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Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua were surrounded at the village chief's house, being questioned for a long time. Even after returning home, they couldn't find peace, as people kept coming to inquire about the bridge repair. They confidently stated that it was true, and of course, those people were also very curious about how they sold the Secret Recipe for Silver. Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua repeated the same story over and over.
Xiao Lihua mentioned that she initially didn't want to sell the Secret Recipe because it was something someone had taught her. However, now that the Village was in trouble, she reluctantly decided to sell it for everyone's sake.
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately felt even more grateful towards the couple. After all, selling a Secret Recipe for five hundred taels of Silver was no small matter. If they had kept it to themselves for business, they could have made a lot more than five hundred taels; it would just take longer. But to get five hundred taels quickly for the bridge repair, they had to sell the recipe, which truly felt like a loss. That five hundred taels could allow their family to live well, and they willingly gave it up; they were truly good people.
"Thank you, Four Brothers and Li Hua! You have done a great deed this time. From now on, all the Villagers will remember your kindness."
Yang Cao exclaimed loudly while holding Xiao Lihua's hand. Everyone around immediately chimed in with their agreement. In their hearts, this couple was now seen as great benefactors; how could anyone say anything bad about them? Moreover, this couple was so capable that they could afford to part with five hundred taels; perhaps they had the ability to earn more. Everyone loved associating with capable and wealthy individuals, and they were no exception.
"Xiao! Since you have such a profitable recipe, why didn't you reveal it earlier? You are our Xie Family's daughter-in-law; how could you keep it hidden? Are you planning to only care about your own family after splitting from us? What wrong have we done to you in the Xie Family that makes you harbor such thoughts?"
Wang Clan entered at some point, expressing her displeasure. She looked at Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua being praised and felt no happiness for them at all. Inside, she was burning with anger; ever since she heard that Xie Youshun took out five hundred taels of Silver for the bridge repair, she had been feeling suffocated.
Five hundred taels! Wang Clan had never seen such an amount in her life. She thought about how much land that money could buy or how she could purchase a house or shop in the city. Then she could enjoy life in the city instead of living in this countryside. Who cared if the Village had a bridge or not? How could Fourth Son and Old Couple throw away five hundred taels like that? Wang Clan wondered how she ended up with such a spendthrift son and such an unlucky daughter-in-law!
Everyone looked at Wang Clan standing at the entrance, noticing that behind her were Fang Family and Li Family.
"Sister Xie! With Shun and his wife doing such a great deed, why do you come here looking so angry? Are you unhappy that they spent money to repair our village's bridge?"
"I think that's exactly it. A person who is usually so stingy wouldn't part with five hundred taels of Silver easily; I bet she's feeling terrible that Silver isn't falling into her hands."
"Aunt Xie! You can't say that; repairing bridges and roads is a great act of kindness. You shouldn't obstruct it."
People in the courtyard spoke one after another. Xie Youshun and his wife were spending money on bridge repairs; they couldn't let Wang Clan disrupt things, so everyone criticized Wang Clan.
Wang Clan's words drew so many rebuttals from others that her face turned red with embarrassment. Fang Family quickly stepped forward to clarify that her mother-in-law didn't mean it that way and wasn't opposed to repairing the bridge for the Village; she was just unhappy that Xiao Lihua kept such an important matter from her family, which was why she came to ask about it.
Everyone turned to Xiao Lihua upon hearing this, and some thought it made sense. With such a good recipe in her hands, it was no wonder her mother-in-law was upset. Others believed that the recipe belonged to Xiao Lihua; if she wanted to share it, she could, and if she didn't want to, that was fine too. They would also be willing to separate from the family and bring out the Secret Recipe to make money.
Xie Youshun said to Wang Clan, "Mother, this Secret Recipe was taught to my wife by someone else; it's hers."
Wang Clan shot Xie Youshun a glare and said, "She became part of our family when she married in; her things are our Xie Family's things!"
Li Family interjected, "This is just because she's afraid we'll get rich. Someone who wants to climb the social ladder would rather suffer in poverty than share a way to make money. How stingy!"
"Li Family, how do you still have the face to come here? Didn't we say you weren't allowed here? Last time you came to rummage through Li Hua's house and hit the child; now that they have money, you want to come and take advantage again? Don't you have any shame as a sister-in-law?"
Zhang Lianxiang said this to Li Family, and her words also scolded Wang Clan and Fang Family together. Seeing the three of them glaring at her with flushed faces, she didn't care at all.
Li Family noticed that everyone in the village was looking at her and talking about her last visit. She took two steps back, thinking how detestable Zhang Lianxiang was; she didn't take the warning about not visiting seriously at all.
Xiao Lihua said, "At that time, I didn't think of it, and no one asked me if I had the Secret Recipe. If it weren't for this bridge repair matter, I might not have remembered it at all. Besides, what I have in my mind is mine; if I want to say it, I will; if I don't want to say it, I won't. Am I supposed to share everything? If we discuss this further, it could barely be considered my dowry. Naturally, I want to keep my dowry for myself; I've never heard of giving it to in-laws. Mother, I don't understand why you're angry."
Wang Clan was momentarily speechless and after a while said, "Living so poorly at home, can't you think about how to improve your life? I don't believe you can't remember; you just don't want to say it. Even if this is your Secret Recipe, what harm would it do for the family to benefit a little? You eat meat; can't your family at least have some soup?"
