At the Zhao household, Zhao Taohua was finally able to enjoy the rabbit meat and corn porridge made by Mrs. Qian, praising it endlessly: “Mother, how is it that everything you make tastes so delicious?”
Before her transmigration, Zhao Taohua had eaten at every kind of star-rated hotel, and she truly felt that none of them could compare to Mrs. Qian’s cooking.
Moreover, in this household, aside from lard, salt was the only seasoning available.
Mrs. Qian, while picking the rabbit meat from her own bowl and placing it into Zhao Taohua’s, smiled and said: “I suppose it’s a kind of talent. Your father also says that what I cook tastes better than what others make.
By the way, Taohua, was your little uncle truly possessed by an Egui, and was he truly saved by you?
How is it that you know Daofashu?”
The more Mrs. Qian spoke, the more incredible it seemed.
Zhao Taohua’s excuse was already prepared: “Mother, I suppose this is also a talent. After Grandmother starved me for three days, this talent suddenly awakened!”
Mrs. Qian was shocked to hear this: Good heavens, how extraordinary!
“Taohua, eat more. Your little uncle may be a bad person, but saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. You’re accumulating blessings for yourself—this is a good thing.
If you ever encounter such a situation again in the future, you should still save those who ought to be saved.” Mrs. Qian instructed.
Mrs. Qian was kind-hearted by nature, though bold and spirited in her actions.
“Mother, I understand. Today I earned ten taels of silver, enough to pay off our family’s debts.
From now on, I plan to make money through this, so that our family’s life will get better and better!”
Zhao Taohua handed the ten taels given by Grandmother Sun to Mrs. Qian.
When Mrs. Qian saw the money Zhao Taohua handed over, her eyes instantly welled up with tears. This money reminded her of how Taohua had gone hungry for three days at that old hag Grandmother Sun’s hands!
Damn old woman!
“Mother understands. I’ll go door to door to return the money in a little while. There will still be two taels left over, and Mother will buy you some cotton to make a new set of clothes.”
Mrs. Qian suggested.
Zhao Taohua shook her head. It had just passed the eighth month, and the weather was only beginning to turn cool. Rather than making a winter cotton-padded jacket, she felt it was more appropriate to repair their own house—ideally, to tear it down and rebuild it entirely.
She had just calculated with her fingers and determined that three years from now, Zhaojiacun would face a catastrophe of annihilation, and this winter’s heavy snow would be the beginning.
Following that would come hail, torrential rain, drought, earthquakes…
Not only natural disasters, but man-made calamities as well!
Zhao Taohua’s delicate brows furrowed tightly, her pearly teeth gently biting her lower lip, her eyes filled with worry.
“Mother, how much would it cost to rebuild three rooms for our house?” Zhao Taohua asked.
Only sturdy houses could withstand the thick, heavy snow and prevent them from freezing to death in winter.
“Oh my, that would cost quite a bit. Just the mason’s wages alone would be thirty coppers a day. Even if we did the labor ourselves, at the very least it would cost five taels of silver.”
Mrs. Qian said, turning her head to look at Zhao Taohua. She realized belatedly: “Taohua, why are you asking about this? Are you thinking of building a new house?”
“Yes. We already have two taels now. Once we save three more, that will be enough.”
Otherwise, when winter came, life would become difficult.
The cold wind would seep through the cracks everywhere, the heavy snow would collapse the thatched roof, and with nowhere to keep warm, they would ultimately freeze to death.
Mrs. Qian immediately agreed: “Alright, whatever Taohua says!”
Although she knew that almost every household in the village had an annual income of only two taels of silver, and that it wouldn’t be easy for their family to save another three taels, since Taohua wanted to build a new house, then build it they would!
This dwelling was still the old house where Ershu’s grandparents had once lived. Later, their family of three had been separated out and had lived here for ten years.
This house truly needed to be rebuilt—it was old and dilapidated, with doors and windows all on the verge of falling apart.
After Mrs. Qian went out to return the money, she came back carrying many things in her hands.
The villagers didn’t need her family’s money urgently; everyone sympathized with their family’s plight. So when Mrs. Qian was leaving, some gave her green vegetables, some gave her eggplants from their own gardens, and the Village Chief’s family directly gave her ten eggs to take back!
Mrs. Qian set down the things and handed the remaining two taels of silver to Zhao Taohua.
“Taohua, this money was earned by you, so keep it with you. This time the employer settled a hundred coppers with Mother, so put that with you too. From now on, you’ll be the head of the household.”
Zhao Taohua stared at the money in her hand and said: “Mother, tomorrow I’ll go to town to buy some Fuzhi and cinnabar.”
That way, she could earn money by selling talismans.
