Old Madam had once been someone who appreciated leisure and elegance, enjoying a life of comfort and luxury. In her earlier years of indulgence, her feet rarely touched mud.
Having endured much suffering during the journey of exile, she believed she had developed unparalleled stamina. Yet, walking at such a hurried pace was still too much for her.
Her old bones were utterly exhausted…
Sang Zhixia was still taking medicine, and the doctor had said her health was poor. Yet after walking for so long, she wasn’t flushed or out of breath. It seemed she could easily walk another ten miles without any issue—she was incredibly resilient!
Suppressing a smile, Sang Zhixia looked worriedly at Old Madam and said with a bitter smile, “Grandmother, just three streets ahead is Nanji. They say things are cheaper there. Let’s go take a look.”
Old Madam frowned and blurted out, “How much cheaper could it possibly be? Wouldn’t it be the same to buy here?”
“They say a Chaidāo can be ten or so copper coins cheaper. That’s quite a bit.”
Sang Zhixia sighed despondently and said in a strained voice, “Second Uncle and the others work until their skin splits and flesh tears, barely earning a dozen coins a day. If we walk a little farther, they can suffer one less day of hardship.”
Old Madam’s already scarce confidence was once again choked in her throat. Fuming, she glared at Sang Zhixia, unable to speak.
Here we go again.
This wretched girl was at it again!
When they left the village, she had assumed they would take an ox cart. But when Sang Zhixia asked the price—one copper coin per person—she clutched her chest in shock, saying she couldn’t bear to spend the money.
Two people, round trip, would cost four copper coins. If they could save that money by walking, why spend it?
Thinking of her son’s suffering, Old Madam gritted her teeth and endured it. But as soon as they reached the town market, Sang Zhixia started comparing prices and haggling back and forth.
She had to admit it saved money, but her old bones were nearly falling apart from the strain!
Old Madam flatly refused to move another step and said with a dark expression, “I’ll wait here. You go buy it yourself.”
Sang Zhixia hesitated, “Grandmother, is that really alright?”
“What if Second Aunt and Third Aunt say something when we get back? I…”
“Who would say anything?”
Exhausted and irritated, Old Madam snapped, “I came with you. Who would dare say anything?!”
“Hurry up and come back as soon as you’re done. Come find me here!”
With things put so plainly, Sang Zhixia couldn’t insist further. Taking the five taels of silver Old Madam gave her, she turned and headed straight for Nanji.
Free from the watchful eyes of Old Madam, she smiled as she paid for the basket and asked, “Auntie, I heard there’s a pawnshop in town. Do you know where it is?”
The town was small, and there was only one pawnshop.
The woman pointed in a direction and said, “Just head straight that way. The one with the largest storefront is it.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Sang Zhixia slung the basket over her shoulder and quickly walked in the direction the woman had indicated.
“Ah, customer, what would you like to pawn?”
The shop assistant greeted her warmly. Sang Zhixia’s gaze swept over the shelves filled with an array of items, and she smiled, “I’m not here to pawn anything. I’m here to redeem something.”
“Redeem?”
“Yes, redeem.”
Half a quarter of an hour later, amid the pawnshop owner’s sighs of regret over losing a treasure, Sang Zhixia carefully tucked the redeemed item close to her body. She then bought two jars of ointment for bruises and wounds at the neighboring clinic. Only after turning the street corner did she begin to attend to her real business.
To succeed in the charcoal-burning business, aside from managing the motivation of a bunch of lazybones, having the right tools was essential—everyone needed to be equipped with a Chaidāo.
In this technologically backward era, ironware of any size was expensive, and farming tools like Chaidāo and hoes didn’t come cheap either.
After haggling back and forth with the blacksmith shop owner for half the day, she finally splurged on three Chaidāo and two hoes.
The owner, delighted with the sale, couldn’t stop grinning. Sang Zhixia inspected the items to ensure they were correct and then said directly, “Boss, you charged me two and a half taels of silver. Could you write me a receipt?”
As if worried the owner might refuse, she added apologetically, “I’m buying these for someone else. Without a receipt, it’ll be hard to account for the expense when I get back. Could you please write one for me?”
The owner agreed readily, though his handwriting was atrociously ugly.
Clutching the poorly written receipt, Sang Zhixia hurried back to their meeting spot, where Old Madam was resting at a roadside tea stall, sipping tea.
