Xu Ru took a sip of the mushroom soup and smacked her lips. “Mengyatou, your cooking is really something! This pig offal—anyone else would’ve thrown it away just for being dirty, but in your hands, it’s even more fragrant than the braised dishes in a restaurant.”
Granny Lu trembled slightly as she picked up a piece of pork intestine, chewing slowly. Her eyes were full of warmth. “Mm… it’s good. This girl is blessed. Our Lu family being able to marry such a capable granddaughter-in-law… truly ancestors’ blessing.”
Ye Mengyi’s cheeks turned slightly red from the praise. She quickly waved her hands. “Grandma, don’t say that. It’s just home cooking. As long as everyone doesn’t mind it, I’ll make it often for you all.”
Lu Qingshan, sitting beside her, had nearly finished his bowl. Hearing this, he looked up at her with a smile and nodded firmly. “Mm.”
“Oh right,” Ye Mengyi said, suddenly remembering something important. “Everyone should sleep early tonight. After cleaning up the dishes, rest well. Tomorrow morning we’ll go up the mountain to pick mushrooms—we still need to deliver twenty jin to Yue Lai Restaurant.”
“Okay!” The children were the first to respond. Picking mushrooms meant going up the mountain to play and earn money—they were the most excited.
Lu Qinghai’s mouth was still full, but he nodded eagerly too. “I swear I’ll wake up earlier than the rooster tomorrow!”
The family chatted and laughed, and soon the table was cleared. Even the last bit of gravy was scraped clean by the children mixed with rice.
After the dishes were washed, a faint braised aroma still lingered in the kitchen.
Ye Mengyi wiped her hands and took out a blue cloth bundle from her chest. She placed it on the table in front of everyone.
“This is the money from selling mushrooms and recipes today. I’ve calculated it for everyone.”
She untied the cloth string. Inside were several silver taels and a pile of copper coins.
“Total sales: ten taels and one hundred twenty-six wen. After subtracting three hundred thirty wen for rice and flour, sixty wen for meat, and one hundred sixty wen for salt, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar, we have nine taels and five hundred seventy-six wen left.”
She neatly arranged the silver and pushed it toward Granny Lu. “Grandma, please count it.”
The Lu family’s eyes lit up instantly, staring straight at the money on the table.
Nine taels of silver—this was an astronomical sum for a family that usually struggled to see even a few coins.
Lu He couldn’t help but gasp. “Good heavens… in such a short time, we’ve already saved this much?”
Granny Lu’s thin fingers brushed over the silver ingots, trembling. Instead of counting, she tapped the ground lightly with her cane and said firmly, “Mengyatou, you keep this money.”
Ye Mengyi was startled. “Grandma, I…”
“Listen to me first,” Granny Lu interrupted, her gaze sweeping across everyone. “From today onward, this household will be managed by you.”
The room went silent.
Lu Dahé knocked his tobacco pipe and nodded first. “Mother is right. Mengyatou is clever, good at earning money, and careful with spending. If she manages the house, our Lu family will definitely live well. I’ll listen to her.”
“I agree too!” Xu Ru immediately chimed in. “Ever since Mengyatou came, we’ve had enough food and even meat. This kind of life—we couldn’t even imagine before.”
Sun Yanfeng nodded as well. “Yes, she’s meticulous and capable. We feel at ease with her in charge.”
Lu Erhe, Lu Sanhe, and even the children all shouted in agreement.
“Agreed!”
Ye Mengyi looked at everyone’s trusting faces, her heart warming, but she still shook her head. “Grandma, uncles, aunts, thank you for trusting me. But you should keep this money for now.”
She explained calmly, “Qingshan and I go up the mountain every day and deliver goods to the restaurant. We’re out early and back late. It’s not safe to keep the money with us. You’re the elder at home—keeping it with you is the most suitable.”
After a pause, she added with a smile, “Besides, right now we mainly earn from mushrooms, and expenses are simple. When life gets better and we build brick houses and have more income, we can set up proper accounts. Then I’ll help manage it. How does that sound?”
Granny Lu looked at her sincere expression and smiled. “Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you. I’ll keep the money for now. If you need it, just come to me anytime.”
Lu Erhe rubbed his rough hands, eyes filled with disbelief. Xu Ru also turned red-eyed and murmured, “Mengyatou… are we really going to live in brick houses someday?”
Ye Mengyi turned to them, her gaze bright and steady. “Second Uncle, Second Aunt, yes. As long as we all work together, that day won’t be far.”
“Good! Good!” Lu Erhe nodded repeatedly, voice trembling with excitement. “Mengyatou, from now on whatever you say goes! We’ll do whatever you ask—we’ll work hard for that brick house!”
Xu Ru also nodded, wiping the corner of her eye. “Yes… as long as we can live in a house that doesn’t leak, no matter how hard it is, it’s worth it.”
Ye Mengyi smiled and looked at the children at the table. “Not only brick houses. In the future, Qing Song will go to school.”
“Huh?” Lu Qingsong, still holding onto the table edge, looked up blankly, his little face full of confusion.
Lu Dahé’s tobacco pipe dropped with a clang. He quickly picked it up, voice trembling. “Mengyatou… you mean Qing Song can really study?”
In this village, only wealthy families dared to think about education. The Lu family had never produced a literate person in generations.
“Father, don’t worry,” Ye Mengyi said calmly. “As long as Qingshan and I work hard, we will definitely support Qing Song’s studies. Not only him—Qinglian, Qingyu, and Qingshuang too. We’ll find masters for them to learn skills. Girls should also have the ability to support themselves.”
“This… this…” Sun Yanfeng’s lips trembled, tears welling in her eyes, unable to speak.
Her greatest regret in life was not having a son. Now hearing Ye Mengyi say that even girls would be taught skills—how could she not be moved?
Lu Sanhe nodded firmly, eyes full of gratitude. “Mengyatou… thank you. Thank you for thinking of the children.”
Granny Lu’s cloudy eyes glistened with tears. She tapped the ground with her cane and said choked up, “Good girl… you’re truly the blessing of our Lu family! From now on, this household will listen to you completely!”
Lu Qingshan, who had been quiet all this time, quietly reached out and took Ye Mengyi’s hand.
His palm was broad and warm, rough with calluses from hard labor, but it carried steady strength.
“Yes,” he said, looking at her firmly. “From now on, we’ll all listen to you.”
Feeling the warmth in her hand, Ye Mengyi’s heart filled with emotion.
She tightened her grip slightly and smiled at everyone. “We don’t need to rush. Step by step, life will get better day by day. As long as we stay united, everything we’ve talked about… will come true someday.”