The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

"We'll find out in another two weeks when we see a doctor to take our pulse; we don't know for sure now."

"That's great, that's great! I'll go tell Mother."

Widow Chen immediately grabbed him, saying, "You can't go."

Du Youtian turned around, puzzled, "Why?"

"It's not good to announce it for the first three months, as it's not good for the baby. Also, Mingcheng is the most beloved child in the family, and now they're saying they want another baby. Do you think the first wife would be looking forward to this child's arrival?"

“Those are my children. If they don’t love them, I will.” Du Youtian was angry. He had longed for this child all his life, and now that he was this age, how could he not be happy?

Widow Chen shook her head. "You, think about it. For so many years, haven't we all assumed that everything in the house belongs to Mingcheng? Now, out of the blue, someone wants to divide the family property with Mingcheng. Do you think everyone will be happy?"

"If you don't believe me, go tell your mother that we're planning to have a child and see what she says. But whatever you do, don't tell her that I might already be pregnant."

"It's hard to say right now. Maybe she's not pregnant. Anyway, you should test the waters first."

"Okay, Mother will definitely be very happy." Du Youtian went off happily.

Wu family.

The atmosphere was particularly tense after Wu Daniu and the others returned.

"How could she insult us like that? It's just about studying. There are so many schools. What's wrong with not going to the Ling family's school?" Wu Erniu had never had any goodwill towards the Ling family.

Wu Sanniu also felt particularly uncomfortable. "We went so far to the Ling family's house. It's much closer to the town. We could have just gone to the town. Why did we have to go so far?"

Looking at his two younger brothers, Wu Daniu felt very sad. "We'll talk about this later. I'll figure something out. You two go out and have some fun first."

After her two younger brothers left, Du Mingwei came out of the house with a guilty look on her face. "Husband, I didn't expect Du Mingxian to be so inconsiderate of family ties. I was thinking that since you were engaged to her before, she would consider our past relationship."

"Stop talking," Wu Daniu said coldly, a burning anger rising within him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Du Mingwei seized the opportunity to say, "If no one in our family goes to school, we'll only be hunters for the rest of our lives. We could join the army, but that's a life-or-death situation. Although my husband is a very good hunter and skilled, I'm still worried about him."

Wu Daniu hadn't thought of this, but after being reminded, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if another path had opened up for him.

Seeing his expression, Du Mingwei guessed something and continued, "Du Mingxian's husband is quite something, he doesn't even care about his family. So many people came to visit, but we didn't even get a sip of hot water."

"If that guy surnamed Ling becomes an official in the future, won't there be no way for people like us to survive?"

"If only our family could produce a general, it would solve a lot of problems. The Ling family can't compare to them. After all, military officers rise quickly, while scholars need time to climb the ranks."

Wu Daniu's mind started racing, but he didn't respond to a single word, simply listening to Du Mingwei speak.

Ling family.

With all the eyesores gone, Du Mingxian felt the air in her home was much fresher, but the Du family's problems would persist sooner or later, and Widow Chen would have to work harder to resolve them.

These people will band together, but if you separate them, they will be unable to support each other alone, which will save you a lot of trouble.

Ling Silang becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) was a major event for the entire village, so the village chose an auspicious day to hold not only an ancestral hall ceremony but also a grand banquet.

Ling's father took the initiative to take care of all the ingredients, and the village women did all the cooking. Everyone was happy to come and help, and they all vied to do the work.

Whole pigs and whole sheep are offered directly in ancestral worship.

Because Du Mingxian was a scholar named Ling Silang, her position in front of the women perfectly validated that saying.

A man's rank among men is directly proportional to his wife's rank among women.

During the Lunar New Year, she was seated at the back and couldn't see very clearly, but she knew that the items displayed then were not as numerous or as elaborate as this time.

Ling Silang stood in the very center and stepped forward to bow.

Du Mingxian was outside the ancestral hall; according to local custom, women are not allowed to enter the ancestral hall.

The whole process was quite tiring. Once it was over, everyone rushed to help. The men could carry tables and chairs, while the women went straight to the makeshift stove to cook.

One or two were working enthusiastically, and the sky was filled with joy.

“Nowadays, our village has scholars and clan schools, and children don’t have to pay for their education. Recently, several people have come to inquire about our Tiger.”

"That's right. Our family has suddenly become very popular, something that has never happened before."

"That's right, we have workshops and children can go to school. Which village is as good as ours?"

Du Mingxian felt a warmth in her heart as she listened to the women chatting. Everyone's lives were gradually getting better, which could be considered a good deed.

On Ling Silang's side, some people have already been pestering him to inquire whether they can register their land under his name, so that they can reduce their taxes.

If there's one, there are two. Everyone is listening intently, as if afraid of being taken advantage of, keeping a close eye on others.

The clan chief stepped forward with a stern face, "Alright, alright, Si Lang isn't feeling well, all of you stop crowding around him and get back to your work."

The clan chief still spoke with authority, and the adults immediately dispersed. Only then did he smile and say, "You don't need to pay attention to those people's petty thoughts. They only met you today. In the past, they wouldn't dare to disturb you at your home, so don't worry."

"Chief, I would like to buy some more clan land and register it under my name. This will not only exempt us from taxes, but also reduce the burden on the clan by using the land for the clan school's expenses."

The clan chief's eyes instantly welled up with tears. "On behalf of the clan, I thank you. Silang, you are a man of great love."

“I don’t have much money on hand. My wife and my sister-in-law helped me. They gave me some money, but we can’t come up with too much at once. We’ve decided to buy eighty acres first, and then buy more when we have more money.”

This was something Du Mingxian and Ling Silang had discussed; it wasn't a good idea to buy everything at once, so they should take it slow.

The clan chief nodded emphatically, his face full of gratitude. "It's already very good, very good. Eighty acres of land is already very good for the clan."

At this moment, Ling Dalang approached and said, "How much more is needed? I'll contribute some money too."

Ling Silang hadn't told Ling Dalang or the others about this. When Ling Dalang asked, Ling Silang was a little surprised, "Big brother?"

“We’re all family. Now that I’m in business, I’ll contribute some money as well, just to do my part.”

Ling Erlang also chimed in, "I'll contribute some too."

Ling Sanlang had money, but he didn't have any business at the moment, so he was essentially an idle person and naturally couldn't contribute any money. Therefore, he didn't even bother to join in the fun.

Of the last two hundred acres of land available, besides the land already owned by the Ling family, Ling Silang bought eighty acres, and the remaining two hundred acres were financed by Ling Dalang and Ling Erlang.

Of course, the land that Ling Dalang and Ling Erlang bought was also considered clan land.