Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu was awakened by Yang Dabai's sobbing. She quickly got up, put on her clothes, and hurried out of the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Yang Dabai was running around frantically, making low growls. At the corner of the wall outside the courtyard gate, four wolves were gnawing on the meat in the bamboo basket.

Tang Susu stepped forward, gently hugged the restless Yang Dabai, and whispered in its ear, "Dabai, how about letting your wolf mother stay with the Yang family?"

She had hidden nearly three hundred taels of silver. Although there was a wall for protection and Tang Liqiang guarding the courtyard with a steel knife, she was still worried that thieves would climb over the wall and steal it at night.

If there are adult wolves left in the yard, they can provide early warning and fight off enemies, and the owner can also get a good night's sleep.

Moreover, the Four Wolves had done a good job in capturing robbers in the village last time, so the people of Yangqu Village generally did not reject these wolves.

Yang Dabai seemed to understand, and immediately stopped growling, jumping and rubbing excitedly in her arms.

Tang Susu smiled and opened the door, letting it go out to reunite with the four wolves.

Upon seeing Yang Dabai, the four wolves immediately stopped eating and began licking and nuzzling him affectionately. Then, the wolves tilted their heads back and howled a few times, as if they were communicating in hushed tones.

After a moment, they stopped howling and finally decided to keep a small white male wolf cub—judging from its appearance, it was probably Yang Dabai's older brother, just over a year old, and very active—and did not keep the female wolf.

As soon as the little wolf entered the yard, it ran wildly around, startling the chickens, ducks, and geese, who flapped their wings and made noises, creating chaos.

Tang Susu stood aside, secretly calculating: for the safety of the family's property, she could only let the chickens, ducks and geese suffer a little fright for a few days.

As dawn broke and a light mist hung over the mountains, Yang Xiaobao rubbed his sleepy eyes and stepped out of the house.

He spotted the little male wolf running around in the yard at a glance. Instead of being afraid, his eyes lit up, and he boldly walked forward and gently stroked the little male wolf's head.

He smiled and named it, "From now on, we'll call you Yang Dagao. You're the older brother of Yang Dahuang and Huang Dabai, so you have to take good care of them!"

Then, Yang Xiaobao pulled on Yang Dagao's neck and whispered, "Yang Dagao, why don't you take Yang Dahuang and Huang Dabai to play in the backyard? Don't wander around in the yard and scare the chickens, ducks, and geese."

Yang Dagao nodded as if he understood, and led the other two wolves slowly toward the backyard.

After they left, the chickens, ducks, and geese that had been shivering and hiding in their nests dared to cautiously emerge and look around for food.

As dawn broke and the sky cleared completely, Tang Su's family's last batch of jelly noodles for the year was packed up and ready to be delivered to various merchants.

After this batch is delivered, the sale of liangfen (cold mung bean jelly) will be temporarily suspended until the spring of next year.

Tang Susu was carrying jelly noodles when she opened the courtyard gate and saw Zheng the rascal's wife, also known as Zheng's wife, standing in front of the gate with a girl.

The girl was nearly fifteen years old, with delicate features. She was Luo Cuiju, Zheng Po Niang's niece, and was of marriageable age.

With a face full of apologies, Granny Zheng quickly stepped forward and said in a warm tone, "Mrs. Su, it's been a long time. Although we have already compensated you for what happened a few days ago, I still feel bad about it."

As she spoke, she pulled over Luo Cuiju, who was standing next to her, and continued, "This is my niece, Cuiju. She is hardworking and capable. I brought her here specifically to have her help out at your house for a few days. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and don't hesitate to ask."

Luo Cuiju quickly stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said softly, "Mrs. Su, I can do laundry, cook, and weed the fields. Whatever you ask me to do, I will do. I will never be lazy."

She was strikingly beautiful, with a full moon face, big eyes, and two shallow dimples when she smiled. She was even more beautiful than Shen Cuihe.

Tang Susu remained calm, gently shook her head, and refused in a flat tone: "Thank you for your concern, Granny Zheng, but Yulan and I will handle our family affairs. There's no need to trouble Miss Cuiju. Please go back."

