Ugly girl only wants to farm

The old lady had initially intended to give her some face, even though the annulment of the engagement had caused some minor unpleasantness, the two families were still somewhat related.

During the years when they were engaged, they treated their family quite well. Originally, they planned to exchange brides, but the two families were not suitable for each other due to age. Zhang Yueniang married out early, and her husband's family was the nephew of her wife's family. As the saying goes, "Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders."

Since the two children were not destined to be together, she would not force it. Besides, given her family's circumstances, it would be unfair to make the girl suffer here. She wouldn't want her own daughter to come either.

But so many years have passed, and the Changshou family still hasn't changed their tendency to be materialistic and snobbish. It must have been her cousin's wife who went back and told everyone about it.

The old woman couldn't help but slap her mouth repeatedly, blaming herself for her foul mouth. All she'd said was a casual remark, and her cousin's wife had caught her red-handed.

Originally, all the relatives in the village were related by blood, and the Changshou family happened to be a distant relative of my cousin's wife's family.

As luck would have it, the river was just across a hill. My cousin's wife would pass by that ditch on her way home, and she spread the word. Having failed to gain anything here, she decided to expose the affair to make things difficult for her own family as well. How cunning and treacherous!

Changshou's smile remained unchanged as he walked over and took her hand affectionately.

“How can you say such things, Mr. Tofu? We used to be in-laws. We used to visit each other often. It’s just that we’ve become a bit estranged in recent years. For the sake of the two children, please don’t say such hurtful things.”

Aunt Zhang pulled her hand away abruptly. Changshou's hand was rough and dry, and it pricked her skin, making her feel uneasy all over.

The old woman spoke politely but distantly: "Let's get this straight today, Changshou's family. We really have something to discuss with you today. Whether you came to visit or to inquire about our family, we've received your greetings. We have urgent business to attend to, so please leave."

The old woman was already in a bad mood; her cousin's wife had made a mess of things by coming to borrow money, and now this woman had come over, so she wasn't in a good mood either.

She just wanted to lock the gate and leave this troublesome place as soon as possible. She wished she hadn't come back to her hometown and made herself so unhappy.

The woman from the Changshou family forced a smile again: "What are you saying? We've been in-laws for over ten years."

After saying that, the man from Changshou affectionately took her hand again.

The old woman was held very tightly by this man and could not break free several times, and her expression became increasingly irritable.

"I heard that your son Xuyang is doing well now and has gone to the county school. What do you think about the marriage of these two children? Why don't you get married soon? Our Xiaotao is not young anymore."

The old woman stared in disbelief at the opening and closing of the mouth, her mouth agape as if she had heard a fairy tale. She then forcefully shook off the woman's hand and said, "Didn't your Xiaotao get married a few years ago? You were the ones who broke off the engagement yourselves. Why are you bringing this up again now? What are you up to?"

"Hey! Let's not talk about that anymore, it was all a misunderstanding. Let's sit down and discuss the marriage of our two children. After all, we've been engaged for so many years. We shouldn't ruin their youth any further, right?"

Aunt Zhang, seething with anger, pointed at the woman and began to curse: "You shameless old woman, you want your daughter to marry into our family? We're not a general store that takes in just anyone. Your daughter has already been married once, and you still want to cling to my son. What are you up to? Has your daughter been divorced?"

Changshou kept nagging Uncle Zhang, talking non-stop about old stories. Uncle Zhang looked annoyed and coughed several times.

The sudden temperature rises and falls these days have caught everyone off guard. The two elderly people, who already had a cough, rushed back to their hometown, and Uncle Zhang had been busy in the yard, sweating profusely. Then, their old ailment flared up again when they heard the Changshou family say those shameless things; in anger, they couldn't help but cough again.

Zhang Xuyang was helping to pick vegetables when he suddenly sneezed several times in a row.

Shen Siheng looked disgusted and moved a stool away from him.

"Hey Zhang Xuyang, can't you be a little more refined? You're supposed to be a scholar, but you're being unrefined. You keep sneezing and it's almost spraying onto my food, it's disgusting."

Zhang Yueniang asked with concern, "Have you caught a cold recently? Don't study too late at night. I'll make some ginger soup for you in a bit."

Zhang Xuyang rubbed his slightly itchy nose and said with a puzzled look, "I don't know either, my nose is just itchy and I keep wanting to sneeze."

Xu Chaoyan casually remarked, "Is someone insulting you? Did you offend someone?"

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Xuyang sneezed again, and Shen Siheng immediately shooed him aside.

"You'd better stay away from us. Don't let your illness affect me. I'm telling you, the exam is coming up soon, don't let it affect my performance."

Zhang Xuyang scoffed, "Do you think your last-minute cramming will work?"

