“Dad, you’re back! Hurry and go check on Mom.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
Xie Fusheng asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Without a doubt, his wife was throwing a tantrum over the slap he’d given her.
Zhang Qiuxia lowered her voice.
“Mother’s lying in her room.”
“She refused to eat lunch.”
“No matter how many times we talk to her, she ignores us.”
“She just lies there without saying a word.”
A hoe handle had come loose.
Xie Dahai was squatting beneath the eaves, pounding the wooden handle back into place with a stone.
Looking up, he asked,
“Dad… did you and Mom have a fight?”
He and his wife had been working in the fields when everything happened.
They didn’t know the details.
But after hearing what had happened, Xie Fusheng hadn’t looked the least bit surprised.
Dahai had guessed most of the story.
“Forget about her.”
“If she wants to lie there, let her.”
Acting completely unconcerned, Xie Fusheng deliberately raised his voice toward the bedroom.
“Your grandmother brought back half a jin of pork for me.”
“Dahai’s wife!”
“Cook all of it tonight!”
“Yes, Father!”
Zhang Qiuxia happily accepted the meat.
“What beautiful pork belly!”
“Of course.”
“Your grandmother specifically told Jinnan to pick out the best cut.”
Dahai looked surprised.
“The eldest uncle’s family got rich or something?”
“It’s all thanks to your cousin’s wife.”
Xie Fusheng briefly explained what had happened before once again raising his voice toward the bedroom.
“The village chief already said it.”
“If anyone spreads rumors again…”
“He won’t let them off lightly!”
…
Inside the room…
Someone lay on the bed with her eyes closed.
Every word reached Zhang Yuying’s ears.
She angrily kicked her legs against the mattress.
Dahai and Qiuxia exchanged a glance.
Could Father and Mother’s argument really have something to do with their cousin’s wife?
Dahai cleared his throat.
“Dad…”
“You don’t have to shout so loudly.”
“We can all hear you.”
“Our cousin’s wife really does seem like someone blessed with good fortune.”
Xie Fusheng replied vaguely,
“As long as you heard.”
“We’re all family.”
“Treat each other well.”
Qiuxia smiled brightly.
“I understand, Father.”
“I’ll go hang the pork now.”
“Tonight we’ll have cabbage stewed with pork.”
She picked up the meat and headed toward the kitchen.
“Wait.”
Xie Fusheng called her back.
After thinking for a moment, he said,
“Your grandmother told me your cousin’s wife is an excellent cook.”
“Take ten eggs from our house over there.”
“We can’t just keep accepting food without giving anything in return.”
“And while you’re there…”
“Ask her to teach you some of her cooking.”
“But… Mother…”
Qiuxia hesitated.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go.
She simply knew how Zhang Yuying felt about the eldest branch and worried her mother-in-law would blame her afterward.
Xie Fusheng snorted.
“I told you to go.”
“So go.”
“As long as I’m here…”
“This household isn’t hers to control.”
“That muddle-headed woman!”
Qiuxia turned pleading eyes toward her husband.
Dahai nodded.
“Listen to Father.”
Ten eggs?!
Has he lost his mind?
Inside the room, Zhang Yuying suddenly threw off the blanket and sat bolt upright.
Furious, she was about to storm outside and fight Xie Fusheng.
But when she heard even her beloved son agreeing with his father…
She felt both furious and heartbroken.
Her hand stopped on the door latch.
Grinding her teeth, she withdrew it.
She turned around and threw herself back onto the bed.
Her chest rose and fell with anger.
This family isn’t mine to decide?
Fine.
Then don’t expect me to come out for dinner tonight.
I’ll starve myself!
A hunger strike!
No matter how much they beg…
I’m not coming out!
…
Meanwhile…
Jinxiu was sorting mushrooms in the main hall.
Old Madam Tian and Old Master Xie had gone visiting neighbors.
After returning from the mountains, Xiaoyu had been sleeping all afternoon.
Jinnan was outside splitting firewood.
Eryong neatly stacked the chopped logs.
Xie Changsheng was either working in the fields or caring for Li Xiuhong indoors.
