Linjia Village, the second room of the Lin family.

The winter sun rose above the top of the poplar tree in the courtyard.

Sitting by the wall, Madam Lin called out to the west room of the main house, "Zhiqiang, it's almost time to eat, get up quickly."

After a long while, there was no echo or any sound coming from inside the room.

Lin Momo's running away from home disrupted Lin Zhiqiang's marriage plans, and he's been throwing a tantrum ever since.

She used to live a very independent life, but now she doesn't even want to leave the house.

He spends his days either lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) like a corpse or complaining to his mother, Xu.

"It's all your fault for being so indecisive, that brat got away. If you had listened to me and sold her off long ago, I would have already married a wife by now."

Mrs. Xu knew that her precious son was unhappy and was blaming her.

She herself regrets it, she's filled with deep regret.

Why did she ever think that the brat was still somewhat useful in the house? If she had listened to her son and sold her, she could have scraped together a dowry for him by now.

Now there's no one to do the housework, and that wretched girl I raised for so long is gone without earning me a single penny, and we still have no money for my son's dowry...

It's truly a case of losing everything.

Just as Madam Xu was about to urge her son to get up, someone suddenly entered the courtyard and cheerfully called out:

"Zhiqiang's mother, your Erya is back!"

Their joy was as if they had just picked up a few coins from the ground.

The person who came was none other than Wang, a woman who usually chatted with Xu, and the wife of Lin Erniu from the east end of the village.

It can be said that birds of a feather flock together, and Lin Erniu's wife is also a gossip.

He usually likes to sit under the big tree at the entrance of the village, chatting with people, eating melons and watching the show.

She had just sat down at the village entrance this morning when she stumbled upon a huge gourd. After dusting herself off, she came to inform Xu Shi.

"Er Ya? Didn't she go into the mountains to feed the wolves? How could she possibly come back? Where is she? Why haven't we seen her return? Are you seeing things?" Xu was startled, then looked astonished.

He thought to himself, "How could someone survive being alone in the mountains for so many days? He must be talking nonsense."

"oops!"

Seeing that Xu Shi didn't believe her, Er Niu's wife clapped her hands anxiously and emphasized, "I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false! Your Er Ya has changed so much since she went out that I almost didn't recognize her. I just saw her go to your Lin family's old house, with that rich young master by her side."

"I heard that young master went to town two days ago. How come he happened to come back with your Er Ya today?"

Xu rolled her eyes: "How would I know? I haven't even seen the person yet."

That brat is incredibly lucky! Now that she's back, she can exchange her brother's dowry for her.

Seeing that she couldn't get any information from Xu Shi, Er Niu's wife, Wang Shi, said a few more indifferent words after reporting the news and then left.

I was thinking of hurrying over to the Lin family's old house to take a look; I figured there were already quite a few people gathered there.

At that moment, Madam Xu was preoccupied with scheming against her second daughter and had no time to pay attention to this conversation.

Before Erniu's wife could even leave the hospital, she got up and rushed into the west room.

"Zhiqiang, Zhiqiang, get up quickly, Er Ya is back!"

"Er Ya? She didn't die on the mountain?" Xu Zhiqiang, still in bed with his eyes closed, rolled over and reflexively replied. Then, he suddenly sat up abruptly. "Mother, you're not lying to me. That damned Er Ya really came back?"

Haha, now he can marry Zhang Erni.

Zhang's parents ultimately declined the wealthy man's offer, but insisted that the betrothal gift must not be less than 20 taels of silver, causing many other families who wanted to propose marriage to give up.

Even if some families in the surrounding villages could afford such a high dowry, they would still have to consider whether it was worth it.

The reason the Zhang family wanted so much money was naturally to pay for their son's wedding and to supplement their household expenses, but they wouldn't give the girl much dowry.

Giving away this money is like throwing a meat bun to a dog—it's gone forever.

It will also cause unrest in the family.

In this day and age, families often have several sons. Even if they can't treat them all equally, the disparity shouldn't be too great. They should at least consider the feelings of their other sons and daughters-in-law.

Zhang Erni is in high demand, but her marriage is still hanging in the balance.

In other words, as long as Xu Zhiqiang can raise enough money, he still has a good chance of marrying the girl he longs for.

Before his mother could say anything, Xu Zhiqiang continued, "Mother, if this brat really comes back, we have to sell her this time, no matter what. Otherwise, she might sneak away again and never come back, which would be a huge loss for our family. Let's sell this girl quickly and marry Erni for me."

This guy is obsessed with love; it seems like he has no other ambitions besides getting married.

However, all the villagers who were his age or a year or two younger than him were already sleeping with their wives at night, while he was still naked. He couldn't hold his head up when people pointed at him in the village.

How can I not be anxious?

Madam Xu had been anxious and worried about her son's marriage, so she readily agreed, saying, "Alright, alright, this time I'll listen to you."

"That girl went to your grandfather's place and will be back soon. Get up quickly, have breakfast, and then go to Lizhuang to tell that matchmaker Liu to come and take her away first thing tomorrow morning."

"The sooner we sell them, the sooner they'll be gone, so I won't feel uneasy."

In the kitchen.

Just now, Lin Sanya, who was cooking under the stove, heard Aunt Wang running over to call her second sister back, and she couldn't help but feel happy.

She wanted to go to the old house to see if her second sister had really returned, but she was intimidated by Xu's tyranny and had no choice but to continue cooking.

Suddenly, she got up, lifted the pot lid, and added another handful of rice to the pot.

Thinking about it, I figured my second sister would definitely come home for dinner after she finished talking to her grandfather.

Lin Sanya had just sat down again when she heard her father on the kang (heated brick bed) say:

"Sanya, go to your grandfather's house and see if your second sister has really come back."

"Hey!" Lin Sanya was taken aback for a moment, then quickly responded.

He quickly tidied up the fire under the stove and then dashed out of the kitchen.

*

The Lin family's old house.

Grandpa Lin sat at the eight-immortal table in the central hall, gazing excitedly at his granddaughter whom he had lost and found again, and said in a trembling voice:

"Tell me quickly, where have you been all this time? Why can't your uncles, cousins, and other relatives find you anywhere?"

Everyone in the main house, from Uncle Lin and his wife to their toddler grandson who couldn't walk yet, rushed into the main room, eager to hear how Lin Momo, who had been abducted, had returned.

The villagers all felt that the Lin family's daughter must have been kidnapped and that it was unlikely she had gone into the mountains alone.

Nanshan is so far away. Even if a girl like her reached the foot of the mountain, it would be dark by then. How could she possibly go up the mountain? In this cold weather, she would freeze to death if she spent the night outdoors. Who would be so foolish as to run up the mountain?