After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Su Tai expressed her incomprehension at Bai's worries, "Sister Bai, in my opinion, you are living a happy life in your husband's family and you also manage the household affairs. Young Master Ma treats you very well, and you have a son to rely on. Why do you have to please your own family? It seems that the Ma family and the Bai family have no business dealings."

She heard all of this from Shen Yi; she didn't know the current situation.

Hearing Su Tai's words, Bai was both happy and sad. She felt as if she had found a kindred spirit and said excitedly, "Sister, you really hit the nail on the head. Actually, I don't want to please my maternal family, but the Ma family is not just our family. There are also relatives. If I offend my maternal family, they will definitely look down on me and treat me with contempt."

They might even have ulterior motives and send women to my husband, but with the Bai family around, who would dare to offend me? I am still the absolute mistress of the Ma family, and they all have to obey me.

This is why a woman cannot live without her maternal family to rely on. Alas! It's still better to be a younger sister; her maternal family treats her like a precious jewel. Even though Shen Yi isn't here, her in-laws wouldn't dare to treat her badly.

She genuinely admired Su Tai, but honestly, she couldn't be as independent and strong as Su Tai, so she could only admire, not be jealous.

After this heart-to-heart talk, the two really became good sisters.

When Su Tai saw them off, she offered them a few words of comfort and gave them some pastries and bread.

Within a few days, everyone in Zhaohua County knew why the crabapples hadn't produced any fruit.

Because the crops didn't grow well this year, the strawberries in Shenjiazhuang didn't grow well either. Most people were still convinced, and the matter was quickly suppressed.

Su Tai breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the news. With natural disasters and man-made calamities already causing enough chaos, she didn't want any more major turmoil to erupt in the place where she lived.

Life returned to normal.

At this time, Ke Dasong and his sons drove their cattle and sheep into Shenjiazhuang again.

Last year, after the villagers learned that they could spend money to send things to their families on the border, they urged Ke Dasong to bring more cattle and sheep over this year.

The villagers became restless as soon as they entered the village.

They chased after Su Tai to her doorstep, carefully examining the cattle and sheep.

Ke Dasong dared not slack off, and after shaking the wooden stake, he called on the Ke brothers, Ke Zhenliang and Ke Zhengliang, to get to work.

Su Tai opened the door and came out, and casually asked someone to bring out the village's enormous scale.

After a flurry of activity, it got dark, and most of the cattle and sheep had been sold.

The villagers who hadn't made a choice yet agreed with Ke Dasong to come back tomorrow.

Ke Dasong made a fortune today and readily agreed.

Seeing that Su Tai had closed the door, he immediately asked about Ke Yunyun and Zhu Kangcheng's situation.

Su Tai directly asked Ke Yunyun to come out and talk to her father and brothers.

Ke Dasong was even happier to learn that his daughter and grandson were doing well, and gave her another two hundred taels of silver.

Ke Yunyun turned pale with fright, shaking her head like a rattle-drum. "Dad, please have mercy! Don't give me any more money! Otherwise, I won't dare to see you again, let alone my sister-in-law and nephew!"

"What nonsense are you talking about! I'll give it to you, no one will know!" Ke Dasong said, turning back to glare threateningly at his two sons.

Ke Zhengliang and Ke Zhengping immediately raised their hands solemnly and swore, "Dad, we don't know anything!"

Ke Yunyun: "."

"Big brother, second brother! I know you care about me, but I really can't take your money anymore. I haven't touched a single penny of the money you gave me last year!" Ke Yunyun said helplessly. The three members of the Ke family were all shocked. "What? You eat and live with your cousin, but you don't give her any money? Girl, we can't do such a shameless thing."

"Dad! What nonsense are you talking about!" Ke Yunyun said, her face flushed with anxiety.

Su Tai, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and quickly explained, "Uncle, my cousin isn't just eating and living here for free. She wanted to give me money, but I refused. You can see for yourself that I'm taking care of four children by myself, and they're all so young. I also have to manage things outside. I'm just too busy to handle everything. My cousin has really helped me a lot here."

Logically, I should have given her money! But my cousin refused, so I said we wouldn't talk about money. She helps me take care of the family, and I'll support them. We agreed on this beforehand, so there's no question of her taking advantage of me.”

Ke Dasong then realized he had misunderstood the child, and scratched his head in embarrassment, asking Ke Yunyun again, "You really don't want any money?"

"No means no!" Ke Yunyun answered firmly.

Helpless, Ke Dasong could only take the silver back. He then scratched his head and asked, "Xiaotai, what's the price of grain this year? Is your village still selling grain?"

In previous years, they would sell their cattle and sheep, then collect grain from villages along the way before returning. Although taxes increased last year, the increase was not justified, and some families were still willing to sell. This year, after inquiring in several villages along the way, they found that no one was willing to sell their grain. They estimated that they would have to start buying grain from here. If no one was willing to sell, they would have to go to the grain shops in town, but that would inevitably cost them a lot of money.

After learning about their situation, Su Tai immediately said, "Uncle, cousin, wait a moment, I'll go cook for you. Try it and see if you like it."

The three members of the Ke family, father and sons, all looked puzzled.

Ke Yunyun was very happy, "Dad, eldest brother, second brother, my cousin's family also has another kind of grain called white rice. It's so fragrant. A little bit can cook a whole pot of porridge, and you can also steam it into rice. It's filling and keeps you full. It's so delicious!"

Ke Dasong and the other two looked on with anticipation.

A moment later, Su Tai brought over a large pot of rice, a large pot of mushroom and lean pork porridge, and a bowl of braised pork. "Eat up!"

Such dishes are simple, straightforward, yet substantial.

The three hungry men and women didn't stand on ceremony with Su Tai and started eating heartily.

The three, having tasted the rice, were still not satisfied and quickly asked how much the Su Tai white rice cost.

Su Tai gestured for them to be quiet, "Uncle, cousin, white rice is paddy rice, which was originally a grain from the Longxia Kingdom. As you know, my family has a farm. I had people carefully tend to this rice, and it was planted secretly. I can't make a fuss about it."

I wasn't planning on selling them; they're more than enough for myself. I can give you some, though. We're family, so I won't ask for more. Twenty coins per pound, is that alright?

Ke Dasong's eyes lit up, and he smiled excitedly, "I'm sure I'll be fine, but won't you be at a disadvantage?"

Su Tai shook her head, "What loss? We never planned to sell them anyway, so we still made a profit."

Since that's the case, Ke Dasong didn't stand on ceremony with Su Tai and asked her for 2,500 jin of wheat, plus another 1,000 jin of wheat.

A thousand catties of wheat was nothing to Su Tai; she could take it from the cellar at will. She didn't make much money; the price was still based on the prices from a few years ago.

The three members of the Ke family, father and sons, breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the grain.

The next day, after selling all the cattle and sheep the village needed, they helped slaughter the cattle and only set off for Dongmen Village when they were almost done with their work.

Come back to Su Tai for more food on the way back.

The Ke family had only been back for a few days when a light, icy autumn rain began to fall, the biting rain mixed with snowflakes, making them shiver. (End of Chapter)