By the time lunch was ready, Lu Qingyuan felt like her brain had been completely overwhelmed by her grandmother’s barrage of gossip.

When her third uncle and the others returned, the house instantly became lively.

Her eldest and second cousins greeted her warmly, while their wives affectionately took her hands and chatted with her.

When they heard she had a fiancé, they all told her to bring him along next time.

Lu Qingyuan agreed repeatedly.

After a lively meal, they sat for a while, chatting with Mother Lu and Lu Qingyuan before heading off to work.

Since there was plenty to do at home as well, Mother Lu saw that her brothers had gone back to work and brought up their plans to return home.

Although Grandma and Grandpa Zhou were reluctant to part, they didn’t insist on keeping them.

Instead, they packed some things for Lu Qingyuan to take home—vegetables they didn’t grow at her house, some dried fruits, and even leftover peanuts from the New Year.

The peanuts were well-preserved and still crunchy.

Refusing would only make Grandpa Zhou blow his beard and glare, so they could only accept them.

“Grandma, Grandpa, take care of yourselves. Next time, I’ll definitely bring my fiancé to visit you.”

Lu Qingyuan waved to the two elderly figures standing at the door.

“Good, good! I’ll make something delicious for you then!”

“And I’ll give him a good look over,” Grandpa Zhou added.

Lu Qingyuan waved one last time before following Mother Lu down the path home.

After walking some distance, she turned back and could still see the two small figures in the distance.

Mother Lu had also noticed. Smiling, she said, “Qingyuan, when you and Xiao Shu have your own home, remember to visit your father and me often.”

“Of course, I will.” Lu Qingyuan said, nodding firmly.

When they got home, Grandma Lu was sleeping.

Hearing from Eldest Sister-in-law Lu that everything was fine with her today, they both felt reassured.

After putting away the things Grandma Zhou had given them, Lu Qingyuan saw that there were enough people at home to handle things. Since it was still early, she grabbed a bamboo basket and a sickle, preparing to visit Chunhong.

Ever since Chunhong turned seventeen, her family had stopped letting her work in the fields. She had been tanned badly before, and not only was her skin dark, but she had also developed freckles.

To ensure she could marry well in the future, they had her stay home to cook and recover her complexion.

Ten minutes later, Lu Qingyuan arrived at Chunhong’s house.

Coincidentally, Chunhong was also carrying a bamboo basket and seemed ready to head out.

“Qingyuan! I was just about to look for you. Come on, let’s go pick some wild celery and make a cold dish out of it!”

This season’s wild vegetables were the freshest and most tender.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Lu Qingyuan agreed, and the two of them walked off, chatting and laughing as they headed to a secret spot where they had found wild vegetables in previous years.

The production team was quite large, and there were many places where wild vegetables grew. The two of them loved foraging in the spring and were familiar with several good spots.

They visited three locations in total. One had already been picked clean, but the other two still had plenty. Together, they managed to gather half a bamboo basket of wild celery and carried it home.

Mother Lu and the others came over to help. They washed the wild celery, blanched it, and prepared it as a cold dish before starting on dinner.

“Let me tell you,” Mother Lu told Eldest Sister-in-law Lu about the gossip that Grandma Zhou told her

Compared to Lu Qingyuan, Eldest Sister-in-law Lu was a much better audience. Her facial expressions were lively, and she responded with various sounds of agreement and curiosity.

“Really?”

“Oh wow! How could someone be like that?”

“Oh dear, that girl had it rough, but at least she was decisive. She left right away. If she had waited until after the wedding night, even if she wanted to leave, it wouldn’t have been easy!”

After preparing a separate meal for Grandma Lu, Mother Lu took it to her and repeated the gossip. Grandma Lu listened with great interest and finished all her food.

Meanwhile, at the big table outside, the whole family was listening to Eldest Sister-in-law Lu recount the story.

Lu Qingyuan: ……

The two little ones didn’t understand what was going on and just focused on eating their food.

They were quite well-behaved.

After dinner, Second Aunt Lu and Third Aunt Lu’s families came over for a visit. As they chatted with Mother Lu, the conversation turned to Lu Qingguo’s matchmaking.

“His fifth aunt said there’s a girl from the Qingjia Valley area who seems nice. Her surname is Zhou, and her father is Zhou Dabao. Have you heard of them?”

Lu Qingyuan sat nearby, resting her chin on her hands as she listened.

“That family is no good,” Third Aunt Lu immediately dismissed the idea, her face scrunched up in disapproval.

“Zhou Dabao has six older sisters, and he is the youngest in the family. His wife is constantly criticized and picked on by her sisters-in-law. Even their children are being raised to depend on him like leeches. That won’t work.”

Second Aunt Lu and Mother Lu suddenly understood and immediately ruled them out.

“There’s another girl,” Second Aunt Lu said, glancing at Lu Qingyuan with a teasing smile. “She’s from Xiao Shu’s production team. Her father’s name is Cheng Dayong.”

“We don’t know that family.”

“Never heard of them. Should we visit sometime?”

Second Aunt Lu nodded. “I’ll go when it rains. Qingyuan, you should come with me. You can take the chance to get familiar with the family.”

Lu Qingyuan blushed at her teasing. “Alright.”

Technically, she should go take a look. But since the prospective match wasn’t home, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to visit alone.

Having an elder accompany her would be more proper.

As luck would have it, it rained two days later.

Lu Qingyuan packed a few things, carried a bamboo basket, held an umbrella, and set out with Second Aunt Lu.

