"I understand, but since we've hired help to manage things and already have servants, if Father and Mother request someone and we refuse, I'll feel guilty, and people will gossip. While we three brothers should share the responsibility for them, given the current situation—you know how difficult things are for the third brother—we certainly can't hold that against him. Eldest brother's family is also doing a bit worse than us. I think when it comes to caring for our own parents, we shouldn't haggle so much over these details," Er Niu explained.

After a pause, he continued, "Wife, try not to dwell on the past. I'm well aware of how Mother and Father treated our household. But after all, they are our parents, and they are old now. Our own circumstances have improved, so let's put those grievances aside. I've been thinking about your parents; they are also getting on in years. How about I hire an extra person tomorrow to go work at your mother’s place?"

Hearing Er Niu's words, Madam Huang replied, "No need for my family, there's no need to hire anyone there. My sister-in-law manages everything capably, and there aren't many people. If you have time, just go visit my parents instead."

Madam Huang thought for a moment, then added, "My dear, I wasn't arguing with your mother today because I refused to hire someone for her. It was truly her attitude upon arrival that made me uncomfortable, which is why I spoke back a few times. It won't happen again."

Er Niu said, "It's alright, wife. I know exactly what my mother is like. You've tolerated it for this long; that's already quite remarkable. I understand."

Lin He, listening to her parents converse from the side, felt that while their marital affection wasn't the stuff of legends, it was built up in the small moments of everyday life. They both considered the other's feelings, offering mutual understanding and tolerance, which made her feel a touch envious.

If her own mother hadn't stayed for her father's sake, she wouldn't have endured Grandmother this way. Fear of gossip was certainly a small part of it, but mostly, she believed, it was to spare her husband the difficulty of being caught between his mother and his wife. Thus, she was willing to suffer slights herself just to smooth over major issues.

Madam Zhao returned home overjoyed. The thought of having someone to wait on them filled her with happiness. She cleared out a small storage room near the kitchen, planning for the hired help to live there. Old Man Lin, seeing her delight, asked what was causing such cheer. She recounted Er Niu’s plan to hire a servant for them, but carefully omitted the conflict she’d stirred up at Er Niu’s house. Old Man Lin generally paid no mind to neighborhood chatter, so he remained unaware of the previous day's drama.

Old Man Lin, however, disagreed with hiring help. "Old woman, there’s so little work around here. Why bring in a stranger? Everyone here is family; an outsider would be unsettling. Besides, hiring someone costs several hundred daqian a month—who pays for that?"

Madam Zhao declared happily, "Old man, my son is filial. He wants to hire someone to serve us, and I'm delighted. There isn't much work, but chores must be done. Hongxia is heavily pregnant and will be giving birth soon; hiring help will make things easier for her, and I’ll have less to do. Er Niu said he’d cover the cost."

Hearing Madam Zhao sound so nonchalant, Old Man Lin didn't press the matter further, letting his wife have her way. The next day, right after breakfast, Er Niu came to Madam Zhao's courtyard, announcing he was heading to the matchmaker’s office to select someone. Old Man Lin was home, and Er Niu invited him along, but Old Man Lin waved him off, saying Madam Zhao could manage alone.

When the two arrived at the matchmaker’s, she brought out several women for them to choose from. Er Niu preferred selecting an ordinary woman to start with, someone to sign a contract like a long-term laborer, for a few hundred daqian a month would suffice. But Madam Zhao had other ideas. She scrutinized the group and finally settled on a very young woman. The matchmaker explained that the woman was a widow whom other families refused to take because they considered widows inauspicious, so she hadn't been sold for a while.

The widow had likely been there for some time, and the matchmaker, seeing Madam Zhao’s interest, quickly tried to curry favor. "Old Madam Lin, this one is a widow, for sale. If you take her, I'll make it cheap—just ten taels of silver, practically half-given. You don’t need to pay her a monthly wage, just give her a few dozen daqian when you feel like it."

Er Niu felt uneasy. The woman was young and a widow; he worried she wouldn't be capable. He was about to persuade his mother to choose someone else when the woman suddenly knelt before Madam Zhao, weeping, "Old Madam, please buy me. Just give me food; I can do anything, and it won't cost much."

Madam Zhao had already decided on this woman. Seeing her pitiful state, she whispered to Er Niu, "Er Niu, let’s take this one. Look, only ten taels of silver to buy her outright. How economical! Hiring someone costs several hundred daqian a month—that’s several taels a year! And look how pretty and fair-faced she is; she'll look good accompanying us outside."

Although Er Niu felt hesitant, seeing Madam Zhao so determined, he asked, "Mother, are you sure about her? Isn't she a widow? People say that’s bad luck. Maybe we should choose someone else."

"What does being a widow matter? She’s being hired for work. I don't believe in such superstitions; I want her," Madam Zhao insisted, dismissing even the omens she usually respected.

Seeing her insistence, Er Niu paid the matchmaker ten taels of silver and purchased the woman. The widow, seeing that someone was willing to buy her, and noting that Er Niu was tall and robust, was inwardly thrilled. She approached Madam Zhao and called out, "Old Madam." Then she addressed Er Niu as "Young Master."

Er Niu waved his hand. "No need to call me Young Master. Just follow the custom our long-term workers use and call me Master."

However, Madam Zhao rather liked the title "Old Madam" and accepted it, instructing the woman to use that address from then on. On the way home, Madam Zhao questioned the woman, learning her name was Dong Yu. She was eighteen, orphaned young, and had been raised as a child bride in another family. Her young husband had been sickly and died last year. Since Dong Yu had no children, her in-laws refused to keep her just to eat their rice and sold her directly to the matchmaker.

She had been at the matchmaker’s for quite some time. Most families shunned her because she was a widow, so even after dropping the selling price repeatedly, no one bought her. The matchmaker had even threatened to send her to a brothel if she couldn't be sold soon. Thus, seeing Madam Zhao willing to buy her now, the matchmaker naturally pleaded for the transaction.

Dong Yu also knew that if no one had bought her today, she would surely have been sent to a brothel. If she ended up in a brothel, she would have no prospects left. Going to Madam Zhao's house, even without wages, was infinitely better than being sold to a brothel.