Chapter 56: Trying On New Clothes

Zou Shi, with a face full of disgust, stepped aside but couldn’t help feeling a sharp pang in her heart as she looked at the hairpin.

That was a jade hairpin she had bought for ten taels of silver, and now she was giving it away, especially to Ye Xin Ran, the person she despised the most.

Ye Xin Ran noticed Zou Shi’s discomfort and took advantage of the situation to pull another hairpin from her head.

“You… How dare you!”

Zou Shi quickly raised her hand to cover her head.

Ye Xin Ran turned to Ye Da Cheng and said, “Father, look! Mother doesn’t want to compensate me, so I’ll have no choice but to report this to the authorities!”

Ye Da Cheng, furious, glared at Zou Shi. “What are a few worthless ornaments worth? And you’re giving them to her?”

“They’re not worthless! These cost quite a few tens of coins…”

“Hmm?”

Ye Da Cheng looked at Zou Shi.

Earlier, Zou Shi had claimed her jewelry was merely decorative, looking nice but being cheap. Ye Da Cheng believed her and thought Zou Shi was a frugal homemaker.

Little did he know, Zou Shi’s jewelry was all genuine and had been bought for a high price.

But Zou Shi had spent years maintaining the image of a frugal matron and couldn’t afford to let it be ruined now.

She quickly changed her tune. “These cost quite a few tens of coins!”

“Tens of coins? And you’re so attached to them? Are we just playing with this huge family fortune? Hurry up and take them off and give them to her!”

Ye Da Cheng commanded, and Zou Shi, unwilling, reluctantly took off her earrings.

“And what about this?”

Ye Xin Ran pointed to the rings and bracelets on Zou Shi’s hands.

Ye Da Cheng didn’t know, but Ye Xin Ran did, Zou Shi’s jewelry was all of good quality.

The original owner had once overheard Zou Shi telling Ye Xin Yao that these pieces were savings for her dowry. When Ye Xin Yao married, Zou Shi planned to give half of them as her dowry.

Zou Shi’s heart bled as she removed the rings and bracelets under Ye Da Cheng’s watchful eye.

Ye Xin Ran caught each item with a handkerchief, her voice filled with disdain as she said:

“Sigh, these cheap things aren’t even worth much now that they’ve been soaked in sewage. I don’t even know if they’ll be enough to fix the wall.

If you weren’t my parents, this matter wouldn’t have ended so easily!”

“Ye Xin Ran, don’t act like you’ve gained something and now want to look innocent!”

Zou Shi gritted her teeth in anger.

“Enough! Stop talking nonsense and just leave!”

Ye Da Cheng couldn’t stand the way everyone was staring at his embarrassing situation, so he quickly boarded the carriage, almost fleeing.

The coachman climbed into the carriage right after him, and Ye Da Cheng hurriedly urged, “Let’s go, go, hurry up!”

At that moment, Zou Shi had only managed to get one foot onto the carriage.

As soon as the carriage started moving, she hurriedly rolled inside like a ball, banging her head against the edge of the carriage and getting her skirt caught on the side. The scene was so embarrassing, it was hard to imagine anything more ridiculous.

“They look so funny!”

“Yeah, like fools!”

The villagers pointed at the carriage in the distance, and the village head, having dismissed the crowd, turned to Ye Xin Ran and asked, “Are these two really your parents?”

“Yes!” Ye Xin Ran nodded, “But now they’re my enemies!”

“Oh dear, they’re family, why make it so ugly? What will you do the next time you meet them?”

The village head still tried to mediate.

However, Ye Xin Ran replied, “What will I do? I’ll just beat them every time I see them!”

“You child!” The village head helplessly smiled and pointed at Ye Xin Ran.

From what he knew about Ye Xin Ran, she wasn’t a cold or heartless person. To make her act like this, her parents must be worse than animals.

Of course, he acknowledged that he was being biased in his judgment.

Seeing that the village head had no more words, Ye Xin Ran took the initiative to ask, “Village head uncle, did you need something from me?”

