Li Deyou and Li Xinhe had already gone separately to inform Li Shengyi’s and Li Shenglai’s households.

For once, the Li Shengyi family had lit an oil lamp. The men were busy sharpening knives, and the women were sorting through the baskets. The whole family was full of energy, standing tall with their sleeves rolled up, clearly ready to get down to serious work.

Li Deyou passed along the clan head’s instructions: they were not to disclose anything about the eucommia trees to outsiders.

The head of the household, Li Shengyi, gave a quick and decisive reply. “Got it, Deyou. We understand. You can head back now. We’re busy today, so we won’t keep you.”

“Alright.” The trip was effortless for Li Deyou—he barely stepped inside and quickly turned around to leave.

None of the men in the Li family had any objections to Li Shengyi’s decision. However, the expressions of a few daughters-in-law were complicated—they all had families of their own. But with the clan head’s orders and the old man in their household having spoken, the women had no say in the matter.

Compared to the high spirits in Li Guiqian’s home, where everyone was united and fired up to make money tomorrow, the atmosphere in Li Shengli’s home, where Li Xinhe went to pass on the message, was far too heavy.

Even though Li Xiannan was sharpening his knife and the women were packing the baskets, the mood wasn’t exactly cheerful. There was a faint awkwardness and tension in the air.

Still, no matter how strange it felt, Li Xinhe said nothing. He simply passed on the instructions from the clan head and Third Great-Uncle: no matter who asks, don’t say a word. If anyone has questions, send them to the clan head.

Just as Li Xinhe finished speaking, Li Xiannan’s eyes suddenly lit up. He had been agonizing over this all day, and the more he thought about it, the more hopeless he felt.

There wasn’t a single eucommia tree on their family’s land. His mother didn’t like them.

She used to say: “It doesn’t flower, doesn’t bear fruit, and smells strange. It’s not as good as pine or cypress. Might as well just burn it as firewood.”

At the time, they had thought it wasn’t worth upsetting her over just some trees, so they went along with it.

But deep down, Li Xiannan vaguely understood that the real reason his mother disliked eucommia trees was because his father’s first wife, Madam Luo, had loved the smell of them. Back then, their father’s land had been full of these trees. Later, their mother found every excuse to have them chopped down and burned.

But… who would’ve thought this kind of tree could turn things around and be worth a lot of money?

The more they had disliked them back then, the more they regretted it now. If the trees in his father’s land had been left alone, they would have grown for over thirty or forty years by now. Each one could yield bark worth at least two strings of coins.

A single tree—worth two strings of coins.

So when Li Xiannan came home and shared the news, the entire house fell into silence. The feud between Madam Chen and Madam Luo came to mind. Madam Chen had loathed eucommia trees so much that she hadn’t even wanted them used as firewood.

In the end, she just couldn’t win.

In that moment, everyone silently had the same thought.

But no one dared say it aloud.

That’s why things felt so strange when Li Xinhe arrived.

After hearing the clan head’s decision, Li Xiannan was the first to respond: this meant their family now had a head start over the rest of the village—they could get out there and gather more eucommia trees before anyone else.

“Father, since the others will find out later, we can collect more eucommia bark first,” Li Xiannan said, unable to hide his excitement.

A trace of joy finally appeared on Li Shengli’s face.

“Right. Our whole family needs to act fast and seize this opportunity. Tomorrow, everyone who can go will head up the mountain to look for eucommia trees and strip the bark.”

Then he glanced around the room and added, “Ye-shi, you’re heavily pregnant, so stay home and handle the housework. Also, Changrong, since it’s hard for you to ask for leave from Scholar Zhu, you don’t have to go either.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“Yes, Father.”

Ye-shi and Li Changrong both answered together.

Only then did Madam Chen come back to her senses.

No, she couldn’t let Li Shengli end up resenting her because of this.

Madam Chen lowered her head, her face full of sorrow. “Xiannan, Xianxi… it’s Mother who’s let you down. Husband, I’ve let you down too.”

“I know I’m the second wife. I was born lower than Elder Sister. When I pass on, I’ll serve her in the afterlife, pour tea, and attend to her. I just… I just wanted these few decades of life to belong to me.”

“I was too greedy. I lost my mind. I just didn’t want our children to be looked down on because I’m the second wife.”

“Husband, I’ve wronged you. I just couldn’t stop thinking… after a hundred years, in the afterlife, you and Sister Luo are the real couple. That thought alone feels like my heart’s being ripped apart.”

