Zhou Haiyang, who was following behind Zhang Yun'an, watched as she darted around like a headless fly. Finally, at a corner, she found what she deemed a suitable spot. She pulled a cloth from her bag, spread it on the ground, and laid out her brushes, ink, and paper. The lapis lazuli rough stone she had just obtained from Boss Qian was also put to use as a paperweight.
After arranging everything, she sat cross-legged, seemingly preparing to write.
Zhou Haiyang was utterly baffled by her actions. If not for the curiosity Zhang Yun'an's earlier behavior had sparked, he would have long since steered clear of this troublemaker. Now, however, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Zhang Yun'an, what are you doing?"
Zhang Yun'an picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and replied without looking up, "Selling calligraphy. Do you want to buy some?"
Zhou Haiyang was about to say, "With you being such a troublemaker, what good calligraphy could you possibly write? Even a dog wouldn't buy it." But as soon as Zhang Yun'an began writing, he fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally spoke again, "Zhang Yun'an, when did you become so skilled?"
Zhang Yun'an had none of the patience she had shown earlier with Liang Fengyi when dealing with a fool like Zhou Haiyang. Knowing he wouldn't believe her no matter what she said, she brushed him off, "Haven't I always been talented and beautiful? It's just that you never noticed my gifts before."
Zhou Haiyang was nearly amused by her shamelessness. Noticing a bruise on her forehead, he retorted irritably, "I think you've really hit your head and gone mad."
"Believe it or not. So, are you buying or not? Since you're my first customer, I'll give you a discount. If you wait until I'm famous, you'll have to pay a fortune."
"Did my elder brother and aunt-in-law ever short you on food or money? Even if you're divorcing my brother, aren't you supposed to marry that Xu Daming afterward? He's so good at making money—would he really let you go without? Why are you out here selling calligraphy on the street? Is it your father again, insatiable and determined to squeeze every last bit of value out of you?"
Zhou Haiyang was no longer concerned about the quality of Zhang Yun'an's calligraphy. After all, she had already finished one piece. Even without expertise in antiques, he could still judge the quality of writing. He had seen several authentic works by ancient masters at his uncle's and other relatives' homes. In his opinion, Zhang Yun'an's calligraphy was no worse than that of those great calligraphers.
Now, he was only curious about why Zhang Yun'an was out here selling calligraphy on the street, suspecting she had been urged by Zhang Tianliang to earn money again.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yun'an said, "The Zhang family has nothing to do with me anymore. And who is Xu Daming? I don't know him."
Zhou Haiyang looked at her in surprise, then glanced at the bruise on her forehead, suddenly feeling his earlier guess might be right—perhaps she really had suffered brain damage.
If that were the case, it might not be such a bad thing. At least it would bring some peace to all the relatives, friends, and neighbors of the Lin Family.
"Then I'll reluctantly buy one piece," Zhou Haiyang said, driven partly by sympathy and partly by a speculative impulse. He pulled out the last five yuan from his pocket and handed it to her.
Zhang Yun'an hadn't expected that one piece of her calligraphy would only fetch five yuan. She felt she was letting herself down, as well as her ancestors.
But this first sale had to go through no matter what—otherwise, she wouldn't even have money for food.
"Find a place to throw away those jars and bottles you're holding."
Zhang Yun'an handed the calligraphy she had written to Zhou Haiyang, offering a well-intentioned reminder.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Haiyang felt his heart sink halfway. He had originally hoped to turn his fortunes around with these antiques, to make his parents and those relatives who called him a prodigal behind his back see him in a new light. But now Zhang Yun'an was telling him to throw them away—didn’t that mean the treasures he had spent a fortune on were all fakes?
Unwilling to give up, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Didn’t I just tell you? I’ve always been both talented and beautiful, but none of you ever noticed. Otherwise, do you think that antique dealer who tried to scam me earlier would have let me go?"
Zhou Haiyang had initially thought Zhang Yun'an was just bluffing earlier, but those antique dealers were cunning old foxes who would risk their lives for money—not so easy to fool. His heart suddenly turned ice-cold.
