Li couldn't stand seeing Gu Nanjiao and her family doing well, and said sourly, "They bought the back mountain, which is equivalent to cutting off the entire village's access. From now on, the back mountain belongs to their family. How are we supposed to hunt? What will we do when we run out of firewood? We depend on the mountain, so of course we should live off the mountain. My sister-in-law's family has gone too far, cutting off the entire village's way out."

The villagers suddenly understood after hearing what Li said.

Yes, if the back mountain were privately owned, what would they eat and drink? They would rely on their few acres of land. If the harvest was bad, they would still have to rely on the mountain for their livelihood.

After the constables finished measuring, Lu Yanzhao politely invited them to his home for some cool tea. The constables did not refuse and followed Lu Yanzhao.

Gu Nanjiao glanced at the growth of the kudzu root powder and followed behind. However, before she even reached her doorstep, she was stopped by the villagers.

The villagers chattered on for a while before Gu Nanjiao understood what they were talking about. They were simply worried that if the harvest from the fields was poor after she bought the back mountain, what would they eat and drink? Since ancient times, the villagers had relied on the mountains and rivers for their livelihood, and now that someone else had monopolized the land, they were genuinely concerned.

Gu Nanjiao patted her chest and assured them, "Grandpas and grandmas, don't worry. Although I've bought the back mountain, I won't restrict you from going up the mountain to hunt, chop firewood, etc. You can also pick wild mushrooms in the mountain, but you can't touch anything else."

The villagers chimed in, saying, "Don't worry, Mrs. Lu. We won't touch anything else. We're just worried that we won't have enough to eat or drink in the winter, and we won't have any firewood. That's all we're concerned about."

After exchanging a few polite words with the villagers, Gu Nanjiao returned home.

Li stared at the scene in disbelief. Gu Nanjiao was so generous? It seemed that kudzu was very profitable, as she was actually allowed to buy the back mountain to plant it.

The Lu family also made a fortune; it seems that marrying a good wife is so important!

Li hurriedly returned home and told Lu Lao Er about it, which shocked Lu Lao Er.

"Such a big back mountain, how much money must it have cost? Looks like your sister-in-law and her family have made quite a bit!"

Li said sourly, "That's right, it cost nearly five hundred taels. Since marrying Gu Nanjiao, life has only gotten better." Seeing that Lu Lao Er's face had turned somewhat unpleasant, Li continued, "Husband, I had someone do a fortune telling recently. The fortune teller said that Huang Qingqing is destined for good fortune, and I think it's accurate. As the saying goes, 'ugly people are blessed, and ugly women are also blessed.' Maybe she's ugly but has good fortune. We can't delay this matter with Yanping; we have to find a way to marry her."

Lu Lao Er frowned: "Didn't you say that Huang Qingqing was scolded away by Yanping and isn't coming back now? What chance do you have?"

Li rolled her eyes and said, "As the saying goes, marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers. She's so old and still not married. Aren't her parents anxious? If we sincerely apologize and propose marriage, I don't believe her father isn't eager to marry her off."

Lu Lao Er nodded: "You're right!"

...

The next day, Lu Lao Er and Li Shi brought a pile of gifts to the door. They bowed and apologized to Master Huang, and seeing that Master Huang's expression had softened, they casually mentioned the marriage between Lu Yanping and Huang Qingqing.

Seeing their sincerity, Master Huang nodded in agreement. He also stated that Huang Qingqing could provide a dowry of twenty taels of silver after marriage, but only on the condition that the twenty taels of silver belonged to Huang Qingqing personally, and that even after marriage, Lu Yanping and his family would not be allowed to spend a single penny of her money.

Lu Lao Er and Li Shi readily agreed, thinking that Huang Qingqing, once married into the family, would be completely at their mercy.

After Lu Lao Er and Li Shi left, Master Huang called Huang Qingqing over.

"Qingqing, Lu Yanping's parents have come to propose marriage with great sincerity, and your father has already agreed."

Huang Qingqing was stunned and stared blankly at her father, clearly not understanding what Master Huang meant.

After a while, she murmured, "You said her parents came to propose marriage. Does that mean I can get married?"

"Yes, Lu Yanping is young and a bit immature. Qingqing, don't worry about him. The younger the person, the easier they are to train. After you marry him, you don't need to be careful to please him. If he treats you badly, you can hit him or scold him as you please. Dad will cover for you if anything happens."

Huang Qingqing lowered her eyes, her voice tinged with sadness: "But he said I look like a pig!"

Master Huang was furious: "Nonsense, my daughter is clearly very beautiful." After staring at Huang Qingqing for a while, he nodded with satisfaction: "Your skin has also become much fairer recently, and with this outfit, you are clearly very beautiful."

Huang Qingqing immediately beamed with joy: "Really? A lot of people have been praising how much I've changed lately! They all say I look better than before!" She gently touched her cheek; although her face was still a little uneven, it was noticeably better than before. She had thrown away all her previous yellow clothes and had some custom-made clothes from Jiaoniang Pavilion, and they really did look good.

And then there's that Imperial Concubine Soup. Although it's very expensive, Huang Qingqing's determination to become beautiful is so great that she gritted her teeth and bought a month's supply.

Surprisingly, it actually worked.

Huang Qingqing thought to herself, since no one is going to marry her anyway, and since Lu's parents have proposed marriage, her father might as well agree. At least she'll be married off in name only, and his parents won't have to worry about her marriage anymore, and they won't have to be gossiped about behind her back.

However, if Li thinks she is just an ugly pushover, then he is sorely mistaken.

The next day, Lu Yanping was dragged by the ears by Li Shi and Lu Lao Er to apologize to Huang Qingqing.

Lu Yanping looked unwilling. If he couldn't do anything to his parents, could he not do anything to a pig? When he saw Huang Qingqing later, he would scold her again, just like last time. He didn't believe that Huang Qingqing would still be eager to marry him.

Li smiled shamelessly, "Qingqing, Yanping feels bad about what happened last time and insists on coming to apologize to you." She then tugged at Lu Yanping's clothes and whispered, "Apologize quickly!"

Lu Yanping felt a chill run down his spine, his face turning ashen as he pointed at Huang Qingqing and said, "I don't want to go with this group..."

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and widened in disbelief.

The woman in front of him wore a light blue dress with a plain silk sash at her waist. Her dark hair was gently tied with a plain silver hairpin. Lu Yanping's gaze couldn't help but linger on the woman's face.

Isn't this still that ugly pig, Huang Qingqing?

My round face doesn't look as disgusting as before, and my nostrils aren't pointing so high anymore. My face looks chubby and plump, and it feels very elastic when you pinch it.

It's still ugly, but something just feels different.

“Aunt Lu, if Lu Yanping doesn’t agree, that’s fine. A forced marriage won’t be happy. I think we should call off this marriage.”

Huang Qingqing smiled generously and calmly, which was obviously different from before. Although she was not pretty, she was inexplicably attractive.

Lu Lao Er and Li Shi said repeatedly, "He agrees, how could he disagree?"