They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 143 If you make her angry, she'll slap you.
The family members, who were dumbfounded, were not about to let the matter rest.
Even the fourth brother was furious, practically flying to heaven.

The wife you were finally about to marry is gone just like that; no man could bear that.

Unfortunately, things have developed to this point, and it's no longer up to Lian Lao Si, this old widower who's desperately wanting a wife. It was clearly their family who messed things up, so how can they blame others?
If it weren't for their foul mouths towards their family members, none of this would have happened.
Even if he has to blame someone, he should blame his own family.

Besides, both sides are currently getting carried away with their insults and are on the verge of physical fights, so who would listen to him?

The fourth brother was furious and resentful, but had no other choice but to make an outrageous demand: he wanted the five taels of betrothal gifts he had "given" and two taels of silver in compensation from the Liang family.

Uncle Liang and Mrs. Zhang were so angry they almost vomited blood.

What do you mean by a five-tael betrothal gift? They didn't even give the fourth son a single hair.

That's just something they said on purpose to save face.

Now look what's happened! Even the fourth brother has the nerve to ask for this money that doesn't even exist.

Lord Heaven
Is this still a person?
Ultimately, with no other choice, Uncle Liang and Mrs. Zhang reluctantly gave six taels of silver, managing to salvage at least one tael.

Once the Lian family has received the money, they are forbidden from spreading rumors outside, or else Liangjia Village will come knocking on their door.

People in Liangjia Village might not know, but everyone in the family knows that Lian Laosi is the kind of person who can afford to give five taels of silver as a betrothal gift.
You can probably guess what happened with this money.

The farcical wedding procession vanished as the Lian family left.

The villagers of Liangjia Village gradually dispersed.

What a lively scene today!
Zhang glared resentfully at Xu Zhichun. It was all her fault; if it weren't for her, none of this would have happened. From now on, no matter what, she would never invite Xu Zhichun to the house again!
After closing the door, Uncle Liang said coldly, "Alright, stop crying. Just stay at home for now, and you can find a suitable family to marry into later. Even widows can remarry, so this is nothing for our Cui'er."

Zhang was still shedding tears. She could remarry, but it wouldn't be easy to find a good one. There were quite a few like Lian Lao Si, but could she really marry him?
The more she thought about it, the more she hated Xu Zhichun.

The commotion made it almost lunchtime, so Xu Zhichun invited Chunfen to have lunch with him.

Fortunately, she was there today. Her strength quickly brought order to the situation, giving Lian Gu no chance to make a move.

Otherwise, if Madam Gu really started pushing and shoving Aunt Liang and the others, the women from her own family would definitely come to intervene, and it might turn into a brawl.

Although playing on home soil, the villagers are unlikely to suffer any losses, but violence has no limits, and someone might get injured.

You should feel bad about the trouble you caused.

I was so angry at the time that I don't regret slapping him.

Chunfen is such a nice girl, I should take her with me more often when I go out, it'll save me a lot of trouble.

Xu Zhichun looked at Chunfen, who was happily tending the fire in the stove, and felt a surge of tenderness in her heart. She smiled and curled her lips into a smile.

Make her a nice lunch to reward her and thank her for defusing a major conflict.

Xu Zhichun planned to steam a bowl of pork with rice flour, which he took directly from the warehouse, and also make a twice-cooked pork dish, a fried egg and goji berry sprout soup, and a stir-fried lettuce dish.

Chunfen is a bit naive and innocent, and Xu Zhichun doesn't seem to mind taking out delicious food from the storage space in front of her. As long as it's not too outrageous, it's fine. Steamed pork with rice flour is soft and chewy, twice-cooked pork is fragrant and goes well with rice, soft-boiled eggs with goji berry sprouts, and stir-fried lettuce is refreshing and fresh. Chunfen is all smiles, she's tired of saying "delicious".

Watching her eat made him feel very hungry, so Xu Zhichun smiled and urged her to eat, and he couldn't help but eat an extra bowl himself.

The housewarming banquet still had to be held, so the date was quickly set, and six tables were set up. There was meat and vegetables, and the banquet was more lavish than a typical farmhouse feast, but it wasn't particularly eye-catching.

After all, her family had just built such a big new house. If the housewarming banquet was too shabby, it wouldn't look right, but it also couldn't be too big and lavish, attracting attention.

It was slightly better than usual, with an extra main dish, which made everyone very happy.

After the housewarming banquet, the well-drilling expert arrived early the next morning.

This incident inevitably caused a sensation in the village, attracting many people to come and see what was going on.

Upon hearing the master say it would cost seven taels of silver, they all clicked their tongues in astonishment.

Some people had originally wanted to "advise" Xu Zhichun to dig the well outside the yard so that everyone could also benefit from it, but after hearing this, they dared not say anything more.

They spent seven taels of silver, so they deserve to enjoy their good fortune in the future. Who would be so shameless as to take advantage of this for no reason?
Liang Liu and his wife were used to being lazy. They lived not far from Xu Zhichun's house. Liang Liu's wife was also watching the fun. She rolled her eyes and said to Zhu'er's aunt with a smile, "Zhu'er, your family will benefit from this in the future. You and Zhichun are so close, and your two families are so close. You won't have to walk so far to fetch water anymore. You can just go to Zhichun's house to fetch it."

The villagers who were watching the spectacle laughed, and some even chimed in with their own opinions.

Those who lived closer to Xu Zhichun's house than to the spring where the villagers usually carried water could all understand the unspoken meaning in Liang Liu's wife's words.

We're all from the same village, so if Xu Zhichun asks Aunt Zhu'er's family to come and fetch water, there's no reason why the other neighbors shouldn't be allowed to do so.

Otherwise, wouldn't that be considered discriminatory treatment or targeting?
Carrying water is hard work, and it's a long-term job. Anyone would be tempted by the opportunity to save energy.

Aunt Zhu'er wasn't about to be used as an excuse. She smiled and said softly and gently, "No way, Zhichun paid for this well. Besides, it's in our yard. Even if our two families live close by, can we really go in and out of their yard every day to take advantage of them? We can't do that. We've been carrying water like this for years! But I'm thinking of saving up some money so that three or four families living nearby can pool their resources to dig a well together. That would be great."

Liang Liu's wife smiled awkwardly: "You two are so close, yet you're acting so distant. Maybe Zhichun is happy about it? Zhichun, right?"

"I don't have the face to do that!"

Aunt Pearl was a little unhappy.

Not only did they force her, they also forced Zhichun into a relationship.

Xu Zhichun smiled gratefully at Aunt Zhu'er and said, "I'm relieved that Aunt isn't distant from me because of this!"

Aunt Pearl: "How could that be? I'm not unreasonable."

Since things had come to this point, Liang Liu's wife couldn't say anything more. The people around her also spoke up for Xu Zhichun, and the matter was considered closed.

Everyone finally understood: Madam Xu is not someone to be trifled with. If you anger her, she'll slap you. Why bother trying to take advantage of her?
It would be better to say something fair and get some credit.

That's true. Her brother-in-law has a bright future ahead of him; at the very least, he'll be a scholar with a secure future. With such a powerful backer, what does she have to fear?

(End of this chapter)