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

The shoe sole in Chen Xiufen's hand fell onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Twenty taels?"

Liu Yiyi nodded, threw her bundle into the corner of the kang (a heated brick bed), and sat down to catch her breath.

"The third owner of Yang's rice shop is getting a second wife. The whole town is talking about the twenty taels dowry."

Chen Xiufen's eyes darted around twice, and the twenty taels of silver went through her mind—the compensation from the human traffickers, the travel expenses and bribes for Shuyan's next county exam, and the increasingly tight finances after the eldest son's family cut off their income these past few months.

"What kind of person is Yang San?"

Liu Yiyi didn't rush to answer. She poured herself a bowl of water and slowly drank a couple of sips.

She did it on purpose.

She put down the bowl of water before speaking, her tone as indifferent as if she were talking about someone else's business.

"He's almost fifty. One of his predecessors died, and another ran away. The townspeople say he has a bad temper, is prone to violence, and has some other ailments."

She spoke vaguely, but Chen Xiufen, having been through it all, understood perfectly.

The room was quiet for a few moments.

Chen Xiufen's expression changed several times.

"Who wouldn't suffer if they married someone like that?"

Liu Yiyi lowered her eyes and didn't reply.

Chen Xiufen stared at her for a long time, and then suddenly understood.

"You mean Shujie?"

Liu Yiyi remained silent, but did not deny it either.

Chen Xiufen jumped up from the kang (a heated brick bed) in a shrill voice.

"Are you crazy! Shujie is only thirteen! Marrying a man who's almost fifty, and a wife-beater at that? Let me tell you, Liu Yiyi, don't even think about it!"

"Mother, I didn't say Shujie should go," Liu Yiyi finally spoke, her words slow and deliberate, "I'm just telling you this news. Whom she marries or not is up to you."

She paused.

"However, there's one thing Mother needs to be aware of. The money from the traffickers can't be delayed much longer. The last incident caused such a stir; they've said they'll report us to the authorities if we don't pay soon. Shuyan is studying at the academy; if word gets out that his family owes money to the traffickers…"

She didn't continue.

Needless to say, Chen Xiufen could figure it out herself.

The room fell silent again.

Chen Xiufen sat back down on the edge of the kang, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, her face contorted in a grimace.

After a long while, she spoke, her voice lowered.

"Tianwei is already fourteen."

Liu Yiyi raised her eyelids and glanced at her.

Chen Xiufen looked away for a moment, but her mouth didn't stop.

"Tianwei, from the eldest branch of the family, is fourteen this year, a year older than Shujie. She should be ready for marriage by now. But she's not my daughter; she's your uncle's daughter."

Liu Yiyi sneered inwardly.

really.

She knew this would happen. She can't bear to part with her own daughter, but she doesn't care about other people's. All mothers and grandmothers are like this.

"Telling me about this is useless," Liu Yiyi stood up, patting the wrinkles on her skirt. "You have to tell Grandma."

Chen Xiufen was taken aback for a moment, then understood what she meant.

Old Mrs. Chen's words still carry weight in this family. At least nominally, Chen Tianwei's marriage requires the approval of the elders.

Old Mrs. Chen's favoritism towards the second wife was ingrained in her very being.

As long as you tell her about the twenty taels of silver, you don't even need to guess what the old lady will choose.

That afternoon, Chen Xiufen went to the main house.

The door was closed, and no one knew how long they had been talking.

During dinner, Old Mrs. Chen spoke up.

Since Wang Jinzhu arrived, the rules for dinner at the Chen family's house have changed.

Previously, the second wife's family would eat meat while the first wife's family would only have soup. Now, everyone shares the same pot of rice, and no one is allowed special treatment. Old Mrs. Chen argued with Wang Jinzhu about this several times, but each time she failed and eventually gave up.

The atmosphere at the dinner table today was a bit off.

Grandma Chen sat in the main seat, her bowl and chopsticks untouched for a long time. Chen Xiufen kept her head down, poking at the rice grains in her bowl with the tips of her chopsticks, without eating a single bite. Liu Yiyi ate normally, but her eyes kept drifting towards Grandma Chen.

Old Chen sat to the side, silently drinking his porridge, like a wooden stake.

Wang Jinzhu glanced around and immediately understood the situation.

These people are up to something.

Sure enough, Old Mrs. Chen cleared her throat and put her chopsticks on the table.

"Yuxiang!"

"Mother, please speak." Chen Yuxiang put down her chopsticks and looked nervously at Old Madam Chen.

"Tianwei is fourteen years old this year."

Chen Tianwei sat next to Wang Jinzhu. When he heard his name called, he paused with his chopsticks and instinctively leaned closer to Wang Jinzhu.

Wang Jinzhu reached out and patted her back, but she still didn't look up.

"What's wrong with Fourteen?"

"It's time to arrange a marriage for Fourteen. I've found a good match with Yiyi."

"I won't marry him." Before Old Mrs. Chen could finish speaking, Wang Jinzhu interrupted her. She didn't even need to hear the rest to know that it wasn't a good family.

Old Mrs. Chen's face darkened.

I haven't finished speaking yet!

"No need to finish." Wang Jinzhu placed a piece of food into Chen Tianwei's bowl with her chopsticks. "Whoever tries to arrange a marriage for Tianwei will have to get past me first. Anyone who dares to do anything behind my back will have my fists ready."

Remembering how the eldest son's family had tried to kill someone last time, Chen Xiufen was still a little scared. But she couldn't bear to leave her daughter, so she mustered her courage and interjected, "Nephew's wife, this time is different! This is a proper marriage proposal, not selling someone. It's Mr. Yang from the Yang family's rice shop in town, and the dowry is twenty taels!"

"Second Aunt, you're after that twenty taels of silver, aren't you! Anyway, Tianwei won't marry into that family. If you want those twenty taels, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

After refusing, Wang Jinzhu turned to Chen Tianwei and instructed her, "Tianwei, you need to stay with the adults these days. I'm afraid some unscrupulous people might try to take advantage of you again."

Tomorrow she and Tianfang will go to town to sell their game and find out what's going on with this Yang San. Liu Yiyi is definitely up to no good.

Meanwhile, the Wang family was also shrouded in gloom, and Wang Dali put the last piece of meat that hadn't been sold into a jar for pickling.

This is the third day in a row.

Wang Guilan stood at the kitchen door, her lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing.

Wang Dali washed his hands and looked up in the direction of Chenjia Village.

A red glow burned on the horizon, like someone had spilled a basin of blood.