It was the familiar village entrance.

Since the autumn plowing had been completed, more people had gathered here. Some were chatting idly, some were quarreling, and children were running around, screaming loudly. In the corner, a group of people had gathered, seemingly gambling.

As soon as Fu Wenyu appeared at the village entrance, they noticed him.

“Wenyu is back.”

“It’s Wenyu from Third Uncle’s family. Hey, what is he holding?”

Before they could get up for a closer look, the children who had been running around shouted in surprise, “A sheep! Brother Wenyu has brought back a sheep! It’s a sheep!”

“Wow—”

In no time, Fu Wenyu was surrounded by layers of people.

Sheep were not common in Fujia Village. The last time one had been seen was when the clan leader’s son passed the imperial examination at the county level, and his family had bought a sheep from the city to entertain distinguished guests. So, the villagers watched the sheep, which was calmly grazing, with great curiosity, murmuring in amazement.

“Wenyu, why did you buy a sheep?”

“Wenyu, have you struck it rich? Your second uncle said you’ve been copying books for people, writing some storybooks, and even planning to build a house. Have you made a fortune? You’ve really made something of yourself.”

“How much did the sheep cost?”

Amid the villagers’ eager questions, a familiar voice suddenly sneered, “Hmph, all that talk about mourning and not eating meat is just a lie! It hasn’t even been a few days, and he’s already brought back a sheep. The two chickens he bought earlier must have been completely devoured by now. And yet, he still claims to be a filial son.”

Fu Wenyu: “…?”

It was Fourth Aunt Wen, who had wanted to help their family slaughter the chickens last time.

Fu Wenyu couldn’t let the villagers misunderstand, so he spoke seriously, “Fourth Aunt, you shouldn’t speak carelessly. The two chickens we bought earlier are still alive and well at our home, and they’ve even started laying eggs. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Sixth Aunt. She delivers vegetables to our house every day and knows everything clearly.”

“As for this sheep…”

Fu Wenyu tugged on the straw rope in his hand, pulling the sheep, which was still calmly grazing despite the curious touches of the children. Then he said, “This is a ewe that has just given birth to a lamb.”

“I didn’t buy it for meat, but to nourish our bodies. Sheep’s milk is warm in nature, and drinking it regularly can strengthen the body. So, to improve my mother and sister’s health, I specially bought this sheep. After some time, when this sheep no longer produces milk, the shepherd will bring a new ewe to exchange with me.”

The idea of exchanging sheep was something Fu Wenyu had come up with. After all, their family couldn’t eat meat at the moment, and the sheep seller had looked at him strangely at the time. However, Fu Wenyu promised to pay an additional sum, so the seller agreed.

Thinking that the milk from one sheep would be more than enough for their family, Fu Wenyu added, “If any of you have elderly or children at home who are weak, you can exchange eggs with me for sheep’s milk.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a thin old man asked, “Can babies drink sheep’s milk?”

“Of course they can!” Fu Wenyu nodded affirmatively.

However, those who were lactose intolerant couldn’t drink it, but there was no need to mention that now. He would remind them when someone actually came to exchange.

After explaining this, Fu Wenyu ignored those who were asking him questions like “Is sheep’s milk tasty?” or “Are you selling the land?” and led the bleating sheep back home.

When he arrived home, Fu Rong, seeing the sheep obediently following behind Fu Wenyu, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Brother, why did you buy a sheep?”

“Sheep’s milk is nutritious. We can drink some every day,” Fu Wenyu said. “By the way, has something happened at home? You didn’t seem very happy earlier.”

“Where’s Mother?”

Hearing this, Fu Rong bit her lip slightly, glanced inside the house, and whispered, “Mother is upset. She went out with Second Aunt this morning and came back unhappy. I think Second Aunt must have upset her again.”

Second Aunt had caused trouble again?

Fu Wenyu’s expression immediately turned serious.

