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Su Zhi also came to help in the kitchen, making the manpower more sufficient. Just now, she only let Chunlan, Chunxiang, and Chunyue, the three girls, do the light work of shelling peanuts on the side. Now that they had finished, she sent them to the inner room to play with Ye’er. Su Zhi saw that the preparations in the kitchen were almost done. Some of the more time-consuming dishes had already been put in the pots. She went out as the hostess to exchange pleasantries with the villagers who came. The custom here was that not only relatives and friends could come, but also unfamiliar or unknown people were welcome. The aim was to create a lively and festive atmosphere. As long as someone came, as long as they brought a smile and manners, the host family had to take care of food and drink.
Because the guests were expected to bring gifts, although there was no restriction on who could come, most of the guests were usually relatives and friends. Su Zhi’s family broke the norm this time, and there were indeed many guests. Su Zhi didn’t mind the continuous arrival of guests. Everyone greeted her with smiles. Many of the guests Su Zhi had never met before, but she still greeted them warmly. She quickly called Wang shi and Li shi out to help, and Zhao Feng also volunteered to help greet guests. “Ah Yu, Shugen’s Wife, come and take a look. There are so many people. I wonder if the things prepared are enough!” Li Qing’s Wife stood in front of the kitchen door, looking outside, and called out to the two behind her. The tone was full of envy. Who wouldn’t envy it? Although there was a lot of food for the many guests, how many times in a lifetime could one build a house? The purpose of the warm room was to prosper with many people. The more guests, the better the popularity. In the future, such days would also be prosperous. Who would worry about having such a meal? Shugen’s Wife came over and looked outside, saying, “Su Zhi’s family is doing well these days.”
Shen Yu family now. She was happy in her heart, thinking when her own family could also live well. Just as she was thinking this, she saw her parents coming. Her eyes lit up, but her heart shrank. She instinctively moved back. Shen Youfu and Shen Zhang shi also arrived, and not only them, but the whole Shen family came. “Father, mother, eldest brother, second brother, third brother, younger brother, younger sister,” Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi had just rested for a moment when they saw the whole Shen family coming over. Shen Zi’an called out one by one. Su Zhi followed behind, calling out as well. At this moment, she just needed to act like a virtuous wife from behind. Now that Shen Zi’an was the head of the family, she completely trusted him.
“Hmm,” Shen Youfu responded with a grunt from his nose. His face was softer than usual, but still quite serious. He glanced at the houses and felt uncomfortable. How could he feel comfortable? His son was only able to set up his own household because he had been separated from the family, nearly kicked out, all because of the supposed bad luck brought by his daughter-in-law. And yet, within just two months, they had built such good houses and enclosed such a large garden. What did this imply? It meant he was wrong. His daughter-in-law was not a bringer of bad luck at all. Perhaps, as the villagers gossiped, she was actually a lucky charm. This was a slap in his face! Shen Youfu cared a lot about his reputation. Although he had a bad temper, it was all because of his pride. Now, his son had made him lose face. Of course, his expression wouldn’t look good.
However, thinking about how this son now had money and some connections with the prestigious Sacred Beast, Shen Youfu decided to come over. This was not only for himself but also for Shen Ziju. This youngest son could bring him even greater glory in the future. In order to ensure that his youngest son could receive more help, he couldn’t cut ties with this wealthy and famous son now. He had to rely on him! Shen Zhang shi praised Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi with a smile, saying a few words of congratulations. In short, the hard times were over, and good times were ahead. Everyone would live well together from now on. She didn’t mention how Shen Zi’an and the others had been separated, but she still showed concern for the hardships Shen Zi’an had suffered before. Holding Shen Zi’an’s hand with a gentle expression made Su Zhi admire her greatly.
Shen Zhu stepped forward and smiled at Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi, saying, “Congratulations to Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law on the completion of your new house. May your future days be even more prosperous. Don’t forget about me, your little sister!” Shen Ziju also approached. When Shen Zi’an was building the house, he had come by twice, but hadn’t done much, just looked around. Now, this was his third visit. Looking at the finished and decorated house, he was also surprised. He hadn’t expected the house to turn out so well. Thinking about his own old house, he felt a bit uncomfortable. But then he remembered that as long as he passed the Imperial Examination and became an official, the house he would live in would be much better than this one, hundreds of times over. With that thought, he felt relieved.
“Congratulations, Fourth Brother, congratulations, Fourth Sister-in-law.”
Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi returned the greetings one by one. Shen Zhu and Shen Ziju, this pair of twins, were considered by them to be those kind of people who neither did anything particularly praiseworthy nor made any mistakes. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, the couple naturally treated them as younger siblings. Although they weren’t as close as the eldest or second eldest brothers, they also didn’t dislike them like they did with the third brother’s family.
