Hmph, “good intentions.”

Fu Wenyu pulled the corner of his mouth, his expression impassive as he said, “You were so ‘kind’ because you stood to gain two taels of silver, weren’t you? But our family doesn’t need your so-called kindness.”

He turned to Fu Dashi, who was sitting at the head of the table, glaring furiously at Liu, and then to Fu Qingshi, whose expression was odd. He spoke solemnly, “Grandfather, I invited the clan leader here today to seek justice and to have him bear witness.”

“I’ve already been to Landlord Chen’s house. He won’t bring up this marriage proposal again, and he’ll make sure his servants don’t spread any rumors. So, here and now, I want a promise from everyone who knows about this, especially Second Aunt, that they will never mention this matter to anyone else, so as not to harm my sister’s reputation.”

“Oh, and you also need to compensate our family with two taels of silver.”

“Clan Leader, does that sound fair?”

Fu Wencheng nodded. He had been a bit worried earlier that Fu Wenyu, being young and inexperienced, might escalate the situation or refuse to let it go. After all, if things got out of hand, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

A light punishment with a stern warning seemed appropriate.

But at the mention of two taels of silver, Fu Qingshi’s face immediately showed pain, and Second Aunt Liu jumped up in protest. “Wh-what?! Two taels of silver? You might as well rob me!”

“All I did was say a few words, and now you’re demanding two taels of silver from me?!”

Fu Qingshi also chimed in, “Yes, yes, two taels is far too much. Wenyu, your Second Aunt was just making a suggestion. She meant no harm. Let her apologize to you and your mother, and that should be enough.”

“We’re family, after all.”

Seeing their discomfort only made Fu Wenyu more determined. He insisted on the two taels of silver, refusing to budge. Second Aunt Liu had tried to sell off her niece for two taels of silver, and now he was going to make sure she paid the price for her greed. He wanted her to remember this loss every time she saw their family, to the point where she would avoid them altogether.

Second Aunt Liu wasn’t ready to give up yet. She turned to Fu Dashi, wailing, “Father, Wenyu is trying to drive me to my grave! All I did was say a few words!”

“I… I won’t say anything like that again, I promise!”

Two taels of silver—it was like taking her life!

Although the Fu family had divided their property, the money was still controlled by Fu Dashi. Over the years, Fu Qingshi and his wife had managed to save less than ten taels of silver. Now, losing two taels out of nowhere felt like having her heart ripped out.

At this point, she truly regretted her actions.

If she had known it would come to this, she should have stayed far away after Fu Wenyu chased her off with a broom. Why did she have to meddle? Now, not only had her copper hairpin failed to become a silver one, but she was also losing two taels of silver.

She had brought this upon herself!

Fu Wencheng didn’t think she was innocent either. He turned to Fu Dashi and said gravely, “Third Uncle, you need to make a decision here. Since ancient times, it’s been the parents who decide their children’s marriages. There’s no place for an aunt to interfere, especially when Landlord Chen’s son is known to be a fool.”

“At best, Qingshi’s wife was greedy for those two taels of silver. At worst, she was tarnishing the reputation of Fu Village. If we let this slide, how will others view Fu Village?”

“Will the women of Fu Village be able to hold their heads high when they marry out?”

With things put so bluntly, Fu Dashi sighed.

“Let’s do as Wenyu says. From now on, no one is to mention this matter again.” He glared fiercely at his second son and daughter-in-law. “If Rong’s reputation is ruined, do you think Chunhua and Wenju will fare any better?”

“Hurry up and hand over the silver!”

Second Aunt Liu tried to resist. “Father…”

Fu Dashi roared, “If you keep making a fuss, I’ll have Qingshi send you back to your parents!”

At these words, Second Aunt Liu’s face turned pale, and she immediately fell silent. Being “sent back to her parents” was tantamount to divorce, and a divorced woman had no future back in her natal home.

By the time Fu Wenyu, Mrs. Zhou, and Fu Wencheng left the main room, Mrs. Zhou was holding four small silver ingots.

Two of them were compensation from Fu Qingshi and Second Aunt Liu, who had dragged their feet before finally handing them over. The other two were from Fu Dashi, though, of course, as a grandfather who cared about his dignity, he didn’t frame it as compensation. Instead, he said that Fu Rong had suffered an injustice, and as her grandfather, he was giving her two taels of silver to save for her dowry.

Two taels of silver wasn’t much, but Fu Wenyu felt that seeing the pained expressions on Second Uncle and Second Aunt’s faces made it all worth it. It was worth inviting the clan leader to mediate and even sacrificing two packages of pastries.

Let’s see if she dares to spout nonsense again!

…

After leaving the main room, Fu Wenyu first escorted Fu Wencheng home.

As they walked, Fu Wencheng asked, “Wenyu, I’ve heard from people in the village that you’re currently copying books for a publishing house and even writing those storybooks. You’re also planning to build a house?”

“Yes,” Fu Wenyu replied. “My storybook was published in the Liuzhou Tabloid.”

As for the house, he explained, “Our current house is too small. We don’t even have a proper space to receive guests. So, after discussing it with my mother, we decided to build a few more rooms. After all, our family will be living in the village for a long time.”

Lack of money had been the reason they moved back to the village.

