Best friends transmigrate into a book! They marry a high-ranking official! If you run, I run too!

She was genuinely panicked.

My father-in-law is alive and well, but my mother-in-law is going to leave home again. When that happens... when that happens, won't their whole family be laughed at to death in the village?

Xu Ancheng quickly ran over to help her up and asked, "What happened?"

Something...something happened.

Her words, "Something's happened," startled Xu Ancheng and the others. "What happened?"

"Mother, it's Mother..."

Xu Huaishan's expression changed at this point.

Xu Ancheng gripped her arm tightly. "Don't panic, tell me what happened."

Zhang Fen took a deep breath, then exhaled, before she could speak fluently, “Second Aunt, Second Aunt came to our house and said that our mother has found an old man in the city,” Zhang Fen said, her voice trembling with tears.

This was the first time in her life that she had encountered something like this, and it had actually happened to her. She felt like the sky was about to fall.

With a clang, the shovel in Xu Huaishan's hand fell directly to the ground.

Xu Anming, who was standing behind him, jumped up while holding his feet.

His father's shovel head fell directly onto his foot, causing him a sharp pain.

Fortunately, it hit the back of the head, not the front; otherwise, it would have been more than just a painful experience.

The eldest son was so badly hit that he jumped up and down, but Xu Huaishan didn't care. He immediately ran to his brother-in-law's house.

On a sunny day, Xu Huaishan felt he couldn't see the road clearly.

People greeted him along the way, but he ignored them and just kept running with his head down.

He ran ahead, and the rest of the Xu family ran behind.

Someone in the village saw it and asked, "What happened to Xu Huaishan's family?"

They soon found out because He Lianlian, that big mouth, didn't even cook, but started telling the neighbors about the big secret she knew: Gu Jinnian was over fifty and wanted to find an old man in the city and move to an apartment building.

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, asking, "Really?"

"You must have misheard me, right?"

He Lianlian immediately said, "It must be true. The Gu family said it themselves, how could it be false?"

Some people said, "No wonder we just saw Xu Huaishan's whole family rushing towards the Gu family. Could it be that they're about to be picked up by that old man from the city?"

At that time, there was little entertainment in the countryside, so if there was even the slightest bit of excitement, everyone would crowd together to take a look.

So when they heard that some old men from the city might be coming to pick up Gu Jin, they looked at each other, listening to the gossip, and then started walking towards the Gu family home in unison.

When Xu Huaishan and the others arrived at the Gu family's house, Zhong Meixian and her sister-in-law Gu Jin were kneading dough in the kitchen, while Wen Tang and Chi Yue were picking scallions at the kitchen door.

As Gu Jin kneaded the dough, she suddenly thought of Xu Huaishan's good qualities and said to Zhong Meixian, "Ancheng's father wasn't without his good qualities either. Back then, everyone was poor and had nothing to eat. He often went hungry and saved the food for the three of us."

Zhong Meixian then advised, "That's just how life is. It's sweet all the time, but it's also full of ups and downs."

"Besides, men are sometimes careless and not as meticulous as women."

As the two were talking, Xu Huaishan arrived at the Gu family's house.

When he entered the courtyard, he saw that no one was in the main room. Wen Tang and Chi Yue were sitting at the kitchen door, so he knew that Gu Jin must be in the kitchen.

So let the kitchen go.

Wen Tang and Chi Yue tactfully moved their stools to make room by the door, and continued picking scallions, but also said to the kitchen, "Mom, Aunt, Uncle are here."

Then Xu Ancheng and the others followed them into the courtyard.

Wen Tang added, "Cousin and his wife are here too."

Gu Jin looked up and saw Xu Huaishan standing in the kitchen doorway, his fists clenched, staring at her with wide eyes. His first words were, "Go home and stop making a fool of yourself here."

Gu Jin, observing his expression and hearing from Wen Tang that Xu Ancheng and the others had come together, guessed that something might have happened and wanted to ask him.

When she got angry, she wasn't going to stay with Xu Huaishan.

But decades have passed, and she has given birth to three children, including Xu Ancheng, as well as so many grandchildren. She can't just completely ignore people like that.

But Xu Huaishan's opening remarks were irritating, which made Gu Jin angry as well.

Gu Jin threw the dough she was kneading onto the table and questioned him, "What have I done to embarrass myself?"

"Besides, I was at my own parents' home. Even if I made a fool of myself, I didn't go to your Xu family to make a fool of myself. Why should you interfere?"

Xu Huaishan was so angry at those words that he couldn't speak.

Xu Anming poked his head out, "Mom, don't be angry with Dad. Even if you are angry, you can't go looking for that old man in the city!"

"Won't others laugh at our family?"

"Besides, is it really worth making such a fuss over a basin of foot-washing water?"

"Find..." Gu Jin was also puzzled about the old man in the city, but felt a chill in her heart when she heard her son's next words.

It all boils down to a basin of foot-washing water. Even her niece-in-law knows it's not just about a basin of foot-washing water; it was clearly the last straw that broke the camel's back. And this is her own son…

Upon hearing the old man from the city, Wen Tang timidly raised her hand, "Where did you hear that?"

Zhang Fen quickly said, "It was my second aunt who told me, and she also said... she also said that my aunt said it herself." Zhang Fen didn't dare to look Zhong Meixian in the eye because she wasn't sure if what He Lianlian said was the truth.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Meixian threw the noodles she was holding onto the table and shouted, "Bullshit! Who said that?"

Wen Tang silently raised her hand a little higher, "...Maybe, maybe it's me."

All eyes were then focused on Wen Tang.

Gu Yanli also came out of the house.

He was just packing his things inside. He's leaving the day after tomorrow, so he needs to prepare his things in advance. Some things that need mending should be mended tomorrow.

He's been back for about ten days, and he really hasn't had time to look through his luggage.

And just like that, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

As for why time seems to pass so quickly, it's simply because I haven't eaten enough meat.

After Wen Tang finished speaking, she quickly added, "But my original words were definitely not that my aunt found an old man in the city."

She glanced at the Xu family members and said, not quite with conviction, "I was just saying that my aunt had bad taste when she was young. She was so beautiful, but... she ended up marrying my uncle."

Xu Huaishan "..."

Wen Tang was right; Gu Jin was indeed a stunningly beautiful girl, a rare sight in the surrounding area, when she was young.

Heads started popping out one after another from the top of the Gu family's courtyard wall.

Gu Yanli stood at the entrance of the main room, his gaze sweeping over the heads. The heads all smiled ingratiatingly at Gu Yanli, but remained perched on the wall.

Wen Tang was unaware that a lot of onlookers were perched on the roof of the courtyard behind her, saying, "I didn't say anything else, I just said that if my aunt had married someone from the city, those old men in the city would not only have higher salaries, but also higher quality."

Chi Yue nodded, "Yes, it can wash pots and pans, and it doesn't need anyone to pour out the water for washing feet."

Xu Huaishan "..."

This foot bath water won't make it through, will it?

Zhong Meixian also testified for her daughter-in-law, "Yes, Huaishan, Xiaotang didn't say anything else. She just met Xu Lao Er's wife and heard her belittling Xiaojin, so she retorted a few words to her. What she said about Xiaojin marrying an old man in the city is utter nonsense."

Zhang Fen turned her head and saw He Lianlian and a group of women crowding at the entrance of the Gu family courtyard. She went over and pulled her inside. "Second Aunt, didn't you tell me before that Mother was going to find an old man in the city?"