The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Lotus Village was bustling with activity.

Many villagers who passed Su Qianqian's tree-climbing test harvested chestnuts. Some took them to town to exchange for money, while others sold them directly to Su Qianqian.

Who would have thought that the whole village, which had previously been reduced to eating tree roots, would suddenly find a new lease on life and undergo such a dramatic transformation?

The villagers now treat Su Qianqian with great respect, because Qianqian is their lucky charm.

Without Qian Yatou, Lotus Village would have suffered the same fate as neighboring villages like Niujia Village, with many people starving to death.

Because the villagers of Lotus Village suddenly became rich, people from surrounding villages started asking around, wanting to marry their daughters into Lotus Village.

In the past, the surrounding villages would say, "Don't marry a man from Lotus Village," but now they say, "Marry a man from Lotus Village."

Thanks to Su Qianqian, the bachelors of Lotus Village have completely turned their lives around.

Several bachelors in Lotus Village have gotten married, and joyous suona music can be heard every day.

Grandma Su's leg hadn't healed yet, and she was eating on the bed when she heard a lot of banging and noise outside. She asked her eldest daughter-in-law, who loved watching excitement, "What's going on? It seems like there's a wedding every day in the village these past few days?"

It's really strange. Where did these people get the money to hold a wedding? They were so poor they were almost starving to death before.

She was the only wealthy old woman in the whole village, but now that others were able to afford to get married, she suddenly lost her sense of superiority.

"Mom, today is the wedding of Uncle Stone, the eternal bachelor in our village. It's quite a lively occasion!"

The eldest son's wife glanced at the tree root soup on the table as she spoke, her eyes full of disdain.

She feels like throwing up at the sight of tree root soup. That old lady is so stingy; she clearly has money but insists on making this stuff.

I heard that the girl from the third branch of the family led the villagers to harvest a lot of chestnuts and wild vegetables.

Now, the villagers use the mixed grains they get from trading chestnuts to cook some thin porridge, and add wild vegetables they dig up from the mountains, decisively discarding the tree roots.

Only the Su family still has tree root soup on their dining table; marrying into the Su family is truly the worst luck imaginable.

The old lady herself ate egg white noodles, but gave her family members indigestible broken tree roots. It was simply too much.

The eldest daughter-in-law told Grandma Su the latest news she had heard without reservation: "Mother, now the whole village has stopped eating tree roots. They've all gotten rich by following the third family... The villagers who got the money are carrying big bags and small bags of things back from town. It's really enviable."

"Girls from the surrounding villages are all eager to marry into our village."

The old lady was envious. The third branch of the family was such an ingrate! It was unreasonable for them to let outsiders earn money instead of letting their own.

She quickly instructed, "Eldest brother, second brother, you two take your wives and go with that girl to pick chestnuts in the mountains tomorrow."

The eldest daughter-in-law quickly waved her hand, "Mother, no, if you want to go to the mountains with the third daughter to earn money, you have to pass a test on how to climb trees, and none of us can do that."

Grandma Su had a different idea from others. She thought learning to climb trees was too troublesome. She had never heard of having to take a test to climb trees in her life.

"Our family doesn't need any assessment; we can just go straight up the mountain."

The old lady believed that with filial piety in place, even if the people in the old house couldn't climb trees, that brat couldn't stop them from picking chestnuts.

"I don't have time," the eldest son of the Su family quickly refused. He didn't want to do hard labor. Carrying a big basket of things down the mountain would kill him. He was a scholar, a superior person.

"Mother, I've found some easy work in the county town these past few days, so I won't be going to the mountains anymore. Also, I've run out of paper for my studies, could you please give me some more money to buy new paper?"

Actually, he hadn't found any work; he was just too lazy to work and was itching to try his luck at the gambling den in the county town.

The old lady actually gave her the money.

The eldest brother took the money, humming a little tune as he left.

When Su Lao Er saw that his elder brother didn't have to work, he naturally wouldn't go either. Why should he be the only one to do the hard and tiring work?

The second son was angry that the old lady had favored his elder brother and given him money, so he left quietly without saying a word.

Grandma Su was very upset. After dividing the third branch of the family, nothing went right for her.

In the past, he could easily command the three wives and their spouses.

But the first and second wives were not so obedient.

When asked to cook a meal or do laundry, everyone dawdles and passes the buck.

No one is willing to do the work in the fields.

The eldest and second eldest sons were both used to being lazy, and neither of them wanted to do extra work or suffer losses.

It's really annoying.

