"Damn it, how can there be such an irresponsible person!" Carpenter Cai cursed, pointing at the door.

"If it weren't for her, would I have been engaged to Hu Xiuxiu?"

"Alright, what's the use of scolding? The most important thing now is to break off the engagement!"

"Hmph, that wicked matchmaker is definitely trying to rip us off, that's why she won't do the job. We'll go ourselves tomorrow, and if they don't give us a refund, don't blame me for being impolite."

The mother and son lost interest in running the shop and locked themselves in to discuss countermeasures.

...

After Ye Caiping bought the cattle at noon, the group headed towards the village.

During this period of delivering goods, Ye Daquan had already learned how to herd cattle, and now he was herding his newly bought black ox, following behind Ye Bajin.

A group of children were playing at the village entrance. When they saw two black oxen enter the village, they couldn't help but laugh and chase after them.

"Wow, it's a cow! Another cow!"

"Uncle Daquan, where did you get this cow?"

Ye Daquan chuckled and said, "This was bought by your Aunt Ping."

"Wow!" the children exclaimed in surprise. "Can we sit here?"

“Yes, come on up!” Ye Caiping said with a smile.

The children didn't stand on ceremony and scrambled to climb onto the new oxcart. The group of people entered the village amidst laughter and chatter.

The group of children reluctantly jumped off the oxcart only after it stopped in front of Old Ye's house.

Grandma Ye and Madam Du and the others walked out of the door, and were overjoyed to see the newly bought big black ox. They competed to lead the ox into the livestock shed.

The Ye family has always had a livestock shed, which used to house pigs, but now it's used for cattle.

"Auntie," Ye Yong stepped forward anxiously, "How...how is it now?"

Ye Caiping whispered, "Don't worry, we'll wait and see the big show tomorrow."

Ye Yong nodded and went out with Ye Peng to cut grass for the cattle.

The cow was just brought back, so it's not convenient to take it out yet. Let's feed it at home for a while first.

The next morning.

Ye Caiping made spicy soup with Du and Wei.

Although I told them the method, adding star anise powder and pepper powder will make hot and sour soup.

But even with the same seasoning, a thousand people will make a thousand different flavors.

Right now, we're selling the flavor made by Ye Caiping, so we have to follow Ye Caiping's steps without making any mistakes.

Du and Wei remembered very carefully, especially Du, who was very generous with the ingredients.

Ms. Wei was a little hesitant, feeling that she had put too much seasoning and meat in the food, and she was very distressed.

Ye Caiping said, "You have to put the right amount of meat in a pot of soup, and the same goes for the seasoning packet. You can't skimp on it, otherwise the taste will be off."

"If the taste changes, we will lose customers. Not only will we not save money, we will also earn less."

Ms. Wei nodded: "Understood."

Du said, "Anyway, we'll just weigh it according to what you said, right?"

"right."

Having finally bought a new cow, Ye Caiping let Ye Bajin's old cow rest.

Today is the first day that the new ox is hauling goods, and Eight-Jin is driving the vehicle.

After Hulatang set off, Ye Caiping ate breakfast and then sat down at the table to draw.

She was drawing the house she wanted to build. Luckily, she had some basic art skills, so it wasn't too difficult for her.

"Mother!" Ye Huan'er burst through the door, her face beaming with excitement: "There's a commotion at Xiuxiu's house! There are a lot of people gathered there."

Ye Caiping raised an eyebrow and quickly went out with Ye Huan'er.

Du, Wei, Jin Hua, Yin Hua, and Old Lady Ye also heard the news and went to the Hu family to see what was going on, looking on with gossip in their eyes.

The Hu family's house was already completely surrounded.

Xiuxiu's mother was sitting on the ground, crying her heart out.

Xiuxiu's mother was already angry all night, and with no one to talk to, she was getting really anxious.

He was thinking that as soon as it was light, he would go to town to find Cai the carpenter in order to salvage the marriage.

