Tian Xiaohe, unable to utter a single pleasant word at the moment, was thus left to her own devices.
Some people, no matter how well their lives are going, always feel that others have wronged them.
Tian Xiaohe was clearly one of those people.
Zhang Caiyun felt that she could never befriend someone like Tian Xiaohe. On the contrary, the Su family members were quite good, and she felt they could be befriended.
"As long as you've come to your senses, that's all that matters!" Su Xile also felt that his sister-in-law wasn't much.
If possible, he didn't want his own wife to have too much contact with his sister-in-law, lest she be corrupted.
Hearing his wife say this, he immediately nodded.
The couple then discussed it and decided to go over and help.
After a spat with Su Ping'an, Tian Xiaohe left and happened to see her elder brother and sister-in-law going to the old Su family's house.
Tian Xiaohe's already bad mood worsened.
Her rough hands clenched tightly.
These two who fawned over the powerful and scorned the weak, who were they truly family with?
Zhang Caiyun and Su Xile had no idea that Tian Xiaohe had seen them entering the old Su family's house.
When they went in, many people were already helping at the old Su family's home.
Some were picking and washing vegetables, others were cutting meat and stewing it, and some were kneading dough and steaming buns.
Everyone was performing their duties, very enthusiastic, and the atmosphere was truly good.
"Caiyun, you two are here. Just in time, we're almost out of water. Let Xile help carry some." Someone familiar with Zhang Caiyun and Su Xile spoke without reservation.
Su Xile smiled and said, "Sure, I can't do any other chores, so I'll be in charge of carrying water."
Zhang Caiyun also immediately found a task, cutting vegetables: "I'll chop the green onions. Chopping green onions doesn't make my eyes water!"
Hearing Zhang Caiyun's words, a woman who was cutting green onions quickly dropped her knife, her eyes teary, and said, "Caiyun, hurry up and come here. My eyes really can't take it anymore."
Zhang Caiyun picked up the knife the woman had dropped and said, "Sister-in-law, you rest over there for a bit, you'll be fine in a moment!"
The woman sat down far from the green onions and talked with others, not forgetting to pick up a bunch of chives and carefully trim them.
"Why are the children from Xiao Tian's family so outstanding, when they grew up together?"
"Who can say otherwise? All ten siblings are in college, and they'll surely be city dwellers in the future!"
"The old Su family won't be from our village anymore! We really can't envy this!"
Several people spoke one after another, all filled with envy.
But fortunately, these were simple and kind people who knew that such things were not to be envied.
"I'll urge my two brats to study later. Look at the Su family; studying is good."
"Whose wedding banquet in our village is this lavish? I heard that tomorrow's main feast will have twelve dishes and a soup."
"Who is the head chef tomorrow?" someone asked curiously.
Twelve dishes and a soup were called "Thirteen Flowers" by the villagers, a more impressive spread than "Eight Big Bowls."
Ordinary families would be reluctant to prepare so many dishes.
Moreover, preparing so many dishes meant a larger red envelope for the cook.
One wondered which cook had the ability to earn this money!
"Da Hong, aren't you being silly? The Su family has restaurants in the capital, so their own family members are the chefs."
The woman called Da Hong then remembered that several members of the Su family were chefs.
"Look at me, I forgot."
"Speaking of which, educated people are different. They'll have good jobs in the future and can marry good wives," someone else remarked with emotion.
"Isn't that so? Shou Wen's wife is even more striking than those in our village!"
"Didn't you say yesterday that she was a bit frail!"
"Even if she's frail, she's still good-looking, right? Anyway, with the family planning now, each family has only one or two children, so being a bit frail doesn't matter much!"
Everyone laughed heartily.
Grandma Su, along with several daughters-in-law of the Su family, busied themselves inside and out, their faces beaming with unconcealable smiles. Especially when they heard the villagers praising their children, Grandma Su was overjoyed!
"Why do I feel that families who have been close to the old Su family in recent years have all seen their lives improve?" suddenly, a woman said.
Others who hadn't thought of it this way found it made a lot of sense when reminded.
Li Zhuzi, with his scabby head back then, couldn't even find a wife. Later, as he grew closer to the old Su family, his life became much better.
He had even bought a house and opened a shop in the county town.
And Su Taohua, everyone in the surrounding villages waited to see her divorced, expecting a spectacle!
But she remarried a man from the city, not only that, but she also went to the city to enjoy a comfortable life.
Not to mention Su Manxiu and the Su family's direct relatives, their lives were truly good.
Manxiu's husband, it was rumored, was now a high-ranking official, and Manxiu could be considered an official's wife from the village.
"Sister-in-law, what you're saying is really true."
"Those who can't stand to see the Su family do well and always speak ill of them, I don't think their lives will prosper."
When the woman said this, everyone knew who she was referring to.
When the old Su family asked Tian Xiaohe to open a shop, Tian Xiaohe refused to hand over twenty percent of the profits. She then went around saying the Su family was engaging in capitalism and even reported the old Su family.
Now, even though the breeding farm had been contracted, it was still losing money.
However, with Zhang Caiyun present, people didn't speak too explicitly.
After all, they were family.
And their father-in-law was the village head.
"Caiyun, your children are starting school this year, right? Are you letting your daughter study?" Someone clever immediately changed the topic.
"How could I not let her study? Look at my sister-in-law, Xiao Cao. She graduated from university and is going to work in the city. I'm also letting my Junmei study," Zhang Caiyun said casually.
She didn't look at others; just looking at her own sister-in-law was enough to know that studying was much better than not studying.
"Xiao Cao will also be a city person in the future! With a job in the city, and then marrying a city husband, her life will be so good!"
This was said by the eldest daughter-in-law of the Chang family. Seeing other people's daughters have good jobs, she regretted why she had favored sons over daughters back then and didn't let her daughters study. Otherwise, perhaps they would be accomplished now!
"You regret it now because you didn't let your daughters study back then!"
"I truly regret it. I've told my daughters that they must support their children's education in the future, not like me!" The eldest daughter-in-law of the Chang family admitted her mistake sincerely.
"The two younger ones still have time. If you manage them well and let them study, even if they can't compare to the children from Xiao Tian's family, it'll be better than us."
"How dare we compare ourselves to the children from Xiao Tian's family? These siblings are all more capable than the last. I just hope my children can attend a very ordinary university in the future," the eldest daughter-in-law of the Chang family said with emotion.
In recent years, many university students had emerged from Nanling Village, so much so that the women in the village knew that universities were not all the same; there were different tiers.