"Someone just said I'm someone who loves a good life. If I really remembered this recipe, would I not bring it out? I truly didn't think of it. You all misunderstood me. Now that I've remembered it and we're fixing the bridge for the village, you won't oppose that, right? Even if you do oppose it, it's useless; I've already promised everyone and can't go back on my word. Besides, since we've separated our households now, this money is something my husband and I can decide on."
Xiao Lihua thought that this truly meant they had separated households. If they hadn't separated yet, it would indeed be troublesome. Now that they were making a fuss after the separation, refusing to give something meant they wouldn't give it—no one could say they were wrong.
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately supported Xiao Lihua and told Wang Clan not to stretch their hands too far since the families had separated.
Wang Clan was at a loss for words when Xie Shengcai and several sons arrived. Hearing what everyone was saying, he glared at Wang Clan and said, "If Shun has done well with his wife, why aren't you praising them instead of complaining about why she didn't mention it earlier? You're just looking for trouble. Go home and cook!"
Wang Clan had nothing more to say after being scolded by Xie Shengcai like this; their faces were filled with shame but they took the opportunity to leave.
The Fang Family and the Li Family obediently followed their mother-in-law.
Xie Shengcai walked up to Xie Youshun, looking at him with satisfaction, praising him for handling the matter well. The three brothers of the Xie Family behind him also chimed in with compliments.
As soon as the villagers saw the Xie Family speaking, they hurriedly took their leave, and the courtyard fell silent again.
Xie Youhe shamelessly asked, "Fourth Brother, you suddenly spent five hundred taels, that's quite a sum! How could you be so generous? Do you have a more profitable Secret Recipe? Share it with us; we are family, and if we prosper, we all prosper together."
Xie Youkang added, "Yes, we are family. You shouldn't keep it to yourself."
Xie Youtai stood aside without saying a word; he didn't want to take advantage of the situation and thought his elder brother and third brother's words were quite unseemly.
Xie Shengcai also looked eagerly at Xie Youshun. He thought that the family was indeed short on money now, and having a profitable avenue would be nice; he wasn't trying to take it away, just wanting to benefit a little.
Xiao Lihua knew this would happen, and Xie Youshun had already anticipated it; the couple had been prepared.
Xie Youshun said, "If this Secret Recipe were that plentiful, it wouldn't be called a Secret Recipe. Besides, this Secret Recipe was taught to my wife by someone else; it's not mine."
"She is your wife; her things are yours."
Xie Youhe said while glancing at Xiao Lihua. He thought that once a woman married into a family, she should listen to her husband. However, Xiao Lihua was not an easy woman to deal with. Seeing her stern expression looking at him made Xie Youhe feel somewhat hesitant about his words.
Xie Youshun continued, "How can I take my wife's dowry? Third Brother, it seems you can't take Sister-in-law's dowry either. Isn't Sister-in-law still holding onto her dowry?"
Xie Youhe was stumped. The Li Family's dowry was indeed off-limits for him. Sometimes when he made some money, he would hand it over to the Li Family. If others wanted it, he would say it was part of the Li Family's dowry so they could save up some more money.
At this moment, Xiao Lihua spoke up: "I will help whoever I want. My Secret Recipe is mine. If I'm happy, I might generously spend five hundred taels like I did for building a bridge for the village. If I'm unhappy, don't even think about getting a single coin from me! Father, when we split our family, we didn't get a single coin; now we are living on our own. At that time, aside from Second Brother asking once, no one else came to check on us or offered any help. Now that we've just spent some money for the village, you all come around. If we didn't have any other Secret Recipes, would you think we wouldn't help you? Would you resent us? If that's the case, life would be unbearable."
Xie Youtai said, "Sister Four, don't be anxious. We mean no harm; you should live well with Fourth Son."
Xie Shengcai quickly added, "Fourth Brother's Wife, don't overthink it. Just live well with Youshun. If you can help your brothers, do so; if not, there's no rush. It's getting late, and we need to head home for dinner. We'll take our leave now."
As Xie Shengcai spoke, he signaled for his three sons to leave. He didn't want Fourth Son's newly happy life to be disrupted.
Xie Youkang and Xie Youhe reluctantly followed. Xie Youtai patted Xie Youshun on the shoulder and left as well.
"You're not upset about how I spoke to Dad earlier, are you?" Xiao Lihua asked.
"It's fine, as long as we can keep living our lives," Xie Youshun replied. In truth, he found his wife's earlier words quite satisfying.
Xiao Lihua smiled and began cooking; after a long day, she was hungry again.
After dinner, the sky had darkened. The family of four busied themselves under the light for a while before lying down. The two children fell asleep first while Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua whispered to each other. As they talked, they fell silent. In the darkness, Xie Youshun's hand slowly reached out to hold Xiao Lihua's hand. Gradually, he moved his hand up to her face and felt that it was warm.
Xiao Lihua's heart raced; she felt nervous yet somewhat expectant. After all, she had been a married woman in her past life, and now she had a man she liked by her side. Having accepted this, she decided not to suppress herself any longer.
Xiao Lihua reached out her hand.
In the night, shy sounds gradually emerged as the long night unfolded with the essence of spring.
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