At this moment, Yang Xiaocui herself hadn’t realized that she was only head-over-heels at the start.

She just wanted to marry into a good family and be able to eat her fill.

But now, she wanted more and more, and became more adept at lying.

On Xiaocui’s birthday, the news of Yang Dong sending two fish to Aunt Lan Hua’s family spread throughout the village thanks to Aunt Lan Hua’s kids.

Aunt Lan Hua felt particularly proud and returned home early from work.

In past years, she rarely remembered her daughter’s birthday, and even if she did, it was useless; their family didn’t have spare money to make delicious food for the girl. But ever since connecting with the Yang Family, Yang Dong had been sending food to their home every few days.

Now, with her daughter’s birthday, Yang Dong was thoughtful enough to send two fish, showing her daughter was truly being valued.

"Aunt Lan Hua, it’s not even dark yet, why are you finishing work so early?"

On the road, she inevitably ran into villagers. She wasn’t afraid of their gossip now; she wished they would ask, so she could boast a bit. She purposely stopped the cart, "Today is my Xiaocui’s birthday, I’m heading home early to make something delicious for my little girl, Yang Dong specifically sent two fish to our house."

"Aunt Lan Hua, your Xiaocui is doing well, found a good family, sending food every few days; didn’t they just send fish and duck the other day?"

"My Xiaocui is fortunate, Yang Dong cares about her a lot."

"Exactly, you can rest assured now, Yang Dong is indeed a good one."

"..."

"..."

After chatting for a bit, she had her son continue driving the cart towards the village.

As the cart rolled away, people behind started gossiping.

"Did you see? Aunt Lan Hua is quite proud now because she connected with the Yang Family."

"Indeed, ever since they got connected, using their carts, and Yang Family collecting those hard fruits; now Yang Dong regularly sends food over. This connection really paid off!"

"I thought even if they connected, it wouldn’t be all that great, but see, Yang Dong really treats Yang Xiaocui well."

"Lan Hua’s family is doing well now, suddenly the household is thriving."

"..."

"..."

Once again, people chatted about this topic. In the countryside, who had the spare money to celebrate birthdays? Even when birthdays were celebrated, it’s usually for elderly people; it’s rare for kids, as family conditions typically don’t allow it.

But now look at Yang Xiaocui, she got married and celebrated a birthday, naturally making people a bit envious.

This matter of course reached the ears of the Yang Family. They didn’t say much; after all, it’s a matter of face, what’s there to say? It’s just that no one talked about Yang Dong giving Yang Xiaocui a hairpin, which was odd; wasn’t Aunt Lan Hua someone who liked to show off? Was it to hide wealth from outsiders?

Regardless of whether Aunt Lan Hua’s family talked or not, the Yang Family didn’t want to mention it. The bride price was only six taels, and buying a silver hairpin amounted to nearly half of it. Though the fourth son had the right to handle his own finances, spending such a sum on Xiaocui before marriage was not approved by them. Spend after marriage however you like, but she’s not yet married.

It’s better if the villagers don’t know, lest they become the butt of jokes.