After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 19 Promise
She was so confident, she almost swore an oath to the heavens.

Shen Yi breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes softening. "Don't worry, I'm not like Xiong Kai. I swear I will never let Su Tai down in my entire life."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Suddenly, two dry coughs came from outside.

Su Tai got up and walked out, feeling embarrassed. "I'm going home now."

Shen Yi quickly caught up, saying, "I'll walk you for a bit."

This escort almost took the Su family of three to their doorstep. If Su Chunlin hadn't talked him out of his wits, Shen Yi probably would have gone into the village with them.

When Han saw that the three of them had brought back so many things, her eyes lit up. "Where did you get all this?"

Su Chunlin handed all the wicker baskets to Han Shi, then sat down on the stone bench, panting, and drank a large bowl of water before slowly saying, "Shen Yi helped us get those wild vegetables, and the rest were betrothal gifts from the Shen family to Xiao Tai."

Han paused, staring wide-eyed at Su Chunlin, "You've arranged Xiaotai's marriage?"

Su Chunlin nodded contentedly, "My second uncle and aunt proposed to me, isn't this perfect? ​​Both of my children have been rejected, so neither of them has to look down on the other. The children are happy about it too, and I can also repay the life-saving grace from back then. If word gets out, who won't say that I, Su Chunlin, am righteous?"

Han didn't have time to argue with him; she quickly rummaged through the things.

The two wicker baskets were full, both covered with thatch. One of them was lifted, and on top was a bundle containing a piece of plain linen, a copper hairpin, and a tael of silver.

Upon seeing the silver, Madam Han completely lost her composure. "The Shen family has given way too much!"

If it were a good year, it would be fine, but now it's a year of famine where people can't even get enough to eat. To put it bluntly, there are refugees everywhere outside. You could trade a bag of grain for a wife. The fact that the Shen family is willing to give a tael of silver as a betrothal gift shows how much they value Su Tai.

Su Chunlin was surprised to find there was still silver. He immediately stepped forward and said seriously, "Shen Yi's second uncle and aunt aren't well-off. I don't know if this small amount of silver was given to them by his second uncle and aunt or if Shen Yi saved it up himself?"

Madam Han paused for a moment and said, "No matter who prepared it, it's because they were willing to give it. Our family doesn't have much wealth anyway, so let Xiaotai take this small amount of silver with her when she gets married. When the Shen family asks about it, Xiaotai will be able to speak with her head held high."

Su Chunlin nodded repeatedly.

The two put the bundle inside the house before continuing to search through the wicker basket. Underneath the bundle were wild vegetables, and under the vegetables were two dried fish, estimated to weigh a little over a pound each.

Su Chunlin laughed loudly, "Not bad, not bad! I knew the Shen family valued our Xiaotai, unlike the Xiong family who were so short-sighted!"

Salted fish is also meat, and wild vegetables are treasures these days, not to mention salted fish. If we eat these two fish slowly, we can eat them until the New Year!
Han smiled and agreed.

The other wicker basket also contained wild vegetables on top, and below that were two recently dead rabbits, which were quite heavy.

If salted fish surprised the couple, then rabbit meat drove them wild. These two people, who hadn't touched meat in three years, were practically green with envy.

Han swallowed hard, then turned to look at Su Chunlin, "What should we do with the child's father?"

Su Chunlin forced himself not to look and gritted his teeth, saying, "Make it into jerky."

"How about we cut off some meat and make soup?"

“That works too,” Su Chunlin replied without the slightest hesitation.

The couple exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Su Zhan and Su Ming were overjoyed to learn that they would be having rabbit soup that evening. Su Tai had just emerged from the Earth Dimension when she was told about this. Because there wasn't enough water at home to prepare the rabbit, Su Chunlin had just returned from fetching water from the village and was about to start cutting it.

Su Tai rushed over and pleaded, "Father, could you skin the rabbit for me?"

Su Chunlin frowned. "What do you need this for? Our family doesn't make tanning products."

Su Tai persisted.

Since the rabbits were a betrothal gift for Su Tai, Su Chunlin ultimately granted her wish and skinned the two rabbits for her.

Su Tai happily returned to her room after receiving the pelt and immediately sold it to the automated trading cabinet.

The wounds on both rabbits were on their heads, and their fur was intact. Although they hadn't been tanned, their intactness was a plus. The automatic trading counter offered 50 coins per pelt, and the two rabbit pelts sold for 100 coins. On this trip, she earned 150 coins by selling insects, wild vegetables, and rabbit pelts. She also planted wild onions and wild leeks on the remaining half acre of land in the Earth Time Space.

Villagers passing by saw Su Chunlin cleaning wild rabbits and all inquired about it with envy.

Su Chunlin took the opportunity to tell everyone about Su Tai and Shen Yi's engagement.

The next day, when Han went to help at the well, a group of village women immediately surrounded her and asked her about it.

"Xiaotai's mother, why didn't you tell us beforehand that Xiaotai was engaged?"

"That's right! I was originally planning to wait until after the autumn harvest to propose marriage to you, but it just so happens that my nephew's wife died in childbirth, so he needs to remarry!"

The speaker was Sun, a widow from the village.

When Madam Han heard that Madam Sun wanted to marry Su Tai off to a widower, she immediately turned sour. "My little Tai is a virgin, and she's beautiful. She'll definitely marry someone who's never been married before! I don't even want your nephew!"

Madam Sun was displeased. "What's wrong with my nephew? He's hardworking and reliable, a master at farming! If my nephew's wife hadn't passed away, this marriage wouldn't have been possible for your Su Tai! After all, he used to be a fool, and he was even jilted!"

"What did you say? Say it again!" Han was so angry that she clenched her fists and was ready to fight Sun.

Sun was all bark and no bite. Seeing Han make a move, she immediately hid behind the others and shouted, "I didn't say anything wrong. Don't think I'm afraid of you just because I'm a widow!"

"Alright! I'd like to see just how good you are."

Han rushed over without regard for anything else and started wrestling with Sun, their screams carrying far.

Huang rushed over, shouting angrily, "What are you standing there for! Hurry up and separate them!"

The commotion was so great that even people from Ximen Village who came to buy water gathered around to watch the excitement.

Sun's face was bruised and battered, and her eyes were filled with tears from the pain. She loudly accused, "You all come and judge! I kindly offered to be a matchmaker for her stupid daughter, but she said she didn't like my nephew. What's wrong with me standing up for my nephew and saying a few words to her daughter? Besides, Su Tai was stupid before, and she was even jilted. Did I lie?"

Huang's face darkened. "Sun, you know perfectly well that Xiaotai's mother can't stand these kinds of things, yet you insist on poking at her sore spot. Are you asking for a beating?"

After speaking of Madam Sun, Madam Huang looked at Madam Han and said, "You too, can't you talk things out properly? She's trying to arrange a marriage for Xiaotai, if you really don't want to refuse, then just do it."

Madam Han glared angrily, "I clearly told her that my Xiaotai is engaged, but she still insisted on mentioning her widower nephew. Isn't that just deliberately trying to disgust people? Shen Yi can give our Xiaotai a dowry of one tael of silver, a good piece of fabric, and fish and rabbit meat. What do you think your widower nephew can offer as a dowry?"

(End of this chapter)