A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Wang Jinzhu, clutching the things in her arms, glanced back at her, a sneer playing on her lips: "I won't. I'm also a member of the Chen family. Why can't I take it?"

Her gaze shifted to Chen Shuyan, whose face had turned pale with anger: "Chen Tongsheng, aren't you the most knowledgeable about propriety and morality? Then you be the judge for me. As fellow brides of the Chen family, why is the homecoming ceremony so unfair? What kind of 'propriety' is this? And what kind of 'righteousness' is this, disregarding the elder sister-in-law's dignity?"

"You, Yiyi is different from you, don't make a scene, or you'll become a laughing stock!" Chen Shuyan was also shocked by her shameless behavior.

The Confucian classics he read didn't teach him how to deal with this kind of shrew who doesn't play by the rules!

"Different status?" Wang Jinzhu sneered. "Aren't we both Chen family's granddaughters-in-law? Does she think she's a rich young lady? Why would a rich young lady come to our house to eat chaff and wild vegetables?"

These words struck a nerve with Liu Yiyi. If her father truly loved her, why would he marry her off to a poor scholar for ten taels of silver? If she didn't receive a decent homecoming gift today, her father would look down on her even more!

"Yanlang" Liu Yiyi tugged at Chen Shuyan's sleeve; she couldn't miss this homecoming gift.

"Today, I'm taking this gift! The whole village will see how much the Chen family values ​​their eldest grandson's wife! I've earned this honor for your second branch of the family, no need to thank me!"

After she finished speaking, she turned to leave.

His arrogant and shameless manner almost made Old Mrs. Chen faint from anger.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous! Someone, stop this madwoman!" Old Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh and howled.

The Chen couple from the main house lowered their heads and dared not move. Chen Yang wanted to go forward, but before he could touch Wang Jinzhu, he saw Wang Jinzhu kick Chen Shuyan over.

"Second Uncle, you are my elder, so I can't fight with you. If any of you dare to touch me, I'll beat up Chen Shuyan."

Having suffered an undeserved calamity, Chen Shuyan lay on the ground, not daring to utter a single word, and no one came to stop Wang Jinzhu anymore.

Wang Jinzhu walked to the courtyard gate, but then suddenly stopped.

She turned around, her gaze piercing through the crowd and landing precisely on the corner.

The two little ones, Chen Tianrun and Chen Tianwei, were hiding behind their mother, Chen Yuxiang, peeking out with their heads, looking at her with a mixture of fear and excitement. Their eyes sparkled with admiration and longing for her.

Looking at their thin, frail bodies, as if they could be blown away by a gust of wind, and their faded old clothes, Wang Jinzhu's heart softened.

It's not a good time for them to stay in this house. Who knows if those two old men and the second wife's family will take their anger out on them after she leaves? Or maybe they'll try to sell Tianwei again while she's away.

She waved to the two children, a big smile spreading across her face: "Tianrun, Tianwei, what are you standing there for? Come home with your sister-in-law and let's go eat something delicious!"

The two children were stunned for a moment, then their eyes lit up with immense joy.

Going to my sister-in-law's house? Is that alright? I've never heard of anyone bringing their sister-in-law and brother-in-law on their homecoming.

They instinctively looked at their parents.

Chen Yuxiang panicked: "Jinzhu, this is not allowed, it's against the rules."

"Why not?" Wang Jinzhu interrupted her directly. "I'm going back to my parents' home with my husband's younger siblings. That's called being close. Who dares to say a word against it? Mother, don't worry about it!"

She shouted at Chen Tianfang, "Tianfang, go and bring your younger siblings over!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Tianfang strode over, grabbed his younger siblings, one in each hand, who were still somewhat at a loss, and led them toward Wang Jinzhu.

Chen Shi also pulled Chen Yuxiang back, preventing her from interfering any further. Jinzhu's fuss meant the two children wouldn't get any good treatment at home. It was a pity that his parents-in-law accompanying him on his homecoming was so inappropriate; otherwise, he would have liked to go too.

Seeing that Chen Tianrun and Chen Tianwei were somewhat frightened, Wang Jinzhu squatted down and gently comforted them, "Don't be afraid, your sister-in-law is here. Today I'll take you out for meat, big chunks of meat, all you can eat!"

