The Barefoot Doctor took out all the Medical Books. "The light is good in the Courtyard, you can sit there and read."
Shen Ruoxi said gratefully, "Thank you, Grandfather."
Shen Yan said unhappily, "Grandfather, why are you being so nice to her? Does she even know how to read? You're letting her look at such valuable books?"
The Barefoot Doctor glanced at Shen Yan. "You focus on drying the Medicinal Herbs, don't worry about anything else."
Shen Yan pouted. "Grandfather, I'm just reminding you. Shen Ruoxi will definitely be ungrateful later. Giving her books is just helping a villain."
The Barefoot Doctor's voice deepened slightly. "Grandfather knows what he is doing."
Shen Yan glared at Shen Ruoxi and dared not speak again.
The Courtyard quieted down.
The Barefoot Doctor glanced at Shen Ruoxi. If he could truly guide Shen Ruoxi onto the right path, a few books were nothing; a person's worth was far greater than books.
Shen Ruoxi read until noon. "Grandfather, I'll leave the books here and come back to read this afternoon, is that okay?"
The Barefoot Doctor nodded. "It's fine, go back now."
Shen Ruoxi thanked him, bid farewell to the Barefoot Doctor, and quickly returned home.
At home—
A middle-aged Woman dressed ordinarily entered the house right after Shen Ruoxi. "Qinglan, Qinglan..."
Xu Qinglan walked out of the Kitchen, smelling of smoke and cooking, "Mother."
Originally, the family didn't eat lunch, but Shen Ruohao and Shen Ruohan were so hungry their vision was blurred. Xu Qinglan felt sorry for the two of them, and also felt sorry for the Child, so she decided to cook the rice Shen Ruoxi had brought back.
Xu Mu looked at her thin daughter, her eyes full of heartache. "Qinglan, tidy yourself up, and come home with Mother."
Hearing this, Shen Ruohao and Shen Ruohan quickly walked out of the Kitchen.
Shen Ruohan grabbed Xu Qinglan's hand and asked somewhat warily, "Auntie, why do you want Sister-in-law to go home?"
Xu Mu pulled Xu Qinglan over and looked at the two of them with displeasure. "There has been no news from your elder brother; he is likely dead. Are you expecting my daughter to be a widow while he is alive? I came today specifically to take her back. The Child is the seed of your Shen family; we don't want him. I will find a good match for Qinglan another day, and then you Shen family will have nothing to do with us."
Shen Ruohao quickly said, "Our elder brother will definitely come back. Can you wait a little longer, please?"
Xu Mu left no room for negotiation. "You can wait, but my daughter cannot. She isn't even twenty yet; she can easily remarry into a family better than yours. So, I apologize."
Shen Ruohao said without much conviction, "Auntie, if you take Sister-in-law away, what will Elder Brother do if he returns later?"
Xu Mu stated forcefully, "How should I know what to do? Who told him to disappear? Qinglan, pack your things, we are going home."
Xu Qinglan said weakly, "Mother, I want to take Kang'er with me."
Xu Mu disagreed. "If you take Kang'er, it will be harder for you to marry well. Besides, this is their Shen family's Child; they won't let you take him."
Xu Qinglan lowered her head. "If I can't take Kang'er, I won't go either."
"Why are you so spineless!" Xu Mu poked Xu Qinglan's forehead with her hand. "Haven't the Shen family harmed you enough? Why do you want to take their Child away?"
Xu Qinglan slowly shook her head, her eyes turning red. "Kang'er is the one I carried for ten months; how could I bear to abandon him?"
Xu Mu stated clearly, "Qinglan, I will not let you take Kang'er. Hurry up and pack your things, and come with me."
Shen Ruoxi entered from outside, a faint smile on her face. "It's so lively here; I wondered who had arrived. It turns out it's Auntie. Why are you all still standing here? Hurry up and go make lunch. You should at least let Auntie eat lunch before leaving."
As she spoke, she handed the Cloth bag in her hand to Shen Ruohan. "This is the food I bought. Hurry and take it to stir-fry."
Shen Ruohan reluctantly took the Cloth bag. His hand immediately felt heavy. What did Shen Ruoxi buy that was so heavy?
"Hurry up! Ruohao, you go too. I'll handle things here," Shen Ruoxi raised her voice slightly. "Remember to cook everything I bought, make it a rich meal."
Shen Ruohan and Shen Ruohan didn't believe Shen Ruoxi and remained standing where they were.
Shen Ruoxi's eyes hardened. "Shen Ruohao, can't you hear me?"
Shen Ruohao tensed up and quickly pulled Shen Ruohan toward the Kitchen. "Let's go, let's go, go make the food."
For some reason, when Shen Ruoxi's expression changed, he became somewhat afraid, even though he was already taller than Shen Ruoxi. He was still afraid of her.
Shen Ruoxi walked over and took Xu Mu's arm. "Auntie, since you're here, let's go sit inside. Lunch will be ready soon. Even if you plan to leave, shouldn't you eat first, right?"
Xu Qinglan wanted to step forward and push Shen Ruoxi away, but seeing Shen Ruoxi's smiling face, she hesitated and withdrew her hand, allowing Shen Ruoxi to lead Xu Mu to the Main Hall.
In Xu Mu's memory, Shen Ruoxi was a girl who had done nothing but bad deeds. Hearing her speak so politely now, she didn't immediately react.
Shen Ruoxi prepared a bowl of sugar water for Xu Mu. "Auntie, have a drink of water."
Xu Mu was indeed thirsty. She took the bowl and drank, expecting plain Boiling Water, but was slightly surprised to find it contained sugar.
Poor families couldn't afford to buy sugar. Had the Shen family become rich?
She would observe for a while. If Qinglan's life was going well, perhaps remarrying wasn't necessary. Her goal was for her daughter to be happy.
Thinking this, she sat firmly on the Stool.
Xu Mu turned her head to look at Shen Ruoxi. "I've come over a few times, but it's rare to see you."
Shen Ruoxi's expression didn't change; she was still smiling sweetly. "I was ignorant before, Auntie, please don't take it to heart. This time, I will definitely treat you well."
"Mother, I'm going out for a moment." Xu Qinglan glanced at Shen Ruoxi, left the house, and went to the village to look for her son.
Xu Mu watched Xu Qinglan leave, then turned back to examine Shen Ruoxi. Everyone said this Young Lady was the nightmare of the entire village, the wickedest girl she had ever heard of, but this girl seemed quite nice to her. "Shen Ruoxi, I'm taking your Sister-in-law home; you won't object, will you?"
Shen Ruoxi replied with an understanding tone, "Whatever you do, you surely want Sister-in-law to have a good life. I understand your feelings as a mother."
"You speak right to my heart," Xu Mu's eyes grew moist. "Don't blame me for wanting to take your Sister-in-law away; it's just that your elder brother's whereabouts are unknown. If we wait any longer, there will likely be no result."
Shen Ruoxi recalled the plot: the Original Owner's elder brother had unfortunately been captured and sent to dig in the Black Mine. He could be ransomed if there was money.
In the original story, Shen Wan Ni encountered him on the road while traveling to the Capital City to do business and ransomed him, spending Fifty taels of silver.
Now she had no way to ransom him. She didn't know where the elder brother was taken to dig in the Black Mine; the original story only mentioned a mountain whose location was unknown.
At that time, the Original Owner's elder brother was taken to a different location to mine, which is how Shen Wan Ni happened to meet him by luck. Otherwise, he would have been mining for his entire life.
There were still three years until the time for the ransom. Money wasn't the issue. By then, she would go to that location in advance to wait for the Original Owner's elder brother and redeem him.