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

Chen Shuyan turned over, and the kang board creaked.

Moonlight streamed through the cracks in the window paper, illuminating his furrowed brow. Liu Yiyi's breathing was shallow; she was clearly not asleep either.

He stared at the roof beam for a long time, then suddenly sat up with a start.

"What kind of connections did you just mention?"

Liu Yiyi waited an hour for these words, then immediately sat up. "The third owner of the Yang family rice shop wants to remarry. The dowry is twenty taels."

"Twenty taels?" Chen Shuyan's eyes lit up in the darkness.

Twenty taels of silver. That's enough compensation from the traffickers, enough travel expenses for the next county exam, and enough gifts for his father-in-law's visit. Even if he doesn't go back to the academy recently, spending more time reading in his father-in-law's study will be very beneficial for him.

"What's Yang San's background?"

Liu Yiyi repeated what she had told Chen Xiufen during the day—almost fifty, one wife died, another ran away, bad-tempered, and prone to violence.

After listening, Chen Shuyan remained silent for a few moments.

"Whom should I marry?"

"Your mother wants Chen Tianwei to go."

Chen Shuyan shook his head, very quickly. "No way. The whole thing about selling Tianwei just ended, and the eldest son's family is practically ready to tear our whole family apart. If we make another move on Tianwei, Wang Jinzhu will rip this house down."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"Let Shujie go."

A weight was lifted from Liu Yiyi's heart. She had been waiting for these words.

"Shujie is only thirteen," she said deliberately.

"What's wrong with Thirteen? Thirteen can get engaged, and then marry into the family in a couple of years." Chen Shuyan lay back down, her tone already very confident. "Besides, Shujie is Mother's own daughter, and Mother loves her dearly. She will definitely negotiate the terms with the Yang family. We can't touch Tianwei, so it's only Shujie we can deal with."

Liu Yiyi didn't reply, but silently curved the corners of her mouth in the darkness.

Even her own sister was pushed aside.

But that had nothing to do with her. All she wanted was the twenty taels of silver.

Chen Shuyan got up just as dawn was breaking.

He didn't wash his face and went straight to Chen Xiufen's room. Chen Yang was still snoring, while Chen Xiufen was already awake, leaning against the headboard sewing shoe soles.

"daughter."

Chen Xiufen looked up at him, her eyes still red—the three Wang brothers had smashed up her house yesterday, and she had cried for most of the night.

"I've thought it through regarding the Yang family's matter." Chen Shuyan sat down opposite her. "Let Shujie handle it."

The needle pierced Chen Xiufen's finger, and a drop of blood oozed out.

"What did you say?"

"Mother, listen to me," Chen Shuyan said in a low voice. "Tianwei is untouchable. You know what happened last time. Wang Jinzhu is truly ruthless. If we touch Tianwei again, she'll make a scene at the county government."

"Ke Shujie is your own sister!"

"It's precisely because she's my younger sister that it's easy to talk to her." Chen Shuyan spoke quickly. "The Yang family runs a rice shop; they're quite wealthy. If Shujie marries into their family, she won't have to worry about food or clothing. Although Yang San is a bit older, he's rich. Marrying into their family would make her the mistress of the house, a hundred times better than marrying a poor boy."

Chen Xiufen's hands were trembling; after all, she was her own daughter, and she couldn't bear to do it.

The sound of sweeping came from outside the door—Chen Yuxiang had gotten up early and was already working.

Chen Xiufen bit her lip and remained silent for a long time. Chen Shuyan glanced at her and stood up.

"Mother, we can't delay paying the traffickers anymore. I also have my exam coming up soon, and I need money for everything. My teacher said that with my knowledge, I have a good chance of passing the exam and becoming a scholar."

For the sake of her son's future, Chen Xiufen finally nodded in agreement. After Chen Shuyan left, she sat alone on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a long time, her tears dripping onto the soles of her shoes, leaving a small dark stain.

After she finished crying, she wiped her face, got up, and went to the main room to find Old Mrs. Chen.

After sweeping the yard, Chen Yuxiang went to Chen Tianwei's room. She stood in front of her, hesitated for a long time, and then spoke.

"Tianwei."

"daughter."

