Chapter 7. Grab your things and let's go!

The villagers sensed something was wrong at the Lin family's house and said, "It's late, we need to go to the fields." As soon as they finished speaking, everyone dispersed, and the courtyard became much emptier.

Before anyone knew it, Lin Chunxing had recovered from her illness, and she stood quietly behind Lin Chuntao.

The thought that the Zhang family had taken a liking to Lin Xian'er fueled Tian's anger like a raging fire, and all her resentment was directed at Lin Chuntao.

Seeing that Madam Tian was hiding her anger, the Lin family members in the courtyard slowly turned their attention to Lin Chuntao and Lin Chunxing.

Lin Chuntao stood straight, head held high, showing no fear of their scrutiny.

Madam Qian wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of Lin Chuntao and the others' situation, and she wasn't sure if they were actually ill. She turned to Lin Changhe and questioned him, "Lin Changhe? Your daughter has epilepsy?"

Lin Changhe looked completely bewildered. "I...I didn't know. I only saw it happening today."

Seeing Lin Changhe's true colors, Madam Qian realized that this was all an act put on by Lin Chunxing and Lin Chuntao.

Meeting Lin Chuntao's fearless gaze, she said in a deep voice, "Lin Chuntao, you're teaching your sister to ruin her reputation? Do you want her to never get married? How could you come up with such a despicable scheme?"

Lin Chuntao chuckled lightly, "What kind of dirty trick is that? My sister is just sick, and I'll take care of her if she has trouble getting married in the future. You don't need to worry about it!"

"You'll raise it? What will you use to raise it?"

"What I offer you is none of your business. Who do you think you are?"

"You should go and discuss your aunt's marriage with Grandma. After all, they can offer twenty-eight taels of silver as a betrothal gift. Let me think, if we get those twenty-eight taels, we won't have to worry about the marriages of several of my cousins! You've really solved a big problem for Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncles. You'll definitely be a hero of the Lin family in the future!"

As Tian listened to Lin Chuntao's incessant chatter, the anger in her heart burned ever brighter.

But the most important thing now is to resolve Lin Xian'er's matter. She rushed to the village head's house with a belly full of anger.

The elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Muramasa, were about to lock the door and go to work when they saw the old lady coming and stopped.

"Brother and sister-in-law, are you going to work in the fields?"

"I'm going to pull some weeds." After saying that, Sun noticed that her expression was off and asked, "What's upset you?"

Madam Tian waved her hand: "It's a long story. I just came to ask my elder brother if Chun Tao's marriage certificate can be changed?"

Lin Cunzheng was stunned: "Change what?"

Tian shamelessly said, "It's just changing Chun Tao to Xian'er."

"We originally wanted Xian'er to marry into our family and stay at home, but who knew that that brat Chun Tao would run off to take someone away without saying a word."

Madam Sun frowned and said, "Sister-in-law, if you ask me, it's good that Chun Tao has found someone. I remember she's two years older than Xian'er, and she's already nineteen and still doesn't have a husband."

Tian smirked, "I found her one, but who knew she'd pull this stunt."

Madam Sun said, "That's alright. Anyway, the family you've found is definitely a good one. Chun Tao's matter has already been settled, so let's give her to Xian'er. It's the same thing!"

Tian resented Sun for pretending to be ignorant, but she couldn't say it directly.

The village head also advised from the side, "That marriage certificate is on the government's record, we can't change it. Sister-in-law, you should find another family for Xian'er."

"If you really want to keep Xian'er at home, I can call you in the next batch and we can recruit another one. Just make it clear in advance that this one won't get twelve acres of land."

They had discussed Lin Xian'er's marriage proposal yesterday, and the expressions on her sons' faces were still lingering in her mind. The fact that she would be allocated twelve acres of land eased her mind a bit. If there was no land, Xian'er would be a thorn in the side of her brothers if she stayed at home.

The marriage certificate couldn't be changed, and Tian hated Lin Chuntao intensely.

When she returned from the village head's house, everyone was still in the yard and hadn't gone to work in the fields.

Tian rushed into the courtyard, pointed at Lin Chuntao, and yelled, "Get out! You and all of you! Get out of here!"

Lin Chuntao looked at Tian Shi with a fearless expression: "You can leave, but you need to make things clear. If we leave through this door, will we have nothing to do with your Lin family anymore?"

"Yes! Get out of here, right now! You jinx! You ingrate!"

The old lady roared angrily, and Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Changhe and the old man: "Dad! Grandpa, did you hear what Grandma said?"

Lin Changhe and the old man remained silent. Lin Chuntao said, "Your silence means you agree to let us leave this house? If so, we can leave now, but I will go to the village head. We need to write a statement that we have nothing to do with you from now on. Don't look for us. Even if we have to eat tree bark outside, we will never set foot in your house again!"

The old man never expected Lin Chuntao to speak to him like that. He thought they would never know how high the sky was or how thick the earth was if he didn't teach them a lesson!

He waved his hand dismissively, "Alright! Go find the village head to draw up a written agreement!"

Having heard the old man's words, Lin Chuntao called to Pei Ying, "Go back to your room and get your things, let's go!"

Lin Changhe was caught off guard by all of this. He hadn't even recovered from Chunxing's illness when he was suddenly told to get out.

Where will you stay when you go out?

