Madam Xu's eyes nearly widened in shock. Xiaolian instinctively covered her mouth to keep from gasping. Even the usually composed Madam Xu showed excitement upon seeing one hundred taels of silver. They had never seen so much silver in their entire lives!
With the money, persuasion became much easier. Besides taking care of Xu Zifan, his parents were also worried that their youngest son, suddenly having so much money, might be tempted to do bad things. After all, Xu Zifan used to love to show off and party with his classmates, and he was quite wasteful. This hundred taels of silver was enough to last them twenty years, so they had to keep a close eye on it.
The trip to town was decided immediately. Since they already had a house, the two elders certainly wouldn't approve of buying a new one casually. They'd heard they could rent Fang Mingda's house at a cheaper price, and they already had a good impression of him even before meeting him. Xu Zifan, still thinking about the original owner's two older sisters, felt this was a good opportunity and suggested, "Let's treat the family to a meal after we move into the new house, so they can get acquainted. Let's invite my eldest and second eldest sisters too; they haven't been back in a long time, and we don't want them to be unable to find us next time they come home. Besides, we should talk to them about dividing the family property."
The two daughters of the Xu family were younger than Xu Erlang but older than Xu Zifan, one 23 and the other 20. Their lives weren't particularly hard, but neither was very fulfilling. Xu's mother often thought about them, but since they had both married and moved to other villages, they couldn't often return to their parents' home, so they rarely saw each other. Now, hearing Xu Zifan's words, which seemed to indicate he was protecting his older sister, she nodded happily, "Good, good, I'll send someone to tell them to go to their new home together."
Things went smoothly, and the second wife's matter was already out of the parents' minds. It wasn't that they were biased or didn't care about the second wife, but rather that, in their view, the second wife's affairs should take a backseat to Xu Zifan's. The second wife might not be able to make money selling food; they weren't short of capital, nor were they in a hurry, so there was no need to lend them money. Xu Zifan, on the other hand, was moving directly, and he would have many expenses in town. Although he had just earned a hundred taels of silver, given Xu Zifan's previous spending habits, it was uncertain how things would turn out in town.
Parents prioritize things based on their own needs and urgency. They see which side needs them more. Xu's father and mother felt that Xu Zifan was not as stable as the second wife and needed them to take better care of him. They politely declined the second wife's offer to lend them money and said that they would move to the town at the end of the month.
Xu Erlang and Su Qianyun were stunned by the news. Although they had said they needed to borrow money, they felt quite superior. They had earned over twenty taels of silver these past few days and considered themselves the wealthiest in the family, and the most likely to move to town for a better life. But before they had even saved enough, Xu Zifan was already moving to town? Even though it was renting, not buying, Xu Zifan worked at the clinic and had the financial means to bring his parents and sister along; he certainly wouldn't be short of money.
Xu Erlang was at most resentful, feeling inferior to scholars and somewhat bitter that his parents hadn't supported his education. Su Qianyun, however, found it unacceptable. She, a transmigrated woman, had made a considerable amount of money through her love of food, shaken off her parasitic relatives, and separated from her awful brother-in-law. How could it be that in just over a month, her awful brother-in-law was already earning money and going to town, even more successful than her, a transmigrator?
She had always imagined herself as a protagonist in novels, slapping down awful relatives, making a fortune, leading the villagers to prosperity, offering rare and exotic gifts, and gaining fame and respect from everyone. But in reality, she was constantly outmatched by Xu Zifan, falling short of him in every way. This dealt her a heavy blow, almost completely eroding her confidence.
If she couldn't even compare to a country boy she looked down on, where in the vast world would she ever have a chance to make a name for herself? She suddenly felt that Xu Zifan was her nemesis; every time she was about to feel proud and arrogant, Xu Zifan would crush her, and her achievements seemed insignificant. Seeing the people coming to her door to inquire about Xu Zifan, congratulate his father and mother, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. She had done so much, but the villagers only saw Xu Zifan, completely ignoring her; Xu Zifan had completely overshadowed her!
Not only was the second wife unhappy, but the first wife was also somewhat bewildered. How come after the family division, the second and third wives were living better lives, while they were still stuck in the same place? They had lived in the same courtyard, and their food and clothing were roughly the same, so they hadn't noticed the difference. Now that the third wife was moving to town, and the second wife was making a considerable amount of money, Cai suddenly felt that dividing the family was the stupidest thing she had ever done. But no matter how much she regretted it, the family was now completely divided, and they were no longer a family.
