Widow Xie and Hu Liang didn't return until evening.
Hu Liang handed the exchanged broken silver to Ji Huan, his face devoid of the joy of having his wish fulfilled.
Seeing Ji Huan studying him, he forced a smile and joked, "It's a good thing law and order have improved in Yeyang recently, with the army taking care of all those bandits and thugs. Otherwise, carrying this much money, I'd have been terrified of getting robbed."
He put on a smile, but anyone could see how strained it was.
Widow Xie didn't look happy either.
'Did the marriage proposal fail? Did the girl change her mind?'
Ji Huan's mind raced with anxious speculation, but with the children present, she couldn't just ask directly.
The family ate in silence; no one spoke at the dinner table.
Before bed, Widow Xie spread a thick, old felt blanket on the floor, then placed two cotton quilts on it, rolling each one up into a tube.
