Mother Xu looked at the wooden basin packed to the brim. Just like that morning, she already had a good idea of what had happened. Still, when she thought about how her daughter had stopped gambling and was trying to find an honest way to make a living, she felt that even if they lost money, it would still be worthwhile.
“Mother, we sold everything! There was so much braised meat. Some customers bought one liang’s worth, others bought two liang’s worth. It all sold out in less than two hours.” Xu Ming’an couldn’t help blurting it out first.
“What? You really sold everything?” Mother Xu’s voice trembled slightly as she turned to Xu Mingzhu. “Mingzhu, did you really sell it all?”
“We did.” Xu Mingzhu nodded and took out the money. “Mother, we made more than one tael of silver.”
“Then why do you all look so unhappy? I thought nothing had sold.”
“We’re unhappy because we didn’t make enough today. In the end, quite a few people came asking to buy some, but we had already run out. We’ll have to make more tomorrow.”
Mother Xu and Madam Zhou were both stunned.
The day before, they had offered to help, but Xu Mingzhu refused. They had assumed the venture would probably fail. Who would have thought that after a bit of tinkering on her part, she would actually make money?
There had never been a successful merchant in Xinghua Village before.
Xu Mingzhu carefully put away the money. “Mother, I’ll keep this money for now. I’m thinking of saving up and finding a way to redeem my eldest niece and bring her home first.”
At those words, Madam Zhou, who had barely spoken the whole time, rushed forward, grabbed Xu Mingzhu’s sleeve, and asked, “You… you really mean that?”
Her daughter had been sold into the Chen household when she was only seven. Redeeming her would cost ten taels of silver. Madam Zhou’s natal family had refused to help, and all the money her husband earned from quarrying stone and clearing mountains had been poured into covering the Xu family’s debts. She had thought that she would never be able to bring her daughter home in this lifetime.
To her surprise, it was Xu Mingzhu, the person she had always disliked, who was willing to save money to redeem Daya.
Could it really be as Zhuzi had said? That she had merely been young and immature before, but now that she had grown up and could distinguish right from wrong, she had naturally become sensible.
Xu Mingzhu nodded and said firmly, “Sister-in-law, I was foolish in the past. I will definitely bring my eldest niece home. Look, I earned a whole tael of silver in a single day. It won’t be long before we can redeem her. When that happens, you and your daughter will finally be reunited.” With that, she carried the things from the wooden basin inside.
Madam Zhou stared at her slender figure in a daze, her eyes reddening.
Xu Mingzhu had said she would bring Daya back.
If Daya could truly be redeemed and brought home, then Madam Zhou would no longer hold any of their past grievances against her.
The first day of profit gave the Xu family tremendous confidence. All afternoon, the four of them busied themselves preparing ingredients. As dusk approached, Madam Zhou awkwardly stepped forward.
“Um… Little Sister, today you said you wanted to save money to bring Daya home. I want to do my part too. Can I go into the city with you tomorrow and help?”
“Sister-in-law, you’re pregnant. Working at the stall would be too exhausting, so let’s not.”
Madam Zhou looked disappointed, but the next sentence immediately lit up her eyes.
“Sister-in-law, now that we’ve bought rice, there’s no need to gather wild vegetables anymore. If you’re free, could you stay home and help me simmer the brine and prepare the ingredients?”
Having spent most of her life working in the kitchen, Madam Zhou waved her hands hurriedly. “Little Sister, that won’t do. This recipe makes money. It’s better if I don’t get involved with it.”
But Xu Mingzhu seemed completely unconcerned. “You’re my sister-in-law. We’re family. If I can’t trust you, then who can I trust?”
Madam Zhou’s eyes grew red with emotion.
Xu Mingzhu’s former behavior could make people cry, but now that she had turned over a new leaf, she still made people cry.
As for anything belonging to the Xu family, Zhou Jinhua swore that even if she died, she would never reveal a single word to outsiders. Yet this girl had said that if she couldn’t even trust her, then who could she trust? The words were unexpectedly touching.
“Alright, alright, alright. I’ll do it.”
Xu Mingzhu merely hummed in acknowledgment and went back to her work.
Madam Zhou lingered behind instead of leaving. After a long pause, she asked, “Are you going to the river behind the mountain to bathe?”
Xu Mingzhu thought for a moment. From her memories, a water channel ran beneath the cliff behind Xinghua Village. The village women had put up partitions there, and many married women went to bathe.
The thought of so many women bathing together in the nude made her uncomfortable. Even if they were only fictional characters in a novel, it still felt awkward. A shiver ran through her.
“Sister-in-law, I’m not going. I’ll just heat some water and wash up tonight.”
A trace of disappointment appeared on Madam Zhou’s face. “Alright then, forget it.”
