Shen Danru smiled and said, "Father, from now on, Xiaohua will be part of our family. How about she be your third daughter?"

Shen Cheng was confused and thought Shen Danru was joking.

"Great! That's wonderful. Come visit often, Hua'er. Your second uncle welcomes you."

"Dad, you've been busy in the new house, and we haven't had a chance to tell you yet that Xiaohua will no longer be leaving and will be part of our family."

Shen Cheng looked at her with a puzzled expression.

After learning more, Shen Cheng finally understood what had happened that day, which made him so angry that his heart ached.

“Beast, beast, truly a beast.”

He called him a beast three times, but he still wasn't satisfied.

“Xiaohua, we won’t leave anymore. We’ll stay at your second uncle’s house. You’ll be my youngest daughter.”

Shen Xiaohua nodded, tears welling in her eyes, and carefully ate her rice.

At her second uncle's house, she could eat white rice and meat, which was better than what she ate during the Chinese New Year.

It feels like I've suddenly fallen into a paradise.

"Little Flower Sister, eat some meat! You're too thin. Eat more to nourish yourself."

Seeing that Shen Xiaohua wasn't picking at any food and was only eating the rice in her own bowl, Shen Danru picked up a piece of meat and put it into Shen Xiaohua's bowl. The others also put meat and vegetables into her bowl.

Shen Xiaohua's eyes turned even redder.

At this moment, Shen Cheng thought of his eldest daughter, Shen Yulan, and immediately put down his chopsticks.

Shen Danru understood what Shen Cheng was thinking; it was about her older sister whom she had never met.

She has been to Xijiang Village several times in recent days, but has not yet seen her eldest sister.

After some investigation, it was discovered that Tai Kangping was indeed her brother-in-law.

I was supposed to go to Xijiang Village today, but I was delayed because of Shen Xiaohua's matter.

Although her father didn't say anything on the surface, Shen Danru knew that he had been keeping this matter in his heart.

Since her eldest sister got married, she has never returned to her parents' home. Her father was worried about her and went to Xijiang Village many times, but he never saw her. When he asked the villagers about the Tai family, they all waved their hands and said, "I don't know."

"Dad, don't be sad. I'll go to Xijiang Village again after I finish eating. Don't worry."

Shen Cheng said with a bitter face, "I'll have your Uncle Dashan keep an eye on things this afternoon, and Dad will go with you."

“Father can go if he can meet the Tai family. If he can, he can have a good talk with them, return the betrothal money to them, and bring my eldest sister back.”

Shen Cheng nodded.

Shen Xiaohua ate the meal with trepidation, but everyone served her food and took good care of her, so she quickly relaxed.

Shen Yuyan said, "Sister Xiaohua, let's read together this afternoon. I'll teach you to read."

Shen Danru smiled, having only learned a few characters, yet she wanted to teach students.

“Yu Yan, I don’t want to learn to read. I want to work with my second sister and be her helper.”

Although Shen Danru also taught her to read and write, she had no right to do so. She had been bought with eighty taels of silver, and not only did she not do any work, she also wasted money on learning to read. Wouldn't that be heartless?

I heard that my second sister is very good at business. She has only been back for a short time, but she has already built a new house.

She wants to earn a lot of money like her second sister in the future.

"Sister Xiaohua, if you want to help my second sister, you can't be illiterate. How can you do accounting if you can't read?"

Shen Xiaohua immediately wilted.

Shen Danru smiled and said, "Xiao Hua, listen to Yu Yan. You can learn to read with him first, and you can also help your second sister while you are learning. I have high hopes for you."

Shen Xiaohua felt a warmth in her heart. She had never been valued like this before, but she felt it from her second uncle.

After finishing their meal, Shen Danru, Shen Cheng, and Qing Tan set off.

Tai Kangping's home is located in the middle of Xijiang Village. Since they had been there several times before and were familiar with the village, they parked their carriage directly in front of Tai Kangping's house.

"Father, please stay in the carriage and don't get off. I'll call you after I've asked around."

Shen Danru thought that her father had come many times but never saw her eldest sister. When the villagers saw that it was the Shen family inquiring about Tai Kangping's wife, they immediately shut up. There must be something fishy going on.

If Father had gotten off the carriage with him, he would have never seen his eldest sister again.

It would be better for her to first approach the Tai family by discussing cooperation through buying fish, thus lowering their guard, and then make further plans later.

"Alright, Father will wait in the carriage."

Shen Cheng had also thought of this, so he immediately agreed.

Shen Dan dismounted from the carriage and knocked on the bolt of the Tai family's door.

After a while, a middle-aged woman's voice came out: "Who is it?"

Shen Danru said softly, "Auntie, is Brother Tai home? I'm Miss Shen, who used to collect fish in the village. I'd like to talk to him about a collaboration."

Upon hearing this, the woman breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it wasn't someone from Shangqing Village.

He opened the door and sure enough, he saw two beautiful girls. He quickly welcomed them in, saying, "Come in and have some tea."

Tai's mother had heard Tai Kangping say many times before that he had been able to sell all his fish thanks to that Miss Shen.

When Shen Danru entered the courtyard, he saw five large tiled houses. The courtyard was kept very clean, and it was clear at a glance that the family was tidy and efficient.

The woman's eyes also held a gentle smile, and her appearance did not suggest that she was a mean or sarcastic person.

Upon entering the main room, the woman greeted Chen Danru and asked her to sit down. The room was spacious, with some food on the octagonal table, a bamboo basket for needlework, and a shoe upper that was almost finished being embroidered.

It was clear that the woman was doing needlework before opening the door, and she was very skillful.

It's clear this family is doing quite well.

"Aunt Tai, are you making embroidered shoes? They're so beautiful."

Mother Tai smiled and said, "These are the shoe uppers I made for my daughter-in-law. See how pretty they are? This is a new pattern I learned. If Miss Shen likes them, I'll make a pair for you after I finish making them for my daughter-in-law."

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