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

Chapter 41 Su Sheng Asks for Help
After saying this, the two brothers left the silver and carried away 350 catties of grain seeds.

Su Chunlin received seventeen and a half taels of silver from selling the grain seeds and specially delivered it to Shen Yi in Shenjiazhuang.

Shen Yi asked Su Chunlin to bring some trinkets to Su Tai, and the silver was hidden among them.

After going around in circles, the money returned to Su Tai's hands. Adding the copper coins from before, she now had nearly twenty taels of silver.

At the same time, the auspicious day for Su Chunlin's housewarming was also announced. Unexpectedly, it coincided with Su Yan's wedding day. Su Tai even went to Su Changxi's house to apologize to Su Yan and presented her with a copper hairpin and a handkerchief as a dowry.

Su Yan is about to become a bride, and she is full of anticipation for her wedding. Although it is a pity, it is understandable.

The two sisters chatted for a while before Su Tai took her leave.

The day before the Su family celebrated their new house, Shen Yi braved the wind and snow, carrying two large wicker baskets filled with food and household items that couldn't be bought in Moshi Town.

Mrs. Han was overjoyed. "Shen Yi, where did you get all this?"

Shen Yi smiled, showing great respect for Han Shi. "This was bought in Dahe Town, across the Daxun River. Dahe Town is more prosperous and bustling than Moshi Town, so naturally there are more things there."

"Yes, yes! There are definitely more things in Dahe Town than in Moshi Town. I was worried about not having good offerings tonight, and these snacks are just right!" Madam Han smiled from ear to ear.

Upon closer inspection, Su Tai discovered that the rare snack that the Han family cherished was actually a kind of steamed cake, perhaps mixed with other grains and dried fruits. It smelled particularly fragrant, but its preparation was simple and unpretentious.

She thought for a moment, then went back into the house, got out a bag of flour, and secretly handed it to Shen Yi, who then took it out.

Su Tai took the flour and asked Su Changxi's family, who were preparing for the wedding, for some yeast starter, which she then used to knead the dough and let it ferment.

Han knew exactly what Su Tai was going to do at a glance, and gasped with heartache, "You spendthrift girl, you should just make coarse flour buns, why are you using fine white flour? You really don't know how to manage a household at all!"

Su Tai turned around and asked, "Mother, have you ever eaten white flour steamed buns in your life?"

Han was stumped by the question and subconsciously shook her head. Then she explained embarrassedly, "You know what the situation is like on your maternal grandparents' side. They're very poor. I have older brothers and sisters. How could they afford to eat white flour?"

As far as she could remember, she had never eaten a single food made from wheat flour.

Thinking about it this way, he stopped grumbling about Su Tai wasting food and just kept a close eye on her, afraid that she would squander the food.

It was past noon by the time the dough had risen.

Winter days are short, and the wind and snow are heavy outside. The family stays in the main room talking and silently waiting for nightfall.

Just then, a rapid knocking came from the door.

Su Chunlin and Shen Yi went out to take a look and found that Su Sheng was standing outside the door.

"Uncle Chunlin, my sister is being bullied by the Sang family. Can you go and help her out?" Su Sheng was very anxious, and he was even sweating in the middle of winter.

Upon hearing this, Su Chunlin grabbed his straw hat and rushed outside without saying a word.

Shen Yi and Su Zhan were also going.

Su Tai was worried about Su Yan, so she got up as well. "Mother, you and my little brother stay home and keep watch. I'm going to go check on Sister Yan."

Han nodded silently, watching them leave with a worried expression.

When the group arrived at the Sang family home in Fufeng Township with the villagers, the entire house was in chaos, and Su Yan's brothers had even smashed wine bowls.

"What? So what if you're the township head? My dad's a township head too! You dare to give my cousin a hard time? Who do you think you are?" Su Yang roared at Sang Rong's mother, Zhou Shi. Zhou Shi trembled with anger, her finger shaking as she pointed at Su Yang and the others, "They really are ill-mannered! What kind of good girls can be raised by people like that!"

