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

The courtyard of the Su family's old house was filled with villagers. In front of so many people, the second son's wife could only speak to Su Qianqian politely.

"Oh, it's Qian. What brings you here?"

The second son's wife was a smart woman. She knew that the third son's daughter was very strong and her temper was not as docile as before. If she offended this girl, she would suffer the consequences.

"Second Aunt, I've come to tell you some good news."

The second son's wife didn't think there could be any good news. Her husband was lazy, her son Ronghua was just like his father, never around, and her daughter was a money-loser who would be getting married soon.

Unfortunately, the bride price all went to the old lady, and she never got a chance to receive it.

She'll be stuck in this little courtyard all her life, suffering mistreatment, until the old lady dies and she can finally become the master of her own destiny.

Or, once she brings her daughter-in-law home after marriage, she might be able to scold and beat her daughter-in-law just like an old lady.

"Second Aunt, I found a job for Sister Er Ya in the county town. It's 500 coins a month, and if she does well, her wages can be increased." She can also make empty promises, even better than the Fang family.

The second son's wife froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning, remaining motionless for a long while before she came to her senses.

Good heavens! How could such a good thing happen to the second wife? Am I hallucinating?

The second son's wife couldn't believe such a good thing had happened. "My dear niece Qianqian, what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please say it again?"

The second son's wife bowed to her niece for the first time, and smiled ingratiatingly for the first time.

Aunt Li smiled and congratulated her: "Congratulations, second son's wife! You heard me right. Qianqian said she found a job for Erya in the county town. It pays 500 coins a month. This is a great joy. You can't find such a thing even with a lantern."

Su Qianqian repeated, "It's true."

The second son's wife pinched herself hard, and the intense pain proved that she was not dreaming.

500 cash a month! That's six taels of silver a year, and twenty-four taels of silver in four years—money that a peasant family couldn't save in three lifetimes.

Moreover, Qian Yatou said that if you do a good job, your salary can be increased.

This is truly a stroke of good luck, like a pie falling from the sky.

My daughter Er Ya is so clever; she knows how to curry favor with the girl from the third wife's family.

Otherwise, with Er Ya's thin and bony appearance, it would have been impossible for her to find work in the county town.

The second son's wife felt a surge of pride; her daughter's intelligence was inherited from her mother.

She thought she had no hope in this lifetime, but her daughter gave her hope.

Therefore, she had to stop the old lady from marrying Er Yatou off to the town, since Er Yatou was now the second wife's cash cow.

The villagers were just as excited as the second son's wife.

It's hard to find work even in small towns, let alone in the county seat.

Previously, Qian Yatou had helped Gou Dan get the position of constable in the county town, which had already made the surrounding villages extremely envious.

Now, Qian Yatou has found Er Ya a job in the county town, with a monthly wage of 500 wen.

It was a huge sum of money that a large family couldn't save even after a year of farming.

Lotus Village is about to become famous.

The matchmaker, Song, was quite smug. She waved her bright red handkerchief and said, "Oh my, once this news gets out, there will definitely be many girls from other villages who want to marry into our village. I'm going to be so busy I won't have a moment to breathe."

Upon hearing this, the single men all chuckled foolishly.

Thanks to Miss Su, Lotus Village has gained prestige, and the villagers will soon be able to find wives.

The second son's wife was the most agitated; she kicked the chicken coop away. Whoever wants to feed the chickens can do it; she wasn't going to.

Today, while trying to collect some green algae to feed the ducks, I almost fell into the river.

With a daughter who earns six taels of silver a year, who would want to do this thankless and arduous job?

He couldn't wait to send Er Ya to work in the county town.

The eldest son's wife was extremely jealous and went up to the second son's wife, saying, "Second sister-in-law, daughters are all a waste of money. No matter how good a job they find, they're still a waste of money."

He immediately received a slap from his second son's wife. "Shut up! If anyone dares to say my daughter is a money-loser again, I'll beat them up."

Looking at the envious looks from the villagers, the second son's wife felt particularly proud. She never thought she would have such a glorious day, even more so than her scholar mother, Sun.

The eldest son's wife felt wronged. "You used to say that your daughter is a money-losing burden every day, but now you won't let me say it."

If the second son's wife goes to work in the county town with the second daughter, wouldn't the eldest son's family have to take on all the chores of feeding the chickens and washing clothes?

No, absolutely not.

The second son's wife wiped her hands on her clothes a couple of times before asking, "Qian'er, are you thirsty? Your aunt will boil some hot water for you and add some brown sugar."