It was then that the village head remembered his original purpose for coming. “I just wanted to ask you, how’s Director Wei doing? Will he agree to set up a school in our village?”

Ye Xin Ran replied, “Lady Leng’s illness hasn’t been cured yet, so I haven’t asked much. If he keeps his word, it should be fine!”

The village head nodded. “That’s good, that’s good. I knew you were a capable one!”

“Niece, rest assured, as long as you manage to set up the school for our village’s children, I’ll make sure to reserve a spot for you in the ancestral hall!”

Ye Xin Ran said, “…There’s no need for that!”

“No need?!” The village head mumbled under his breath, “This is a major event for our village, something that many ancestors couldn’t achieve!”

With his hands behind his back, the village head slowly walked away. Chen Shi, from the upper courtyard, leaned over the wall and waved to Ye Xin Ran, “Ye madam, come here and take a look, is this dress okay?”

“Is it already done?”

Ye Xin Ran was surprised at how quickly Chen Shi worked and immediately went over to Zhang Da Li’s house.

Meanwhile, in the lower courtyard, after Ye Xin Ran left, Zhang Da Shan finally exhaled deeply, feeling relieved.

“Mother, this Ye madam is too formidable. I’m not going to mess with her!”

Zhang Shi, hearing this, rare as it was, put on a stern face.

“Son, you don’t know, the more a woman like her seems difficult, the more devoted she will be once you win her over!

Did you see Ye Xin Ran’s family’s carriage?”

“As long as you can handle her, that carriage will be yours in the future!”

Thinking of the luxurious carriage from earlier, Zhang Da Shan became excited again.

“Mother, that carriage is great, but the color of the curtains is a bit ugly. In the future, I’ll change the curtains to red, red looks much better!”

“Alright!” Zhang Shi smiled widely, like a blooming chrysanthemum. “You can change it to seven or eight different colors, change them every day if you want!”

…

At Zhang Da Li’s house.

Ye Xin Ran held up a wide-sleeved robe and praised, “Sister-in-law, your skills are amazing! This piece looks even better than what they make in the shop!”

Chen Shi blushed a little, scratching her head with the needle in hand. “My skills are nothing compared to what they do in the city. As long as Ye madam doesn’t mind, it’s fine.”

“I love it! How could I mind?”

Ye Xin Ran said happily, and then, calling out to the three children across the yard, she asked them to come over and try on the clothes.

The three children quickly ran over, their eyes widening with curiosity when they saw the new clothes in Ye Xin Ran’s hands.

They had been living in the village for so long, and they had never worn new clothes before.

Chang Sheng’s clothes were those that Second Uncle had worn out and altered for him.

Chang Ping just wore Chang Sheng’s old clothes.

Chang An could only wear Chang Ping’s old clothes.

Last year during the New Year, Second Uncle said he would buy them new clothes, but the three children couldn’t bear it and asked Second Uncle to spend the money on grain instead.

But in the end, the grain that went into their stomachs wasn’t even as much as what went into Zhang Po Zi’s family.

“Try on the clothes and see if they fit. If they don’t, we can have Aunt Chen alter them for you,” Ye Xin Ran said.

“Okay!”

The three children carefully took off their old clothes and put on the newly made ones.

Chang Sheng’s outfit consisted of two pieces: a white inner garment and a long green robe worn over it.

Chang Ping’s outfit was a narrow-sleeved short jacket with matching pants, looking neat and tidy.

Chang An’s was also a long robe, but since he was smaller, the robe made him look more like a little turnip head, without the elegance, but instead, he looked even more adorable.

The three children looked at each other, praising each other’s clothes, but also feeling a bit nervous.

The new clothes really looked great! Not a single patch on them.

The three children blushed.

“I’m going to the river bank to look at myself. I’m sure I’ll look great in this new outfit!” Chang Sheng said, looking up at Ye Xin Ran.

The two older brothers also fidgeted, “Auntie, we also want to go and see how we look in our new clothes.”