I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Su Congxian looked at Lin Shi with a puzzled expression.

"Just tell me what good news you have, instead of being so secretive."

Lin leaned close to Su Congxian's ear and whispered something.

"Today, Su Mo came to me and said she wanted to do business with me. We don't even need to put up any capital. She has a ready-made formula. We just need to help her sell it and then take a cut."

Upon hearing this, Su Congxian's eyes lit up immediately.

"With such a good thing happening, and she's thinking of us, don't let her fool you."

Lin rolled her eyes at Su Congxian.

"Hey, what can he possibly fool us about? We haven't invested any money, we're just putting in some effort and wasting some time."

After listening to Lin's words, Su Congxian pondered for a moment and nodded.

“What you said makes sense. We have plenty of time and energy. If we can really make some money with her, that would be great.”

Lin nudged Su Congxian's arm.

"That's quite good. It's just that I've been getting closer to the second branch of the family these past few days, so Su Mo only remembered us when she had this good thing. If it were up to you, our family would never have such a good thing in eight lifetimes."

Upon hearing this, Su Congxian quickly put his arm around Lin's waist.

"Yes, yes, yes, my wife is right. Our family can only get by because of you."

As he spoke, Su Congxian hurriedly poured Lin a cup of tea.

"Wife, you've worked hard. Quickly have some tea to soothe your throat."

Lin took the teacup, took a sip, and smiled:

"At least you have some conscience. But let me make this clear beforehand: the money we earn has nothing to do with your mother. I'm not handing it over. If your mother comes to make trouble, you'll have to deal with it yourself."

"Okay, okay, I'll take care of it."

"Furthermore, Su Mo said that we should only tell outsiders that selling candied hawthorns is our family's business, so as not to arouse suspicion from the second branch of the family and affect our ability to make money."

Su Congxian nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can handle this little thing."

Lin gave Su Congxian a satisfied look.

"Su Mo will come to wake you up first thing tomorrow morning so we can take an oxcart to the city to buy things. We'll get to work in a flurry these next few days."

"Okay, I'll get up early tomorrow and I definitely won't hold you back."

Lin nodded, then spoke with concern:

"By the way, isn't your mother going to the city tomorrow in an oxcart to arrange a blind date for your fourth brother? If you run into her there, you'd better keep your mouth shut and not spill everything out to your mother."

Su Congxian nodded repeatedly.

"I understand, honey, don't worry."

the next morning,

Before dawn, the courtyard of the Su family's house was already bustling with activity.

"Hey, you old codger, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get ready. You have to come with me to the city today for our son's blind date. It'll show that we're both here."

Old Su rolled over, scratched his backside, and muttered something under his breath:

“What can a peasant like me do? I’ll only embarrass my son. Besides, I’ve already disagreed with this marriage. You insist on trying to climb the social ladder. Do you think it’s so easy to climb the social ladder?”

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu yanked off his blanket and slapped Old Man Su hard on the back.

"You old fool, today is our son's big day. I don't want to fight with you. Just do whatever I tell you to do!"

Old Man Su was jolted awake by Granny Liu's slap and suddenly sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"What a joyous occasion! It's not even close to being settled yet, and you're already getting impatient. Fine, fine, I'll go, okay? But let me make this clear: if things don't work out, don't blame me."

With that, Old Man Su got up and started to put on his clothes.

When Granny Liu saw that Old Man Su was wearing his usual work clothes, she was furious.

"You old fool, are you deliberately trying to go against me? What day is it today? Are you going to meet my future father-in-law dressed like this? Take it off, I've already prepared your clothes!"

As she spoke, Granny Liu took out a newly made set of coarse blue cloth clothes from the cupboard and threw them onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Hurry up and get dressed, and get ready to come out! Don't make me yell at you!"

As she spoke, Granny Liu straightened her clothes, pushed open the door, and went out to wash her face and get ready. Today, they were going with Aunt Cai to Lianxiang Tower to discuss marriage for Su Songchuan.

Su Songchuan went directly from the city to Lianxiang Tower to meet with Granny Liu and the others. By the time Granny Liu had finished getting ready, it was just dawn.

Granny Liu called Old Man Su and hurried towards the village entrance. When they arrived, they saw Su Congxian and Su Mo sitting on the oxcart.

Granny Liu asked, puzzled:

"It's not market day today, where are you all going?"

As she spoke, Granny Liu looked at Su Congxian.

"How did you get involved with Su Mo again? Where are you two headed?"

Su Congxian shrank his neck.

"I was just taking a stroll in the city because I had nothing else to do. I just ran into Su Mo, nothing much."

Granny Liu glared at Su Congxian.

"You spend all your time wandering around. You should use that free time to manage your fields. You're doing nothing all day. You're so old, and you're still like this. I really don't know what to say to you."

Su Congxian said impatiently:

“Mother, I’m not a child anymore. Please don’t say such things. There are so many outsiders here. Aren’t you going to arrange a marriage for my brother today? Don’t be angry with me. If you go to see your future mother-in-law with a grudge, she won’t want to marry her daughter to someone like you.”

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu glared at Su Congxian.

"You brat, what nonsense are you talking about! What kind of family are we? Our family is thriving right now. Right now, my only concern is your fourth brother. Once we get him married, I won't have to worry about anything else."

At this point, Granny Liu looked at the people in the carriage with a proud expression and smiled:

Today, our fourth son is going to ask for a marriage proposal from the eldest daughter of the wealthy Li family in the same city. They don't want to marry anyone else, but they heard that our son is a scholar, so they only have their eye on him.

"Oh, so your son is going to be successful!"

"That's right. Your son has always been different from those troublemakers in our village since he was a child. Now that he's grown up, he's really made something of himself."

Hearing these compliments, Granny Liu felt incredibly pleased.

"Oh dear, my fourth son has been a smart kid since he was little. Now that he's studying in the city, he's naturally valued by the city's high-ranking officials and nobles. He's definitely different from those rascals in the village."

Hearing what Granny Liu said, Su Mo couldn't help but smile bitterly to herself. Her marriage to Su Feng was something she couldn't be proud of, and now Granny Liu was showing off Su Songchuan's marriage, which was still far from being finalized.