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  Xia Zhi counted all the money clearly, and she secretly hid two small silver ingots and two strings of coins. The rest of the money was still wrapped in a money bag and put into the cabinet. Sun Lan'er didn't even look at Xia Zhi counting the money, after being fascinated by the fragrant rice, she was excitedly rummaging through the scraps of cloth that Xia Zhi brought back. The scraps of cloth sent by the fabric store were not good for making pouches, but in Sun Lan'er's eyes, they were very useful.

  "Sixteen, let's pick out the ones for making pouches. The remaining ones, I'll make a small quilt for you, and add some small cushions too." Sun Lan'er said with a smile to Xia Zhi.

  Xiatill wouldn't disagree, but she still said to Sun Lan'er: "Lanzi sister, your family has a lot of chores, and making lotus bags is also quite troublesome. Other tasks, if you can do them, then do them, don't force yourself, or you'll strain your eyes again."

  Sun Lan'er said she had a measure. These days, the days passed comfortably, and she felt that no matter what she did, it seemed like she had endless energy. Xia Zhi also told her about selling the lotus-leaf bags, and Sun Lan'er was originally unwilling to accept money, but after repeated persuasion, she agreed to take ten big coins for each bag. Of course, she wouldn't bring this money back home either.

  "Sister Lan, I'll keep your money for you. If you have any expenses, just come and tell me." Xia Zhi knew about Sun Lan's situation, so he made arrangements for her. Sun Lan was able to earn money from this, but she had to keep it strictly secret from her stepmother, Sun Wangshi.

  Sun Lan'er was overjoyed at this.

  The twelfth lunar month came and she went to do needlework with Xia Zhi and Sun Lan'er. She was a bit sulky, although she had complained before, at this time she still couldn't help but say to Xia Zhi and Sun Lan'er: "Third sister is too bad, taking advantage of me."

  Sun Laner didn't understand, so La Yue told her about the blind date in May. Sun Laner also felt unfair for La Yue, as the matter of May was handled too improperly.

  "They also swindled a piece of cloth from my grandfather and grandmother." Xia Zhi said.

  The tenth month wasn't stupid, after thinking about it for a bit, he understood the meaning of the summer solstice. Summer Second Uncle and them must have already made up their minds, following Old Man Xia to go on blind dates was just going through the motions for Old Man Xia's sake. "No wonder they couldn't wait to get into town to buy fabric!"

  Xia Zhi just smiled, she guessed that Old Man Xia had also long understood this principle.

  Xiao Shu and Xiao Xia Lin rushed in from outside, telling Xia Zhi that Uncle Xia Er and Auntie Xia Er had brought Wu Yue back home. They returned relatively late, the town's big market had already dispersed. So all the way back, Uncle Xia Er and his three family members didn't take any transportation, they walked all the way back.

  "It serves them right." Lao Yue said, with some regret that he hadn't seen their miserable state with his own eyes.

  "...Second Uncle had just entered the house when Grandpa called him upstairs." Little Shu added.

  Lan Yue was getting restless and wanted to go to the backyard to take a look. Old Master Xia would definitely scold Second Uncle Xia, and she wanted to listen in. Lan Yue, the little maid, understood in her heart, but she wasn't a reckless person. Although she had been set up by Wu Yue, she couldn't bear to have them be disciplined by Old Master Xia, but she also couldn't bring herself to go argue with Wu Yue.

  Xia Zhi thought for a moment and then stopped Nian Yue. "Let the little tree and the little forest go, when they come back, let's learn from them."

  Laiyue listened to Xia Zhi's words: "When my parents come back, I have to tell them."

  This summer solstice didn't reach the twelfth lunar month. Sun Lan'er asked how the young master of the Qian family was doing.

  "Others are quite good, and even May's sister is inferior to them." December said quickly. She wasn't siding with Qianyue, but rather disliked May.

  Xia Zhi secretly took a glance at Dongyue, and his heart felt relieved. Dongyue was only angry with Wu Yue in this matter, and her impression of the Qian family was not bad, and she didn't overthink it either. Since that's the case, Xia Zhi also spoke without any reservations.

  "...the whole family is quite good, their words and deeds are not petty. Qian Yue's growth is honest and kind, but actually very clever and capable."

  "What a pity!" Sun Lan'er said.

  In the evening, Xia Zhi cut up the pork she had bought and cooked it. She kept some for Sun Lan to eat when he came home from work, and also invited Xiao Hei, Lao Yue, and Xia Lin to come over and share a meal together. This time, she didn't invite Wu Yue's sister and brother.

  While eating, Xia Hei Yu Er, Xiao Shu Er and Xiao Xia Lin kept talking about how Lao Ye Zi scolded Xia Er Shu, everyone listening felt quite relieved.

  The little black fish was not entirely satisfied: "I'd say just ask for that piece of cloth back that we bought in May."

  "Hey, Uncle, did you tell my grandfather about it?" She was delighted to see the things that were supposed to be hers in May being taken back.