The antiques he had just treasured like precious jewels instantly lost their appeal. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to discard them. Putting on a brave face, he said, "It’s fine. Even if they’re fake, they still look nice. Maybe in another hundred years, these fakes will become antiques too. At the very least, they’ll make decent decorations."
Seeing his optimism, Zhang Yun'an also found a bit of sense in his words. After all, it had only been a few decades from the Republican era to now, yet some porcelain from that period was already being sold at antique stalls. She had seen a few pieces while passing by those stalls before, and they were of rather poor craftsmanship.
So she didn’t insist he throw the fakes away. She had said what needed to be said, and whether he listened was beyond her control. She lowered her head and continued writing.
But as noon approached, aside from the calligraphy Zhou Haiyang had bought, no one else came to make a purchase. There were plenty of people in Jingshi who could write beautiful calligraphy, and no matter how skilled she was, without a reputation, few were willing to buy. Earlier, a few people had stopped by out of curiosity, offering sincere praise, but none had taken out their wallets.
"Almost everyone’s gone. Aren’t you heading back?" Zhou Haiyang reminded her sympathetically, noticing how Zhang Yun'an, who had been so spirited when speaking with him earlier, now looked as wilted as frostbitten eggplant.
He felt that Zhang Yun'an, after hitting her head, was a lot like him—both brimming with talent but burdened by their reputations. One a prodigal, the other a troublemaker, who wouldn’t find them a headache? Who would ever notice their strengths?
Fortunately, Zhang Yun'an had no idea what he was thinking. Otherwise, being compared to a prodigal would have made her feel even more ashamed before her ancestors.
"You go ahead. I’ll stay a bit longer."
"Zhang Yun'an, even if hitting your head made you see the light, you can’t instantly go from being a troublemaker to a praised and recognized prodigy like my eldest brother. You have to take things one step at a time. Rushing won’t help."
Zhang Yun'an never thought she’d one day need a prodigal to offer her guidance. Still, she had to admit there was some truth to his words. She stood up, packed her stall, and said to Zhou Haiyang, "Don’t come to this place anymore. It’s just a waste of money. If you have the funds, you’d be better off buying a few more pieces of my calligraphy to collect."
Her original intention was to remind Zhou Haiyang not to buy fake antiques anymore; the remark about buying her calligraphy was just an afterthought. Yet Zhou Haiyang took it to heart. For some inexplicable reason, he began to think that Zhang Yun'an, after hitting her head, might actually become famous someday.
If he hadn’t run out of money, he would have bought all the calligraphy pieces Zhang Yun'an wrote afterward.
Of course, he kept this thought to himself. Seeing Zhang Yun'an pack up her stall, he hugged his pile of fake antiques and headed home.
After a whole day of effort, Zhang Yun'an had successfully turned her nine-yuan assets into five yuan—and even that was thanks to a familiar customer.
The biggest gain of the day was the lapis lazuli raw stone she got from Boss Qian.
In Boss Qian’s eyes, this lapis lazuli raw stone might not be as valuable as the two genuine antiques on his stall. But for someone like Zhang Yun'an who painted, once processed, this stone would become an expensive mineral pigment.
Of course, such costly mineral pigments would only be used if her paintings gained recognition in this era and someone was willing to pay a high price for them. Otherwise, she’d be losing money. At the moment, she didn’t have the capital to invest in such expensive painting materials.
Still, based on today’s experience, Zhang Yun'an felt she should focus on selling paintings. Unlike calligraphy, as long as someone liked her paintings, they’d be willing to buy them even if she wasn’t famous yet—though they might not fetch a high price.
Considering that in her previous life, the Beauty Portraits she loved and excelled at painting were harshly criticized, she decided not to paint them for now. To play it safe, she’d start with other subjects to sell. At the very least, she needed to earn enough for her immediate living expenses before attempting to sell Beauty Portraits.
Before heading back, she bought some painting supplies, spending all five yuan she had just earned. Only a few cents in change remained, which she saved for the bus fare.
If she couldn’t sell any paintings tomorrow, she’d have to go hungry.
Fortunately, there was still a box of Eight-Treasure Cake at home—which she had previously complained tasted inauthentic—along with some apples, ensuring she wouldn’t go hungry today.
"Sister-in-law, where have you been?"
