Lu Ye felt quite pleased hearing Su Qianqian call him “husband” over and over again.
He found the word “husband” particularly sweet when it came from Su Qianqian’s lips.
But now, seeing his young bride nestled in Liu Shen’s arms crying, he felt somewhat uneasy.
Was he being underestimated by his own young bride? So, had she been worried all along that he couldn’t support her?
He wanted to pull her back into his arms, comfort her, and tell her that he could definitely provide for her, so she needn’t worry about such things.
Just as he was about to act, he keenly noticed his young bride stealing a moment to secretly wink at him.
Lu Ye, who had been feeling heartbroken just moments before…
So, was his young bride actually putting on an act?
Looking at the figure still curled up in Liu Shen’s arms, weeping pitifully, Lu Ye felt as though he needed to get to know his young bride all over again.
Meanwhile, Liu Shen, holding Su Qianqian, was genuinely heartbroken. Su Qianqian had a sweet and innocent appearance, and her tearful, aggrieved look was especially pitiful, making it seem as though the whole world owed her something.
Seeing her husband just puffing away on his dry tobacco without saying a word for a long time, Liu Shen couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Husband, say something! The couple from the Su family’s eldest branch are truly despicable. Aren’t they just bullying Qianqian to death?
Putting everything else aside, they must give Qianqian the bridal gifts she deserves. Otherwise, if everyone starts acting like them, what will become of Daoxiang Village’s reputation?”
Hearing this, the Village Chief finally removed the dry tobacco from his mouth. He sighed and expressed his dilemma.
“That’s the principle, but Su Qianqian is already married now. If this had happened before the wedding, it would have been easier to handle. But now that she’s no longer part of the Su family, how can I intervene?
Besides, it’s planting season right now. The fields have mostly been sown with seeds. For Su Qianqian to reclaim the land now is especially difficult!”
“This…”
Liu Shen also found this troubling. The land had been planted before Su Qianqian’s marriage, so there was no fault to find with the Su family’s eldest branch.
And now that Su Qianqian was married—what was done was done—it was indeed difficult to demand the bridal gifts.
If things escalated, as long as the Su family’s eldest branch was willing to throw away their pride, there would be little anyone could do to them.
Thinking this, Liu Shen looked at Su Qianqian with concern, unsure how to comfort her.
Seeing this, Su Qianqian realized that reclaiming the land might be difficult. But she couldn’t bear to let the couple from the Su family’s eldest branch get away with it so easily.
After a moment’s thought, she gritted her teeth, gently tugged Liu Shen’s sleeve, and whispered:
“Aunt Liu, I understand what Village Chief Uncle means. I didn’t think this through properly when I came here.
But I really can’t accept this. Since I can’t get the land back, I won’t let them have it either.”
“Qianqian, what do you mean by that?”
Not only Liu Shen, but even the Village Chief and Lu Ye looked at Su Qianqian with confusion in their eyes.
Hearing this, Su Qianqian turned her gaze directly to the Village Chief and earnestly stated her plan.
“Village Chief Uncle, before my husband and I got married, I signed a written document with you. It was clearly written in black and white.”
After I marry, the land in my bridal gifts will belong to the village and no longer be my personal property.
Now that I am married, Uncle Village Chief, you can exercise your right to collect the land from the Su family!”
Upon hearing Su Qianqian’s words, the few people present were momentarily stunned, but they quickly realized that Su Qianqian intended to fight the Su family’s eldest branch to the bitter end.
No matter how unruly the Su family’s eldest branch might be, they would not dare to openly oppose the village. At most, they would ask the village for some seed money, and in the end, they probably wouldn’t even recover the labor costs for sowing.
After understanding Su Qianqian’s intention, the Village Chief’s gaze toward her shifted slightly.
Su Qianqian had grown up under his watch, and he never expected that the timid and shy girl from before would be pushed to such extremes. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
After hesitating for a moment, he replied:
“Su girl, you must think this through carefully. If you go through with this, the land will truly have nothing to do with you in the future.”
Upon hearing this, Su Qianqian showed no hesitation at all and nodded directly, indicating that she had already made up her mind.
“Uncle Village Chief, I have thought it through very clearly. Just as you said earlier, I am no longer a member of the Su family, and it is unlikely that I can reclaim the land now.
I know that I cannot blame others entirely for this situation—it is my own fault for being too timid in the past and waking up too late.
But I simply cannot swallow this injustice. Since I cannot reclaim the land, I will not let those who bullied and belittled me benefit from it either.”
Hearing this, the Village Chief couldn’t help but glance at Lu Ye, who had been standing silently behind Su Qianqian the whole time. He noticed that Lu Ye’s gaze remained fixed on Su Qianqian, deep and intense, like a predator eyeing its prey.
As a man who had also been young once, the Village Chief immediately recognized that Lu Ye had taken a liking to the Su girl.
This relieved him, as he had been worried that Lu Ye had spent so much silver to marry Su Qianqian solely because he valued her previous temperament.
Now that Su Qianqian had changed so much overnight, if Lu Ye felt dissatisfied with the mismatch and grew displeased with her, Su Qianqian’s future would likely be difficult.
Seeing Lu Ye’s expression now, he realized he had worried unnecessarily. He shifted his gaze back to Su Qianqian and said:
“Since you have made up your mind, Su girl, I will draft a written document for you to sign.
However, it is indeed a challenge for a young couple like you to have no land. Lu Ye is not a native of this village, and according to the rules, he cannot be allocated land. I dare not go against this.”
The Village Chief paused for a moment before continuing:
“Here’s what I can do: the place where you live now is close to the mountains and consists of uncultivated land. Although the yield from farming there might be lower, it is better than nothing. If you are willing, you can clear some uncultivated land near your home.
I can grant you permission—the land you clear will belong to you as a couple. However, you may only farm it and cannot rent, sell, or trade it.
If you ever leave Daoxiang Village or have no descendants to inherit it, the land will be reclaimed by the village. Otherwise, it would not comply with the rules.
What do you think of this arrangement?”
Su Qianqian had not expected such an unexpected turn of events. According to the rules of this era, non-natives of the village were not allocated land.
Even clearing land on your own is not allowed. If you encounter a particularly ruthless village chief, they can simply reclaim the land once you’ve cleared it. So the preferential treatment the village chief is offering them now is already quite generous.