Su Luo put the clothes back into Zhao Ruyun's arms: "I bought them for you, so wear them. We'll go to the village chief's house together later. He's helped us for so many years, so we should go and thank him."

"By the way, I made a little over five taels of silver from buying medicinal herbs today. After paying for these things, I also gave Uncle Li five copper coins for the carriage fare, so I have seven hundred and eight copper coins left."

Su Luo kept the eight coins for herself and gave the seven hundred coins to Zhao Ruyun.

Zhao Ruyun held the copper coins in both hands, tears welling up in her eyes, and said, "With this money, we can make it until the autumn harvest."

Zhao Ruyun's only thought was to survive, but Su Luo didn't think that way. The more than ten catties of Smilax glabra she dug up sold for more than five taels of silver. She also saw several more plants on the mountain that hadn't been dug up yet.

“Grandma, from now on, all the money I earn will be yours. We can’t keep living in this kiln forever. Ideally, we should be able to build a house before this winter. Yanchuan is old enough to start his education, and we need to send him to school.”

Zhao Ruyun dared not even think about what Su Luo was saying. Her husband had died early, and her son had been forced to join the army. She felt that being alive was already a great blessing.

The whole family changed into new clothes. Su Luo picked up another bag of mung bean cakes she had bought and two catties of pork and went to the village chief's house.

Village chief's wife, Chen Yan, opened the door and saw the whole family dressed in new clothes. She glanced at them briefly before letting them in.

"Zhao family, what's going on with you all?"

Su Luo handed the gift to Chen Yan: "Aunt Chen, this is a small token of our appreciation. This pastry is for Xiao Hongcai."

Chen Yan knew about their family's situation and didn't want their things, but Su Luo forced them into her arms.

"Aunt Chen, please accept this. I came here to thank the village chief and to ask him for help with something else."

Chen Yan reluctantly accepted the gift, then looked at Yan Chuan and Yi Huan and said, "You two little devils, go to the backyard and find Hong Cai to play with."

The two looked at Su Luo.

Go!

Upon entering the courtyard, the village chief was weaving a bamboo basket.

"Old Li, Zhao and the others are here."

Upon hearing Chen Yan's words, the village chief assumed that something had happened to Zhao Ruyun and her family again, and quickly stopped what he was doing.

"What happened now?"

Zhao Ruyun quickly explained, expressing her gratitude to the village chief for his help over the years. Afterwards, the group sat in the courtyard, and Su Luo spoke.

"Village Chief, the main reason I've come to you is to ask what we need to do if we want to build a house since we don't have any land in the village?"

The village chief thought for a moment and said, "You are currently living in a kiln at the foot of the mountain. If you want to come into the village to build a house, you can only buy a plot of land from someone else. Then I will go to the county government to apply for the necessary documents for you. But the most important thing is that you need money."

Money wasn't a problem. Knowing this gave Su Luo some peace of mind; she would earn the money slowly.

After returning, Chen Yan watched the group disappear and said, "Old Li, Zhao said earlier that her daughter-in-law has changed for the better. Now look at her, she really is like a completely different person."

The village chief stood at his doorstep watching them go: "They have extraordinary bearing. Zhao's good days are probably coming."

Back home, Su Luo saw that Zhao Ruyun had been carrying water all morning, so she took the initiative to take the clothes from home to the river to wash, while Zhao Ruyun stayed home with the two children to mend the tattered clothes.

...

Some families are happy while others are sad; Luo Mei's family is not having such a good time.

Huang Mazi ransacked the house, smashing and tearing things apart, while Luo Mei grabbed Huang Mazi's arm and howled like a ghost.

"You can't smash this, you can't touch this, please, give me two more days, just two days, I promise I'll get the money back and pay you back."

Huang Mazi kicked Luo Mei, intending to send her flying, but she was too fat and he couldn't move her at all.

"Er Gouzi, drag this madman aside for me."

It took Er Gouzi and another thug working together to pull Luo Mei away.

Luo Mei originally thought that Huang Mazi was also from Changping Village and wouldn't be too cruel to her family. But she forgot that Huang Mazi was a gambling addict. He had sold off all of the family's land and driven his parents to their deaths. He only cared about money and had no regard for the feelings of fellow villagers.

"Fatty, if you don't give me your money today, Chen Dazhi won't be coming back alive. Let me tell you, he hasn't eaten for two days. He'll starve to death without me lifting a finger."

"By the way, isn't your family short of money? I remember you have a daughter, what's her name again? I think it's Chen Xique. Sister Chen is seventeen this year. Why don't you sell her to a brothel? Then you'll have money."

Luo Mei shook her head in horror: "No, don't touch the magpie!"

Several thugs leered and licked their lips, while Chen Xique watched this scene from her room, feeling both frightened and angry.

That bitch Su Luo, she was clearly bought by her own family, and now she dares to disobey her mother. Su Luo would kill with a knife, but those two little ones wouldn't. A vicious plan took shape in Chen Xique's mind.

Since the idiot can't move, she'll go and kill the two younger ones.

"Er Gouzi, go inside and find Sister Chen."

"Yes, brother!"

Luo Mei's fat body lunged at Er Gouzi, who was about to enter the house, and hugged Er Gouzi's leg tightly.

"Stop! I'll give you money."

Huang Mazi raised his hand, signaling Er Gou to stop.

Luo Mei said tremblingly, "Although I don't have any cash, I have something valuable at home. I'll go get it for you."

After rummaging through the house for a while, Luo Mei took out a set of headdress and jewelry: "Pockmarked man, this can be sold for more than ten taels of silver. I will sell one mu of land in my family tomorrow, and then you can release my Dazhi."

Huang Mazi looked at the headdress and jewelry; it was a bit simple, but it should be worth about ten taels of silver.

"Why didn't you do this earlier? You're wasting everyone's time."

When Chen Xique saw Huang Mazi take away her headdress, she couldn't sit still anymore. That was her dowry; she was going to wear this headdress when she got married.

"Huang Mazi, give me back my headdress."

Chen Xique rushed out to snatch her things back, but Luo Mei held her daughter back.

When Huang Mazi saw Chen Xique running out, she looked nothing like her mother; she was a delicate and pretty girl from a modest family, and he was immediately aroused by lust.

He walked up to Chen Xique, lifted her chin, and said, "Little Sister Chen is getting more and more beautiful."

Chen Xique was so disgusted by Huang Mazi's appearance that she felt like vomiting; his name, Huang Mazi, was exactly what he seemed, with a face full of pockmarks.

"roll!"

Chen Xique lowered her head fiercely and bit Huang Mazi's hand, drawing blood.

"Ugh, you filthy bitch!"

Huang Mazi slapped Chen Xique across the face with his backhand, clutching his hand. He had been having a lot of bad luck these past few days. Yesterday, he was slashed by Su Luo, and today he was bitten by a woman. He also kept losing at the gambling table. He was furious.

Er Gouzi and several thugs held sticks against Luo Mei and Chen Xique's shoulders, rendering them unable to move.

Huang Mazi, his eyes red, gritted his teeth and said, "You still dare to bite me? Let me tell you, this jewelry is only enough for interest. Hand over twenty taels tomorrow, or Chen Dazhi will only have one way out: death."