Zhou Qinghe continued turning the pages.
At first, Madam Ma didn’t pay much attention. But as she listened, her expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
Zhou Qinghe stopped at one particular page.
“Madam Ma, you recorded this expense of one tael and four mace as miscellaneous household expenses.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“But last year’s twelfth lunar month, when our family bought rice, salt, and oil, Mother and I went together. We spent a little over six hundred wen in total.”
Madam Ma sneered.
“Does your family only eat rice and salt? Doesn’t firewood cost money? What about social obligations and gifts?”
“We chopped the firewood ourselves,” Zhou Qinghe said quietly.
“As for the gifts we sent to my maternal grandparents’ family on the second day of the New Year, and the money spent visiting relatives in spring, you recorded those separately on the following pages.”
The room fell silent.
Madam Ma’s expression darkened.
“What are you trying to say? Are you accusing me of pocketing the family’s money?”
Zhou Qinghe shrank back in fright.
“I didn’t…”
“She doesn’t mean that.”
Zhou Shoushan stepped forward and shielded his daughter.
“The accounts simply don’t add up. We’re only trying to get things straight.”
Zhou Shougui couldn’t sit still anymore.
“Second Brother, are you saying you don’t trust your own eldest sister-in-law?”
Zhou Laogen slammed his hand against the table.
“Let her finish speaking!”
Madam Ma reluctantly flipped through the account book.
But when she reached that particular page, she suddenly fell silent.
Zhou Laogen noticed something was wrong.
“What’s going on, eldest daughter-in-law?”
Madam Ma pressed her lips together.
After a long while, she finally said in a low voice, “Eight hundred wen of that money went toward buying paper and ink for Wenli. I thought his studies were also a family matter, so I recorded it under miscellaneous household expenses.”
Zhou Shoushan was taken aback.
“I have no objection to buying paper and ink. But why didn’t you write down what the money was actually spent on?”
“What’s the difference whether I wrote it down or not?”
Madam Ma finally lost her temper.
“When Wenli passes the Xiucai examination in the future, won’t he look after your branch of the family, too?”
Zhou Shoushan fell silent.
He had never intended to stop supporting his nephew’s education.
But when it came to the expenses of the eldest branch’s son’s studies, no one was even allowed to ask questions. Yet when it came to deciding whether Qinghe should be sent to the workshop, they could casually settle her future over a mere four taels of silver.
Watching his father, Zhou Xiaozhou felt a pang of sadness.
He quietly reached out and took Zhou Shoushan’s hand.
“Father, let’s keep accounts from now on, too.”
Zhou Shoushan lowered his head.
“Keep track of what?”
“How many pieces of candy I eat, how many pairs of shoes my sisters buy, and how much paper brother uses. We can write everything down.”
Zhou Xiaozhou counted on his fingers.
“That way, no one will have to guess anymore!”
Zhou Laogen gazed at his little grandson and remained silent for a long moment.
At last, he sighed.
“The child makes a fair point.”
He turned to Madam Ma.
“From now on, every single expense from the family funds must be recorded clearly. How much the eldest and second branches contribute, and how much each spends, must all be written down.”
Madam Ma was about to argue again.
But Old Madam Feng shot her a glare.
“Whatever your father says goes!”
With the matter settled, Zhou Shoushan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Laogen continued, “Wenli’s education will still be supported, but we can’t keep paying for every single expense out of the family funds. Eldest Son, your family needs to find ways to cover some of the costs yourselves.”
Zhou Shougui’s face turned red.
“I understand, Father.”
Holding the account book, Zhou Qinghe quietly retreated toward the doorway.
She had thought she would get scolded. She never expected her grandfather to actually listen to what she had to say.
Zhou Xiaozhou hurried over and looked up at her with a grin.
“Eldest Sister, you’re amazing!”
Zhou Qinghe’s ears turned pink.
“It’s because Xiaozhou reminded me.”
“Not at all.”
Zhou Xiaozhou shook his head.
“It’s because you’ve been keeping records all these years. That’s how I knew!”
Zhou Qinghe froze.
All those figures she had secretly written down in her worn-out notebook had actually come in handy.
Inside the room, Zhou Laogen had already risen to his feet.
“Second Son, now that the accounts have been sorted out, you should start setting aside some of the money you earn for your own household.”
Zhou Shoushan was stunned.
“Father?”
“Qinghe will be of marriageable age in another couple of years. Xiaozhou is still young, and Qingzhu and Xiaozao will need money as they grow up, too. As their father, you need to put something aside for your children.”
Madam Liu’s eyes grew moist.
After all these years of marriage, she had finally heard those words.
However, before Zhou Shoushan could even feel happy, Old Madam Feng added, “It’s fine if you want to keep and manage your own money, but starting this winter, your branch will have to find a way to provide more of its own grain.”
Zhou Shoushan looked at his wife.
Madam Liu gave him a gentle nod.
Being able to manage their own household was already a major step forward.
As for the grain, they would find a way somehow.
But that evening, when the couple closed the door and checked their rice jar, they discovered that things were nowhere near as easy as they had imagined.
Madam Liu poured the last handful of millet into a basin.
“Shoushan.”
She spoke softly.
“I’m afraid the grain we have won’t last us until the New Year.”
The rice jar was nearly empty.
Madam Liu put the lid back on and sat down on a small stool. For a long time, she didn’t say anything.
Zhou Shoushan crouched beside her, his brows drawing tighter and tighter.
In previous years, the entire family had eaten from the grain supplied by the communal household funds. Life had been tight, but at least they hadn’t needed to calculate how much each meal cost.
