Shen Yuyan pinched her nose, not daring to go forward, looking disgusted.
"Second sister, why are you digging this up? Didn't you say this plant is poisonous?"
Shen Danru said gently, "This is delicious. It's poisonous to eat it directly like this, but Second Sister has her own method. If you make it properly, it will be a delicacy. After Second Sister makes the dish, she can take it to town to sell for money."
Upon hearing that it was a delicacy that could be sold for money, Shen Yuyan disregarded the stench and squatted down to dig with Shen Danru.
He trusted his second sister completely; she could always conjure up all sorts of delicious food, so he was sure this smelly thing could also make delicious food.
This large piece weighs several hundred kilograms.
The two of them were panting heavily when they finally dug out eight seeds, weighing more than fifty pounds.
The largest weighs about ten kilograms, and the smallest weighs four or five kilograms.
They couldn't take too much with them, so Shen Danru marked the way and led Shen Yuyan down the mountain.
The two carried the load as they walked, and it took them more than half an hour to reach the village.
Hearing the commotion from home in the distance, the two dropped the sack and ran home.
"What a wonderful girl, how could she have gotten engaged to that scoundrel Chen Lang? It's such a pity."
"That's right. That old woman Chen is a heartless person. She ruined all the children of the second wife. Even if Shen Cheng is not her child, she watched him grow up."
"Alas, it is true that a virtuous wife brings honor to her husband, while a wicked wife brings ruin to him. The Shen family will surely be ruined for three generations by marrying this wicked woman."
As soon as Shen Danru and Shen Yuyan arrived home, they heard the neighbors talking. They looked at each other, both anxious. Had Madam Chen come to cause trouble again?
When Aunt Zhang saw them return, she quickly pulled Shen Danru aside and said, "Child, you should leave quickly and go hide away for a few days."
Shen Danru recognized Aunt Zhang, who was Old Shen's neighbor and had a good relationship with her mother, Zhou Shi. She quickly asked, "Aunt Zhang, what happened to my family again?"
Looking at Shen Dan's beautiful face, Aunt Zhang said worriedly:
“Child, Qing’er, the family of the girl you were switched at birth is engaged to. They’ve set an auspicious wedding date and the matchmaker has come to ask for the date. They say they want to marry you. Child, listen to your aunt, go and hide for a few days.”
The wedding date selection is the fifth of the six rites in wedding customs. The groom's family must first consult the oracle to determine an auspicious day, and then send a messenger to inform the groom of the date.
I never expected that Chen Lang's family, though from the countryside, would be so particular.
Shen Danru said with gratitude in her eyes, "Thank you, Aunt Zhang. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Seeing Shen Danru's determined gaze, she strode towards the main room and sighed, "What a good child! She's much better than Qing'er. It's such a pity she married Chen Lang."
Something came to mind, and she pushed through the crowd and jogged away.
In the main room, the matchmaker, Wang, was trying to persuade her: "I heard that the child has never suffered. The Chen family is a wealthy household. You are marrying your daughter into the Chen family so that she can enjoy a good life. How can you bear to let your daughter eat chaff and wild vegetables with you?"
"Tell them to give up on that idea. Even if I raise my daughter for a lifetime, she will never marry him."
Seeing that her attempts to persuade him were futile, Wang the matchmaker lost her patience and said with a stern face:
"This isn't something you can just decide not to marry. Your family has already accepted the betrothal gifts, so you have to marry now."
As soon as the matchmaker finished speaking, she heard footsteps at the door. She turned her head and saw a young woman walking slowly with delicate steps, her eyes sparkling like spring water, her eyebrows arched, and her lips parted slightly to reveal her pearly teeth: "Father, Mother, we're back."
Matchmaker Wang couldn't help but stand up and circle around Shen Danru twice. Even in coarse linen clothes, the girl's charm couldn't be hidden. She couldn't help but click her tongue and say, "Beautiful, so beautiful."
She had been a matchmaker for decades and had never seen such a beautiful girl.
Looking at it this way, Chen Lang really isn't good enough for this girl.
She regretted making the trip; if this girl married Chen Lang, it would be a complete disaster.
When Shen Danru entered, he overheard the villagers talking and mentioned that Wang the Matchmaker was a famous matchmaker in the surrounding area, who could talk the dead back to life with her silver tongue, so she was probably not someone to offend.
She bowed slightly and said with a smile, "Hello, Aunt Wang."
Matchmaker Wang only worked in the countryside, and the people she had met were all country girls. She had never seen a girl like this before. Her appearance and demeanor left her speechless.
It took her a while to react: "Okay, okay, good girl too."
Zhou stood up, blocking Wang the matchmaker's view, and frowned, saying, "What do you want to do?"
Matchmaker Wang thought to herself, "This girl is probably not simple. Why not do her a favor? If I can help her with this, I might be able to become a familiar face to her in the future."
"Young lady, don't misunderstand, this must be the second young lady. She's truly beautiful." She paused and said:
“I know Chen Lang is a toad trying to eat swan meat. Here’s what we’ll do: I won’t be the matchmaker anymore. He wasn’t originally going to marry this girl anyway. How about this: you return the betrothal gifts to the Chen family, and I’ll try to persuade them to let this matter drop.”
"this…"
Zhou was in a dilemma for a moment.
It's extremely difficult to get the mother-in-law to return the betrothal gifts she accepted.
The betrothal gift is thirty taels, and with the purchase of other items, it will cost nearly forty taels. Where can we find the money?
At this moment, Aunt Zhang barged in with several people and said to Matchmaker Wang, "Mrs. Wang, how much is it? We'll pay."
"Yes, if Brother Shencheng can't come up with the money, we'll pool our resources to help him."
As more and more people entered the room, those who couldn't squeeze in stood at the door. Some of them were people Shen Danru knew, and some looked familiar but she had never spoken to them.
The villagers put their money on the wooden table, some a few coins, some dozens of coins, and soon the money piled up into a small mountain.
The villagers' enthusiasm touched her deeply.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
