Chapter 13
There Can Be No Breaking Off the Engagement
Meanwhile, as So Cheong-yeong was picking side dishes for the twin siblings at the main house, members of the Yoo family suddenly swept in like a gust of wind, followed closely by the elders of the So family.
Since Cheong-yeong, Haha, and Chuguk had only prepared a meal for the children in the kitchen, there was just one table set, while the other remained completely empty. Naturally, the elders of the So family and the Yoo family members took seats at the table—but the tabletop itself was bare, without a single side dish.
That was when it happened.
One of the Yoo family’s daughters-in-law glanced sideways toward where So Cheong-yeong was sitting and noticed that there were unused bowls and chopsticks still set at her table. Without the slightest hesitation, she plopped down beside her and began stirring through the dishes wildly, shoveling food into her mouth with her chopsticks.
She moved so fast it was almost impossible to follow with the eye.
A surge of displeasure rose in Cheong-yeong’s chest. She quickly used her chopsticks to portion out side dishes into the bowls of the twins and herself, then, without a moment’s hesitation, took the children by the hand and left the main house.
The other children left at the table stared in confusion at Cheong-yeong and the twins, who vanished in the blink of an eye.
“Hey! That’s mine! Don’t touch it!”
The moment Cheong-yeong stepped outside, she heard Yoo Gwi’s shrill voice echoing from the main hall as he desperately tried to defend his own food. She hurried the twins into their room and shut the door behind them. Only then did the tension finally drain from her body, and a sigh of relief escaped her.
When she looked down at the twins, she saw that although they still looked bewildered, fear lingered in their expressions. At that sight, Cheong-yeong let out a soft, amused laugh.
Back in the main house, the meal had turned into something resembling a battlefield.
Even those who were usually full of swagger lost all momentum in front of the Yoo family. The table they had swept through was left as clean as if a swarm of locusts had passed over it, while the members of the So family could only stare in stunned disbelief.
Despite the fact that there were only a few meager dishes with hardly a trace of oil, the Yoo family devoured the food as if they were enjoying a banquet bestowed by the Jade Emperor himself.
Watching the scene, So Dae-hae felt a sense of relief well up inside him.
Thank goodness our kids didn’t eat at the same table as them. Even Third Sister-in-law, who dotes obsessively on her children, couldn’t manage to serve Yoo Bok and Yoo Gwi even a single bite—really, that says it all.
It was truly a terrifying sight.
After the meal, Old Master So tried to settle things by giving them an additional five taels of silver and proposing to let the matter rest there. But the Yoo family members were far from satisfied. They stubbornly insisted on nothing less than fifty taels.
Finally, Wang-shi lost her patience. She jumped to her feet, shrieking as she declared the engagement broken. Only then did the Yoo family reluctantly agree and leave.
But how could people like them possibly depart quietly?
They took every egg in the kitchen, along with all the ingredients meant for dinner that evening. They even brought sacks with them and indiscriminately yanked out all kinds of vegetables from the garden. That wasn’t all—beans, mung beans, and other grains stored in jars in the kitchen were scooped out without restraint, leaving the jars half-empty.
Wang-shi was so furious her chest felt ready to burst. She clutched at it, itching to chase after the Yoo family and pick another fight on the spot.
After the Yoo family finally left, her anger shifted squarely onto Feng-shi. Wang-shi grabbed hold of her and hurled curses at her nonstop for a full hour.
“This is the marriage match you picked? How am I supposed to show my face anywhere now?!”
Only after the chaos died down did So U-mun, who had returned home late, stand beside his mother Feng-shi and quietly add a single remark.
“But wasn’t my marriage match chosen personally by Grandmother?”
Before he could even finish speaking, Wang-shi exploded, pointing at him angrily.
So U-mun was usually her favorite grandson, but now her fury had reached its peak, and nothing else registered. Spittle flying, Wang-shi berated both Feng-shi and her son together, repeatedly shouting that she would break off the engagement. In the end, however, Old Master So and the rest of the family rushed in together to stop her.
“U-mun is leaving for the battlefield in just a few days. Where are we supposed to find another marriage match in that time? And even if we do, choosing a match in such urgent circumstances—won’t the other family surely take advantage of us?”
At that moment, So Cheong-yeong was in her room with the twins, the door bolted shut, listening to the noisy commotion outside.
Impressive, truly impressive. To curse and throw tantrums at that level—it’s practically an art form. Tsk, tsk.
Then she noticed the twins, still frightened yet pressing themselves close to the crack in the door to peek outside. The sight was so amusing that she couldn’t help but chuckle.
At this rate, these little ones’ ears are going to get polluted…
She pulled the twins over to the bed, hugging and stroking them as she played with them for a long while.
Just as the three of them were in the middle of their playful antics, the door opened and So Dae-hae and Madam Jang entered the room. By then, Wang-shi’s tirade had finally ended, and the rest of the family scattered back to their rooms like pardoned criminals fleeing the scene.
Once back in the room, So Dae-hae finally told his wife about the five taels of silver he had received earlier from Carpenter So. Madam Jang’s mouth fell open in shock.
“Five taels of silver? How did you end up taking money from the carpenter elder?”
Like her husband, Madam Jang was an honest and simple-hearted person. She couldn’t immediately grasp the situation and looked utterly bewildered. Seeing this, Cheong-yeong patiently explained everything again from the beginning.
“This is a completely new method—one that no one’s tried before. For now, it’ll only be used to make our furniture, but with Carpenter Grandpa and Uncle Mokpo, they’ll be able to apply it to all sorts of things. It’ll become a unique technique that only their family has. Once word spreads, their furniture could be sold not just in this village but even to wealthy households far away. When that happens, they’ll make far more than what we received today.”
