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

Chapter 60 Shen Yi Saves People

Su Yu touched the fabric, her smile radiating maternal warmth. "You've gone to so much trouble, Auntie. This piece of fabric is large enough; I can make an undergarment for Xiaotai tomorrow."

"No need, no need. Xiaotai will be getting married after the autumn harvest. I've already prepared her dowry, and there's plenty of fabric! This is for you, just keep it safe," Han said happily.

Just then, Su Yan returned from outside carrying a wicker basket. When she saw Su Tai, her eyes lit up, and she ran up to her, saying, "I found some small puffs in the mountains. Try them."

The so-called "small berries" are a type of wild fruit commonly eaten by villagers. In this time and space, the only common fruits are peaches, pears, apricots, and plums; other fruits are either niche or still classified as wild fruits.

The only fruit in their area is apricots. The most abundant fruit in the mountains is wild apricots. The other fruits are all wild fruits. The small apricots are sweeter than wild apricots and are very juicy, but they have many seeds and not much flesh. At most, you can only taste the sweetness in your mouth.

But for villagers who were struggling to find food, it was a decent snack.

Su Tai took one and popped it into her mouth to savor it.

Han exclaimed, "During those years of severe drought, I almost forgot about these wild fruits. I'll go into the mountains and get some tomorrow."

"That's right! I didn't expect it either. It's because Xiaoyu has a poor appetite since she got pregnant that Yan'er thought of finding her something to eat. And let me tell you, Xiaoyu can eat a whole handful of these sweet and sour snacks every day." Huang looked at her daughter with affection, her words full of satisfaction.

Han couldn't help but praise Su Yan again.

After Su Yan and Su Tai entered the room to talk, Madam Han lowered her voice and asked, "What are your plans for Yan'er's marriage?"

Huang glanced at the room out of the corner of her eye, pulled Han a few steps away, and said, "She finally came to her senses, I dare not touch her sore spot at this time. Fortunately, she is not too old, let's wait until after the New Year to talk about it."

Han sighed, feeling sorry for Su Yan, and then gave Sang Rong a severe scolding, which also included the town's wealthy man, Master Ma.

Back home, Han was still somewhat unhappy and grumbled about Su Yan to Su Chunlin.

Su Chunlin raised an eyebrow, leaned closer to Han Shi, and chuckled, "I have something to make you happy."

"What's wrong?" Han asked, putting down her work instinctively.

Su Chunlin said, "Something happened to the Ma family. I heard that Ma Yuanwai's eldest son was attacked and fell into the water, and almost died. Now the Ma family is in chaos. Ma Yuanwai keeps pestering Liu Zhenguan, insisting that he catch the murderer."

Han was shocked. "It's really unlucky for Town Magistrate Liu to have such a father-in-law! We can't just ignore it!"

“That’s right!” Su Chunlin shook his head and sighed. “But I heard that Master Ma’s eldest son is a good person. He was born to his first wife and is the same mother as the town magistrate’s wife. This time, Town Magistrate Liu insists on a thorough investigation.”

Han blinked hard, and it took her a while to realize what was happening. "No! What's there to be happy about! I hate the Sang family. Sang Yong's sister is Master Ma's second wife. Master Ma's eldest son got into trouble, and Sang is probably very pleased with herself! It's possible that her stepson's troubles are related to her!"

Su Chunlin was startled and quickly told Han to shut up, "Don't talk nonsense about things that aren't true. Be careful that they get overheard and spread, or things will get out of hand!"

Han rolled her eyes in annoyance and stubbornly said, "I just feel that this matter is inseparable from the Sang family. There's not a single good person in that family!"

Su Chunlin broke out in a cold sweat and quickly changed the subject.

Two days passed.

Shen Yi brought a large deer leg to the door.

The entire Su family came to watch the spectacle.

Su Chunlin beamed from ear to ear, eager to tell everyone about his son-in-law's filial piety. Su Tai asked, "Did you go hunting in the mountains?"

Shen Yi smiled and shook his head, "It wasn't in the mountains, it was by the river. We happened to come across a herd of deer drinking water, and it took quite a bit of effort to catch a male deer and sell it for some money."

Su Tai gave him a thumbs up, "Brother Shen, you're really making me look at you in a new light!"

Han clicked his tongue and said, "The price for wild game in town isn't high, but the blood and penis of a male stag should fetch a good price."

Shen Yi nodded. "Governor Liu bought the whole deer and gave me four taels of silver. I had to plead and beg to get two deer legs."

"Wow! That's quite a lot!" Han exclaimed, then asked gossipily, "Have you heard about the Ma family in town? I heard that the eldest son of the Ma family almost died, and the Ma family tycoon has been pestering Magistrate Liu to catch the murderer."

Shen Yi chuckled, somewhat helplessly, "Auntie, I'm the one who rescued Ma Xingteng from the water. What do you want to ask?"

"What?" The Su family members all looked at Shen Yi in shock, no longer even caring about the deer leg.

Su Ming even brought over a small stool for Shen Yi to sit on.

The whole family surrounded Shen Yi, staring at him expectantly, just like they were listening to a storyteller.

Shen Yi was both amused and exasperated, but he still went along with their wishes and explained the situation.

"That day I caught that male deer by the river. It took a lot of effort to get the deer onto the boat. Just as I rowed out of the river, I saw a person floating on the water. He was lucky; he was face up."

When I pulled him out of the water, he wasn't quite dead yet, but he was close to it. I thought I'd try anything, so I squeezed the water out of his stomach, and to my surprise, he actually recovered.

I didn't dare to delay at the time, since it was on the river and going to Dahe Town was much faster than going to Moshi Town, so I took the person to the Dahe Town clinic.

The doctor said that the timely treatment saved Ma Xingteng's life, but his broken leg could not be restored to normal, and he became a cripple.

After he woke up, he introduced himself and asked me to take him home. I had no choice but to take him home first, change to a donkey cart, and bring the deer along. But strangely, when he arrived in Moshi Town, he did not go back to the Ma family, but asked me to take him to Liu Town Official's place.

Town official Liu was grateful to me and booked the deer for me, saying he would come to thank me in person later. I didn't think much of it, and I don't know what happened after that.

Han, still not satisfied, pinched Su Chunlin hard, her expression excited, "What did I tell you! This matter must be related to Ma Xingteng's stepmother! Otherwise, why didn't he go home but ran to his brother-in-law's house?"

Su Chunlin winced in pain, "Honey, just talk to me, don't lay a hand on me!"

Shen Yi pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know the specifics, but those are other people's business and have nothing to do with us."

"Exactly! Don't go looking for trouble." Su Chunlin echoed, rubbing his arm.

Han raised her chin arrogantly, dragged her deer leg three steps away, then suddenly turned back and instructed, "Shen Yi, stay home for dinner today, and we can discuss the marriage."

When marriage was mentioned, everyone immediately forgot about the Ma family's messy affairs.

Just three days later, news spread from Sangjia Village that Sang Rong was engaged to Ma Yuqing, the youngest daughter of the wealthy Ma family, and the wedding date was set after the autumn harvest.

Su Yan was heartbroken and went to Su Tai's house to cry and complain, "I have already let go and I understand that the Sang family is not a good place for me, but I still want to know Sang Rong's attitude. Everyone says that Sang Rong and his cousin Ma Yuqing are a match made in heaven. If that's the case, why did he come to provoke me? The Sang family has better options, so why did he come to my house to ask for my hand in marriage?"

Su Tai had a sudden inspiration and remembered the angry words Han had said. Startled, she ran into Shen Yi at the market and told him her guess.