Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

Sheng Xuan, the official, had written to him that he didn't need to report for duty, and only needed to report to the government office every month. To put it bluntly, this was the emperor's gift to him, just a title, without much real power.

Cui had been listening to the conversation between Xiaowen and Mr. Sheng for a long time, but now she finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

Sheng Xuan had a legitimate reason for not coming. Besides, even if she didn't like the third brother, he was now an official, and she didn't dare to scold him. Xiao Wen also asked for leave to come. It depends on the old man's intention. If she gets angry with the third brother's family again, I'm afraid the old man will not let her go.

But what about Shengnuo? Of course, they picked the weak ones.

"The fourth son is such a conscienceless person," Cui scolded fiercely, "What do you mean by going to work or not? Are you kidding me? Doesn't he work in the third son's workshop? He just doesn't want to come and is reluctant to give up his wages. If he doesn't come, what about his wife? They only have one sister, Chunhua, and for such an important event as her marriage, not even one of them came. They are so unkind..."

Xiaolan and Xiaowen exchanged glances, and neither of the siblings said anything.

This Cui family member is really cruel. She actually scolded her own son like that.

"That's too much. The more you talk, the more outrageous it becomes..." Old Master Sheng came up and stopped her.

Cui saw that Mr. Sheng's face had changed, and the eldest daughter next to him kept winking at her. Although she had not vented her anger enough, she kept her mouth shut.

"Your grandma is just like that. She has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She never thinks before she speaks. Just listen to her and don't take it to heart." Old Master Sheng quickly comforted Zhang's mother and the other two.

Xiao Lan immediately understood what the old man meant. He wanted them to not imitate Sheng Hao's family after they returned to Shengjia Village.

They talked for a while, with Xiaowen mostly telling the old man about his studies, and Xiaolan occasionally saying a few words. Zhang, who sat on the edge of the kang, spoke very little.

This was what they had discussed on the way here. After arriving in Hejian County, they would let Xiaowen do the talking as much as possible. Of course, the person he was talking to was the old man. Zhang just had to sit there and act as a foil.

After talking for a while, Xiao Lan took out a package from her luggage and said, "Grandpa, this is the tobacco my father and mother bought for you at the market." As Xiao Lan spoke, she opened the package, let the old man see the tobacco, and then handed it to Grandpa Sheng.

"Okay, okay..." Mr. Sheng said okay repeatedly.

They had been here for quite a while, so Xiao Lan naturally noticed that Mr. Sheng hadn't even smoked a single puff of cigarette. When he was in Shengjia Village, he always had a pipe in his hand, and no one knew where he had put it.

Then Xiao Lan took out two cloth bags from the package, "This is a gift from my fourth uncle and aunt to my aunt, and this is a gift from us to my aunt."

Lanhua naturally took the two packages and placed them in front of Cui. "Mom, this is the gift that the third and fourth brothers gave to Chunhua. Come and see." As she spoke, she pulled Chunhua to see.

Cui sat cross-legged on the kang and unpacked the cloth bundle, starting with the one prepared by Sheng Hao and Liu.

A pair of satin pillowcases and two quilt covers, all in festive red, Cui turned them over with her hands and threw them aside. Then she opened the one prepared by Xiaolan's family, a pair of pillowcases, two backs, and a piece of floral cloth. When she found that there were only these, her face immediately darkened.

"The fourth family is shameless and disrespectful, crying poor. What about you? Chunhua is getting married, and you only give such a small gift?" Cui put her hands on her waist and yelled at Zhang, "You run a shop, and money comes in every day. You even built a big house, so why do you care about such a small thing? It's not just a little bit that slipped through your fingers, it's more than that."

"Don't play dumb," Cui saw Zhang didn't say anything, so she pointed at her and scolded her, "You are the head of the family now, and as a sister-in-law, is this what you do? Are you holding a grudge..."

"We are a farming family. Even if we show this gift to others, it's already a very generous gift. How long has it been since his fourth uncle and aunt left the house? This gift has cost their whole family several months' wages. When our Xiaoting got engaged, she received nothing," Zhang interrupted Cui and said.

"What do you always ask me about? If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten it. How was my Xiaolan pushed down the mountain? What did you do?" Zhang asked slightly raising her voice.

"Third son's wife, stop talking, stop talking..." Lanhua's face suddenly changed, and she hurriedly put on a smile, "Isn't our mother old? She's missing the third and fourth sons. She thought she could see them this time, but she didn't. She's angry and doesn't mean what she says. Third son's wife, you are a well-known virtuous person in the surrounding villages, and our mother has this temper. You've been with her for such a long time, why is she serious with her this time? You brought this child here from far away, isn't it for Chunhua's good..."

Cui didn't react at first, but after hearing what Lanhua said, she immediately came to her senses.

"You are not here to add to Chunhua's box, you are here to cause trouble for me." Cui's eyes instantly turned red, and she pointed at Zhang with a trembling hand. "I was wondering, how could you be so willing to come from such a long distance? At first I thought you were kind-hearted and didn't bear grudges, but now it seems that all this is fake, you have a really vicious heart..." As Cui spoke, her voice gradually lowered, and she sat aside with a pale face.

"Stop talking nonsense. You have nothing to do all day and you just find fault with everything. Otherwise, why would anyone argue with you about this? What have the guys been trying to persuade you to do these days? I think you have become so stupid that you didn't listen to anything. Go ahead and make a fuss. You have to mess up a good thing."

"Third son's wife, don't bother with your mother. She is just a jerk... an old lady with long hair and little knowledge."

Zhang sat there, without a smile on her face and without saying a word.

Xiao Lan moved towards Zhang and got closer to her arms. She was trying to cheer her mother up.

On the way here, the three mothers sat in the carriage all day and had nothing to do but chat. What they talked about most was what to do after arriving in Hejian County.

The three mothers had already discussed that when they came to Hejian County, they would act according to circumstances. If someone respects me one foot, I will respect him one foot. They came over two thousand miles to add boxes with good intentions. If Cui treated them well, they would naturally respond well, and everyone would be happy.

However, if Cui continued to speak harshly to them and treat them like they did in Shengjiatun, they would not have to tolerate it any longer.