The very next morning, Wang Youfu took the Lion's Mane mushrooms into town, while Madam Yang headed to Aunt Gui's house to dig up various vegetable seedlings. Some farming families produce more seedlings than they can plant and offer the surplus to others. Madam Yang and Aunt Gui had always been on good terms, having agreed to this seedling exchange when they delivered embroidered work together previously.

Since Wang Youfu was away in town today, Wang Qinghua remained home from the fields, instead splitting firewood in the courtyard. Caiyun had gone out to forage for wild vegetables. Remembering how Caiyun had struggled dragging her basket home last time, Wang Qingchen went out after their meal to find her. By the time he located Caiyun, her basket was already more than half full.

"Hey, Caiyun, your second brother is here!" Hongying, who was digging alongside Caiyun, called out.

Caiyun quickly looked up. "Second Brother, why are you here?"

"I came to help you carry the basket!" Wang Qingchen chuckled.

"Then, Second Brother, wait a little longer, I'll be full soon," Caiyun said happily.

"Wow, Caiyun, your second brother is so nice. Too bad my brother went to school in town and can't help me carry my basket," Hongying remarked with an air of envy.

Hearing about school, a thought stirred in Wang Qingchen's mind. "Hongying, it must cost a lot of money for your brother to study in town?"

"It seems so. Every year, my father and mother have to prepare many things for my brother to take to the tutor," Hongying replied. "Brother Qingchen, are you thinking of going to school too?"

"Uh, I was just asking. It seems very few people in the village go to school in town."

Hongying pondered for a moment. "That's true. Only Cousin Jintang from the village head’s house, Brother Wenbing from Uncle Zhang’s house, and my brother are studying in town."

Hongying was likely referring to Qi Jintang from the village head’s family, Zhang Wenbing from Zhang Yunzhu's family, and her own brother, Li Yuntai. The village head himself was a Xiucai (scholar), so he placed great importance on education. However, being busy, he couldn't teach Jintang personally, only sending him to study in the mountains near town. Zhang Yunzhu's family was the one Wang Qingchen’s grandfather mentioned who sold three daughters, thus having the means to send their only son to school. As for Hongying's family, her father, Li Qiang, was the only carpenter in their village and the neighboring one, making their household relatively prosperous.

In this era, achieving a good life required a certain social standing, and studying was the most common path to acquire it. But considering their family's circumstances, Wang Qingchen's desire to earn money grew even more urgent.

When Caiyun finished filling her basket with wild vegetables, Wang Qingchen helped carry it. After bidding Hongying farewell, they walked home, while Hongying continued digging until her mother arrived to help carry her basket.

By the time Wang Qingchen and Caiyun returned, Madam Yang was back, arranging seedlings, a small spade, a wooden bucket, and a ladle to head to the vegetable garden. Wang Qingchen quickly poured the wild vegetables for the little pigs to eat, then joined Madam Yang, Caiyun, and Wang Qinghua in the garden.

The family's vegetable patch lay opposite the main yard, separated only by a narrow path. Farming households usually laid out their gardens in neat rows, with small drainage ditches dug between them for easy irrigation. Currently, only chives were ready to eat in the garden, with scallions planted nearby. The seedlings Madam Yang had dug up today included peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, winter melons, pumpkins, bottle gourds, crisp melons, and long beans. Furthermore, Madam Yang planned to sow a small patch of leafy greens, which could be sown directly from seed. Wang Qingchen realized this was the first time he had seen what various seedlings looked like; previously, he only recognized the eggplant sprouts.

Madam Yang handled the planting, while Wang Qinghua was responsible for watering. Soon, all the seedlings and green vegetable seeds were planted. At this moment, Caiyun pointed ahead. "Look, Dad's back!"

Upon his return, everyone was eager to know how much the Lion's Mane mushrooms sold for, and Wang Youfu's expression suggested a good sale.

Wang Youfu took a drink of water and turned to Wang Qingchen. "Qingchen, you did very well this time. I sold those Lion's Mane mushrooms to Xiangmanlou in town. They fetched a full one hundred wen. The manager at Xiangmanlou said if we can gather more Lion's Mane mushrooms soon, they will pay more than other restaurants for them." Saying this, he pulled a small package from his embrace. "Qingchen, here, this is what Father bought for you."

Qingchen took the paper package but didn't open it immediately. Madam Yang exclaimed from the side, "They sold for that much money!" Then her face clouded over slightly. "But those Lion's Mane mushrooms are so hard to find."

"Do you think they are like vegetables in the garden? If they weren't hard to find, would they sell for so much?" Wang Youfu turned to Madam Yang.

"Husband, I was just making a comment! Why are you snapping at me!" Madam Yang said, feeling wronged.

"Forget it, forget it. Go do your cooking and stop standing around here!" Wang Youfu said impatiently, then headed into the utility room to fetch a spade to shovel manure from the pigsty for fertilizer. Madam Yang glanced at him and turned toward the kitchen.

Wang Qingchen opened the paper package and found several pieces of rock candy inside. Looking up, he saw Caiyun watching him with longing eyes. "Big Brother, Caiyun, let's eat the candy together." He offered the paper package in his hand to them.

"Wow, sesame candy! Hongying gave me a tiny piece once; it was delicious. Second Brother, can I give one piece to Hongying?" Caiyun asked cautiously.

"You can, but you have to take it out of the pieces you eat!" Wang Qingchen said with a smile.

"Oh, okay. Then can I just eat one piece?" Caiyun asked pitifully.

