Having been away for many days, the weather today is even colder than in the past few days. As Xichun and her group walked through the village, they became a beautiful sight to behold.
"Hey, you're back for the New Year? Long time no see, how's business?" As soon as the villagers saw them, they all crowded around, wanting to ask them something.
"It's alright, it's alright, we can barely make ends meet. Aunt Ma, how have you all been lately?" Since no one meant any harm, Xi Chun was naturally happy to chat with them.
"It's alright, it's alright, just enough to barely fill our stomachs. Your mother's family made a fortune this year, I heard they made quite a bit." The Ma family and the Ma Xiaobao family were relatives, and it wouldn't be a secret in this village for long, but no one dared to ask them about their ways of making money.
"Hehe, that's good too." Xichun didn't want to say more and went back with Aunt Zhang and the others.
Aunt Liu's family didn't do any business today. Knowing that Xichun was coming back, they had already cleaned her house in advance, making sure it was spotless so the garden wouldn't be neglected. However, the house looked a bit dilapidated. No one lives there, and over time, it would naturally become like this.
"Xichun, your two families are coming to my house for dinner later. I prepared a lot of dishes knowing you were coming back, so you don't have to cook for yourselves." The village chief's wife came to Xichun's house to greet them. Last time Xichun came back, they didn't have time to invite her to dinner before she left, so this time they were determined to invite her no matter what.
“Alright, then I’ll go to Auntie’s house today and try her cooking.” Seeing that she was genuinely inviting her, Xichun didn’t refuse anymore.
In the evening, after tidying up the house, Xichun went to the village chief's house with Taozi and the others. Aunt Zhang had already gone to help.
"Xichun's here! Come on in! We were just about to have dinner, it'll be ready in a bit. Please sit here for a while." The village chief's wife greeted them as they entered the house.
"Xichun, come, sit here and let's talk. Your aunt and the others are in the kitchen, so don't worry." The village chief's family had been busy making tofu and bamboo skewers every day for the past year, and naturally earned a lot of money, so their gratitude towards Xichun was even greater.
"Village chief, are you all alright? These are some snacks I bought in the city for my younger siblings to try." Xichun took out two packets of snacks.
"Why are you being so polite? We're already thanking you enough. They're not short of food every day."
"This is just a small token of my appreciation." After Xichun put down the snacks, several children nearby stared at them. Only after the village chief glanced at her did she go to the kitchen to help.
"You work hard doing business in the county town, so please don't be so polite. Otherwise, how could we possibly invite you to dinner? This past year, our family has really benefited from Xichun's help. We've made a decent living, much better than before. Even many families in the village have benefited. Everyone speaks highly of Xichun."
The village chief was very emotional, glad that his decision had prevented the loss of a talent like Xichun, otherwise they would not have been able to continue to benefit from his success.
"Speaking of which, the Chen family has really had a run of bad luck lately. I think they'll come and make things difficult for Xichun this year." Uncle Zhang said this, and the village chief naturally sighed deeply.
"Oh dear, the Chen family is such a headache. Xichun, you don't know yet, but I heard your uncle's family is going to sell their daughter."
“Selling their daughter? I don’t remember their situation in the village being that bad, why would they think of selling their daughter?” Xi Chun really didn’t know about this. She had been living in the county town and hadn’t paid any attention to the Chen family.
"I heard that your eldest uncle's son went to town to study with someone and got into trouble. He lost money gambling and is short about ten taels of silver. So, he's unwilling to spend the money and is preparing to sell your eldest uncle's youngest daughter to a gentleman in the city as a maid."
"Is that so? Even if the Chen family is in dire straits, they should still be able to come up with some money, right? And with the land they bought back then, they could scrape together the money. Why would they be willing to sell their own child to someone else as a slave?" Aunt Zhang hadn't heard about this either, and she was quite surprised.
"What good can the Chen family be? Otherwise, Xichun wouldn't have been bullied by them back then. I heard that it was Old Mrs. Chen who brought this up. Tell me, is there any old woman who is so sexist? She doesn't discipline her own grandson, but instead makes her granddaughter sell herself. If her husband Chen Lizhong doesn't change, I think they'll end up bankrupt."
The village chief's wife came out with the dishes and, upon hearing them mention the matter, naturally took over the conversation.
"How can you still not discipline him after all this? If he develops a gambling addiction, it will be terrible. He won't be able to support the whole family."
"That's right. That's why we called you here this time, Xichun, to remind you. I heard that your aunt is after you. She either wants you to pay off the money for her son, or she wants to discuss other plans. Be careful and don't go out of the village alone. Those gamblers have no heart."
"Okay, I'll listen to you. I won't leave the village alone. I'll remember this lesson from last time."
"That's right. Also, everyone should be more vigilant during this time. Chen Lizhong seems to be a ruthless person. I'm afraid he might come to your place to steal money."
“We’ll keep an eye on things. If anything happens, just give us a shout. The Chen family is getting worse and worse. I think not only Xichun needs to be careful, but everyone in our village should be cautious.”
"I've already told the village about this. With the end of the year approaching, everyone needs to be careful and not let anyone steal from our homes."
After the meal, Xichun and Aunt Zhang's family said their goodbyes, as there were still a lot of things to do at home.
Inside the Chen family's house, there was no joy of the New Year. Du was sitting to one side sighing, and her youngest daughter, Du Xiyue, was also crying. Only her eldest daughter, Chen Xique, was still embroidering.
"Mother, I am your daughter too. How can you bear to let me become someone else's maid? I've heard that rich families beat and scold their maids. I... I don't want to be sold."
“Oh, but what can your mother do? Your older brother has gambling debts, and our family can’t afford it. If someone really cuts off your brother’s hand, what will happen to him? Your brother hasn’t even gotten married yet. Do you want your mother to ruin your brother’s life because of you?”
"But, but we still have land at home. If we sell the land and add the money from Grandma, it will definitely be enough to pay off the debt." Chen Xiyue was still unwilling to give up.
"Don't say that in front of your dad and grandma, or they'll definitely scold you. That land is our family's lifeline. If we sell it, what will we eat and wear?"
"Mother, isn't there Chen Xichun? She's also a member of the Chen family. I heard she's doing business in the city and making a lot of money. She can definitely pay back the ten taels of silver." After all, she was her own sister, Chen Xique reminded her while embroidering.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
