At the entrance of Canghe Village, there is a large stone with the three characters "Canghe Village" engraved on it.
There are also several large willow trees nearby. The village usually gathers here when there are important announcements, and a group of old women from the village also chat here when they have nothing to do.
As long as it doesn't rain, He Laosan's oxcart departs from here on time every day.
It was still early, and there were only a few people going to town to buy things or needing to take an oxcart for important business, so it seemed rather deserted.
They were all from the same village, and when they saw Yan Qingqing and Yuan Huiniang arrive, they all greeted them with smiles.
In her previous life, Yan Qingqing was a social butterfly; she could get along with anyone as long as they weren't malicious.
Just as Yan Qingqing was having a lively conversation with someone, a sharp and sarcastic voice came from behind: "Who do we have here? Some men are restless when they're alive, and now that they're dead, they're even more uncontrollable. Look at them, running into the city so early in the morning."
Why did you bring your daughter-in-law along? Don't lead her astray.
I heard that you made a lot of money last time you went to the city. You can't manage all the work by yourself!
Tsk tsk…
The speaker was Chen Damei, the wife of Li Erdan from the same village. She was two years older than Yan Qingqing. Although she didn't mention Yan Qingqing, every word she said was directed at her.
Yan Qingqing was aware that Chen Damei harbored hostility towards her. The reason was that the original owner of this body had been on a date with Li Erdan, but it didn't work out.
Later, the original owner married Li Erniu, who lived in the same village as Li Erdan. Because she spoke softly and was beautiful when she was young, she was a stark contrast to Chen Damei. Therefore, Li Erdan could never forget Yan Qingqing.
For a while, some bad rumors circulated in the village.
This is also one of the reasons why Old Mrs. Li was particularly dissatisfied with Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing glanced at Chen Damei and quickly covered her nose, saying, "Ugh, who's spewing filth here so early in the morning? I could smell it from far away, it stinks!"
No wonder she can't keep a man's heart; who could stand someone so awful?
Not only does it smell bad, it's also ugly. Even dogs would probably avoid it.
At my age, I'm at least a mother-in-law now. At least I'll have someone to take care of me when I'm old. Unlike some people whose sons are already quite old and still haven't gotten married. I don't know if it's because their parents did too many bad things, and it's karma coming down on their children. It's so pitiful.
When it comes to verbal skills, Yan Qingqing believes she is second to none.
After being ridiculed by Yan Qingqing, Chen Damei's face flushed red and then turned pale.
The people around looked at each other in disbelief. They had only heard that Yan Qingqing was different from before, but they did not expect her to be so strong in combat. Chen Damei could not even say a word in rebuttal.
Of course, some people also stepped in to smooth things over when the atmosphere became too awkward.
Seeing this, Li Datou's wife tugged at Yan Qingqing's clothes and said, "Auntie, are you going to town to buy something? If it's on our way, we can go together."
There are many people named Li in Canghe Village. Li Datou's wife is a few years younger than Yan Qingqing, but she is a generation younger than Yan Qingqing, so she calls Yan Qingqing "Auntie".
Yan Qingqing is immune to it now. After all, she is already a grandmother, so it's not unacceptable for someone her age to call her "auntie".
Big Head's wife was a straightforward person, and Yan Qingqing got along quite well with her. She smiled and replied, "It doesn't matter what I buy. The main thing is that I'm a little worried about my three children who have left home to work and haven't heard from them. I was thinking of taking Hui Niang with me to look for them."
Yan Qingqing's words both rejected Da Tou's wife's request to travel with them and explained why she was taking Yuan Huiniang to the city.
They couldn't let others know they were going to celebrate Old Mrs. Ding's birthday, and they also had to explain what Chen Damei had just said, even though she didn't want to.
If Chen Damei goes around spreading rumors in the village, who knows what kind of stories she'll tell them?
No sooner had Yan Qingqing finished speaking than He San drove the oxcart over.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again.
He San was surprised to see Yan Qingqing there as well, and asked, "Is Second Sister-in-law also going to the city?"
After saying that, she quickly explained, "Second sister-in-law, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything by it. I just asked because I've never seen you come to the city before."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "It seems that I haven't been going out much in the past. I should go out more often in the future."
The group chatted and laughed as they boarded the oxcart. There were quite a few people on the cart, with seven or eight people crammed together.
It was Yan Qingqing's first time riding in an oxcart, and the jolting was unbearable. Plus, the rural people didn't bathe for days at a time, so all sorts of smells mingled together, and Yan Qingqing, who was pregnant at the time, felt like she was going to vomit.
However, in Chen Damei's opinion, Yan Qingqing was just pretending, feigning weakness to gain men's sympathy.
I instinctively wanted to say something sarcastic, but when I thought of Yan Qingqing's cursing at the village entrance, I immediately chickened out.
Regardless, four legs are much faster than two legs, and after more than half an hour, Yan Qingqing and her group finally arrived in the county town.
After each person paid two coins, He Laosan parked the oxcart at the city gate and said with a smile, "You go ahead and make your purchases. We'll meet at the usual spot and return to the village around 3 PM. If it gets too late, we won't wait for you."
After they made their decision, they all went about their own business.
Yan Qingqing and Yuan Huiniang easily found out the location of the Ding residence.
The Ding residence was located on the busiest street. Perhaps because it was Old Madam Ding's birthday, the area in front of the house was bustling with cars and people coming and going.
A steward-like man instructed a group of servants at the entrance: "It is the old lady's birthday. The master said that all distinguished guests should be invited into the inner courtyard, those who present birthday gifts should be received in the front courtyard and await the old lady's summons, and all beggars who pass by should be given food. No one should be neglected."
The servants quickly agreed, and Yan Qingqing seized the opportunity to step forward and say, "Greetings, everyone. We've come to wish the old lady a happy birthday."
One of the servants saw that Yan Qingqing and Yuan Huiniang were dressed so poorly that they looked more like beggars.
But remembering the butler's instructions and the young woman beside him carrying a box, he figured it must contain a birthday gift.
So he put aside his disdain and invited Yan Qingqing and Yuan Huiniang to rest in the front yard.
The servant said to Yan Qingqing, "Auntie, please rest here for a while. We will start preparing a banquet in our mansion soon. Please forgive us if we are not able to entertain you properly due to the large number of people today."
He then took the box from Yuan Huiniang and handed it to another person, asking him to take it to the inner courtyard.
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Young man, what are you saying? It is our honor to come to your esteemed residence to wish the old lady a long and healthy life. We hope that the old lady will enjoy a long and healthy life."
The servant hadn't expected Yan Qingqing to speak so eloquently, and he no longer dared to underestimate them.
After exchanging a few more polite words with Yan Qingqing, he went about his own business.
Yuan Huiniang didn't have such a good composure. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mother, the Ding family mansion is really grand. What if Old Madam Ding doesn't like our birthday gifts?"
Yan Qingqing patted her hand and said, "Don't be nervous. Look, there are many people in this courtyard who are similar to us."
"Don't worry, even if we don't please Grandma Ding, we won't lose out. The feast later will definitely be good. We haven't even had breakfast yet; we'll eat our fill!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Huiniang immediately smiled. Her mother-in-law truly doted on her the most, taking her along for such a wonderful occasion.
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