In the eldest branch of the Chen family, Du had been living in fear all night, thinking about the villagers' gossip that day. She nudged the eldest son of the Chen family, who was sleeping soundly.
"Hey, tell me, Li Zhong hasn't come back this late. Could he have really stolen something from the village to gamble?"
"Why are you worrying about these things so late at night? That brat didn't come home at night before either; he went out to gamble. Honestly, why don't you learn your lesson? You still go out to gamble. We only have this much money in our family; don't let him squander it all."
“What can I do? If I dared to say a word to your son, your mother would curse me to death. Now look what happened, he's gotten this gambling addiction. I think our family is really going to be gambled away by him.”
"Why are you crying? It's the New Year, and you think it's bad luck? If you cry again, I'll beat you to death. It's not like he didn't make some money. When he comes back this time, I'll teach him a lesson and make sure he never touches this stuff again."
The money that Chen Laoda was talking about was what happened this afternoon when Chen Lizhong suddenly took a few strings of copper coins, about one tael of silver, and gave them to his grandmother, saying that he had won it by gambling. Before his parents came back, after eating, he swaggered out the door, and Chen Laotai did not stop him.
"Thinking about it now, I still don't know where that money came from. He's so lucky to have earned so much money all at once, and I, as his mother, haven't even received any of it yet. Instead, it's all been given to his grandmother," Du complained.
"Alright, alright, we can talk about it tomorrow. I'm so sleepy, so don't bother me." As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Du could already hear snoring.
"What an idiot, falling asleep so quickly, not even caring about his son." After saying this, Madam Du turned around and sulked alone.
"Sister, do you think it was my brother who stole it? I noticed that some of the people in the village who I used to get along with aren't talking to me anymore, and they're even rolling their eyes at me." Chen Xiyue and her sister Chen Xique were lying in bed, and thinking about the looks her friends had given her that day, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"How should I know? This is so annoying! Can't you just relax? I've already started looking at potential partners. If something goes wrong, it will be so embarrassing," Chen Xique said unhappily.
Today, her mother took her to visit the family in the next village. Her mother told her that he was their only son, with five older sisters, and that all fifty acres of land would belong to him alone. Thinking about this, she felt a little shy.
Although she also wanted to live in the county town like Chen Xichun, no one could introduce her to someone. She couldn't very well go to the city to look for someone; that would be too impolite. If she could be in charge of her own household, she could live a comfortable life on fifty acres of land.
Thinking of this, her extremely agitated mood was relieved, and she began to imagine her future days.
Nothing happened that night. After waking up, Xichun stayed in bed to keep warm, which saved her the trouble of starting a fire.
Aunt Zhang also went home. Although she didn't have to go back to her parents' home today, she still had to go to Qiangzi's uncle's house to help out.
Taozi was playing with his friends in the village. They all envied Taozi for being able to live in the city. Taozi satisfied everyone's curiosity and told them about his experiences in the city.
"Taozi, you watch the house for me, I'm going out for a walk." Xichun carried a basket filled with incense, candles, and paper money. She was going to pay New Year's respects to her father today. During the New Year period, they also had to go up the mountain to worship their relatives.
"Sister Xichun, you go ahead, we'll stay here and keep watch. We'll make sure that thief can't get in," Taozi said with a grin, leaning against his friend.
After Xichun left, everyone looked in the direction she went with a mixture of awe and envy.
"Tell me quickly, is Sister Xichun really as amazing as the adults say?"
"Of course! You wouldn't believe it, but when we got back to the city, we heard someone say that bandits had come to the city. I even brushed past one of them..." Taozi continued excitedly as he recounted the situation in the city.
Xi Chun was arranging her things, preparing to go home after the candles burned out, when she saw the Chen family also coming up the mountain, but Chen Lizhong was not among them.
"Hmph, heartless bastards!" Xi Chun ignored them and was still looking at the scenery around her when she heard these jarring words. She turned around and found that it was Madam Ma talking about her.
“I know whether I have a conscience or not, and everyone in the village knows it too. I just don’t know if some people are aware of it themselves.” Xichun wasn’t intimidated by her and replied directly.
"You don't even greet your uncles and aunts when you see them, and you still have that high and mighty look on your face. Who are you trying to impress? You're like you're afraid we'll take advantage of you. Pah! You just have a few stinking coins. I wonder if you're selling smiles in the city and people are shamelessly spending money on you."
"You have no knowledge of your own, yet you accuse others of selling smiles. I don't know if it's ignorance or if this is how you make money. I don't have any uncles or aunts now. If you want to be sarcastic, find someone else."
“Xichun, how can you talk to your aunt like that? She’s only trying to help you,” Chen Laosan said, frowning.
"It's your business if you want to, but I don't want anyone to bully me under the guise of doing what's best for me. We're two different families, so please have a clear understanding of yourselves and don't provoke me."
"You sharp-tongued girl, just you wait and see what kind of good husband you'll find. A girl who brings misfortune to her father, aren't those people just flattering you now because they can make money off you? Wait until you can't make any more money and then see what they say about you!" When Du heard this, she wanted to hit her, but seeing the sharp sickle in her hand, she could only turn her actions into complaints.
"This is my business, it's none of your concern." Xichun saw through her intention and didn't want to talk anymore.
"Mother, why are you telling her all this? Let's hurry back, the road is very difficult to travel," Chen Xique said impatiently.
"You silly girl, why are you acting like a city person? You'll be working in the fields someday, so don't do this," Madam Du said softly after hearing her eldest daughter's complaint.
"Pfft!"
Upon hearing this, Xichun also looked at Chen Xique, who indeed appeared shy and hesitant, like a young lady from a wealthy family in the city.
The others heard it too, but since they couldn't afford to offend her, they all pretended not to hear it.
The Chen family didn't care whether the candles had burned out or not, and turned to leave. Xichun followed them home.
As soon as they reached the intersection, they heard a commotion. Someone spotted the Chen family and immediately pointed at them, saying, "They're here! Your Chen Lizhong has been caught. He stole things and is still trying to deny it. You should go and see him."
"What? How could my Lizhong steal anything? You must have wronged him. Come on, let's go check it out." Upon hearing this, Madam Du's first reaction was to deny it immediately, and she also urged Chen Laoda to go quickly to see what was going on.
Upon hearing this, and seeing that her parents had already run away, Chen Xique lowered her head and headed towards home, afraid that she would lose face if she went there.
Xichun also heard these words, but she went home first. At this time, most of the villagers were together, so as not to give anyone an opportunity to take advantage of her.
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