Farming and reading family

When Jiang heard that it was Xu's voice, her face darkened. She felt that Xu was now on Gao'e's side, and that it must be no good thing for her to come to her.

Chen Ke immediately walked out of the cave: "Aunt is here, my mother just came back."

Xu smiled enviously: "Big sister, you finally come back once, please tell us what's new in the city."

These words made Jiang feel relieved. She thought that she was a city dweller now and was different from the women in the village, so she immediately became arrogant.

"The scholar is busy. Your aunt and your mother will go over there to talk." Xu complimented Jiang and left.

"Auntie, take care." Chen Ke finally calmed down.

Over there, Mrs. Lei had already gone around to the bamboo forest. Seeing her second sister-in-law and a group of children looking for bamboo shoots, she told her about Aunt Xu going to see her mother-in-law.

"So you came here?" Gao E didn't expect Xu to ask about this matter.

"I will definitely be scolded if I stay there." Lei said unhappily.

Gao E thought about it and decided to think out of sight, out of mind.

When Gao E and the others returned home, the sister-in-law was already preparing dinner and Chen Ke was reading a book at the entrance of the cave.

"Where is mother?" Gao E looked at Chen Ke.

"Back to the city." said the sister-in-law easily.

"Back to the city?" Gao E was surprised. What did Aunt Xu say to her mother-in-law that made her mother-in-law leave so soon?

"I asked Lu Hao to drive the car to take my mother back." Chen Ke said apologetically.

"It's my duty." Gao E nodded.

Everyone thought it was a false alarm, and they were really worried that the mother-in-law would come back and cause trouble again.

However, Gao E was really curious about what Aunt Xu had said to her mother-in-law, why she sent her mother-in-law away so easily. She might as well go and learn from her, which might be useful in the future.

In the past two days, those who were supposed to open kilns in the village did so, and those who were supposed to cut wood did so. The people who stayed behind continued to clean up those places that were not in a hurry to be cleaned, and weed the fields.

The pumpkins, taro and yams planted by Gao E are growing well, and the peppers have also sprouted. She checks on them every day.

As for digging the clam pond, she planned to wait until the bricks and tiles were baked and the river sand was used for building the house before starting, so that she could kill two birds with one stone.

In a blink of an eye, it was time for Chen Ke to go to the banquet. Gao E said that they should go early so that they could stay at her brother's house first, as it was spacious there anyway.

This suited Chen Ke's wishes. He didn't want to go to his parents' house because they kept talking about the same things over and over again.

Besides, if his mother knew that he was going to attend Lord He’s banquet, I wonder what she would think.

In the carriage, Chen Ke carefully held a box containing the black ornaments he had brought back before. It was a gift prepared for Lord He.

Gao E took the opportunity to ask, "Isn't it too shabby to give Lord He this black thing?"

Chen Ke expressed his understanding of his wife's ignorance of this substance: "This substance is hard and inky black, yet it is not flashy and is calm and reserved. It is known as the "Scholar's Ink Bone" and is very rare."

Gao E lowered her eyes. If it was really so rare, how could Chen Ke not know that it was found in the nearby Ghost Crying Mountain? "Then where does it come from?"

"It is said that it was formed by the fall of a black dragon. It is hard to find." Chen Ke said seriously.

Gao E suddenly realized that it was probably hyped up by someone, so they were trying to be mysterious.

But now that she has bought the Ghost Crying Mountain, what should she do if the person who hyped this stone doesn’t show up?

Gao E felt that Chen Ke didn't know who hyped this thing up, he just knew the result.

After thinking about it, I decided to forget it. It was such a big mountain and I didn’t spend much money.

"If that's the case, it's indeed very valuable to scholars." Gao E nodded.

Chen Ke felt happy when he heard Gao E say this.

The two of them settled down at Gao's house, and Mrs. Wu came out to greet them. Gao E entered the yard and saw two servants in the house.

It seems that Mrs. Wu felt that she was short of money and had to spend frugally.

Wu saw that her eldest sister glanced at the two servants and smiled awkwardly but didn't say anything: "Is there something wrong with your sudden visit, eldest sister?"

"Your brother-in-law is having a party with his classmates. We don't know when it will end, so he may not be able to go home at night. Please clean up a room for him." Gao E was not polite either.

"It's all a small matter." Wu agreed. "Brother-in-law will come over when the time comes."

Chen Ke nodded politely.

With the money Gao E had in her pocket now, she could easily buy a better house in He County, but she had no plans to do so.

She currently has no property in the city, and she is not sure what to do with the three shops. If she buys a house, someone will need to take care of it. Also, if the two elders of the Chen family find out, they will definitely have to live together.

All in all, it is better to protect your own wallet. After all, it will cost a lot of money to get the village back on track.

While Wu was talking to Gao E, Chen Ke went to attend the banquet first.

Luo Dagang first sent Chen Ke to the restaurant, and then came back to pick up Gao E to go to the yamen.

Today is also the day Gao E comes to pay and draw up the land deed.

The clerk of the yamen had already prepared everything. The land that Gao E wanted was worth more than 500 taels in total. The price was indeed much higher, but Gao E didn't care that much now.

After finishing all this, Gao E went straight home, and Luo Dagang will come to pick up Chen Ke tomorrow.

It was still early when they arrived at Batou Village. Gao E saw Aunt Xu walking back with clothes, so she got out of the car and walked back with Aunt Xu.

"What did my aunt say to my mother-in-law that made her skip lunch and go to He County?" Gao E was very curious.

When Xu heard Gao E ask this, she laughed and said, "That's easy. Your mother-in-law is narrow-minded and wants to be a good person. Now that your Chen family is doing well, she will definitely be targeted."

"Besides, this flood has left many orphans and widows. If your father-in-law is moved by compassion, there will be one more person in the family." Xu said in a low voice.

Gao E was stunned for a moment: "Auntie means that my father-in-law is outside..."

Xu glanced at Gao E and asked her to lower her voice: "You are my daughter-in-law, you can't say that."

Gao E was more or less shocked. Were the lives of the elderly in ancient times so rich?

"Your mother-in-law depends on your father-in-law for his survival, so she has to keep a close eye on him." Xu said in a low voice.

Gao E did overlook the possibility of this, because she was not relying on anyone to live, so she didn't think about it in this way.

"Actually, you are doing well now. As long as your mother-in-law is not at home, there will be fewer problems." Xu felt that the Chen family was doing well this way.

Otherwise, the Chen family’s quarrels every few days would make everyone in the village panic.

Gao E smiled and said, "As long as they live well in the city, that's all that matters."

When Gao E returned home, she saw her sister-in-law sending a woman out of the house. The woman was not from Baotou Village and was wearing brighter clothes.

"Who is this?" Gao E asked after seeing the person leave.

"Matchmaker Ge from Shilipo." Yang said happily, "She found a family in the city for our Yuning."

Ever since the incident with the Song family, Yang has been worried about Yu Ning's marriage, but she didn't expect that she could find someone better.

"Did sister-in-law tell Yu Ning?" Gao E was a little surprised.