Now that they had the right to manage their own money, they were finally realizing just how little they actually had.
“I’ll go to town and have another look tomorrow,” Zhou Shoushan said quietly.
“With the grain shops preparing for the end of the year, someone should be hiring temporary laborers.”
Madam Liu nodded.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Your back was hurting a few days ago, and it still hasn’t fully recovered.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“What farmer doesn’t have a sore back?”
A soft knock suddenly came from outside the door.
“Father, Mother, may I come in?”
It was Zhou Qinghe.
Madam Liu quickly wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Come in.”
Zhou Qinghe entered carrying a cloth sack.
It was bulging with something, and when she placed it on the table, it made a faint rustling sound.
“What’s this?”
Zhou Shoushan opened the sack and found it filled to the brim with wild chestnuts.
“Where did you get so many?”
“I went up the mountain with Qingzhu and Xiaozao to gather them a while ago.”
Zhou Qinghe smiled sheepishly.
“We originally wanted to save them as winter snacks for Xiaozhou and the girls. But after hearing you talk about how short we were on money today, I thought it might be better to sell them.”
Madam Liu was taken aback.
“How long have you been collecting these?”
“About ten days.”
Zhou Qinghe thought for a moment before adding, “There’s another half a sack hidden behind the kitchen.”
Zhou Shoushan looked at his daughter.
She was only fifteen. After finishing her chores every day, she still had to look after her younger siblings.
So even when she had free time, she hadn’t really been resting.
“Why didn’t you tell Father sooner?”
“I was afraid that if you found out, you’d make us take them out for everyone to eat.”
Zhou Qinghe lowered her head and smiled.
“I wanted to save them for Xiaozhou.”
A childish voice suddenly came from outside the door.
“For me?”
Zhou Xiaozhou peeked around the doorframe, his little head poking inside.
Zhou Qingzhu and Zhou Xiaozao were right behind him.
Xiaozao was the first to speak up.
“Eldest Sister, are we really going to sell our chestnuts?”
Zhou Qinghe quickly beckoned them over.
“Come here. Let’s discuss it.”
Zhou Xiaozao walked up to the table and gazed longingly at the sack of chestnuts.
“If we sell them, does that mean we won’t have any left to eat?”
Zhou Qinghe gently patted her head.
“We can use the money to buy rice, and even get some coarse flour for you.”
Xiaozao thought about it.
“Then let’s sell them.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the three biggest chestnuts.
“But we have to keep these three.”
Zhou Shoushan couldn’t help laughing.
“Why?”
“One for Xiaozhou, one for Second Sister, and one for Eldest Sister.”
The little girl spoke earnestly.
“I’ve already eaten some!”
Madam Liu felt a sting in her nose.
She had always thought that having three sensible daughters was a blessing bestowed upon them by Heaven.
But thinking about it carefully, what child was born knowing how to be so considerate?
It was only because their family was so poor that the girls had learned to put others before themselves at such a young age.
Zhou Xiaozhou took one of the chestnuts and placed it back in his sister’s hand.
“Third Sister should have one, too.”
Xiaozao shook her head.
“You’re the youngest. You eat it.”
“Then we’ll each have a bite.”
Zhou Xiaozhou pushed the chestnut back into her hand.
“Once we sell them, we’ll buy sugar-roasted chestnuts and eat them while they’re still hot!”
Xiaozao’s eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“Really!”
Zhou Qingzhu gently reminded him from the side, “Sugar-roasted chestnuts are expensive.”
Zhou Xiaozhou puffed out his little belly.
“Then we’ll just buy two to try first!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
The little house, which had been filled with gloom and worry just moments ago, finally felt lively again.
Zhou Shoushan poured the chestnuts into a bamboo winnowing tray and carefully sorted through them.
Some were plump and full, some had been eaten by worms, and others had already gone bad.
“We can sell the good ones, but we can’t take the spoiled ones out and cheat people.”
Zhou Qinghe quickly nodded.
“I know.”
Father and daughter worked for a while, sorting out more than ten jin of decent chestnuts.
Madam Liu did a quick calculation.
“The market day is tomorrow. We can all go together.”
Zhou Shoushan hesitated.
“It’s a long way to town. It’ll be tiring for you and the children.”
“I want Qinghe to give it a try.”
Madam Liu looked at her husband.
“You saw what happened with the accounts today. She’s more careful than we are. If we’re going to start doing business as a family, we can’t rely on you for everything.”
Zhou Shoushan was silent for a moment.
“All right.”
Zhou Qinghe looked up in surprise.
“Father, really?”
“Really.”
Zhou Shoushan smiled.
“But before we go, we need to find out what a fair price would be.”
Zhou Xiaozhou sat nearby, listening with great interest.
In his previous life, he’d worked with numbers every single day.
And now, his very first business venture was going to be selling chestnuts with his older sister.
This was way more interesting than attending meetings.
“Father, I want to go, too!”
“Your legs are too short. You won’t be able to walk that far.”
“I can ride in a cart!”
“Riding in a cart costs money.”
“Then you can carry me on your back!”
Zhou Shoushan was worn down by his son’s persistence and had no choice but to agree.
Seeing that her little brother was allowed to go, Xiaozao immediately started clamoring to come along, too.
Madam Liu took out three chestnuts and spent quite some time coaxing her before she finally settled down.
That night, Zhou Qinghe repacked the chestnuts.
She thought about how the villagers had always said that no matter how capable a girl was, she would eventually belong to another family after marriage.
But today, when her parents had discussed how to earn money for the household, they had actually listened to her suggestions and taken them seriously.
She couldn’t help hugging the cloth sack a little tighter.