"Where did my grandfather and the others go, what are they up to?" Lian Manman asked in surprise.

"I heard they went to the Old Woo Family to collect land rent," Chunzhu’s Wife replied.

Lian Manman nodded. According to the rules of farmstead families, when tenant farmers know their landowners have returned and are in need of food, they should proactively visit and pay the land rent. But the Woo Family Brothers naturally didn’t do that. When Old Master Lian and the others returned, they didn’t even show their faces.

It’s likely that the grain given to them by her family was about to be finished, so Old Master Lian and the others finally thought of collecting the land rent. Besides, now that everyone was back, they couldn’t continue leasing the land next year and had to start farming it themselves.

Lian Manman thought that collecting land rent and reclaiming the land from the Woo Family Brothers wouldn’t be very smooth, but who could be blamed?

"Aunt, you look after this side, I’ll go in and take a look," Lian Manman said as she headed towards the office.

When she lifted the door curtain and entered, a wave of heat hit her face. Because several stoves outside were burning continuously, this room was particularly warm. As soon as Lian Manman entered, she saw Lady He and Lady Zhang sitting opposite each other on the kang.

Lady Zhang was wearing shoes and sitting on the edge of the kang, while Lady He had taken off her shoes, sitting cross-legged and comfortably in the middle of the kang.

"Oh, Manman, my dear niece, come over here let your second aunt have a look at you. You’ve grown more beautiful," Lady He exclaimed with an exaggerated smile upon seeing Lian Manman enter.

Lady Zhang glanced at Lian Manman with an unmistakable look of helplessness in her eyes.

"Second Aunt, how come you have time to come over?" Lian Manman replied indifferently.

"I missed you all, haven’t seen you in so many days," Lady He grinned, "Now that you’ve moved out, built such a big house, it’s just that the threshold is high, I can’t get in even if I wanted to. Today finally, I managed to catch your mother here."

Lian Manman couldn’t help but roll her eyes inwardly; Lady He still had a way with words that grates the nerves.

"Second Aunt, what kind of talk is that? It’s not that we dare not provoke you, it’s true; not just us, others are afraid to provoke you too. It’s only been a few days, and you’ve already forgotten about sending the brothers of Old Zheng Family in town to prison?" Lian Manman, knowing that Lady He had thick skin, decided not to be polite or subtle, as that would only lead to her own frustration, so she immediately brought up the matter of Lady He causing trouble for the Zheng Family.

This issue, even if Lady He didn’t come looking for them, they were thinking about when to bring it up themselves. After all, the Zheng Family Brothers helped them with matters, yet because of Lady He’s nonsense, they suffered several days of hardship in prison.

When Lian Manman mentioned the matter, even with Lady He’s thick skin, she was a bit tongue-tied.

"Well, it wasn’t intentional. I just happened to be there; later, if your second uncle hadn’t had an accident, I would’ve sure spoken up and gotten them released sooner," Lady He defended.

"Second Aunt, if your words were so effective, why didn’t you say something back then? Weren’t you the one who alerted the government officer and got them locked up? If you truly had good intentions, you wouldn’t have let them be arrested in the first place," Lian Manman said.

"Second Aunt, the Lu Family told me that at the time, people called you their aunt and mentioned it was a matter for our family. Even people from the same village you wouldn’t acknowledge, so you treated us the same. Second Aunt, place your hand on your heart, consider if what you did was right, whom did you let down?" Lady Zhang added.

"Well, I was just, just joking around. I didn’t recognize them. Who knew if what they said was true or false," Lady He’s gaze wavered slightly.

"Second Aunt, when we went to Taicang last time, they still came to pick us up, and at that time, they also greeted you, you responded and chatted with them, how come you didn’t recognize them in the blink of an eye?" Lian Manman asked.

"They said that even Sanlang and his wife came to plead with you, but you still gave them a cold face and had the officers arrest them," Lady Zhang said, "Enough, Second Aunt, didn’t you say you are an open-minded person, why don’t you dare to admit to what you did?"

Lady He was rendered speechless by the mother and daughter. Though her face retained an embarrassed smile, her large buttocks seemed nailed to the kang, not moving an inch.

She showed no intentions of leaving at all.

Lady He had many reasons for not wanting to leave. First, there wasn’t enough firewood at the old house to burn, and though winter hadn’t arrived yet, it was cold there both inside and on the kang, unlike here where it was warm and comfortable. Plus, there was hot water to drink here, which wasn’t available at the old house. Moreover, she loved to visit and chat with people, and with strict orders at home, she hardly managed to sneak out. She couldn’t visit others, so she had to come here. Coming here, even if found out, she could claim she came looking for work and use that as an excuse to avoid a harsh scolding. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Therefore, she remained sitting on the kang, despite what Lian Manman and Lady Zhang said, thick-skinned, reluctant to budge.

"Regarding that matter, I didn’t handle it well. I was momentarily blinded. Otherwise, when I see them I would certainly apologize," Lady He said with a grin, "Fourth Aunt, Manman girl, I’ve been through hard times and suffered."

Seeing Lady Zhang and Lian Manman ignoring her, Lady He knew how to shift the topic and started to complain.

"Second Aunt, you seem no different from before," Lian Manman glanced at Lady He. She was also surprised because looking at Lady Gu, Lady Chiang, and the others, after what they went through, they were all haggard, but Lady He, apart from still being sloppy, wasn’t haggard or aged at all.

Indeed, those without a care can’t be bothered by anything.

"How can there be no changes, I’m all skin and bones now," Lady He swayed her fat behind, lamenting, "Fourth Aunt, you know what I envy about you the most? I most envy you for these children of yours, they’ve all turned out well. Now look at mine, not one gives me peace of mind."

Saying this, Lady He’s eyes even reddened a little.

Lian Manman and Lady Zhang couldn’t help but be surprised. Could there actually be something that broke Lady He’s heart?!

*********

Posting a Chapter, asking for votes.

Not feeling well today, will try to post another Chapter later, but can’t guarantee, please understand. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)