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“Eat, eat, eat—go on, eat your fill. If there’s not enough, my portion can go to you too. Satisfied now? Third Zhao, how exactly did you do your work in the fields today? You think I’m blind, old as I am? You and your wife are always scheming to slack off. If that’s how it is, then this household has no place for you!”
Madam Song turned pale with fright. Was her father-in-law implying he wanted to split up the family? How could that be allowed? As long as Father and Mother were still alive, the family couldn’t be divided. They didn’t even have a son yet—if they split now, who would perform the funeral rites in the future, who would smash the basin at their send-off?
Third Zhao stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Old Master Zhao.
Zhao Zhenyu felt like a prairie dog screaming inside. Yes, yes, drive them out! Hurry up and do it! If you don’t, then you’re no better than a grandson! As if anyone here would die without the two of them!
Father, now’s your chance—do it! Divide the household! There won’t be another shop like this in the whole village!
Old Master Zhao understood well—handling Third Zhao was a piece of cake. No matter how much he stirred things up, no matter how noisy he got, in the end he was like a dog: obedient when pressed. His children were his soft spot. Without them, you could chase him out with a stick, and he still wouldn’t go.
If he didn’t want to leave, then he’d better work hard, obediently make money to support the Old Master’s favorite son in his studies.
Seeing her cheap parents’ expressions, Zhao Zhenyu could already tell—they had no intention of separating from the household. She lowered her eyes, a flicker of disappointment in her gaze. These people, stuck in their old ways, had no guts at all.
One step at a time, then. Her cheap father wasn’t stupid, just not fully awakened yet. What they really lacked was silver in their hands.
Money gives the poor courage.
The key now was to convince her father and mother to start saving up their own private stash. If they refused, she’d just save up herself. After all, she had her own storage space. Giving them silver wasn’t just for their use—it was about giving them the courage to one day break off from the household and stand on their own.
“Alright, alright, enough of this heavy stuff. Come now, Zhenyu, Second Uncle’s giving you this cornbread.”
Zhao Zhenyu raised her eyebrows. Second Uncle wasn’t exactly a harmless character either. And Second Aunt, well, she’d been standing off to the side watching the show unfold, even looking a bit pleased with the chaos. This family… tsk, like a den of dragons and tigers.
By the end of the meal, no one ate with real peace of mind. Her grandmother only had half a bowl of porridge before she got up from the table. One by one, the others left too—leaving only Third Zhao sitting alone.
“Eat up, daughter! It’s rare there are leftovers—eat as much as you want!”
Madam Song cast a worried glance at the main room, then silently lowered her head and kept eating. Zhao Lihua didn’t fully understand what was going on, struggling to gnaw at the cornbread. Zhao Dashu and Zhao Zhenyu, on the other hand, weren’t affected at all—they ate with gusto, completely at ease. A good meal was still a good meal.
“Third Zhao’s family, the pigs are squealing like mad. All they know is eat, eat, eat! Do they have no sense, no heart? Do they plan to starve those pigs? The master’s school expenses are counting on them! If those pigs lose weight, you’d better watch your hide!”
Madam Song quickly stood up and hurried off to cut pigweed. Zhao Zhenyu’s fingers paused mid-motion. Those two pigs had only just been brought in—not even fully grown piglets yet. Of course they were noisy. This was just another excuse to lash out, clearly because they’d rubbed someone the wrong way.
The second household had shut their door tight. After the meal, all the chores fell to the third household. Once everything was done, everyone crowded onto the same kang bed.
“Father, Mother, I need to tell you something.”
“What is it? Are you feeling unwell?”
Zhao Zhenyu fell silent for a moment. Couldn’t they ever expect something better?
“No, it’s not that. When I jumped into the river, someone pulled me out. I was dazed for a whole day. That day, I saw an old man with a white beard in my head. He told me my life wasn’t meant to end yet, that I shouldn’t seek death so easily.”
Zhao Dashu nodded. His daughter was only eleven—not even of age yet. Of course she still had decades ahead to enjoy life. How could she have truly wanted to die?
“The old man told me that my past life was too bitter, and my temperament far too timid. He said I must become stronger from now on. Even as a daughter, I must be able to support a household on my own. After that, he vanished. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Mother.”
Madam Song began to cry. Her daughter must have encountered a divine opportunity—caught the attention of an immortal! No wonder she felt something different. After waking up, her daughter, Zhenyu, really did seem like a changed person.
“Good, good, good—as long as you’re alive, that’s all that matters! Your father still has a few dozen copper coins hidden away. I’ll have him go buy paper money and gold ingots. We’ll burn them by the river to thank the immortal.”
Well now, so her cheap father and mother actually had some private savings. Not bad, not bad—not completely hopeless.
“Mother, let me finish speaking.”
“Could you stop interrupting your daughter?”
Madam Song lowered her head and said no more.
“After I woke up, my head was filled with a lot of things I didn’t know before. Like today, when we went up the mountain—I could tell which wild herbs were edible, and which were medicinal. I also suddenly know how to cook and how to make all kinds of things. The strangest part, Father, is that I can now understand the spring couplets posted on Elder Uncle’s door.”
Damn!
The girl has become a genius!
What kind of thing is this? Jumping into the river and suddenly having her brain washed? This kind of thing shouldn’t even be written in a story!
“Is that true?”
“True. Today, I brought back some wild vegetables, a flower, and a medicinal herb. Father, if you don’t believe me, we can go to the county medical clinic tomorrow and ask them if they’ll accept it.”
“Good, good, good! I’ll go first thing tomorrow!”
It’s true, the girl has truly found her fortune. And Zhao Dashu, what does he have to fear? With his daughter around, she’ll surely be the one to send him off when the time comes!
“Old woman, tonight, just the three of us know about this. Remember, don’t mention it to anyone else. If the girl has a way to make money, it belongs to us, understand?” He glanced over at his daughter, who was sound asleep. The little girl should have heard that, right?
“I understand. But what’s going on with her? Don’t we already know about it? Can we keep it a secret?”
“What’s it to them? The silver I earn is for the public, but the money our daughter earns will definitely belong to us. Don’t make me look bad. Whether or not that flower gets sold, it’s Zhao Zhenyu’s private money. Don’t go around babbling, especially to my parents. Not a word of it, understand?”
Song Shi was startled. She had even been considering giving the public silver, and just now, she had realized that Zhao Zhenyu could really earn money. Zhao Dashu, though, wasn’t going to let go of his control over Zhenyu.
“But what if they find out?”
At this point, they dared not hide things? Wouldn’t their mother-in-law strip them of their skin?
Zhao Dashu frowned. Truly, this girl had brought them a basket full of things. If they weren’t discovered, there’d be something wrong with it.
“We’ll go to the county tomorrow and ask about it first.”
Zhao Zhenyu could tell her father was already thinking clearly about this. She had a lot of persuasive words she wanted to say, but it didn’t seem to be the right moment. Honestly, she was very, very reluctant to work hard just for a few measly coins when it could all go to the old Zhao family anyway.