Seeing that his elder brother looked unwell, Fengshou quickly comforted him, "Brother, it's alright. There are many good girls in our village. If you like any of them, ask Mother and Aunt to introduce them to you."
Although Song Anxin didn't know Lin Fengnian's many hidden thoughts, seeing him like this, she knew he must be feeling very bad. In her memory, her eldest son was always the type to bury himself in his work and rarely made demands. This time, for him to speak up to the original owner, he must have made a huge decision.
While sighing over Zhang Mei's plight, Sister-in-law Lin couldn't bear to see her nephew so dejected, so she said, "Why don't we go visit Zhang Mei? Marrying Fengnian is better than marrying that widower, isn't it?"
Maybe they'll break off the engagement out of pity for their daughter. After all, no one wanted to marry Meizi before because she couldn't have children, and her family had no other choice.
Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou both thought it made a lot of sense, especially Lin Fengnian, whose expression softened considerably.
Song Anxin wasn't as optimistic as Lin's sister-in-law. Anyone who truly loves their daughter would rather raise her than marry her off to someone like that. It's likely that this widower has given the Zhang family a lot of benefits.
Song Anxin also felt sorry for Zhang Mei, but this was, after all, a family matter. In ancient times, it was not uncommon for people to sell their children.
However, seeing that Lin Fengnian had come back to life, Song Anxin didn't say anything and followed Sister-in-law Lin and her two sons to the Zhang family.
Farmers' houses are all the same, mud walls and thatched roofs, but this dilapidated house looks quite tidy, as if someone has carefully tidied it up.
The Zhang family is now run by the elder brother and sister-in-law. The elder brother, Zhang Daniu, and his wife, Zhao, received Song Anxin and his group.
Zhang Daniu sat lazily in a broken chair, while his wife Zhao stood beside him.
"What? You're asking me to marry my sister? Did I hear that right?" Zhang Daniu exclaimed in surprise.
“My lord, you heard me right, it’s about marrying Meizi,” said Zhao, the wife, from the side.
After confirming the matter, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang looked at the group of people with a strange expression. Logically speaking, everyone in the surrounding area knew about their sister, so why would anyone want to marry her?
However, there was another widower named Luo. As long as he could marry off this money-losing girl, he didn't care about being a widower or not.
Besides, they promised him three taels of silver—that's three taels of silver! Once he gets the money, he can buy two or three taels of wine and some meat. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
Seeing that her husband was lost in thought again, Zhao quickly nudged Zhang Daniu with her hand.
Zhang Daniu came to his senses and said, "It's not that I don't want to agree, but you must have heard from the villagers on the way here. I've already told them about my sister."
Sister-in-law Lin quickly chuckled and said, "I've heard about it, but my nephew is eighteen years old this year. He's such a fine young man, a real expert in the fields. He's much better than that widower, isn't he?"
And I heard that the widower's three wives were beaten to death by him. Oh dear, why did he send such a good girl to such a family?
My nephew is hardworking and honest; he would never allow your Meizi to suffer any injustice. Besides, since we're here, we certainly don't care about Meizi's fertility, and we certainly wouldn't use this to pressure her.”
After listening to Sister-in-law Lin's long speech, Song Anxin thought to herself that inviting Sister-in-law Lin along was indeed a wise decision. "Look at what she said," she thought, "if I were Zhang Mei's parents, I would have agreed on the spot."
However, the situation with Zhang's brother and sister-in-law is a bit uncertain.
As expected, Zhang Daniu curled his lip and said nonchalantly, "I don't care whose house we go to, but can you give me three taels of silver? Widow Luo promised me three taels of silver!"
He finished speaking and a smug smile appeared on his lips.
Sister-in-law Lin and her brother Lin Fengnian gasped. Three taels of silver! That's more than the whole family earns in a year.
Song Anxin remained calm. He knew that the widower must have promised the Zhang family some benefits, and judging from the appearance of the brother and sister-in-law, they didn't seem to care about their sister.
Sister-in-law Lin was a little angry. She had thought they had no choice, but it turned out they were only after money. However, she still pleaded for her nephew, saying, "We really can't come up with that much money, but... you, as her brother and sister-in-law, should just think of your sister and not push Meizi into a fire pit..."
Upon hearing that there was no money, Zhang Daniu lost even more patience. Before Lin Dasao could finish speaking, he immediately jumped up and said, "Get out, get out! If you don't have money, then get out! I don't have that much free time to listen to your nonsense."
Madam Zhao also looked displeased and said, "You dare to talk to your daughter-in-law when you have no money? I think you are beggars eating plums, poor and sour. Go away, don't delay our sister from enjoying her life."
Sister-in-law Lin's face immediately turned red with anger, and Lin Fengnian and Lin Feng also looked indignant.
Song Anxin was so angry she laughed. Enjoying good fortune? Would you like this good fortune?
Song Anxin's life principle is that he will not actively cause trouble, but he is not afraid of trouble either.
So he said sarcastically, "Ha, who's really so stingy that they won't let their daughter marry into a perfectly good family, but instead insist on sending her to marry a widower who beat three wives to death for a few taels of silver? Are you marrying off your daughter or selling her?"
The Zhang couple's fig leaf was thus blatantly torn away by Song Anxin.
By this time, the commotion at the Zhang family's place had attracted a lot of villagers to watch. Since the villagers didn't have many entertainment options, they loved to gossip about other people's lives.
Upon hearing Song Anxin's words, the villagers immediately began to discuss it.
"I was wondering why the Zhang family agreed to the widower's marriage proposal so quickly; it turns out it was all for the three taels of silver dowry," a woman said.
"Perhaps Zhang Mei will be beaten to death within a month of marrying into the family. The eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Zhang family will not only no longer have to support their sister, but will also get three taels of silver. What a vicious mind they have," another woman said.
"Hey, Zhang Daniu, it's one thing for you to be lazy, good-for-nothing, and a petty thief, but how could you do something as heartless as selling out a girl? Your heart is black!" someone questioned Zhang Daniu indignantly.
Everyone agreed. Since Zhang Daniu and his wife already had a bad reputation in the village, they all started cursing them.
"They have no conscience at all!"
"Having a human face but doing human things!"
“............”
The eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Zhang family were both angry and embarrassed to be surrounded and scolded by the villagers. They blamed it all on that woman. So they glared angrily at Song Anxin, and Lin Fengnian and Lin Fengshou immediately stepped in front of Song Anxin.
Song Anxin was touched by the two children, but she wasn't afraid. How could she not learn some self-defense skills when she was working hard on her own? So she specially learned mixed martial arts. This kind of fighting is very practical. Although she wasn't a top expert, she was more than capable of dealing with such a person.
Just then, a thin young woman rushed out from the backyard; this was Zhang Mei.
Zhang Mei knelt down in front of her brother and sister-in-law with a thud: "Brother, sister-in-law, I don't want to marry that widower. I'm willing to stay at home and serve you like a slave. Please... don't marry me off to that widower. I don't want to be beaten to death. I want to live..."
As she spoke, she burst into tears in the field and kept kowtowing to the Zhang couple.
Seeing this, the surrounding villagers felt sorry for Zhang Mei and stopped scolding her, starting to persuade Zhang's brother and sister-in-law.
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