Because of the rain, their journey to Shu Beiqiu’s production team took ten extra minutes compared to usual.

They went to Shu Beiqiu’s house first.

The Shu family’s courtyard wasn’t as large as the Lu family’s. After all, the Lu family’s courtyard was shared by three households, whereas the Shu family had only one.

The courtyard had tall stone walls.

The entrance was a large double wooden gate, making it look more imposing than the usual single-door homes.

Second Aunt Lu called out from outside, asking if anyone was home.

Soon, three people emerged at the entrance. Under one umbrella stood Father Shu and Mother Shu. Under another stood a young woman.

“Oh my, I was wondering why it’s raining today! Turns out we were meant to stay home and wait for important guests!”

Mother Shu’s cheerful voice rang out.

Lu Qingyuan, feeling a little shy at being teased, smiled awkwardly.

Xiao Tingting, standing beside her, smiled as she put away her own umbrella and shared one with Lu Qingyuan.

“I’m Xiao Tingting. My husband is Shu Beidong.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lu Qingyuan. My fiancé is Shu Beiqiu.”

Lu Qingyuan smiled.

“That makes you my future third sister-in-law then!” Xiao Tingting said warmly, linking arms with her as they entered the house.

The Shu family’s home was built with stone and wood. The floors were paved with large stone tiles, and the lower half of the walls was stone, while the upper half was wooden.

It looked both sturdy and aesthetically pleasing.

Holding a warm bowl of sweetened water in her hands, Lu Qingyuan sipped on it while listening to Second Aunt Lu ask Mother Shu about the Cheng family girl.

Xiao Tingting sat beside her. Seeing how focused Lu Qingyuan was, she lowered her voice and said, “That girl is a good person, but she’s very timid.”

“Timid? How timid?”

Lu Qingyuan asked in a hushed voice.

“Let me put it this way,” Xiao Tingting gave an example. “If a cat cries outside at night, she’ll be so scared that she’ll start crying.”

“Huh?”

Lu Qingyuan was stunned. She furrowed her brows. “Was she abused before?”

Some girls in their production team were timid, but most of them had grown up in homes where they were beaten, especially in families that favored boys over girls.

“Yes. Her stepfather now, Uncle Cheng, isn’t the problem. It was her biological father who beat her that way,” Xiao Tingting said with sympathy in her eyes. “I heard that when she was just eight years old, he beat her so badly that her intestines almost fell out.”

Lu Qingyuan took a sharp breath. So did Second Aunt Lu.

She had just heard the same story from Mother Shu.

“What a beast. But at least he’s dead,” Father Shu cursed. “He drank himself stupid and drowned in a filthy ditch. They only found him the next morning.”

“Serves him right!”

Second Aunt Lu cursed too. “His own daughter! How could he be so heartless?”

“Exactly!” Mother Shu chimed in.

“Being timid isn’t a big problem,” Second Aunt Lu mused. “A person’s environment can change them. My eldest son has a bright and optimistic personality. If the two of them end up together, he might help her become more confident.”

A little more cheerfulness and courage would be good for her.

Hearing this, Xiao Tingting looked at Second Aunt Lu in surprise.

“Auntie, to be honest, this Cheng family girl may be timid, but she’s just as beautiful as Qingyuan. She’s just been rejected several times already because of her timid nature. Other families prefer strong-willed brides.”

If this marriage could really work out, regardless of what kind of person that man was, just having a mother-in-law like that would ensure the Cheng family’s daughter could live a good life.

When Second Aunt Lu heard that the girl was just as beautiful as her niece, her eyes lit up instantly.

Seeing that she was interested, Mother Shu smiled and said she planned to visit the Cheng family to borrow something, asking if she wanted to come along.

Second Aunt Lu grinned and nodded eagerly. “Of course, I’ll go!”

Father Shu also stood up, put on his straw hat, grabbed a sickle, and told Lu Qingyuan and Xiao Tingting to stay home while he went to the vegetable field to pick some greens.

As soon as they left, Xiao Tingting chuckled. “Qingyuan, do you want to go check out Third Brother’s room?”

Lu Qingyuan took a sip of her sweetened water. “He’s not home, so forget it.”

“Come on, he specifically told me that if you ever come over, you can enter his room anytime.”

Xiao Tingting burst into laughter.

“Really?”

Lu Qingyuan was surprised. “He actually said that?”

“Yep, and my in-laws can vouch for it. Since my husband isn’t home, I won’t count him in.”

Xiao Tingting giggled.

“What kind of man invites his fiancée over for the first time and tells her she can freely check out his room?”

Lu Qingyuan teased.

Xiao Tingting laughed so hard she smacked the table. “Exactly! My mother-in-law and I have teased him about it so many times!”

Lu Qingyuan couldn’t help but laugh along.

As they chatted happily, Xiao Tingting mentioned how Shu Beiqiu always bickered with Shu Beidong when he was home. Whenever Shu Beidong lost the argument, he would get so annoyed that he dragged Xiao Tingting into the fight to back him up.

“And I win every single time!”

Xiao Tingting said proudly.

“What do you say to him?” Lu Qingyuan asked.

“I just tell him he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

Xiao Tingting burst into laughter again after saying that, and Lu Qingyuan, picturing Shu Beiqiu’s helpless expression, found it hilarious too.

Before long, Mother Shu and the others returned, chatting and laughing.

Seeing that Lu Qingyuan and Xiao Tingting got along so well, Mother Shu felt even more pleased.