Wealthy beyond measure, yet you call me a sister-supporting-brother demon?

Zhou Changshui pushed open the door and questioned Ma Xiangqin, "Did you swear a solemn oath not to eat anything Yuan Sheng brought?"

"Yes, so what if I swore an oath? Even a dog wouldn't want Yuansheng's stuff."

Zhou Changshui was even angrier. He was staring longingly at the pork belly. Wasn't he even worse than a dog? "I'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed!" Zhou Changshui slapped Ma Xiangqin's protruding mouth hard, finally finding an outlet for his anger.

"You dare hit me? Zhou Changshui, who do you think you are? You dare hit me? Aren't you afraid my three brothers will come and beat you to death!" Ma Xiangqin scratched Zhou Changshui's face. "You dare hit me? My brother Ma Laixi is a waiter at Donglaishun, a respectable person! Are you crazy?! I'll scratch you to death!"

"You bitch, I'll teach you to be so foul-mouthed." Zhou Changshui felt a sting on his face and slapped even harder.

Old Man Zhou, Zhou Changlin, Yuan Sheng, and others came out when they heard the commotion.

Yuan Sheng enthusiastically stepped in to break up the fight, and with his help, Ma Xiangqin received even more slaps.

The loud slap was truly...pleasant to hear.

The two of them fought for a while. Ma Xiangqin's hair was all messed up and one side of her face was completely swollen. Zhou Changshui had several scratches on his face, with blood trickling down his cheeks, before the crowd pulled them apart.

Yuan Sheng said warmly, "Second brother, that oath was made by your sister-in-law, it won't affect you, you should eat."

"Yuansheng, you're right. Eat what you should eat and ignore this wretched woman."

Seeing that Zhou Changshui wanted to eat the meat himself and didn't care about her life or death at all, Ma Xiangqin was furious! Humph! Zhou Changshui, you just wait, I'll get my revenge sooner or later!

Seeing that there was no excitement to watch, Yuan Sheng chatted with the others for a while longer before pulling Zhu Chenxi along to go home.

"Bao'er, remember what your sister said, and watch your words." Yuan Pan'er was still worried. Her younger brother had been boasting even more today, so she reminded him again.

"Don't worry, sis, I know what I'm doing."

Looking at her younger brother, Yuan Pan'er knew he hadn't taken her words to heart at all.

……

Meanwhile, the Yuan family was in an uproar.

When Grandma Zhang got back, she told Yuan Laifu and Sheng Guihua what she had heard from Butcher Wang.

Yuan Laifu squatted on the ground, his brows furrowed so deeply that they could trap a mosquito. He smoked his pipe with his head down, taking a deep drag as if it could ease his troubles.

Sheng Guihua slapped her thigh, "What are we going to do! We don't have any money left to help our son. We've already borrowed all the money we could to help him with the wedding. This little rascal is really causing us trouble!"

"Dozens of pounds of meat, a few taels of silver, and this little brat stole it all! That butcher Wang didn't even bother to explain! And that ugly wife of his didn't even try to stop him! It's infuriating!"

"Smoking, smoking, all you do is smoke! You old geezer, what are we going to do now?!"

Yuan Laifu's rough fingers rubbed his pipe, making the wrinkles on his face even more pronounced. "Sell the well, sell the land. We can't just watch Bao'er go to jail. Didn't Zhang Wen's family want to buy our well and a yard for fifteen taels? Sell it."

The Zhang family's courtyard was small, while the Yuan family's courtyard was large.

Previously, Yuan Sheng needed money for a wedding to bring good fortune, and Zhang Wen offered to buy the Yuan family's well for fifteen taels of silver, plus the courtyard where the well was located, which was about half an acre of land.

"How about we try asking a few more daughters and see what we can do?"

“They’ve borrowed all they could for this marriage to bring good luck to Yuan Sheng. What else can they do? Don’t bring in any more daughters; we can’t add to their burden. Sell the wells first, and if that’s not enough, sell the land,” Yuan Laifu decided.

"Oh, what a little devil! It's bad enough that he's always been lazy and good-for-nothing, but he's even learned to steal. What sins have we committed?" Sheng Guihua wiped away her tears.

Zhang Wen and Ma Guifen stood by the courtyard wall, listening to the commotion at the Yuan family's house, and the two covered their mouths and chuckled secretly.

The Yuan family is truly having a run of bad luck, with one misfortune after another befalling them.

The Yuan couple probably knew that their eldest daughter, Pan'er, was going to be divorced and sent home.

Yuansheng, that good-for-nothing, is really giving his parents a hard time. He actually went to town to steal money? And used it to buy dozens of kilograms of pork? He's really spending money like crazy!

Thinking of his three sons, each one more successful than the last, Zhang Wen felt refreshed and more comfortable than if he had taken a magic pill.

Even though there was a wall between them, Zhang Wen could picture Yuan Laifu's gloomy and miserable face.

Ma Guifen felt extremely pleased. What did it matter how beautiful and capable Sheng Guihua was when she was young? Her womb was useless, and she gave birth to a good-for-nothing son, causing her endless worry.

People really do have their own fates. As good as one's own fate, so bad is Sheng Guihua's.

Ma Guifen said, "Fortunately, we didn't go to the fields today. We just stayed home and waited for Lao Yuan's family to sell their land. We even heard some unexpected good news."

Zhang Wen nodded. "We've been thinking about the Yuan family's well and that courtyard for so long, and now the Yuan family is finally going to sell them."

Zhang Wen had previously dug a well in his own yard, spending four taels of silver but not seeing a drop of water. His yard was probably not on a water vein.

There was no well at home, so we had to go to the village entrance to fetch water. Not only was it far, but we also had to wait in line for a long time each time, which was very time-consuming. It was even more unbearable when it was hot.

The Zhang family's courtyard was also a bit small, and Zhang Wen had always been envious of Yuan Laifu's large courtyard.

His son is destined to be an official, so how can he not build a large courtyard so he can build a grand mansion later?

Last time, in order to bring good luck to Yuansheng, Yuan Laifu had already agreed to Zhang Wen's price of fifteen taels of silver. However, Yuan Laifu's son-in-law, Zhou Changlin, interfered, ruining Zhang Wen's dream of a well and a large courtyard. Unexpectedly, the opportunity has come again, and the price can be even cheaper.

"Times have changed. We can only chop firewood from whichever mountain we're on. Today, I'll give him a maximum of eight taels."

“Master, if you ask me, eight taels is too much. The Yuan family can only sell this well and this half-acre yard to us. They would sell it even for five taels. It’s just that Yuan Sheng got into trouble and urgently needs money.”

“What you said makes sense. Prepare more silver first, five taels if you can, and if not, add another tael or two.”

Zhang Wen felt happy and started humming a little tune.

"Wearing a red flower on your chest, may you rise higher and higher every year."

He passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar.

Think about the father and mother who raised you.

"Returning home in glory should not mean forgetting to fulfill filial duties."

Zhang Wen and Ma Guifen were having a wonderful dream, feeling that the sky was exceptionally blue, the air exceptionally fresh, and their mood exceptionally pleasant.