Only then did Madam Jang sigh in understanding, finally at ease. She took out the five taels of silver and gently stroked them with her fingertips, a blissful smile on her face.
All of this… is silver.
It was the first time in her life she had ever held such a large sum. Even after saving for years and barely gathering two hundred copper coins, she would treasure them every night before falling asleep. And now—this was silver!
If I exchanged this for copper coins, just how many would it be? They wouldn’t even fit in a money pouch, would they? I should probably get a small box…
After lingering over the silver for a long time, Madam Jang finally handed all of it to Cheong-yeong.
“You earned this money, so you should keep it. We don’t have much use for money out here in the countryside. But you’ll soon be going to a bustling town—everything there will be expensive. And we don’t even know what kind of family your in-laws are. You should have some money on hand; it’ll make things easier for you, and it’ll put our minds at ease too.”
Cheong-yeong’s chest tightened with emotion at her words.
Her father quietly nodded in agreement as well. But Cheong-yeong smiled gently, took only two taels of silver, and pushed the remaining amount back toward her parents.
“Two taels is enough for me. You should keep the rest. Grandmother is notoriously stingy—what if you suddenly need money in an emergency?”
Though So Dae-hae and Madam Jang tried to refuse, they ultimately couldn’t overcome their daughter’s insistence and carefully accepted the remaining three taels.
Only then did Cheong-yeong let out a quiet sigh of relief. With their simple and honest dispositions, even saving a single copper coin under Wang-shi’s watchful eye was difficult. She didn’t want to see her parents having to beg their stepmother for money whenever an emergency arose. After all, earning money was something she could do far more easily herself.
After lunch and a short rest, So Dae-hae and Madam Jang returned to the fields. As the house grew quiet, the children gradually went outside to play. Cheong-yeong, however, stayed behind. Since she was soon to be married off, Wang-shi no longer seemed inclined to assign her fieldwork.
While Cheong-yeong remained at home with the twins, So Mokpo happened to pay a visit. He was accompanied by his eldest son, So Dae-tak (蘇大桌), and his third son, So Sam-deung (蘇三凳).
After exchanging brief greetings, So Mokpo and his two sons went into the room to take measurements. Meanwhile, Cheong-yeong used charcoal to draw the partition design she had envisioned in her mind on the paper Dae-tak had brought. Seeing it, Dae-tak tilted his head curiously.
“That’s a pretty big door. It’s quite different from the usual ones, isn’t it?”
At his comment, So Mokpo and So Sam-deung, who were taking measurements nearby, also leaned in to examine the design.
Cheong-yeong explained calmly.
“It’s a sliding door. The partition will be about two chi lower than the wall, and the top will be open where it meets the beam so air can circulate well. I made the door larger for better ventilation in the inner room too. I chose a sliding door instead of a regular one to use the limited space more efficiently. If the room’s already small, setting aside space just to open and close a door only makes it feel more cramped.”
The inner room was meant for her younger brother, Cheong-yang.
Near the doorway, she planned to place a five-tier cabinet for the twins to share, with two rows of drawers each so they’d have ample storage. Since the room wasn’t very large, a small desk for Cheong-yang placed along one side would suffice.
She intended to set the bed against the wall, making it just over four chi in length. Instead of the usual wooden frame with planks laid on top, she planned to build it like a chest, with storage space inside.
By lifting the bed’s top panel, one could store thick winter quilts, clothing, and various household items inside. The main bedroom allocated to the couple was too small to even fit a separate clothing chest, so she planned to make full use of the space beneath the bed.
So Mokpo couldn’t stop marveling at Cheong-yeong’s ingenuity.
The sliding door alone had already inspired him greatly—but now there was also the practical use of the bed!
Even his own mother and wife treated the space under the bed like a storage pit, stuffing it full of miscellaneous junk or even digging into the ground to hide things. Whenever they needed something, they’d have to crawl on the floor and rummage around for ages, with dust piling up everywhere as a matter of course.
“Cheong-yeong, this bed you designed—it’s truly brilliant!”
So Mokpo clicked his tongue in admiration as he studied the drawing.
Cheong-yeong shook her head lightly and smiled.
“I only thought of it because the room is so small. Personally, I think it’s better when the space under the bed is open—air circulates better that way.”
So Dae-tak and So Sam-deung, who were looking over the design as well, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“This is practically a secret storage room! You could fit all the winter quilts and thick clothes in there. With this, there’d be no need to put a wardrobe or chest in the room at all. In a small room, just a few chests can make it feel cluttered and hard to move around—but with this one bed, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. Honestly, I should go home and make one myself!”
So Mokpo nodded repeatedly, lavishing praise on Cheong-yeong. Embarrassed, she lowered her head slightly. The twins, on the other hand, leaned against her legs and looked up at her with sparkling eyes, clearly proud.
Then, as he examined the drawings, So Mokpo suddenly spoke.
“I won’t charge for this partition or the bed either. But later, if other households need them, may I use this method?”
Cheong-yeong smiled warmly in response.
“It’s nothing special—please use it as much as you like. And besides, this time the items I asked for are meant as part of my dowry, so Grandfather said he’d cover the cost anyway.”
Hearing this, So Mokpo smiled.
After returning home and discussing it with his father, he decided that aside from the drawers, bed, and partition, he would gift Cheong-yeong a full set of dowry furniture commissioned by another household. Since the delivery deadline was generous, if his family worked together, making an extra set wouldn’t be difficult at all.