With only a few days left until the end of the month, Xu Zifan first took his parents and Xiaolian to town to look at houses so they would have a general idea of what to expect. After that, they hurriedly packed their luggage at home, also packing food. Xu's parents felt that things in town were expensive, so they wanted to bring almost everything they could use and didn't want to buy anything else. Therefore, they had a lot of things to pack and were so busy that they barely had time to breathe.
The eldest and second eldest sisters had already sent word that they would come early on moving day to help with the move and celebrate the new house. Xu Zifan didn't have much to pack, and he was afraid that he wouldn't have time to spend with Zheng Chuan if he went to town, so he went to her house every day. Almost everyone in the village knew that Xu Zifan was Zheng Chuan's best brother—her only friend.
These past few days, Xu Zifan has become the talk of the village. Everyone remembers that just over a month ago, Xu Zifan's reputation wasn't very good. At that time, many people thought that Xu Zifan was lazy, good-for-nothing, and a spendthrift who used studying as an excuse to avoid work. They also thought that Xu's parents favored their younger son and treated their older brothers badly. But how long has it been? Not only is Xu Zifan earning money by copying books and collecting herbs, but he's also found a respectable job at the clinic and moved his whole family to town. Being able to go to town means he's successful; they were all completely wrong.
This discussion inevitably raises questions about why people initially looked down on Xu Zifan. As the conversation progressed, people recalled Su Qianyun's past behavior, and several who were close to Su Qianyun...
He vividly imitated Su Qianyun's words and expressions, and everyone immediately became lively again, asserting that Su Qianyun was no pushover and was definitely deliberately misleading them. Just think, if Xu Zifan had simply stayed home studying like before, without thinking of so many ways to make money, he certainly wouldn't have been able to change their minds. How long would they have misunderstood? Wouldn't they all have sided with Su Qianyun then?
Although nothing serious happened, everyone felt they had been fooled by Su Qianyun, and a sense of disgust towards her arose immediately. Su Qianyun's reputation plummeted; she became known as a scheming woman, and Xu Erlang was also seen as an ingrate, heartless, and indifferent to family ties. The two dared not even leave their village every day, fearing being pointed at and gossiped about. They couldn't even fight back; after all, they had been wicked in the first place, trying to use their family to build a good reputation. Now that things had gone wrong, it was all their own doing. If they had been honest and hadn't had so many schemes, they wouldn't be in this situation today.
Xu Zifan's trip to town caused quite a stir in the village, and even Zheng Chuan was not entirely at peace with it. The day before Xu Zifan was to move, Zheng Chuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and, while Xu Zifan was taking her pulse, asked, "Is it possible that you'll marry into the family?"
Xu Zifan was stunned for a moment before he reacted, his face showing surprise, "You want me to marry into your family?"
Zheng Chuan had thought of many things to say in private, but when he finally spoke, he went straight to the point and said, staring at him directly, "My master said that men are unreliable. If you marry into the family, I will be the head of the household. I can support you, pay for your studies and exams, take care of your parents, and save up a dowry for your sister."
Xu Zifan was thankful he hadn't drunk any water at that moment, otherwise he might have spit it out quite inelegantly. He thought for a moment and said, "I've never considered marrying into your family. I want to take the imperial examinations and become a doctor. Marrying into your family would be very troublesome and would attract a lot of unnecessary gossip, which wouldn't be good for either of us." He paused for a moment, then looked at Zheng Chuan tentatively and asked, "You mean you're willing to marry me, is that right?"
Zheng Chuan clenched his hands together under the table, looking nervous and somewhat lost. "I don't know, I..."
Xu Zifan looked down at her expression and continued to probe, "We're happy together every day. If we get married, we'll definitely live a good life, right? You've thought about so much, so you must like this kind of relationship. Actually, I've thought about a lot too. I've even thought about how you can regain your female identity. I'm very serious about wanting to marry you. Getting married or marrying into the family are both ways of becoming husband and wife. If you're a good person, you can be happy no matter what. If you're a bad person, there will always be problems."
Xu Zifan reasoned, "Look, if you marry into the family, you'll have to do so many things, work so hard, and you might not even find happiness in the end. But if you marry me, I'll do all those things, and you can just enjoy life. Even if I don't turn out the way you want, you'll still enjoy many years of happiness and won't have suffered any losses, right? If you're not satisfied with me, you can leave. Anyway, no one will be able to tell you're a woman disguised as a man, and you can even hunt, so you won't have to live a difficult life like other women."
Zheng Chuan lowered her head and frowned slightly. She felt Xu Zifan's words made sense, but something seemed off. Did this mean that marrying Xu Zifan meant she could enjoy a life of luxury, and leave whenever she was unhappy? It seemed better than being a son-in-law, where she would always suffer. But why did her master say being a son-in-law was better?