was to return to the Wei family.
Chen Xuan was stunned for a moment. Wei Nian thought she was sad and poked her, "I'm not saying this to you. Are you unhappy?"
Chen Xuan would never tell Wei Nian what she was thinking. She slapped Wei Nian's hand away and said, "I was just thinking, didn't you say you would teach me how to use an abacus? You mean what you said, right?"
Wei Nian didn't expect that she still remembered this. He wanted to say that he just said it casually at the time, but when he saw Chen Xuan staring at him with her big eyes, looking very serious, he changed his words abruptly, "Let's do it."
"Then when are you going to teach me?" Chen Xuan didn't want to miss the opportunity and asked quickly.
Wei Nian said, "I'll teach you right away."
Without Wei Nian's instructions, Chen Xuan immediately went to the west room to get the abacus.
Wei Nian first taught Chen Xuan how to move the abacus beads from one to ten, and then taught her to recite the formula. When reciting the formula, Chen Xuan hurriedly said, "Wait a moment." She took out the hard cover notebook that Wei Nian gave her, asked Wei Nian to read it, and she wrote it down word by word in the notebook.
When Wei Nian wanted to explain to her what each sentence meant, Chen Xuan said, "I'll ask you after I've memorized it."
Wei Nian followed her.
Later, Chen Xuan did not ask Wei Nian, because Wei Yin also knew how to use an abacus, so Chen Xuan asked Wei Yin. However, because Chen Xuan had to practice moving the abacus beads, the Wei family's abacus often disappeared. At this time, as long as Chen Xuan was asked, she would definitely find it. Old Mrs. Wei was worried and kept complaining to Old Master Wei, "This second daughter-in-law moves the abacus beads every day when she has free time. Is she thinking of working as an accountant in a shop or something?"
Old Master Wei asked, "Is there still no movement in the second son's room?"
"No. I'm worried about this too. We've been married for half a year." Old Mrs. Wei began to worry about Chen Xuan's belly.
Old Madam Wei lit a pipe for Old Master Wei and said, "How about you ask the second son why there is no movement?"
Old Master Wei took a puff of his pipe and said, "You should also give the second son's family a heads up."
I have to remind Chen Xuan.
When Old Lady Wei talked to Chen Xuan about this, what could Chen Xuan say? She couldn't say that she was not going to live with Wei Nian anymore. She just lowered her head and said nothing. She discussed it with Wei Nian at night. Chen Xuan said, "How about you talk to the old man and tell him that we are not compatible and want to separate?" Although she didn't know many words, fortunately, she had the ability to grow strawberries. Leaving the Wei family didn't mean she would be dead.
Wei Nian was so frightened that he almost dropped the ceramic jar in his hand. He shook his head repeatedly, "How dare I say that? Dad will slap me twice if he hears this." When they got married, Wei Nian refused to marry Chen Xuan, a village girl. Later, Old Master Wei hung Wei Nian up and beat him. Wei Nian couldn't stand the beating and agreed. Fortunately, Chen Xuan is not difficult to get along with and is very sensible. Now the two get along well.
Wei Nian comforted Chen Xuan, "Look, your uncle and aunt don't treat you well, so just continue to stay at my house."
Chen Xuan sighed and looked at Wei Nian seriously. "I'm fine. At your house, I can read books and learn to read every day. I can also count the beads on the abacus. I have learned a lot of skills. It's because it's good at your house that I'm worried that I will delay you. What can I do?"
Wei Nian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "You can't delay me for anything."
Chen Xuan thought about it and realized that it would still be a few years before Wei Nian could bring a woman to the capital. However, Chen Xuan still said to Wei Nian, "If you ever fall in love with someone and want to marry them, just tell me. No matter what we do, we can't let you down. Only then will I feel at ease."
Wei Nian was very touched when he heard Chen Xuan's words. He felt that Chen Xuan was kind-hearted and said, "Okay." He then asked Chen Xuan, "Have you made clothes with the new fabric I brought you? Why don't you wear them?"
Chen Xuan said, "I will wear such good material when I go out. When I work at home, I can just wear the clothes I brought with me."
"Clothes are made to be worn, why save them? Just wear them on weekdays. The material is not very expensive and they are suitable for daily wear. Don't wear these two pieces of yours all the time. They are old and the colors have faded." Wei Nian knew that Chen Xuan was very frugal with things. Even the notebook he gave Chen Xuan last time, the brown paper that wrapped the notebook, Chen Xuan did not throw away. It was full of words written on both sides, but he still did not throw it away. He kept it neatly folded in a drawer at home.
