The family finished eating, and since they had delayed at noon, Xiao Qi didn’t even get to nap and had to go to school.

Wu Lang wanted to take Xiao Qi to school, but Lian Shouxin stopped him.

"I’ll go, I’ll take Xiao Qi to school." Lian Shouxin said, "Wu Lang, you rest at home for a bit, or maybe read a book. In the future, I’ll take Xiao Qi to school."

Saying that, Lian Shouxin cheerfully took Xiao Qi to school.

"Xiao Qi, that little clever one," Lian Manman laughed.

"He sure is good at sweet-talking," Lady Zhang laughed too.

Just as they finished tidying up the dining table, Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye arrived.

"Have you eaten yet? If not, eat something here." Lady Zhang said.

"Aunt Four, don’t worry about it. I just ate with mom at the shop." Lian Yeye replied.

"Yeye, do you... have any plans?" Lian Manman asked.

"Yes, mom and I want to move out." Lian Yeye replied.

"They have all returned in a big group, and as soon as I enter that courtyard, I feel like I can’t even catch my breath." Lady Zhao nodded, "I’ve gotten used to peace these days. As soon as there’s noise, my heart starts jumping erratically."

"How come things escalated so quickly again?" Lian Manman asked in surprise.

"Even noisier than before," Lian Yeye nodded, "Grandma is making Aunt work but not letting her eat, and within a short time, she scolded Aunt twice."

Lian Manman recalled the self-talking comments Lady Zhou made when she was here.

Lady Zhou realized there was no hope in saving Lian Xiuxiu, so she channeled all her hatred towards Lady Gu. Clearly, she had decided to stay inseparable from Lady Gu, tormenting her fiercely.

"What exactly does she scold your Aunt about?" Lady Zhang asked.

"Just the usual stuff, accusing Aunt of being bad, saying she harmed Auntie." Lian Yeye replied.

"What did Aunt say?" Lian Manman asked.

"Aunt just cried, said nothing, and Grandma spat on her face." Lian Yeye responded.

"Did anyone else say anything?" Lian Manman asked again.

"No one spoke," Lian Yeye said.

"Uncle, Jizu, Cousin-in-law, Lian Duoduo, no one reacted?" Lian Manman pressed.

"No." Lian Yeye shook his head.

"Still the same as before." Lian Manman remarked.

"Yeah, and Grandma won’t let Aunt live in the house, she told her to stay in the pigsty," Lian Yeye added.

Everyone was speechless.

After a while, Lian Shouxin returned from taking Xiao Qi to school, accompanied by Lian Shouli.

"Dad, say something clear, do you agree to move or not?" Lian Yeye asked urgently.

Lian Shouli hesitated, neither saying they would move nor they wouldn’t.

Lian Manman noticed something amiss; she remembered last time, Lian Shouli clearly said no to moving.

"Dad, if we move, we won’t have a peaceful day after that," Lian Yeye said, "Look at today’s situation; Mom is frightened beyond measure. Those vegetables we planted are probably wasted. And the chickens, ducks, and pigs, if we don’t move, in a few days, they won’t be ours anymore."

"Si Lang just stole two eggs from us."

"Old Fourth, what do you think... should we move?" Lian Shouli asked Lian Shouxin.

Lian Shouxin glanced at Lian Shouli.

"Third Brother, you have to decide this on your own." Lian Shouxin replied.

"Dad, why are you asking Fourth Uncle about this? It’s just a simple decision about moving. Considering everything, we should definitely move." Lian Yeye stomped.

"If we move now, where can we go?" Lian Shouli asked.

He’s finally speaking, Lian Manman thought.

"I’ve already said this before. If you want to build a house and don’t have enough money, take it from me. Or we can make do with the old shop over there." Lian Shouxin said.

"Dad, Sister Manman helped me calculate everything. With the money we have, plus the money from selling pigs at the end of the year, our wages for the three of us, and your woodworking money, it’s enough to build three rooms." Lian Yeye said eagerly.

"That still doesn’t seem enough." Lian Shouli thought for a while and said, "I have a plan for building the house."

Hearing Lian Shouli say this, the room fell silent; everyone wanted to hear what Lian Shouli’s plan was.

"I’m still working on the mountain now; I’m planning for next year when the mountain project is done, I’ll have time, and we’ll have saved enough money for the house. Then, I’ll build the house." Lian Shouli said.

With that statement, Lian Shouxin and the others couldn’t say much. They could lend the money to Lian Shouli upfront, but it was Lian Shouli’s house; he needed to oversee its construction himself. After all, building a house is a lifetime undertaking for tenant farmers. This, they couldn’t do on behalf of Lian Shouli.

"Dad, then, should we move over here temporarily?" Lian Yeye discussed with Lian Shouli.

Lian Shouli looked at Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye.

That evening, the Yeye Household’s chickens and ducks were moved to the back yard of Lian’s Shop. As for the three pigs, they remained at Lian Family Old Mansion. Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye wanted to move to the old shop to live, but Lian Shouli refused to come. Lady Zhao felt like it wasn’t right for just her and Lian Yeye to move alone, so the relocation plan was shelved. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lian Manman was helpless; she couldn’t treat Lian Shouli the same way she treated Lian Shouxin.

"At least there’s an end in sight," Lian Manman had to comfort Lian Yeye like this, "You won’t be eating together now, just come over here each morning, go back at night, and after the new year, when the house is built, things will be better."

"That’s all we can do." Lian Yeye said.

The return of the Lian Family Main House members was like a huge stone thrown into a calm pond; over the next few days, there wasn’t another topic for gossip in the village.

"Life goes on as it should, we can’t let them affect us," Lian Manman said at breakfast.

"Right, my Pickled Vegetable Workshop opens today." Lady Zhang said.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

Here’s a bonus Chapter, asking for pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation votes or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)