Falling into the mortal world

Aunt Li's family had made a lot of money with the Lan family recently. Aunt Li counted the money in her hand, which amounted to more than two taels. Aunt Li felt that she couldn't miss such a good opportunity, so she discussed it with her daughter-in-law and decided to invest two taels.

Some villagers were excited, while others were dismissive; some felt that investing one or two taels of silver was not worthwhile.

Among them was the old Lan family residence. Old Mrs. Lan said disdainfully, "What good could that brat possibly have in mind? Last time I went to ask for the tofu recipe, that brat wouldn't budge. Now she's so generous, giving the recipe to the village. What if she sells them out and they're still counting the money for her?"

A bunch of fools who actually think they can get something for nothing?

"Mom, what if this is true and we can even make money? Wouldn't we be making a profit?" Lan Fugui said.

"That's right!" Wang Cuicui chimed in.

Old Mrs. Lan was fine if she didn't listen to her, but as soon as she heard her speak, she got even angrier. "What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'have you swept the chicken coop and pigsty outside?'" Old Mrs. Lan said angrily.

"Mom, my injury hasn't healed yet, so I can't do those chores right now," Wang Cuicui said, feeling wronged.

"If you can't do it, get out! All you do is eat all day and do nothing. You're just like your family. Our Lan family is so unlucky to have married such a scoundrel!" Old Mrs. Lan cursed.

Wang Cuicui wiped away her tears, feeling wronged. "Mother, how could you say that to me? My family was harmed because they helped our family."

Seeing that his wife had been wronged, Lan Fugui chimed in, "That's right, Mother! If it weren't for our family, your family wouldn't be in this state today."

Old Mrs. Lan glared and said, "They helped our family, didn't they get any benefits? If they hadn't found us a brothel, would we be in this mess today? If it weren't for your brother, who can't keep his mouth shut, would everyone in the surrounding villages know that my Lan family's daughter is a prostitute?"

Now my older siblings are having trouble getting married. The day before yesterday, I asked a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for my eldest grandson, but as soon as they heard it was for my family, they refused outright.

They say our family has a bad reputation, that the girls in our family are prostitutes, and that no girl wants to marry into our family. Your aunt is getting on in years, and not a single matchmaker has come to our door.

You tell me, does your family deserve to die? Seeing you now feels like swallowing a fly, it's disgusting.

Wang Cuicui's face was full of grievances. She wanted to say a few more words in her defense, but Lan Fugui pulled her away. Her mother's eyes were terrifying; she looked like she wanted to devour Wang Cuicui alive. Lan Fugui was frightened by his mother's gaze and could only quickly leave with his wife.

Back in her room, Wang Cuicui began to complain, "How can I not be anxious when Dabao can't find a wife? He's my son, how can I not want him to be happy?"

But you can't blame everything on me back then! Lan Daya was sold for fifty taels of silver. You can imagine, how could a clean place fetch such a high price? Besides, my family only took ten taels of silver; didn't your mother keep the rest?

Furthermore, if this girl from the Lan family hadn't returned, we wouldn't have brought up the past again. With my brother's help, how could the girls and boys in the family have any trouble getting married?

"This is clearly Lan Daya's fault, your mother. She can't win against Lan Daya, so she's starting to find fault with everything I do. When my brother was working at the county government, why didn't you complain? Now that he's fallen from grace, you're starting to betray me." Wang Cuicui said resentfully.

Lan Fugui was helpless and could only listen to his wife's complaints. Although his wife's brother had fallen from grace, her uncle was a bandit in Qinglian Mountain. He wouldn't have known this if his wife hadn't mentioned it unintentionally, so no matter what, he couldn't afford to offend his wife.

Old Man Lan glanced at Old Woman Lan, sighed, and went back into the house.

Hiding in the house, Lan Xiaohong overheard her mother and grandmother's conversation and felt a burning hatred in her heart. If Lan Daya hadn't come back, her family wouldn't be in this state today. It was all that Lan Daya's fault.

In truth, Old Man Lan didn't have much affection for his son, Lan Dashu, but Lan Dashu was still his son. When he learned that Lan Daya could be sold for fifty taels of silver, he agreed, thinking that she was just a girl, and that there were always families in the village who sold their daughters because they couldn't afford to eat, so Old Man Lan didn't think it was a big deal. Besides, where else could you find such a good deal—fifty taels of silver? Who would have thought that not only would he have ruined his eldest son's family, but he would also have completely lost face for his own family?

Now I remember my mother saying before she died: This girl is a gift from heaven, a lucky star for our Lan family.

When Old Lady Lan was selling Lan Daya, she told her wife what her mother had said on her deathbed. Old Lady Lan said, "Your mother was right! What family's daughter can sell for fifty taels? At most, it's ten or eight taels. Getting fifty taels for nothing! Our eldest and second children can go to the academy! Isn't this a lucky star for the Lan family?"

Old Man Lan thought it made sense and acquiesced. But who could have imagined it would end like this? Perhaps he was wrong back then. Lan Daya was the Lan family's lucky star. But now his eldest son had become estranged from him.

The more Old Man Lan thought about it, the more he sighed. "Fate! It's all fate!"

The next day, people started arriving at the village chief's house one after another. Those with money contributed two or three taels, some contributed five taels, and one tael was the most common. The village chief's eldest daughter-in-law contributed five taels. When the village chief's eldest daughter-in-law, Li, learned of this, she took out her dowry money and put it in.

Lan Qingqing suggested that her mother go and join in the fun. Lan Qingqing's mother listened to her and went to the village chief's house, giving him five taels of silver.

The village chief collected more than one hundred taels of silver in one day.

If they didn't submit their bids in two more days, then it would be over. The village chief selected a suitable plot of land in the village, bought it, and went to the county government to register it. He directly wrote it as an asset of Lihua Village, which completely baffled the clerk. "Your village bought the land together! Is it to build an ancestral hall?" the clerk asked curiously.

The village chief said: No, it's just that our village is planning to start a food business together.

Oh, the advisor didn't ask any more questions, but he still looked down on it in his heart. Has Pear Blossom Village become so poor now? If an entire village has to do food business, how much money can they make?

After the village chief completed the land deeds, he instructed the village's young men to purchase bricks and other materials.

Meanwhile, the Lan family's new house is about to be completed. Coincidentally, the village is building a workshop, so these people can continue working.

In the early 1980s and 90s, people would sprinkle sugar and bread when raising the roof beam of a house. In ancient times, very few people sprinkled sugar when building a house. Sugar was a precious food. Only wealthy families would sprinkle some steamed buns or pastries when building a house.