After the children had disappeared, Xu Lanyin turned around and said, "Stay away from those kids. Come on, I'll go back and make you some bone noodle soup."
The little boy pulled his sister's skirt and went home, still stubbornly saying, "I didn't want to play with them, I just looked at them a few more times."
"Yes, I know. From now on, stay away from places where Wang Jincai is."
Xu Lanyin took the meat into the kitchen, scooped some water to wash her hands, then brushed off the mud and sand on the little boy's body and washed his face.
Seeing the little boy's depressed look, Xu Lanyin smiled again and said, "When you recover from your illness and can run and jump, there will be many friends who want to play with you."
"Will there be such a day?" Xu Lanting expressed his doubt.
Xu Lanyin smiled and said, "Of course. I will make more money in the future to pay for my brother's medical treatment."
The conversation between the brother and sister was heard in the bedroom. Qin was very pleased that her daughter had really changed.
At the end of the afternoon, Xu Lanzhou carried the meat, Xu Lanyin held Xu Lanting's hand, and Huazi followed behind, and they went to the main room together.
Xu Lanzhou wanted to carry Xu Lanting on his back, but Xu Lanyin stopped him, saying, "It's better for your health if you move around more."
To get to the Xu family's main house, one had to pass through the Gu family's house. The door to the Gu family's house was not closed tightly, and bursts of laughter came from inside.
No one cares about the poor in the downtown, but the rich in the mountains have distant relatives.
Before, the Gu family, with its orphans and widowed mother, was extremely poor. Old Lady Gu was a mean-spirited, stingy, and opportunistic woman. No relatives wanted to associate with her family, and no one helped them. Old Lady Gu had no choice but to sell her son to the Xu family. Ever since Gu Wangchen passed the imperial examination, the Gu family began to prosper.
Gu Wangchen would finish his provincial examination the next day, and even though the results weren't out yet, many members of the Gu family had come to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. It was said that even relatives from dozens of miles away had come. Of course, they didn't come empty-handed; they all brought gifts. Even if Granny Gu had a bad temper, her relatives were willing to put up with it.
These days, except for the two families of Old Man Xu, everyone else in Xiaozao Village treated Old Lady Gu with respect and flattery. They were afraid that if Scholar Gu passed the imperial examination, they would offend the master and his mother if they were too late to curry favor with him.
When Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanting heard the laughter coming from the Gu family and the voice of Mrs. Gu praising her son, their faces darkened. Xu Lanyin, on the other hand, seemed calm and composed.
A relative of the Gu family saw Xu Lanyin and her two siblings passing through the crack of the door and whispered to Mrs. Gu, "Second Aunt, today is Mid-Autumn Festival. Should we invite Miss Xu to our house for dinner? That way, it will look good on everyone."
The old woman spat and snorted, "That damn girl is so mean and not virtuous. Why hire her? You don't know, she's extremely unfilial to me and loves to get in front of other young men. I talk to her, and she talks back... Alas, she was born in a small farming family after all, so she's much worse than Miss Su from a wealthy family..."
In fact, before leaving, Gu Wangchen repeatedly told his mother not to ask Xu Lanyin for money again. She could only give him some meat occasionally, and it would be best if she stayed at home for a meal. Never let anyone see that they were planning to break off the engagement. As long as Xu Lanyin's reputation was ruined, those in the Gu family who hoped for his success would naturally oppose the marriage...
But Mrs. Gu was angry that Xu Lan had embarrassed her several times and dared to scold her, so how could she be willing to let her come for dinner?
Mrs. Gu said a lot of bad things about Xu Lanyin, and couldn't help but say a few good words about Miss Su.
Everyone else followed suit.
The person who had suggested it also quickly smiled, saying that his eyes were covered with shit, unlike Second Aunt's clear vision. But inwardly, he snorted coldly. Even if Gu Wangchen was smart and passed the imperial examination again, having a mother like this would only hold him back. If he wanted to break off the engagement and try to climb up the social ladder, he couldn't be so obvious...
As soon as the siblings arrived at the door of the main room, they saw a little girl not far away calling Xu Lanyin, "Sister Lanyin, come here."
The girl, with delicate features and wearing a blue printed dress, was none other than Wang Sanni. Her face was filled with joy, as if she had encountered something good. She even addressed Xu Lanyin as "sister," much to the dismay of the Xu siblings.
Among the unmarried ladies in Xiaozao Village, the most beautiful ones are Xu Lanyin, Wang Sanni and Xu Yulan.
Of the three, Xu Lanyin was the prettiest and best-looking. However, she had dark skin, wore tattered clothes, and was a spendthrift, so others had the worst impression of her.
Wang Sanni usually does not work. She is fair and pretty, petite, well-dressed, and comes from a wealthy family. However, her father, Old Man Wang, is a well-known scoundrel in the village, and her mother, Old Woman Wang, often abuses her daughter-in-law. Wang Sanni does not respect herself, so her reputation is not good either.
Xu Yulan, who wasn't as pretty as the other two, was the most popular. She was the daughter of Xu Lizheng, a beautiful woman with a sweet and lovable manner, and everyone loved her. Proposals for marriage were lined up in a long line.
The original owner hated this bitch who was trying to steal Gu Wangchen away the most, and would definitely ignore her. But Xu Lanyin was quite interested and didn't know what she wanted her to do.
Xu Lanyin let go of Xu Lanting's little hand and said to the two brothers, "Wait a minute, I'll come over after I say a few words."
She came up to Wang Sanni and asked, "What do you want from me?"
Wang Sanni smiled with her eyes curved, and said, "Sister Lan Yin, I heard that you don't want Brother Gu anymore. Is that true?"
It seems that what I said to Su Qing in the morning has spread to the village.
Xu Lanyin said, "It's true. From now on, whatever you think of Gu Wangchen has nothing to do with me."
Wang Sanni smiled even more broadly and said, "I understand. Thank you, Sister Lan Yin." Then she ran away happily.
Xu Lanyin twitched her lips and actually thanked her. Another love-brained girl, the ancient girl was no less enthusiastic than the modern girl.
The courtyard of the Xu family's main house is similar to that of the second house. The old couple lives in the upper house, Xu Qingming and his wife live in the north room of the east wing, Xu Ershi lives in the south room, and Xu Dashi's family lives in the west wing. The kitchen, warehouse, and woodshed are in the back house.
Xu Lanyin and her siblings went straight into the upper room.
Old Man Xu was so angry at the original owner that he fell seriously ill and now can't walk properly. When he saw Xu Lanyin, he glared at her fiercely, but he was gentle with Xu Lanzhou and Xu Lanting.
The old lady held Xu Lanting in her arms and said to Xu Lanyin, "Even though you got some money from selling your dowry, you still have to save some of it and use it for Ting's medical treatment and medicine. It will cost a lot of money to buy so much meat at once. Ask your sister-in-law to keep half of it and put some salt on it. Take it back and eat it tomorrow to nourish the two boys."
Xu Dashi's wife, Li, agreed with a smile and took the meat to the kitchen. Li was a stout woman with a cheerful personality.
Aunt Gu wasn't too happy. She knew the second wife would buy meat, so she'd have to buy less. But since the old lady had said so, she didn't dare refuse.
Gu had round features, a well-proportioned figure, and neat clothes. Although she was not as beautiful as Qin, she was still a beautiful woman in the countryside. The reason she married Xu Qingming, who was still poor at the time, was because her family lived in the mountains and was even poorer than the Xu family at the foot of the mountain.
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