Old Madam Lu felt extremely pleased.
As expected, daughters were the best.
What was the point of raising sons?
Once they got married, they forgot all about their mother.
The family’s labor force mainly consisted of her sons.
The third son studied for the imperial examinations, so he rarely worked in the fields, though he still helped during busy farming seasons.
As for Old Master Lu, he could still work, but age had caught up with him.
That left only the women and children.
The women could only do so much, and the children were still young.
Just as Qianqian had pointed out, if everyone worked for free, the household would lose its income.
Surely they couldn’t expect her daughter to support the entire family by herself.
No.
Absolutely not.
After thinking it over, Old Madam Lu became even more determined not to let her daughter suffer any losses.
“Fine. Handle it however you think is best.”
Then she turned toward Lu Zhengguo and Lu Zhengjun.
“Qianqian is paying you wages for your work. Remember that she’s treating you well.”
“If either of you dares treat her badly, just wait and see how I’ll deal with you.”
“Mother, don’t worry.”
Lu Zhengjun grinned foolishly.
“We’ll listen to Little Sister.”
The fact that his mother had agreed to let them earn wages from Lu Qianqian made him unexpectedly happy.
Lu Zhengguo nodded as well.
“I’ll listen to Little Sister too.”
“Alright, let’s eat.”
Old Master Lu finally spoke.
“Qianqian, put your silver away safely and don’t lose it.”
Instead, Lu Qianqian took out twenty taels of silver and handed them to Old Madam Lu.
“Mother, keep this.”
“From now on, let’s improve the family’s meals.”
“Everyone has been eating poorly for years. Since we have the means now, we should eat better.”
Old Madam Lu immediately refused.
“What do they need good food for?”
“They’re lucky enough to have food at all.”
“Keep your silver. If you want something good to eat, buy it for yourself.”
Lu Qianqian pushed the silver back into her mother’s hands.
“Mother, we’re family.”
“As long as our hearts are together, we shouldn’t argue over things like this.”
“Besides, if I’m eating well while all of you are eating badly, I won’t be able to enjoy it either.”
Old Madam Lu still wanted to return the money.
At that moment, Old Master Lu spoke up.
“Old woman, just listen to Qianqian.”
Over the years, the family had indeed relied heavily on their daughter while the sons had struggled.
Since Qianqian was willing, there was no harm in helping everyone improve their lives.
Just as she had said:
As long as the family remained united, that was what mattered.
Since her husband had spoken, Old Madam Lu finally accepted the silver.
Then she immediately launched into another lecture aimed at her sons.
The message remained the same:
Your sister treats you well. Don’t become ungrateful.
Fortunately, the eldest daughter-in-law announced that dinner was ready, bringing the lecture to an end.
That night’s dinner was incredibly rich compared to their usual meals.
No one spoke.
Everyone simply buried their heads and ate.
As Lu Qianqian bit into a black-flour bun, she suddenly remembered something.
She had forgotten to buy flour.
Rice was fine, but sometimes it was nice to have variety.
The meal ended with everyone feeling satisfied.
It had been so long since they’d eaten meat.
Even the crispy fried pork fat scraps tasted heavenly.
Every dish on the table was cleaned out completely.
After dinner, Lu Qianqian handed the rice and meat over to Old Madam Lu for safekeeping and returned to her room.
The trip to Tianyuan Prefecture and the long ride on the ox cart had left her exhausted.
After washing up, she lay down and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, she was awakened by noise outside.
Opening her eyes, Lu Qianqian stretched lazily before getting out of bed.
She didn’t see anyone in the front courtyard.
The sounds were coming from the backyard.
When she walked over, she discovered the entire family gathered there.
Then she noticed something astonishing.
The mango tree and guava tree that had been completely harvested yesterday were flowering again.
[System, what’s going on?]
she asked silently.
The growth rate was absurd.
Yesterday the trees had been stripped bare.
Today they were blooming again.
At this rate, would they bear fruit again tomorrow?
[Master’s spiritual power accelerates plant growth. The exact speed depends on the quality of the plant.]
Hearing the explanation, Lu Qianqian understood.
Still…
Wasn’t this ability a little too powerful?
Did other Florists have powers like this too?
“Qianqian!”
Old Madam Lu hurried over excitedly.
“These trees have flowered again. Does that mean they’ll bear fruit in a few days?”
Everyone else immediately turned to look at her as well.
None of them had ever seen plants grow this quickly.
“Because I used my abilities to accelerate their growth, these fruit trees mature faster than normal.”
“Roughly once every three days, they’ll be ready for harvest.”
The answer left everyone stunned.
They all knew how much those fruits had sold for.
If the trees produced fruit every three days, that meant a new source of income every three days.
The amount of money they could earn in a month would be enormous.
Liu Zhaodi immediately began shooting meaningful looks at her husband.
The day before, she had already talked to him about building a new house.
Right now, their entire family lived in a single room.
It was difficult even to think about having another child.
She only had two daughters.
In her mind, she absolutely needed to have a son.
Otherwise, she would never have any standing within the family.
Especially since the eldest daughter-in-law had already given birth to two boys.
And with how much her in-laws favored Lu Qianqian, she doubted they would ever think about helping her family.
Recently, Liu Zhaodi had been driving Lu Zhengjun crazy.
Every day she talked about sons.
About how daughters would eventually marry out.
About how a son was necessary to care for parents in old age.
But their youngest daughter was only one year old.
Even if they had another child, who would take care of it?
His mother certainly wouldn’t.
On top of that, their room was tiny.
The entire family squeezed into one space.
Even the slightest movement could be heard.
That was why Liu Zhaodi wanted to build a house.
The problem was obvious.
Building a house required money.
Money the family didn’t have.
And if they tried using Lu Qianqian’s money, Old Madam Lu would probably beat them to death.
Liu Zhaodi’s eyes nearly twitched from all the hints she was giving.
Yet Lu Zhengjun stubbornly pretended not to notice.
Unable to hold back any longer, she finally spoke herself.
“Mother, now that the family has a steady income, shouldn’t we start preparing to build new houses?”
“It’s really too crowded with everyone living together.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Old Madam Lu exploded.
“Pah!”
“The nerve of you!”
“Do you think that’s your money?”
“All day long you’re thinking about Qianqian’s silver.”
“She was kind enough to let you help with the work.”
“And now you’ve gone straight to wanting her to build houses for you?”
“You ungrateful wretches certainly know how to dream!”
Liu Zhaodi had thick skin.
She wasn’t about to back down.
“Mother, what’s wrong with Little Sister helping her brothers and sisters-in-law now that she has the ability?”
“We’ll repay her in the future.”
“Repay her?”
Old Madam Lu laughed angrily.
“With what?”
“You useless thing!”
“Do you think flapping your lips and making promises is enough?”
“You troublemaker!”
“If you’re so capable, go back to the Liu family!”
“Our Lu family doesn’t need a daughter-in-law like you!”
“Get out!”
The backyard instantly fell silent.
Moments ago, everyone had been celebrating.
Now the atmosphere had become tense and oppressive.
Finally, Lu Zhengjun stepped forward.
“Mother, please calm down.”
“She was just talking nonsense.”
“How could we possibly use Little Sister’s money?”
“I’ll talk to her properly when we get back.”
Old Madam Lu snorted.
But she wasn’t done.
She pointed directly at her second son.
“Lu Zhengjun, remember every word I said yesterday.”
“If you start thinking the same way as Liu Zhaodi…”
“Then the two of you can pack your things and get out of the Lu family together!”