Seeing cart after cart of goods being hauled away, the villagers who had once been jealous of Gu Nianzhi’s family earning money suddenly didn’t feel so envious anymore.
So much stuff, yet they had only earned three taels of silver.
At the end of the day, Liu Shi and her two children had merely made some hard-earned money.
Besides, they had no house and no land—three taels wasn’t even enough to buy a plot for a foundation!
As the crowd dispersed, Old Madam Gu stared at the donkey cart disappearing into the distance, her expression unreadable.
That night, after everything was settled, Liu Shi lit the oil lamp she had always been reluctant to use and sat there in a daze, staring at the chest of silver.
“Mother, your eyes look strange—like you want to swallow that silver whole,” Gu Nian’an said.
He was happy, yes—but what made him happy was the thought of living better and eating good food in the future.
He had no particular attachment to money itself.
Watching the mother and son sitting on the bed with such a stark contrast between them, Gu Nianzhi burst out laughing.
“What are you laughing at? I’ve lived two lifetimes and never seen this much money before. Can’t I enjoy touching it a little now?” Liu Shi said excitedly, accidentally letting something slip.
Thankfully, Gu Nian’an was only six years old and didn’t notice the meaning behind “two lifetimes” at all.
“I think An’an’s attitude of treating money like dirt actually makes him suited to be an official,” Gu Nianzhi said seriously.
Gu Nian’an didn’t love money, knew how to deal with people, and was clever. If he became an official in the future, he would surely thrive in the bureaucracy.
Liu Shi fell silent.
“With our current situation, it’s not very suitable to send An’an to school.”
“There’s no rush,” Gu Nianzhi replied. “We can wait a couple of years.”
If he truly had talent for studying, starting at eight wouldn’t stop him from earning scholarly honors. If not, then learning a few characters would still be worthwhile.
That night, Liu Shi was so excited she couldn’t sleep at all. When morning came, she felt dizzy and completely drained.
“Liu Guiniang! Get out here!”
A sharp, shrill voice came from outside the courtyard. Gu Nianzhi went out to take a look and saw a middle-aged man supporting a gray-haired old woman at the gate.
“Who are you?” Gu Nianzhi asked.
She searched through the original owner’s memories but couldn’t recall who these two were.
Still, anyone who came yelling outside someone else’s home first thing in the morning was clearly no good.
Without indulging them, Gu Nianzhi splashed out the basin of wash water she was about to dump.
“Ow! You damned little slut! How dare you splash me with water—I’ll beat you to death!”
The old woman hobbled in with her cane, raised her hand, and was about to strike Gu Nianzhi across the face.
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t about to let that happen. She sidestepped behind the old woman and kicked her sharply in the knee.
“Ah! Help! My leg is broken!”
The old woman collapsed to the ground in pain. Seeing this, the middle-aged man grabbed the cane and swung it toward Gu Nianzhi’s head.
Liu Shi rushed out just in time and stopped him.
“Big brother, what are you doing? Nianzhi is still just a child—how can you be so vicious?!”
If that blow landed, Gu Nianzhi would probably die a second time!
The man, angered that Liu Shi dared to stop him, slapped her across the face.
“Mother’s been shouting outside for ages and you couldn’t hear? Making us wait so long—I see you’ve grown bold!”
“Brother, you barged into my home early in the morning and tried to beat my child. Is that how a brother behaves?”
In her previous life, Liu Shi would have been overjoyed to see her natal family.
But she was no longer the same person.
Back then, when she was destitute and wandering the streets, the Liu family—who had been allotted a place in town—refused to give her even a mouthful of food, watching coldly as she froze to death.
Now, seeing Old Madam Liu and her eldest brother Liu Wansheng again, she felt nothing but chill in her heart.
“So now that you’re married, you don’t even recognize your own mother anymore?” Old Madam Liu sneered.
After Steward Song left the day before, Old Madam Gu had gone straight to Liu Shi’s natal home.
Now that Liu Shi and Gu Dachui were divorced, directly demanding money would get them nothing—and might even damage her precious grandson’s reputation.
But Old Madam Liu was different.
She was Liu Shi’s biological mother.
If Liu Shi dared to lay a hand on her, that would be a grave act of unfilial behavior.
So they had agreed beforehand: if they got the three taels of silver, they’d split it evenly.
When Old Madam Liu heard that Liu Shi had earned three taels, she happily agreed.
Even one and a half taels would be enough for her family to eat for half a year. Just a trip and some words—why not take it?
So early that morning, Old Madam Liu brought her eldest son to Pear Blossom Village.
Liu Shi knew at once—word of her earning money had reached their ears.
They were here to suck her blood.
Gu Nian’an, seeing his so-called grandmother for the second time, was so scared he hid inside the house and didn’t dare come out.
Why was Grandma just as fierce as Grandma Gu?
So scary!
He didn’t want their family’s food to be taken away!
“Mother, when I divorced, I never returned to my natal home, nor did I ask you for a single copper. Now you bring big brother here—what exactly do you mean?”
Old Madam Liu shot her a glare.
“You not coming back is your business. But earning money and not honoring your mother—that’s ingratitude!”
“That’s right!” Liu Wansheng chimed in disdainfully. “Mother’s eating chaff and wild vegetables at home, and you don’t even help out. Our parents raised you for nothing!”
Their family already had a divorced woman—who knew what others were saying behind their backs!
It was all Liu Guiniang’s fault, this shameless woman.
Now the daughters in the family wouldn’t even fetch a good price if sold.
“Brother, I was sent to town as a maid when I was young. You took all my monthly wages. When I married, you accepted one tael of silver. The money you used to marry your wife came from what I earned as a maid. Even the few mu of land at home were bought with my sold-body money. How dare you say such things?”
Liu Shi was utterly heartbroken.
If circumstances allowed, she would have beaten the two of them out of the door herself.
Liu Wansheng hated it most when people said his marriage money came from Liu Shi.
Hearing it now, he instantly exploded.
“What did you say? Say it again if you dare! I should’ve sold you to a brothel back then—you should be grateful I didn’t!”
He advanced menacingly toward Liu Shi.
Old Madam Liu, unable to stand due to her leg pain, sat on the ground screaming for him to beat the mother and children to death.
This put them in a terrible position.
The other side was Liu Shi’s own mother—they couldn’t lay hands on an elder.
With no choice, Gu Nianzhi told Gu Nian’an to run and fetch the village head.
After months of recovery, Liu Shi’s body was stronger now.
She managed to dodge Liu Wansheng’s attacks with agility.
Soon, the village head arrived with a group of villagers. Seeing so many people from Pear Blossom Village, Old Madam Liu immediately lost her nerve.
“What are you doing? Bullying us because you think our village has no one left?”
Though Liu Shi’s family was divorced, the two children still bore the Gu surname—they were still people of Pear Blossom Village.
Seeing outsiders come in to bully them, the villagers grabbed hoes and sickles and rushed over.
“This is our family matter,” Old Madam Liu said stiffly. “I’m disciplining my married-out daughter. Don’t interfere.”
Facing so many people, her heart pounded.
This era valued clan ties.
If they went too far, the Gu clan of Pear Blossom Village really might beat them senseless.
“If there’s something to say, say it properly—no violence,” the village head said. “Liu Shi and the children are still members of our clan. There’s no way we’ll let you bully them here.”
He didn’t want things to get ugly.
If the old woman knew when to stop, he wouldn’t pursue it further.
Old Madam Liu felt guilty.
How could she admit she’d come purely for her daughter’s silver?
But Liu Wansheng had already been driven to desperation. Without thinking, he blurted out the true purpose of their visit.