She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 111 Returning to My Hometown

Because Ye Beichen always stirred up trouble for no reason, Su Yuning felt extremely wronged. So, she told her parents everything. When they heard about their daughter's grievances, they were also filled with indignation and felt indignant on Su Yuning's behalf.

Given Su Yuning's own qualities, she could have easily found a suitable husband and lived a happy and fulfilling life. But who could have imagined that fate would play such a cruel trick on her, ultimately leading her to marry such an ungrateful and unruly man?

At this moment, the kind-faced woman spoke softly to Su Yuning, "My child, in my opinion, you should stay here in our hometown and live peacefully. As for that Ye Beichen, just ignore him for now."

However, before Su Yuning could even respond to her mother's words, Old Su, his face flushed with anger, roared loudly, "Hmph! I think you should just cut ties with that brat! There are plenty of excellent men in the world, why would you need one more? Daughter, listen to your father's advice, breaking up with him as soon as possible is the best course of action!"

Seeing her husband's impulsiveness, the woman quickly and gently advised, "Husband, as the saying goes, 'It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage.' Besides, how can such a major event as marriage be dissolved so easily? I think we should give Ye Beichen another chance to reform and see if he can improve in the future." After hearing the woman's words, although Old Su, who was originally furious, was still somewhat dissatisfied, he ultimately did not say anything more.

Then, the woman said to Su Yuning with concern, "My dear daughter, since you've decided to stay at home for the time being, why don't you go stay with your older brother? Their house is more spacious and has more rooms. Just come back here for meals whenever it's time to eat."

Deeply moved by her mother's meticulous care, Su Yuning nodded repeatedly and replied, "Yes, yes, I've remembered it all, thank you, Mother!"

During the day, Su Yuning leads the villagers to the vegetable garden to plant vegetables. In the evening, she goes back to her hometown to have dinner with her family. After dinner, she stays at her brother and sister-in-law's house. Although life is simple, she is very happy.

Where there is concern, there is bound to be sorrow; such is often the way of the world. Just like Ye Beichen at this moment, he sat alone at the table, drinking one glass of wine after another with a gloomy expression. The strong smell of alcohol permeated the air, as if it too was tinged with his heart full of sorrow.

Seeing this, the guards rushed forward and snatched the wine cup from his hand, and said sternly, "Young lord, you can't keep drinking like this! Drinking is bad for your health!" However, Ye Beichen just raised his head, looked at the guards with a dazed expression, and muttered, "My wife isn't coming home, I'm so depressed, I can only drown my sorrows in alcohol."

Just then, Xuan Yuan Rong'er walked over with light steps. Her eyebrows were raised, and she glared at Ye Beichen, accusingly saying, "You, you, don't you even think about why he didn't come back? Don't you have any idea?" Ye Beichen was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and murmured to himself, "I...I don't know." As he spoke, he covered his face with his hands and began to sob softly.

Seeing this, Xuan Yuan Rong'er stomped her feet in anger and pointed at Ye Beichen, continuing to berate him: "Su Yuning works hard every day to earn money to support the family, but what do you do? You only know how to doubt her for no reason. Ask yourself, is there still any affection between you? Is there still any basic trust? If it were me, I would have broken up with you long ago and gone my separate ways. Why would I be here enduring such grievances!"

"Then what should I do?" Ye Beichen asked softly, his face full of worry, looking at the woman in front of him with his big, watery, pitiful eyes.

Standing opposite him, Xuan Yuan Rong'er frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then looked up and answered seriously, "In my opinion, you should try your best to further expand the scale of your business and enhance its competitiveness, making it a leader in the industry. At the same time, you should also personally visit her to sincerely apologize, express your deepest regret and guilt, and beg for her forgiveness and understanding."

Upon hearing this, Ye Beichen looked troubled and said with a bitter expression, "However, the truth is that I have already handed over the management of Ni Chang Pavilion to you two. How can I possibly take back the management rights from you now? Wouldn't that make me seem too heartless?" After saying this, he sighed deeply, his face full of helplessness and entanglement.

At this moment, the guards who had been standing by quickly stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Young Lord, please don't be too sad about this. Actually, my master and mistress are just temporarily helping you look after the business. You are still the real owner of this shop!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Beichen's previously dim eyes instantly brightened, and a relieved smile gradually appeared on his lips. He nodded vigorously and said, "In that case, alright! Then I'll put aside my concerns for now and focus all my efforts on making this business a success!"

By chance, Murong Hai learned from the village chief's nephew that Su Yuning and Ye Beichen had separated. This news struck him like a bolt of lightning, instantly igniting a long-dormant flame within him. Without hesitation, he went to Xinghua Village and quickly rented a house to settle down.

When someone curiously asked him why he chose to stay here, a bright smile spread across his face, and he replied without any pretense, "Well, naturally, I came here to pursue the goddess of my dreams! As the saying goes, being near the water tower makes it easy to get the moon first!"

