Jiang Yue stayed at the old house until noon. Partly because her in-laws were so hospitable, and partly because she was giving suggestions to her two sisters-in-law about the dolls they were making, she stayed for lunch after her own mealtime, and since the sun was blazing.
"Third son's wife~"
"My third sister-in-law is here!"
"Third sister-in-law~"
"Hello, Third Aunt~"
One after another, my father-in-law went to the fields and came home.
Next, my uncles and nieces returned and greeted me.
The food at the old house has clearly improved. They steamed a large bowl of white buns, along with pickled mustard greens with shredded pork, braised pork, mushroom soup, mixed fish stew, cold-dressed houttuynia cordata, and so on.
A large table of food was set up, and the family sat down according to seniority. There weren't many rules; they took as much as they could eat.
not enough?
There's still some in the pot.
"Our family has been doing well this year, thanks to my third son's wife."
Grandpa Wu lamented that at this time last year, his family was destitute. After working in the fields, they were lucky to have some mixed grain steamed buns to eat, let alone white flour steamed buns.
And this dish, it has meat, and it's incredibly flavorful with oil.
In previous years, it was just a simple meal of watery soup, barely enough to fill our stomachs!
"Dad, please don't praise me. I didn't do anything special. It's all thanks to your and Mom's good upbringing, my two older brothers' diligence, my two sisters-in-law's virtuousness, and our family's unity. That's how we've achieved a good life!"
Not daring to take credit, Jiang Yue changed the subject to her family.
In fact, that's why life in the old house has improved.
You know, which farming novel doesn't have awful relatives?
She was so nervous when she first wore it!
Fortunately, her in-laws were reasonable and didn't cause her any trouble.
"Eat quickly, everyone. After you've finished eating, old man, don't go to the fields this afternoon. Go with your third son's wife to Yongfa's house and help her choose a plot of land."
Old Mrs. Zhou interrupted her husband and third son's wife's mutual boasting, and gave her little granddaughter a large steamed bun, saying affectionately:
"Yaoyao, eat your steamed buns quickly, grow tall and strong!"
Qingyao pursed her lips and nodded obediently.
The little girl next to her saw this and helped serve food to her younger sister, Yao Yao...
She was a grown woman now and knew that her family relied on her third aunt's guidance to make money. She no longer had any suspicion of her third aunt and was now full of respect for her.
Qingyao covered her mouth with a steamed bun and thanked him with a big smile:
"Thank you, Sister Niu Niu~"
The little girl felt a warm glow in her heart upon seeing this, and couldn't stop adding more food to Yao Yao's plate...
Jiang Yue caught a glimpse of her niece's gentle and charming appearance out of the corner of her eye. She thought to herself, "It's strange that my second sister-in-law has such a fiery personality, yet her daughter is just like my eldest sister-in-law."
"The third son's wife wants to buy land? That's great! Buying land is good. We'll have enough grain and vegetables. With green hills and pine trees, we have plenty of energy to grow crops."
Grandpa Wu said happily, "Land has always been a favorite of the older generation."
After lunch, the old man didn't rest for a moment. He called his wife and they headed to his old friend's house with great enthusiasm.
Yao Yao and Xiao Bai were left behind to be looked after by Old Zhou Shi, with Xiao Niu playing with them. Later, Xiao Niu took her younger sister home.
Qingyao was sensible and knew that her mother and grandfather had gone to discuss important matters, so she obediently followed her older sister, Xiaoniu, to play.
“Second daughter-in-law, I’m thinking that the money from the family estate is enough for the little girl’s dowry. From now on, the little girl won’t have to work in the fields with her father anymore. She can stay at home and rest. Look at her face, it’s gotten so tanned these past few months.”
"Yes, Mother is right. A girl's face is very important. It would be bad if she was rejected when she was being looked after."
"Let's wait and see. Recently, our village's reputation has been tarnished because of that Zhang family. Even if we meet them, they might not be a good family. Let's wait and see."
"Yes, I'll listen to you, Mother. I'll have to trouble you to help me with my daughter's marriage."
"I wonder how my daughter is doing. We haven't heard from her in so many years. I'm really worried."
"Shh~ Mom, keep your voice down, don't let your sister-in-law hear. She's worried about Da Niu too~"
"Oh dear, what's going on here?"
......
Qingyao was helping her second aunt pull the cloth when she unknowingly overheard these words, but she only half understood them.
The little girl next to her had blushed, but her face was tanned and no one noticed it for a while.
The village chief's family had just finished lunch, and Old Qin was cleaning up the dishes and wiping the table.
Yin was sweeping the yard when she heard the noise outside the door and hurriedly went to open it.
"Aunt Jiang~"
"Grandpa Yongfu~"
"Hey, Xiao Youyin, have you eaten yet?"
"I've eaten, I've eaten. Are you here to see my grandfather?"
Yin stepped aside, gesturing for the two elders to come inside and talk.
Then came a shout—
"Grandpa, Grandpa Yongfu and Aunt Jiang are here!"
"Sigh~"
Hearing the shouts, the village chief slowly came out of the house. Seeing his old friend, he smiled and asked:
"What brings such a busy person like you here today?"
"Old man, don't joke with me. I'm here to help my third son's wife. Come on, tell my wife about the fields in the village that are for sale."
Grandpa Wu joked that the two had been friends since childhood, so they spoke without thinking and didn't care about each other's manners.
"You old codger, you're really not being polite. Come inside and talk, it's hot outside."
The village chief stroked his beard, his smile undiminished, nodded to Jiang, then turned and led the way into the house.
"In the bundle that Guanghua sent with your grandson Qingshan, there was a new tea. Since you're here, there's no rush. Have a cup of tea before we talk."
No rush~
Old Master Wu shook his head, "A fool wouldn't take advantage of a bargain."
Drink~
Jiang Yue wasn't in a hurry to leave. Yao Yao was playing with the little girl at the old house, so she had nothing to worry about.
After drinking the tea, Mr. Wu revealed his purpose for coming.
Upon hearing this, the village chief gave Jiang a thumbs-up.
In less than six months, the Chiang family was able to buy land. They're really capable!
He immediately told the two to wait a moment while he went inside to get the booklets so that Mrs. Jiang could choose one.
After much searching, they found two plots of land. One was three mu of land that the Hui people had rented to the Jiang family, which had not yet been sold. The other was eight mu of fertile land belonging to Wu Mazi's family, which they planned to sell cheaply and move away with their entire family.
"Wu Mazi is so old, does he still want to make a fuss about moving away?"
Upon hearing this, Old Master Wu frowned. The murderer was Wu Mazi's daughter-in-law, and the dead woman was his wife. But given Wu Mazi's wealth, it shouldn't be that serious.
"Wu Xiaogui stole all the money from the house last night. If this land deed hadn't been hidden so well, it would probably be gone..."
The old village chief explained that early that morning, Wu Mazi and his son knelt before him, wanting to sell their land, move away from Wu Family Village, and start anew in another place...
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