“How could I be so unlucky?” Jiang Nuan chuckled. “With my mother and sister-in-law looking after me, how could I not find a good wife? Besides, Da Shan can’t be this unlucky forever.”

“It’s not that I was scared by Qin Shi,” Old Man Huang explained with a wry smile. “Once bitten by a snake, twice shy. I don’t trust your mother and sister-in-law’s judgment anymore.”

As she spoke, her eyes lit up with delight. "Why don't you take care of it? You know a lot of people and you're good at judging character. I trust you to handle this."

hehe......

Jiang Nuan probed subtly, "What kind of woman is Father looking for? What are her looks like? What is her family background like? What are the requirements for her dowry?"

“I won’t ask any of these questions. You can decide for yourself,” Old Huang waved his hand. “As his aunt, you wouldn’t harm your own nephew, you’ll definitely pick the best one.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Nuan curled her lips, her smile forced. “Father really trusts me.”

"If I don't trust you, who else would I trust?" Old Huang laughed heartily. "In our family, I only trust you. I wouldn't even dare to do this to the eldest son."

"Then I really have to thank Father for thinking so highly of you."

"No problem, no problem," Old Man Huang paused for a moment, then said with a hint of reluctance, "Yaya, I want to ask you for a favor."

"Please speak."

“Da Shan has never had a child, and I’m always uneasy about it. How about letting Da Niu take on the responsibility of supporting two families?”

“No,” Xie couldn’t help but retort, “Master, Brother Dashan has no son, and neither do my husband and my third brother. Even if we are to have a son inherit the family line, we should do so first for our own family.”

Upon hearing this, Old Man Huang's face immediately darkened. "I'm talking to your mother, what are you doing interrupting? Don't you know any manners!"

“Father,” Jiang Nuan said slowly, “Second son’s wife is ignorant and I will scold her later. As for the matter you brought up, you should discuss it with Mother and eldest brother and sister-in-law first. Da Shan is still so young and you are letting Da Niu carry on the family line. What will outsiders think? Will they doubt that Da Shan is incapable of having children?”

"Nonsense, how could Dashan be incapable of having children?"

"Of course I know it's impossible, but outsiders don't know. You're so eager to have Da Niu inherit the family line, how could they not think twice?"

“It was my oversight,” Old Man Huang said slowly, “Forget it, let’s talk about this later.”

With that, he stood up and said, "I have things to do at home, you go ahead with your business, I'll head back now."

"Your daughter-in-law will see you off."

After Old Man Huang left, Madam Xie couldn't help but curse, "You old sly fox!"

Not only were their words full of traps, but they also set their sights on Da Niu, who was the eldest grandson of their branch of the family.

"He is an elder, you are not allowed to scold him."

“Mother, look at his attitude,” Jin complained in a low voice, “He clearly thinks we’re fools.”

“Yes,” Madam Xie immediately chimed in, “Look at what he’s saying. He can’t find a good one, so he’s accused his mother of trying to harm his cousin. What does ‘good’ even mean? Does it mean he has to be good-looking, have a good family background, and a good dowry? Has he not looked at his cousin’s background? He’s a divorced man with no great abilities. Does he deserve a girl like that?”

"There's no need to get angry," Jiang Nuan shook her head. "Just keep it in mind."

“Mother,” Wang asked hesitantly, “why did you take on the task of finding a wife for my cousin? This is quite a troublesome matter.”

“It’s just an excuse,” Jiang Nuan said, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. “I originally thought that if they didn’t go too far, we could just keep to ourselves and maintain a semblance of civility. But now it seems I underestimated their ambition.”

It's only been a short time, and they've already started eyeing their own property.

"Mother, what do you want to do?"

“I want to split the clan directly,” Jiang Nuan said, rubbing her forehead, “but this matter needs careful planning.”

A sudden split in the clan without any reason will definitely give people something to talk about.

"Separate branches of the family?" Madam Xie clutched her chest in shock. "Mother, this is no small matter. At least we should wait until Grandpa and Grandma return before we can proceed."

Even though she despised the people at the old house, she never thought of such a thing.

Generally speaking, it won't escalate to the point of splitting up the clan; at most, it'll just mean dividing the family property.

“We must separate the clans,” Jiang Nuan said decisively. “There’s no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days but not being able to guard against thieves for a thousand days. Your grandparents occupy the seniority, and if we don’t separate the clans, we will be too passive.”

“But dividing the clan is not as simple as dividing the family,” Wang said, expressing her concerns. “It may not be so easy to do.”

“That’s right,” Jin also chimed in, “Although the people at the old house are indeed despicable, outsiders don’t know, so we have no excuse.”

“I’ll think of a way,” Jiang Nuan said, lowering her eyes. “We can’t keep being controlled by others like this.”

“Actually, splitting up the clan is not bad,” Xie suddenly said. “Splitting up the clan means there are two branches, and we won’t have to worry about them trying to take advantage of Da Niu and Er Niu anymore.”

“Mother, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law,” Jin asked in a low voice, “Do you think it’s because they’ve done too many wicked things that Heaven couldn’t bear to see it and that my cousin is having trouble having children?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Wang explained softly. “In our branch of the family, going back three generations, the number of descendants is very small. My grandfather had no brothers, and neither did my great-grandfather. Even my grandmother only had two children, but she was lucky that both of them were sons.”

After saying that, he looked at Jiang Nuan with admiration.

Mother is truly amazing; she gave birth to children equivalent to several generations of her ancestors, not even counting those who died young.

No wonder everyone in the village said that the mother brought prosperity to the family; that's not true at all.

“No wonder Master made plans for my cousin so early,” Madam Xie nodded seriously. “So that’s how it is.”

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Jiang Nuan looked up at the sky. "The masters should be arriving soon. Let's go prepare a welcome banquet. The matter of dividing the sect can't be rushed. I'll think about it some more."

"Yes, no rush. Preparing the feast is more important."

After leaving the old house, Old Man Huang kept thinking about Jiang Nuan.

After returning home, he immediately recounted the whole story to Huang Shi.

“Father,” Huang Shisong said, “Judging from this, my sister-in-law should not have been affected.”

“I’m afraid she’s faking it,” Old Huang frowned. “You can know a person’s face but not their heart. Who knows if she’s telling you what’s on her mind?”

“It can’t be that bad,” Huang Shi clicked his tongue. “We’ve certainly not been very good to Da Chuan, but we haven’t done anything to wrong them.”

"It's a pity," Old Man Huang said with regret, "she didn't agree to Da Niu's request to take over the family line. If it had been done, we really wouldn't have had to worry about it at all."

“What my sister-in-law said makes sense,” Huang Shi’s face darkened. “If we push things too far now, what will the villagers think of Da Niu? Where will any good girls come from to marry him?”

Every woman marries a man hoping for security in her later years. No matter how capable a man is, no girl would dare to marry him if he couldn't have children.

"That's what I was thinking too, which is why I didn't dare to push too hard," Old Man Huang stroked his beard. "Well, this matter isn't urgent for now. There will always be other opportunities. The most important thing is to find a wife for Dashan first."