She broke her own bone and couldn't even leave the house; it was incredibly worrying.

I heard that the Green Bamboo Gang hasn't bothered the Third Branch yet. I wish I hadn't separated the Third Branch.

In that case, all the money the third wife is currently earning belongs to her.

"Eldest son's wife, second son's wife, since the eldest and second sons don't want to go to the mountains, the two of you will go."

Seeing her two daughters-in-law's reluctance, the old lady threatened, "If you don't go, I'll send you back to your parents' homes. You won't have to take the tree-climbing test in front of that brat. We're all family, so special treatment is only right."

As for Er Ya, there's no need to go; she'll remain locked up.

The old lady was afraid that the twenty taels of silver would be lost, so she locked Er Ya up the moment the marriage was arranged.

According to her, that wealthy merchant Zhu was really superstitious, insisting on waiting until the eighth day of the following month to bring the person into the house, saying it would be auspicious.

It would be best to get rid of them right now. I'm always worried that something might go wrong since I haven't gotten the twenty taels of silver yet.

The eldest son's wife and the second son's wife exchanged a glance, knowing that they couldn't avoid going to the mountains, and could only reluctantly leave the Su family's old house.

The second son's wife was not one to suffer a loss; she stuffed the machete and basket into the eldest son's wife's hands.

She even complained, "Sister-in-law, this is all your fault. You insisted on telling the old lady about the villagers going into the mountains. If you wanted to go through the trouble, you could have gone yourself. Why drag me into it?"

The eldest son's wife also regretted it. She was terrified of death. She had heard that someone had seen a tiger in the Tiger Mountain this year, so she was afraid to go into the mountains.

"Hey, second sister-in-law, don't be angry. I just couldn't stand seeing the third wife enjoying herself. I never thought I would bring trouble upon myself."

"Second sister-in-law, when we encounter wild animals, we'll push others out to shield them. As long as they die, we're fine. Besides, that girl has taken a lot of people into the mountains these past few days, and I heard that not a single one of them got hurt."

The second son's wife silently planned in her heart that if there was any danger, she should run away as soon as possible, regardless of whether she gained anything or not.

She has leverage over the old lady, a secret about Su Bing's background. If the old lady pushes her too far, she'll risk everything.

The foot of the mountain was bustling with activity as the villagers who had passed the tree-climbing test followed Su Qianqian into the mountains.

Of course, there were also people who didn't participate in the tree-climbing test, namely the Su family and the Fang family.

Fang Yingxue had her feet bound like a lady from a wealthy family, making it difficult for her to walk on flat ground, let alone climb mountains.

It was too much of a torment for her, so Fang Yingxue felt it would be better not to go to the mountains at all. She could just flirt with Su Fugui a few times and get the benefits, so why suffer like this?

She had only been gone a short while when her new clothes were torn in several places by tree branches, making her even more impatient.

"Mom, if we go without taking the tree-climbing test, won't that brat deliberately make things difficult for us? Maybe we shouldn't go."

"Who cares? The eldest daughter-in-law of the Su family can't climb trees either, but she's following behind, isn't she? Don't just think about being lazy and forget your brother's instructions. Your brother said that we should keep a close eye on that brat and report to him immediately if anything happens."

The son also said that the Su family's third branch became wealthy right after the family split up, which must be suspicious.

She was told she must find out the secret of the third branch of the Su family so that she could trample them underfoot.

The two cows and kitchen utensils that disappeared from the Fang family overnight, as well as the ancestral inkstone, are all very strange. They might be related to the third branch of the Su family.

Aunt Li discovered that several of the people who came did not meet Qian Yatou's requirements.

Especially that Fang mother and daughter, who are usually full of bad intentions and can't do any housework, their coming here must have ulterior motives.

Aunt Li felt quite apologetic. "Qian, I've emphasized to the villagers many times that only those who pass the tree-climbing test can come into the mountains. I didn't expect the Fang family mother and daughter to sneak in, and the Su family to sneak in too. Should I send them away?"

"Need not."

Su Qianqian also noticed that people from the Fang family and the old Su family had infiltrated the group.

She instructed every villager who passed the tree-climbing test to climb a tree if they encountered danger in the mountains.

The Fang and Su families disobeyed orders and followed us into the mountains without even knowing how to climb trees. If they were injured or killed in danger, no one could be blamed. It would be perfect for avenging the original owner without having to lift a finger.

Anyway, after several days of picking, there weren't many chestnuts left, so these people wouldn't get much benefit from going into the mountains.