Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The curtain in the west room moved slightly.

The noisy laughter in the courtyard seemed to be gently pinched, paused for a moment, and then all eyes turned to that direction.

Zhao Xiaoyu came out.

She wore a new padded jacket today, her hair was combed, a red ribbon was tied around her ear, and her face was clean.

Her face was already delicate, and with this makeup, it looked even whiter, but a little too white, as if it would shatter at the slightest breeze.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Wang Magan was the first to come to his senses. He smacked his lips, his eyes sweeping over Zhao Xiaoyu's face and body, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Tsk, I wasn't wrong."

"This girl usually looks drab and timid, like a wilted cabbage after being frostbitten, but she looks completely different today."

As he spoke, he nudged the short, fat man next to him with his elbow:

"Look at that face, that figure, I'd sell everything I own to bring that fair-skinned girl back to have my way with her."

The short, fat man chuckled, his face full of slyness: "Who says otherwise? Those who have been educated are indeed different. Look at this woman standing here; she's nothing like those village women who spend all their time in the kitchen. If you marry her, just hearing how refined she is when she speaks will make your heart itch for half the night."

The dark-skinned, thin man was even less polite, his eyes practically glued to Zhao Xiaoyu. He grinned and said, "She's really not bad looking. I used to think they were just bragging, saying she was fair-skinned and delicate. But seeing her today, hey, she really does have a captivating charm. No wonder Brother Lai couldn't sleep the other day because of her. If I were her—"

Wang Magan laughed and continued, "I knew it, Brother Lai, you've finally made it. We used to laugh at you, saying you'd probably stay single forever. But you kept quiet and ended up with a college student like this. It's a real status symbol to take you out drinking."

The group of people chatted away, each adding their own comment, and the conversation became increasingly lively.

The big red flower on Zhao Laizi's chest seemed to tremble twice, and he couldn't suppress his smugness.

He waved his hand, grinning with a mouthful of yellow teeth, and cursed, "Is that even a question? Do you think my judgment is bad?"

"It wasn't that I couldn't find them before, it's that I simply didn't like them!"

When I, Zhao Laizi, am looking for someone, I'll find the most respectable one!

As he said this, his eyes swept over Zhao Xiaoyu, his mouth widened into a grin, and his voice rose a few decibels: "You guys, you're just standing there watching with envy, aren't you?"

"Envy is useless."

"This is my fate, Zhao Laizi's fate!"

As soon as he said that, he couldn't sit still anymore. He dusted off his clothes, raised his hand to straighten the red flower on his chest, and his feet moved so fast that he almost ran towards Zhao Xiaoyu.

Upon approaching, he stopped and gave the man a thorough once-over.

His eyes were brimming with smugness, as if he were looking at something that had finally come into his possession and that no one could take away from him.

Two seconds later, as if remembering that he was the "groom" today, he quickly suppressed the gluttonous look on his face, coughed, and forced himself to put on a respectable appearance.

"Xiaoyu".

"The way you tidied up today is really different from usual."

"I told you before, you have a good foundation. It's just that all those messy things happened recently, and your complexion wasn't great. Now that you've taken care of yourself, you look much better."

As he spoke, he took another half step forward, deliberately softening his voice, as if afraid others wouldn't hear that he was "caring":

"Don't worry, today is a big day for us, I know what I'm doing."

"Let's put aside all the unpleasantness from before today. From now on, once you're in my family, you'll have plenty of food, clothes, and other necessities, as long as I have them."

"I don't care what kind of life you lived at Old Zhao's house before. But from today onwards, since you've agreed to come out and are willing to give me this face, I won't treat you unfairly."

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and quickly reached into his pocket to touch it.

After rummaging around for a while, he finally pulled out a small package wrapped in red paper. He deliberately unfolded it in front of everyone in the courtyard. Inside were a few pieces of fruit candy and a thin red envelope.

"Here, take this."

"Today we're celebrating and hoping for something sweet."

"I'm not the kind of person who leads people through the door empty-handed. I know what I'm doing with you, and I won't let you come to me for nothing."

