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In the evening, visitors arrived at the house—a couple with a chubby boy. The man had a simple and honest appearance, while the woman looked pure and unpretentious. The chubby boy resembled the man, and it was clear they were father and son. At that moment, he was hiding behind the woman, peeking out to look at Xiao Lihua, his big eyes darting around, clearly a clever child.
Xiao Lihua recognized the three of them; the chubby boy was Copper Coin, and the couple were his parents. The man was named Wang Dashan, and the woman was named Zhang Lianxiang.
"It's Wang Erge and Wang Ersao! Come in quickly. Copper Coin, don't hide behind her; Stone and Wood are playing in the backyard. Go find them; they'll be so happy to see you."
Xiao Lihua welcomed them inside. She knew that this house was still financed by this family, who had lent her twelve taels of Silver. Their relationship with Xie Youshun seemed very good, and they appeared quite generous. Seeing their honest demeanor, she thought it would be beneficial to maintain a good relationship with them. Therefore, she was very warm in her greeting.
Wang Dashan's family was taken aback by Xiao Lihua's transformation. They thought it was just as Xie Youshun had said—Xiao Lihua had changed her temperament. Initially, they believed it was only a slight change because Zhang Lianxiang had heard that Xiao Lihua had gone to the river to argue with someone before her injury had healed. However, seeing her smiling face now showed a significant change.
As soon as Copper Coin heard that his friends were waiting for him, he dashed past Xiao Lihua like a cannonball and ran toward the backyard.
Xiao Lihua invited the couple further inside while saying, "Shun is working in the backyard; please have a seat. I'll go call him."
"No need for that; we just brought some things for you since you just moved in," Zhang Lianxiang quickly replied as she lifted the cloth covering the basket in her hands and took out a piece of meat and a paper package.
Xiao Lihua hurriedly said, "Thank you so much, Wang Erge and Wang Ersao! I know times are tough for you too, especially since you lent us so much Silver to buy this house. I haven't even properly thanked you yet; how can I accept your gifts? Just take them back for Copper Coin to eat."
Zhang Lianxiang insisted, "That won't do! This is just a housewarming gift for you. You’ll have to treat us to a meal later. Although this meat is wrapped up nicely, it can still be cooked into several dishes. You can give the sugar to Stone and Wood. If you need help cooking, feel free to call me."
"Then thank you very much, Wang Erge and Wang Ersao."
Xiao Lihua didn’t push back any further. She thought about how she would need to invite them over for a meal later on; she had only heard of warming stove meals before, but those seemed to be for when one moved into a new house. It turned out that even moving into an old house required inviting people over as well. Xiao Lihua realized she would have to put in quite a bit of effort again if she wanted this meal to be nice—it would likely cost her quite a bit.
However, Xiao Lihua decided that she still needed to host a meal to take this opportunity to strengthen her relationships with those who were close to Xie Youshun.
Wang Dashan went to the backyard to find Xie Youshun while Xiao Lihua chatted with Zhang Lianxiang. The men could entertain themselves; she would take care of hosting this sister-in-law. She needed to get to know more people in the village; living in this village meant she couldn't just stay at home every day without having anyone good to interact with.
When Wang Dashan returned from the backyard, he saw that his wife was already chatting and laughing with Xiao Lihua.
Copper Coin was having so much fun playing in the backyard that he didn’t want to leave; Xiao Lihua told him he could stay and continue playing.
As Wang Dashan and his wife left, they chatted along the way.
Zhang Lianxiang said, "Thank Fourth Brother; he's finally enjoying some peace after all his hardships. His wife has finally come around and is ready to live well with him—it's not easy at all! It's commendable that such a good person has held on for so many years; Heaven has finally opened its eyes."
Wang Dashan asked, "Do you really think Xiao Lihua has changed for the better?"
Zhang Lianxiang nodded and said, "I watched her change; why would she want to deceive anyone? If she wanted to run away, she could have done it long ago without pretending. I saw her tidy up that room very neatly, and she was even sewing clothes. She never used to do such things. She talked to me a lot, and I felt she really intends to live a good life."
"That's good. With Shun around, we can finally relax. By the way, I saw Shun fixing the toilet in the backyard; he did a great job. He said it was his mother who came up with the idea. If she can think of these things, she's also preparing to live well. This person has worked in a big household before; as long as he puts in the effort, there's no reason he can't make a living. You should keep an eye on her and see if she's truly settled down."
"Sure, if she continues like today, I would really like to spend more time with her; she's quite charming!"
Zhang Lianxiang smiled, recalling how Xiao Lihua's eyes sparkled when she spoke and how her words seemed to penetrate the heart. He thought that if Xiao Lihua could remain this way, she would be a perfect match for Xie Youshun.
Xiao Lihua sent off Wang Dashan and his wife and went to the backyard with Xie Youshun to help him pass things while discussing the guest invitation.
"When are we inviting people? Who should we invite? Let me know so I can prepare."
"Let's invite my parents and Wang Erge's family, plus two other families. Those two families have four adults and two children; I think three tables will be enough."
