Font Size:
After seeing Shen Zi’an glare at her earlier and then walk away with Su Zhi, Sun Shi regained her energy. However, she refrained from confronting Shen Zi’an and instead turned to her in-laws, crying out to them.
“Father, Mother, look at this! Look at this! Fourth Sister-in-law is cursing me! Hawthorn berries are something pregnant women enjoy eating. How can a few berries I want to eat turn into poison when it reaches me? She just doesn’t want me to have any, that’s why she’s cursing me! Father, Mother, please reason with her!”
Li Shi, who had been developing a better relationship with Su Zhi lately and was upset about the Third grandson hurting Chunyue, interjected, “Fourth Sister-in-law was kindly warning you. How can you accuse her of cursing you? If you’re not afraid, go ahead and eat them. Don’t blame Fourth Sister-in-law later for not warning you! Have you ever seen someone warning you about harm in advance? If your Son wants those hawthorn berries, just ask directly. Why rush forward and grab them without reason, causing harm to my daughter?”
Sun Shi, infuriated by Li Shi’s words, perceived her as usually soft-spoken and easy to manipulate. Seeing her stand up to her now, Sun Shi immediately became defensive.
“Second Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this? Are you teaming up with that jinx to curse me too? I see through you! You can’t bear the sight of me having a son while you can’t! You wish harm upon my son! You heartless woman!” Sun Shi accused.
Li Shi, pale-faced, turned and walked back into the house, ignoring Sun Shi’s accusations.
Despite winning the verbal exchange with Li Shi, Sun Shi noticed Shen Zigui’s grim expression and meekly backed down. She wished her husband would intervene; his absence made her regret the argument.
“Enough, enough. Is it worth all this fuss over a basket of worthless and unpalatable wild berries? Everyone, go back inside and reflect!” Shen Zhang shi, observing Shen Zigui’s stern expression and the onlookers, intervened to defuse the situation.
“Chunhua, Third grandson, help your mother back inside! Zifu, Zigui, deal with whatever you were doing. Everyone, please disperse!” she instructed, signaling the end of the heated exchange.
Chunhua, having been tripped by Sun Shi and feeling some pain, helped Sun Shi up cautiously, fearing another push, which fortunately didn’t happen. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Sun Shi, feeling victorious like a proud hen, retreated into the house, followed by the third grandson carrying the basket of hawthorn berries, and the fourth grandson picking up the fallen berries and trailing behind.
Shen Zifu patted Shen Zigui’s shoulder, instructing him to check on his wife before heading back inside himself. Shen Zifu and Wang shi then escorted the onlookers out.
Shen Zhu, observing everyone leaving, furrowed her brows and remarked, “How can Fourth Sister-in-law cause such chaos even after leaving the house? Calling her a jinx might be a stretch, but she truly stirs up trouble.”
Shen Ziju calmly responded, “It’s Third Sister-in-law who stirs up trouble.”
Shen Zhu glanced at her brother, pouted, and said, “Little brother, don’t you think Fourth Sister-in-law stirs up trouble too? Since she joined our family, it’s been nothing but trouble. She spent a lot of money and even led to Fourth Brother’s separation. Yet, they’re making money since the split. Our family has become a laughingstock. All thanks to her antics. Little brother, if not a troublemaker, then what is she?”
Shen Ziju patted Shen Zhu’s head and said, “She is our Fourth Sister-in-law now. It’s better to speak politely. Harmony brings prosperity, and having a Third Sister-in-law in our family already causes enough chaos.”
Shen Zhu pouted again and suddenly asked, “Little brother, do you think what Fourth Sister-in-law said about pregnant women not eating too many hawthorn berries is true?”
Shen Ziju pondered for a moment but remained silent. It wasn’t his concern, so he turned and went back to his room to read.
Shen Zhu watched her brother leave and pondered whether Su Zhi’s warning about the hawthorn berries was accurate. She wondered if Sun Shi would dare to eat them after bringing the basket inside. She kept her thoughts to herself, secretly wishing that Sun Shi would stop having more children. The constant noise and expenses from having more children were bothersome. She couldn’t help but think about the jewelry she could buy if those expenses were saved.
Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an didn’t go far after leaving the house before being surrounded by a group of people.
Dazhu’s wife held Su Zhi’s hand affectionately, saying, “Zi’an’s wife, you are so knowledgeable and kind-hearted. Even after being mistreated by Ziping’s wife, you still advised her. You’re a good person! I enjoy being around people like you. Let’s make sure to spend more time together in the future.”
Su Zhi wondered what the person wanted as she smiled with an unpleasant expression. Despite feeling repulsed, Su Zhi reciprocated with a smile but retracted her hand.
“Thank you for the kind words, but Sun Shi is my sister-in-law, and the child in her belly is my and my husband’s nephew. It’s only natural for me to offer a reminder. If there’s nothing else, we must leave as we have matters to attend to at home,” Su Zhi politely declined.