Unexpectedly, before she could even leave the house, the carpenter and his mother came knocking on her door.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Cai the carpenter got straight to the point:

“Auntie, let’s be straightforward. Return the betrothal letter and give me back the deposit, and we’ll be even. Dragging this out won’t benefit anyone.”

Xiuxiu's mother said with a pale face, "My dear son-in-law, there's a misunderstanding here. Let's go inside and talk about it!"

Carpenter Cai hesitated, about to go inside with his mother to discuss it.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiaosi suddenly ran over, hugged Cai the carpenter, and burst into tears:

"Brother-in-law, please don't break off the engagement! You can't abandon my sister! Waaah!"

"Brother-in-law! Don't call off the engagement!!" Hu Xiaosan and the others cried along with him, "Brother-in-law—"

The five children's cries were deafening, attracting the attention of the neighbors who all came running over: "What's wrong?"

"Did I hear that right? A broken engagement? Xiuxiu's mother just came to my house yesterday to chat. She said Xiuxiu got engaged to Cai the carpenter from town, and he's giving her twenty taels of silver as a bride price!"

"Moreover, Cai the carpenter also owns a shop and a house, and earns one or two taels of silver a month, making him a wealthy household."

Upon hearing this, the carpenter and his mother became even more furious.

They've only been engaged for a day or two, and they're already announcing it everywhere. Are they that desperate to get married?

And she's exposed him so thoroughly, telling everyone how much he earns a month... What is she trying to do?

"Don't talk nonsense, everyone. Xiuxiu and Cai the carpenter are doing well; there's no such thing as breaking off the engagement," Xiuxiu's mother hurriedly explained to the gathered neighbors, then went to pull Cai's mother away.

"My dear in-laws, please come inside and sit down. We can discuss everything together."

Cai's mother said with a stern face, "What's there to discuss? We came here to break off the engagement! Who knows what kind of nonsense you'll spout after we went inside!"

Originally, they wanted to save face for the Hu family, thinking that since the engagement was short-lived and no one would know, they could quietly call it off, which would be better for everyone.

Unexpectedly...

Alright, since that's the case, we should make it clear in public.

Xiuxiu's mother was both angry and anxious, and she pointed at them and cursed:

"You guys surnamed Cai, don't go too far. We just got engaged two days ago, and you're already backing out? Are you playing us for fools?"

Tie Niu's wife and a group of neighbors were surprised to hear this. Tie Niu's wife said:

“Hey Cai, how can you act like this? Since you’re engaged, you should treat each other well. If you suddenly break off the engagement, you should at least give a reason.”

"That's right. We Qingcunhe people aren't easy to bully!"

Seeing that the villagers were all on her side, Xiuxiu's mother was moved to tears, and finally felt confident: "Thank you everyone... Waaah..."

Carpenter Cai was furious: "Fine, give me a reason. The reason I agreed to give her twenty taels of betrothal money was because I believed her nonsense, saying that Hu Xiuxiu was fertile and guaranteed to give birth to a son."

"That settles it, doesn't it?" a neighbor said. "Xiuxiu really did raise seven younger brothers; she's truly a fertile woman."

"They asked for twenty taels, which is perfectly reasonable! If you didn't want it, you shouldn't have agreed in the first place. What, you agreed, and now you suddenly think it's too expensive? There's no way you guys are like this."

Carpenter Cai was speechless; he was indeed in the wrong here.

Mother Cai said anxiously, "Elder sister, you're right. We acted impulsively back then. If it really was a guaranteed son, twenty taels wouldn't be a problem, but what if she couldn't give birth? What would we do then? Would she refund the money?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned and looked at Xiuxiu's mother.

Xiuxiu's mother's face turned ashen: "I said I'd give birth to her, so I'll give birth to her. I'm fine with anything, but she's my daughter, why can't I?"

“Alright, since you put it that way, let’s sign a contract. The remaining nineteen taels will be held as collateral in the government office. Once she gives birth to a son, the money will be given to you,” said Cai the carpenter.