Chapter 37 – Marmots

Zhu-shi looked a little pale and had lost some weight, though her spirits were still decent.

Xia Dalang was very fond of his daughter. It was he who had personally given her the nickname A-Liu.

Xia Youcai didn’t say it outright, but he was somewhat disappointed that his first grandchild turned out to be a granddaughter. As for Liu-shi, she wore all of her dissatisfaction openly on her face.

Zhu-shi used to be quite gentle and timid, but after giving birth to a daughter, she became unexpectedly strong.

Even when Liu-shi gave her a nasty look, she could pretend not to see it.

Though clearly on the verge of tears, she could still convince herself not to stoop to Liu-shi’s level and not get angry with her.

The expectation of a grandson turning into a granddaughter was already enough to leave Liu-shi fuming. But thinking back to Zhu-shi’s delicate and fragile demeanor during her pregnancy made her even more irritable.

During that time, Liu-shi hadn’t even dared to raise her voice around Zhu-shi, fearing she might frighten her and endanger her precious golden grandson.

Now, whenever she thought back to that, her resentment doubled.

Still, all Liu-shi dared to do was pull a face, slam a few things here and there. She didn’t dare to actually skimp on Zhu-shi’s meals.

Firstly, because cooking and such didn’t require Liu-shi’s involvement—Zhu-shi had a hired kitchen maid and a bought servant girl attending to her, so Liu-shi didn’t need to lift a finger.

Secondly, because Xia Dalang had inherited Xia Youcai’s notoriously bad temper.

Liu-shi was used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong. She only dared to target Zhu-shi, but not Xia Youcai, and certainly wouldn’t mess with Xia Dalang. If she pushed Zhu-shi too far and angered either of them, the consequences wouldn’t be worth it.

So, she consoled herself:

“Zhu-shi is still young. There are plenty of women who bear girls first and then boys. If she gives birth to a few more, it’ll make up for today’s regret.”

Even though Liu-shi kept repeating this to herself, she still couldn’t help but frown every time she saw Zhu-shi.

In the past, Zhu-shi would definitely have sobbed quietly.

But now, she simply acted as if she didn’t notice.

That only made Liu-shi feel even more stifled and frustrated.

When Madam Zhou brought Xia Daohua to visit Zhu-shi and A-Liu, she saw the situation and called Liu-shi outside to talk in private:

“You, you! Why are you so clueless?
If you didn’t want this daughter-in-law, why didn’t you pick someone else to begin with?

And if you did want her, why not treat her well?
If you torment her to death, won’t you have to spend money to get Dalang remarried?

If you torment her half to death and she falls ill, what if her parents come to settle scores with you—can you handle that?”

Madam Zhou’s stream of questioning left Liu-shi speechless.

Even she didn’t quite know why she disliked Zhu-shi so much. Maybe it was because she had suffered so much in her own youth, and now that life was easier, she wanted to somehow make up for it through her daughter-in-law.

Madam Zhou could see right through her and said,

“Eldest branch, we’ve already split the household. How you treat your daughter-in-law is your own business. But Dalang is aiming for scholarly success. If you carry on like this, you’ll only be dragging him down! Think carefully about what you’re doing!”

With that, Madam Zhou took Xia Daohua by the hand and left with the now-empty basket.

She remained silent the entire walk home. Only when they were near the house did she say a few words to Xia Daohua, telling her not to mention in front of others that Uncle’s household had kitchen maids and servant girls.

Xia Daohua nodded in agreement.

Madam Zhou sighed softly, then supported her granddaughter’s shoulder as they slowly stepped back into the house.

By the time the magnolias bloomed, Old Master Xia had already taken the men of the family to begin tilling the land.

Xia Daohua began thinking about going into the mountains.

The white and purple magnolias were in full bloom, and all sorts of wildflowers along the paths, in the valleys, and by the roadside were opening up. The brightest were the forsythia and winter jasmine—vibrant yellow blossoms that stretched in large swaths, vivid and cheerful.

Cherry and peach trees were covered in soft pink flowers, and from afar, they looked like clouds rolling across the hills.

The spring sunlight was especially warm and inviting.

Winter clothing had begun to feel heavy and stifling, and switching to lightly padded jackets made everything feel airy and comfortable again.

After much pleading and coaxing, Xia Daohua was finally allowed to go into the mountains with Lihua to dig for wild vegetables.

As soon as they entered the mountains, Xia Daohua was bursting with energy—picking wildflowers, catching grasshoppers, snapping branches, running around like a puppy finally freed from its cage.

Lihua, on the other hand, was focused and practical, filling two baskets with wild greens. The sprouts were still tender, so she didn’t even have to be too selective.

While Xia Daohua played nearby, Lihua would glance at her now and then with a fond smile before continuing her work.

She felt that ever since her younger sister had recovered from her injuries, she had become much more lively and no longer timid. Lihua loved this transformation and her feelings for her sister grew even deeper.

Seeing how happy Lihua was with her, Xia Daohua gleefully began searching for rabbit burrows.

She didn’t find rabbits—but she did stumble upon a nest of marmots.

They were plump, their fur sleek and glossy. The moment they saw her, they were startled and began scrambling to escape.

Xia Daohua quickly stored the entire family of marmots into the storage compartment of her space supermarket.

Once inside, the marmots quieted down considerably.

Seeing that her method worked, Xia Daohua was overjoyed.

From now on, when catching rabbits or deer, as long as she was within the effective range of the space supermarket, she wouldn’t even need to lift a finger.

Just as she was delighting in her cleverness, everything suddenly went black—and she slowly collapsed, face-first onto the ground.

As fate would have it, Lihua had just looked up to check on her sister and happened to witness the exact moment Xia Daohua fell.

Terrified, Lihua hiked up her skirt and ran over, knocking over her basket and abandoning her digging tool in the process. She immediately checked Xia Daohua’s breathing.

Her breath was steady, as if she were simply asleep.

Lihua fetched some water from the nearby stream and sprinkled it on Xia Daohua’s face. Slowly, she began to stir awake.

Lihua was nearly in tears.

Looking at Xia Daohua’s pale face and short hair barely reaching her ears, she thought: this child really has suffered too much.

The fear of suddenly losing her sister gripped her heart.

Xia Daohua had just realized that every time she used her thoughts to control the space supermarket and retrieve items, it consumed energy.

Snatching up that entire marmot nest in one go had cost too much energy, and in an instant, she had experienced a blood sugar crash.

Looks like she’d have to use this trick more sparingly from now on.

Rabbits and pheasants would have to be caught one by one.

And when it came to large game, she’d better not even think about using the space supermarket.

After all, staying alive was more important!

…Then again, could this method maybe be used for weight loss?

Her thoughts began drifting again, and her eyes went vacant—until Lihua, trying to bring her back to her senses, gave her two sharp slaps on the face.

(End of Chapter 37)