However, intellectually, Er Niu knew that this matter could not be blamed on Madam Zhou, no matter what. If Madam Zhou was willing to marry, it would be normal. Although Madam Zhou herself had said she would not remarry, after all, the children were grown now. In all honesty, their family really had no right to stop her from remarrying. Take Hongxia for instance; if their family could spare no effort to arrange a marriage for her, why cause such a scene just because someone proposed a matchmaker for someone else?

Furthermore, this matter was initiated by Li Ping's side; Madam Zhou probably didn't even know about it beforehand. It was indeed somewhat unfair for his mother to blame everything on Madam Zhou. But Er Niu understood that the real source of his mother's anger wasn't the remarriage itself, but the fact that Zhou Shi had snatched away the person his mother had finally set her sights on for Hongxia. If it had been anyone else, his mother surely wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

Everyone in the courtyard had discerned Madam Zhao's true feelings, but since she was in a rage, no one dared to contradict her directly. They could only offer gentle persuasion, which proved largely ineffective.

Lin He, sitting in the courtyard, finally pieced together the whole issue after overhearing her parents. She immediately grasped the crux of the matter. Moreover, from her father's tone, Lin He sensed that he wasn't entirely in favor of Li Ping and Madam Zhou getting together. It was Huang Shi, unaware of the situation with the third son's side, who spoke up: "Man, why are you taking the same stance as your mother? The third son's household has suffered enough hardship all these years; why can't she remarry? This is a rare opportunity where a man doesn't mind that she has children; why are you all against it?"

Er Niu did want to speak, but he only managed a sigh and remained silent. Lin He understood her father's reservations, but she felt that people shouldn't be so selfish. Her own third uncle had long since gone off with someone else, paying no mind to his wife and children for years. If he were dead, that would be the end of it; if he had forgotten, then that was that. But he clearly knew, and yet he simply wouldn't care. Why could he live well, but Madam Zhou wasn't even allowed to remarry? What kind of logic was that?

However, based on her understanding of her father, he was just temporarily stuck on this point. And if Madam Zhou insisted on remarrying, even if her father disagreed, he wouldn't step in to stop it. The biggest obstacle now was Grandmother Zhao Shi. Lin He knew her grandmother had always been an overbearing mother-in-law with strong controlling tendencies. Their family's improved circumstances in recent years meant they showed considerable filial piety towards the grandmother's side, and her mother tried to avoid arguments with her as much as possible, thus preventing any direct confrontations. But once her boundaries were crossed, she would show no mercy to anyone. This time, Madam Zhou had provoked her, and Lin He suspected this matter wouldn't be settled easily.

Listening to Er Niu and Huang Shi chat, Lin He later informed Huang Shi about the family matters for the upcoming holiday, mentioning the need to prepare food and snacks. Uncle Wen had sent over more goods, including pastries from the shop. Huang Shi stopped resting and headed to the kitchen to check on how the maids were managing the food preparations.

Watching Huang Shi leave, Er Niu noticed Da Bao standing nearby and struck up a conversation about the shop. It was just casual inquiry, as Er Niu was primarily interested in farming, forgetting most other details he was told. Still, he asked Da Bao, "Da Bao, how are things progressing with your personal matter? It’s Mid-Autumn Festival now, and the New Year is just around the corner. Once the year passes, a whole year will be up. If you haven't settled it by then, and your mother starts pressing you, I won't cover for you."

Da Bao’s expression visibly soured when Er Niu brought this up. Lin He knew the matter hadn't been resolved, fearing the young lady’s family still disapproved. Lin He felt this dragging on was unsustainable and interjected, "Big Brother, haven't you and that young lady settled things? Why don't we have Father and Mother send someone to speak with her family? Dragging this out isn't a solution. Seeing how long it's been with no progress, I suspect…" Lin He let the sentence trail off.

Er Niu chimed in, "Yes, why don't your mother and I find someone to accompany us to that young lady's house? We can go and speak with them properly. Prepare more generous gifts; perhaps they'll see our sincerity and finally agree."

Da Bao remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking, "Father, there’s no need. That young lady and I have broken off. Her parents have already found her a good match in town; they are scholars. I don't want to pursue this anymore."

Lin He and Er Niu were surprised that Da Bao’s relationship with that young lady had ended so abruptly. However, Lin He felt that an ending was a good thing; either it works out or it ends. Lingering in limbo was no good. At least now there was closure.

Er Niu likely thought the same and said, "Then, Da Bao, what are your plans? Since this is over, are you expecting us to arrange things for you, or will you decide yourself?"

Lin He looked at Da Bao, clearly still unsettled from the emotional fallout of the relationship. Lin He and Da Bao had been together in town daily for a while, and Da Bao’s spirits had been noticeably low. Aside from working at the shop, he rarely went out and almost never smiled. Lin He had always assumed Da Bao was depressed because of the protracted situation with the young lady, not realizing it had already concluded.

Da Bao didn't answer Er Niu. Lin He spoke up for him, "Father, didn't you say you'd give Big Brother a year? Since the year hasn't passed yet, and Big Brother is clearly not in the mood to discuss this now, let him take some time to recover first."

Er Niu nodded and pressed no further. He continued chatting with Lin He and Da Bao about household matters, mostly focusing on the fields, the mountain flocks, and the pond fish. He spoke with vigor as a single man. Lin He sat for a while before heading inside to check on Chen'er's embroidery work.

Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the day Lin He had set for Chen'er to complete a piece of clothing. Chen'er had started making it several days prior. Since Lin He hadn't been home lately, Zi Qing had been watching over her progress during her free time. Lin He had warned Chen'er that if she couldn't finish the garment by today, she would face a rigorous schedule of lessons and tasks after the festival. If she worked quickly, she could rest more, but if she didn't finish, she would have to work late into the night until it was done. If she completed the garment, the tasks could be moderately reduced as a reward.

Upon hearing this, Chen'er had poured all her effort into it and truly applied herself during this period. Lin He examined the work; she had learned how to cut the fabric, and although the stitching wasn't perfect, she understood the basic steps. With more practice, she could manage to make ordinary clothes reasonably well.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.