After sending off Aunt Huang, Liu Guiying gradually received more eggs, but it still didn’t seem quite enough.
She thought she would see if anyone came to exchange more the next day.
If not, she would go back to her maternal family to get some more.
Eggs looked like a lot, but they were used up very quickly.
For the red eggs used to announce good news, each family had to give two. Two didn’t seem like much, but there were many families sending them.
They had to be given to neighbors, to her maternal family, and also to the children’s paternal uncle’s side.
As for Sun Xiumei’s in-laws’ side—just treat them as “dead.” Not a single one was needed.
On the day of the “ninth-day celebration,” eggs were also needed. Unlike later generations who held full-month or 100-day banquets, things were different now.
Perhaps it was a regional custom: in this area, on the ninth day after a boy was born, relatives would come bringing milk candies, known as “passing the ninth day.” For girls, it was held on the twelfth day. On that day, a pot of red-dyed eggs had to be boiled for everyone to eat, and return gifts also included eggs—nine for boys, twelve for girls.
These things should originally have been handled by the husband’s family, but now it had to be done by the maternal side instead.
Who told her that the in-laws were “all dead”?
Zhang Xin looked at the pile of eggs and remembered how, when Xiao Fang was born, his own mother had been grumbling while preparing them.
If it weren’t for the fact that he handed over his salary every month, he doubted his mother would have bothered preparing any of it.
“Xiao Xin, come here. I’ll tell you who we need to visit tomorrow to announce the good news.”
“Your maternal grandfather’s side—your aunts and uncles are all already married, you probably won’t find them all. Tomorrow let your eldest brother take a day off to go with you.”
Liu Guiying interrupted Zhang Xin’s thoughts and called him over.
After discussing everything, Liu Guiying arranged work for everyone.
Sun Xiuju and Sun Jiancheng were assigned to cut red paper into sizes suitable for wrapping eggs.
Ma Lijuan was responsible for wrapping the eggs in the cut red paper.
Zhang Xin was in charge of boiling the water to ensure the eggs were evenly colored.
Liu Guiying was responsible for taking out the dyed eggs, removing the red paper, and placing them in a basin to dry.
Xiao Fang and Xiao Bao were in charge of causing trouble.
In the house, Sun Xiumei and her daughter were responsible for resting.
The courtyard was peaceful and calm.
But soon, the silence was broken, and trouble arrived.
Urgent knocking came from outside the door, and a group claiming to be from the Zhu family shouted loudly.
Liu Guiying stopped Zhang Xin, who was about to open the door, because going out alone would not solve anything.
She instructed her eldest daughter-in-law to take care of the children, then called her son-in-law to go open the door with her.
Outside, Sun Jiandang stood like a helpless chicken, held tightly by the Zhu family.
With a creak of the door, Liu Guiying saw a long-lost “acquaintance.”
It was the in-laws of her fifth son, Sun Jiandang, in her previous life.
Perhaps it was the butterfly effect—this time, they had come earlier than before.
Sun Jiandang had only just turned eighteen this year. What a sin.
“Surname Sun! Look at the good son you raised! He did such a thing at such a young age. If you don’t give us an explanation, we’ll send him to jail!”
Before the words were even finished, the people outside saw Liu Guiying about to close the door and quickly blocked it with their hands.
“Why are you closing the door?”
“I’m not surnamed Sun. You’ve come to the wrong place.”
“Mom—!”
Seeing that his mother truly seemed to want to abandon him, Sun Jiandang panicked completely and cried out desperately.
He was still young—he couldn’t go to jail!
“He already called you ‘mom,’ and you still say you’re not surnamed Sun? Are you joking with me?”
“Is your brain as funny as yours?” Liu Guiying replied coldly.
“If he calls me mom, does that make my surname Sun? Do you share your surname with your own mother?”
Where did this idiot come from? She hadn’t seen him in her previous life.
“My mom’s surname is Liu,” Sun Jiandang weakly corrected from behind.
“Oh—why didn’t you say so earlier? Liu-surnamed, look at your good son…”
The foolish man repeated his line again. His grandmother had taught him carefully, and he had memorized it several times.
Second Zhu helplessly pushed the slow-witted nephew aside.
“We are from Zhu family in Laoguan Village. Sun Jiandang is your son, right? He seduced my daughter and caused her to do something foolish.”
“If you don’t give us an explanation today, we’ll send him to the police. A charge of hooliganism will be unavoidable.”
“Oh, can’t find the police station? I can send someone to guide you.”
“Conveniently, his uncle works there—tell him to handle it fairly.”
Liu Guiying leaned lazily against the doorframe, watching them calmly.
Second Zhu was confused. This reaction wasn’t what he expected. Shouldn’t they be crying and begging for mercy?
Instead of negotiating, she wasn’t taking the bait at all.
“We really will go. Don’t come crying later.”
They said it, but none of them actually moved.
“Go quickly then. If you keep dawdling, only the gatekeeper will be left at the station, and he can’t make decisions for you.”
Still, Liu Guiying didn’t move.
It was clearly a setup—a “honey trap.” But this Zhu family’s version was more advanced.
They wanted both money and a marriage.
Seeing that her husband was useless, Zhu Lao’er’s wife Lin Daya stepped forward and pushed him aside.
“You shameless family! You eat and then refuse to admit it—where in the world is there such a good thing?”
“Go ask around the village! My daughter is young and easy to deceive, but I, Lin Daya, am not easy to bully!”
“If you don’t give us an answer today, I’ll smash my head against your door! My daughter doesn’t want to live anymore anyway—on the road to the afterlife, we mother and daughter will go together!”
She pretended to smash her head against the wall.
Liu Guiying quickly pulled Zhang Xin beside her.
“Child, move aside. Don’t let her bump into you and then accuse you of ruining her innocence.”
Lin Daya’s face turned red with anger, but before she could continue her act—
“Go ahead and die. I don’t mind the bad luck. So many people are here anyway—you’ll even save us the trouble of burial.”
“And once you’re gone, your husband can just find someone else to give your daughter two younger brothers. How ‘happy’ that would be.”
“It’s just a pity—you probably won’t have anyone to accompany you on your way to the afterlife.”
Lin Daya froze, unable to respond.
Second Zhu finally stepped in.
“Enough. Stop wasting time. Name your conditions.”
“Five hundred yuan for my daughter. And since your son ruined her reputation, he must marry her.”
“We only have one daughter, we never planned to let her marry out. Your son must marry into our family. No need for fancy dowry items—just a bicycle will do.”
He spoke as if he were being very generous.
Liu Guiying sneered inwardly.
Five hundred more than last time. How ironic—she just got extorted for five hundred, and now someone else came to extort her for the same amount.
Really, they had a nose for money.
And still talking about dowry appliances—she almost laughed.