The word "meat" held a fatal attraction for the two children who had been drinking thin porridge for years.

They immediately forgot all their fear, nodded vigorously, and clung tightly to Wang Jinzhu's clothes.

"Walk!"

Wang Jinzhu held one child in each hand, while Chen Tianfang followed behind carrying the conspicuous pile of gifts. The family of four left under the watchful eyes of the second wife, who seemed ready to burn someone alive.

Behind them were Old Mrs. Chen's furious curses, Liu Yiyi's aggrieved sobs, and Chen Shuyan's powerless rage.

"Yuxiang, there's still a lot of work to be done in the fields, let's hurry up and get to the fields!" Chen Shi, carrying a hoe and a basket, called out to Chen Yuxiang and started walking away as if a dog was chasing him.

Watching her husband's departing figure, Chen Yuxiang hurried after him. "That's great! This honest man has finally come to his senses."

The people in the courtyard were stunned to see all the members of the main branch of the family disappear. They had just robbed the things and run away?

"Yanlang, what should we do? If we take these twenty-odd eggs back with us, my dad will definitely kick us out! You don't want your classmates gossiping behind your back, saying you only brought a few eggs with you when you married your wife, do you?"

Liu Yiyi cried so hard that her eyes were swollen like peaches.

Although she didn't come from a wealthy or noble family, she was still a well-known figure in the town. If word got out that her homecoming gifts had been stolen, where would she and Chen Shuyan put their faces? What would her family think of them?

"Cry, cry, cry! All you do is cry! You're such a jinx!" Old Mrs. Chen was already furious, and the crying only made her more annoyed, so she couldn't help but yell at her.

Liu Yiyi stopped crying and looked at her grandmother, who had been so kind to her just a few days ago, in disbelief.

"Grandma! How could you say that about Yiyi!" Chen Shuyan quickly shielded his wife behind him, and for the first time showed his dissatisfaction towards the old lady.

"Why can't I say it? If it weren't for you, would the family have married such a troublemaker? Now look what's happened, she's even ruining the other one's life!" Old Mrs. Chen began her indiscriminate attack.

Chen Xiufen, wiping away tears, said to her husband Chen Yang, "Husband, what are we going to do? It's getting late. We can't let Yiyi go back to her parents' house empty-handed, can we? We can't afford to offend her parents!"

Chen Yang looked distressed, rubbing his hands together, and finally turned his pleading gaze to the silent old man, Chen.

"Father, what do you think...? Should we take some money from the public funds and buy Yiyi a new set?"

Old Chen sat in his chair, his face so gloomy it could drip water. He took a deep drag on his pipe and then slammed the pipe heavily on the table.

"Money? Where is there any money left in the family!" he growled hoarsely. "The money the eldest son earned from hunting and the money from selling the harvested grain have all been spent on his betrothal gifts and the homecoming gifts. In a few days, we'll need money for Shuyan's school meals and the family's food expenses."

"Then... what should we do..." Chen Xiufen was completely panicked.

As it grew later and later, Chen Shuyan had no choice but to swallow his pride and say, "Yiyi, I remember your father-in-law gave you part of the betrothal gifts. Can you lend me two taels of silver first? I'll give it back to you as soon as I have it!"

Liu Yiyi didn't want to. The betrothal gift was ten taels of silver, and her father had left her five taels. Even though the food had been terrible these past few days, she hadn't been willing to spend money on anything else. And now he was asking for two taels. And her older brother wasn't as obedient as before; when would he ever be able to pay it back?

Chen Shuyan knew perfectly well what they were thinking. They were just afraid he wouldn't be able to pay it back, and they were all waiting for him to pass the imperial examination and have money, so they would smash silver ingots over their heads.

Chen Shuyan looked into Liu Yiyi's ear and whispered a few words before Liu Yiyi agreed to lend him the money.

With Chen Shuyan and his wife gone, there was no one left to do the chores at home, leaving them to Chen Shujie.

She angrily fed the chickens, swept the floor, and dug up wild vegetables, waiting, waiting for her to marry into a good family so that no one would try to take advantage of her.