Old Man Sun froze, as if he’d encountered a major crisis, when Father Lin mentioned staying there.

Everyone else chimed in with Father Lin, saying, “That’s right! You took three dowries back then, and you also cashed out your daughter’s dowry. That means you got four dowries, didn’t you? Wow, the four sons of the Sun family all got their wives by spending the Lin family’s money!”

Old Man Sun was extremely anxious. “No, no, that’s not true!” he thought.

He couldn’t admit to this, because if word got out, the Sun family would lose all their dignity.

It would mean that his children and grandchildren all owed the Lin family.

Mother Zhou and Aunt Lin, along with a few others, were determined to push Old Man Sun into buying a sewing machine today.

“Not buying it? Then it means you sold your daughter and relied on the Lin family to marry off your sons.”

Old Man Sun felt like he was being roasted over a fire, imagining the sizzling sound of oil dripping out.

He regretted coming here—this trip was unnecessary.

Now he was stuck in a difficult situation. What should he do?

Agree? He couldn’t bear to spend the money!

Refuse? The Sun family would lose face!

He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

He tried signaling to his daughter, hoping she’d loudly say she didn’t want the sewing machine.

Then the whole thing would be over.

But Sun Xiaohong was preoccupied with thoughts of Lin Yue.

Since marrying Lin Yue, they had never been apart, but now he wasn’t paying attention to her and had left.

She was worried that another woman might catch his eye.

He was healthy, tall, and handsome, very popular with women, and he was also good at taking care of people.

What if…?

Sun Xiaohong suddenly panicked!

Old Man Sun coughed and said, “Daughter, you don’t even do much sewing. This sewing machine…”

Sun Xiaohong cut him off, “Fine, let’s do as they say.”

She then picked up her son, looking downcast, and went to her room to sleep.

She was eagerly waiting for the morning so she could find Lin Yue.

Old Man Sun felt utterly frustrated!

He had never given a sewing machine as a dowry to his daughter-in-law before!

Even the barefoot doctor joined in pushing Old Man Sun. He wouldn’t be allowed to leave today without paying up.

With no way out, Old Man Sun gritted his teeth and agreed, “Fine.”

His vision went dark, his chest filled with anger, and he tasted rust in his mouth, as if he might cough up blood at any moment.

It really felt like a heavy loss!

….

The next morning, at the break of dawn, the Lu family got up to chop wood.

The fields were still too muddy to walk in, so the production team assigned the members to weave baskets, repair tools, and other tasks.

Families with other matters to handle were also free to take care of them.

Lu Erge, Lin Yue, Lu Dage, and Old Man Xu’s two sons and several other men all got ready to work, about a dozen in total, were busy cutting down trees in the yard.

In the countryside, whether it’s building a house or cutting trees, people always help each other out.

You help me, and I’ll help you.

Some men were responsible for sawing the tree branches, while others tied support poles to other trees.

This way, when the trunk falls, it would rest on these poles and not crash down directly.

A large locust tree had already been trimmed neatly.

The higher parts were hard to reach, so they left them for now and started sawing the lower part.

Two men sawed back and forth, making a “ka-cha ka-cha” sound.

Lin Shu, worried about the children getting hurt, sent Tiantian and Panpan to the street to play with other kids.

She boiled water and made a sweet egg soup for everyone to drink.

When cutting down trees, you don’t have to provide a meal, but you should at least offer a cigarette and a bowl of soup.

As daylight brightened, four female educated youths from the village came to help, saying they were there to comfort the soldier’s wife and do good deeds.

They eagerly helped to drag the sawed-off branches away.

Lin Shu was puzzled.

What was going on? The Lu family never had any connection with these educated youths.

Why were they here?

Soon she figured it out. These four girls were here to see Lin Yue.

Lin Shu thought, “What? Lin Yue just went out last night to catch cicada larvae, and now these educated girls are here to visit him?”

The yard was chaotic, and she didn’t have time to ask, so she let them be.

“Move aside, move aside!”

“We’re about to pull the big tree down!”

The men had tied a thick rope around the trunk.

When it was almost sawed through, a dozen men would pull it to a predetermined spot, preventing it from falling randomly and causing damage.

“One, two, one, two,” they chanted.

With a “ka-cha,” the big tree fell, landing where they planned, near the east wall.

Lin Yue lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, revealing a bright, handsome smile.

At this moment, a pretty young girl approached him with a smile, “Comrade Lin Yue, I’m an educated youth correspondent from the Lu Family Village team and a temporary journalist for the commune. Can I interview you?”

Lin Yue became a bit shy, “Interview me? Aren’t you here to interview my sister and Doctor Lu?”

The girl laughed, “Yes, but I also want to interview you.”

Just then, Sun Xiaohong rushed in from outside, witnessing this scene.

She ran over and shouted angrily, “Lin Yue!”

Lin Yue was so scared that he immediately hid behind his sister Lin Shu, clutching her tightly.

Lin Shu picked up a handsaw nearby and forcefully shoved it into Sun Xiaohong’s hands. “You help us work too. We really need more people.”

Sun Xiaohong wanted to drop the saw but was met with Lin Shu’s cold stare.

Lin Shu said, “If you dare make a scene in my house, I’ll have my sister-in-law slap you.”

Sun Xiaohong backed down.

She realized that her previous authority in the Lin family was only because her in-laws and husband were too soft and always gave in to her out of fear.

But outside her in-laws’ home, no one took her seriously.

A few older women were already ganging up on her.

In the past, they might have looked at her with a hint of something in their eyes, but now they spoke their minds openly.

Even her sister-in-law, who never dared to argue with her before, was now bold enough to take her sewing machine and threaten her into working.

Everyone was busy, and no one cared what she was thinking.

Lin Yue saw that Sun Xiaohong had been subdued by his sister and quickly went back to work.

Others were also busy dragging the sawed branches to an open space, chopping them up to dry for firewood.

Some even trimmed branches as thick as an arm to be used as handles for tools like shovels.

Sun Xiaohong felt completely confused—she had come to throw a tantrum, but somehow she ended up helping her sister-in-law with the work.

They worked from dawn until noon and had only managed to cut down two big trees.

Everyone went home to eat, planning to come back afterward to continue helping.

They could probably take down another tree in the afternoon.

Sun Xiaohong kept her eyes on Lin Yue, wanting to talk to him.

But Lin Yue, afraid she’d pinch him or cause a scene in front of everyone, kept avoiding her.

Lin Shu handed her two cornbread rolls. “Eat up, and then keep working.”

Sun Xiaohong wanted to throw them in Lin Shu’s face, but when she looked into Lin Shu’s beautiful, calm, black eyes, she saw a warning: if you make a scene, I’ll slap you. And if I can’t, I’ll get my mother-in-law or my older sister-in-law Lu Da to do it.

Furious, Sun Xiaohong snatched the cornbread.

Fang Dihua glanced at her and said, “Since you’re here, you’re a guest. Eat properly.”

With Fang Dihua’s words, Sun Xiaohong completely lost the courage to make a fuss and sat down obediently to eat.

Sister-in-law Lu Er, curious about Sun Xiaohong, walked over and asked, “So you’re the wife of the brother-in-law?”

Hearing someone talk to her, Sun Xiaohong’s eyes turned red with grievance. “Sister-in-law.”

Sister Lu Er said, “Oh? What’s wrong? Who’s bullying you?”

Sun Xiaohong stayed silent.

Many people act tough at home, but when they step outside… they become quite as a mink.