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After Xiuxiu’s mother left, Du Shi was so furious that she started cursing loudly:
“What nonsense! A relative like that? Even if I had twenty taels of silver, there’s no way I’d marry into such a family!”
As she spoke, she shot a glance at Ye Yong.
Ye Yong sighed softly, then bowed to Tie Niu’s wife and Zhuzi’s wife:
“Aunties, no matter what Xiuxiu’s mother said earlier, Xiuxiu… she is innocent. This matter… absolutely cannot be spread.”
Although he couldn’t afford to marry Xiuxiu, he couldn’t let her reputation be ruined either.
Zhuzi’s wife snorted, “Don’t worry, it’s safe with us.”
Tie Niu’s wife also nodded, “Xiuxiu and I have always been close, I won’t harm her.”
Ye Yong then looked at Ye Xing and Ye Wang.
Ye Xing quickly said, “Brother Yong, we won’t spread any rumors.”
“Good, I trust you both.” Ye Yong let out a breath of relief. He had done all he could—there was no way he could kill someone to silence them.
“I’m tired,” Ye Yong said, and turned to leave the main room.
Du shi glared at his retreating figure, unable to hide her frustration, before following the Ye elders out.
Ye Caiping waved at Ye Xing and his brother, “Come here.”
“Little Aunt.”
Ye Caiping took out an oil-paper bag from her sleeve and handed each of them a piece of osmanthus candy, “Here, each of you take one.”
The brothers’ eyes lit up when they saw the candy. “Thank you, Little Aunt.”
“If you keep this secret, I’ll give you more candies in the future. Now go home!”
The two brothers happily ran off.
Inside the room, only Ye Caiping, Zhuzi’s wife, Tie Niu’s wife, and the always-invisible Ye Jin’er were left.
Zhuzi’s wife spoke first, “If you ask me, Xiuxiu’s mother really doesn’t think things through.”
“With so many people around, someone is bound to slip up. I’m just worried that when Xiuxiu gets married, her husband might hear rumors, and that will be troublesome for her.”
Ye Caiping replied, “Maybe her future husband won’t even care about how Xiuxiu lives.”
Tie Niu’s wife shook her head, “Always talking about twenty taels of silver. How ridiculous.”
…
Back at home, Xiuxiu’s mother stormed into Hu Xiuxiu’s room.
With one slap, she knocked Xiuxiu to the ground. “You wretched girl, was it you causing all this trouble?”
“You always washed clothes by the willow tree, but today, you chose to wash at the Ye family’s cassava spot. What a coincidence that you fell into the water and they had to pull you out.”
“Why did you fall today, of all days? Why did you have to fall right when you were about to go meet the matchmaker in town?”
Yesterday, the matchmaker had come again, saying she had found a potential suitor for Hu Xiuxiu.
The man was a carpenter from town.
Not only did he have a house in town, but he also had a skill in woodworking, earning one or two taels of silver a month from his craft.
He was the only son in five generations, and when he heard that Hu Xiuxiu had seven younger brothers and was said to be able to bear sons, the carpenter’s family was very satisfied.
They said they wanted to meet her, and as long as she wasn’t too bad-looking and they felt a connection, the marriage would be arranged.
When Xiuxiu’s mother heard these conditions, she immediately agreed without hesitation. The matchmaker gave a time, saying they would meet in three days.
Who would have thought that after confirming the meeting yesterday, today, Hu Xiuxiu would be involved in such an incident.
When Xiuxiu’s mother saw her soaked and drenched, being sent back by Tie Niu’s wife, she nearly went mad.
The first thing she did was lock Xiuxiu in her room before heading over to the Ye family to cause a scene with Tie Niu’s wife.
“If this marriage doesn’t work out, I won’t help you find anyone in the future. No matter who it is, if someone offers twenty taels, you’ll marry them. Do you hear me?”
Sitting on the floor, Hu Xiuxiu covered her red face and gave her mother a cold glance without saying a word.
Seeing her daughter’s reaction, Xiuxiu’s mother felt a twinge of guilt, her lips tightening slightly.
“Xiuxiu, I’m doing this for your own good. With your conditions, you could marry better. Ye Yong’s family is too poor, they can’t offer you a good life, nor can they help you with your brothers.”
“Think carefully, I won’t harm you.”
With that, Xiuxiu’s mother turned and left the room, locking the door behind her.
Hu Xiuxiu sat on the floor, lying down on the bed with her eyes closed.
Forget it. A mother-in-law like that… if Ye Yong had to deal with her, it would probably be a disaster!
Today’s incident, she decided, would be her last struggle.
…
As evening fell, the atmosphere around the dinner table was a little tense.
Ye Caiping had cooked, and today’s meal featured braised pork made from the pork belly Ye Daquan had bought earlier.
“Smells so good!” Ye Daquan exclaimed excitedly.
But when he looked around, he saw that Yan Fang and the others were all sitting with solemn faces, the atmosphere feeling off.
“What’s wrong with you all?” Ye Daquan asked, confused.
Ye Peng had already taken a bite of the pork, observing Ye Caiping and the others.
“Nothing… just eat,” Yan Fang said with a forced smile.
Yan Fang quickly changed the subject, “The cassava should be ready to be harvested tomorrow, right?”
“Yep, tomorrow is the last day.”
The next morning, Ye Caiping and the others went to their stall as usual.
As the ox cart arrived at the stall, they saw plump auntie setting up the stall while talking.
“Ah, you’re finally here!” she called out.
“You won’t believe it, just now someone tried to take your spot, but luckily, I chased them away!”
Ye Caiping froze for a moment and then smiled, “Thanks, Big Sister.”
“That’s the one!” plump auntie pointed.
Following her gesture, Ye Caiping looked across the street and saw two people setting up a stall diagonally opposite.
Ye Caiping gave them a quick glance and then returned her attention to setting up her stall with Yan Fang and the others.
As daylight brightened, regular customers began to arrive.
Before long, their small stall was crowded with people.
Ye Caiping worked skillfully, keeping things moving smoothly.
The plump auntie and her husband knew that with spicy soup (hu la tang) in the mix, their porridge would be hard to sell, so today they had only prepared half a barrel of plain porridge, doubling the amount of fried dough sticks and steamed buns.
“Hot and spicy soup! Rich and smooth, only three wen a bowl! Small bowl for three wen, big bowl for five wen!” came the loud call from across the street.
Yan Fang paused as she was scooping soup, “They’re selling spicy soup over there too?”
The customers who had been lining up at their stall suddenly looked up at the commotion from across the street.
“There’s a new spicy soup stall over there.”
“And it’s only three wen, so cheap!”
A large number of customers immediately left to head over to the other stall.
Some customers in the innermost part of the line felt a little embarrassed and stayed behind, giving Ye Caiping a sheepish smile.
“I’ll still eat here!” they said.