"Mom, to my grandmother, you and my third aunt were practically blown in by the wind." Lian Manman couldn’t help but say, "Oh dear, no, it’s worse than that. She must think that since she’s given a dowry and spent money, she has to squeeze it all back from you both."
What Lian Manman said unintentionally hit the mark, dissipating the bitterness that Lady Zhang and Lady Zhao felt. Lady Zhang had initially wanted to ntion that she brought a dowry when she got married, but then she rembered that Lady Zhao only brought two sets of clothes when she ca, so she held back her words.
"You child!" Lady Zhang chided Lian Manman, "A daughter-in-law lives her days with her husband, works hard inside and outside the ho, and bears children. Even if she can’t be doted on like a daughter, she’s still part of the family, not soone to be bullied. There are few like your grandma."
"Just domineering and biased. Yeye’s father is in the city, who knows how he’s doing." Lady Zhao began to worry about Lian Shouli.
The sisters-in-law expressed their grievances for Lian Shouli and then talked about Si Lang.
"This child, hopefully, hasn’t run into any trouble..."
Two days later, the missing Si Lang returned to Thirty Mile Camp.
The new clothes Si Lang wore when he left ho were now ragged and tattered. Si Lang appeared dusty and weary, having lost weight, and his chin was covered with a dark stubble.
The way Si Lang looked now, he seed several years older, not like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man at all.
It was Lian Shouxin who brought Si Lang back.
With Si Lang’s return, the old house was lively once again. Lady He wept and wailed as she held Si Lang, Lian Shouyi’s expression was unreadable, and Lady Zhou was standing tall again. Of course, in front of people, her back had never been bent.
"He’s back now, just like I said he would be. Even if I died, he couldn’t die. He’s got a hard life. To think he wants to pay with my life, that heartless bastard..." Lady Zhou grumbled quietly, surprisingly not shouting or causing a scene.
"It’s good he’s back, it’s good he’s back!" Old Master Lian trembled with happiness at Si Lang’s safe return. In these two days, Old Master Lian had also lost weight, and the sore on his lip hadn’t healed. What little black hair he had turned completely white in these two days. When Lian Shouxin saw him, he was montarily stunned and then turned away, heartbroken.
Si Lang had left ho without a word, and now he returned like this. Apart from Lian Shouyi’s blustering scold, no one else said much.
"Old Fourth, it’s all thanks to you for bringing Si Lang back. With that alone, you are the hero of the Old Lian Family!" Old Master Lian said to Lian Shouxin.
"Dad, I ran into Si Lang halfway back," Lian Shouxin told Old Master Lian. He had gone to the western pasture and didn’t know that Si Lang had left ho. It was on his way back that he saw Si Lang and brought him back.
On the way, Lian Shouxin inquired about what happened and learned the gist of it. Si Lang had complained to him about how Old Master Lian and Lady Zhou were biased and disregarded their children and grandchildren.
Old Master Lian then asked Si Lang where he had been those two days. Si Lang was reluctant to speak at first but later slowly said a few words.
...
"What, Si Lang went to Badao Miaozi?" Lady Zhang exclaid in surprise.
Lian Shouxin had returned from the pasture and first went to the old house to drop off Si Lang before returning ho. At this mont, he was taking off his coat and washing his hands and face at the basin stand while talking to his wife and children.
"Yes, that’s what he said," Lian Shouxin replied as he wiped his face with a cloth.
"He must have gone to the Old Wang Family," Lady Zhang guessed.
"Where else could he have gone?" Lian Shouxin replied, "No one else thought of it, that boy!"
Indeed, no one expected Si Lang to go to Badao Miaozi, to the Old Wang Family, hoping to salvage the engagent. Si Lang’s approach was nothing short of bold.
"Oh dear, he really has a sweet spot for the girl from the Old Wang Family! Did he find them? What did they say?" Lady Zhang asked Lian Shouxin.
"He managed to find them by asking around, but unfortunately..." Lian Shouxin shook his head and sighed. Si Lang had made his way to the Old Wang Family, swore to them, explaining his sincerity, but the result was that while they believed Si Lang and thought him a good person, they refused to relent on the engagent. They insisted their family wasn’t a match for Si Lang and that their daughter wasn’t suitable for him.
Si Lang wouldn’t leave and was eventually chased out by the villagers summoned by the Old Wang Family. Si Lang’s tattered clothing was mostly torn during the confrontations with the people at Badao Miaozi, which gives an idea of how unpleasant the situation was at the ti. The people there were lenient for fear of causing trouble, even though Si Lang injured two of them.
"It’s fortunate that the people there are honest. If it were deeper in the mountains, among hunters, who knows if Si Lang could’ve made it back," Lian Shouxin said as he sat on the kang, voraciously eating snacks with tea. He had missed a al after coming back and didn’t want to trouble Lady Zhang to prepare another, so he was just filling up on snacks, planning to have a proper al with his wife and children later that evening.
"This boy is quite the stirrer! If only he could put that energy to proper use," Lian Shouxin comnted while eating.
In Thirty Mile Camp, the tenant farrs’ slang "stirrer" ans soone bold and audacious.
"Indeed, he’s a stirrer, and the old house is in chaos because of him."
...
Extra Chapter, seeking pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welco to vote for recomndations and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian for reading.)
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