Lin Chunxing followed behind Lin Chuntao and glared at Lin Changhe: "We don't need to worry about sleeping in the cave. You just need to watch the widow give birth to your son!"

"you……"

Pei Ying tidied up her things, then took down the pot and rice. Lin Chunxing folded up the bed sheet and the quilt that were on the straw in the shop. Lin Chunxing also took out the copper coins that were hidden in the straw and asked Chunxing to give her the bed sheet so that she could hide the copper coins in the bed sheet.

Pei Ying took the pot and rice.

When the Lin family saw them come out carrying things, including an iron pot and sacks, their eyes widened in surprise.

Tian pointed at them and said, "Put down my things. You are not allowed to take a single thread from this house."

"Grandma, what I'm holding is my own stuff!" Pei Ying's tone was icy, meeting his terrifying eyes, but Tian Shi, remembering she had four sons, resorted to trickery: "Who can prove this is yours?"

Pei Ying looked at her, "The village head and the neighborhood head can both testify."

Lin Chuntao walked up to Pei Ying and stared intently at the old lady: "What we took was brought by my mother when she married into the family. There were originally two sets, but you took one set. Consider it as a coffin cover for you! We're only taking this set."

Tian was so angry that she felt dizzy and faint. She clutched her chest and swayed as if she were about to collapse. Lin Chuntao pretended not to see her and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

Lin Chuntao's three younger sisters followed behind, with Pei Ying behind them. He carried a pot and rice in one hand, then took out a pig-slaughtering knife from his bundle, the blade of which was gleaming!

Lin Changhe was so frightened that he took a few steps back. The people in the courtyard also gasped. In a daze, Lin Chuntao and the others had already left the courtyard.

Lin Jiawang, the eldest son, was shocked. "Mother, is that wretched girl Chun Tao really going to sever ties?"

Zhang sneered, "If we sever ties, where will they live? What will they eat? Just wait and see, they probably won't even make it to tomorrow morning, they'll definitely be back!"

Lin Jiawang said "Oh," frowned slightly, and then said, "Didn't Chun Tao say she was going to find Grandpa to draw up a written agreement?"

Zhang rolled her eyes at her son, annoyed. "Do you think your great-grandfather would just sign a written agreement because she asked him to?"

"Stop standing around, everyone, go do what you're supposed to do!"

*

The village elders arrived at the fields a little later, while those who arrived earlier were discussing the husband's family that Qian had found for Lin Chunxing.

Some busybodies gloated, saying, "This is going to be interesting. I think that matchmaker is not someone to mess with. She might come back in a couple of days."

Who are you talking about?

The woman turned around at the sound, and seeing that it was Madam Sun, she felt a little embarrassed to continue gossiping, and changed the subject, saying, "Auntie, we were talking about Chun Tao and her sisters."

What happened to them?

"Someone came to propose marriage to Chunxing today, but Chunxing suddenly had a seizure and collapsed. Then the family that proposed marriage took a liking to Xian'er and was willing to add eight more taels of silver to the betrothal gifts."

After the woman finished speaking, Mrs. Sun's eyes widened. "What happened this morning?"

"Yes, Auntie, you don't know, Third Aunt doesn't want to marry Xian'er. She says Xian'er is too young and wants to stay for a few more years, but Xian'er is three years older than Chunxing."

Sun suddenly realized that the reason Tian had come to ask if Chun Tao's marriage certificate could be changed to Xian'er's was because someone had taken a fancy to Lin Xian'er.

But isn't this a good thing? Why is Madam Tian so angry that she looks like she's about to ascend to heaven?

"Who are these people who came to propose marriage? They're so generous! Twenty taels of silver is more than we could save up in several years!"

"The matchmaker said that this family is from the outskirts of the county town, and the man works as an accountant in the town. Aunt, you don't know, the man looks about the same age as Lin Laosan."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun exclaimed in surprise, "Who introduced them to this family?"

"Who else could it be but Lin Laosan's newlywed wife?"

A woman in the field sighed, "Everyone says that children without mothers are pitiful. If Xu Xiu were still alive, she would never let others mistreat her daughter like this."

The women in the field chatted as they worked.

Lin Chuntao and her sisters came to find the village head with their blankets. There weren't many people in the village, but there were many people in the fields.

"Chuntao, what are you doing? Why are you carrying bedding?"

Lin Chuntao laughed and called out, "We were kicked out of our home by our grandparents and our own father. They want to sever ties with us. I've come to find Grandpa Village Chief to help us draw up a written agreement."

"What?"

"Kicked out? Why..."

The man exclaimed in surprise, wanting to ask why, but was tugged at the sleeve by the person next to him. "What else could it be? The marriage proposal fell through, and they probably didn't want Chunxing because she was sick."

Lin Chuntao frowned slightly. She had handled this matter a bit hastily. She herself didn't care about her reputation, but she hadn't communicated with Chunxing beforehand. Chunxing followed her instructions directly, and now everyone was saying that Chunxing was sick. She wondered if Chunxing would be unhappy about it.

Thinking to herself, Lin Chuntao looked at Chunxing behind her and saw that her expression was indifferent.

Seeing Lin Chuntao's worried expression, Lin Chunxing smiled at her.

People say she's sick, but she's not really sick, she won't lose a single ounce of flesh. But marrying that kind of old widower will ruin her life. Let people talk, she doesn't care.