"Oh, Sister Chun'er is homesick, which is only natural. After being away for so long, one naturally worries about home. But Mother said you have a younger sister at home who is already ten. Shouldn't your sister be able to manage things by now?" Lin He asked.

"Well, I do have a sister who is ten, and she can certainly manage some things. You know how it is in a poor family; children have to learn to run the household early on. But if I were home, I would handle these things, not ask my sisters to; they are still young," Chun'er replied with a light laugh.

"But Sister, one day you will have to leave home, and your sister will eventually need to take over. If you are this worried, what will happen at home later? Besides, Mother mentioned you have several sisters and your family isn't well-off. Have you ever considered going out to work to send money home?" Lin He probed carefully.

"I have thought about it, always wanting to go out and work, but what can a girl do out in the world? If I went out as a maid, my parents refused, saying they would rather be poorer than let us go out to serve as maids. Not that being a maid is bad, but they say I am clumsy and unfit for such work. There isn't much else to do. Usually, during the busy farming season, I go out with my parents to do farm work, and when there's nothing else, I stay home to look after my sisters and do some needlework," Chun'er said, giving a small smile to Ziyu, who was standing nearby.

Lin He smiled, thinking that Chun'er was a thoughtful person who was very considerate of others' feelings when she spoke. However, Lin He didn't press the matter further. She picked up the tea from the table, took a sip, glanced towards Taohua, and said, "Sister Taohua, you must have been pampered by your parents at home. They probably don't make you do chores, do they? What do you usually do at home?"

"I can't compare to Chun'er. We live in town; we don't farm, so there isn't much to do. My father and elder brother manage the shop usually. When I have nothing else to do, I sometimes do embroidery with Mother, but it's just for fun; I'm not good at it," Taohua revealed a subtle sense of superiority in her words.

"Sister is being too modest. I heard Chen'er say your embroidery is very good; I imagine you are quite diligent at home too," Lin He said with a smile as well.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lin He took Ziyu and left. Only Taohua and Chun'er remained in the room. Taohua casually tossed the silver hairpin Lin He had given her onto the table, muttering, "This He'er is truly stingy; how could she bear to give such a shabby hairpin? It's not even pure silver, just plated on the outside, and the style is so ugly. Out there, this thing is worth barely a hundred dàqián. The things I usually wear for play are better than this." Taohua finished speaking and then slammed the silver hairpin onto the table again.

"Taohua, that's improper of you. This hairpin was given by Sister He'er regardless of its worth; it’s the thought that counts, and it’s quite nice. Moreover, the style isn't bad, and the craftsmanship is delicate; I think it’s lovely," Chun'er looked at Taohua with disapproval.

"Of course, you think it's nice. You've never used anything good in your life; forget using it, you've probably never even seen such things. What do you know? Things like this, even Ziyu and the other maids probably wouldn't use, yet she gives it to us. We're worse off than the maids. If you like it so much, take mine too. I certainly won't use it," Taohua cast a disdainful glance at Chun'er.

Chun'er looked at Taohua, strongly disagreeing with her words internally. In truth, having stayed at Lin He's house for so long, with good food and lodging every day, she felt truly embarrassed. Although they were relatives, they were distant ones at that—related by eight degrees of separation. The entire family treated the two of them so well, and yet Lin He brought gifts for them when she went out, and Taohua was still so picky. It truly was too much. However, Chun'er wasn't as sharp-tongued as Taohua and couldn't win an argument, so she kept her disagreement to herself and didn't argue.

Seeing Chun'er's displeased look, Taohua couldn't be bothered to argue with a country bumpkin. Someone gives her something she wouldn't want, and she treats it like a treasure—truly short-sighted. Taohua didn't care for such trifles. What she coveted was the position of the Eldest Young Mistress of this household. Once married in, everything in this house would be hers; she could have anything she desired. But she had been here quite a while now, and Da Bao was back too. Why was there no movement from this family? Given her good behavior here, not to mention her looks and family background, Da Bao shouldn't be unimpressed with her. What exactly was this family planning? And Da Bao was going away again tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Taohua looked at Chun'er. Could it be that they had already chosen Chun'er? Taohua cautiously opened her mouth: "Chun'er, have Auntie and He'er said anything to you these past two days?"

"No, what would they say to me? Haven't we been together the whole time?" Chun'er replied, somewhat puzzled.

"Did they mention when you should go back, or if they want you to stay?" Taohua pressed on.

Chun'er shook her head and said, "I actually hope they tell me to go back. There's nothing for me to do here every day. I've been a guest long enough. My family is probably waiting for me to return every day."

"Then tomorrow, you should go tell Auntie you want to leave and see what she says? If they agree, you can go back. Your younger siblings at home are still so small; they really need looking after, and your parents are busy—they must be struggling to manage everything," Taohua said, deliberately feigning kindness.

"Aren't you going back? You've been here a long time too. Don't your parents miss you? Don't you miss home?" Chun'er asked.

"Of course, I do," Taohua replied dismissively.

Chun'er nodded and sat aside, thinking about her family, and considered whether she should follow Taohua's advice and mention her desire to return to Auntie tomorrow. Suddenly, Taohua spoke again: "Chun'er, what do you think of Cousin Da Bao?"

"Cousin Da Bao? He’s very good," Chun'er didn't understand why Taohua was asking this.

"I think so too. He is polite, tall and robust. To be able to manage a shop by himself at such a young age, and according to the servants here, their shop is quite large and they bought the building themselves. The house here is also bigger than those of many families in town. Whoever marries him will certainly have a good life," Taohua spoke dreamily.

Chun'er watched Taohua, and it seemed she began to understand something—Taohua liked Cousin Da Bao, which is why she was willing to stay here. But Taohua kept mentioning the house and the shop; did Taohua truly like Cousin Da Bao as a person, or did she like the wealth of his family? Chun'er couldn't quite figure it out.