“This is all my fault. Everything. I’ll kneel and beg her forgiveness in the afterlife. In the next life, I’ll work like a beast to make it up to her.”

The more Madam Chen spoke, the more pitiful she became. Her sobbing left Li Shengli completely at a loss.

What kind of person Madam Luo had been, Li Shengli had nearly forgotten. All he remembered was that she came with a dowry and had a bad temper. They argued constantly, and she often complained to his parents, making him feel like he had no dignity at all.

If it had been up to him, he would’ve chosen Madam Chen. She had a gentler nature. Though she had her own little schemes, she always put him first.

A man is the sky to a woman—that’s how it should be. Madam Chen only acted this way because she cared about him too much. Thinking of this, the resentment in Li Shengli’s heart faded.

“Forget it. Get up. We’ve been husband and wife for half a lifetime. Don’t I know you by now?”

And just like that, the matter passed. Madam Chen stood up, holding onto Li Xiannan’s arm, still tearful. “Husband, I’ll bring you your footbath.”

“Mm.” Li Shenglǐ waved his hand and went back inside the room.

Only Li Xiannan and Li Xianxi’s wives were left outside, both silently clenching their teeth: She was clearly the wife, yet acted like a concubine. With a mother-in-law like this, there was no room to speak up in this household, let alone hope to win their husband’s affection. Life really felt suffocating.

But no matter how much they clenched their teeth, this family was just like that—especially the men from the Li family. Every single one of them, from the oldest to the youngest, liked that type of woman. What could they do?

As for the struggles within the old family home, Li Xiandong’s household knew nothing. Even if they had, they probably wouldn’t have cared.

What did it have to do with them? Making money was what mattered!

And it was great. Just tiring. The three of them had just finished dinner. The fatigue of the day had eased a little with a full belly, but none of them felt like moving.

But they couldn’t slack off. Li Xiaohan sat up with renewed determination. “Father, we need to clean a batch of eucommia bark tonight and soak it in salt water. That way, by tomorrow evening, we can try processing it. Then, the morning after, we can take it to the medicine hall to see if it meets the standard.”

“If it works, we won’t sell fresh bark anymore. We’ll process it all into dried bark—it’ll earn more. And we can do the drying slowly, so you won’t have to run to town every day. The time saved can be used to collect more bark in the mountains. With just a few of us in the family, we can manage this.”

“If it doesn’t work, we’ve only wasted two days, and the fresh bark hasn’t lost much weight.”

Li Xiandong thought it over and agreed.

So Madam Wang cleaned up the dishes and started preparing for tomorrow’s meals, while Li Xiandong and Li Xiaohan fetched water to clean the bark. Fortunately, there was still half a tank of water. Otherwise, Li Xiandong would have had to fetch water from the village well in the dark. Not having a well at home really was inconvenient.

The water was ready, but staring at the full basket of eucommia bark, Li Xiandong felt completely lost. He racked his brain, trying to recall what Master Shi from Renhetang had said. Holding the bark, he didn’t even know where to start.

Surprisingly, it was Li Xiaohan who picked up a piece, glanced at it, and immediately tossed aside the rag her father gave her. She went to the tool room to get a chopping knife but found it too heavy, so she switched to two kitchen knives instead. Then she grabbed two straw brooms and sat down in front of the basin, ready to get started.

“Father, watch me,” she said, her small voice bright and clear. Though she was just a child, she looked surprisingly dependable.

First, she used a kitchen knife to scrape off the tough outer bark. Then she took a straw broom—not the soft end, but the thicker handle end—and cleaned out the crevices in the bark. After that, she cut the bark into evenly sized pieces and soaked them in water.

Li Xiandong watched her smooth, confident movements, completely dazed. He hadn’t even dared to start, yet his daughter was already doing it so skillfully?

“Father, see? Don’t be afraid. Even if you mess up, treat it like paying tuition to learn a new skill. Think about it—we got this bark for free from the mountains. Even if we waste some, we’ve still got plenty left. If it works out, we’ll earn even more!”

Li Xiaohan always knew exactly what to say to get through to her father. After all, it didn’t cost anything, there was nothing to lose.

Li Xiandong nodded hard. That made sense. He calmed himself and began working. Later, Madam Wang joined them too, after finishing up in the kitchen.

Everyone in the family was a capable worker. By the time the moon rose high in the sky, they had finished washing and soaking that batch of eucommia bark and went to bed with peace of mind.

The moon reached its peak and slowly descended. As night faded away, a red sun began to rise slowly in the east.