Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Council

Everyone was eating like they hadn’t had a meal in three days.

Relying on his height and long arms, Xu Huaian picked out plenty of meat for Gu Qinghuan and the two kids. The whole family ate happily—after all, free food always tastes better. And to be fair, Lin Xiaomeng’s cooking was actually pretty good.

Gu Qinghuan wasn’t worried about Lin Xiaomeng playing any tricks. After all, the Demon-Banishing Spring was the perfect counter to her Fortune Spring. If Lin Xiaomeng dared try anything, she’d only end up losing out big time.

Fortunately, nothing happened during the meal.

It’s only when you compare that you feel the difference—Xu Huaizhi only cared about feeding himself, not sparing a thought for anyone else.

Lin Xiaomeng looked at Gu Qinghuan with envy. She’d never realized before, when the second son was “crazy,” just how considerate and attentive he could be. In this respect, he was much better than Xu Huaizhi.

Liu Guifang’s eyes shot daggers around the table, her swollen, bruised face looking like a movie villain.

“You all look like you’ve been starving for days!”

Xu Huaian and Gu Qinghuan ignored her and focused on eating, making Liu Guifang’s anger land on soft ground.

Xu Meiling, on the other hand, was anxious. She hadn’t even finished eating before she blurted out, “Dad, about my situation—”

Xu Mingshan tapped his bowl. “What’s the rush?”

The dishes on the table were wiped clean, even the sauce at the bottom was mopped up by Xu Huaiyu with his bread.

Xu Huaian’s family was stuffed. It was a rare thing to actually eat their fill at the Xu house—probably only because the old lady hadn’t gotten up to guard the kitchen today.

Dabao and Beibei had never eaten their fill here before either, so today was a first.

And they even got to eat meat. Satisfaction!

After the meal, the three kids went out to play—or more accurately, Dacheng invited Dabao and Beibei to play with him.

After what happened before, Lin Xiaomeng had given her son a proper talking-to. As much as she doted on him, her past-life experience told her that kids needed to be taught well to have a future. Spoiling them only led to them becoming street punks, aimless and good for nothing.

Gu Qinghuan agreed that kids shouldn’t be caught up in adult matters, so she let them go play together.

As daughters-in-law, Lin Xiaomeng and Gu Qinghuan naturally had to clean up after the meal. While they were in the kitchen washing dishes, they kept their ears perked for what was happening outside.

The atmosphere in the main room was tense. Everyone looked at Xu Mingshan, waiting for him to speak.

Xu Mingshan leisurely lit his pipe, took a puff, and let the smoke curl around him before finally speaking:

“Today’s the Mid-Autumn Festival. It’s rare for the whole family to be together, so let’s let bygones be bygones.

I have a happy announcement: Meiling’s marriage has been settled. The young man is Chen Jianghe, the educated youth.

This morning, I had Old Blind Zhou pick a date for them—it’s set for the day after tomorrow.

The groom’s parents won’t make it in time, so it’ll be up to us, the bride’s family, to handle things. We’ll just set up a few tables in our courtyard, keep it simple.

All you siblings need to help out.” All the earlier words were just setup; this last sentence was the real point.

No one said a word.

“Chen Jianghe doesn’t want to give a bride price, so we won’t give a dowry either—no need to look overeager. But a girl getting married still needs a nice outfit. The eldest daughter-in-law has good taste, so I’ll leave that to her.

As for where they’ll live after marriage, they’ll stay here for now, in Meiling’s old room. They don’t really lack anything, but for the wedding, we should have something festive. Third son, buy your sister a pair of red ‘double happiness’ pillowcases.”

“Dad, I got it,” Xu Huaizhi replied readily. Though he didn’t approve of the match, as the eldest brother he wouldn’t shirk his duty to help his sister.

In the kitchen, Lin Xiaomeng clenched her jaw. She’d told her husband a hundred times this morning not to agree so easily, but it went in one ear and out the other!

Xu Huaiyu also chimed in, “Dad, I’ll buy them.”

He didn’t have any money, so he’d just end up asking Liu Guifang for it. In the end, it was still the family paying, but he’d get credit for being a loving brother. The old man really knew how to scheme.

The saying goes, “The emperor favors his eldest son, the common folk love the youngest.” How true.

Xu Meiling was happy to see her two brothers agree so quickly.

“Ahem, as for us old folks, we’ll still have to give Meiling a bit of money for her dowry. Can’t let her go empty-handed.

As for the second son, I know you don’t have money, so just help out with some chores.” The old fox finally showed his hand.

Xu Huaian just looked indifferent, as if to say, “Whatever you want.”

“We’ll need to buy meat for the banquet, but all the meat coupons from our family and Chen Jianghe’s add up to just over a pound—not enough. Just vegetables would be too stingy.

So we’ll have to rely on wild game from the mountains. Second son, you’re good with your hands. Sneak into the woods these next couple of days and see if you can catch something for your sister’s wedding banquet.”

So that’s what Xu Mingshan was after.

Xu Huaian thought for a moment. “Dad, my hands and legs have been tied up for over a year. I’m not as nimble as I used to be—probably won’t catch much.”

Liu Guifang exploded, “You were plenty nimble when you hit me! You just don’t want to help your sister!”

Xu Huaian looked at her calmly. “Ma, I didn’t hit you on purpose, I was having an episode! Besides, if I was still at my peak, do you think you’d be sitting here eating right now?”

Xu Huaizhi backed him up. “That’s true. When he first went mad, it took more than ten people to tie him down, and everyone ended up black and blue. He’s definitely not as strong as before.” As he spoke, he glanced at Liu Guifang’s injuries.

Liu Guifang was so angry she was about to explode.

“So you all think he didn’t hit me hard enough? Ungrateful brats!”

Xu Huaiyu, ever the mama’s boy, quickly said, “Ma, don’t get mad. Getting upset is bad for your health.”

“Third son’s the only reliable one.”

Xu Mingshan tapped his pipe. “Alright, enough! Let’s all calm down.

Here’s the deal: Second son, do your best. If you can’t hunt, you can still set traps. Anything you can get will help. Eldest, go to the river this afternoon and catch some fish.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had a wedding in the family. We should at least do it properly so people don’t gossip.”

A shadow flickered in Xu Huaian’s eyes.

Suddenly, Xu Huaizhi said, “Speaking of weddings, second brother and sister-in-law never had a ceremony. Why don’t we make this a double celebration?”

He meant well, but it was obvious no one else was interested.

Xu Meiling was the first to object. “I don’t agree! I don’t want to share my wedding. If you want to celebrate, do it yourselves!”

Liu Guifang quickly comforted her daughter. “Don’t get worked up. Who ever heard of holding a makeup wedding? It’s embarrassing.”

Xu Mingshan said nothing, but it was clear he didn’t want to throw a wedding for the second son either. After all, the two were already living together—why bother spending extra money?

Xu Huaizhi looked awkward. He hadn’t expected his good intentions to backfire and put his brother on the spot.

“No need for us to have one,” Xu Huaian said directly.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xiaomeng glanced at Gu Qinghuan, expecting to see disappointment on her face, but instead she looked completely calm, as if she didn’t care at all.

As a woman, shouldn’t she look forward to a wedding ceremony? Was Gu Qinghuan really indifferent, or just pretending not to care?"