At that moment, Chunhua, Fu Rong’s cousin who had been talking with her earlier, glanced at Fu Rong and said softly, “…My mother and Aunt went to pick wild vegetables, and then they started arguing. After that, Aunt came back.”

Mrs. Zhou and Second Aunt had argued?

Chunhua must know something.

Fu Wenyu thought to himself, and judging by her earlier actions, it was clearly related to Fu Rong.

Thinking this, Fu Wenyu already understood.

It must be about that matter with Landlord Chen. Second Aunt had brought it up again, otherwise Mrs. Zhou wouldn’t have been so upset and argued with her. So, he handed the straw rope to Fu Rong, who had been curiously staring at the sheep, and said, “Take the sheep outside to graze. Don’t go too far.”

“Oh, and I bought some delicious tea eggs. You and Chunhua can each have one.”

Chunhua quickly declined, “I… I won’t eat. I’m not hungry.”

“Take it. It’s not something expensive,” Fu Wenyu said, giving one to each of them. As for the pastries he had brought back from the teahouse, he didn’t bother to share them, as he was too lazy to unpack them.

“Don’t play too late. Come back by dinner time.”

Fu Rong happily took the tea egg and the rope, “Okay!”

“Sister Chunhua, do you want to come with me?”

Fu Chunhua was a year older than Fu Rong, slightly taller, and her skin was darker. If there was any similarity between the two sisters, it was probably that both had thin faces.

Chunhua was at an age where she was interested in small animals, so when Fu Rong asked, she happily agreed. The two sisters then set off with the sheep.

“Sister Chunhua, what kind of grass do sheep eat?”

“Is it the same as cows?”

“Then I know. There’s a patch of tender grass over there. Sixth Aunt’s cow is always taken there to graze. Let’s take the sheep there too.”

“Okay!”

…

Watching his sister and Chunhua leave, Fu Wenyu put down the other things he had bought in the city and then headed to Mrs. Zhou’s room.

“Mother, Chunhua said you had an argument with Second Aunt?”

Inside the room, Mrs. Zhou was staring at a basket of wild vegetables on the table, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Fu Wenyu spoke that she snapped out of it, “Wenyu, you’re back.”

Fu Wenyu sat down across from her and asked seriously, “What happened?”

Mrs. Zhou hesitated for a moment, then sighed, “It’s still about that matter with Landlord Chen. Today, we went to pick wild vegetables together. Everything was fine on the way, but when we got there, your Second Aunt took advantage of the fact that no one was around and brought up Landlord Chen’s son again, saying how good their family was and how much our family would benefit if Xiao Rong married into their family.”

“I was so angry that I ended up arguing with her.”

Fu Wenyu quickly comforted her, “Good for you!”

“Mother, our family doesn’t need to rely on Second Uncle’s help anymore. You don’t have to put up with this. Second Aunt daring to bring this up repeatedly shows that she doesn’t consider us family and doesn’t respect us.”

“We can’t let her get away with this.”

“I know,” Mrs. Zhou said with a bitter smile. “Your Second Aunt let it slip today. It turns out that Landlord Chen promised her two taels of silver if the matchmaking was successful. In her eyes, Xiao Rong’s future is only worth two taels of silver. Your father and I have always treated Chunhua and Wenju well. How could she do something like this?”

Previously, Mrs. Liu had been urging her to marry her daughter into the Chen family. She had thought that Second Aunt was being so enthusiastic because she wanted to benefit from the ten taels of silver and ten acres of land their family would receive.

But it turned out it was all for two taels of silver!

If she hadn’t been worried about damaging her daughter’s reputation, she would have asked someone to mediate.

Two taels of silver?

Fu Wenyu clenched his fists tightly.

Now he understood why Second Aunt had been so persistent, bringing up the matter repeatedly. It turned out that Landlord Chen had promised her such a generous reward for matchmaking.

Two taels of silver was enough for a family of four in the city to live on for a month. In the countryside, where food, housing, and vegetables were mostly self-sufficient, silver was even more valuable. Some families only needed two or three taels of silver as a bride price for their sons.