Xie Youshun calculated and said he now trusted Xiao Lihua's cooking skills. Previously, Xiao Lihua's cooking was just average, but now when she made vegetables, soup, or pancakes, it was clear her skills had improved significantly compared to before when she just muddled through.
Xiao Lihua said, "We need to buy some things; all we have at home are vegetables, not even any pickled vegetables. We also need oil and salt. Tomorrow is market day, right? We can go to the market tomorrow and host guests the day after. Does that sound good?"
"Sounds good; let's do it."
Xie Youshun replied. After their division of property, they had half a bag of cornmeal and some sorghum flour left, along with enough oil and salt for a few days. Even without hosting guests, they would still need to buy supplies.
When Shitou heard they were going to the market, he immediately came over with eager eyes looking at his parents. Mutou directly rushed over to Xiao Lihua's side, hugging her leg and saying, "Mom, market day! I want to go!"
Xiao Lihua picked up Mutou and kissed him on the cheek, saying, "Okay, Mom will take Mutou to the market. Shitou can come too; we'll go as a family! When we get there, I'll buy you some snacks!"
As soon as Mutou heard this, he immediately kissed Xiao Lihua on the face, leaving her covered in saliva. However, Xiao Lihua smiled brightly with crescent-shaped eyes and didn't mind at all.
Xie Youshun watched his two sons happily and then looked at Xiao Lihua's smiling face; he couldn't help but smile too.
Early the next morning, Xie Youshun woke up first. Hearing the commotion, Xiao Lihua also woke up. The sky outside was already getting light. They each called their two children awake and dressed them before washing their faces together as a family. They didn't eat breakfast; Xie Youshun carried a basket on his back while Xiao Lihua held a basket in her hand with one child in each arm as they headed out.
When they reached the village entrance, they saw two ox carts parked there with people sitting on top. The Fang Family and Li Family were sitting on one cart while Zhang Lianxiang sat on another cart. Copper Coin waved at them excitedly from the side when he saw them, calling out loudly and drawing everyone's attention.
Xie Youshun placed Shitou next to Copper Coin and handed five coins to an old man standing in front of the cart saying, "Wang Bo, it's our family of four."
"Alright then! Get on and hold on tight. We have enough people for this cart; let's get going."
Wang Bo glanced at Xiao Lihua's face, then took the whip and sat in the cart. With a call, the whip cracked, and the cart moved.
"Hmph, just separated from the family and already going to the market, riding an Ox Cart no less. Truly wealthy; no wonder they want to split up. Who would believe they have no family assets?" As the Ox Cart passed by the Li Family, this was heard from them. The voice was not small; at least the people in two carts heard it.
Xiao Lihua thought, does this person feel uncomfortable if they don't pick a fight? Truly a piece of work. She also spoke loudly, "It's good to have an Ox Cart to ride; otherwise, my head would surely hurt more. There's no choice; after separating, I have to do things myself. Five wen can buy quite a bit; if I don't earn money soon, I'll go hungry. That half bag of corn flour won't last until the next harvest. If I don't go to the market, there won't even be oil or salt at home; we'll be eating boiled vegetables."
Once these words were spoken, others began to think. Xiao Lihua had just separated while still injured. It was said that Xie Youshun proposed the separation to avoid burdening the family, but who would rush to separate when a woman at home is still injured? Ruyi could get married soon; wouldn't it be better to wait until then? Could they not even wait for this period? It seemed that the Xie Family no longer wanted to take care of Xie Youshun and had kicked them out.
Moreover, not only did they kick them out, but they only gave half a bag of grain and didn't even provide any oil or salt. That was truly stingy; treating one's own son and brother like this was too much.
The Fang Family understood from the expressions of those around them. Her face looked bad; she really wanted to kick the Li Family out of the cart. If she hadn't spoken up, how could Xiao Lihua have said so much? Now, with just a few words from Xiao Lihua, their family's reputation had been tarnished. This dead woman had long claimed that leaving was their initiative; now she pulls this stunt—let's see how she complains when she gets back!
Xiao Lihua noticed the looks from those in her cart and knew her words had an effect. She felt pleased and started talking with Zhang Lianxiang.
Zhang Lianxiang thought that Xiao Lihua hadn't changed much—she was still sharp-tongued. However, before she would curse without reason, just throwing insults around. Now, with just a few gentle words, she could infuriate others. Zhang realized that Xiao must have worked in a big household before; nothing seemed wrong with that.
As they spoke, others listened to Xiao Lihua chatting and laughing; it was different from before. She could converse with Zhang Lianxiang now, and they found common ground to talk about. Before long, they were engaging in conversation with Xiao Lihua as well. Seeing her speak so openly with them made it clear that her change wasn't just towards Zhang Lianxiang but towards everyone—it was refreshing! A bump on the head had seemingly improved her temperament!
Xiao Lihua shared some insights about life after having faced death once again. Regardless of whether those people believed her or not, she had announced her attitude of reforming herself.
They chatted and laughed all the way until they reached town. Copper Coin refused to part with Stone and Wood, so Zhang Lianxiang could only comply and walk along with Xiao Lihua and the others.
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