Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu looked at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces and sighed inwardly.

In her past life, she was thirty-five years old and still unmarried. She was constantly gossiped about by relatives and neighbors, and their spittle almost drowned her.

Now, dressed as a widow in her early twenties with children in their teens, she can openly and legitimately state her reason for "remaining a widow for her deceased husband" if she doesn't want to find a man, and no one can force her to do so.

This is probably the only advantage of transmigrating into the body of a widow.

Old Mrs. Yang stood aside, her face full of disbelief.

She had originally thought that if Tang Susu could stay with Lao San for three years, and then want to remarry, the Yang family could give her some dowry to fulfill this favor.

But to her utter surprise, Tang Susu said she would remain a widow for life.

These words don't sound like something the shrewish, selfish, and opportunistic Gou Sheng's mother would say.

The villagers still didn't give up trying to persuade her: "Gousheng's mother, you're still young. You can't tie yourself down for life so early. Once your children are all grown up and have their own families, you still need a man who loves you by your side."

"That's true, but in our Yangqu Village, no one can compare to Gousheng's father. How about we look further afield? Maybe we can find someone suitable."

Tang Susu's lips twitched, secretly relieved that the original owner had a bad reputation in the past.

If the original owner of this body had been a gentle and virtuous person, these enthusiastic villagers would probably have been even more eager to pimp her out.

With a resolute expression, she reiterated, "I understand the good intentions of all my aunts and uncles. But I have never considered remarrying, and I will never consider it again in this lifetime. Please don't worry about me anymore."

At this moment, Yang Gousheng walked up to Tang Susu, puffed out his chest, and chimed in, "My mother said she won't remarry, and that's final. You can't bring this up in front of my mother again!"

His small figure stood in front of Tang Susu, like a little adult, which drew sighs from the crowd.

Houcai's wife, however, looked disdainful, curled her lip, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "What are you pretending to be so affectionate for! Everyone knows you and Yang Fujun used to argue every day, a small fight every three days, a big fight every five days. You never gave him a kind look, let alone any tenderness. Now that he's gone, you're acting like a virtuous and chaste woman!"

She glared fiercely at Tang Susu and threatened, "I'm warning you, Tang Susu, don't think you can seduce men by pretending! If you ever dare to covet my family's wealth again, I'll tear your face off and make sure you can never hold your head up high in Yangqu Village again!"

"Shut up!"

Old Mrs. Yang was trembling with rage. She suddenly pushed her way out of the crowd, glaring angrily at Hou Cai's wife, and shouted, "You filthy thing, you have a human face but no heart! Don't you even know what kind of person your husband is? How dare you twist the truth here!"

Pointing her finger at Houcai's wife, she mercilessly exposed him: "That scoundrel Yang Houcai, he's been a hooligan since he was a teenager, always seducing young wives and girls in the village. He's a shameless bastard! Our Yang family despises him from the bottom of our hearts!"

Old Mrs. Yang grew angrier and angrier: "Instead of wasting your time picking on Gou Sheng's mother, you should be disciplining your good-for-nothing husband! Stop him from going around swindling and cheating people, making them disgusted!"

The villagers present were enraged by Old Lady Yang's words and began to recount Yang Houcai's past outrageous behavior.

"That's right! Back in the day, the young woman next door was harassed by him for quite a while, and she almost hanged herself!"

"And my younger sister, he also harassed her when she was younger, which made my dad so angry he almost broke his legs!"

Yang Houcai's face turned pale and then red from the crowd's insults, looking even worse than the murky, stinking water in the ditch.

He couldn't stay any longer. Head down, he hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd and fled in a sorry state.

Houcai's wife was furious. She took small, quick steps and followed Yang Houcai after him.

She glared at him with her large, round eyes, chasing after him while yelling, "Yang Houcai, you shameless bastard! Trying to seduce a widow in front of the whole village, are you trying to humiliate yourself to death?"

"All these years, I've worked tirelessly day and night for this family, like an ox, without complaint or hardship. Is this how you repay me?"

Yang Houcai's face was ashen. He abruptly stopped and shouted at her, "Shut up! You shameless woman, you've completely disgraced us today! Still wailing and crying here, do you want the whole village to laugh at us?"

