Xiaoyue glanced at Gao Yu and said with a smile, "What is my relationship with your brother? Why would I go to see him?"

Gao Yu, feeling frustrated, handed Xiaoyue a piece of paper with the names of all the shops in town written on it.

Gao Yu could also read, but not as well as Gao Lei. He took the paper from Gao Yu and pointed out the names of each item to Xiao Yue, even writing down the names of coffin shops.

Xiaoyue had no idea that Gao Lei would remember such a casual remark. She took the paper, glanced at it, and the name of the shop immediately came to mind. She handed the paper to Gao Yu, thought it over, and shook her head, indicating that she couldn't accept it.

Seeing Gao Lei's behavior that day, Xiaoyue sensed that something was wrong with him. Since they both sensed something was wrong, they should stay away from each other and not fantasize about just being neighbors; that's unrealistic.

Gao Yu took the paper that Xiao Yue brought back. It was something her brother had specifically asked her to give him. Gao Yu's face was tense, with a mix of anger and resentment, because she understood how her brother had treated Xiao Yue; she had seen it all.

Xiaoyue shook her head again, indicating that she wouldn't accept it, and Gao Yu angrily stuffed the paper away.

The two walked silently to where the oxcart was parked. All the other passengers had already found seats, and Xiaoyue and Gaoyu were the last to arrive, so there were only two seats left at the back of the cart.

Liang Qi was the first to arrive at the oxcart. When he saw Xiao Yue carrying a basket, he immediately jumped off the oxcart and wanted to switch seats with Xiao Yue, gesturing for her to sit in the front. Xiao Yue shook her head.

Liang Qi walked up to Xiaoyue, reached out and took off Xiaoyue's basket, then put it on his large basket so that Xiaoyue's seat would be wider.

Gao Yu saw this scene, gave a soft "humph," turned her head away, and faced Xiao Yue with her back to her, saying to her in an annoyed tone, "Why don't you go see my brother?"

Xiaoyue pretended not to hear, thinking that these two brothers were really something else. First, Gao Lei misunderstood that she had something going on with Yun Xingfei, and then Gao Yu saw Liang Qi and switched seats with her because of their friendship from picking elm mushrooms together, which led to another misunderstanding.

Thinking of this, Xiaoyue leaned closer to Li Qianqian. Li Qianqian, with her red and swollen eyes, pulled Xiaoyue back and gave her a faint, bitter smile.

Li Shuanshu, sitting far away from Li Qianqian in the car, also looked furious.

Niu San's face was so gloomy it could be squeezed out of water, and Niu Li Shi was also very cautious, carrying the empty basket without saying a word.

Hu Zhu rolled her eyes, looking unconvinced. Xiaoyue thought to herself, "What's going on?" She decided to keep quiet and curled up in a small space at the back of the cart, holding onto Li Qianqian's arm to prevent herself from falling off the oxcart during the bumpy ride.

...

When they arrived at the village entrance, everyone got off the oxcart. Liang Qi handed the basket to Xiaoyue and said to her, "My father said this basket is for you. You've helped our family save a lot of money, so the basket is yours."

Xiaoyue smiled, carrying a basket on her back and another basket in her hands. As she passed by Old Man Ge's yard, Old Mrs. Ge kindly offered to help her lift the basket, and in the end, the two of them carried the basket together to Xiaoyue's house.

When they arrived home, Little Bean ran out to greet them. He saw that the chicks, ducklings, and goslings in the basket were all fluffy and yellowish. Little Bean admired one of them and then admired the other.

Xiaoyue told Xiaodouding to catch the chicks, ducklings, and goslings and put them in the yard one by one.

After the rain, the grass grew back in the yard, and the little boy chased the chicks, ducklings, and goslings to eat grass and catch insects, keeping himself very busy.

Lu Xiaomei also leaned against the wall to get outside, where she saw Grandma Ge and Xiaoyue. She said to them expressionlessly, "Mother, you've come."

Then, with concern, she said to Xiaoyue, "Xiaoyue, I saved some rice for you. I steamed millet rice and stir-fried some elm mushrooms. It was quite delicious."

As she spoke, Lu Xiaomei entered the new house to prepare the table and set the table for Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue, carrying a basket on her back, followed them into the new house, took out a newly bought mat, and laid it out on the kang (heated brick bed) on the west side.

They then moved the small kang table from the shack over, and Lu Xiaomei took a bowl and a pair of chopsticks.

After placing the rice and dishes on the table, Xiaoyue sat down on the left, picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and her eyes lit up as she smiled, saying, "I knew it! Third Sister-in-law's cooking is delicious. From now on, you'll be in charge of all the cooking, and I'll take care of the outside."

After taking a bite of food, he said with a look of enjoyment, "Third Sister-in-law, I bought another bolt of cloth. I'll go to the river to wash it this afternoon. It's white with small floral patterns. If I can wash it clean, I'll stick it on the windows and the walls of the kang (heated brick bed). It'll look nice."

When Xiaoyue told Lu Xiaomei that she had bought more cloth, she went to look at the baskets. They were both cheap and pretty. Remembering the last time she bought cloth, she said to Xiaoyue, "Let's wash the navy blue cloth from last time too, since it's already been soaked in water."

Grandma Ge ignored Xiaoyue and Lu Xiaomei's conversation and sat down on the kang (heated brick bed). Xiaoyue also ignored her.

Seeing that Xiaoyue ignored her, Grandma Ge moved closer, her face plastered with a fake smile like a chrysanthemum, twisting and rubbing her hands repeatedly, while Xiaoyue frowned.

Xiaoyue just ate without even lifting her eyelids.

Seeing that Xiaoyue had almost finished her bowl of rice, Lu Xiaomei reached out to serve her another bowl.

Xiaoyue smiled, helped Lu Xiaomei sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), went to get her some rice, and then turned back to continue eating.

After finishing her meal, Xiaoyue cleaned up the dishes herself.

At this point, Old Mrs. Ge finally couldn't wait any longer. She followed Xiaoyue to the kitchen, grabbed Xiaoyue's clothes, and said matter-of-factly, "Your eldest brother's family gave you five taels of silver, and now they still owe seven taels. You are the third son's wife, so you have to pay."

Xiaoyue was speechless after hearing what Grandma Ge said. She shook off Grandma Ge's hand and said angrily, "How dare you Ge family? Don't think that just because I support my third sister-in-law and little Bean, I owe them nothing.

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