Sensing her intention, Xu Mingzhu hesitated before saying, “Sister-in-law, I can go wash my hair. Once I’ve finished dealing with this, let’s go.”
“Really?” Madam Zhou’s eyes lit up.
“Mm.”
The two women headed toward the village’s back mountain. As soon as they left the house, they ran into Li Laizi. “Mingzhu, where have you been these past few days? How come I haven’t seen you at the gambling house?”
Hearing the urgency in Li Laizi’s voice, Madam Zhou stepped forward and thrust out her pregnant belly as a shield. “Hey, Li Laizi! My little sister-in-law is married now. Stay away from her in the future, got it?”
“Sister-in-law, that’s not for you to decide.” Li Laizi sidestepped her and moved directly in front of Xu Mingzhu. When he saw her clear and flawless face, his brows furrowed. “Mingzhu, why aren’t you wearing makeup today?”
Xu Mingzhu rolled her eyes. “Why am I not wearing makeup? You should know better than anyone.”
When Xu Mingzhu was trying to win Song Ci’s affection, she sought advice from Li Laizi, asking him what men liked. Li Laizi had taken her to the entrance of the Yihong Brothel and pointed at the heavily made-up women there. “See that? That’s what men like.”
From that day on, Xu Mingzhu had transformed herself into a garish, almost unrecognizable sight.
At her reminder, Li Laizi scratched his head and awkwardly changed the subject. “Mingzhu, a while back I collected some gambling debts for the gambling house and made a bit of money. If you’re short on cash, I can front you some.”
Li Laizi was an orphan who had fled here during a famine. He had grown up eating meals provided by the villagers of Xinghua Village. In recent years, he had been hanging around various gambling dens in Qingzhou City, earning enough money to build himself a house in the village.
Most of the time, he wandered around Xinghua Village and could be considered one of the local bullies. He had treated the original Xu Mingzhu very well. The novel briefly mentioned that after she was thrown into prison, he sneaked out in the dead of night to break her out. In the end, he was beaten to death with clubs by the female lead’s first devoted admirer. That man then assumed Li Laizi’s identity and went to the capital, becoming the novel’s second villain to interfere with the male and female leads’ relationship.
When Li Laizi died, he stared toward the county yamen with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
Xu Mingzhu looked up at the man with his thick head of hair and thought to herself: He doesn’t look bald at all. Why is such a fine young man called Li Laizi (“Li the Baldy”)?
But she quickly remembered why. Back then, Xu Mingzhu had led a group of children in bullying him. They had burned off part of his hair and then started calling him “Li Laizi.” The nickname stuck, and eventually everyone called him that. What a sin!
“No need. I’m done with gambling from now on. You’re still young, so stop hanging around with bad influences and leading me astray,” Xu Mingzhu refused.
When Li Laizi heard her words of concern, his smile grew even wider.
“You don’t have to pay me back.” As he spoke, he stuffed a string of copper coins into Xu Mingzhu’s hands.
“I said I don’t want it.”
“Just take it. My money is your money. Even though you’re married now, this young master can afford to wait.”
Xu Mingzhu: “…”
Just as Xu Mingzhu was about to respond, she saw two people walking toward them. Looking closely, who else could they be but the male and female protagonists?
Tsk. Without her, the troublemaker who used to stir the pot at every opportunity, the relationship between the male and female leads seemed to be progressing quite smoothly. They were already appearing everywhere together. Since that was the case, she might as well help them out.
Xu Mingzhu quickly withdrew her gaze and slipped the money into her pouch. “Laizi, how did you know I’m in urgent need of money?”
Both Madam Zhou and Li Laizi looked at Xu Mingzhu with complicated expressions. If they hadn’t noticed the two people approaching, they would have thought she had been possessed by a ghost.
Li Laizi shot a provocative glance at the pair in the distance, then took out another string of copper coins and stuffed it into Xu Mingzhu’s money pouch. “Mingzhu, take this and use it for gambling. As long as you’re happy, this young master is willing to do anything.”
Madam Zhou had no idea what was going on. She glanced at Song Ci and thought that once they got back, she should have Mother Xu say something about it. After all, he was the Xu family’s live-in son-in-law. For him to be walking around in broad daylight with another woman was disgraceful and would only damage the Xu family’s reputation.
The two people in the distance had heard everything as well.
Song Ci’s gaze settled on the money pouch in Xu Mingzhu’s hand.
Xu Mingzhu had not expected this turn of events. Lowering her voice, she said, “What are you doing?”
Seeing the confusion in her round, bright eyes, Li Laizi laughed. “What am I doing? Aren’t you trying to make your delicate little husband jealous? I’m helping you out.”