Yang Lijun sensed the girls' hostility and glanced at Zhang Zhenye with a smile.

Zhang Zhenye shrugged. What did this have to do with him?

The eight of them walked directly up to Zhang Hongmei and Hu Aifen.

"Grandma, what are we making for dinner tonight? Are all eight of us going to cook?"

"Hehe, okay, let's make dumplings. It'll keep us warm this way." Hu Aifen said, standing up.

The villagers all got up and went home. Yang Lijun and the other three followed them into the kitchen, but Hu Aifen chased them out.

"You four don't need to. It's too cold. Girls shouldn't catch a cold. You can go inside and stay here. We'll be making dumplings soon. I'll be ready in a bit."

"By the way, how about we have pork and cabbage dumplings?"

All four nodded; they had been taught by their families not to be picky eaters at all.

Hu Aifen was even more satisfied. This is good; they'll be easy to raise.

The four of them didn't go out; instead, they assisted Hu Aifen. However, they really didn't need to do much.

Their family was happy. But more than half the families in the village were not so happy.

They had imagined that marrying Zhang Hongmei's son would bring them endless wealth and luxury, but this time, he brought his daughter-in-law instead. This disappointed many families.

The girls were heartbroken. How could they not like such a handsome boy? They had all had their hopes dashed, but now those hopes were dashed, and they were truly devastated.

Nine out of ten families would advise their daughters to stay, but some people wouldn't give up.

"Even if you're not married yet, there's still the possibility of divorce."

So the girls who refused to give up decided in their hearts that they must find a way.

Liu Aimin ate dumplings made by his granddaughter-in-law that evening, and ate several of them.

The family went back to rest. The girls stayed downstairs with Zhang Hongmei, while Zhenye and the other three went upstairs. There was no heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) upstairs, but it was alright and not cold.

Zhang Hongmei felt really uncomfortable lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).

I sensed that Zhang Shouyi's letter was inside the ring.

I took it out and looked at it, but I didn't intend to reply. A few minutes later, the second letter arrived.

Zhang Hongmei was also upset. The two of them, who were originally happy, had ended up like this because of some trivial matters.

Zhang Shouyi hadn't received a reply from his wife, so he kept writing. Although he knew this would keep her from sleeping, he wasn't used to lying in bed alone, especially since they hadn't reconciled yet.

There are already ten letters, and Zhang Hongmei still feels sorry for Zhang Shouyi. He is currently very busy, and his brain is working at high speed all day. If he can't get a good rest at night, it will be bad for his health.

So I just replied with a few words: "It's late, go to sleep!"

These few words were enough to satisfy Zhang Shouyi.

The next morning, Zhang Zhenye and his family of nine, along with Liu Aimin and his wife, went to burn paper money for the old lady.

The four girls kowtowed to the old man and burned paper money.

Zhang Weiyu silently said to himself, "Ancestor, we've brought our wife here for you to see. What do you think of her?"

An hour later, Liu Aimin and his wife returned home, and the nine of them went up the mountain to burn paper money for Zhang Aiguo and Cuilin.

After a flurry of activity, it was already past 10 a.m.

The six people went down the mountain directly to Liu Aimin's house.

"Mom, we're going out to play this afternoon, and we're going up the mountain tomorrow."

"Go ahead, take Lijun and the other three out for a look around. It's already the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, the big market day. You can go and have a look around."

And so, the eight of them went out to play every day, and in the evenings, Zhang Ruifeng and Zhang Weiyu would summarize the key points for Tang Feiyan and Qin Shuang.

"Zhang Weiyu, you're so smart, so amazing. Your summary is even more comprehensive than our teacher's."

"That's right, you must study hard." Zhang Weiyu rubbed Qin Shuang's head.

It wasn't until the 29th of the twelfth lunar month that Zhang Shouyi and his six sons arrived.

Zhang Hongmei was moved. Yes, let bygones be bygones, let it be.

Zhang Shouyi felt relieved when he sensed his wife's softening.

With the arrival of Xiao Wu, the house became even more lively, especially with the addition of Chongyu and his brother.

To avoid being a third wheel, the five brothers asked their mother for permission to go out and play on their own.

"You just arrived today, so stay put for the day. You can go out and play tomorrow, but you're not allowed to go upstairs, understand?"

"Yes, Mom!" I'll do anything as long as I can go out and play!

Zhang Shouyi brought four nannies with him this time, so Hu Aifen didn't have to cook anymore and could just wait to eat ready-made meals every day.

Besides, his grandson had arrived; how could he not be happy?

That evening, after much pleading and cajoling by Zhang Shouyi, Zhang Hongmei finally agreed.

Having been without marital relations for a long time, Zhang Shouyi was extremely excited. Zhang Hongmei was practically overwhelmed by his passion.

"Wife, please don't scare me anymore. I will never have a heart that would betray you."

I've also made some progress in my investigation; there might be someone like us in our immediate family, and I might have been tricked back then.

Afterwards, Zhang Shouyi hugged his wife and whispered something.

"How was it discovered?"

"I've always felt that I didn't know what I was thinking at the time, so I kept Wei Tongtong locked up."

She didn't know either, but there were always clues. Half a year ago, she met two men who gave her a pendant and told her that she could become the most noble woman.

I've been studying that pendant for a long time, but I still don't understand it. But that's all I have.

Zhang Hongmei was taken aback. Since cultivation techniques existed in the world, it was impossible for only her family to know them, so it wasn't surprising that they knew there were cultivators as well. But why target her family?

"Have they been found?"

"No, they just vanished into thin air. It's alright. They had a first attempt, but they didn't succeed. They might still be able to come out next time."

"That's all we can do."

The couple resolved their differences, and their sons were naturally happy. The daughters-in-law, however, were a little unaccustomed to their fathers doting on their mothers like this.

Tang Feiyan and Qin Shuang knew what had happened that day. Seeing the couple reconcile, they were finally relieved.

The family went back home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Luckily, Daniel didn't come, otherwise they wouldn't have had such a leisurely time in Liujiatun.

Back home, the four brothers escorted their wives home, bringing many gifts. After all, it felt a little awkward to visit their mother-in-law's family at this time during their first New Year's visit.

Seeing the young couple getting along better and better, the family was naturally happy.

Zhenye and his family are leaving on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, so tomorrow will be the day his mother-in-law's house hosts the new son-in-law.

Qin Shuang was studying in the study, feeling a slight reluctance to part with Zhang Weiyu.