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Zhao Xiaoyu's face. Clearly, he was more concerned with whether Zhao Xiaoyu would accept the candy and the red envelope than with the candy and the red envelope itself.

The commotion in the courtyard subsided somewhat.

Wang Magan and the others craned their necks to look this way, Li Cuihua's smile faded, and even Zhao Shanlin stared intently at them.

Zhao Xiaoyu stood there with her head down, not moving.

A gust of wind swept in from the doorway, gently lifting two stray strands of hair by her ears.

Her face remained expressionless, as quiet as if the commotion outside had nothing to do with her.

Zhao Laizi's nerves tightened again.

Just as his smile froze, wondering if this brat was going to embarrass him in public again, Zhao Xiaoyu finally raised her eyes.

She glanced at the package in his hand, then at his forcedly composed face, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

The smile was faint.

It was so faint, like it would dissipate with a gust of wind. But that little bit of laughter, in Zhao Laizi's eyes, was more valuable than anything else.

"it is good."

She reached out and took the package.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the courtyard breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Laizi felt a surge of warmth in his chest, and he almost floated away.

Received.

She actually accepted it.

This is not something a person who throws a tantrum would do; she's truly committed to it.

Zhao Laizi couldn't stop smiling, and his voice became much louder than before:

"That's right!"

"People always have to look forward."

"Now that you've figured it out, let's focus on living our lives well from now on. That's more important than anything else."

When Li Cuihua saw that Zhao Xiaoyu had actually accepted the gifts, she beamed with joy and hurriedly stepped forward, her face radiant with happiness.

"I told you long ago, Xiaoyu was just being stubborn for a moment. When the day comes, she'll understand everything."

"What does a woman want in this life? Isn't it to marry a man who is caring and capable? Lai Zi, your aunt sees all that."

Zhao Shanlin leaned against the door, gave a sinister laugh, and continued the conversation:

"That's more like it."

"After all that commotion, I thought she'd really gotten too big for her britches and nobody could control her anymore. But now it seems that's not the case at all."

As he said this, he looked up at Zhao Xiaoyu and scolded her:

"Xiaoyu, now that you've stepped forward today, put away all those messy thoughts you had before."

"Once you're in the family, you need to be observant and quick-witted. Don't put on airs with your educated airs. Brother Lai married you so you could cook, serve, and take care of people, not so you could be treated like royalty."

After saying that, he turned to look at Zhao Laizi, and for once managed a decent smile:

"Brother Lai, I'm entrusting my sister to you. If she does anything wrong, just say what you need to say and discipline her as necessary. Don't worry about saving face for me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Laizi felt even more proud and immediately patted his chest, striking a pose as if he were the pillar of the family:

"Third brother, what you said hit the nail on the head. Now that Xiaoyu is in my family, I naturally treat her like my own. You've entrusted her to me, so I'll say this now: from now on, I will never back down from any position I can support."

Hearing this, Li Cuihua's eyes welled up with tears. She quickly moved forward, straightened Zhao Xiaoyu's collar, and her face was full of wrinkles from smiling.

"Xiaoyu, what have I wanted in this life? It's just that you all have a good place to go. From now on, you and Laizi should live a good life together, peacefully and quietly. Don't cause any more trouble or act stubbornly. As long as you live a smooth life, I'll be at ease."

Zhao Xiaoyu kept her head down, clutching the bag of candy and the red envelope in her hand.

Hearing this, she chuckled softly again. The smile was still faint, as faint as if it would dissipate in a breeze.

"Mom, don't worry."

"I've thought it all through."

Li Cuihua felt completely relieved and said repeatedly:

"It's good that you understand, it's good that you understand!"

Someone outside shouted loudly:

"Stop talking! The auspicious time has arrived. First, offer a prayer, then step over the fire basin!"

The courtyard erupted in laughter and chatter once again.

Zhao Laizi's face was flushed, the red flower on his chest trembling with his breathing. He reached out to grab Zhao Xiaoyu's arm.

"Let's go, let's take the gifts first."