After Xiuxiu's mother left, Du was so angry that she started cursing:
"What nonsense! Even if I had 20 taels of silver, I would never agree to a marriage with such a family!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Yong.
Ye Yong sighed softly and bowed to Tie Niu's wife and Zhu Zi's wife:
"Aunties, no matter what Xiuxiu's mother did just now, Xiuxiu... she is innocent. This matter... must not be told to anyone."
Although he couldn't afford to marry Xiuxiu, he couldn't just watch her be ruined.
Zhu Zi's wife said, "Don't worry, it's rotten inside."
Tie Niu's wife nodded, "Xiu Xiu and I have always been very close, I wouldn't hurt her."
Ye Yong then looked at Ye Xing and Ye Wang.
Ye Xing quickly said, "Brother Yong, we won't say anything."
"Okay, I believe you guys." Ye Yong breathed a sigh of relief. He had done his best; he couldn't very well kill someone to cover it up!
Ye Yong said he was tired and then turned and left the main room.
Mrs. Du watched his retreating figure with a mixture of disappointment and frustration, and then left with Old Mrs. Ye and her husband.
Ye Caiping beckoned to the Ye Xing brothers: "Come here."
"Auntie".
Ye Caiping took out an oil paper bag from her sleeve and gave each of them a piece of osmanthus candy: "Here, one for each of you."
The two brothers' eyes lit up when they saw the osmanthus candy: "Thank you, Auntie."
"Keep this secret, and your aunt will give you candy again. Now go home!"
The two brothers then ran off happily.
Only Ye Caiping, Zhu Zi's wife, Tie Niu's wife, and Ye Jin'er, who had been keeping a low profile, remained in the house.
Tie Niu's wife said, "If you ask me, this Xiu Xiu's mother is really out of her mind."
"With so many people watching, there's bound to be a slip of the tongue. I'm afraid that after Xiuxiu gets married, her husband will hear about it and feel uncomfortable, which will put Xiuxiu in a difficult position."
Ye Caiping: "Maybe they don't even care how Xiuxiu will live in the future."
Zhu Zi's wife shook her head: "They keep talking about 20 taels, why don't they just fly to the sky?"
...
When Xiuxiu's mother returned home, she went straight to Hu Xiuxiu's room.
A slap sent Hu Xiuxiu sprawling to the ground: "You brat, is this your doing?"
"She used to wash her clothes by the willow tree every day, but today she went to the place where the Ye family soaks cassava to wash them. By sheer coincidence, she fell into the water and was pulled out by him."
"Why did you have to fall into the water on the day you went to town to meet someone?"
Yesterday, Matchmaker Huang came again, saying she had found a marriage for Hu Xiuxiu.
The other party was a carpenter from the town.
Not only did he own a house in town, but he also had a good craftsmanship, earning one or two taels of silver a month by doing carpentry.
Because it was the fifth generation of only sons, the carpenter's family was very satisfied when they heard that Hu Xiuxiu had raised seven younger brothers and even said that she was guaranteed to have a son.
They said they wanted to meet him, and as long as he wasn't bad-looking and they clicked, the matter could be settled.
Upon hearing the terms, Xiuxiu's mother agreed without hesitation, and the matchmaker set a time for them to meet in three days.
Who would have thought that Hu Xiuxiu would have this happen today, even though they had just arranged the time yesterday.
When she saw Hu Xiuxiu being brought back by Tie Niu's wife, soaking wet, Xiuxiu's mother nearly went crazy.
He immediately locked Hu Xiuxiu in her room before going to Lao Ye's house with Tie Niu's wife to make a scene.
“If this marriage can’t be arranged, I won’t pick any more for you in the future. Whoever offers 20 taels of silver, you’ll marry them. Do you understand?”
Hu Xiuxiu, sitting on the ground, covered her flushed face, glanced at her coolly, and remained silent.
Looking at her daughter's appearance, Xiuxiu's mother felt a pang of pity and pursed her lips.
"Xiuxiu, I'm doing this for your own good. With your qualifications, you could marry someone better. Ye Yong's family is too poor; they can't give you a good life, nor can they help your younger brothers."
"Think it over carefully, your mother won't hurt you."
After saying that, Xiuxiu's mother turned around and left, locking the door behind her.
Hu Xiuxiu sat on the floor, then lay on the bed and closed her eyes.
Well, with a mother-in-law like that, it would be a disaster for Ye Yong to have such a mother!
Consider today's incident her last struggle.
...
The sky gradually darkened.
Ye Caiping cooked dinner; she made braised pork belly with the pork belly she bought today.
"It smells so good!" Ye Daquan exclaimed excitedly.
But when they turned around, they saw that Old Lady Ye and the others all had sullen faces, and the atmosphere was strange.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Ye Daquan asked.
Ye Peng had already taken a bite of meat and was now looking at Ye Caiping and the others.
"It's alright...eat quickly!" Old Mrs. Ye forced a smile.
Old Man Ye changed the subject: "The cassava should be ready to come ashore tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, today is the last day."
The next morning, Ye Caiping and her three companions set up their stall as usual.
As soon as the oxcart stopped in front of the stall, Aunt Pang set up her stall and said, "Oh, you've finally arrived."
"You all have no idea, someone just tried to take your spots, but luckily I chased them away!"
Ye Caiping was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Thank you, elder sister."
"Look, look! It's that person!"
Ye Caiping looked in the direction she pointed and saw two people setting up a stall across the street.
Ye Caiping glanced at it, then looked away and continued setting up the stall with Grandma Ye and the others.
As dawn broke, regular customers began to arrive.
Soon, the stall was surrounded by a large crowd.
Ye Caiping skillfully got to work.
The fat couple thought that with the hot and sour soup available, their porridge would be hard to sell, so they only made half a bucket of plain porridge today, but doubled the amount of fried dough sticks and steamed buns.
"Spicy soup! Fragrant and smooth spicy soup, only three coins a bowl! Three coins for a small bowl, five coins for a large bowl!" A shout suddenly came from across the street.
Grandma Ye paused in her scooping of soup: "They sell spicy soup across the street too?"
The customers who were originally queuing up here looked up when they heard the shouts from across the street: "There's a newly opened hot and sour soup place."
"And it only costs three coins, so cheap."
The number of customers gathered outside immediately dwindled, and they all went to the other side.
Those huddled at the innermost edge of the group, somewhat embarrassed to leave, gave Ye Caiping a sheepish grin and said, "I'll eat at your restaurant!"
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