However, Old Madam, accustomed to drinking tea worth a thousand taels per liang, found the cheap tea leaves nearly impossible to swallow, her face full of disdain.
Seeing Sang Zhixia return laden with goods, she asked curiously, “Why did you buy so many Chaidāo?”
Sang Zhixia vaguely replied, “Grandfather instructed me to buy them. Here’s the receipt and the leftover silver. Please keep them safe.”
Old Madam took the receipt, winced at the ugly handwriting, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it on the ground. Standing up, she said, “Since everything’s bought, let’s head back.”
She never wanted to come to this wretched market again.
Sang Zhixia suppressed a laugh and hummed in agreement, following Old Madam onto the ox-cart for the return journey.
Old Madam found an excuse: “You’re carrying so much; walking back would be exhausting. Spending these two coppers is worth it.”
Sang Zhixia nodded in agreement. “You’re absolutely right, Grandmother. Save where you should, spend where you must. You really know how to manage a household best.”
Old Madam felt there was something off about this flattery but couldn’t quite put her finger on it, so she just turned away with a stern face.
As a second wife, Xu Ao’s father wasn’t her biological son, and Xu Ao, the eldest grandson, wasn’t close to her either.
As for this eldest grandson’s wife before her, she had a thousand and one reasons to look down on her.
But strangely, the Old Master, who had never joked with the younger family members even at the height of his power, seemed to be an exception with Sang Zhixia—she didn’t seem afraid of him at all.
Could it be that Xu Ao had actually stumbled upon a treasure by mistake?
Thinking of the tangled mess at home, Old Madam’s expression gradually darkened. Sang Zhixia noticed but pretended not to see.
What did it matter if she was unhappy?
It had nothing to do with her.
In the end, as long as she could accomplish what she wanted, the process didn’t matter.
The ox-cart jolted all the way to the village entrance. After a difficult trek to their dilapidated home, they unexpectedly ran into Xu Ao, who had just arrived.
Seeing Old Madam empty-handed while Sang Zhixia was heavily laden, Xu Ao pressed his lips together and reached out to take the heavy backpack from her.
Sang Zhixia didn’t stand on ceremony, handing over the burden and rubbing her sore shoulders. Peering behind him, she asked in surprise, “Where are Second Uncle and Third Uncle?”
“Didn’t they come back with you?”
A barely noticeable flicker of amusement passed through Xu Ao’s eyes as he said calmly, “They were held up by something. They should be back soon.”
With that, he carried the backpack inside. Ignoring Old Madam’s suspicious expression, Sang Zhixia quickly followed.
After setting the items down in the West Shed, she couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked, “What happened to them? What were you smiling about earlier?”
Xu Ao prided himself on concealing his emotions rather well, but upon hearing her words, the corner of his mouth lifted imperceptibly.
“You saw me smiling?”
“Cut it out. You practically have ‘schadenfreude’ written all over your face.”
“What exactly happened to them?”
Xu Ao sat on his designated wooden plank, stretching his long legs that had nowhere else to rest. A trace of mockery seeped from the mud-stained corners of his eyes.
“The finished Cyan Bricks need to be carried from the Brick Kiln to the open ground. Payment is calculated by the number of bricks moved.”
Six copper coins a day, for moving six hundred Cyan Bricks.
Once Xu Ao understood the rules, he followed them diligently. For two days, he moved no fewer bricks than required, and often more. But there were always those who tried to cut corners.
“The foreman kept a close eye on them. When they tallied up at the end of the day, the numbers fell short. If they want to get paid for today, they have to stay and make up the difference.”
Not a single brick less.
In the past, those two proud young masters, having suffered such humiliation, would have flicked their sleeves and walked away without a second glance—to look back would have been a defeat.
But now, things were different.
They had already put in considerable effort while slacking off. If they walked away now, all that work would be for nothing.
Six copper coins were still money, after all.
Xu Ao collected his wages and came back alone. The other two were still at the Brick Kiln, making up for their shortfall.
Sang Zhixia listened and chuckled softly, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
“Honestly, they deserve to be taught a lesson like this.”
It was just what was needed to mend their cunning, corner-cutting hearts.
Seeing her so amused, Xu Ao simply lowered his head and smiled. But as he laughed, something wrapped in a handkerchief was placed in his arms.
“What’s this?”