Things like Ping’an-fu and Protective Talismans—she could produce them with ease!
…
At Zhao Jia Lao Zhai.
After Grandmother Sun brought Zhao Sanshi and Mrs. Wang back, she sat angrily on a stool in the main hall, calling for Mrs. Wang to pour her some water, and downed an entire bowl in one gulp.
“Today was the worst luck imaginable—not only did I fail to earn twenty taels, but I lost ten!”
Grandmother Sun set down the bowl and cursed.
Mrs. Wang walked over and poured a bowl of water for Zhao Sanshi as well, her heart aching at his still somewhat pale complexion.
Zhao Sanshi said: “Mother, that dead girl Taohua was just bluffing today, wasn’t she? She tricked you out of ten taels. That’s ten taels! Are we really just going to let her take it?”
Grandmother Sun’s face darkened, and she gnashed her teeth: “There’s absolutely no way!”
At present, the family needed money everywhere—the bride prices for the eldest and second grandsons, and her youngest grandson was already seven years old. She also wanted to send him to the town school, to make him the first scholar of Zhaojiacun and earn her some face!
But all of this was ruined by Taohua, that little grass dog. When she got back, she had no idea how she was going to explain it to Landlord Li.
Grandmother Sun’s eyes shifted, a faint glint of cunning flickering in their depths.
She beckoned to the couple. “Come here. Tomorrow, do this…”
…
The next day, Zhao Taohua and her mother finished breakfast early and were preparing to head to town with their baskets on their backs.
Mrs. Qian, who usually did odd jobs in town during her spare time, had also embroidered some small trinkets.
Today, she planned to sell them in town to earn a bit of money.
Mrs. Qian had just locked the courtyard gate when she heard a cry for help. Turning around, she saw Mrs. Wang running toward her, hair strands scattered messily across her forehead, her face full of terror.
“Help!”
“Sanshi has been possessed by an Egui again!”
“Taohua, save your uncle quickly!”
Mrs. Wang shouted desperately, her deliberate cries echoing throughout the entire village.
The villagers were used to rising early—some went to weed the fields, some to chop wood in the mountains, some to fetch water and fill their vats…
Hearing Mrs. Wang’s shouts, one by one they set down what they were doing and curiously stepped out of their own courtyards.
“What is Wang Ayun shouting about?”
“Zhao Sanshi is possessed by an Egui again?”
“Heavens, why is that boy Sanshi so unlucky?”
Mrs. Wang rushed anxiously to Zhao Taohua and grabbed her hand. “Taohua, please, save your uncle!”
Zhao Taohua noticed that beneath the urgency on her face lurked a hint of unnaturalness. Though her cries for help had been loud, they lacked genuine feeling.
A few strands of hair hung by her cheeks, but they couldn’t hide the feigned panic in her eyes.
And as she had run over, there had been brief pauses, as if she were checking whether anyone was watching.
Zhao Taohua watched Mrs. Wang with cold eyes, sneering inwardly. Did she think such clumsy acting could fool her?
She had only driven out one Egui from Zhao Sanshi yesterday, and today he was supposedly possessed by another? Even a curse wouldn’t strike that fast.
The surrounding villagers gathered at the sound of the commotion. “Zhao Sanshi is too pitiful. Taohua, go take a look at him!”
“Yes, Taohua!”
Seeing everyone urging Zhao Taohua to go, Mrs. Wang immediately lowered her head to hide the smile in her eyes.
In a moment, she would publicly expose Taohua’s trickery and make her cough up yesterday’s ten taels of silver, principal and interest!
“Taohua, going to the old residence won’t take much time.”
Mrs. Qian also urged her on. Taohua saving people was accumulating Gongde for herself.
Mrs. Qian firmly believed that doing good deeds was a way to build up blessings for oneself!
Zhao Taohua and her group headed toward Zhao Jia Lao Zhai. Taohua’s own home had always been modest, its courtyard simply enclosed by a bamboo fence. But Zhao Jia Lao Zhai was different—its courtyard was surrounded by a wall of rammed earth bricks, complete with two thick wooden gates.
There were two rooms on the east side and two on the west, plus the main hall and the central room, making six rooms in total—far more impressive than Zhao Taohua’s home, which had only three rooms altogether.
In the southwest corner of the courtyard stood a chicken coop housing twenty or thirty chickens and ducks. A hen clucked as it stepped out of the nesting box, where more than a dozen eggs had already been laid.
Mrs. Wang led Zhao Taohua toward the central hall.
Grandmother Sun saw that Mrs. Wang had brought back so many villagers eager for a show and, for once, felt a rare sense of approval toward her. This time, the woman had done well!
In a moment, she herself would personally expose the truth behind that little grass dog Zhao Taohua’s charlatan tricks!