Cai's mother and the carpenter were completely bewildered by Ye Caiping's gaze.

Even the most oblivious person would notice that Ye Caiping's gaze was off.

Could it be... that there's something wrong with Xiuxiu?

Cai's mother asked anxiously, "Younger sister, what do you mean by that?"

"It doesn't mean anything, I just think you're all good people!" Ye Caiping said. "The whole village knows that Xiuxiu has seven younger brothers. And the bride price is really high, twenty taels!"

Cai's mother said, "Yes, seven younger brothers. This kind of girl is born lucky; she's destined to have children!"

Ye Caiping nodded readily in agreement.

"Mom, what does 'born with children' mean?" Ye Huan'er tilted her little head. "Why does it cost twenty taels? My sister Ya Ya only asked for five taels when she got married."

Cai's mother was very unhappy to hear this.

She already felt that 20 taels of silver was a bit too much for a bride price.

But the matchmaker, Ms. Huang, kept insisting that the baby was destined to be born and that the baby would be easy to raise. Yesterday, Xiuxiu's mother even guaranteed it, saying she'd definitely give birth to a son!

Cai's mother gave a forced smile: "You just don't understand these things. They're destined to have children, and they're guaranteed to give birth to sons, so of course they're expensive."

Ye Huan'er turned around and said, "Mother, will Sister Yaya be unable to have a son in the future? What if Sister Xiuxiu doesn't have a son in the future?"

Upon hearing this, the smiles on Cai's mother and the carpenter's faces froze.

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about?" Ye Caiping smiled at Cai's mother and son, "You've spent so much money, Xiuxiu will definitely have a son. In our village, everyone knows Xiuxiu's good reputation."

"If that's the case, why is no one in our village willing to marry him? He didn't find a wife until he was seventeen?"

"Shh, shut up!" Ye Caiping said, looking at them with an embarrassed expression. "Sorry, the child was just talking nonsense."

Cai's mother's smile faded slightly: "It's nothing, it's nothing."

"Sister, please don't worry about the child," Ye Caiping said earnestly, grabbing Cai's mother's hand.

"Xiuxiu is a good girl. Her father died early, and she raised all her children on her own."

"The two eldest brothers are lazybones. They only know how to sleep all day and don't want to do any work. Otherwise, Xiuxiu wouldn't be so unlucky."

"Fortunately, she met such a good family as yours. Her younger brothers will be counting on you in the future."

"It's getting late, we have to go. Sorry!"

Ye Caiping looked embarrassed and pulled Ye Huan'er out, saying, "You brat, if you talk nonsense again, I'll smash your mouth!"

"What nonsense did I spout?"

The mother and daughter ran away as if they were fleeing.

As Cai's mother and the carpenter watched the mother and daughter disappear into the crowd, their mouths were agape.

"Mother, we spent a full twenty taels! If that Hu Xiuxiu doesn't give birth to a son, won't we have suffered a huge loss?" Carpenter Cai frowned.

"Alright, shut up, it's too late to say anything now!"

“Does that mean it won’t happen again if we don’t talk about it?” Carpenter Cai was never generous, and he thought twenty taels was ridiculously expensive. “With that money, I could marry three wives.”

Cai's mother glared at her: "You think it's too expensive? Why didn't you refuse when we got engaged yesterday?"

Carpenter Cai choked. He had been somewhat smitten by Hu Xiuxiu's beauty and figure.

Moreover, he was actually quite confident about the possibility of having a son through a guaranteed birth, and in a moment of impulsiveness, he agreed.

"Thinking about it now... it's not like all the women in the world have died out. She was the only one who could give birth to a son, but other women could too. And... that girl just said that no one in the village dares to marry her... she's seventeen..."

As they spoke, the mother and son looked very unwell.

Could it be that they... picked out a broken lamp after searching high and low?

Everyone else saw through it; they actually treated the person they didn't want to marry as a treasure and even bought her at a high price!

The more the mother and son thought about it, the more uneasy they felt.

Ye Caiping's last words added to their already heavy mood.

Hu Xiuxiu's two younger brothers are useless, lazybones? We still have to rely on them?

Carpenter Cai's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

At the time, the matchmaker, Huang, introduced Hu Xiuxiu as hardworking, beautiful, and guaranteed to give birth to a son!

My two younger brothers are already fifteen, and my third brother is thirteen. They are all grown men. The rest are still young, but they are all well-behaved and sensible.

They automatically imagined that the fifteen and thirteen-year-old boys were already capable of supporting their families.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this!

Knowing her son was narrow-minded, Cai's mother quickly comforted him:

"Don't overthink it. Although...but...Xiuxiu's mother really did give birth to seven sons! Xiuxiu has a greater chance of having a son."

That's all I can do to comfort myself now.

Okay, they spent twenty taels and only bought one with a high probability!

...

After leaving the carpenter's shop, Ye Huan'er let out a long breath and whispered:

"I was terrified... I have a feeling I did something wrong. Did I... ruin Cai the carpenter's marriage prospects?"

Ye Caiping took her hand and strolled leisurely down the street: "Think back, which of our sentences was wrong just now?"

Ye Huan'er frowned, thought for a moment, and then shook her head.

Ye Caiping said, "Judging from their reaction, this mother and son were probably misled by the matchmaker. We were just pointing out the truth."

"If they can accept this and are willing to stick to it to the end, then their character is truly impeccable. If they can't accept it, that's understandable too."

"Mother, do you think it's done?"

"Seven points have been achieved. The remaining three points depend on Hu Xiaosi and his team."

Impulsive purchases often lead to regret and a feeling of overpayment later on.

...

Ever since encountering Ye Caiping and her daughter, Cai the carpenter had been gloomy and depressed all morning, growing angrier the more he thought about it.

If Hu Xiuxiu can actually give birth to a son in the future, that would be better.

If I can't give birth...

Even if you want to take a break later, it won't be worth it!

Hmph, then his huge sum of twenty taels of silver will be wasted, and he'll become a laughing stock among his relatives.

Carpenter Cai vigorously sanded the chair on the ground, as if doing so would allow him to vent the resentment in his heart.

"Is Carpenter Cai home?" a childish voice asked.

"Yes, yes!" Thinking that a customer had arrived, Cai's mother came out from the back room.

Then he froze.

Five boys, from tallest to shortest, walked in in a line.

“You are…” Carpenter Cai stood up.

"Brother-in-law!" the five boys shouted in unison.

The carpenter and his mother were startled and almost fell.

“We are Hu Xiuxiu’s younger brothers.”

"I'm the mistress!"

"Little Four!"

"Little Five, Little Six, Little Seven!"

The carpenter and his mother stared in disbelief at the five boys, all dressed in tattered clothes and emaciated, looking like little beggars on the street.

Carpenter Cai's face immediately changed as he realized that these five... were his fiancée's younger brothers!

His future brother-in-law!

Mother Cai finally came to her senses, forcing a smile: "Oh, so it's Xiuxiu's brothers. What are you all doing here..."

Hu Xiaosi said, "We went to town to sell firewood. We were thirsty and remembered that your shop is here, so we came to ask for a drink of water."

"I'm thirsty, brother-in-law!" The boys all looked at them with shining eyes.