Now, although they weren’t short on funds, the family still had over two years of mourning to observe. During this time, they could live elsewhere, such as in the city. But all things considered, the village was more suitable. Besides, they didn’t own a house in the city, and Fu Wenyu no longer needed to attend school daily. If they had business in the city, they could simply leave early in the morning.

Fu Wencheng, who was familiar with their family’s situation, nodded. “That’s a good idea. You’re clearly not cut out for farming.”

“Building a house—have you made all the preparations?”

Since there was an empty plot of land next to the Fu family’s property, he didn’t bring up the issue of land. Instead, he went into detail about how to go about building the house, where to buy tiles, bricks, stone slabs, and wood, and what kind of experts to consult before starting construction. He explained everything thoroughly.

Fu Wenyu listened attentively.

Although he had already asked Fu Dashi for help, it never hurt to know more.

Moreover, after his visit to the Chen family earlier that day, he had come up with a new idea. He felt that his previous plan of building three additional rooms and then enclosing the property with a wall was too simplistic.

Although he hadn’t closely observed Landlord Chen’s house, even the brief glimpse he got today revealed a layout where every ten steps offered a new scenic view. The entire place was meticulously arranged, as pleasing to the eye as the carefully designed Jiangnan gardens of the modern era, if not more so, with an added touch of ancient charm.

So, why not take this opportunity to make their own home more elegant?

Not only would it be a more pleasant place to live, but it would also serve as a subtle jab at the second branch!

You thought you got the better end of the deal during the family division? Well, now my house will be better than yours, my meals will be better than yours, and I’ll be earning far more money than you.

Let’s see how you like that!

But this matter wasn’t urgent. There were still a few days before the agreed-upon construction date, so he could afford to wait. It would be best to first go into the city and find an experienced craftsman to help draft a blueprint.

Preoccupied with these thoughts, Fu Wenyu hurried home. By the time he arrived, Fu Rong had already returned with the well-fed goat and was excitedly chatting with Mrs. Zhou.

“Mother, Brother bought a goat!”

“I took it to the plot of land at the end of the village. The grass there is growing really well, and the goat couldn’t stop eating. Oh, and Brother also bought some tea eggs from the teahouse. They’re delicious!”

“Mother, have you tried them?”

“Mother hasn’t eaten yet,” Fu Wenyu said as he walked in. “Oh, right, Mother, I brought back a few tea eggs from the teahouse. They’re really good. I think I left them in my room. Let’s heat them up for dinner tonight.” The two packages of pastries had already been taken to the clan leader’s house, but he remembered the tea eggs were still on the table.

Mrs. Zhou smiled. “Your father used to buy tea eggs too.”

“You don’t need to heat them up; they’re fine as they are.” With that, she went into the room to fetch them, but when she opened the package, she was surprised. “Wenyu, why did you buy so many?”

“There are eight of them! These things are expensive. Buying one or two to try would have been enough.”

Fu Wenyu didn’t mention that he had already eaten three at the teahouse. “Mother, these won’t go bad. We can eat two today and the rest tomorrow.”

“I won’t have any. I’ve already eaten my fill.”

Fu Rong also said, “Mother, I’ve already eaten one too, a whole one.”

But Mrs. Zhou didn’t listen to them. She insisted on putting half a tea egg in Fu Wenyu’s bowl. As for Fu Rong, she got a whole one. In Mrs. Zhou’s eyes, her daughter had suffered an injustice today and needed to be properly nourished.

Fu Wenyu didn’t refuse and finished his portion in a few bites.

Fu Rong, on the other hand, savored hers slowly, taking small bites.

For dinner that night, the family had plain rice, but the dishes were anything but ordinary.

There was the fried egg Fu Wenyu had been craving that morning, cooked until both sides were golden brown and then drizzled with a few drops of soy sauce, making it incredibly flavorful. There was also a dish of wild vegetables that Mrs. Zhou had gathered with the other village women. After blanching, they were tossed with salt, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil, creating a delicious side dish.

Additionally, there was a loofah soup with eggs, fragrant and sweet, especially when the rice was soaked in it. It was so good that one could easily finish an entire bowl without realizing it.

Unsurprisingly, after the meal, Fu Wenyu once again found himself discreetly rubbing his stomach.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhou placed the four small silver ingots in front of Fu Rong. This had been Fu Wenyu’s idea. He believed that Fu Rong, as the person directly involved, had the right to know.

Earlier, when they went to confront Second Aunt Liu, they hadn’t brought Fu Rong along because she was still young and such a situation wasn’t suitable for her. But now that the matter was resolved, keeping her in the dark would be inappropriate.

Just like with the incident involving the storybooks, Fu Rong was ten years old, not three. She had her own sense of right and wrong and deserved to know that the issue with Landlord Chen’s marriage proposal had been fully resolved.

In the end, Mrs. Zhou had been persuaded.

Fu Rong looked at the silver ingots of varying ages in front of her, puzzled. “…Mother?”

She couldn’t understand why her mother was giving her silver. They hadn’t gone to the city to sell embroidery recently, and even when they did, her mother would only give her ten copper coins at most.

Mrs. Zhou gently patted her head and said softly, “This is compensation from your Second Aunt and the others.”

She briefly recounted what had happened that day. As she spoke, mother and daughter ended up hugging and crying, with Fu Rong hiccuping through her tears. Of course, these were tears of relief.

“Mother, Mother, wuwuwu…”

“Good child, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Mother is here…”