"Old woman Zhou, who are you cursing? You were the ones who took the initiative to ask someone to propose marriage to my sister, and you were the ones who were eager to marry her. Now you're so disgusted with her. I just don't understand!" Su Shengqiang stepped forward, suppressing his anger.

Su Chunlin then looked at Sang Yong, who was watching from the side, and without saying a word, stepped forward and grabbed him, asking, "What do you mean?"

Sang Yong pushed Su Chunlin away in dissatisfaction, flicked his collar, and glanced casually at the group of people accompanying the bride, his face full of disdain. "Su Changxi is the village chief of Dongmen Village, yet he only gives such a small dowry for his daughter's marriage. Is he trying to fob us off like beggars? Or does he think our Sang family is not good enough for his daughter and is deliberately trying to embarrass us!"

"Dowry? What dowry?" Su Chunlin was stunned for a moment and looked at Su Sheng.

Su Sheng gritted his teeth in anger and clenched his fists. "Your Sang family gave two taels of silver as a betrothal gift, and we'll give my sister two taels of silver as a dowry, plus four quilts and a wardrobe and a dressing table. What's the problem?"

"You don't even know what the problem is!" Sang Yong exclaimed dramatically, his eyes wide. "I told your father what kind of dowry we wanted, but he didn't care at all. You can't blame us for that!"

Su Chunlin ran to Su Sheng's side and asked in a low voice, "What do he want as dowry?"

Su Sheng was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode. "Grain seeds!"

Su Chunlin suddenly realized what was happening, jumped up on the spot, put her hands on her hips, pointed at Sang Yong, and cursed, "What utter nonsense! Everyone, come and judge for yourselves, which family allows the groom's family to be picky about the dowry they provide for their daughter? Is there such a thing? Is there such a thing?"

The people of Sangjia Village remained silent, feeling guilty, while the people of Dongmen Village shouted back, "That's never happened!"

Sang Yong's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

"I'm not going to argue with you! In short, if the Su family can't provide a dowry that satisfies the Sang family today, the bride can forget about entering our house!"

"Ha! Sang Yong, you are the mayor of Fufeng Township, yet you are so arrogant and shameless. Don't blame us for being impolite!" Su Chunlin was so angry that his face turned red and his neck thickened.

Sang Yong wasn't worried at all; this was his territory.

Su Tai watched coldly, knowing that the other side had more people and they would not gain any advantage. She secretly whispered a few words to Su Zhan, and after Su Zhan left, she walked towards the oxcart where Su Yan was resting.

The girl who was as beautiful as a delicate flower yesterday is now like a wilted eggplant, completely listless, as if she has lost her soul.

Seeing her miserable state, Su Tai felt a surge of anger rising in her heart. She stepped forward and hugged Su Yan tightly, saying, "We're all on your side. Everything will be alright."

Su Yan's unfocused eyes slowly fell on Su Tai, tears gradually filling her eyes. With a wail, she threw herself into Su Tai's arms and burst into tears.

Su Tai hugged her and looked around, "Where's the groom?"

Su Yan shook her head, crying, "I didn't see him."

Su Tai became even angrier and said to Shen Yi, "Brother Shen, please help me find Sang Rong and bring him to me."

Shen Yi nodded slightly and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

A moment later, Shen Yi dragged a person dressed in bright red clothes out of the Sang family's backyard, who struggled all the way, shouting, "Let me go! Let me go, you bastard! Help! Someone, help me!"

Watching helplessly as her son was restrained by Shen Yi, Zhou was heartbroken and wanted to rush over, crying out, "My son! My son! Someone, hurry up and save him!"

Despite the danger, Shen Yi remained calm, grabbing Sang Rong by the throat with a swift movement, his gaze icy. "Get out of my way, or I'll kill him!"

(End of this chapter)