Lu Tong's decision to return home alone sparked much discussion among the villagers.

Lu Yatou came back alone.

"So, being a stepmother is really tough. Madam Tang was heartless, marrying her daughter off to such a person for money."

The speaker was an aunt who had once gone to the Lu family to propose marriage. Tang had dismissed them because they were poor. Later, she discovered that the Lu family, despite their careful selection, had married their daughter off to become a stepmother. The old woman had often mocked Tang's judgment. "Little Lu, it seems you came back without bringing anything."

"I heard that the Tang family accepted twenty taels of betrothal gifts but did not give any dowry."

"Mrs. Tang usually seems to love her daughter quite a bit, so why doesn't she care about her when it comes to this crucial moment?"

"Has the Lu family been arguing a lot lately?"

"Lu Chengyu married a rich young lady, so maybe he has a bit of a temper."

"Dalin went to town to look for work a couple of days ago and ran into Lu Chengyu's brother-in-law. That guy went to a restaurant with a large entourage, as if he didn't take Lu Chengyu seriously at all."

"When it comes to marrying a wife, it's important to be well-matched in terms of social status and background. Marrying a capable woman is the right thing to do. What good is marrying a lazy, good-for-nothing rich girl?"

Once the village women spread the word, the whole village knew that Lu Tong had probably married poorly and wouldn't be able to gain a foothold in her husband's family. Lu Chengyu's wife had a bad temper, and he probably couldn't control her.

When Lu Chengyu returned home, Lu Tong had already gone back.

Knowing that Lu Tong had returned alone without bringing anything, Lu Chengyu couldn't help but think that his younger sister was being incredibly absurd.

After Lu Lin got married, she lost contact with her family. That was because Chen Xiaomi was a ridiculous person. However, Lu Tong actually followed Lu Lin's example and wasn't afraid of being laughed at.

"What's wrong with my sister! And my brother-in-law too." Even though it's her second marriage, Li Ji shouldn't have completely ignored her on her return visit!

Mrs. Tang was originally dissatisfied with her daughter, but she was so shocked by the news that she forgot all her dissatisfaction with her daughter.

“Your sister isn’t doing very well at the Li family either; that old woman in the Li family is too troublesome,” Tang said.

Despite the Confucian classics Lu Chengyu studied, he was essentially a selfish person. He didn't think the problem with Lu Tong's poor life stemmed from his use of Lu Tong's betrothal gifts. Instead, he felt that his sister-in-law was too uncouth, lazy and good-for-nothing at home, and didn't know how to please her husband and mother-in-law at home, wasting her good looks.

Madam Tang sighed and said, "Let's not talk about your sister anymore. Is your wife's older sister the chief clerk's wife or a concubine?"

Lu Chengyu suddenly raised his head, looked at Madam Tang, and said, "Concubine? Mother, did you hear something from someone? Your sister came and said that Li Ru is just a concubine of the registrar."

Lu Chengyu looked at Madam Tang in disbelief, "This is impossible."

Lu Chengyu suddenly thought of several classmates in the academy. Two of them didn't get along with him. Knowing that he had spent a lot of money to marry Li Fangyue, they would smile at him with ambiguous meaning. Lu Chengyu had previously thought that they might be jealous, but now he felt that they might know something and were mocking him for treating a concubine's sister like a treasure.

Lu Chengyu felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his heart was ice-cold, but his face was flushed with anger. Tang Shi looked at her son, who seemed to be about to faint from anger, and said nervously, "Chengyu, calm down."

Lu Chengyu took a few breaths and finally calmed down. "Mother, you didn't tell Grandma about this, did you?"

Mrs. Tang said hesitantly, "No."

Tang didn't tell the old lady, firstly because she felt the matter was still uncertain, and secondly because if the old lady found out, she would definitely make a huge fuss. She had agreed to the marriage, and if the old lady found out, she would definitely blame her.

If word gets to the village, it will be a huge scandal. The fact that the head clerk didn't show up at the wedding banquet already caused a lot of gossip among the villagers. If people find out that Li Ru was just a concubine, their family will definitely become a laughing stock.

Lu Chengyu gritted his teeth and said, "Mother, don't say anything. Let me find out the truth first." Madam Tang nodded and said, "Okay."

Lu Chengyu clenched his fists tightly. Subconsciously, Lu Chengyu had already accepted Lu Tong's statement. In his heart, Lu Chengyu felt that Lu Tong was arrogant but shallow. However, he felt that this girl should not lie. Yunniang was cooking in the kitchen, while Wan Xiaofan and Chen Xiaomai were helping out.

Chen Xiaomai is very interested in cooking, and Ye Fan used to enjoy watching her cook.

Yunniang felt it was against the rules to keep the young master Chen Xiaomai in the kitchen, but Lu Lin didn't think it was a problem.

Chen Xiaomai's mind is a little slow because of a fever she had when she was a child, but she is not stupid.

Chen Xiaomi was very worried about her younger brother. Lu Lin saw that Chen Xiaomai had no interest in needlework, so perhaps he could train Chen Xiaomai's skills. If she could cook, that would be a skill in itself.

Lu Lin loaded some things onto the carriage, and Chen Xiaocai came over.

"Brother Lin, are you going to the countryside?"

"yes!"

A few days ago, when Lu Lin returned to his hometown, Zhang Dazhu came to visit and invited Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi to his son's wedding. Zhang Dazhu had built houses for Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi before, and later learned the art of building kang (heated brick beds). He earned a considerable amount of money by building kang for people in town. Perhaps out of gratitude for Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi's kindness in teaching him the art of building kang, Zhang Dazhu invited them to the wedding.

