Old Mrs. Zhen had said enough malicious things about Su Nuanru at the village entrance and finally headed home, satisfied. When she passed the Huo residence and heard the laughter and merriment inside, her lips curled into a scornful sneer.
The whole family was so poor they could barely make ends meet, and now they had invested all their money in those shops. Yet they could still laugh. Once the shops lost money and they were buried under debt, she would see whether they could still laugh then.
Old Mrs. Zhen returned home with a smile.
By the time she got back, Hao Chunniang had already prepared the meal. Of course, all she had done was cook a pot of plain rice porridge, heat up a few steamed buns, and warm the leftover dishes. If Scholar Qian had not called out that he was hungry, Hao Chunniang would not even have bothered doing that much. Old Mrs. Zhen had originally wanted to say a few things, but when she thought of what Su Nuanru had done, she felt that this daughter-in-law of hers was actually not bad by comparison. At least she was not wasteful. Thus, she held her tongue.
At the dinner table, Old Mrs. Zhen began criticizing Su Nuanru.
“…That wretched girl actually had the nerve to look down on Wangzu, saying he was useless. She even compared that Huo boy with Wangzu and said Wangzu was inferior to him. That boy comes from a family that’s been poor for generations, scratching a living from the soil. How could he possibly compare with our Wangzu?”
Qian Wangzu’s expression darkened the moment he heard this. Although he liked Su Nuanru, that did not mean he could tolerate her looking down on him.
“Mother, she really said that?”
Old Mrs. Zhen said, “Could I have made it up? She said it at the village entrance, and plenty of people heard her.”
She had actually said such things about him in public… Qian Wangzu’s expression grew even uglier.
Tongsheng Qian said, “A woman like that would bring nothing but misfortune to the family if we married her.”
Hao Chunniang liked hearing such words and immediately chimed in, “She’s only a little better-looking. She can’t lift anything heavy or carry a load on her shoulders, and she’s useless at everything she does.”
Old Mrs. Zhen said, “Exactly. She’s nowhere near as capable as Chunniang.”
The irritation Hao Chunniang had felt while cooking instantly vanished.
Then Old Mrs. Zhen added, “Not only can she not do any work, she’s wasteful, too! I heard that today she urged that Huo boy to rent two shops at the wharf, saying they were going to start a business. Tell me, is that ridiculous or what?”
Hao Chunniang burst out laughing. “Who would open shops in that desolate place? Are they planning to sell things to ghosts?”
Tongsheng Qian also laughed and shook his head. “She takes after her father—always aiming beyond her abilities. She looks clever enough, but she’s nothing more than an embroidered pillow: pleasing to look at and useless in practice.”
In the past, the Su family had been prominent in the capital. Whenever the villagers mentioned them, they had been full of envy, saying that the Su family was the most impressive household in all of Qingshan Village. They had often compared the Su family with the other families. Now that the Su family had fallen into misfortune, no one envied them anymore.
Qian Wangzu was secretly glad that he had not married Su Nuanru. Otherwise, no amount of money in the household would have been enough for her to squander. He glanced at Hao Chunniang sitting beside him. Although she was not as beautiful as Su Nuanru, at least she was honest and down-to-earth. And at night, she had her own special charms.
Hao Chunniang noticed Qian Wangzu’s gaze and looked back at him.
Their eyes met. Seeing the look in his eyes, Hao Chunniang understood and raised her brows at him.
The Qian family continued discussing Su Nuanru’s faults, and Hao Chunniang listened with great pleasure.
But after washing the dishes and returning to the room, Hao Chunniang suddenly could not smile anymore.
Wait—
Where had Old Mrs. Zhen said Su Nuanru was opening a shop?
The wharf!
She had almost forgotten such an important matter. The wharf was an excellent place. In her previous life, it had been reopened, and the village had become extremely lively. Some villagers went to the wharf to sell food, while others went to unload cargo. Every family made quite a bit of money. Naturally, those who opened shops earned the most.
The wharf had not yet reopened, and there were hardly any people there. The shops must be easy to rent, and the rent would certainly be cheap. If she rented a shop now, would she not be able to simply lie back and count her money once the wharf reopened?
“I want to open a shop at the wharf, too!”
Qian Wangzu: …!!!
Only moments ago, he had thought Hao Chunniang was a steady woman who knew how to manage a household. He had never expected that she was just as restless.
When Qian Wangzu said nothing, Hao Chunniang repeated herself. “I said I want to open a shop at the wharf. Did you hear me?”
Qian Wangzu could not be bothered to respond. Su Nuanru at least wanted to open a shop because her family had been in business before. Hao Chunniang’s family had been farmers for generations. She was simply being unreasonable.
“Have you lost your mind?”
Hao Chunniang said, “I’m not ill. I’m serious. I really want to open a shop at the wharf.”
Qian Wangzu was utterly speechless. “At the dinner table just now, Mother brought up Su Nuanru opening a shop. You clearly disagreed and even cursed her for it. So why do you now want to do the exact same thing yourself?”
Hao Chunniang found that question difficult to answer. When she had been eating just now, she had not remembered the events of her previous life. She had merely followed her usual habit of joining in when others spoke ill of Su Nuanru.
