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

Chapter 153 Settling down
After entering the city, they picked up Aunt Zhu'er and found a restaurant. Zeng Xiaoyan hosted a meal with eight dishes and a soup, including chicken, duck, fish, and meat. The group sat around and had a good celebration.

Zeng Xiaojuan, who had been looking somewhat worried, was infected by the atmosphere and Qiao'er was really happy, so she couldn't help but smile.

After lunch, Liang Mingliang stayed by the oxcart while several women accompanied Zeng Xiaojuan to buy things.

Xu Zhichun said, "Sister Xiaojuan and Qiao'er should stay at my house for the next few days. Just buy some clothes to change into. We can buy the rest after we've settled on a place to stay."

The Zeng sisters nodded and thanked them, saying that there was no need to rush to buy various daily necessities, since they wouldn't need them anyway.

After her divorce, Zeng Xiaojuan went to live with her younger sister and wanted to stay temporarily in Liangjia Village. Out of respect for Liang Lizheng and with their family acting as guarantors, the clan elders and village elders naturally had no objections.

Only Zhao was on high alert, thinking that Zeng Xiaojuan was going to take her daughter and stay at her place for a long time. She couldn't help but secretly go to her sister-in-law Liu to stir up trouble, wanting Liu to oppose it with her.

Although Liu didn't know the details, she knew without a doubt that her in-laws wouldn't do something so foolish: to bring their daughter-in-law's divorced sister and daughter to live with them permanently. It was simply impossible. They could help settle them in, but they would never let them stay in the house indefinitely. With so many people in the house, what kind of situation would that be?

Liu comforted Zhao with a few words, telling her to be patient and see how things go in a while.

Zhao was very dissatisfied.

But Zhao didn't expect that Zeng Xiaojuan and her daughter only came to her house to say hello and have dinner, but didn't stay at her house at all, instead staying at Xu Zhichun's house.

Zhao felt secretly annoyed and ashamed, convinced that everyone in the family knew about it but kept it from her, all wanting to see her humiliated. So, for the past two days, she'd been sullen and resentful, finding fault with everyone, especially Liu and Zeng Xiaoyan. Seeing Liu and Zeng Xiaoyan laughing and joking only fueled her jealousy and hatred, making her believe they were forming a clique and deliberately targeting her.

Zhao would often sulk and go crazy for no reason, and Liu would ignore her after seeing it so often—not arguing with her was already a great act of kindness and generosity, and it was impossible for Liu to take the initiative to care for her, comfort her, or soothe her suspicious mind.

As for Zeng Xiaoyan, she used to argue with her a lot, but ever since she started making a lot of money, she's become more open-minded and doesn't pay attention to her anymore. Besides, she's busy making money and taking care of her second sister now, so she has even less time to deal with her.

Zhao was almost driven mad by that surge of evil fire.

Zeng Xiaojuan didn't want to trouble Xu Zhichun all the time, so she quickly settled on a place to stay, and Liang Mingliang and Zeng Xiaoyan helped to find someone to make repairs.

There is a dilapidated house in the village that has been abandoned for five or six years. It was originally lived in by an old widow who had no children. After the old woman passed away five or six years ago, the house has been empty ever since.

There were two mud houses in total. After reinstalling the doors and windows, rebuilding the roof, and cleaning them, they were still habitable.

Zeng Xiaojuan had five taels of silver given to her by Zeng Xiaoyan, which could be used temporarily, and she insisted on using it to cover all repair costs. She naturally kept this debt in mind and would slowly find a way to save money to repay her sister later.

Uncle Qi Tian helped make doors and windows, a bed, and a pair of chests. He only charged the original price of the wood and did not charge for the labor.

Uncle Qitian didn't waste any scraps of wood; he made a square dining table, a long table for the bedroom, a shelf cabinet about one person tall for storing things, and several small four-legged stools.

