Carpenter Cai and his mother were startled again.

Seeing that they remained silent, Xiao Wu asked timidly, "Sister, brother-in-law, could you give us some water?"

"Oh, alright, sit down quickly." Mother Cai hurriedly turned around and went into the back room to serve tea.

I picked up the teapot, then put it down after thinking for a moment. Instead, I went straight to the kitchen, scooped out a ladle of cold water, and brought it out.

"Come on, have some water."

The children filled their cups with water and began to drink it gulping it down.

"Thank you, brother-in-law, thank you, auntie," Hu Xiaosi and the others said politely. "Wow, this water tastes so good."

"It's sweeter than the ones at home," Hu Xiaosan said.

"From now on, when we sell firewood, we'll have a place to drink water if we get thirsty."

Upon hearing this, Cai the carpenter's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

Since they were already there, Cai's mother thought she might as well ask, "Don't you have two older brothers? Why haven't we seen them selling firewood?"

Hu Xiaosi pouted and said, "Brother is busy sleeping!"

The carpenter and his mother were stunned again. This...it was actually true! Good heavens!

Enraged, Cai the carpenter immediately stood up, turned around and sat in a corner, continuing to polish his chair, too lazy to pay attention to his brothers-in-law.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaosan, Xiao Si, and the others all lit up and gathered around to look.

Carpenter Cai looked displeased: "What are you all doing here? Why aren't you going home after you've finished your water?"

"Yes, yes, hurry back, your brother-in-law is busy, haha." Cai's mother tried her best to maintain a smile.

Hu Xiaosan said, "I...I want to see my brother-in-law do his work. I like woodworking."

"I like it too!"

"Me too!"

The fifth, sixth, and seventh children all raised their little hands.

Hu Xiaosi said, "My mother said that after my sister and brother-in-law get married, she'll let us come and learn woodworking from you. So that we can become craftsmen in the future!"

The mother and son, Cai the carpenter, changed their expressions.

Cai's mother gave a forced smile: "Your sister... I don't have time to teach my son. Besides, aren't you busy with farm work? Oh, and your brother who can't get out of bed needs someone to take care of him too."

Hu Xiaosi said, "It's alright! We can bring all my brothers over. They won't cause trouble, they just need a place to sleep."

Cai's mother stumbled and nearly fell to her death.

Just as Cai the carpenter was about to lose his temper, Hu Xiaosi said, "It's getting late. Thank you, brother-in-law, thank you, aunt. We'll go home now."

After saying that, they lined up and left.

Carpenter Cai choked, his face turning blue. Finally, after the group disappeared from sight, he could no longer contain himself and roared:

"What the hell! Mother, I can't take it anymore! Twenty taels! If she doesn't give birth to a son in the future, we'll be devastated."

"Even if she really did give birth to a son, so what? Other women can't have children too?"

"She's also dragging a bunch of burdens along. Two good-for-nothings who do absolutely nothing, and the rest are so young. Won't I have to help them out in the future?"

"Even if they don't need me to support them, if they come to our door begging for money, how can I not give them something? Today they come to drink water, but tomorrow they'll be eating our food, right?"

"They even said they wanted to learn woodworking from me! Why should I teach them? I don't even teach my own cousin and uncle, why should I teach them?"

"No! Absolutely not! I want to break off the engagement! Break off the engagement!"

Cai's mother finally saw things clearly: "Yes, break off the engagement! Break it off! I'll go find Matchmaker Huang right away and have her cancel the engagement!"

After saying that, Cai's mother turned and left.

Carpenter Cai hurriedly closed the door and caught up with his mother.

Huang the matchmaker's house was not far from the carpenter's shop, and they arrived in no time.

The matchmaker, Huang, happened to be home. She had just successfully arranged a marriage and was beaming with joy.

"Matchmaker Huang!" Madam Cai and her son rushed over in a flurry.

"Oh, it's you two, carpenters Cai and others. You... cough, what's the matter?" Seeing that the two men's expressions were off, Huang the matchmaker's smile faded, and she felt uneasy.

Carpenter Cai roared, "You go to Qinghe Village right now and help me cancel the engagement. Also, you have to get that one tael of deposit back for me!"

Matchmaker Huang frowned: "What? The engagement was just yesterday, and it's being called off today? What happened? Sit down, we can talk this over."

Carpenter Cai was unwilling to sit down and launched into a tirade of abuse, saying that Hu Xiuxiu was not some lucky, blessed girl who was destined to bear sons, but rather a living hell.

Then he poured out everything he had just learned.

The matchmaker, Huang, was now completely exasperated: "Calm down, calm down. Didn't I tell you before, she has several younger brothers..."

"But did you say that the two people who should be guarding the gate are lazybones who only know how to sleep?"

“I don’t know anything about this either… When I asked Xiuxiu’s mother about her children, she said her eldest and second sons weren’t home; they were busy in the county town. I also asked people in Qinghe Village.”

"The people in Qinghe Village said they hadn't seen them for the past few years. I assumed they were really busy in the county. Little did I know... they were just sleeping at home!"

And he sleeps in a way that even people in the village have never seen before! What a talent!

"As for those mistresses... they really are well-behaved, I'm not lying to you. Sigh, calm down, sit down, I'll get you some water."

"No, we won't drink it." Cai's mother said sternly. "You go and break off the engagement right now. We don't agree to this marriage!"

After arguing with the Cai family mother and son for several rounds, Huang the matchmaker had no choice but to pack her things and head to Qinghe Village.