"Oh, I was just saying it offhand. Dad, you should be smarter. People who are too enthusiastic are often thinking about how to harm you. Don't let her come to our house again." Yan Xia didn't explain further. After saying that, she started drinking her soup.

"Fine, I'll listen to you. Forget it, I won't eat that meal. The money's already spent, so there's no use feeling bad about it. Tell the gatekeeper that if Mrs. Sun comes looking for me, I'll say I'm not here and I won't go to the appointment. I'll just make up some excuse to get rid of her. What do you think?"

Yan Hecheng had a strong will to survive; he noticed that his daughter's expression was off.

My heart skipped a beat, and I decided not to go eat.

"I'm fine with anything, Dad, as long as you're happy. Actually, I'm not against you associating with other people. I know you're bored living in town, and you don't have many people to chat and play with. But we have to be smart when making friends. It's best to stay far away from people who seem to have bad intentions. Dad, if you want to remarry, I'll help you find someone. We don't have to look at their conditions, but at least their character has to be up to standard, right?"

"What? How did this come about? I'm not going to marry her, Xia'er. Please let me go. I'm an old man and I want to live a few more years. Alright, alright, I've finished eating. I'm going back to the courtyard to rest."

Yan Hecheng was afraid that Yan Xia would say something shocking again.

He put down his chopsticks and ran away.

"Pfft—"

Yan Xia laughed out loud when she saw her cheap father fleeing in disarray.

She said that on purpose.

"Xiao Ji, I'm going back to the village this afternoon. Go to the backyard and tell the servant in charge of the stables to put the carriage at the gate. I'll leave after I finish this bowl of soup."

Tomorrow is the day for the matchmaking meeting in Yuanshan, and she hasn't informed her future mother-in-law yet.

Yan Xia stopped looking at Yan Hecheng's back and turned her gaze to Xiao Ji.

He gave her instructions.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll go right away." After saying that, Xiao Ji immediately went to the backyard, leaving only a few maids standing aside to serve Yan Xia.

Yan Xia picked up the bowl of sweet and savory loofah and egg soup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Xiao Su, come with me to the house and help me put my hair in a simple bun. The rest of you, clean up the table." After giving her instructions, Yan Xia stood up and walked straight into the house. Xiao Su quickly responded and followed her.

The remaining maids swept the wooden table in the courtyard.

At the end of the day, Yan Xia drove the oxcart to the entrance of her family's restaurant, picked up her daughter-in-law, and headed towards Baihua Village.

It was already afternoon when we arrived at the Wang family's residence.

Horses need to eat grass, so Yan Xia left Wang Jingshui at the Wang family's doorstep and parked the carriage next to the cowshed, where she had someone feed the horses some fodder.

Wang Jingshui got off the carriage, opened her own gate, and shouted into the yard.

"mother--"

"Mother, I'm home—"

“Oh my goodness, why are you back again? This carriage is so bumpy, you can’t keep sitting like this. What if you hurt the baby? If you miss your mother, I’ll go to town to see you. I’ll just have your older brother pass on a message. You just won’t listen. I told you to stay in bed and rest properly, but you insist on getting out of bed and running around.”

Hearing the noise, Xu Chunxia came out of the house. She saw her daughter standing at the door, looking carefree and uninhibited, and she trembled with fear.

He quickly stepped forward to help Wang Jingshui up.

"Mom, actually I'm not pregnant. I went back to town to see a doctor that day, and he said I just have a weak spleen and stomach."

Wang Jingshui's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"What? You're not pregnant? That can't be! You've thrown up! Your mother was like this when she was pregnant with your older brother. How could you not be pregnant? Is this some kind of quack doctor? Should we see another doctor?"

Xu Chunxia was stunned when she heard her words.

“That doctor is very skilled; anyone would see him and it would be the same. Besides, I’ve been feeling better these past two days, and my appetite has increased a lot. Mother, I’m definitely not pregnant.” Wang Jingshui grabbed her arm and shook it.

"Oh dear, why aren't you pregnant again? Did you drink those folk remedies your mother gave you? No, we've been married for so long. If I ask someone to get you some more remedies, your sister-in-law's baby is getting bigger every day. If your belly doesn't show any signs of pregnancy, what are we going to do? You don't know, the villagers are talking about you behind your back, saying you're a barren hen. It makes me so angry, but I can't argue with them. I don't have the confidence to do anything about it!"

Xu Chunxia was extremely disappointed.

She sighed several times and shook her head repeatedly while speaking to Wang Jingshui.

He looked extremely disappointed.

"Who dares to speak ill of Jing Shui? Tell me your name, and I'll see who dares to say anything bad about her. Jing Shui has only been married into the family for a short time, and I, as her mother-in-law, am not even in a hurry. Why are you in such a rush? Mother-in-law, don't take offense at my harsh words, but you are still Jing Shui's mother. Aren't you happy that she's living a good life? You're always giving her all sorts of tonics and folk remedies. Do you even know what those things are made of? What if they're poisonous?"

Jing Shui's weak spleen and stomach are all caused by those folk remedies! That silly girl didn't dare tell me, she secretly ate them, and now look what happened, she got an upset stomach. You should be thankful she didn't get poisoned and is still alive and well. My dear in-law, for Jing Shui's sake, please don't interfere with whether she can have children or not anymore, okay? I treat Jing Shui like my own daughter, I can't bear to see her suffer like this! From now on, anyone in the village who talks about her is going against me, Yan Xia. If you write down any names and tell me, I want to see who dares to gossip about Jing Shui again!”

Wang Jingshui was at her wits' end when she heard that her mother wanted to try some folk remedies again.

Just as he was about to refuse, Yan Xia spoke first.

"Um, Yan, Yan Shi, what brings you here? Did you hear what I just said? I didn't mean it that way. Jing Shui is my daughter, how could I not feel sorry for her? It's just that she's been married to Chang Lu for so long and we haven't heard from her yet. I was worried about her, which is why I thought of getting some folk remedies. Don't be angry, I know you're good to her, and I'm grateful to you..."

Xu Chunxia looked somewhat embarrassed.

She quickly explained.

But Yan Xia interrupted him halfway through his sentence.

"Of course I heard that, Mother-in-law. From now on, you don't need to worry about Jing Shui's affairs. With me here, no one will dare to bully her. I'm telling you this: even if Jing Shui doesn't have any children, my Yan family will still treat her the same as before. I came to see you today not because of Jing Shui. Please go inside so that outsiders won't hear us."

The Wang family's house is located in the very center of the village, surrounded by other villagers. They live very close by, and both of them were speaking quite loudly just now.

Those with keen ears have already craned their necks to look over.

"Okay, okay, come in, I'll close the door."

The three entered the main room and sat down before Yan Xia spoke again. "I heard from Jing Shui that you hired a matchmaker to find a wife for Yuanshan?"

"Yes, Yuanshan is sixteen now, it's time for him to settle down and start a family."

Xu Chunxia was very kind, and thanks to Yan Xia, her family is no longer short of money.

I still have enough money to get married.