Should they be grateful that Landlord Chen had promised two taels of silver?

If it weren’t for the desire to keep the two taels of silver to herself, Second Aunt, given her nature, would have already spread the news throughout the village, instead of only mentioning it in private.

Before Fu Wenyu could speak, Mrs. Zhou hesitantly added, “Wenyu, I’ve been thinking. You were planning to build a few more rooms, right? Why not build a wall as well? That way, we can enclose our home, and our lives will be more peaceful. What do you think?”

“That’s a great idea!”

Fu Wenyu gave a thumbs-up in approval.

Having traveled from modern times, he actually preferred a lifestyle where each family minded their own business. Living next to Second Uncle’s family, where they could see everything he did, was something he wasn’t used to. Not to mention, there was still his grandfather to consider. So, building a wall would be perfect for him.

But at the same time, he felt a surge of anger.

Second Aunt Fu bringing up the matter again wasn’t just her doing—it was also Landlord Chen’s.

It had been so long since the incident, and he had thought that Landlord Chen had given up. But it turned out that he hadn’t and was still stirring up trouble.

Did they really think he was easy to bully?

Thinking this, Fu Wenyu said seriously to Mrs. Zhou, “Mother, the root of this problem lies with Landlord Chen. As long as he hasn’t given up, there will be others like Second Aunt today and someone else tomorrow.”

“We can’t keep dealing with this as it comes. We need to resolve it once and for all.”

Madam Zhou was stunned, murmuring, “…Once and for all?”

“Yes,” Fu Wenyu said earnestly. “Mother, tell me about Landlord Chen. What kind of person is he? What has he done? What’s his family situation like?”

As the saying goes, “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.” Fu Wenyu felt that before confronting Landlord Chen, he needed to understand the man’s background. In other words, he needed to have some leverage before negotiating. Otherwise, going in blindly would be like throwing meat to a dog—it would be a one-way trip.

Mrs. Zhou came to her senses and began to explain.

She didn’t know Landlord Chen’s name, as he didn’t interact much with the villagers. All she knew was that his family had moved here ten years ago and had bought over two hundred acres of land.

The Chen family kept to themselves, renting their land to people from nearby villages. The rent was said to be low, and they would reduce it during bad years, so they had a good reputation locally. They were a low-key family, and the most notable thing about them was that Landlord Chen and his wife had a son with the mental capacity of a five or six-year-old.

In other words, there were no records of them committing crimes or breaking the law.

This made things difficult for Fu Wenyu.

His backup plan had been to gather evidence of Landlord Chen’s wrongdoing. If negotiations failed, he would report him to the authorities and have him arrested.

Now that the backup plan was no longer viable, Fu Wenyu wasn’t discouraged. He quickly changed into clean clothes, rolled up the newspaper he had brought back, and set off for Landlord Chen’s house.

However, before he left, Mrs. Zhou stopped him.

“Wenyu, I’ve been thinking carefully.”

Mrs. Zhou frowned, “When you get to Landlord Chen’s house, you mustn’t act impulsively. Talk to him properly and ask him not to bring up the marriage proposal again. Don’t cause any unnecessary trouble.”

“Xiao Rong’s reputation is at stake.”

“We can’t let this escalate, understand?”

She had been tolerating Mrs. Liu all this time, worried that she would spread the news of the marriage proposal. Even though their family wouldn’t agree, gossip could be damaging. When she had lived in the city, she had seen people with no conscience deliberately ruin young girls’ reputations, making it difficult for them to marry, and then coming to propose.

With her husband gone and their family now separated from Second Uncle’s, they couldn’t afford any more setbacks.

Fu Wenyu’s expression turned serious, “Mother, I understand.”

Since he was going with the intention of confronting Landlord Chen, he didn’t bring any eggs or pastries. He simply walked confidently to the Chen family’s doorstep.

“Excuse me, I’m Fu Wenyu. Please announce my arrival.”