As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and shoved Houcai's wife aside: "Don't get in my way. If you follow me again, I won't let you off the hook!"

Hou Cai's wife was pushed so hard she stumbled and almost fell.

Her cheeks puffed out like an angry toad as she stood on the edge of the field, cursing and swearing in the direction Yang Houcai had fled.

From angry roars to muttering under his breath, he cursed for nearly an hour until his voice was hoarse and he felt relieved. Only then did he shut his mouth, panting heavily, and the resentment on his face gradually dissipated.

After escaping from the fields, Yang Houcai went straight to a dilapidated thatched hut not far away.

At the entrance of the thatched shed, a fair-skinned woman's arm stretched out like a serpent and pulled him into the shed.

In the quiet mountain forest, the only sound was the creak of the thatched hut door closing.

After a moment of silence, heavy breathing and ambiguous whispers could be faintly heard from inside the shed.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the crowd in the fields gradually dispersed.

Those strong men who worked so hard were exhausted and went straight to bed when they got home.

The women went home and dug vegetable gardens in the open spaces in front of and behind their own yards, preparing to plant the vegetable seeds they had just talked about with Tang Susu.

Tang Susu walked up to Old Lady Yang and asked with a smile, "Mother, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Yang immediately became alarmed and began to imagine the whole story.

She thought Tang Susu was about to reveal her "trump card," either wanting to move back to the old house or asking to borrow some money.

She thought to herself: For the sake of the third brother, if Tang Susu wanted to move back to the old house, she would reluctantly agree.

But if she wanted to borrow capital to start a business, the family only had five qian of silver as a life-saving allowance, and could only lend her one qian at most, no more, lest she take advantage of the situation and become unreasonable.

Tang Susu, oblivious to the complex expression on Old Mrs. Yang's face, carefully explained her purpose: "Mother, I'd like to start a small food business. This is my first time trying it, and I'm a little nervous, worried that the food won't taste good. I'd like to ask you to taste it and give me your feedback."

She paused, then added, "I'll invite my eldest brother, second brother, and sisters-in-law to try it too. Feel free to give me any feedback; I'll send it over to you once it's ready."

Old Mrs. Yang was stunned, staring at Tang Susu with disbelief.

She checked several times before she dared to believe Tang Susu's request; it was just that she help taste the food, not that she lend her money or move back to the old house.

This was beyond her expectations.

Seeing that Old Mrs. Yang didn't object, Tang Susu smiled and immediately turned to go home: "Mother, I'll go home and prepare it as soon as possible so you can have a taste."

She wanted to make the jelly while it was still dark.

As the sun sets, golden rays filter through the thin clouds, casting a soft glow over the entire village.

When Tang Susu returned home, she immediately gathered the whole family and began to divide the work.

"Xiao Bao, you're in charge of going to the fields to get some wild vegetables, chop them up, and make dinner for Zhuangzhuang, Dahua, and Erhua."

"Liqiang, Gousheng, you two go and tidy up the land in front of and behind the yard, water it, and prepare to plant vegetable seeds tomorrow."

"Lifu, come to the kitchen with me, I'll teach you how to make jelly."

After assigning the tasks, Tang Susu led Tang Lifu into the kitchen.

She dictated the steps, instructing Tang Lifu to pour the filtered, unformed jelly liquid into a clean basin, then take it to the yard and put it into a large vat filled with cool mountain spring water to chill it and let it solidify on its own.

Then she called over Tang Liqiang and Yang Gousheng, who had just finished tilling the land: "You two go through the trouble again and go into the mountains to find some hawthorn berries. When you get back, chop the hawthorn berries, sprinkle them on the jelly, and then pour on some boiled brown sugar water. It will taste even better that way."

The two brothers nodded, then turned and went back into the mountains.

Before long, the jelly solidified into a block under the chilling effect of the mountain spring water.

Tang Susu cut the jelly into small pieces, put them in a bowl, sprinkled them with hawthorn pieces, and poured hot brown sugar water over them.

A bowl of sweet and sour, cool and refreshing jelly is ready.

On a hot day, taking a bite of this cool treat allows the refreshing sensation to slide down your throat, while the sweet and sour flavor spreads across your tongue, instantly dispelling all the heat and bringing a sense of comfort.