The Xia family’s meeting finally came to an end. They had reached a preliminary decision... to bring Liu Fen and her daughter, Xia Xiaolan, back home.

They had little choice. Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan had been staying in Qijing Village for over ten days now, yet neither had mentioned returning.

Old Madam Xia disliked the mother and daughter immensely, but she had to admit that Liu Fen, aside from failing to give birth to a son, was an excellent worker. She labored tirelessly and without complaint. Much better than Zhang Cui and Wang Jinhua combined.

Wang Jinhua was notorious for shirking work, while Zhang Cui had spent several years in the county accompanying her daughter during her studies and had grown rusty with farm work.

Still, that shameless girl would be better off not coming back and embarrassing the family. It would be best if she stayed with the Liu family.

Old Madam Xia hoped her two daughters-in-law would understand her meaning and handle the matter properly. Even as she lay in bed that night, she continued worrying about it.

All the members of the Xia family lived in the same courtyard, so if anyone wanted to whisper privately at night, they had to lower their voices. Wang Jinhua’s thoughts matched Old Madam Xia’s perfectly. Liu Fen could return, but Xia Xiaolan absolutely could not.

“Didn’t you see how unwilling Sister-in-law looked today? If Ziyu can land someone like Wang Jianhua, how is my Hongxia any worse?”

“Just because she didn’t continue her studies? For a girl, knowing how to read and write is enough! By the time you graduate from university, you’re already an old maid…”

Wang Jinhua muttered on and on. Xia Hongbing, already half asleep, snapped impatiently,

“Hongxia was never cut out for studying anyway! When you go to the Liu family tomorrow, don’t just play the villain. What can one bratty girl possibly do? Bring her back, lock her up, and then marry her off far away. After some time, people will stop talking!”

Wang Jinhua agreed verbally, but she had no intention of changing her mind.

Ironically, Zhang Cui and her husband Xia Changzheng were discussing the same issue... but they actually wanted Xia Xiaolan brought back.

Just as Xia Hongbing had suggested, they could lock her up first and then find her a husband. Since her reputation was already completely ruined, even an old bachelor or widower would do.

Even Zhang Erlai—the man who had ruined her reputation would work. If Xia Xiaolan married him, then the rumors about their relationship wouldn’t count as immoral behavior anymore. Once they were married, everything would be perfectly legitimate.

The more Zhang Cui thought about it, the more perfect the plan seemed.

“We’re not going to keep her locked up forever. Once a woman gets married and has children, she’ll put down roots in the countryside.”

Xia Ziyu didn’t want Xia Xiaolan leaving Dahe Village, and Zhang Cui believed marrying her off to an old bachelor, a widower, or even Zhang Erlai would solve the problem just the same.

As long as Xia Xiaolan could be brought back home, Zhang Cui was confident she could make it happen.

The Xia family would receive a bride price, and Xia Xiaolan would no longer have the ability to stir up trouble.

After all, she had only herself to blame!

How dare she try to steal Ziyu’s boyfriend!

Xia Changzheng thought the idea made sense as well, and the couple had no disagreements about the matter. Late at night, they continued discussing other things. Since Xia Ziyu had been admitted to university and gone to Beijing, Zhang Cui could no longer stay in the county under the excuse of taking care of her daughter’s daily life.

Xia Changzheng was quite worried about their shop.

“You think there won’t be any problems with your younger brother’s wife looking after the shop?”

“What problems could there be? Ziyu’s Uncle and Aunt are helping out of kindness. Without that shop, where would your daughter’s future dowry or your son’s wedding expenses come from?”

But Xia Changzheng knew that Ziyu’s Uncle was the type who could pluck a feather from a passing goose (t/n: Someone who is extremely greedy or opportunistic, a person who takes advantage of every possible chance to benefit themselves). With money passing through his hands every day, even skimming a little would mean a loss for their family.

The shop had originally been opened under Ziyu’s guidance. It started as a street stall and eventually grew into a rented storefront, and business was getting better and better. The booming trade made Xia Changzheng uneasy whenever he wasn’t watching it himself.

“You’d better go keep an eye on it. Once we deal with that girl’s problem, we’ll make it known within the family that the shop belongs to your family. You can say you’re helping out there and earning some living expenses for Ziyu.”

If she could avoid farm work, Zhang Cui would gladly live in the county permanently.