  "I told you, your grandfather also wanted to, but in May they refused to return it, saying that the clothes had been made and couldn't be returned." Little Black Fish's dissatisfaction is here. In fact, this conversation about wanting fabric back was between Little Black Fish and Second Uncle Xia in front of Old Master Xia, who didn't say anything, nor did he refute Little Black Fish's words.

  "Our grandfather is soft-hearted, they said so, it's definitely impossible to ask for more." Daqiao said.

  "Second Uncle and them have taken a liking to our family's temperament." Xia Zhi smiled.

  "They are too shameless, taking advantage is not enough."

  "Right." Xia Lin nodded heavily in agreement with his sister's words, and added in a childish tone, "Mom said that Second Uncle and Second Aunt have thick skin. She also said... they have thick skin and can eat their fill, but we have thin skin and can't eat enough."

  Everyone couldn't help but laugh. Lai Yue's face turned red, she glared at Xia Lin, scolding him for saying something he shouldn't have said. Xia Lin didn't make a sound, lowering his head to eat meat.

  They bought five-flower pork for the summer solstice, and to relieve everyone's hunger, they simply made a steamed meat dish. The five-flower pork was cooked until it could be pierced with chopsticks, then taken out of the pot, sliced into large thin pieces, placed in a bowl, and topped with various seasonings before being steamed to perfection and served on a large platter. This dish is also called "steamed meat", and its color, fragrance, and flavor are all perfect, without any greasiness, making it a must-have dish for their annual festivals and banquets.

  The children of ordinary families usually can't eat this. Even if they buy meat back home, they won't make such a troublesome dish.

  "Sixteen, this braised pork you made is even more delicious than your grandma's!" Xia Hei was still eating his rice with the meat sauce, and he couldn't help but praise Xia Zhi as he ate.

  Everyone nodded in agreement, this meal was eaten too satisfactorily.

  Xia Zhi smiled and felt that the big and small children were really too easy to satisfy.

  She had finished her work, and on the summer solstice she brought her needlework to the old willow tree in front of Wu's house to enjoy the cool breeze. When she arrived, there were already several people gathered under the willow tree, chatting about something. Someone saw Xia Zhi coming over and nudged the person next to them. That person looked up and also saw Xia Zhi, and immediately stopped talking.

  Xia Zhi's mouth twitched. She knew that everyone must have been discussing the Xia family, so they stopped talking when she came over. She pretended to know nothing and greeted everyone before sitting down next to Old Lady Wu.

  In the village, people didn't have much entertainment during their leisure time. When the young women and daughters-in-law gathered together, they liked to gossip about this family's affairs and that family's matters. Whenever something happened in any household, it wouldn't take more than a day for everyone in the whole village to know about it. And the biggest gathering place for gossip in Daxing Village was under the big willow tree where people rested in the shade.

  This place is spacious, with the shade of large willow trees and large stone stools for people to rest. People from several streets in front and back love to come here. In private, Xia Zhi calls this place the Great Willow Tree Forum of Daxingzhuang.

  Today's hot topic on the Daliu Tree Forum seems to be the Xia family.

  Xia Zhi sat next to Old Lady Wu doing needlework, while the others chatted for a bit before they couldn't help but start asking her questions. First, it was Old Lady Wu who asked her about going to the market. Old Lady Wu's questions were quite serious, and Xia Zhi answered them all.

  "Don't look at her young age, she's quite capable." A aunt praised Xia Zhi, referring to her making money by selling cherries and fresh flowers.

  Everyone followed suit, then a young woman asked: "Sixteen, did your May sister get engaged today?"

  Old Xia rented a car and everyone knew he was going on a blind date in May.

  "I don't know." Xia Zhi smiled and said, "No one told me."

  "It didn't work." His wife immediately said, "If it had worked, Xia Zhi would have definitely known."

  "It didn't work out in May." Another daughter-in-law said, "It worked out in December."

  It was Zhang Liu's wife who had a good relationship with Xia Erniang, and she was the one who spoke the most just now. She saw her coming and didn't say anything.

  "Zhang Liu Auntie, what's going on with this New Year's thing?" Xia Zhi asked curiously.

  Her question opened up Zhang Liu's wife's mouth. Zhang Liu's wife's version of the blind date in May was this: The Qian family wanted to make a marriage with the Xia family, and Old Man Xia first set his sights on his eldest granddaughter, Wu Yue, after all, Wu Yue was the most beautiful and talented granddaughter of the Xia family (according to Zhang Liu's wife). Then La Yue insisted on going along. As a result, Wu Yue didn't take a liking to the Qian family's son, but La Yue did.

  For this reason, May left the blind date scene first. However, it's hard to say whether Qianjia's younger generation has taken a liking to Ruyue or not.

  Xia Zhi was shocked and laughed: "Sixth Aunt, where did you hear these words? Were you there at the time?"

  "Lao Liu's wife, aren't you at home today? Didn't you go to the market?" said Old Lady Wu.

