I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 39 Gu Chenglin's Childhood Friend

Master Xu nodded: "Yes, it's her. We went to Ping An Restaurant to look for her, only to find out that she had returned to the village ahead of schedule. What's going on here?"

Master Xu was curious as he looked at the large group of people gathered there, each with a strange expression on their face.

Lin Li was shocked and didn't know what to say. How could he explain this?

I never expected Chenglin's wife to be so capable, that Master Xu would personally come to invite her.

This... this is so... he couldn't think of the words for a moment. Anyway, it's better than him, the village chief and village head. You know, in other villages, the village head and the village head are two different people.

At this moment, Ah Dong strode forward. Because of his height, he could see the complete mess in the yard.

Walking up to Dongfang Jin, he said with a look of disdain, "What's going on? You're such a useless girl, even with our county magistrate's jade token, you can still get bullied."

Dongfang Jin pouted: "Brother Dong, we just got back too, okay? Didn't you see we haven't unloaded the truck yet?"

A-Dong pointed at the yard: "You live in this dilapidated house? Is this even habitable? Who did this?"

Dongfang Jin felt a little embarrassed; this was indeed the most embarrassing time she had ever been. She laughed and held up two fingers: "Hehe, I only stayed for two nights. It doesn't matter who did it. Don't worry, I won't let those people get away with it."

A Dong turned to look at Gu Chenglin beside him: "How are you going to protect her like this? How have you been doing in the military all these years?"

"Your house has been vandalized, and you..." Never mind, the two kids are still here.

Gu Chenglin was speechless. What did this have to do with him being in the military? But this place he was staying…

Thinking of the house deeds and land deeds in his arms, he glanced at Dongfang Jin, then at the tragic scene in the courtyard, and suppressed his anger.

He said to Ah Dong, "I just left with nothing, and I haven't had time to deal with it yet."

A Dong glanced at him, wondering why Old Master Chu had come specifically for him.

As one of his subordinates, he couldn't very well interfere. He glanced at the dilapidated courtyard again; it was a complete mess, unfit for habitation, and one couldn't even find a place to step inside.

"Come on, follow me. The magistrate has something to discuss with Jin-jie. You and your family can stay at the county government office from now on."

This was also what Old Master Chu instructed. We couldn't say we were looking for Gu Chenglin. Since Sister Jin had already made a name for herself, we could use this as a cover so that no one would suspect anything.

Dongfang Jin pointed at the oxcart: "Brother Dong, these things...?"

Lin Lizheng quickly stepped forward with a smile and said, "Take it to my house. You can pick it up when you come back. I'll find someone to fix the house for you."

Seeing his obsequious manner, Dongfang Jin waved her hand speechlessly: "No need to repair it, we don't need those things inside."

"Gu Chenglin, take a look at the things in the house. You decide who to give them to. Take these things to Uncle Village Head's house in the car, and we'll pick them up when we get back."

“Okay, I’ll arrange it,” Gu Chenglin said, walking towards the doorway where four dirty men with injuries on their faces were standing.

Upon seeing this, Dongfang Jin knew what was going on. Those four must be Gu Chunsheng, Sun Xing, Xu Changshan, and Xu Changhua.

Gu Chenglin's childhood friend.

There were several women with unpleasant expressions beside them; they must be their wives.

Dongfang Jin thought of the basket on the cart, which contained six slices of meat and several packets of pastries.

Thinking it best to walk forward, she took out four pieces of meat, carrying the meat in one hand and the snacks in the other, and headed towards Gu Chenglin, her intentions not too obvious.

As soon as I got close, I heard them talking.

“Brother Lin, we don’t want those things…Brother Lin, we failed to protect your family,” Xu Changhua said, looking at Gu Chenglin with a face full of shame.

Gu Chunsheng also looked annoyed and sighed, saying, "There's also your sister-in-law's dowry in here. We'll just deliver it to the village head's house for you."

When Dongfang Jin heard them say that, to be honest, she really didn't want Fang Jin's things.

She also planned to buy Master Tang's house directly after going to the county government office this time, and she didn't intend to come back.

This was what she thought after hearing what A-Dong said; she didn't want to live in this dilapidated courtyard anymore.

Dongfang Jin said to them, "You four should divide those things among yourselves. Whatever they are, divide them into four portions as a way of thanking you for your kindness today."

Xu Changshan also looked ashamed, waving his hand and saying, "No, no, we grew up with Brother Lin, we tried our best, but..."

Dongfang Jin looked at them; they were a good bunch. She wouldn't let them protect her for nothing, and said, "What? Is this a sign of disdain?"

She had previously heard Gu Chenglin say that the house was renovated by a few of them using their own belongings.

Gu Chunsheng quickly waved his hand: "No, no..." How could he possibly be disgusted? There are quite a few things in here.

He just felt that Chenglin's wife was a bit wasteful; those were all things they had just bought yesterday.

Dongfang Jin looked at them with sincerity: "Then accept them. You have all suffered an undeserved misfortune today. The things in the box were prepared by the Fang family."

To be honest, I really don't want it, so you guys are doing me a favor.

As you all know, the rest were all newly purchased yesterday.

We've used them all ourselves, and to be honest, we feel a little bad about giving them to you after we've already used them.

Xu Changhua was somewhat embarrassed. Looking at Gu Chenglin, he scratched his head and said, "This...this...Brother Lin, this is, after all, your sister-in-law's dowry..."

Gu Chenglin glanced at Dongfang Jin. He knew that she was definitely not the same Fang Jin. She didn't like these things: "She has already severed ties with the Fang family. Those things make her feel uncomfortable."

Since she gave it to you, keep it. If you don't like it, give it to the elderly living alone in the village.

Yes, since she doesn't like it and it bothers her, he'll grant her wish and buy her something else later.

Sun Xing then spoke up: "Keep what Cheng Lin gave us, divide it into four portions, one for each family, and then give one portion to each of the elderly people in the village later."

Sun Xing was the eldest of the five and also Xu Changhua's brother-in-law. Once he spoke, the others fell silent.

……

Dongfang Jin sat on the oxcart, listening to Lin Li introduce Gu Chenglin and his childhood friends to her.

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jin asked in surprise, "You mean, Sun Xing's wife and Xu Changhua's wife are sisters? All four of them married women from the same village and clan?"

Lin Lizheng chuckled and said, "Hehe, yes, all four of them are girls from Yangjia'ao. Yangjia'ao is right next to Fengjiawan, where Lin Yu's maternal grandmother lived. When they married into our village, it caused quite a stir."

Dongfang Jin joked, "Gu Chenglin, why didn't you marry a woman from Yangjia'ao?"

Gu Chenglin's face darkened. How did this person drag him into this? But he still answered her question: "Back then, the betrothal gift was only twenty taels."

"I see, so your family just doesn't want to spend money on you? I'm just wondering, are you even your mother's biological child?" Dongfang Jin said disdainfully, almost saying the wrong thing.

Lin Li listened to her say this and shook his head speechlessly. Cheng Lin's wife was a bit outspoken.

However, after glancing at Gu Chenglin and Master Xu behind him, he chuckled and said, "Hehe, back then, Chenglin's mother was on her way back to her parents' home when her due date came early."

He was said to have been startled by a passing caravan of carriages, and was born in an inn in Anyang County.

His mother didn't go back to her parents' home after giving birth to him, and his maternal grandmother passed away before he was even a month old... Perhaps his mother held a grudge against him.