“You should go too. The shop needs more hands. Once you’re there, we’ll let Ziyu’s uncle go back. With just the two of us running it, we can manage.”

“I’ll think about it. Go to sleep. We still have to head to Qijing Village early tomorrow.”

Before dawn, Xia Dajun was already up.

Wang Jinhua yawned repeatedly, while Zhang Cui looked quite alert.

Xia Dajun was going to visit his in-laws, something he did perhaps once a year. This time he was going to bring Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan back. It wouldn’t look right to show up empty-handed.

But Xia Dajun was so poor that his pockets were practically cleaner than his face. In the end, Old Madam Xia had no choice but to prepare a small gift for him.

What gift?

Coincidentally, it was the white sugar and dried noodles Liu Yong had brought last time. The noodles had already been eaten, but the sugar remained untouched, so Xia Dajun simply took it along.

In those days, gift-giving worked like that. The same few items circulated from household to household. Everyone sent them around, and people were used to it. But sending the exact same thing back to the person who gave it to you was rather tacky.

And Old Madam Xia had even skimmed some off before returning it. That wasn’t just shamelessness, it was downright stingy.

But Old Madam Xia had always been stingy, and Xia Dajun saw nothing unusual about it.

Carrying the bag of sugar, the three of them ate two steamed sweet potatoes and set off toward Qijing Village before dawn. Liu Yong’s group had left three hours earlier. Xia Dajun led the two women along quickly, and they reached Qijing Village before eight in the morning.

Just then, Xia Xiaolan was about to head out. She had already collected some eels and was preparing to visit the next location. But when she opened the door and saw Xia Dajun, Zhang Cui, and Wang Jinhua standing outside, her face immediately turned cold.

“Xiaolan, eat a little more before you go. You might get hungry on the road…”

Liu Fen came running after her with an enamel mug filled with dumplings, worried her daughter might get hungry later.

But when she saw the three members of the Xia family, her words stuck in her throat. She froze on the spot, unable to move.

Xia Xiaolan sighed. No matter how much theory someone learned, practice was another matter entirely.

“Oh my, Second Sister-in-law, are you so happy to see us that you’ve gone silly? We walked all the way here. Our legs are aching, and you’re not even inviting us inside?”

Wang Jinhua’s eyes fell on the enamel mug in Liu Fen’s hands, and her mouth immediately watered. Judging by the smell, the dumplings were stuffed with pork and scallions.

For the Liu family to be eating so well on an ordinary day, it was no wonder Xia Xiaolan and her mother didn’t want to return home.

Liu Yong must have made some money.

He had bought a bicycle, and now the family could even afford meat dumplings.

Wang Jinhua licked her lips. The sweet potatoes she had eaten earlier did nothing to fill her stomach, and the smell of dumplings made her even hungrier.

“Second Sister-in-law, you made dumplings? Perfect! We haven’t eaten yet!”

Xia Xiaolan had no intention of letting the Xia family take advantage of them. Inside the house, Li Fengmei sensed something wrong and came out to see the three Xia family members blocking the doorway.

“Well, look who it is, showing up early in the morning to block someone’s door. What, looking for a fight?”

“Let me tell you! There may not be many people in the Liu family, but this isn’t your Dahe Village. The Liu family won’t let you bully us for nothing!”

With her hands on her hips, Li Fengmei radiated authority and refused to let the three of them step inside.

Xia Xiaolan parked her bicycle. She wanted to send them away quickly. She still had to go collect eels. If nothing else, she couldn’t break her promise to Hu Yongcai at the Municipal Guesthouse, who had already ordered twenty jin of eels.

“Auntie, let them come in and talk. Please go call my uncle. If we don’t settle this today, there’ll only be more trouble later.”

People in the countryside rarely slept late. Even though it was only eight in the morning, many villagers had already noticed the three Xia family members blocking the door.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind at all.

Ahe felt no shame.

But her mother probably felt uncomfortable, so Xia Xiaolan tried to take Liu Fen’s feelings into consideration.

Walking at the back, Zhang Cui secretly studied Xia Xiaolan.

Her niece still looked as flirtatious as ever, but the calm composure about her now made her seem strangely poised and confident.

Ever since she survived smashing her head against the wall, Xia Xiaolan seemed like a completely different person.

They couldn’t let her roam free outside anymore.

Otherwise, no one in the Xia family would be able to control her.

The thought made Zhang Cui feel uneasy.