When Xu Zhichun was building his new house, he had a lot of leftover tiles and bricks piled up in the backyard, which he gave to her to use.

There were enough tiles to cover the roofs of both rooms. A room was enclosed by wooden planks next to the main house to serve as a kitchen. There weren't enough tiles left to cover the kitchen roof, so a large bamboo mat woven from bamboo strips was used as a roofing mat, and then fir bark and thatch were added on top, which provided shelter from the wind and rain. There were some blue bricks left over after paving the kitchen floor.

The Liang family also helped build a small courtyard with a bamboo fence. In the backyard, three or four small vegetable gardens can be cultivated to grow vegetables, which will be enough for Zeng Xiaojuan and her son to eat.

As for other sources of income, Xu Zhichun and the others will continue to collect lantern fruit during the harvest season. Zeng Xiaojuan is skilled at needlework and plans to make some shoes and insoles to sell to clothing shops. They will take it one step at a time. For example, since they are so familiar with the Lotus Restaurant, if they have any mountain products such as various wild mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, fresh bamboo shoots, chestnuts, or yams, Manager Tang will definitely be happy to buy them.

Previously, several families in the village had a bumper harvest of green beans, eggplants, white radishes, and cucumbers that they couldn't finish eating, and Xu Zhichun even sold some for them once.

The villagers can save more money, the restaurant will have less trouble, and the restaurant will gain a favor – there's nothing wrong with that.

In short, if you live near the mountains, you'll always be able to make a living.

The old house was renovated in just four days with swift and decisive action.

Zeng Xiaojuan then planned to go to the city to buy pots, pans, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and grains, so she could choose a day to move.

This is her own home. Zeng Xiaojuan watched it gradually transform from a dilapidated and battered place into a brand new one, and her heart gradually regained hope and confidence.

She likes the present very much.

Zhichun and her sister have helped her so much, and she is very grateful and cherishes it. She is eager to become independent as soon as possible, and the first step is to move out on her own.

Xu Zhichun gave Zeng Xiaojuan five pairs of chopsticks, six plates and bowls of varying sizes, two baskets, two jars, a rice container, ten catties of millet, a bag of dried red dates, and about half a catty of salt.

In those days, millet was considered a coarse grain, cheap but not very popular. But Xu Zhichun knew that millet was a good thing, so he told Zeng Xiaojuan to cook millet and red dates into porridge for Qiao'er every morning to nourish her stomach and body.

Aunt Pearl gave us a pair of wooden buckets, two wooden basins (one large and one small), and twenty eggs.

Zeng Xiaoyan gave her a complete set of bedding and a mosquito net, a sewing basket and a large bag of needles and thread, a water vat, a bamboo basket, 20 jin of rice, and 2 jin of brown sugar.

Many other families also gave gifts of fruits, vegetables, and seeds from their own fields, showing great hospitality.

Zeng Xiaojuan was extremely grateful, which greatly reduced the amount of things she needed to buy.

None of the families had any extra ironware, so Zeng Xiaojuan bought a medium-sized iron pot, a rice cooker, a kitchen knife, a wood-chopping knife, and a hoe. These items were the most expensive, costing her more than one tael of silver.

It cost a little over two taels of silver, and Zeng Xiaojuan finally settled down.

She insisted on buying meat and chicken and cooking a meal, inviting Xu Zhichun, Zeng Xiaoyan, and the others to a housewarming party.

Everyone enjoyed the meal. Things have settled down a bit, and things will get better gradually.

Zeng Xiaojuan was still somewhat saddened. After dinner, everyone gradually said their goodbyes, with Zeng Xiaoyan being the last to leave. Zeng Xiaojuan spoke with her and cried.

From this day forward, she will have no further connection with the Zeng family.

Lou Er had already gone to the Zeng family to make a scene, but the Zeng family acted as if Zeng Xiaojuan didn't exist and didn't even bother to inquire about her, which was quite disheartening.

(End of this chapter)