"Haha, Second Brother was just joking. You eat; eat as many as you like." He then turned to Wang Qinghua. "Big Brother, you eat too!"

"You all eat. I don't care for this stuff."

"Big Brother, please have some. The mushrooms were gathered by the three of us. Are you saying that when you finally gather Lion's Mane mushrooms, we won't get any candy either?" Wang Qingchen asked with feigned distress.

"No, no..." Wang Qinghua hastily waved his hands in refusal.

"Then Big Brother should eat some too. Next time Father buys candy for Big Brother, we should get some too," Wang Qingchen said with a knowing smile.

"Alright, but one piece is enough for Big Brother," Wang Qinghua said, taking a piece of sesame candy.

While Madam Yang was cooking in the kitchen, Wang Qingchen took a piece of sesame candy and put it in her mouth. "Mother, you eat some too."

Madam Yang quickly took the candy out of her mouth. "Oh dear, you eat them. Mother doesn't eat them." She handed the candy back to Wang Qingchen.

"Mother, please eat it. We all have some. When I start earning money in the future, I'll buy Mother better things to eat."

Madam Yang turned away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Good child. Take a piece of candy to your father too."

"But Father, he..." Wang Qingchen hesitated.

"Your father might say harsh words, but he is good deep down. He does all the field work and the heavy chores at home; he is the pillar of our family! Think about your maternal uncle—he pushes everything onto your aunt, not even doing the heavy field work himself. And your aunt's mother-in-law is a difficult woman, so your aunt has to do all the heavy farm work. Compared to your aunt, I have it pretty good," Madam Yang sighed sentimentally.

"Grandpa and Grandma don't interfere?" Wang Qingchen asked, confused.

"How could they? They tried to intervene once before, but it only made your aunt's life harder afterward; her mother-in-law is not someone to trifle with," Madam Yang sighed.

As Madam Yang suggested, Wang Qingchen offered a piece of candy to Wang Youfu. Although Wang Youfu didn't eat it, he felt quite touched; after all, who doesn't appreciate filial piety from their son?

During dinner, Wang Qingtong from the main house arrived. "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Grandpa and Grandma are calling you over to discuss something!" Since the family split three years ago, the eldest son's family stayed with the parents, so they all lived in the old house, and the eldest branch's children were often sent to run errands.

"Qingtong, have you eaten lunch yet? Do you want to have something at Second Aunt's house?" Madam Yang asked.

Wang Qingtong glanced at the food on the table. "Second Aunt, I ate at home."

"Did your Grandpa and Grandma say what it was about?" Wang Youfu asked.

"They didn't say..." Wang Qingtong said, scratching his head.

"Go back and tell Grandpa and Grandma that we will come over after we finish eating," Wang Youfu instructed.

"Alright, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I'll be leaving now. I still have to deliver a message to Third Uncle's house!" With that, Wang Qingtong ran off.

After Wang Qingtong left, Madam Yang asked, "Husband, what do you think it could be about? Could it be about Qingyun's marriage proposal? I heard Sister Gui mentioning it this morning!"

"Why are you guessing? We'll know when we get there," Wang Youfu replied, lowering his head to continue eating.

After eating, the couple headed to the main house. Wang Qingchen decided to go along to get familiar with the routes and the people. Caiyun took her candy and went off to play with Hongying.

At the main house, besides Grandpa and Eldest Uncle, there was a middle-aged man standing next to a woman Wang Qingchen had never seen before. The woman radiated capability and was about the same age as Madam Yang. This must be his Third Uncle, Wang Youtian, and Third Aunt, Madam Zhang. Rumor had it that his Third Uncle was a typical simple farmer and a good-natured man, but he was tightly controlled by his Third Aunt. Looking further, behind Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt stood a young couple Wang Qingchen also hadn't seen before. He guessed this was his eldest paternal cousin, Wang Qingshan, and his eldest cousin-in-law, Madam He. They had married before the family split but still had no children. Next to Wang Qingshan was the younger boy from that day, Wang Qingyun, who had helped support the old man.

"The second branch is here too. Come sit. Eldest Daughter-in-law, go pour some tea for your Second Uncle and Second Aunt." The old lady instructed Madam He.

"Yes, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, please come sit. I'll go get you tea," Madam He said before heading to the kitchen.

"Father, now that everyone is here, why don't you tell us what this is about?" Wang Youfu asked as soon as he sat down.

The old man looked at everyone. Wang Qingtong had run off to play after summoning everyone, so Wang Qingchen was the only child present. He took a sip of water. "A marriage proposal has been arranged for Qingyun."

"Qingyun is fifteen this year, right? It is time for him to be engaged. Which family's daughter is it?" Third Uncle Wang Youtian asked, but he was quickly pinched by Madam Zhang.

The old man was considering how to phrase the rest and was pleased with Wang Youtian's prompt. "It's the eldest daughter from the Luo family in Matiang Village."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, there was silence from those below. Madam Tian, noticing the reaction of the others, smiled. "That eldest Luo girl is a good match. I inquired; she is pretty, and very capable in her work. She raised all the younger children in their family. That girl is perfectly suited for Qingyun."

"That is good... Ouch," Wang Youtian said before being viciously pinched again by Madam Zhang.

Madam Zhang then turned to Madam Tian. "Oh, Eldest Sister-in-law, your family is truly wealthy! That Luo girl is good, but I heard that the betrothal gifts alone will cost over ten liang, right?"

Footnote: Since both Wang Shoufa's wife and Wang Youliang's wife are surnamed Tian, the text refers to Wang Shoufa's wife as the Old Madam and Wang Youliang's wife as Madam Tian throughout.