The Xia family meeting concluded with a preliminary decision to bring Xia Xiaolan’s mother back home.

There was no other choice. This time, Liu Fen and Xia Xiaolan had shown real backbone, staying in Qijing Village for over ten days without any mention of returning home. While Old Mrs. Xia strongly disliked the mother and daughter, she had to admit that apart from not bearing a son, Liu Fen was excellent at work. She was more diligent and hardworking than Zhang Cui and Wang Jingui combined. Wang Jingui was known for slacking off, and Zhang Cui had grown unfamiliar with fieldwork after spending several years in the county town accompanying her child’s studies.

However, it would be better if that loose woman didn’t come back to disgrace them—she’d be better off staying with the Liu family.

She hoped her daughters-in-law would understand her meaning and handle the matter appropriately.

Old Mrs. Xia was still worried about this before going to bed.

All the Xia family members lived in the same courtyard, so any private conversations at night had to be conducted in whispers. Wang Jingui shared Old Mrs. Xia’s thoughts—Liu Fen could return, but Xia Xiaolan absolutely could not:

“Look at Sister-in-law’s reluctant attitude today. If Ziyu could find Wang Jianhua, how is my Hongxia any worse? So what if she didn’t continue her studies? For a girl, being able to read and write is enough. University graduates just end up as old maids anyway…”

Wang Jingui mumbled while Xia Hongbing, exhausted, impatiently replied, “Hongxia just isn’t cut out for studying. When you go to the Liu family tomorrow, don’t just focus on being the bad guy. A mere girl can’t turn the world upside down. Once she’s back, we’ll keep her confined and find her a distant marriage prospect. The gossip will gradually fade!”

Wang Jingui verbally agreed, but she hadn’t changed her mind at all.

Interestingly, Zhang Cui and Xia Changzheng were also discussing the same matter, though they wanted to bring Xia Xiaolan back home.

Just as Xia Hongbing said, they would confine Xia Xiaolan and find her a suitable marriage prospect—since her reputation was already ruined, even an old bachelor or widower would do. Zhang Erlai, who had damaged Xia Xiaolan’s reputation, could also be considered. If it wasn’t him, then she was truly engaging in promiscuous behavior. If they married, wouldn’t that make everything proper?

The more Zhang Cui thought about it, the more suitable it seemed: “We’re not going to confine her forever. Once a woman marries and has children, she’ll put down roots in the village.”

Since Xia Ziyu didn’t want to see Xia Xiaolan leave Dahe Village, Zhang Cui thought marrying her to those old bachelors, widowers, or even Zhang Erlai would solve the problem just the same.

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

The Xia family would receive bride price money, and Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have the ability to cause trouble anymore. This would teach her not to know her place and try to steal Ziyu’s prospect!

Xia Changzheng also thought this made sense, and the couple had no disagreement on this matter. As the night deepened, they discussed other issues. Since Xia Ziyu had been admitted to university in Beijing, Zhang Cui could no longer stay in the county town under the pretext of taking care of her daily life… Xia Changzheng was quite worried about their business:

“Will there be any problems with your sister-in-law watching the shop?”

“What problems could there be? Ziyu’s uncle and aunt are helping out of kindness. Without this shop, where would the money come from for your daughter’s dowry and your son’s future bride price?”

Xia Changzheng thought that Ziyu’s uncle was the type to take advantage of every opportunity—money passed through his hands every day, and if his brother-in-law pocketed even a little, it would be their loss. The shop had been started under his daughter Ziyu’s guidance, growing from a small stand to a rented storefront, with business getting better and better. With business booming, Xia Changzheng couldn’t rest easy for a moment.

“You’d better watch it yourself. Once we resolve that girl’s matter, we can be open about it with the family, saying it’s your family’s shop and you’re helping there to earn some living expenses for Ziyu.”

Zhang Cui was eager to live in the county town rather than toil in the fields in the village.

“You should come too. The shop needs help. Once you’re there, we can let Ziyu’s uncle go back. With both of us in the shop, we can keep it running.”

“I’ll think about it more. Let’s sleep now, we have to go to Qijing Village early tomorrow.”

