Chapter 45: Earned Fifty Taels of Silver

Du Wanchun smiled gently and said, “Consider these a gift for you, ladies. If you like them, you can come to me to buy more next time.”

Making pagoda incense was not as time-consuming as making scented dew, but it was also much cheaper. However, for the Zhou family, who had built their livelihood from scratch, having people willing to buy their products was already a great success.

“Alright, we’ll take these and give them a try first,” the ladies replied cheerfully, each putting a few incense cones into their pouches.

The five of them each took a few pieces, leaving behind more than half of the box.

Du Wanchun gifted the remaining incense to Madam Fang as a token of gratitude.

Seeing how clever, generous, and decisive this young girl was, Madam Fang grew even fonder of her. Accepting the incense, she smiled and said, “Earlier, you mentioned that you still have eggs to sell. It’s getting late, so why don’t you sell them all to me? That way, you won’t have to go through the trouble of finding other buyers.”

Du Wanchun was delighted and bowed gratefully. “Thank you, Madam!”

She then quickly turned around and called out to Zhou Ruizhen, “Husband, bring down the eggs.”

Hearing her call, Zhou Ruizhen immediately carried the basket full of chicken and duck eggs down from the carriage.

Madam Fang’s maid stepped forward to count them and found there were about fifty eggs in total.

She handed Du Wanchun one hundred and fifty wen (copper coins).

Du Wanchun accepted the money with both hands and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you, Madam.”

The maid, seeing how sweet and polite she was, smiled and said, “No need to be so formal.”

After securing the silver and copper coins, Du Wanchun bid farewell to the ladies, got onto the carriage, and prepared to leave.

Just as they were about to set off, Miss Zheng suddenly called out loudly, “Young lady, you haven’t told me where you live yet! If I want to buy more scented dew, where can I find you?”

Du Wanchun smiled and replied, “Zhou family in Changliu Village. If you want to find us, just ask around at the village entrance.”

Miss Zheng nodded. “Alright! Safe travels, young lady.”

Du Wanchun sat back in the carriage, leaned against Zhou Ruizhen, and gazed at the silver in her hands, feeling as if she were in a dream.

She counted her earnings—today, they had made a total of fifty taels of silver from selling scented dew and an additional one hundred and fifty wen from selling eggs.

With this money, they could finally afford to repair their house.

Noticing her lost in thought, Zhou Ruizhen, holding the reins of the carriage, said gently, “When we have time, I’ll ask Mother to make you a few new sets of clothes.”

Du Wanchun listened and lifted her gaze to look at him. “You, Mother, and Second and Third Brother all need new clothes as well.”

Zhou Ruizhen kept his eyes ahead and said, “We’re not in a hurry.”

Du Wanchun rested her head on his shoulder, following his gaze into the distance. Dimples appeared on her cheeks as a blissful smile spread across her face.

As soon as they left, the group of noble ladies immediately turned to Madam Fang to inquire about the Zhou family.

“That young lady and her husband are both remarkably good-looking. The Zhou family from Changliu Village? What kind of family are they?” Miss Zheng was the first to ask.

Madam Fang turned as she walked into the house, replying, “I heard from Steward Liu that the young lady’s surname is Du. She used to live in Xiangtan Village before marrying into the Zhou family.”

The maid beside her added, “I also heard that this young lady was once rumored to be a little slow-witted, but judging by what we saw today, that was clearly just gossip.”

“Slow-witted? Xiangtan Village, the Du family?” Madam Li, who had been following behind, muttered to herself in surprise. A thought flashed through her mind—could this girl be the so-called ‘foolish’ daughter from the Du family, the one her son had almost married?

She was momentarily stunned. The girl they had just met was sharp-witted and clever—how could she have ever been considered slow?

Compared to her, the girl Liu Lanzhi, whom they had taken into their family, was truly far inferior.

A deep suspicion grew in Madam Li’s heart—had Liu Shi deliberately interfered back then, leading them to marry Liu Lanzhi instead?

Her resentment toward Liu Shi and Liu Lanzhi deepened.

Meanwhile, Liu Shi, who had been kicked out by Du Dajiang, was walking along the road from Changliu Village to Xiangtan Village when she suddenly sneezed violently. Rubbing her nose, she looked up at the sky and cursed, “Which bastard is badmouthing me?!”

Just then, the once-clear sky darkened, signaling an impending rainstorm.

Ever since being thrown out by Du Dajiang, Liu Shi had spent the previous night staying with distant relatives in Changliu Village. However, she remained furious and unwilling to leave just like that. She decided to return home.

As she passed by the Zhou family’s house, curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked inside.

At that moment, Aunt Wang from the village entrance spotted her sneaky behavior and immediately scolded her, “Who are you? What are you up to?”

Liu Shi quickly snapped back to attention and replied, “My daughter married into this family, so I just wanted to take a look.”

Hearing this, Aunt Wang immediately recognized the woman in front of her as Du Wanchun’s malicious stepmother.

Her expression turned stern as she said coldly, “Wanchun is well-loved by her mother-in-law and cherished by her husband. She’s living a good life, so stop thinking about her and stay out of her way!”

Liu Shi’s face turned pale. Furious, she snapped, “Mind your own business!”

But Aunt Wang had a fiery temper herself. Raising the hoe in her hand, she shouted, “What? Are you here to bully her again? Get lost! This isn’t Xiangtan Village!”

Liu Shi was startled and immediately turned to flee. As she ran, she couldn’t help but look back and shout angrily, “Bah! ‘Loved by her mother-in-law, cherished by her husband’—nonsense! That little wretch deserves to be bullied for the rest of her life!”

Hearing this, Aunt Wang swung her hoe toward Liu Shi in anger.

Startled, Liu Shi ran even faster. But in her panic, she failed to watch her step and fell straight into a pile of cow dung.

“Aaaah!” A miserable scream echoed through the air as Liu Shi flailed helplessly in the foul-smelling heap. Each time she struggled, more of the dung filled her mouth.

Gradually, her movements weakened, and finally, she lost consciousness entirely.