"I have something to tell you," Chen Yuxiang said softly, putting down the chicken feeder and sitting down beside her. "The owner of the Yang family rice shop in town, Mr. Yang, is getting married again. The dowry is twenty taels. Your grandmother's idea is... for you to go and meet him."

Chen Tianwei stopped combing her hair.

"Mother, my sister-in-law said this marriage won't work."

"Your sister-in-law..." Chen Yuxiang rubbed her fingers together, "What your sister-in-law said isn't necessarily all true. After all, she's just a woman, and there are many things she doesn't understand. The Yang family is in business, so you won't have to worry about food and clothing after you marry into their family. Your sister-in-law means well, but can she take care of you for the rest of your life?"

Chen Tianwei looked up at his mother.

Chen Yuxiang avoided her gaze.

"You're not getting any younger, you'll have to get married eventually. Rather than marrying a poor man, why not marry someone..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind him. It was Wang Jinzhu and Chen Tianfang.

Chen Yuxiang immediately became flustered, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands, at a loss for what to do. "Jinzhu! That's not what Mother meant, Mother meant..."

Wang Jinzhu didn't even look at her before turning and leaving, all her hard work and efforts to go to town to find out about Yang Laosan's situation were in vain.

Chen Tianwei was stunned for a moment, and when he saw his sister-in-law leave, he took off after her.

"Tianwei! Tianwei, come back! Listen to your mother—" Chen Yuxiang called from behind.

Chen Tianwei didn't even turn his head.

Wang Jinzhu didn't walk fast, and Chen Tianwei caught up with her in no time.

"Sister-in-law, no matter what my mother says, I will listen to you. From the day you came into the family and protected me from being sold, I decided that I would listen to you for the rest of my life."

Seeing that this girl knew how to be grateful, Wang Jinzhu felt much better. If she were as clueless as her mother, she wouldn't care about her anymore.

"Come on, let's go to sister-in-law's room to talk." Wang Jinzhu pulled Chen Tianwei to their room. Chen Tianrun saw his sister crying and followed her worriedly.

Chen Tianwei didn't send him away. He thought that if he listened more, he would be more careful in the future.

Wang Jinzhu pulled Chen Tianwei to sit on the edge of the bed, while Chen Tianrun squatted on the ground, propping his face up with his hands and looking at them.

"To be honest with you, if you don't catch up with him today, I won't care about your affairs anymore."

Chen Tianwei's body stiffened for a moment, then she felt relieved.

"Being timid can be changed gradually, but if you still can't figure things out, then there's no hope for you in my eyes," Wang Jinzhu continued. "Your mother is your own mother, and if you think what she says makes sense and are willing to listen, then I, as her sister-in-law, have no right to stop you. But the fact that you chased after her means that you know what you're doing."

Chen Tianwei lowered his head, clutching the hem of his clothes, and remained silent.

Do you know who Yang San is?

Chen Tianwei shook his head.

"I went to town to inquire yesterday." After hanging up the last piece of clothing, Wang Jinzhu sat down on the stone slab. "Yang Laosan is fifty years old this year. His first wife had three ribs broken by him and died in bed after half a year. His second wife ran away, but he caught her once and beat her so badly that she couldn't get out of bed for half a month. She ran away a second time while he was drunk, and they haven't found her yet. Everyone in town knows this, and no one wants to marry their daughter to him, so he offered twenty taels."

Chen Tianwei's face turned pale.

Chen Tianrun, listening nearby, clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

"Twenty taels of silver for your life." Wang Jinzhu turned to look at Chen Tianwei. "Do you think it's worth it?"

Chen Tianwei's tears fell silently, large drops landing on her knees.

She shook her head. She shook it desperately.

Wang Jinzhu reached out and rubbed her head.

"Alright, stop crying. I'm here. I'll stand up for you."

Chen Tianwei rushed over, grabbed Wang Jinzhu's arm, buried her face in it, and her shoulders trembled.

Hearing this from the side, Chen Tianrun felt a chill run down his spine and quickly declared, "Sister-in-law, I'll listen to you from now on. Whoever you tell me to marry, I'll marry!"

Wang Jinzhu pinched his slightly chubby little face and said, "Little brat, how old are you, and you're already thinking about getting married."