The second wife didn't have any brown sugar, so she planned to steal some from the old lady's room.

"No need, Second Aunt. You should take good care of Er Ya. Otherwise, she might become so hungry that she can't even walk. How will she go to the county town to work then?"

The second son's wife nodded, thinking that Qian'er's words made a lot of sense. "Okay, okay, don't worry, Qian'er, I'll kill a chicken for Er'er today to help her recover. Come over and have chicken with us for dinner."

Su Qianqian knew that her second aunt was the most intelligent person in the old house, and she only hoped that her second aunt could successfully cancel Er Ya's marriage and not disappoint her.

After the villagers left with Su Qianqian, all the doors and windows of the main room of the Su family were closed tightly, and the old man was whispering to the old woman.

The old man's expression was grave. "Old woman, how could that girl from the third wife have such abilities? She actually managed to find work for that stupid second daughter. Could it be that her parents have found the third son?"

The old lady was very confident. "How could that be? If they really found him, wouldn't the third son go back to Beijing to enjoy a life of luxury? Would he still stay in the village to cultivate the land and raise livestock? If they really found him, wouldn't the Luo family kick our sons back?"

As the two were discussing this, the door was suddenly flung open by the second son's wife, whose first words upon entering were: "Father, Mother, quickly call off Er Ya's marriage."

If it weren't for her broken leg, Old Mrs. Su would have jumped up and started hitting people.

"The bride price is twenty taels of silver. You're dreaming if you want to break off the engagement. As long as I'm alive, I'm in charge of this family."

The second son's wife thought to herself, "Twenty taels of silver? Even two hundred taels wouldn't matter, since the old lady would keep it all anyway, and she wouldn't give it to the second wife's family."

But Er Ya is a filial daughter. If she works in the county town, all the money will be handed over to her, her own mother, which is the real benefit.

She can't rely on her husband or son, now she only has this daughter to depend on.

Grandpa Su also said, "We've already received the bride price, so Er Ya can't refuse to marry. Besides, the Zhu family is wealthy, and Er Ya can often bring back money from them to help us out. They say a poor family needs a rich road, and our Su family, being poor, needs this road to wealth."

The second son's wife disagreed with Old Master Su's statement. She thought Old Master Su couldn't even read, yet he shamelessly tried to fool people.

Anyway, she knew that even if she brought back a lot of money from the Zhu family in the future, it would go to the old lady and would never reach the second branch of the family.

"Mother, I know the secret of the third son's background. If you don't cancel Er Ya's engagement, I will reveal the secret to everyone."

She learned this huge secret by secretly eavesdropping on the upper floor on a rainy day.

With this secret in hand, I don't believe I can't accomplish something.

The old woman picked up the bamboo pillow from the bed and threw it at her second son's wife, saying, "You've gone too far! I'll beat you to death today!"

The old man was the one who truly made the decisions in the Su family. After thinking for a while, he finally broke his silence and ordered the old lady, "Return the betrothal gifts to the Zhu family, and don't mention Er Ya's marriage again."

Under no circumstances should the third son's background be revealed.

Their own son is still enjoying wealth and luxury in the Luo family; they can't let their son's future be ruined.

The second son's wife thought that since they had already fallen out, they might as well make it bigger and take the opportunity to divide the family property so that the second wife could finally be truly free.

Look at those three wives, how well they're doing after the family split up! How enviable!

"Father, Mother, our second branch of the family is going to separate, and we'll do it today."

Only after the family splits up can Er Ya's wages truly be controlled by the second wife.

In order to keep the secret of the child swapping, Grandpa Su reluctantly agreed.

"Okay, let's split up."

The second son of the Su family was, after all, the old man's biological son. When the family divided the property, the second son's family received twenty taels of silver, half of the land, and a few chickens and ducks.

After the family divided their property, the second son's wife, for the first time ever, caught a duck and sent it to the third son's family at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as she saw Su Qianqian, she said ingratiatingly, "Qianqian, this duck is for you to eat. Please put in a good word for me and make sure the master doesn't think that Erya is too thin. I'll kill a chicken tonight so Erya can have a good meal."

In just one afternoon, the news that Er Ya had found a good job in the county town had spread throughout the surrounding villages.

Many people came to their door to propose marriage between Er Ya and Rong Hua.

The second son's wife didn't want to marry off her money-making machine so soon.

As for her son Ronghua, he was idle and unfilial, so she no longer wanted to get involved in his marriage. The old lady would take care of it for Ronghua.

The old lady had plenty of money.