“I, Su Yun’er, earn money honestly, every penny is clean, and I’m not afraid of people talking behind my back. Lies can’t be made into truths. And I also want to tell everyone that I will continue to run this tofu pudding business. Welcome to come and patronize, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

After being subjected to Su Yun'er's veiled insults for a long time, Lan Chunfang's face turned a purplish-red.

The words, "heartache" and "can't stand seeing others do well," pierced Lan Chunfang's heart.

When Su Yun'er was having a hard time, Lan Chunfang didn't find her annoying. Why does she find her more and more unpleasant now?

Why is she so lucky? She has children, the ability to make money, and most importantly, she doesn't have a dog-like man.

"Tch, those awful beans, you think you can turn them into something delicious? Who would believe that? I wonder if you've given those men some kind of magic potion." Lan Chunfang retorted sharply.

"Just because your cooking isn't good, does that mean everyone in the world cooks badly? And if you think other people do business by sweet-talking customers, is it because you enjoy sweet-talking others?"

"You?! You're talking nonsense!" Lan Chunfang was speechless after being rebuked by Su Yun'er, and could only resort to cursing.

"Alright, alright, haven't you had enough?"

At this moment, the village head stepped into the small square.

It seems someone heard the commotion and went to find the village head.

Lan Chunfang wanted to say something, but the village head cleared his throat heavily, and Lan Chunfang dared not utter a sound.

Having said everything she wanted to say and cursed everyone she wanted to curse, Su Yun'er didn't linger in the small square any longer and went straight home.

Grandma Chen didn't say a word the whole time, she just silently followed Su Yun'er.

She knew she had wronged Su Yun'er, but she also felt wronged.

Isn't he just doing this for his own family's reputation?

Back home, Su Yun'er put the carrying pole down in the yard and went straight back into the house, leaving Old Mrs. Chen alone in the yard.

Grandma Chen packed everything up by herself. After thinking for a moment, she cooked a bowl of noodles for Su Yun'er and poached two eggs. For Grandma Chen, this was the highest level of treatment she could receive in the Chen family.

He then placed a small dish of salted and spicy radish on Su Yun'er's plate, which was Su Yun'er's favorite side dish.

Carrying these things, Old Mrs. Chen knocked on Su Yun'er's door, but received no response. She pushed the door open, only to find it was still open.

Inside the house, Su Yun'er turned over, facing inwards, leaving only Old Mrs. Chen with her back to her.

How could I not be angry? My family, whom I treated with all my heart, actually believed the rumors and treated me like that. How could I not be angry?

"Little Tree's mother, you've been busy all morning and haven't eaten lunch. Are you hungry? I cooked you a bowl of noodles. Get up and eat something?" Old Mrs. Chen tried to soften her tone.

Su Yun'er did not respond.

Old Mrs. Chen felt a little wronged: "I know you're angry and aggrieved, but you should also think about me. You and I are both widows, and we're already being very careful in our daily lives, just to avoid being gossiped about. If those kinds of words get out, how can we live here?"

Su Yun'er remained silent.

Grandma Chen didn't know what to say.

The two remained silent for a long time before Old Mrs. Chen finally spoke again.

"Yun'er... Mother was wrong."

These words made Su Yun'er's tightly closed eyelashes tremble.

Old Mrs. Chen, an elderly peasant woman from feudal society, apologized to her with a tearful voice. Su Yun'er admitted that she was easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force, and her heart softened immediately.

“I’ll never listen to gossip again. You’re right, we’re family, and family should work together. I’m so senile. I know what kind of woman Lan Chunfang is, how could I believe her? I’m so senile. I shouldn’t have disbelieved such a good daughter-in-law like you.”

As Grandma Chen spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Su Yun'er sighed inwardly, but there was no work to be done.

Old Mrs. Chen stayed by Su Yun'er's side and confided in her, from Shanhe being conscripted into the army on the second day of their marriage, to the hunter Chen falling seriously ill and dying, and to Su Yun'er finally changing and beginning to take care of the family.

She spoke slowly and at length, while Su Yun'er listened in silence.

Only after Old Mrs. Chen closed the door and left did Su Yun'er sit up.

The soup noodles on the bedside table had already broken from being soaked, but the two beautifully fried eggs still whetted one's appetite.

"Sigh, is this what family is?"

Su Yun'er rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

After going through this period of hardship together, Su Yun'er seemed to have developed a sense of kinship with Old Lady Chen, as if they depended on each other for survival.

Although Grandma Chen is not related to him by blood, this feeling of kinship is not affected.

Su Yun'er sighed.

Grandma Chen has already apologized, and I have explained everything to her. No matter what, this is the only way to leave it at that.

In the future, we must prevent Old Mrs. Chen from associating with those petty people, so as to avoid her being easily swayed and being sown apart again.

Having figured all this out, Su Yun'er didn't mention today's events again.

And Old Mrs. Chen tacitly refrained from mentioning it again.

The two acted as if they had never argued, and apart from a little more politeness, they were just like before.

After a while, everything seemed to return to normal.

After a busy period, the dock's rest day was finally approaching, and Su Yun'er naturally got a rare break.

While carrying loads on a shoulder pole with Old Lady Chen, we passed by Aunt Song's house and were stopped by her.

"Shanhe's wife, I have something to ask you."

Su Yun'er looked in the direction of the voice and saw Aunt Song put down her work, wipe her hands, and come out to greet her: "Come on, let's go to your house together."

"Aunt Song, what's the matter?" Su Yun'er asked.

"Are you taking tomorrow off?" Aunt Song was also familiar with the dock's schedule.

"Yes, the dock is closed tomorrow, so there won't be many people. I might as well take the day off too. Auntie, is there something you need?"

"Here's the thing, my eldest son came back from the city today. He said there's a family there who's a regular customer for firewood. They ordered a lot of firewood for a wedding banquet tomorrow. But today they said the cook they contacted has a family emergency and can't make it. The family can't find anyone to cook for the banquet right away, so they asked my eldest son to help them find someone with good cooking skills. My eldest son thought of you and wanted to ask if you would be willing to take on this wedding banquet?"

"A wedding banquet? That's a big event. I've never hosted a banquet for so many people before." Su Yun'er was somewhat tempted.

"Aunt Song, how much will the wedding banquet cost?"