She subconsciously recalled that Dou Dou Niang had come to propose marriage yesterday, and today Zheng Po Niang had brought her niece. She had already made a judgment in her mind—presumably, Zheng Po Niang also wanted to marry Luo Cuiju to Yang Gousheng.

After all, the Yang family has now received a reward from Magistrate Lu and acquired a large amount of land, and their family fortune is gradually improving. It is normal for their son to be coveted by others.

Just then, Tang Chengyu came out of the main room, carrying several dirty clothes in his hand.

The moment Tang Susu saw Tang Chengyu, she realized that her judgment had been completely wrong.

The woman Zheng had her eye on was never Yang Gousheng, but Tang Chengyu.

Luo Cuiju's gaze instantly became fixed on Tang Chengyu, scrutinizing him intently. A shy blush gradually spread across her cheeks, and a bashful smile appeared on her lips.

Tang Chengyu was completely unaware of Luo Cuiju's thoughts. He walked straight to the water vat, put down the dirty clothes in his hand, and was about to fetch water to wash them.

Luo Cuiju, as if springs had been implanted in her feet, suddenly rushed over, snatched the clothes from his hands, and said urgently yet shyly, "Young Master Tang, this kind of rough work shouldn't be done by you personally. Let me help you!"

Upon seeing this, Tang Susu felt a pang of anxiety and became very worried.

She knew that if it got out that an unmarried girl was helping an adult man wash his clothes, it would only ruin Tang Chengyu's reputation and affect his future studies.

Immediately, she strode forward, her voice cold and stern, and sternly rebuked Luo Cuiju: "Miss Cuiju, do you know that men and women should not touch each other? An unmarried girl offering to wash clothes for a strange man—is this the family tradition of your Luo family?"

Luo Cuiju was startled by Tang Susu's reprimand. As if frozen in place, she stood there, the clothes in her hands falling to the ground with a "thud," her eyes filled with panic and helplessness.

Seeing this, Granny Zheng was immediately displeased. She stepped forward and stubbornly argued, "Madam Su, what you're saying is wrong! Cuiju is just a kind-hearted person who can't bear to see Tang Tongsheng doing rough work. She has no other intentions. Why are you interfering?"

Then she looked at Tang Chengyu, her tone slightly provocative: "Besides, Tang Tongsheng would probably be happy to have Cuiju's help, so you shouldn't meddle!"

"I wasn't willing," Tang Chengyu immediately retorted, his tone cold. "It was Miss Cuiju who disregarded everything and tried to snatch my clothes; I didn't ask her for help."

After saying that, he bent down to pick up the clothes on the ground, turned around and walked towards the kitchen, unwilling to linger any longer.

Seeing this, Granny Zheng turned ashen with anger. She stepped forward and reached out to pull Tang Susu, wanting to argue with her.

Just as her hand was about to touch Tang Susu's sleeve, three wolves suddenly rushed out from the backyard—two white and one yellow, led by Yang Dagao.

These were the same wolves who had helped the village catch the robbers, pinned her to the ground, and bit off the robbers' legs.

Granny Zheng was instantly gripped by fear. Her face turned deathly pale, and she screamed as she turned and ran out of the village.

Still in a daze, Luo Cuiju was terrified when she saw the wolf and hurriedly followed behind Granny Zheng, fleeing in a sorry state.

Tang Susu breathed a sigh of relief, mustered her courage, gently patted Yang Dagao's head, and whispered, "Dagao, if you see Granny Zheng and Luo Cuiju again, don't be polite. Just scare them away and don't let them come to the Yang family to cause trouble again."

After saying that, she bought some dried meat from the trading platform and handed it to Yang Dagao as a reward.

Yang Dagao took the jerky from his mouth and happily rubbed it against the back of her hand, as if to show his obedience.

Then, Tang Susu walked to Tang Chengyu's side, her tone gentle but with a hint of seriousness, and carefully instructed, "Yu'er, in the future, when you see unmarried girls in the village, try to avoid them. Don't give them a chance to approach you, lest you cause trouble and make things difficult to explain."

She was filled with worry that if these trivial family matters affected Tang Chengyu's chances of passing the imperial examination next year, it would be a loss.

What I fear even more is that the naive Tang Chengyu might be schemed against by those cunning women. If that happens, Old Lady Tang will surely come knocking on my door to hold her accountable.