After that, whether Su Yuning was working in her own vegetable garden or rushing to the factory, Murong Hai always followed closely behind. Whenever Su Yuning needed help, he would always appear in time to lend a hand. For example, when Su Yuning was diligently cultivating, weeding, and watering the vegetable garden, Murong Hai would take the initiative to pick up the farm tools and work alongside her; and when Su Yuning was working hard in the factory making toiletries, Murong Hai would run around helping her complete various trivial tasks.

As time went by, the distance between the two grew shorter, and their relationship became increasingly intimate. Those around them seemed to have no objection to their increasingly warm relationship, even viewing it with a sense of satisfaction. However, only Yang Yuyan, always understanding, gentle, and virtuous, felt deeply uncomfortable about it. Finally, one day, she specifically invited Su Yuning to the school courtyard, intending to have a serious talk with her about the matter.

"Sister-in-law, what brings you here?" Su Yuning walked over quickly with a puzzled look on her face, blinking her big, bright eyes as she asked Yang Yuyan curiously.

Yang Yuyan nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "Yes, there is something, and it's about you."

Hearing this, Su Yuning's doubts deepened, so she asked loudly, "What? What is it that's so serious?"

Yang Yuyan stared intently at Su Yuning, her gaze sharp, and stated the key point without any hesitation: "Stay away from that Murong Hai from now on!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yuning was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. She said dismissively, "He and I are just ordinary friends. He's really good at growing vegetables. I just learned how to plant them from him." As she spoke, she waved her hand lightly, as if trying to dispel her sister-in-law's worries.

However, Yang Yuyan was not fooled by her nonchalant words. She still advised her seriously and earnestly: "That may be true, but you are already married. If a married woman is so close to other men all the time, the gossipy women in the village will not stay idle. There will be all sorts of rumors flying around. Do you still want your reputation?"

But Su Yuning seemed completely unconcerned, maintaining a nonchalant demeanor and casually replying, "Oh, sister-in-law, I don't care what others say! I know in my heart that I haven't done anything wrong, so why bother with other people's gossip? I'll just walk my own path and let others talk!" She then playfully winked at Yang Yuyan.

Seeing this, Yang Yuyan stomped her feet in anger and raised her voice to question, "Even if you don't care, where will our parents' face be? They have to live up to their reputation in the village!"

Su Yuning froze on the spot for a moment, her mouth opening and closing, but she found herself completely unable to find the right words to retort. She was secretly annoyed; how could she, who was usually so eloquent, be so clumsy at this moment?

At this point, Yang Yuyan continued, "Besides, Ye Beichen was the one who made the mistake. If you two really broke up, normally he would have to pay you compensation. But now, you're entangled with Murong Hai, which makes you the one at fault! Not only will you be criticized, scorned, and insulted by others, but you'll also have to return all the betrothal money you received. Haven't you thought about the consequences?"

Listening to Yang Yuyan's reasoned analysis, Su Yuning nodded as if she had just woken up from a dream, and murmured to herself, "Oh dear, sister-in-law is right. If things really develop to that point, I'll be in a real dilemma, in an extremely awkward situation. Thank goodness you woke me up in time, thank you!"

Seeing that Su Yuning finally realized the seriousness of the matter, Yang Yuyan couldn't help but smile wryly, shake her head helplessly, and replied, "What's the use of just saying thank you verbally? The key is to see your actual actions."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuning immediately raised her right hand, solemnly making a vow gesture, and said earnestly, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I swear here and now that from now on I will never get so close to Murong Hai again! If I break this vow, may I..."

Before Su Yuning could finish speaking, Yang Yuyan quickly interrupted her: "Alright, alright, stop saying such unlucky things. But speaking of which, although Murong Hai is currently single, he is quite a bit older than you and has far more life experience. From any perspective, the two of you are not a good match."

"Yes, sister-in-law, I understand everything. I will definitely keep a certain distance from him in the future and will never let a similar situation happen again." Su Yuning nodded obediently like a well-behaved child.

Summer has arrived, the sun blazes fiercely, and waves of heat roll in. Looking out the window at the lush green mountains, Zhou Xi suddenly felt a surge of urge to climb them and catch cicadas. However, this thought worried her in-laws, who were filled with unease.

The mother-in-law walked up to Zhou Xi with a concerned expression and gently advised, "Xi'er, you are pregnant now, your health is very precious. You must not go mountain climbing rashly. What if something happens to you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xi pouted and retorted angrily, "Hmph, staying at home all day is so incredibly boring! There's no fun at all here, it's much more comfortable to go back to my parents' house!"

Seeing this, Old Yang couldn't help but chuckle wryly. He patiently explained to Zhou Xi, "Silly girl, this is your home too! Now that you've married into our Yang family, you have to learn to adapt gradually. Besides, your mother-in-law is right. You're six months pregnant now, so it's best for you to stay home and rest."

Seeing that her father-in-law had sided with her mother-in-law, Zhou Xi, though somewhat unwilling, couldn't insist any further. Her eyes darted around, and a sudden idea struck her. She said, "Alright then, since you won't let me go, how about you two go up the mountain and catch a few cicadas for me? I want to hear the cicadas' cheerful songs, and I also want to eat some fragrant stir-fried cicadas with chili peppers!" She looked at her in-laws expectantly.