Da Jun Xia got up before dawn.

Wang Jingui was yawning, while Zhang Cui looked quite energetic. Da Jun was going to his in-laws’, a rare yearly visit, and since he was going to bring back Liu Fen and her daughter, he couldn’t arrive empty-handed. But Da Jun was so poor his pockets were emptier than his face, so Old Mrs. Xia had to prepare some gifts for him. What gifts? Coincidentally, it was the white sugar and noodles that Liu Yong had bought last time. The noodles had been eaten, but the sugar hadn’t been touched, so Da Jun took that along.

In those days, gifts were often the same items circulating among people—you give to me, I give to others, actually just the same few items being passed around, and everyone was used to it. However, returning the same items to the original giver was more than just improper.

Keeping back some of the gifted items wasn’t just improper, it was downright stingy!

Old Mrs. Xia was exactly that kind of stingy person, but Da Jun didn’t find it unusual.

The three of them carried that bag of sugar, ate two steamed sweet potatoes, and set out for Qijing Village before dawn. It had taken Liu Yong’s group three hours, and Da Jun led the two women, walking silently. They reached Qijing Village before eight o’clock. As luck would have it, Xia Xiaolan was just about to leave. She had already collected some eels and was heading to her next location, but when she opened the door and found Da Jun standing outside with Zhang Cui and Wang Jingui, her expression immediately turned cold.

“Xiaolan, eat a bit more, you’ll get hungry on the road…”

Making money was important, but you couldn’t neglect your health just because you’re young. Liu Fen came out carrying an enamel mug containing dumplings, meant to prevent Xia Xiaolan from getting hungry on her journey. When she saw the three from the Xia family, her words caught in her throat, and her limbs wouldn’t obey her—she stood there stunned.

Xia Xiaolan sighed; no matter how thorough the theoretical training, the practice was another matter entirely.

“Oh my, Second Sister-in-law, are you stunned with joy? We’ve walked all this way, our feet and legs are aching, and you’re not even inviting us in!”

Wang Jingui stared at the enamel mug in Liu Fen’s hands, her mouth-watering. The smell suggested pork and green onion filling—the Liu family was eating so well even when it wasn’t a holiday or festival. No wonder Xia Xiaolan and her mother were content staying with the Liu family and unwilling to return.

Liu Yong must have struck it rich, buying a bicycle and still being able to afford meat dumplings at home.

Wang Jingui licked her lips; the sweet potato she’d eaten before leaving home counted for nothing now. The smell of dumplings made her stomach growl: “Second Sister-in-law, you made dumplings? Perfect timing, we haven’t eaten breakfast!”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to give the Xia family any advantage. Li Fengmei, hearing the commotion from inside, came out to see the three Xia family members blocking the door.

“Well, well, who do we have here, blocking the door early in the morning? Looking for a fight? Let me tell you, the Liu family may be small, but this isn’t your Dahe Village. The Liu family won’t let you bully us for nothing!”

Li Fengmei stood with her hands on her hips, quite imposing, adamantly refusing to let the three Xia family members enter.

Xia Xiaolan also secured her bicycle, wanting to send the three Xia family members away quickly—she still needed to go collect eels. Not to mention, she couldn’t stand up to Hu Yongcai from the Municipal Party Committee Guest House who had ordered 20 jin of eels.

“Aunt, let them come in to talk. Please help call my uncle. If we don’t clear things up today, there will be more trouble in the future.”

It was rare for villagers to sleep in, and even though it was only eight in the morning, many people had seen the three Xia family members blocking the door. Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind, feeling no shame at all. However, her mother might feel uncomfortable, so Xia Xiaolan considered Liu Fen’s feelings.

Zhang Cui followed at the back, secretly observing Xia Xiaolan. This niece still looked as improper as ever, but her calm demeanor made her appear more graceful.

After failing to kill herself by running into the wall, Xia Xiaolan seemed to have changed.

They couldn’t let Xia Xiaolan remain wild outside anymore, or no one in the Xia family would be able to control her. Zhang Cui felt a bit anxious.