“Oh, please don’t go! There is something, something!” The eldest daughter-in-law hastily stopped Su Zhi and inquired, “I heard from the Shen’s third grandson that you picked all the hawthorn berries. Even though they aren’t tasty, you can’t possibly eat that many, can you? What’s your intention? Tell us and enlighten us.”
“Yeah, tell us!” Others chimed in, curious about Su Zhi’s actions.
Su Zhi knew that the Dazhu’s wife wanted to ask this question. She had inquired about it in the courtyard earlier but had brushed it off. The persistence of Dazhu’s wife in following up surprised her. While it wouldn’t be a big deal to disclose her plans to cook something delicious to others who were unaware, she deliberately chose not to share this information with Dazhu’s wife.
“Don’t you think they look appealing, despite not being tasty? They are red like little lanterns,” Su Zhi replied, diverting the conversation away from her true intentions.
Su Zhi, noticing the eager anticipation from those listening for her response, turned to them.
Dazhu’s wife nodded and said, “Yes, they do look alike. But what’s the point?”
Su Zhi replied, “I like lanterns. It’s nice to have something to look at for fun!”
Upon hearing Su Zhi’s response, the onlookers immediately thought that the Shen’s Fourth daughter-in-law planned to use the hawthorn berries to decorate a new house, not considering their edible use. They assumed she was simply aiming for aesthetics. They didn’t question further and figured they would understand once she sold them. Su Zhi had no intention of monopolizing the hawthorn berries; she just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.
“Just for the visual appeal!”
Dazhu’s wife felt disappointed as she had a hawthorn tree on her land and had hoped to make some money from it. She didn’t expect Su Zhi’s intentions were purely decorative.
“Of course, it’s not just for decoration; I also enjoy eating them,” Su Zhi said with a smile, knowing that when she eventually sold the edible goods, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to others. Since she hadn’t explicitly stated that she was eating the wild berries directly, she could easily explain that they had misunderstood.
Dazhu’s wife’s eyes lit up as she said, “We have a hawthorn tree on our land, and it still has fruit hanging on it. It looks beautiful. Would you like some?”
Su Zhi raised an eyebrow and replied, “Dazhu’s wife, I can’t use that many.”
“Dear, you can store the fruit. You can keep it to eat until next year! If not, you can string them together and use them as a curtain. It would look so lovely!” Dazhu’s wife suggested enthusiastically.
Su Zhi thought to herself how crafty the woman was. Who would spend money on these to store and eat them in the spring? Are they for planting? Stringing them for a curtain would only last a season; they would rot by spring. However, she did intend to collect more hawthorn berries. Since no one else likes them in this era, the things she planned to make would be unique, making them easier to sell. More production would lead to more profit. Her initial refusal was just to give off the impression that she wasn’t overly eager, allowing her to negotiate better later.
“You have a point. Take me to see your hawthorn berries and we can agree on a price. Please give me a good deal!” Su Zhi requested.
Dazhu’s wife was delighted that Su Zhi was genuinely interested and warmly led her towards their land with the hawthorn tree.
Onlookers were surprised to see Dazhu’s wife actually selling hawthorn berries to Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an. Previously seen as useless, everyone now regretted not having hawthorn trees themselves.
Su Zhi, Shen Zi’an, and Dazhu’s wife walked towards the land, followed by a crowd. It was the idle season, with women working at home and men doing odd jobs, leaving a group of onlookers with nothing to do.
In the lush green wheat field, Su Zhi saw the tree laden with red berries. After negotiating with Dazhu’s wife, they agreed on a price of one coin for fifteen pounds, a very reasonable deal. While others might see these inedible items as worthless, the ability to sell them for money was quite profitable.
Dazhu’s wife helped harvest the berries joyfully, taking the money and leaving, thinking Su Zhi was quite naive.
Back at home, seeing the abundance of hawthorn berries, Su Zhi was pleased. She asked Shen Zi’an if there were more trees elsewhere. Shen Zi’an, usually hunting in the mountains, mentioned a few on a specific slope and the one on Dazhu’s wife’s land.
Excited by the prospect, Su Zhi had initially aimed to profit from the hawthorn berries but decided against it. She realized their scarcity in the area and saw an opportunity.
“Zi’an, come next spring, could you bring back all those hawthorn trees for me? I’ll make delicious treats with the berries to sell. If we don’t bring them back, someone else will profit next year,” Su Zhi suggested.
Shen Zi’an agreed, acknowledging the challenge of uprooting mature trees without harm. Su Zhi’s enthusiasm for creating delicious dishes from the hawthorn berries intrigued him.
Shen Zi’an was now anticipating the mouthwatering dishes his wife would create with the hawthorn berries, looking forward to savoring her culinary delights.