Chen Xiaomi came out of the house. Lu Lin glanced at Chen Xiaomi and said, "You don't look well!" Chen Xiaomi shook her head, "I'm fine, let's go."

"If you feel unwell, stay home and rest," Lu Lin said, somewhat worried.

Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "I don't feel uncomfortable. I just feel hot and want to eat something cold."

Lu Lin: "..." The weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately. It's fine to stay indoors without moving, but if you do strenuous activity, you'll easily sweat.

Lu Lin sensed that Chen Xiaomi seemed to be a bit sensitive to heat. She had been exhausted a couple of days ago and looked like she was about to faint.

Lu Lin secretly gave Chen Xiaomi an ice cream cone.

After eating the ice cream cone, Chen Xiaomi couldn't forget its taste and kept pestering Lu Lin for more. The convenience store didn't have much in stock, and besides, too many cold drinks weren't good for her, so Lu Lin only gave Chen Xiaomi two. Lu Lin's "stinginess" sometimes made Chen Xiaomi grumble and complain.

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomi, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Alright, I see you don't seem to be feeling well, so you can stay at home. I'll go and talk to Uncle Zhou for you."

Uncle Zhou was an old hunter in the village who had helped Chen Xiaomi. When they were in the countryside, Chen Xiaomi would often bring him things. Chen Xiaomi nodded and said, "That's fine. Although they asked me to attend the wedding banquet, it might just be a polite gesture. If I really go, I might end up being the one who ruins the event."

Lu Lin looked at Chen Xiaomi and sighed, "It will be alright."

Chen Xiaomi pouted and said, "What does it matter? It's okay if it's not good."

Lu Lin thought about it and agreed. Now that they had moved to the town, the village's reputation and influence were much less affected.

The Zhang family's wedding was attended by many people, and Lu Lin's appearance attracted a lot of attention.

As time went on, most of the villagers knew that Lu Lin seemed to have stopped living in the countryside, and many people were very curious about the whereabouts of Lu Lin and Chen Xiaomi.

"Lu Lin, you're here! It's been so long!"

"Lu Lin, where have you been lately? How are you getting along with Chen Xiaomi?"

"Lu Lin, I heard you're working in town now. How much money do you make a month?" As soon as Lu Lin appeared, he was pulled aside by the crowd to exchange pleasantries. Since Chen Xiaomi wasn't there, everyone's attitude seemed very casual.

Lu Lin told people that he was working in town now, with room and board included, earning two taels of silver a month. Chen Xiaomi was doing the same, so she rarely went back to the countryside.

Many people were amazed by Lu Lin's wages, marveling at how he managed to find such a respectable job. Some subtly inquired about his job, while others directly asked if the employer needed more workers.

"Lu Lin, you know! Li Fangyue and Lin Xiuer are both pregnant."

Lu Lin couldn't help but be a little surprised. People in the countryside believe that having many children brings good fortune, and being able to conceive is always a good thing. Lu Lin had originally wondered if Li Fangyue and Lu Chengyu's relationship was not good, but he didn't expect that their relationship was quite good and that they would have a child so quickly. However, there were not many people to do the work in the Lu family at the moment. Li Fangyue and Lin Xiuer were both pregnant at the same time, and he wondered who would do the housework. Lu Lin then thought that people here still had to do the work even if they were pregnant.

This was the case when the original owner's mother was pregnant with her second child.

When the original owner's mother was six or seven months pregnant, the old lady forced her to go out to wash clothes in the dead of winter. As a result, she fell and miscarried. The original owner's mother was injured as a result and could not get pregnant again.

The old lady felt no remorse towards her daughter-in-law who had miscarried; instead, she felt that the original owner's mother was incompetent for not even being able to save a child.

The original owner's father was an honest and simple man. Although he was heartbroken, he didn't make a scene.

Lu Lin thought to himself: The original owner's mother died so quickly, which should also be related to that miscarriage.

"Ah Lin, still no news from you and Chen Xiaomi?"

"Ah Lin, Chen Xiaomi probably has a bad temper."

"Ah Lin, you're not young anymore, you need to hurry up!"

Lu Lin blushed slightly as everyone persuaded him. Shuang'er was capable of having children, but Chen Xiaomi and the man didn't look much different, which often made Lu Lin forget this fact. He already had two little devils at home, Xiao Cai and Xiao Mai, and his career was still in its early stages, so Lu Lin didn't want to rush into having children.

Seeing that everyone's talk was getting more and more absurd, Lu Lin couldn't sit still any longer. He made an excuse to go to the outhouse and slipped away.

As soon as Lu Lin left, the villagers' tone of voice changed immediately.

"Chen Xiaomi is so fierce, will she not let Lu Lin touch her at all?"

"Even if Chen Xiaomi lets Lu Lin touch her, would Lu Lin dare to touch Chen Xiaomi casually? That guy is so fierce, he could kick Lu Lin half to death with one kick."

"Could it be that Chen Xiaomi is infertile?!" Shuang'er looks almost identical to a man, except that she has a small flower on her forehead. The brighter the flower, the easier it is for her to have children. Chen Xiaomi is a bit special; his flower grows on the top of his head and is completely covered by his hair, making it easy for strangers to mistake him for a man.

"Chen Xiaomi is really lucky; she actually found work in town."

"Is it really that easy to find work in town now? Two taels of silver a month? Are you kidding me?!"

"It can't be nonsense, right? Look at what Lu Lin is wearing; it's completely different from when he was at the Lu family."

"You know what, Lu Lin looks much more energetic than when he was at the Lu family."

Hearing the villagers' discussions, Lu Lin couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. However, Lu Lin also knew that most of the villagers didn't have bad intentions. But seeing that he and Chen Xiaomi were doing well, they felt a little jealous, so they deliberately found fault with their lives to balance it out.