Hearing Wei Nian say this, Chen Xuan knew that Wei Nian had good intentions, so she smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll wear it tomorrow."
Chen Xuan was an honest and decent person, and Wei Nian had good taste in choosing fabrics, and he chose plain and elegant colors for Chen Xuan. The next day, Chen Xuan changed into a jade-green cheongsam. When Li saw her laughing, Chen Xuan felt embarrassed, so she pulled at her collar and sleeves and asked Li, "Sister-in-law, is this weird?"
Li smiled, "No wonder, it looks pretty good."
When Wei Yin saw Chen Xuan changed into a new cheongsam, she also said, "Second sister-in-law, I told you to wear it a long time ago. Look, this new cheongsam is really beautiful."
Chen Xuan rarely wore new clothes. When she was in the countryside, she always wore her aunt's old clothes. The first time she wore new clothes was the wedding dress she wore when she married Wei Nian. Seeing Wei Yin praising her, Chen Xuan felt embarrassed. Wei Jin, on the other hand, looked Chen Xuan up and down with his two small eyes for a moment, curled his lips and said, "You country girl, you have also acquired some of the foreign style of the city people after coming to Beijing." He privately asked Chen Xuan why she had lost so much weight!
Yes, Chen Xuan has lost weight!
Chen Xuan herself didn't notice this, even though she often altered clothes, from a cotton-padded jacket to a jacket, and from a jacket to a single garment. Because the clothes became thinner and thinner, she had to make more room around the waist. She thought it was because the clothes were changed from thick to thin.
However, everyone in the Wei family who had seen Chen Xuan's appearance when she married into the Wei family last year found it incredible.
They didn't notice it before, because Chen Xuan always wore those two sets of old and mushy clothes. Now that she changed into a new cheongsam, the Wei family discovered that the previously tall and strong black village girl, perhaps because she didn't have to work in the fields in the Wei family, Chen Xuan's skin color was not as bright and dark as when she first came to the Wei family. Of course, she didn't have the snow-white skin that the Wei family members were born with. Chen Xuan's skin now was a honey color, because she was clean and neat, this honey skin exuded a healthy feeling. The key is that the tall and strong figure is now very well-proportioned. Without the word "strong", only tallness is left.
Wei Jin asked Chen Xuan, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
Chen Xuan touched her face unconsciously and said, "You lost weight? No!"
"You said you haven't lost weight. You used to be a big, stupid, strong guy, but you've lost a lot of weight." Wei Jin said this with a sour tone. Since she got married and had two sons, her figure has grown by leaps and bounds. Now when Wei Jin wears a cheongsam, it looks like the sausages sold outside, just a barrel. Women love beauty. Wei Jin was a little indignant when she saw that Chen Xuan, a country girl, became so fashionable after entering the old Wei family.
Wei Nian, however, bought a bottle of cold cream for Chen Xuan, saying that it was for facial application and was used by all women in the city.
Chen Xuan had seen this vanishing cream at Wei Yin's place before, and was a little hesitant to accept it. She asked Wei Nian, "Isn't this very expensive?"
Wei Nian put it next to Chen Xuan and said nonchalantly, "It's OK, and not expensive."
After hearing Wei Nian say it was not expensive, Chen Xuan dared to take a look. The vanishing cream was in a porcelain bottle with an aluminum cap. In addition to the brand name, there was also a description of the ingredients on the bottle. Chen Xuan recognized the words and found that she knew them all. Chen Xuan was happy and asked Wei Nian, "How much does it cost?" She was rich now, so she couldn't take Wei Nian's things for free.
"I'm giving it to you." Wei Nian also felt that Chen Xuan looked more talented after putting on her new cheongsam. He was a man who treated his sisters well. Although he had no romantic feelings for Chen Xuan, she was a nice person and younger than him, so he treated her like a sister. Wei Nian believed that women should know how to dress up, so he bought some vanishing cream for Chen Xuan and told her to dress up.
"That's not what I meant. How can I take advantage of you?"
Wei Nian said, "It's really not expensive. Although we are not husband and wife, we are cousins. A cousin gave a bottle of vanishing cream to a cousin, and you still want to ask me for money?"
Seeing that Wei Nian was determined not to tell her the price, Chen Xuan thought that she shouldn't have accepted Wei Nian's gift for nothing. However, Wei Nian owed her fifty cents a few days ago, and he had the money to buy the vanishing cream but didn't ask to pay her back. So she thought that the vanishing cream was used to pay off the fifty cents debt, and Chen Xuan accepted the vanishing cream from Wei Nian.