When Zhang Yun'an returned home, she saw Lin Fengyi standing at the door, holding two lunch boxes.
"I went job hunting. Did you need something?"
Lin Fengyi’s eyes flickered slightly. "Nothing much. My mom said she was worried you might forget to eat while looking for a job, so she asked me to bring you some food."
Zhang Yun'an noticed that her sister-in-law, much like the young soldier standing guard at the door, wasn’t very good at hiding her emotions. She guessed Liang Fengyi’s exact words were probably not so kind. But given the original host’s behavior, the fact that Liang Fengyi still cared enough to send Lin Fengyi with food at a time like this was practically saintly. Even if she had said something harsh, so what?
Though her guess was close, Liang Fengyi had another reason for sending Lin Fengyi with food: she was worried that if Zhang Yun'an got too hungry and had no money for food, she might bother the neighbors again. She also wanted to see if Zhang Yun'an was genuinely trying to change.
Although Zhang Yun'an had no intention of getting entangled with the Lin Family again, she couldn’t refuse someone who had traveled over an hour by bus just to bring her food. Sighing, she thought she’d just owe them for now and repay them when she was able.
"Please thank Mom for me, and thank you for bringing the food," Zhang Yun'an said, then opened the door and invited Lin Fengyi inside.
After entering and setting down the lunchbox, Lin Fengyi instinctively rolled up her sleeves in a motion identical to Liang Fengyi's, only to find the room spotlessly clean and in no need of tidying. It was then she remembered her mother mentioning earlier that Zhang Yun'an had hired someone to clean the house.
Looking at the tidy room and Zhang Yun'an, who now had clear eyes and no longer made unreasonable demands, Lin Fengyi couldn't help but think for a moment how wonderful it would be if her sister-in-law could stay like this forever. That way, Si Yi wouldn’t have to become a pitiful child without a mother, hiding alone in a corner and silently shedding tears.
"Fengyi, have some water."
Zhang Yun'an came out from the kitchen with a glass of water and noticed Lin Fengyi still standing there in a daze, so she called out to her.
"Oh, okay!" Lin Fengyi snapped back to reality, somewhat flustered and surprised as she took the water Zhang Yun'an handed her. She took a hurried sip and ended up choking from drinking too quickly.
"Take it slow." Zhang Yun'an patted her back as she spoke, her gesture leaving Lin Fengyi even more astonished, nearly forgetting to cough in her shock.
Seeing her sister-in-law as startled as a frightened fawn, Zhang Yun'an felt helpless. Worried that if she stayed longer, something unexpected might happen, she asked if Lin Fengyi had to work in the afternoon.
Reminded by her, Lin Fengyi recalled her schedule. She set down the lunch and reminded Zhang Yun'an to eat it. As she reached the door, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sister-in-law, when you have time, could you go see Si Yi?"
Zhang Yun'an remained silent for a long while after hearing this.
Thinking she was unwilling, Lin Fengyi worried that saying more might cause Zhang Yun'an—whose mind had only just recovered—to become confused again and threaten to take Lin Siyi back to the Zhang family by force, which would be disastrous. She quickly added, "If you’re too busy, never mind."
"I’ve been quite busy lately, and I’ve already decided to divorce your brother. With a mother like me, you probably wouldn’t feel at ease letting Si Yi stay with me anyway. Since it has to end sooner or later, it’s better for him to start getting used to it now."
"I understand." After saying this, Lin Fengyi hurried away, only wiping the tears from her face once she reached downstairs.
Wan Dajie and Zhao Xiaoli, who had been secretly watching from the first-floor window, happened to see Lin Fengyi wiping her tears. They exchanged a glance, their expressions confirming that Zhang Yun'an was still the same as before. They thought to themselves that even when her sister-in-law kindly brought her food, Zhang Yun'an could still make her cry—truly ungrateful and unaware of her own good fortune.
Standing on the third-floor corridor at that moment, Zhang Yun'an watched Lin Fengyi wiping her tears downstairs. For some reason, her heart also ached. But she wasn’t Lin Siyi’s real mother, and even if she went to see him, he wouldn’t be able to feel a genuine mother’s love from her.
Lin Siyi had so many people who loved him—he surely wouldn’t miss the love of a stranger like her.