Chapter 22: Shop, Shop, Shop

“Enemies are bound to cross paths.” Mrs. Su’s smile froze. “Long time no see, Second Sister-in-law…”

What an unbelievably coincidental day. After not seeing Mrs. Zhang from Second Uncle’s household for two whole months, they actually ran into her here.

Unlike the slightly uneasy Mrs. Su, Mrs. Zhang’s brows curved in a warm smile, as if she was easy to get along with. “Why are you here buying bowls, Sister-in-law? Did all the bowls at home get broken? What brings you all the way to the city?”

Fourth Aunt pursed her lips and patted Mrs. Su’s arm, matching Mrs. Zhang’s smiling gaze. “Oh my, Second Sister doesn’t know? They’ve already split from the main family. Ah Ci’s family moved out, so of course they need to buy household goods. What, no one told you about something this big?”

Mrs. Zhang’s expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly covered it with a smile. “Oh dear! I haven’t been back in two months. I’ll bring the kids to visit soon, or people will say we’ve forgotten about the old couple.”

“Indeed,” Fourth Aunt said casually as she picked up a bowl and examined it. “If you ask me, since Third Brother’s family has split off, the eldest and second branches should also have things clearly divided. Who gets what, how much land—those things need to be settled, or else… well, disagreements can easily pop up later.”

Her words were practically pouring fuel on the fire. Mrs. Su didn’t interrupt, but instead added, “There are only three mu of land in total. Father was fair—he gave our third branch one mu. So I suppose the remaining two mu will be split between your two families.”

It was about time they had something to worry about too—maybe it would keep them too busy to bother her family.

A sharp glint flashed in Fourth Aunt’s eyes. “I don’t know… I think it might not be that simple! Looks like your eldest branch is quite favored—maybe they’ll get more. After all, Fusheng has been studying for years, and the family keeps paying for his schooling!”

The two of them were clearly playing a coordinated act, back and forth. Mrs. Zhang inwardly started to calculate but kept her face composed. “I don’t think so. Father’s always been fair. But let’s not talk about this now. Since you’re buying quite a bit today, and I’m familiar with this shop, let me show you around.”

“As long as it’s cheap. We don’t have much copper.”

Mrs. Zhang turned her face slightly to hide the disdain in her eyes and pointed to the bottom shelf. “These bowls here—they’re the cheapest in the whole store.”

Mrs. Su crouched down and carefully selected a few, lifting them up gently and handing them to the shopkeeper—picking only the most essential ones first. Seeing that she was only choosing the cheapest items, Mrs. Zhang’s eyes grew even more contemptuous. She curled her lips and walked over to the front counter to place down the bowls she had picked.

As she unintentionally glanced outside, a familiar figure passed by. When she saw clearly, Mrs. Zhang couldn’t help but gape. “He girl…?”

Xiang He looked up while carrying a large water jar, immediately recognizing her and smiling warmly. “What a coincidence, Second Auntie.”

Making sure she wasn’t mistaken, Mrs. Zhang showed a surprised expression. “He girl, how did you get so strong?”

“Just from working hard. Second Auntie, you’re here to shop?”

“Yeah…”

She watched as the shop assistant helped tie up the large jar and then loaded it inside with a wooden tray, an iron pot, and various other household items. It was clear this would cost quite a few copper coins. Mrs. Zhang’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurried over beside Xiang He to look inside.

“That must cost a lot of copper coins, right? Did the family split include silver too?!”

Xiang He glanced inside. Mrs. Su and Fourth Aunt were covering their mouths, trying to stifle their laughter. Xiang He immediately understood—it looked like they were about to trick Mrs. Zhang.

“Our third branch doesn’t have the status to get any silver, but the eldest branch definitely does—and quite a lot too!”

“That makes sense…”

Mrs. Zhang fell silent, thinking it over. Based on how Xiang Lao-si had behaved before, all the silver in hand would surely go to the eldest branch. After all, Xiang Fusheng was still studying, and spending silver on him was like investing in a scholar to bring honor to the family.

With this in mind, Mrs. Zhang’s plan took shape—she had to return home personally!

With this small scheme set, Xiang He turned and went back inside, putting all the things she needed into the jar. The shopkeeper quickly worked the abacus beside her. Although everything was the cheapest kind of goods, the total still added up to a significant amount.

Mrs. Zhang looked at these old household items, curious to see exactly how much money they had.

The shopkeeper’s fingers ached from calculating. “Ladies, the total comes to two hundred sixty-seven wen. I’ll round it down for you—two hundred sixty wen it is.”

Mrs. Su was surprised. “He girl, how much stuff did you get?”

