Xu Lanyin estimated that the corn harvested from two acres of land was only about 500 kilograms. Apart from keeping it for seeds, the rest would not last long. She would also have to pay extra money for paying taxes, buying medicine and various daily necessities.
Thinking about the six acres of land, she cursed Gu Wangchen and his mother hundreds of times in her heart. Since she had already decided to break off the engagement, why did she let him sell the land and eliminate the family's livelihood? If she didn't sell her dowry, she really didn't know how the family would survive.
The sun was shining brightly in the afternoon, and the brother and sister put the corn cobs in the yard to dry. Qin and Xu Lanting sat beside them to bask in the sun.
Looking at the golden expanse, the family smiled with satisfaction.
The little boy said happily, "There are so many. We won't be hungry anymore."
Xu Lanzhou shook his head and said, "These things may seem like a lot, but they won't last until next spring's harvest. If we hadn't sold the six acres of land, we could have sold some corn for rice and flour, and still have money left to buy meat." He looked at Xu Lanyin and said, "It's all your fault."
This child has become Xianglin Sao.
Xu Lanyin didn't say anything back. What the other person said was the truth. She went to work in the vegetable garden in the backyard in silence.
Qin whispered to Xu Lanzhou, "Your elder sister knows she's wrong and is even more upset, but you're still nagging her."
The autumn examinations began on the eighth day of the first lunar month. For the first time, the people of Xiaozao Village began to pay attention to this national event. After dinner, they talked about it and hoped that Gu Wangchen would pass the exam and bring honor to Xiaozao Village.
Gu Wangchen is the first young man from Xiaozao Village in hundreds of years to go out and take part in the autumn examination. If he passes, not only Xiaozao Village, but also the entire Sanshi Town will be proud of it.
Only Old Man Xu's two families silently prayed to the heavens to see that man pass the exam. Especially Xu Lanyin's family, they not only didn't want him to pass, but also hoped that he would encounter some natural disaster or man-made calamity on his way home and never return. They would rather have their money go down the drain than have him return to cause trouble for Xu Lanyin.
Although Xu Lanyin knew that Gu Wangchen would pass the exam, she still hoped that her arrival would trigger a butterfly effect, hoping that the pair of small wings would blow Gu Wangchen down.
Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. The several golden osmanthus trees behind Xu Lanyin's yard are full of small flowers. They are so fragrant that Xu Lanyin will go out for a walk when she has nothing to do.
Life in this family was much better than it had been a few months ago, but they still ate steamed cornbread every day, occasionally a mixed-wheat bun, which had left Xu Lan with a dull taste. The rich sweet scent of osmanthus brought back memories of the sweet-scented osmanthus jam the original owner had often eaten as a child.
In the past, when Qin was in good health, she would spend twenty coins every autumn to hire the village children to help pick osmanthus flowers to make a jar of osmanthus wine and two jars of rock sugar osmanthus jam. But since she fell ill, she has never made it again.
Xu Lanyin told Qin about her plan to make rock sugar osmanthus jam, which made Qin very happy.
Before her illness, Qin was a woman of exceptional refinement. Even with her thorny hairpins and cloth skirts, and simple meals, she was meticulous about her lifestyle, bringing a touch of joy to the ordinary. Her house was always spotlessly clean, her children were well-kept, she could make tofu taste like meat, and she even made her own face balm. Especially during the month that Xu Qingyan returned, she decorated the house with lavish decorations and devised various ways to improve the food. Her modest budget was stretched to its limits...
However, the original owner was obsessed with earning more money for Gu Wangchen and was unwilling to settle down and learn household management from Qin. This made Qin very angry and she often taught the original owner, but the original owner just wouldn't listen and felt that her mother treated her son-in-law as an outsider.
Qin was a beautiful woman, her temperament strikingly different from that of a village woman. Although she spent long periods raising her children alone at home, those with ill intentions dared not approach because of the legends surrounding Xu Qingyan. Later, when Xu Qingyan fell ill, Qin was closely guarded by the Xu family's first and second wives. Furthermore, Old Man Xu, Xu Qingming, and Xu Dashi were all tall and strong, and the Xu family was a prominent family in Xiaozao Village. Even the most impoverished men dared not provoke her. The occasional fearless individual, after being beaten by three generations of the Xu family, remained timid. The wealthy and powerful, attracted by her beauty, naturally lost interest in a seriously ill and elderly woman.
Xu Lanyin had always felt that Qin Shi had a story. In her past life, a woman like her had been popular with men, but for some reason she had married Xu Qingyan, a country boy with a "special job" and often away from home...
Starting from August 12, Xu Lanyin led her two brothers to pick sweet osmanthus flowers. Xu Lanzhou climbed up the tree to shake the sweet osmanthus flowers down, Xu Lanyin swept them up, and Xu Lanting picked up the dregs in the middle of the flowers. The three siblings were busy for two days and picked a large basket of sweet osmanthus flowers, which they spread out in the yard to dry.
On the morning of the fifteenth day, the little boy who made a wish came specially to invite the people from the second house to go to the first house for a reunion dinner in the evening.
He also said, "Grandpa and grandma also invited Aunt Yin this time."
He was very dissatisfied. Why did they invite this prodigal son? He was often laughed at by his friends because he had a prodigal aunt.
Xu Lan, wanting to improve her relationship with the old couple and the first wife, was also willing to go, but Qin Shi had made it clear that she would not go, saying she hadn't fully recovered yet and didn't want to go out.
After Xu Yuan left, Qin gave Xu Lanyin forty coins and asked her to go to Xinghua Village to buy two pounds of meat as a gift.
There is no meat stall in Xiaozao Village, but there is one in Xinghua Village, at the east entrance of the village.
Xu Lanyin was particularly reluctant to go there, as Sujiazhuang was not far from the eastern entrance of Xinghua Village. But since Xu Lanzhou had gone to the fields, she had no choice but to go. She said, "Let's buy two more large bones and make a nourishing soup. It's good for mother and little brother to drink more bones."
Qin gave her another ten cents.
Xu Lanting pulled Xu Lanyin's skirt sadly, he also wanted to go.
Xu Lanyin coaxed, "Xinghua Village is not fun. I'll take you to the county town someday."
Xu Lanting then let go of his hand with a smile.
Xu Lanyin led Huazi out of the village and across the Baisha River, feeling a bit hesitant. Going east along the path behind the village would pass by Sujiazhuang, which she certainly didn't want to go through. But she also didn't want to go through the village itself, because when the original owner went to Sujiazhuang and cried, many villagers came to watch and laughed at her. Even the village children would gather around her and laugh and sing, "Little lady, crying for Gu Lang..."
Xu Lanyin speculated that the scene wasn't just the original owner's shameless crying and throwing a tantrum; perhaps there was also some deliberate manipulation involved. The most likely culprit was Manager He, who secretly accepted Su Qing's money while ostensibly working for Madam Su. This matter became widely known throughout Xinghua Village, solidifying Su Qing's reputation. Madam Su could never have guessed this, and both Gu Wangchen and Su Qing were delighted with this outcome.
She cursed inwardly, then headed east. Although she had to pass by Sujiazhuang, she was passing by the backyard wall, where few people walked.
It was harvest season these days, and the farmers were busy in the fields. Passing by a field, a busy farmer saw her. Even from a distance, Xu Lanyin could hear him say, "Look, Gu Xiucai's fiancée is making trouble in Sujiazhuang again. Haha, there's something exciting going on again."
After hearing what that person said, several farmers farther away straightened up and laughed at Xu Lanyin.
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