  "I didn't go, she told me herself in May." Zhang Liu's wife quickly said. What Xia Erniang said was naturally the most authoritative version. Xia Erniang and Zhang Liu's wife were close friends and often went to her house to chat. After returning from the market today, Xia Erniang went to Zhang Liu's wife's house.

  This is going too far. Xia Er's aunt wants to beautify May, but she shouldn't be so secretive about December either.

  "Auntie Liu must have misheard. I went with my uncle and our little Shu'er, but it wasn't like that at all," Xia Zhi said.

  "Hey," Zhang Liu's wife immediately cried injustice, "I didn't make up a single word, it was all your aunt who said it. You're just a child and you don't understand some things. What your aunt said can't be wrong. Laiyue Xiao Yatou looked at the vegetable and had a lot on her mind."

  It's only natural that Xia Zhi would make excuses for Yueyue. Then she saw a little fatty running towards the back yard of Xia's house. Xia Lin didn't know when he had arrived, and how much of their conversation he had heard, but he must have run back to tell Yueyue.

  Zhang Liu's wife and the others also saw Xia Lin, but they all didn't take it seriously. Xia Lin was only five years old, in their eyes he still didn't understand anything. But Xia Zhi knew it wasn't like that. Little Xia Lin had a clever mind and was very good at learning from others.

  Xia Zhi's mouth twitched and he stood up and walked towards the backyard.

  The backyard was quiet, May, July and Xiaoyang were all lying under the windowsill of the upper house. Summer had entered the yard without them noticing. Summer didn't disturb them either, until she walked up to them, then she deliberately coughed.

  The three siblings turned their heads and saw Xia Zhi, and their faces all changed.

  Xia Zhi ignored them and went straight upstairs. The atmosphere in the upper house was very depressing, with Old Master Xia and Old Madam Xia sitting on the kang, flanked by Second Uncle Xia and Second Aunt Xia on the left, and Third Uncle Xia and Third Aunt Xia with Nian Yue and Xia Lin on the right.

  Lan Yue was crying, her eyes were all red. Xia San Shu and Xia San Shu were also red-faced, obviously angry.

  "What Xia Lin says you all believe. He's just a little older, what does he know!" Xia Erniu laughed.

  Xia San's family was all infuriated by her attitude, and when Xia Zhi arrived, several people seemed to have seen a savior. Lao Yue rushed forward and hugged Xia Zhi's arm. "Fourth sister, you come and judge for us."

  Xia Lin just came back and first went to the west wing to tell his parents and sister what he had heard. Xia San Shu and Xia San Shu returned from work, having already heard from Lao Yue about the matter of the May engagement. The couple were honest people who thought that Old Master Xia had already scolded Xia Er Shu's family, so they wanted to let the matter drop and forget about it. But after hearing what Xia Lin had learned by heart, these two honest people couldn't bear it anymore, and Lao Yue even cried on the spot.

  After that, they came upstairs and told Mr. and Mrs. Xia about what had happened, then called Second Uncle Xia and Second Aunt Xia over to confront them.

  Xia Er Aunt refused to admit she had said that, only saying Xia Lin was ignorant and had learned the wrong words.

  Xia Lin was learning to talk in the west wing when Xia Zhi was also present. It wasn't because he was close to Xia Zhi, as he had just run under the big willow tree earlier.

  So now it's up to Xia Zhi to evaluate her in the tenth month of the lunar calendar.

  When summer arrived, she had already guessed that it would be more or less like this result, but she still came. Since she came, she was not afraid of trouble.

  Everyone in the house was staring at Xia Zhi. Xia Er Shu was a bit flustered: "This has nothing to do with Xia Shi. Anyway, I didn't say anything." Xia Er Shu also looked at Xia Zhi with a profound meaning, implying that she should not get involved, but he was immediately glared at by Old Man Xia.

  Xia Zhi smiled to herself and pushed open the door to sit beside Old Man Xia.

  Xia Lao Ye Zi looked at Xia Zhi and asked her: "Sixteen, did Xiao Wu hear it wrong?"

  Xia Zhi smiled: "Dad, my second aunt must have said something, she's the clearest about it. Don't ask me, Dad." He spoke cautiously, as if afraid of offending Xia Er Shu and Xia Er Shu's wife.

  Xia Er Aunt felt that Xia Zhi did not give evidence for Xia Lin, was biased towards her, and a smug expression appeared on her face. Xia Er Uncle was more perceptive, and immediately lowered his head.

  Then, Old Man Xia scolded Xia Ershu and his wife until they were covered in blood.

  "Hurry up and apologize to your brother and niece! Bring that piece of cloth back to me immediately, regardless of whether you've made it or not!" Old Man Xia yelled.

  Xia Er Shu and his wife both stood up, not daring to make a sound. Xia Er Shu kicked Xia Er Shu's wife, who reluctantly went out and came back with a piece of cloth in her hand.

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  (。)