Xiang He didn’t mind at all—after all, these were things they would use later. She turned her back on Mrs. Zhang and took out a string of copper coins. “Don’t worry, Mother. These are all things we need. You have to spend to earn. I’ll make sure to earn it all back for you!”

“He girl’s right. Look, your family doesn’t even have chopsticks. Are you going to keep eating with sticks from the trees?”

Her heart ached a little at the cost, but since everything they bought was necessary, all she could do was watch as Xiang He laid out the copper coins on the counter, counting them one by one.

Mrs. Zhang stood on tiptoe and saw a full string of coins in Xiang He’s hand. “What kind of big business did you do to end up with a whole string of cash?”

“Oh, it wasn’t any big business. Oh right—when we split from the family, Grandpa gave us a hundred wen!”

Mrs. Zhang’s heart gave a jolt. She casually pressed on, “And what else did he give?”

“Three chickens and two jin of rice. That’s the bare minimum. There’s still so much stuff at home, and Grandma’s hidden quite a bit of silver! Yet all we got was this little bit.”

If they hadn’t insisted on splitting from the family, Xiang Lao-si probably wouldn’t have given them anything. He likely wanted Third Brother’s family to keep working for the eldest branch for another ten-plus years—until he passed away.

Mrs. Zhang felt another jolt in her chest. Her urge to return home burned stronger than ever. Meanwhile, Xiang He packed the last of their items into the large water jar, and Mrs. Su and Fourth Aunt strolled up casually to rejoin her.

Mrs. Zhang was still standing there, lost in thought, when Xiang He glanced back. “Second Auntie, we’ve still got things to buy. Want to come with us?”

“Ah? Oh—sure, I’ll walk with you a bit!”

As the three chatted, Xiang He pushed the cart and looked over produce laid out by local farmers. It was all homegrown and much cheaper than the store prices. They bought some vegetable seeds and ingredients for the next few days, then circled back to the pork stall—where Xiang He boldly bought ten jin of meat in one go.

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes were glued to Xiang He’s bulging money pouch, trying to calculate how much silver she had. That pouch looked stuffed to the brim!

Xiang He didn’t bother hiding it, but the actual silver inside wasn’t visible. Mrs. Su also did her part to block the view, constantly pulling Mrs. Zhang into conversation and steering her line of sight away.

Compared to yesterday, Mrs. Su was much chattier today, and far sharper too—none of her usual soft-spoken, submissive demeanor remained.

This must be the real Mrs. Su…

Xiang He, pleased with her purchase of medicinal powder, waited until the others had walked ahead quite a bit. She then pulled Mrs. Su to her side. “Mother, you and Fourth Aunt wait here for me—I just remembered something I forgot. I’ll be right back!”

Before either of them could ask, Xiang He had already run off, heading straight back to the general store from earlier.

“Shopkeeper, I have something I want to ask.”

The shopkeeper wore a friendly expression. “Go ahead, young lady.”

“Which builder in the city is affordable but skilled?”

The shopkeeper glanced outside and squinted. “Builders in the city are expensive. Go out to Huang Village and find Sixth Uncle Huang—he’s skilled and doesn’t charge much.”

“Many thanks, Shopkeeper! I’ll be back to buy more household goods another day!”

The shopkeeper smiled as he saw her off. Xiang He jogged back, and seeing that they’d bought nearly everything, she decided to stop by He Suian’s private school.

Hearing they were heading to a private school, Mrs. Zhang was shocked again. “Oh? Xiao Yang and Yun girl are going to study at a private school too? But… the entrance gift…”

Xiang He’s lips curled into a clear look of pride. “Our family is acquainted with Master He, and there are still open spots. He agreed to let the two of them study there. They’ll be sitting in class with my big brother from now on!”

That unabashed pride on her face made Mrs. Zhang feel annoyed, but her deep-seated disdain for the third branch remained.

Feigning a smile, she said, “Well, that’s wonderful. Fusheng has been studying for years—it’s about time he had some younger brothers with him. Unlike my Kaixi, who became a tongsheng early on and now studies in the county academy.”

The corner of Xiang He’s mouth twitched. So she’s here to show off about her Xiang Kaixi, huh…

Fine, she’d play along.

“That’s true—Second Brother is much smarter than Big Brother.”

“Oh dear! You can’t say things like that. Don’t let it slip at home, or the old folks will be upset.”

Look at her acting so smug—like she could actually keep her mouth shut and not go bragging to the whole village.

Fourth Aunt, who never liked that kind of person, curled her lip. “Let’s go. Better hurry and meet the teacher, or it’ll be too late by the time we return.”