Tang Chengyu stopped what she was doing, nodded, and replied softly, "I understand, elder sister."

On the other side, Granny Zheng ran wildly until she reached the entrance of Yangqu Village. Only after confirming that the wolf was no longer chasing her did she lean against a tree trunk, panting heavily, and finally feel a little relieved.

Then, she turned to Luo Cuiju beside her and scolded her with a pained expression, "You child, why didn't you take the initiative just now? You finally had a chance to show off in front of Tang Tongsheng, and you panicked after being scolded a few times!"

Luo Cuiju's face turned red to her ears. She lowered her head and whispered, "Aunt, I was initially reluctant to come to Yangqu Village to find a match, thinking you were going to take me to see the village head's family. I didn't expect it to be Tang Chengyu."

She raised her head, her eyes filled with shyness and joy: "Young Master Tang is a scholar who has passed the imperial examination. He is handsome and kind, just like the ideal husband I have in mind."

Upon hearing this, Granny Zheng's expression softened slightly. She leaned close to Luo Cuiju's ear and whispered a secret plan: "Don't worry, your aunt won't let you miss such a good opportunity. Next time, when Tang Susu isn't home, go to the Yang family again. First, flirt with Tang Tongsheng and cultivate your relationship. Once things are going well, then discuss marriage. By then, even if Tang Susu isn't happy, it won't matter!"

Luo Cuiju blushed, nodded gently, and whispered her agreement: "I'll listen to my aunt."

The two were whispering and plotting when they suddenly saw a familiar figure walking towards them—it was Shen Cuihe, the silly wife who had recently married into the family.

Shen Cuihe was wearing a new dress with a light blue background and pink chrysanthemum patterns. She had sewn it herself, and the patterns on it were something she had secretly learned, making it very unique and pleasing to the eye.

Granny Zheng's eyes lit up, and she immediately pulled Luo Cuiju along, quickly stepping forward with a fake smile on her face, praising repeatedly: "Cuihe, your new dress is so beautiful! The blue background with pink chrysanthemums is both pretty and stylish, and the stitching is so fine; you're truly skillful!"

Shen Cuihe felt a little embarrassed by the praise, lowered her head slightly, and said softly, "Thank you for the compliment."

Granny Zheng, acting as if they were old friends, grabbed Shen Cuihe's arm and said in a warm tone, "Cuihe, I was just looking for you! It's like this, my niece Cuiju is going to see someone important soon, and she doesn't have any decent clothes. She'd like to borrow your new dress for a couple of days. Once she's done wearing it, I'll wash it clean and return it to you. I won't let you miss out on wearing it!"

The smile on Shen Cuihe's face vanished instantly, and her expression became extremely troubled.

She and Granny Zheng had no prior relationship, not even close acquaintances. Moreover, this new dress was her hard work, and she had put a lot of effort into it. She was unwilling to lend it out from the bottom of her heart.

For a moment, she remained silent, her expression conflicted.

Seeing Shen Cuihe remain silent, Granny Zheng deliberately misinterpreted her meaning, pretending to assume she had tacitly agreed. She squinted and said, "Judging from your expression, you've agreed! That's wonderful, Cuihe. Go home, change your clothes, wash and dry them. I'll come to collect them tomorrow or the day after. Thank you so much!"

After saying that, before Shen Cuihe could refuse, she grabbed Luo Cuiju, turned around and left, not giving Shen Cuihe a chance to object.

After walking a distance, Granny Zheng lowered her voice and said to Luo Cuiju, "See? Isn't this perfect? ​​Two days later, you wear this new dress to see Tang Chengyu. With your looks and this beautiful new dress, Tang Chengyu will definitely be captivated by you. At that time, our marriage will be more than half done!"

Luo Cuiju nodded, her eyes full of expectation: "I'll listen to my aunt."

Shen Cuihe stood there, watching the departing figures of Zheng Poniang and her companion, trembling with anger, her eyes gradually reddening.

She never agreed to lend the clothes. It was obvious that Granny Zheng was taking advantage of her being a newcomer and weak-willed, and deliberately being unreasonable and forcing her to lend them the clothes. She was utterly shameless.

The thought of her beloved new clothes being forcibly borrowed by someone else filled her with anger and resentment. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back.