Sun shi was too busy looking at the houses to talk. She couldn’t say much anyway, as before coming today, she had been warned by her mother-in-law not to say anything sharp or cunning. Now, she could only watch the new houses with envy, figuring out how to get some money from Shen Zi’an’s hands to spend. Shen Ziping was thinking the same thing. He thought that all these things should be his. It was all because Su Zhi, that jinx, had taken away his fortune. He wished he could just snatch it all back!
Su Zhi looked at the people from the third family, but after a brief glance, she didn’t want to look anymore. Instead, she went to play with Chuncao and Chunyun, who had just been brought in, telling them there were candies inside.
Here during a house-warming, it was customary for guests to take a tour of the newly built houses after presenting their gifts. This not only spread the warmth and joy to every room but also allowed the hosts to showcase their new home. The Shen family was no exception.
“Father, Mother, let me take you to the inner room,” Shen Zi’an said. When the guests who had arrived earlier went to see the house, they had already seen Yang Qingshan and Ye’er, so it was already public knowledge. When the Shen family went to the inner room, they would definitely see them. It was better to open up about it now before the banquet started and any further conflicts arose.
By this time, Wang shi and Li shi had already told their husband about Shen Yu’s family of three. Both of them liked their eldest sister very much. They thought that if they could take this opportunity to make their father forgive her, it would be a good thing. Even if he didn’t forgive her, if she could move around freely with Fourth Brother, it would be a place for her in Riverside Village, and they would have a place to contact her.
With this in mind, Su Zhi had already prepared to help persuade Shen Youfu. Su Zhi asked Li Shi to call Shen Yu to accompany them to enter the house first. Sun Shi was already envious when she saw the main hall, but when she stepped into the inner room, her eyes turned even redder. She wanted to take a look at the kang, but she saw that the old man Shen wasn’t moving. She wondered what was wrong with the old man, standing there without letting others take a look at the new house. She didn’t dare say anything, so she just shifted a bit, and then she saw several people sitting on the kang. Of course, she recognized her nieces and nephews. Wasn’t the man sitting there Yang Qingshan? “Oh! Isn’t this my big brother-in-law? How come you’re here?” When Sun Shi spoke, everyone reacted. Shen Youfu immediately turned his face to look at Shen Zi’an and asked, “What is he doing here? Is that dead girl here too? Why did you let them in?! Didn’t I say we’re done with them?!” Shen Zi’an said, “Father, please sit down first, and let’s talk slowly.”
“Father, Mother.” Shen Yu walked in at this moment, her eyes red as she looked at her parents. Shen Zhang shi burst into tears when she saw her. This was her daughter. Back then, she was angry because of her stubbornness, but after so many years, seeing her unable to enter the house and living poorly, she felt uncomfortable too. She had asked her sons to take care of her more when they saw her, but what could they do? Seeing her still suffering like this? She was only in her twenties, but she looked like she was in her thirties! Shen Zi’an ignored Shen Youfu’s anger and invited him to sit down on a chair, saying, “Father, for so many years, you refused to forgive sister just because you thought she didn’t listen and that she was ruining the reputation of the Shen family.
“But can not letting her in prove that the Shen family’s reputation is good? She’s still a daughter of the Shen family. From her bones to her blood, she is Shen family’s.”
Wang shi stood up for the sake of her daughters’ reputation and also mentioned the incident with the village gossip from a few days ago. Li shi chimed in, agreeing with her. She didn’t want her daughter to be implicated either. Shen Zi’an continued, “If my sister really committed some unforgivable mistake, then we would acknowledge it. But she clearly didn’t do anything wrong. Instead of pushing her out of the Shen family to prove that the Shen family has expelled this one unworthy descendant, why not accept them and publicly declare that she did nothing wrong, resolving the rumors from back then? It’s better to have a daughter who marries her benefactor out of gratitude than one who marries a thief out of humiliation!”
“It’s easier said than done!” Shen Youfu, although he felt that Shen Zi’an’s words made sense, believed that after so many years, it wouldn’t be easy for people to change their opinion of Shen Yu. He still wasn’t keen on accepting this daughter.
Su Zhi interjected, “Rumors are spread by people’s mouths. It’s been so many years, and many people have already forgotten about this matter. Besides, not everyone speaks ill of elder sister. It’s only those few troublemakers who enjoy spreading rumors. Just now, elder sister and I were busy in the kitchen, and the several sisters-in-law get along quite well with her. They all feel unjust for her. Furthermore, Father, not long ago, many people said I was a jinx, but now everyone gets along well with me, don’t they? Rumors are stopped by wise individuals. We can’t let a few drops of spit drown us alive!” Shen Ziju looked at Su Zhi, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes.