Yunling rested her chin on her hand, her eyes darting around. "But all of this has to be based on him liking you as a person. Otherwise, wouldn't it bother him? Just like if Lin Sanlang presented Aunt with a sachet he had embroidered himself to express his feelings, would Aunt think he was a good person and accept him?"

The mere mention of Lin Jia Sanlang evoked a sense of disgust in Yun Ruochun, who felt as if she wanted to vomit up the rice dumpling she had just eaten. She said firmly, "Of course not."

"That's not true. In other words, if he really likes me, he'll like it even if I buy him a sachet. Or, if I embroider a pile of dog poop, he'll still find it fragrant. Instead of trying to please or move others, it's better to pamper yourself."

“I’m on Ling’er’s side this time,” Yun Ruoxia leaned closer to Yun Ling. “Instead of trying to please a man, it’s better to have some money in your pocket. Men love novelty and will betray you, but money won’t. It stays put. If you’re going to live a poor life together, even if you sew his underwear up to perfection, he won’t be grateful to you.”

"Oh right, right, right, the poor ones who needed lining clothes were all taken care of by your sister-in-law and me, right? I'll fight you rich guys to the death."

Grandma Yun came back only to get some scissors to help Grandma Fan trim the branches, but she didn't expect to hear Yun Ruoxia's words. She immediately had a teasing idea and started snip-snipping at Yun Ruoxia with the scissors. The two chased each other, making everyone burst into laughter.

The next day, Yunling felt the sky was exceptionally bright, with blue skies, white clouds, and a gentle breeze rustling the willows—perfect for a family outing.

Zhang had a bad night's sleep. After all, it was the first time the whole family had gone out since the Lantern Festival, and they were going to the next two towns. She was a little anxious, and her dreams were all hazy. She was worried about losing money or being robbed.

But as soon as dawn broke, she looked out the window and her fear seemed to dissipate. In fact, it wasn't a big deal for the whole family to go out. As long as they hid and locked their things properly, she wouldn't have to be afraid of something for the rest of her life.

Zhang noticed that the bold version of herself was gradually returning to her side as the sunlight streamed in. She took a long breath, clenched her fists to encourage herself, and then pulled Yun Shenghua along to hide the paper money and copper coins.

Then she went to the kitchen to get the snacks that had been prepared. Fan's daughter-in-law was from Jiangnan. When they were washing clothes together by the river, Zhang heard her mention the "Five Yellows" incident, saying that eating cucumbers, salted duck egg yolks, soybeans, yellow croaker, and realgar on the Dragon Boat Festival could ward off evil spirits.

Adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," Zhang also prepared these five yellow herbs. However, she had a picky little girl named Ling'er, who probably wouldn't be willing to eat them like this.

So she made some changes to three of them, cutting the cucumbers into the shape of a straw raincoat before pickling them, firstly to make them easy to carry, and secondly to help cool down and cut through the greasiness in such hot weather.

As for the yellow croaker, she simply removed the fish meat, added some ginger and rice wine to remove the fishy smell, then added salt and potato starch and mixed it evenly. Finally, she fried it into small pieces in the pan, which was exactly what Yunling wanted.

As for the salted duck egg yolk, it's even simpler. She bought two large taro, cut them into strips, rinsed them in water, and then fried them in a pan until both sides were golden brown. Then she mixed them with the cooked egg yolk liquid from another pan and stir-fried them together. That's how you make a plate of salted egg yolk taro strips.

After Zhang packed everything into a large food box, Yun Shenghua borrowed a donkey cart from the village chief. With two donkey carts in total, the family sat separately.

Grandpa Yun, Grandma Yun, Yun Ruoxia, and Yun Chu rode in one car with large food boxes, while Yun Shenghua, Zhang Shi, Yun Ruochun, Yun Ling, and Xiaobai and Dahei rode in another car.

The whole family drove off in a lively manner towards the county town. Unaware of the situation, seeing that they had brought their dog and cat, people thought they were moving away as a family.

Liu also witnessed this scene. After being stung by wasps, she and Yun Da lay in Ren'an Hall for more than half a year before they could walk again. They returned home to help with chores, but this cost them a lot of money. The daughters-in-law in the house were always mourning, as if they wished she would just die.

She was indignant; why was fate so unfair?

They clearly encouraged others to stir things up, so how could the third branch of the family escape unscathed?

On what grounds?

Why can the third wife live a carefree life while the first wife has to suffer?

Resentment crept into Liu's heart, gradually forming a cocoon. So when she saw Yunling and the others leave, a smug look flashed in her eyes. That stinking dog and dead cat were gone. If she didn't steal from the house now, when would she?

Liu didn't act openly; she waited until midday when it was hot and there weren't many people around, then swayed her hips and moved to the door of the third room. However, her mannerisms were already being watched closely by Old Madam Fan, and as soon as she arrived, Old Madam Fan immediately called out:

“Thief! He’s trying to steal the bees again! My son, my son, go and tell the village chief so he can deal with this reckless fool.”

Liu never expected that Old Lady Yun would ask Old Lady Fan to help watch the house. Both of them were notorious shrews in the village; if they clashed, Liu would surely get a severe beating.

But since she was already here, and she wasn't trying to steal the bees, she just wanted to get a few coins to spend. We're all family, helping each other out, what did she do wrong?

"Hey, you from the Fan family, don't just bite anyone you see. I'm just passing by, does passing by bother you?"

"Then go ahead and cross the road. Don't stand in the middle of the road like a madam. It's the Dragon Boat Festival, it's bad luck to look at you like that."

"Who are you calling a madam?!" Liu was stung by this revelation and rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight Old Lady Fan. She hoped to use the fight to get into the courtyard and retrieve her belongings.

Old Lady Fan wasn't worried at all. With her son standing by her side, she was sure she wouldn't be the one to suffer if a fight broke out. So she shouted loudly:

“Look! Hua’er just hired a good teacher for the children in our village, and that old woman Liu is already trying to trip him up. If she harms Hua’er, how will he be able to support our Dongtou Village?”

When you strike a snake, you must strike its vital spot; when you speak, you must hit the nail on the head. If it's just ordinary noise, no one cares about your life or death, or whether your house has been robbed. But if you touch their interests, they will become your most useful helpers.

Upon hearing this, the neighbors immediately grabbed their tools and rushed out, cursing at Liu Shi, "You filthy, stinking woman! If this harms Hua Ge'er, I won't let you get away with it!"

"Yes, Hua-ge invited two donkey carts to donate to the village. This old woman Liu has nothing, yet she still wants to cause trouble. Let's kick her out!"