Chapter 210 Returning Home
The mule cart was moving quite fast, and in less than fifteen minutes we could see the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village.
Now that the weather is cool and the busy farming season is over, many men and women chatting and a group of children playing have gathered under the big banyan tree.
Seeing the mule cart coming from afar, everyone started discussing.
"Huh? The man and woman on the mule cart look familiar?"
"What are you looking at? She's Mr. Xu and Mr. Song's daughter, how can she not be familiar with her?"
"Why are they here?"
"Come to think of it, today seems to be the day when the daughter of Song Lao San returns home."
"Mr. Xu used to be indifferent and elegant, and it seemed that he had no idea about anything. I never thought that someone like him would get married one day."
"The girl from Song Lao San's family is indeed first-rate in appearance. Although Mr. Xu is indifferent, he is a normal man after all. Maybe he is attracted by her appearance."
"Speaking of which, that girl was really arrogant. It was just a small matter at the time, but she just left as if she had suffered a great injustice."
"I think Zhang and Song Lao San treat her well. She doesn't recognize her parents' home, and the couple even prepared a dowry for her. She has lived in a wealthy family, and she really thinks she is a rich lady. She can't be criticized or beaten. If this were my daughter, I would have locked her up in the room and let her starve for a few days to let her know her place."
"Stop talking, this girl is holding a grudge. Last time, Ma and the Song family went to pick her up and she was kicked out. Even now, the Song family hasn't gone to pick her up. Who knows if she said anything."
"Although Ma is not a good person, she was kind enough to come to the wedding, and she is an elder, so why did she drive her away? This is too much!"
"That's right, why did Song Lao San and Zhao let her do what she wanted? People who don't respect their elders should be beaten!"
Not far away, Wang Hongying, who had just returned from the fields, heard the voices of the crowd and couldn't help but walk forward with her basket and speak.
"What nonsense are you all talking about here? You don't know the whole story, so it's better not to spread it around."
When Tang'er was still in Rongshu Village, these women loved to gossip for no reason. How could she, a girl, stand such comments?
It just so happens that my third brother’s wife is not in charge of the matter.
She can only speak of it once she sees it, and it won't have much effect.
But Tang'er is married now. If we let these people talk nonsense, it would be bad if it got to the ears of the Xu family in Lushan Village.
From her direction, she could not see the mule cart coming from the other side of the banyan tree.
When everyone heard the voice, they turned around and saw that it was Song Yuntang's great aunt. Someone asked, "Sister Wang, you also went to see your niece off on her wedding day. What happened?"
"Speaking of which, on the day of Tang'er's wedding, it was my sister-in-law who made the first mistake..." Wang Hongying briefly recounted what happened that day, "That's how it was. Tang'er was indeed a bit rough and crude in kicking people out, but she had no choice. This matter can't be blamed entirely on her."
Everyone was stunned.
"So there is another reason behind this. Ma came back that day and said such terrible things about your niece. We thought it was true and believed her without thinking."
Wang Hongying waved her hands.
"It is said that family disgrace should not be made public. Others may not know about my second brother's wife, but the people in our village have been together for so long, how can everyone not know about it? But don't listen to her one-sided story."
Then he said, "Now that Tang'er is married, everyone should stop making up stories about her behind her back. As a girl, she has been through a lot of hardships in the past few years, and it's hard for her to accept it. Now that she's finally married, if your baseless words get spread to Lushan Village, she won't have a good time in her husband's family, and my third brother and his wife will have to worry about her."
Everyone looked at each other.
Most of the families have daughters, so they can empathize with what Wang Hongying said.
"We haven't talked about her since she left. We only discussed her a few words when we saw her and Mr. Xu return home."
Someone spoke and pointed in the direction of the village entrance. The mule cart was already approaching, less than ten feet away from the big banyan tree.
Wang Hongying walked a few steps towards the village entrance to avoid the big banyan tree. When she saw Xu Qingye and Song Yuntang driving a mule cart, she was delighted.
"Uncle-in-law and Tang'er are here."
Song Yuntang asked with a smile, "Auntie, are you back from the fields?"
Wang Hongying nodded.
"Yes, I didn't expect to run into you guys. I have to go back and tell your grandparents. They were still talking about you last night."
After saying that, he turned around and went to the old house.
When the people at the entrance of the village saw the mule cart approaching, they hurried to congratulate the two men.
"Congratulations, Mr. Xu."
"Thank you very much."
Xu Qingye drove the mule cart forward calmly and did not stop until he reached his doorstep.
As soon as the two got off the mule cart, Song Jinbao and Zhao Qiao'e, who heard the noise, came out to greet them, "Tang'er and Mr. Xu are back."
From morning till now, the whole family has not gone out, for fear that no one will be home when Song Yuntang returns home.
I waited from early morning until almost noon and still no one showed up. I thought they would not come and was feeling disappointed, but I didn't expect them to come at this moment.
Xu Qingye got off the mule cart and said, "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, just call me Qingye."
As he spoke, he reached out and helped Song Yuntang so that she could land safely.
Although Zhao Qiao'e opposed this marriage at first, her daughter had already married Xu Qingye. Now that she saw how considerate Xu Qingye was, she became more and more satisfied.
She looked very happy.
"Boss, please invite them to come in and sit down. I'll go get two glasses of water."
"Hey." Song Jinbao responded and looked at Xu Qingye and Song Yuntang, but he was too embarrassed to call him by his name, "Son-in-law and Tang'er, come in quickly."
“No hurry.”
After Xu Qingye unloaded the mule, he took out the gifts from the mule cart one by one, including two pots of wine, two packages of tangerine cakes, two strips of meat, two packages of brown sugar, and a large bag of white rice.
Song Jinyuan and Liu Xiangyun just came out of the house.
Seeing Xu Qingye unloading so many things from the mule cart, Song Jinyuan hurried forward and moved the things into the yard with Song Jinbao.
The people outside who were watching the fun were envious when they saw Song Yuntang and Xu Qingye moving so many things back home.
Compared with Song Zhimei, who was brought into the Huang Mansion to be a concubine, although the Xu family's conditions were not as good as the Huang family's, they were not only more polite than the Huang family, but also much more generous.
"If Ma knew that the daughter of the third elder Song family brought so many things back home, she would be so angry that her nose would be crooked."
"That's not necessarily true. When Song Zhimei went to the Huang family, Ma at least got five taels of silver from the Huang family. When Song Yuntang got married, Zhao also gave her five taels of silver. Even though she brought so many things back home, she couldn't even get back the cost of five taels of silver."
"That's right. Song Zhimei is now the concubine of the Huang family. Not only does she get a monthly allowance, but she also has someone to serve her. A few days ago, she sent a few pounds of meat to Song Laoer's family, and Ma boasted about it in the village for several days in a row."
"That's true. Mr. Xu is a scholar. His studies will cost a lot. Song Yuntang probably won't have much chance to help his parents. But Song Zhimei is different. When she gets her monthly allowance, she might send something home every month."
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