“If the weather returns to normal and the drought is relieved, you will definitely return to your respective villages, and everyone will go back to their own homes, and the conflict will be resolved.” Mother Yun still hoped that her sisters would not tear their family apart.
Hu Lingling held her younger sister's hand, "If I could, I really wouldn't want to go back to the village. The actions of some people in the village last time were truly disheartening. But thinking about the house and land at home, I feel a little reluctant to leave."
Yun Zhiming said, "Hold on for a while longer. If things really do get better, and if all else fails, you can settle down at the village entrance and use their vacant houses for animal husbandry."
Yun's mother patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's so dangerous outside. People have all moved away. If they go there to raise livestock, it's like throwing sheep to the wolves. When the wild animals from the mountains come down, how can they possibly survive?"
Yun Zhiming looked at his wife speechlessly, "It's impossible for our villages to see such a large piece of land wasted there. If we put some thought into it and take some precautions, we can make use of it."
"If they can take precautions, why aren't they starting construction now? Why are they living in such fear every day?" said Yun's mother.
Seeing that his mother still didn't understand, Yunqi spoke up to explain, "Those people never intended to live here long-term, so they won't put in the effort to clean up the surrounding area. They're just afraid of letting us benefit."
Yun Zhiming nodded in agreement. "I mentioned it to a few villages before, suggesting that they plant a ring of thorns around the area like Hutiao Village did, or dig some trenches, but they all refused, saying they needed to go out to find food."
At this point, everyone understood that the people from those villages felt they were only taking temporary refuge here and did not want to contribute their labor to help other villages.
Hu Lingling pulled Yun's mother aside and asked, "Are there still some people in your village who want to take in sons-in-law?"
To Yun's mother's surprise, the question asked so mysteriously was, "A few families are interested in this, do you have any good candidates you'd like to introduce?"
"I want Gao Liang to give it a try."
"Are you kidding me? You only have one son, Gao Liang, by your side now. If you send him to live with your parents, what will you two old folks do?" Hu Yuanyuan never expected her sister to be so unreliable as to come up with this idea.
Hu Lingling didn't want to hide it anymore and poured out what had just happened. "You know, those two siblings are always causing trouble. Even if someone takes a liking to Gao Liang, they wouldn't dare to enter a house like that. All the young men around here are almost ready to get married, but Gao Liang hasn't had a single person ask him about it. Thinking about my family's situation, even if there were good girls, I wouldn't dare to go and propose marriage."
While the two sisters were troubled, Gao Liang, under Yun Qi's questioning, revealed the things about their elders.
Si Cheng never expected his own mother to have turned out like this. He looked at his cousin with some apology.
Yunqi said, "If all else fails, you can move any things you don't need right now to our house. Once they're free of that desire, they'll calm down."
Hearing her say that, Yun Zhiming secretly glared at her. "Actually, you can't solve the problem like this. Gao Liang should have a good talk with your father. After all, he will definitely be relying on you to support him in his old age. You can also bring up the fact that your mother is planning to make you a live-in son-in-law. Let him see that his inaction is about to tear the family apart. I believe he will understand."
Yun Zhi knew that people like Gao Zian, who prioritized their own interests, would often make decisions that benefit themselves quickly when their own interests were harmed.
As his only son, Gao Liang was fully entitled to sit down and negotiate with him, unlike Hu Lingling who tried her best to persuade him but to no avail.
Given Gao Zian's personality, knowing that his only son was considering becoming a live-in son-in-law, he would weigh the pros and cons for the sake of his own future livelihood.
Gao Liang thought about it for a moment and then understood. He used to think that as a junior, it was not good to speak up, but as the future pillar of his family, he could sit down and negotiate.
Si Cheng and Yun Qi looked at Gao Liang with some guilt, while thinking to themselves that once he was able to take charge of the household, they would send him another batch of supplies.
With that confidence, Gao Liang took his mother back home and the family discussed the matter behind closed doors for a long time.
The effect was quite good, at least from that day on, Gao Zian completely gave up on family matters and stopped caring about them. Even if Gao Shuzhen came over at mealtimes, he ignored her completely and left it to Gao Liang and his mother to handle.
Because of their unexpected visit, the Yun family was almost late for their family gathering. By the time they arrived at the square, the group wedding was already coming to an end.
Everyone at the scene was happy, except for a few exceptions. Liu Qingying, who was about to marry into Xin San Village, had a long face from beginning to end. Her mother, Li Rongrong, also held her and cried. This left the village chief and his party, who had come to pick up the bride, standing there awkwardly waiting.
As her nominal father, Yun Mingwu could only put on a smiling face and secretly give Li Rongrong meaningful glances, signaling her to tone it down a bit.
Liu Qingying agreed to the marriage proposal from the village chief of Xin San Village this time because she was spurred on by Wu Shan, and she hurriedly agreed.
Village Chief Shi was aware of Liu Qingying's past actions, but there were no daughters from Pinghe Village who could marry out of the village. He wanted to maintain closer ties with Pinghe Village, which is why he chose Liu Qingying.
Many people asked him, "Aren't you afraid that Liu Qingying will cause trouble at home?"
Ishii Chong said nonchalantly, "It was agreed when we finalized the deal that we would build two additional rooms for the couple, and they can live on their own from now on. The family doesn't expect them to help out, and we can't help them out in any way anyway."
Hearing him say this, everyone knew that this was a disguised division of the family property. In this way, Village Chief Shi not only formed a marriage alliance with Pinghe Village, but also clarified some potential troubles that might arise in the future.
Everyone was saying behind his back that Village Chief Shi was a cunning old fox. Even after the family split up, with the help of Pinghe Village, his son's life had improved.
The sky grew brighter and brighter, and many people noticed this phenomenon. Some were filled with hope, hoping that the sky would return to its previous seasonal changes, while others were gripped by fear, wondering if another disaster would strike.
After a brief period of unrest, Pinghe Village calmed down thanks to Sicheng's composed demeanor.
In their words, "We've survived major earthquakes, freezing rains, and now this severe drought, and we're still alive and kicking. If the weather continues to improve, then there's hope. And if another disaster does occur, we've overcome so many hardships before, what are we afraid of?"
Because of their optimism, everyone continued to live according to their original plans.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com