Someone shouted at the Lin family:

"Hey Brother Lin, why are you making your grandson-in-law do all the work?"

"That's right, Er Ya's son-in-law comes from a wealthy family. Your family doesn't even try to be considerate of him, hahaha."

“We delivered the best food from all the way from town to your fields, which makes all the other sons-in-law in the surrounding villages look bad. How can your family bear to teach them how to work? Hehehe.”

This is pure, blatant envy, jealousy, and hatred.

From the moment Lin Momo and Shi Guang delivered the meal to the fields from afar, the Lin family instantly became the envy of everyone in the neighborhood.

The Lin family felt proud and energetic.

Even those who wanted to slack off started working without holding back.

Even rich young masters who had never done farm work before were working in the fields; how could they possibly have the nerve to slack off?

Feeling the envious glances from their neighbors, the Lin family, filled with pride, felt an inexhaustible energy. Even the mules pulling the plow worked much harder than in the morning after eating the sugar cubes that Lin Momo had given them.

In the afternoon, several more furrows were plowed than in the morning.

The sun hadn't even set yet when the Lin family finished work and went home early.

*

Lin Momo and her husband returned to the old house with Grandpa Lin.

She then learned that Lin Hongmei had already gotten married.

Auntie seemed much calmer; perhaps Lin Hongmei was doing well in her husband's family.

The Xu mother and son, who had previously clamored to sever ties with her, seemed to have developed amnesia. They were scrambling for lunch more enthusiastically than anyone else, and didn't give Lin Momo a hard time when she returned to her parents' home in such a grand manner.

When he saw Lin Momo, everything was normal; he immediately asked for favors upon meeting her.

Xu had given birth to a son as she had wished, and she wanted to get as much benefit as possible from Lin Momo for her sons.

Now she stands up straighter at home and bosses her daughter-in-law around all day.

But Zhang Erni was no pushover either; in her clashes with her mother-in-law, she managed to gain the upper hand five or six times out of ten.

She never took the initiative to confront her mother-in-law directly; instead, she always stayed behind and instigated Lin Zhiqiang to take the lead.

She's definitely a pure and innocent girl.

How could Xu not resent her daughter-in-law for using her son, whom she had raised herself, as a tool? It would be abnormal for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law not to quarrel for a day.

Lin Momo felt no sympathy for her whatsoever.

They also felt that Xu's case was a case of the wicked getting their just desserts.

*

I stayed at the Lin family's house for three days, spending my days working in the fields with Grandpa Lin and the others.

Lin Momo and Lin Taohua cooked at home with the girls, and lunch was still delivered to the fields.

Before leaving, Shi Guang confided in Old Master Lin.

The two of them said they found a small valley in the mountains, where they had previously cleared land and planted two acres of land.

They will return to the mountains to live again in a few days.

After discussing it with Lin Momo, they realized that since they would be living in the mountains for a long time, it wouldn't be good to keep it from the old man any longer. So they decided to just come clean this time.

This also saves them from having to find an excuse every time they go to stay in the mountains.

Grandpa Lin was astonished: "There are plenty of wild animals in the mountains. What if you get hurt? You two kids are really brave. You're not allowed to go into the mountains anymore."

Then, changing the subject, he said, "I'll ask around the area around our village to see if anyone wants to sell their land. You should move back to the village to live from now on."

More than half of the villagers rented land from Liu the landlord.

There aren't many families that own land, and unless there are special circumstances, children generally won't sell their grandfather's land.

Grandpa Lin had been keeping the matter of buying land for his grandson-in-law in mind, but he had been trying to find out about it since last year, and there had been no news since.

If you can't buy it nearby, you can only look for it further away.

Shi Guang smiled and said, "Grandfather, don't worry. That valley is very small, only about twenty acres in size, with only a few pheasants. We won't easily go out to wander around. It's quite safe inside."

"As for buying land, we have cleared more than two acres of land in the mountains, so we will not buy any more for the time being."

Finally, Shi Guang hesitated for a moment and gave Old Master Lin a reminder.

“In previous years, it would always rain around the time of Qingming Festival, but this year the sky is clear and sunny. There may be a drought later, so Grandfather should make preparations.”

Grandpa Lin had always been wary of natural disasters, otherwise he wouldn't have developed the habit of hoarding food. Hearing his grandson-in-law say this, he immediately became cautious.

"Okay, then we won't sell the grain we stockpiled last year."

During this lean season, grain merchants who came to the countryside to buy grain offered high prices, so the eldest son urged him to sell the family's stored grain to get money.

Now he can't sell his own property, and he also has to give his other sons a warning.

Lin Momo left a purse under the old man's pillow, containing a hundred taels of silver notes.

That should be enough food for the Lin family to feed their entire household.

After seeing his granddaughter and grandson-in-law off, Grandpa Lin spent the whole day puffing on his pipe.

Early the next morning, he went to Lin Lizheng's house with his hands behind his back and his pipe in hand.

Drought is a serious matter. If things get chaotic, even if you have enough food, you won't be able to escape unscathed. It's best to prepare everyone in the village.

*

Shi Guang and Lin Momo rode back to town in a mule cart driven by their eldest cousin, Lin Zhiyong.

I wanted to invite him to stay for a cup of tea before he left, but Lin Zhiyong said he still had work to do in the fields, so he drove off again in his mule cart without even going inside.

The couple entered the house.

Lin Dashan reported on the events of the past few days: "The other day, the eldest young master and his wife had just left when relatives came to visit. I told them that the master had taken his family back to the county to stay."

"Those people didn't believe it and insisted on barging in, so I quickly closed the door. They waited outside for most of the day, but no one came in or out. They then asked the neighbors and found out that the master's family had really returned to the county town, so they left."

I thought I could finally have a couple of peaceful days, but then someone came knocking on my door again, trying to take advantage of me.

"Yes, Uncle Li, you did a good job. You can't let outsiders in at will."

Shi Guang praised him, then asked about something else, "Has there been any movement from the Qian family lately?"

"I had my son inquire outside the Qian family mansion. He only said that Young Master Qian is still recuperating at home and hasn't left the house. That's all."

Li Dashan said somewhat embarrassedly, "How about I personally keep an eye on the Qian family tomorrow?"

"No need, Uncle Li, you go ahead and do your work. I'll call you if I need anything."

The couple returned to their cramped west wing.

Since I'll only be staying for a few days anyway, there's no need to make a fuss.

As soon as she entered the house, Lin Momo asked Shi Guang, "You asked Uncle Li to keep an eye on the Qian family because you're worried they'll retaliate against us?"

Shi Guang nodded: "Yes, that's a concern. But the Qian family seems to be behaving quite well for now."

"The Qian family has committed many evil deeds and will surely perish. They certainly won't have a good end, so let them wither away on their own. However, should we charge the Qian family some interest first?" Lin Momo smiled mysteriously.

Upon hearing this, Shi Guang raised an eyebrow: "How do you plan to collect it? Tell me, my husband."