Still, she found it strange that Su Nuanru had suddenly decided to open a shop at the wharf. She had never heard of that happening in her previous life. Su Nuanru had always stayed obediently in the Qian household and never gone into business.
Could it be that Su Nuanru had also been reborn, which was why she had rented a shop ahead of time?
At the thought, Hao Chunniang immediately sat up straight and began recalling everything that had happened since her rebirth. When she had returned to the past, everything had been exactly the same as in her previous life, without the slightest change. It was only after she had drugged Scholar Qian that things had begun to change. Su Nuanru’s changes seemed more like the result of Hao Chunniang’s influence; she had not taken the initiative to change anything herself. If Su Nuanru had truly been reborn, it would be impossible for her to do nothing at all.
Gradually, Hao Chunniang relaxed again. Su Nuanru probably had not been reborn. As for why she had not opened a shop in her previous life but had chosen to do so in this one, Hao Chunniang could not figure it out for the moment.
Seeing that Hao Chunniang was not speaking, Qian Wangzu added, “You wouldn’t happen to be the sort of person who sees Su Nuanru doing something and then wants to do it yourself, too, would you?”
Since Qian Wangzu kept questioning her, Hao Chunniang had no choice but to tell him the truth. “The wharf is about to reopen. Once it does, the place will certainly become very lively. If we rent a shop ahead of time and run a small business there, we’ll definitely make a lot of money in the future.”
Qian Wangzu countered, “Who told you it was going to reopen? Why haven’t I heard anything about it?”
Hao Chunniang said, “Don’t worry about who told me. In any case, you can’t go wrong by trusting me. Hurry up and give me some silver.”
Qian Wangzu did not believe her. In his eyes, Hao Chunniang was an uneducated woman with limited knowledge and narrow horizons. Her words could not be trusted.
“Don’t be so quick to believe every rumor you hear. The South Wharf has been closed for so many years. There’s no way it will reopen.”
Hao Chunniang grew anxious. “Everything I said is true. Why won’t you believe me?”
Qian Wangzu remained completely calm. “Even if it does reopen, so what? We are a family of scholars. How could we engage in commerce? It would be a disgrace to our scholarly reputation and lower the standing of our household. I’m telling you now: you’d better give up on this idea.”
Hearing this, Hao Chunniang became even more certain that Su Nuanru had not been reborn. Perhaps Su Nuanru had wanted to open a shop in her previous life as well, but the Qian family were scholars and had opposed it, so she had been unable to do so. In this life, she had married Huo Hanye, and the Huo family were not so particular about such things. That was why she had been able to open one.
There was no way Hao Chunniang could give up on the idea. She could not afford to miss such an excellent opportunity to make money. But she had no money in her hands, so she could not open a shop even if she wanted to. She would have to think of some way to get hold of some money.
After Su Nuanru finished washing the cooking pots, she heated some water and returned to her room to wipe herself down. Once she had finished washing and settled into bed, Huo Hanye finally returned from outside.
After the two of them had lain down, Su Nuanru remembered what had happened outside that evening. She was worried that Huo Hanye was displeased because she had acted too aggressively, so she explained, “I wasn’t deliberately picking a fight with Old Mrs. Zhen. She was the one who started insulting me.”
For some reason, the moment she said it, she felt a little aggrieved. In her previous life, she had gotten into arguments with people over various matters. After Scholar Qian learned of them, he had scolded her a few times. After that, she had stopped arguing with people so often.
Huo Hanye said, “I know.”
Su Nuanru said, “I’m not usually like that. I’m always very respectful toward my elders.”
Huo Hanye said, “If something like that happens again, curse them back as much as you like. If you can’t outargue them, come tell me.”
Su Nuanru was stunned. Huo Hanye was actually encouraging her to argue with people. But Huo Hanye had always been a man of few words. What use would telling him be? Could he really help her trade insults with them?
At the thought of that scene, Su Nuanru could not help letting out a soft giggle.
“Hm?” Huo Hanye turned his head and looked at Su Nuanru in confusion. Had what he just said really been that funny?
Su Nuanru asked with a smile, “Are you going to tell them off for me?”
Looking at the smile in Su Nuanru’s eyes, Huo Hanye felt as if a feather had lightly brushed across his heart, leaving behind a faint itch. His Adam’s apple bobbed. After a pause, he said, “I’ll hit them back for you.”
Su Nuanru froze for a moment. Huo Hanye’s tone was so solemn when he said it that she knew at once he was not joking. He was serious. He had firmly taken her side.
It was only a small matter, yet she felt deeply warmed by it. In her previous life, although she had stayed in the Qian household for three years, she had always felt like an outsider, unable to become part of the family. But in this life, everyone in the Huo family seemed to stand on her side. She was no longer all alone in her husband’s family.
Su Nuanru’s nose stung, and she said in a choked voice, “All right. I’ll definitely tell you next time.”
A flicker of confusion passed through Huo Hanye’s eyes. He could not understand why she was reacting this way. He did not ask further. Instead, he raised a hand and rubbed her head.
“Mm. Go to sleep.”
Su Nuanru looked at Huo Hanye. She felt as though she was no longer quite so afraid of him.