"Really?" Huang Shi asked with a bitter expression. "I hope so."

He didn't think there was anything wrong with what he said before, but now he has no confidence at all.

Logically speaking, with the family's life getting better and better and him becoming the clan leader, he should be content. But everything is afraid of comparison.

My family's life is getting better and better, but it's still far behind my brother's family. With my limited abilities, I probably won't be able to catch up with them in this lifetime.

He really couldn't bear the weight of the Huang family's hopes!

“It has to be,” Old Man Huang said solemnly, “otherwise, your father will become a laughing stock.”

After returning home, Jiang Nuan disregarded her melancholy and quickly explained the situation before immediately instructing, "First, dig up the plum tree in the yard and send it to Doctor Gu's pharmacy. Eldest and Second Brother, you two go and deliver it. The rest of you, come with me to pack your things. We'll move tonight."

"Oh, right, don't forget the masters, and Manager Jin too, they should leave together. Let's see them off first."

"That old geezer of yours," Old Mrs. Huang sneered, "he'll have his day to cry."

“Mother, don’t worry about these little things. It’s not like we have nowhere to live. Let’s move. This place,” Jiang Nuan looked at the courtyard she had lived in for almost three months with complicated eyes, “is about to be replaced.”

“Exactly,” Xie Shi quickly chimed in, sensing Jiang Nuan’s disappointment, “It’s good that you’re moving away. There are too few rooms here, and we can’t accommodate everyone.”

Actually, she was still a little reluctant to part with it.

After all, she had lived here ever since she got married and had developed feelings for the place. When she first heard that the house wasn't hers, she immediately felt a pang of jealousy.

He couldn't help but curse the people in the old house in his heart.

"Alright, we can talk again when we have time. Now pack your things and only take the important things with you. You can buy the rest later."

"Um!"

Although everyone readily agreed, they didn't hold back when they started. Apart from an empty shell of a house, almost nothing was left. The vegetable and melon vines in the backyard were pulled up, the cowshed and pigsty were demolished, and even the stove in the kitchen was torn down.

It took three trips and a whole night to finally get everything back.

When Huang Shi came to check after daybreak, he found the dilapidated house deserted and empty. He was filled with mixed feelings. "They really don't leave any room for negotiation. They said they would move out overnight and they really did. They don't trust us at all?"

Then, he gave a bitter laugh, "Things have come to this point, how can things possibly be the same as before?"

Huang Shi returned home dejectedly, and his wife immediately asked, "Did they really move away?"

"They moved away, taking everything they could with them, leaving only an empty shell of a house."

"Father," Huang Shan lowered his head, "does that mean I can no longer be with my cousins?"

“You already know what happened,” Huang Shi sighed. “The best outcome is for our family and your second aunt’s family to keep to themselves.”

Actually, that's just being presumptuous; it would be more appropriate to say we should never see each other again.

If one day my younger brother's grave is moved, the two families will completely lose contact.

“I know,” Huang Shan bit his lip. “My son just wants to follow his master to study and go to the prefectural city with his cousins ​​to make his way in the world.”

"It's too late, don't think so much," Huang Shi said, his eyes filled with regret as he looked at his son. "It's a pity you're too old to go to school anymore, otherwise..."

His son won't be any worse than Xiao Si's kid.

"Should we move there?" Sister-in-law Huang hadn't slept all night; her eyes were surrounded by dark circles and bloodshot. "Should we ask Dad what he thinks first?"

"Let's wait a while," Huang Shi said, feeling a headache coming on. "Now we need to focus on transplanting rice seedlings. There are only a few of us in the family, and if we delay any longer, it will be too late."

"Let's hire temporary workers. There are only a few of us, and it will delay spring planting."

"Let me think about it."

Leaving aside the various troubles of the old house, after a night of tidying up the room, everyone slept soundly.

When the Huang brothers, Xiao Si and Xiao Shi, returned from the county town in the evening, they were overjoyed to see that all their family members had come.

"Mom," Huang Xiaosi scurried up to Jiang Nuan and asked with a grin, "Did you come all this way to reward your son because you knew he got first place?"

"You got first place?" Jiang Nuan turned her head in surprise. "Was it the prodigy competition?"

"Yes, but he only got first place in the math exam," Huang Xiaosi said embarrassedly. "My son originally wanted to get first place in the literature exam, but unfortunately he was just a little short."

"Where's Little Fatty? He didn't participate?"

“He participated, and he got first place in the written exam,” Huang Xiaosi said unhappily. “My son lost to him.”

"Isn't this good?" Jiang Nuan was puzzled. "Are you not satisfied?"

"My son memorized poems and prose for a long time in preparation for this written exam, but he didn't take the test. The final question was actually a couplet."

Huang Yi felt very innocent. "It's a couplet: Snow reflects plum blossoms, plum blossoms reflect snow; I love the pine, the wind and frost love the pine; Xiao Si is a couplet about mountains hiding in mist, mist hiding mountains."

“Then,” Huang Xiaosi said angrily, “the school official said that wind and snow and pine and plum blossoms are more compatible, while mist and snow and mountain plum blossoms are a bit lacking in charm, but I think my answer is more artistic.”

After saying that, he slumped his shoulders in frustration.

"It's okay," Jiang Nuan patted his back reassuringly. "Getting first place in the math exam is already great. We can't leave no chance for others, right?"

“That’s true, I’m so smart,” Huang Xiaosi raised his chin, “I can’t let others be too desperate.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan silently lowered her head and said no more.

Huang Xiaosi noticed nothing amiss. After observing the surroundings with great interest, he asked in confusion, "Mom, we've moved to town? Are we going back?"

“I’m not going back,” Jiang Nuan said absentmindedly for a moment. “If nothing unexpected happens, I won’t have many more opportunities to return to Huangjiakou.”

"Huh?" Huang Xiaosi asked, puzzled. "What's going on?"

“Xiao Si,” Huang Xiao San beckoned, “you two come here, I have something to say to you.”

"Wait a minute, I have something else to say," Huang Xiaosi glanced around and then lowered his voice, "Mother, something has happened to the old employer of my third brother's father-in-law."

"Something happened to the Jin family?" Jiang Nuan raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"The young master of the Jin family lost 50,000 taels of silver in one night and was detained by the gambling den."

"Lost 50,000 taels in one night?" Jiang Nuan gasped. "They must have set a trap for me."

Ping'an County is a small place; the daily turnover of silver might not even reach ten thousand taels. For an ordinary gambler, a thousand or eight hundred taels in one night is the maximum.

"Who knows?" Huang Xiaosi shook his head. "On our way back, we heard that a lot of people went to the Jin family to collect debts, but we don't know if it's true or not."

"Mother knows about this," Jiang Nuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, "Go find your third brother."

“Okay,” Huang Xiaosi waved his hand, “Mom, I’m going to find Third Brother. Fatty, I’m off.”

If the news is true, Ping'an County is about to get quite lively.

“It seems,” Jiang Nuan gently pressed her chin, “that the opportunity we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived.”