In the Lin Family of Ya Village.
Within Lin Changfeng’s room, the visibly pregnant Yang Lin was busy packing Changfeng’s belongings for his journey.
In the blink of an eye, it had become time for her son to attend the autumn imperial examination in Yejun. During this period, she had been restless, always feeling that something was going to happen, without knowing exactly what.
"Mother, stop packing, there’s still plenty of time,"
Lin Changfeng had just come in from outside and quickly transferred everything from her hands to his upon seeing his mother, with her swollen belly, still busy packing for him.
"I’m idle anyway and, in two days, it will be time for the autumn imperial examinations. These things need to be prepared," Yang Lin said as she turned to face her son, unconcerned.
"I can handle these tasks on my own. Why do you still treat me as if I’m the same age as Qing’er?" Lin Changfeng complained with annoyance.
His mother just worried too much—packing these few belongings was but an easy task for him to handle, wasn’t it?
Moreover, he was just going to Yejun, not traveling to Jianan City to take the exams. What was the need for so many things? As long as he got enough to eat and didn’t starve, that would be sufficient.
"You may be able to pack these things, but there’s also the matter of money. Your father has saved some money from his carpentry work these days. And Sangsang... she has it tough too. We should try to use our own resources as much as possible,"
"Mother, what’s wrong with you again?"
Lin Changfeng could detect an underlying message in Yang Lin’s words, and, with a serious expression, he asked.
"Has the village started spreading rumors again?"
He knew all too well—every village seemed to have a few such people, those who couldn’t stand to see another family prospering. If another family seemed even slightly better off, they would maliciously slander them to no end.
But why should they pay any attention to such people?
"Ah, these villagers nowadays, I don’t know what’s gotten into them. Their conscience might as well have been eaten by dogs!" When Yang Lin heard her son asking this, she sighed deeply and said.
Sangsang, a young girl, had generously shared her family’s water during the harsh drought for everyone’s use, yet she was being slandered so disgracefully. Yang Lin genuinely felt indignant for her niece.
But what use was there in her indignation?
"What are they saying now?"
Lin Changfeng’s face also began to darken—he could say not to care, but Sangsang was his cousin, and he couldn’t simply let her be wronged.
"What else could they say? They gossip about the Zhou family coming to propose marriage. They say Sangsang doesn’t know what’s good for her. In the past, she was the one chasing Zhou Liang, who didn’t even spare her a glance. Now that they’ve come proposing again, her face is saved, and she’s playing hard to get..."
Yang Lin felt so incensed by those words that it gave her a headache—how could people be so ungrateful?
"Mother, you’re upset over this?" Lin Changfeng laughed when he heard his mother’s words.
Seeing her son’s reaction, Yang Lin couldn’t help but glare at him.
"Mother, these words aren’t even worth thinking about. It’s definitely Zhou Liang’s mother who can’t stand that they can’t take advantage of us anymore. That’s why she’s spreading this nonsense. If you actually get upset over these words, you’d really be playing into the Zhou family’s hands,"
"I know it’s the doing of the Zhou family, but it’s infuriating," Yang Lin wasn’t foolish—how could she not know that those spreading the rumors had been chummy with the Zhou family?
"It’s not just the Zhou family that makes me angry—it’s the people of Ya Village. They’re so ungrateful. They take Sangsang’s kindness for granted, thinking we should spend our hard-earned money on their expenses."