In other words…
It was the perfect opportunity for Jinxiu to use her system unnoticed.
She had gathered:
Making sure no one was watching…
She sold one jin of morels and two jin of pine mushrooms to the system.
Reward: 66 points.
The moment the points appeared in her balance…
Her mood soared.
She quietly hummed a tune while cleaning bits of grass from the remaining mushrooms before spreading them across bamboo trays.
Just then…
Xiaoyu wandered out of the room.
Her hair resembled a bird’s nest.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she climbed onto a stool, rested her chin on the table, and blankly watched Jinxiu work.
Her dazed expression made her look unbelievably adorable.
Unable to resist, Jinxiu picked up a mushroom.
“Eryong told me all these mushrooms were found by our Xiaoyu.”
“They’re so big.”
“And there are so many.”
“Our Xiaoyu is amazing!”
The little girl’s sleepy face instantly lit up.
Her bright eyes became completely awake.
She jumped off the stool, scampered over, and sat beside Jinxiu, affectionately wrapping herself around her arm.
She rubbed her little head against Jinxiu like a clingy kitten.
After wiping the dirt from her hands with a cloth, Jinxiu gently stroked the girl’s soft hair.
“You helped Sister-in-law so much today.”
“So…”
“I’m going to reward you with a candied hawthorn skewer.”
Xiaoyu revealed her tiny teeth in a grin…
Then slowly shook her head.
Jinxiu smiled.
“Then how about mung bean cakes?”
“Candy?”
“Steamed buns?”
Xiaoyu still shook her head.
“Big Brother already bought me candied hawthorn.”
“Sister-in-law…”
“Keep the money for Mother’s medicine.”
Father needed money for his leg.
Mother needed money for her illness.
A few days earlier, her eldest brother had bought her one skewer of candied hawthorn.
She had let her mother taste one piece.
Then she’d eaten the rest herself.
It had been wonderfully sweet.
Whenever she wanted more…
She simply remembered that taste.
Thinking about it alone made her happy.
“Close your eyes first.”
Jinxiu winked at her.
Tilting her head curiously, Xiaoyu obediently shut her eyes.
When Jinxiu told her to look…
She slowly opened them.
Right in front of her was a huge skewer of candied hawthorn.
“Candied hawthorn!”
Her little face exploded with delight.
She grabbed it tightly.
Bringing it close to her nose, she inhaled the sweet aroma.
Then she closed her eyes in pure bliss.
She’s still just a child.
Chuckling, Jinxiu pinched her cheek.
“Don’t worry about Mother’s medicine.”
“Grandma and I earned money in town today.”
“We could even afford ten skewers of candied hawthorn.”
“Ten?!”
Xiaoyu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“So…”
“Did you and Grandma rob the bank?”
Jinxiu’s forehead filled with black lines.
“…Where did you hear that?”
“Uncle Wu from the village said so.”
Xiaoyu looked utterly innocent.
Uncle Wu constantly fought with his wife.
Everyone in the village knew about it.
His wife always scolded him for being incapable of earning money.
Then Uncle Wu would yell back,
“If you’ve got the guts, go rob a bank!”
Wu San…
His wife had only been scolded by Old Madam Tian that very morning.
That whole family really is something else.
Jinxiu carried the tray of pine mushrooms into the sunshine to dry them for future meals.
Eryong dusted the wood chips from his hands and walked over.
“I remember picking a lot more.”
“Why are there so few now?”
Keeping a perfectly straight face, Jinxiu teased,
“The weeds probably weighed two jin by themselves.”
“Of course there’d be less.”
Embarrassed, Eryong scratched the back of his head.
When he’d gathered the mushrooms…
He’d been in such a hurry that he’d tossed in weeds and everything else without paying attention.
The basket had become a complete mess.
He accepted her explanation without the slightest suspicion.
Seeing she’d fooled him successfully…
Jinxiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In a shady corner of the courtyard…
She gently loosened the rabbit fur drying in the bamboo tray.
Rabbit fur couldn’t be exposed to strong sunlight for too long.
It was dry enough now.
Soon it could be packed away in a wooden chest for storage.