Meng Jiuhe finally learned the whole story. The family sat there shamelessly and refused to leave. No matter what the old lady said, the man just wouldn't budge. He said there was a marriage contract there and a token of their love. No matter how much the old lady pleaded, he wouldn't agree.

Enraged, the old woman picked up a basin of water and splashed it at them.

"I've given your family plenty of face today, but you've brought this trouble upon yourself. Your daughter has already been married once, yet you still want to cling to us. As you said, she had her reasons for marrying into our family before. Even if she married there to bring good luck, she shouldn't be arranging another marriage with us. As the saying goes, a virtuous woman doesn't marry twice. Since your daughter and son-in-law are so in love, they should be together forever in the afterlife. Why should she suffer the pain of unrequited love alone in this world?"

Her words were indeed a bit excessive; after all, these people were so aggressive. The girl named Xiaotao's face flushed red instantly, looking both embarrassed and angry.

"Let me tell you, don't go too far. It's a blessing for your Zhang family to marry me. What's so great about him, a mere scholar? These days, scholars are useless. I can bring some dowry and even help him go to the capital for the imperial examinations. You won't have to work so hard making tofu. You should be content. Besides, when have I ever been married? Don't tarnish my reputation."

Xiao Tao was a girl that Aunt Zhang had watched grow up. When she was little, she was pretty and kind. When did she become so unreasonable and argumentative?

The old woman was also taken aback: "Didn't your mother marry you off to the village next door?"

Xiao Tao, her eyes filled with guilt, shouted at the top of her lungs, "I'm not married! My parents made me a maid in a wealthy family to save money for my younger brother's wedding. I didn't want to hold Brother Zhang back, so I said that to break off the engagement. Back then, your family really couldn't afford the dowry. If I hadn't said that, would you have agreed to break off the engagement? I had my reasons." Her eyes were brimming with tears, threatening to fall.

The old woman thought to herself, "Could it really be like that? Xiao Tao always liked my son. Could she really be thinking about his future?"

"Hey Zhang, come out here, I need to talk to you."

The old woman abandoned everyone and ran towards the door. When she saw that it was someone she had some prior acquaintance with, she looked hesitant to speak.

a quarter of an hour later

The old woman angrily picked up a stick and chased the three of them out. She then shouted at Meng Jiu, who was standing there dumbfounded, "Young man Meng, hurry up and hire a carriage. Remember to change to a horse-drawn carriage. We should leave now. If we stay any longer, we'll never be able to leave."

The old woman kept complaining along the way, saying that all sorts of wicked people wanted to be sent to her house. She said that she had broken off the engagement like a plague god, and now that her daughter was a cripple, she wanted to find someone to take her in. She said that even if her son Xuyang couldn't find a wife, he would never marry such a shrew.

It turns out that Xiao Tao became a maid in a wealthy family. She seduced her master and was punished by the mistress, who then forced her to drink a medicinal soup and sent her back to her hometown. Because she was under a contract, she couldn't be dismissed so easily; otherwise, she probably wouldn't even be alive by now.

Originally, they planned to hire a donkey cart, which was reasonably priced, and take their time to slowly make their way back. However, the old woman was furious this time and insisted on hiring a horse-drawn carriage, so they wouldn't have to endure the wind and cold anymore and would rush back to the county town overnight.

Zhang Qiao'er has been coming to see Yue Niang from time to time these past few days, chatting for a few minutes each time, usually during the time when school is over.

Everyone noticed her little scheme, and Xu Chaoyan would always leave tactfully, leaving the two of them there. But for some reason, Zhang Xuyang would leave after less than fifteen minutes, which puzzled her greatly.

Hongmiao Village

Grandmother Meng lay on the bed wailing for a long time, but no one brought her food. She was so hungry that her stomach was practically sticking to her back. Finally, she saw Liu Shi carrying a bowl of rice over.

She strained her eyes and, upon seeing the bland, watery soup, her face immediately darkened.

"So you're planning to use this swill to please your mother-in-law? You vicious woman deserve to be drowned in a pig cage. I'll have my second son divorce you."

Liu slammed the rough bowl down beside her. Since her husband wasn't home, she didn't care about anything else.

"Old woman, eat it or don't, it's up to you. If you don't want to eat, then forget it. I'm telling you, don't even think about staying in my house. I'll send you away tomorrow."

Grandma Meng was startled by her words. At least at her second son's house, she could find some rice. At her daughter's house, they only drank wild vegetable soup, without a drop of oil.

She immediately lost interest, sheepishly picked up the bowl, and began to drink it down in a slurping manner.

Before the next day even arrived, for some unknown reason, the second son of the Meng family sent the person back to Meng Xiuzhi's house that very night.