Hua Zhian went out and searched around, and finally found Zhuo Tianhe in the courtyard across the street to stay the night with.

He forgot that Zhuo Tianhe was now the town's know-it-all; he could talk about many things that others didn't know.

Zhuo Tianhe naturally knew about the big news on their street and was even thinking of asking someone for information, but he didn't expect that the person involved would come right up to him.

"Zhi'an, you're not bad, buddy. Maybe you'll be the first of us brothers to get married."

As soon as he brought the person to the room, Zhuo Tianhe immediately prepared tea and placed some snacks on the table. Was he preparing to get firsthand information or to have a long talk all night?

"Don't talk nonsense, it's just that relatives came to visit," Hua Zhian denied it outright, even though he knew the reason, but Zhuo Tianhe didn't believe him.

"Don't lie to me, kid. Even though I didn't see who came, I can guess if it's the girl you keep writing to? It's that Xie Lanqiao."

Hua Zhian regretted it a little. He shouldn't have taken advantage of Zhuo Tianhe's spacious house. He forgot that the kid was very gossipy. He didn't know how his personality had changed. He wasn't usually so talkative.

"..."

In that brief moment of silence, Zhuo Tianhe immediately realized that he had guessed correctly.

He immediately perked up, personally brewed a cup of tea for Hua Zhian, and sat down opposite him. "It really is that girl. I didn't expect you to be so charming that she traveled all this way to come here."

How are things now? Is your family making preparations for your wedding?

But isn't the other person's home too far away? And it's in the countryside, so it might be difficult to get their household registration sorted out.

Do your grandparents agree? This is no small matter; it concerns your entire life, so you need to think it over carefully.

Hua Zhian stood up to leave, but then he thought that if he went out of this door, the whole street would probably know who he was in less than half a day.

He could only sit back down. "We brothers won't hide anything from each other, but you can't tell anyone. I'm telling you the truth like this..."

He told her where Xie Lanqiao came from and what her purpose was, saying, "A girl's reputation is extremely important, so we can only keep this matter to ourselves."

"I'm begging you, please don't spread this around."

Having stumbled upon some juicy gossip, Zhuo Tianhe was incredibly excited. "Brother, am I that kind of person?"

Don't worry, I understand this basic principle, and I certainly won't go around spreading it.

Hua Zhian breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, this person was reliable enough to know what was important and would give him face.

Little did they know, Zhuo Tianhe didn't go around spreading rumors. He had only just stepped out of his room when his mother took him to the kitchen and whispered something to him. Soon after, it became clear that the matter had spread far and wide.

Tian Guihua was so angry that her head was buzzing. In just one night, their family's affairs had become the talk of the entire courtyard, no, it should be said that everyone in the neighborhood who knew them had heard about it.

She was preparing to do some serious shopping and hold a grand family reunion banquet, but this news caught her completely off guard. How could she possibly continue like this?

They came here hoping to date Hua Zhian, and now they're throwing a big family reunion banquet. People who don't know any better will think they're bullying Xie Lanqiao and looking down on her.

Hua Zhian's reputation is ruined, but he can always get married in a few years. Xie Lanqiao is different.

There are also people from her hometown who have been sent to the countryside. If this news gets back, how will this girl stay in the village?

He took a deep breath and decided not to go out. Instead, he stopped everyone who hadn't even left their homes.

Upon hearing the news, everyone immediately thought of Hua Zhian, who had gone out to stay the night before. The way he spoke was so detailed and he seemed to know so much about the inside story, so the news could only have come from Hua Zhian.

"Is his head made of mush?" Hua Guangzong cursed through gritted teeth. "How can he possibly handle things in the future?"

Tian Guihua said, "I should have asked him yesterday which house he was staying at. I've never seen anyone so good at causing trouble."

Now that things have been laid bare, Tian Guihua had a sudden thought and pulled Hua Guangzong aside. "Old man, look at the mess this has made. It was supposed to be a great thing, but now we have to make a choice."

It's definitely not going to work out that they're becoming godparents. Do you think we should try to bring them together?

I really like Lan Qiao; she's a great homemaker.

"Have you forgotten Liangfen? She was like this when she first came to our family, wasn't she?" Hua Guangzong was a little scared now. Back then, he did it for brotherhood, but the facts told him that he was really wrong.

Xie Lanqiao seems alright now, but people's hearts are fickle, and who knows what the future holds?

Tian Guihua rolled her eyes at him, "How can that be the same? Don't you even think about how you've been Liangfen's support all these years in our family?"

In order not to wrong your brother's daughter, you wrong your own son and grandson.

She only dared to take advantage of you because of your power. When she first entered our family, she was diligent and dutiful.

Back then, she managed everything at home and outside, but what happened later?

"They arranged a job for her through connections, and she's used to being free and lazy outside. With us two old folks backing them up at home, it's no wonder they've become lazy and selfish."

Hua Guangzong was speechless. What the old woman said made sense, and he was powerless to refute it.

"But our in-laws live too far away, so they can't help us if anything happens..."

"How much more help do you want? Are you also looking down on me, an orphan girl fleeing famine?"

Hua Guangzong dared not speak now. He himself was an orphan, so how could he dare to look down on Tian Guihua?

They were lonely and helpless throughout their lives and didn't want their descendants to follow in their footsteps.

You should know that without the help of family, things can be much more difficult at times.

"Jiang Yi, why don't you care about that?" Tian Guihua thought back to when the old man wanted to marry into the Xun family. Besides valuing his brotherhood with Xun Xingshun, he also saw that Xun Liangfen had two brothers.

When Zhiping was about to marry Li Lijuan, he was the one who objected, saying that Li Lijuan only had one sister and no one to help her in the future, so was the help she needed now really that important?

Some families have many siblings, but they quarrel constantly, fighting tooth and nail for every little bit of profit, and in the end, they never speak to each other again.

It's good for them to live a peaceful life; why make things so complicated for themselves?

This is not like before, when one could rely on the power of a clan to maintain dignity, and as long as one had the ability, one could live well anywhere.

“It’s different with Jiang Yi. Our little darling has two older brothers. If he dares to bully our little darling, our whole family will come and teach him a lesson.” Hua Guangzong said, feeling a little guilty. He had only thought that the two old people were still in good health and could help their granddaughter, but he really didn’t have that idea for his grandson.

I feel that since I've arranged their marriage, they should be independent. Even if I want to help them, I should ask their parents.

"Old woman, what do you think about us moving in with Jiang Yi from now on?"