Chapter 39: She’s Not Afraid of You, But Afraid of Me

Hu Zhaodi deliberately put on a stern face. “You should take the silver. You and Untie treat me like your own child, and just like your own children honor you, you can’t refuse this.”

If he didn’t accept, she threatened, “If you don’t take it, I’ll leave the Ji family and live in a cave!”

Old Mr. Ji’s eyes glistened with moisture. He and his wife had worked hard to raise five children, and none of them had ever given him ten taels of silver all at once.

It wasn’t that the children were ungrateful; it was just that they lacked the means.

Moreover, being able to take the position of village head was largely due to her help.

How could he not be moved by such a filial child?

Alas! It was his own inability that had kept him from being able to help her when she was still with the Hu family.

Trembling, Old Mr. Ji accepted the ten taels of silver. “Child, I’ll take it. You can’t go live in a cave; stay here at home and be at ease.”

Hu Zhaodi smiled and nodded, “That’s more like it! With money, we can all earn together and live well; that’s what it means to be a family.”

After chatting for a while longer, they agreed to bring some mouse-weed cakes into the mountains the next morning.

After distributing some of the mouse-weed cakes to the three Ji brothers, they went home.

Once the brothers left, Mrs. Ji came over with a set of clothes for Hu Zhaodi.

The fabric was the patterned cloth that Old Mr. Ji had gotten last time.

“Zhaodi, try these clothes on and see if they fit. If they don’t, I can make some adjustments,” she said.

Hu Zhaodi blinked. “Mrs. Ji, why are you making clothes for me? I already have clothes; I bought three sets of ready-made ones last time.”

Mrs. Ji chuckled, “What girl doesn’t want more clothes? Besides, the ones you bought are yours, and the ones I make are my heartfelt intentions. Now, go try them on!”

“Thank you, Auntie.” Hu Zhaodi took the clothes and went into the room to try them on.

The clothes fit perfectly and suited her rustic charm.

Even so, they were still better than what the other village girls wore.

The fabric was picked out by Old Mr. Ji, who thought the young girl would like this type of dyed cloth.

Hu Zhaodi emerged in her new clothes, spinning around in front of Mrs. Ji. “Auntie, how do I look? Is it pretty?”

Mrs. Ji nodded with a broad smile. “Pretty! Our Zhaodi looks good in anything.”

Old Mr. Ji also smiled lovingly at her in the new outfit. “Hmm, not bad. A girl should dress beautifully. After the autumn harvest, I’ll get some more fabric to make you a couple of winter outfits.”

Hu Zhaodi felt deeply touched. “Thank you so muc.”

Mrs. Ji lovingly patted the top of Hu Zhaodi’s head. “Silly child, you’re now one of our Ji family’s children. With family, there’s no need to say thank you.”

“Mrs. Ji, you and Mr. Ji are so good to me.”

Mrs. Ji gently squeezed Hu Zhaodi’s hand. “Silly girl, you’ve suffered so much in the Hu family and endured so many grievances. We wouldn’t let you suffer anymore.

“Our Ji family may be poor, but we never mistreat any child. You’ve come to our family, and as my child, how could I let you suffer?”

Thinking of her parents and family in the twenty-third century, Hu Zhaodi couldn’t help but wonder how heartbroken they would be if they knew what had happened to her.

She missed them so much, longing to return to that warm family.

Her parents had raised her; she hadn’t even had the chance to repay them properly!

As thoughts of her family flooded her mind, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

Seeing Hu Zhaodi cry, Mrs. Ji and Mr. Ji immediately panicked.

Mrs. Ji hurriedly wiped Hu Zhaodi’s tears. “Child, what’s wrong? Why are you suddenly crying? Are you feeling unwell?”

Hu Zhaodi sniffed. “Mrs. Ji, I’m fine. I’m just too touched. When I was with the Hu family, I never felt any care or love at all.”

Mrs. Ji hugged her tightly. “There, there. Don’t cry. If the Hu family doesn’t care about you, you still have us.

“It’s getting late. Hurry and wash up, or you won’t look pretty if you keep crying.”

Hu Zhaodi nodded, wiped her tears, and turned to wash up.

The next morning, early on,

When Hu Zhaodi got up, Mrs. Ji had already prepared breakfast and gathered everything she needed to take into the mountains.

After finishing breakfast, the three Ji brothers arrived as promised.

Hu Zhaodi strapped on her backpack and set off into the mountains with the three Ji brothers.

The four of them chatted and laughed along the way, their steps light and cheerful.

Just halfway there, they encountered Zhang, who was carrying a hoe and a backpack.

Zhang looked pale and haggard; in just a few days, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and her eyes were dim.

Recently, Hu Dashan and Yang had been injured by Hu Zhaodi and couldn’t get out of bed, leaving all the farm work to her.

Previously, Hu Zhaodi had done all the dirty and tiring work. After so many years of idleness, it was unreasonable for Zhang to suddenly take on such a heavy burden.

But what could she do if she couldn’t handle it?

With so many mouths to feed at home, if she didn’t work, they would be starve to death.

There was no food in the house, and even if she ran around the village, she couldn’t borrow much. All she could do was go into the mountains every day to dig wild vegetables and collect tree bark to stave off hunger.

Hu Yaozu, spoiled since childhood, couldn’t stand just eating wild vegetables and tree bark.

Every day, in addition to digging wild vegetables and cutting pig grass, Zhang had to take care of the bedridden Hu Dashan and Yang.

What made her more distressed was that Hu Yaozu refused to eat wild vegetables or tree bark and just cried and wailed when he was hungry.

She had no choice but to go from door to door begging for food, but she hadn’t dared to approach the Ji family for help.

A few days ago, it was still manageable; she could borrow a little.

But recently, when she went to borrow again, no one paid her any attention.

Either they avoided her or directly cursed at her.

These days, nobody had it easy; there were few families with any spare grain.

Moreover, villagers were afraid to lend grain to the Hu family, fearing they wouldn’t pay it back.

When Zhang heard footsteps and turned around, she caught sight of Hu Zhaodi’s face and immediately fled into the nearby field in a panic.

The three Ji brothers were dumbfounded. Why was she running away?

They weren’t planning to do anything to her!

Fifth Brother Ji scratched his head in confusion. “What’s wrong with that woman? It’s not like we’re going to eat her. Why is she so scared to see us?”

Hu Zhaodi smiled faintly. “She’s not afraid of you; she’s afraid of me.”

Eldest Brother raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Zhaodi, what did you do?”

Hu Zhaodi raised an eyebrow. “If I’m not mistaken, her husband and mother-in-law are still in bed because of the beating I gave them.”

Third Brother asked, “When did this happen?”

“About ten days ago. That day, I went to the county town with Mr. Ji and brought back some grain and cloth. The Hu family was jealous and shamelessly tried to rob us at the Ji family, but I gave them a good thrashing.”

Fifth Brother Ji clenched his fists. “Good job! Too bad I wasn’t there at the time. If I had been, I would’ve broken that whole family’s legs.”