"I see..." Mrs. Chen brushed aside her hair. "Thank you, Sister-in-law, for making the trip for me."
"It's nothing, it's nothing, we're family—no need to mention hard work." Mrs. Zhao patted Mrs. Chen's hand and smiled. "Fourth daughter-in-law, the cloth you gave me last time was really good. Do you have any more? I want to make a dress for Meixiang."
As she spoke, Mrs. Zhao walked straight into the fourth household's house, picked up a bolt of cloth from the table, hugged it happily, and said, "Things from the fourth family are the best. I'll head back now. Fourth daughter-in-law, remember, Su Li's family isn't easy to deal with, don't bother with them."
Mrs. Zhao carried the cloth back to her room, took out her hidden pastries and a tael of silver, muttering to herself, "The fourth family really is foolish. It's easy to get benefits from a simpleton, much better than the paupers in the third household."
Mrs. Chen said nothing, saw Mrs. Zhao out, then turned and closed the door. She entered the inner room, where Su Laosi was looking over the account book, and asked, "Husband, did Mother ask you for silver again?"
Su Laosi looked up to welcome his wife. "Yes, Mother says she's not feeling well and needs to see a doctor. It's an old illness from when she gave birth to me. Later, when I was kidnapped, she cried day and night, nearly going blind. Her health's always been poor, and we never had money for treatment. Now that I'm back and have some silver, I should give it to her for medicine."
Mrs. Chen looked at Su Laosi's face, her lips moved but she said nothing. She turned and gently touched her two children sleeping on the bed, whispering, "Husband, when the weather clears, let's walk around the village more. If we settle in Haizi Village, we should get to know the villagers. And the village chief—we haven't formally visited him since we arrived."
Su Laosi nodded, "Last time I mentioned visiting the village chief to Mother, she said to wait until we've settled in. I think we've lived here for a while now; it's time to get to know the villagers. You're thoughtful as always. The chief is respected—we should pay our respects."
Mrs. Chen lowered her head and embroidered with a hoop. "That's true... Husband, and your second brother's family—even though we've separated from the Su family now, blood is thicker than water."
Su Laosi hesitated, "But Mother says the second household is scheming, greedy, and shameless. She doesn't want us to associate with them."
Mrs. Chen smiled gently. "It's just a courtesy call, nothing more. We won't be getting involved, but it keeps others from saying our fourth household has no manners."
Su Laosi nodded, "You're right, wife. We'll go when the rain stops."
Mrs. Chen finally lowered her head, feeling at ease as she embroidered.
The rain continued for seven or eight days, and the sky still showed no sign of clearing.
Most of the houses in Haizi Village were thatched or made of adobe, and with all this rain, every household was leaking—except for the Su family, who had just moved into their new tile-roofed house.
The Su family grew even prouder; whenever they saw others in the village, they would boast about their brick-tile house, drawing countless envious, jealous, and resentful glances.
Old Mrs. Su was even more pleased, living in the big house built with Su Laosi's money and holding the silver she'd scraped from him—she couldn't be happier.
The Su family felt dazed, as if they were no different from the wealthy families in town.
Su Li sat idly by the window, staring at the rain outside in a daze. Thankfully, Yuanbao had repaired the roof this year—otherwise, the leaks would have made the house unlivable by now.
"A Li, Aunt Wang, Yuanbao! Are you home?" Outside in the courtyard, Zhang Mu knocked hurriedly on the door.
"Brother Zhang Mu, what's going on?" Su Li opened the door and welcomed him in. Zhang Mu wiped the rain from his face, looking grave. "A Li, the river by the village is rising fast. I heard from folks in town that the upstream embankment is about to be washed out by the rain. If it breaks, our village will be flooded!"