They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 77 A Polite Refusal, Going Home

Aunt Lou San and Aunt Lou Er, who were listening nearby, were extremely jealous.

At this moment, they wished they lived in the countryside, far away from the county town, so they could stay at the Zeng family's house for one night.

Don't underestimate the power of staying overnight; it provides many opportunities to get closer and also signifies a much closer relationship between the two parties.

This is what they've been dreaming of.

The Lou family was incredibly envious. How could they not understand? The reason the Zeng family suddenly looked at the poor Liang family differently was because of the excellent birthday gift they had given.

I must say, that thing called longevity noodles is really exquisite and ingenious. I wonder how they came up with it. It's beautiful, auspicious, and novel. Nobody else has ever made it like that.

The longevity noodles, nearly half a person tall, were always displayed on the Eight Immortals table in the middle of the main hall. Everyone who saw them was impressed, and those who came to offer birthday wishes all praised them.
The news spread like wildfire, and many guests who hadn't seen it before made a special trip to see it.

The Liang family really stole the show today.

Even though they're in-laws, my family has been outshone by others.

This thing was said to have been conceived by Miss Zeng and her husband and made by a skilled craftsman. How come Miss Zeng, whom they married, doesn't have such a clever idea?
Aunt Lou and her son, Lou Er, exchanged a knowing glance, clearly having the same idea, and both showed a hint of disdain in their eyes.

Master Zeng thought his wife made sense, and nodded repeatedly with a smile, saying, "Yes, yes, Madam is right. Since you've come all this way, why don't you stay for the night, haha."

He was very satisfied with his 50th birthday celebration and was the center of attention; half the credit for this should go to his in-laws.

Although her biological father was a scoundrel, he wouldn't harm her, but her stepmother was a different story; something was definitely amiss. Zeng Xiaoyan didn't feel flattered; she was genuinely just "shocked." Fearing that her in-laws would be too eager to refuse, she quickly smiled and said, "Father, we have a lot of chores to do at home, so we definitely can't stay here. We can come again later."

I definitely won't come here again unless there's a specific reason.

Who can withstand that?

If it weren't for good luck today, Sister-in-law Zhichun would have overheard that wicked Cuiqiao's instigation and almost caused a major incident.

Besides, I need to make ice jelly first thing tomorrow morning.

Although there will be fewer guests tomorrow than today, there will still be quite a few.

Zeng Mingzhu was furious. She glanced at her coldly and said, "What? Father and Mother have both spoken up, and it's Father's fiftieth birthday. Don't you even give Father and Mother this much face, Third Sister?"

Zeng Xiaoyan was already holding back her anger, and upon hearing this, she could no longer contain it. She chuckled and said, "Don't try to pin this on me, I can't accept that. We country folk have so much farm work to do. If there's really nothing else to do, who wouldn't want to stay a couple more days? I really do have something to do and need to go home. Anyway, I'm definitely going home today."

Liang Mingliang nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice, in agreement with his wife: "Yes, yes, there's chores around the house!"

He was terrified today, really. This was truly an eye-opener. He was almost framed as a lecherous scoundrel who took advantage of a young girl. His father would have really beaten him to death.

So much so that he insisted on staying by his father's side and refused to go drinking with his two brothers-in-law.

Liang Lizheng and his wife suddenly remembered what their third son and his wife had said about making things to sell the next day. Liang Lizheng quickly laughed and said, "Our third son's family is right. In-laws, they really can't leave home. They have to get up early tomorrow morning to make things to sell. They've already received deposits, really." Zeng Mingzhu couldn't help but scoff again. What could they possibly make to sell? Was it really that important?

Since things had come to this point, she couldn't very well insist on keeping them; they really didn't know what was good for them.

Pity.
If they had stayed, she would have had plenty of opportunities to use other tricks that night, but not now.

Despite repeated attempts to persuade them to stay, Master Zeng, seeing their resolute attitude, had no choice but to give up. "Since that's the case, we won't keep you any longer. My dear in-laws, please visit us often in the future. Steward Zeng, go and bring the return gifts we prepared for you."

Butler Zeng responded with a "yes," instantly understanding the master's meaning—he wanted the finest return gift.

Indeed, the gifts from the three in-laws made the master extremely proud and pleased him immensely. Since the master was satisfied, his return gift was naturally generous as well.

Butler Zeng wondered if he should add something more to the top-quality return gift.

Thinking of Madam Zeng, he gave up on the idea.

Forget it, why should he make a fuss?

While everyone waited, they exchanged pleasantries and chatted. Zeng Xiaoyan quietly tugged at Xu Zhichun's sleeve and whispered, "Sister-in-law Zhichun, didn't you say you wanted to plant some flowers in the yard? There are quite a few in the Zeng family garden. I secretly picked a lot and hid them under the straw on our oxcart when no one was looking. I'll get them for you when we get back."

Xu Zhichun was both amused and exasperated, as this was something she truly hadn't expected. "Whether or not you plant these flowers isn't important. Luckily, no one stopped you, otherwise what would people say?"

Xu Zhichun was truly touched. This good friend was definitely worth the investment; she was even willing to pluck flowers from her family's garden for her to plant. She had only mentioned it casually, thinking that planting some flowers in the yard would make it look nicer. She hadn't expected her friend to remember it and act on it whenever she had the chance.

Who wouldn't be moved by such a good sister?
Zeng Xiaoyan smugly hummed, "You just keep planting. I'm a member of the Zeng family too. What's wrong with me picking my own flowers? Even if someone stops me, who can say I'm doing the wrong thing?"

Even if she was a concubine's daughter, she was still the third young lady of the Zeng family. Even her legal mother couldn't make a fuss about plucking a few flowers and plants.

Xu Zhichun smiled silently and nodded gently, "Thank you so much! Let's share them when we get home. You can plant some in the yard too. They'll look so beautiful when they bloom. Give some to Aunt Zhu'er as well."

"Ok!"

"By the way, I found two fruits in your garden. I don't know who threw them there. They look pretty. I'll show them to you when we get home. If they're good, we can plant some too."

"Okay!"

Zeng Xiaoyan had no objections, but felt a little guilty for neglecting her duty: How could she let Sister-in-law Zhichun pick fruit? If anyone should pick fruit, she should pick it herself. If she knew where there was fruit at home, she could have found a way to ask for it. It was truly unfair to Sister-in-law Zhichun.
Butler Zeng quickly brought back the return gifts: two boxes of fine pastries. One box contained two small, square boxes, each holding six kinds of auspicious pastries for birthday celebrations. There were also two larger boxes, each containing two bolts of freshly patterned fine cotton cloth.

Liang Lizheng smiled and exchanged a few polite words before the family and Xu Zhichun bid farewell and left.

Zeng Xiaoyan could roughly guess what was in the gift box just by looking at it. She secretly pursed her lips, thinking that her father was as stingy as ever.

(End of this chapter)