Chapter 15: You Should Have Been This Tough Earlier

Hu Dashan shouted with bloodshot eyes, “Hu Zhaodi, we raised you for eleven years! You’re unfilial enough, but are you not afraid of heaven’s wrath for hitting us like this?” 

Hu Zhaodi replied coldly, “Heaven can strike down you black-hearted scum! Ask your conscience: since when did you start dumping all the dirty work on me? Not only did you not let me eat or dress warmly, but you also thought about marrying me off to the disabled son of the village chief for the betrothal gifts. Are you not afraid of heaven’s wrath? Why should I be afraid? I told you just yesterday not to come bothering me anymore, and yet you all insisted on coming here for me to hit. Do you think I’m not exhausted?” 

Hu Yaozu was thoroughly frightened at this point, crying and pleading, “Sister, I shouldn’t have cursed you! Those words were all taught to me by grandma. I know I was wrong; if you’re going to hit someone, hit grandma, just don’t hit me anymore!” 

Hu Zhaodi scoffed. If the original owner’s memories served her right, this was the first time Hu Yaozu had called her “sister.” 

It seemed this big baby was in dire need of a lesson. 

Yang, upon hearing Hu Yaozu’s words, felt her whole world collapse. 

Since Hu Yaozu was born, she had cherished him like a precious gem, treating him like a young lord. 

Never did she expect that in a moment of trouble, he would push all the blame onto her, this old woman. 

Did it hurt her heart? 

Yes, it truly did. 

But after all, he was her only grandson. Even if her heart hurt, she couldn’t bring herself to scold him and had to protect and pamper him. 

“Zhaodi, don’t hit Yaozu; if you must hit someone, hit me,” Yang pleaded with tears in her eyes. 

Hu Zhaodi was also exhausted from hitting, so she paused and said coldly, “I’ll warn you one last time: don’t come bothering me again. We have no relationship anymore; if you come at me again, don’t blame me for being merciless.” 

Yang, with a pained expression, agreed, “Alright, we won’t bother you anymore. We promise.” 

Hu Zhaodi tossed the bamboo stick aside and walked towards the Ji family’s courtyard with the cleaver in hand. 

Yang and Hu Dashan watched her leave, their eyes filled with intense hatred. 

How dare that little wretch? 

How dare she beat them like that? 

Hu Yaozu was still crying heart-wrenchingly, but he didn’t forget about his roasted meat. 

“Grandma, I want to eat roasted meat. Go buy it for me; I want it right now!” 

Yang soothed him gently, “Yaozu, be good; we’ll eat it tomorrow. Grandma will go to the county town to buy it for you. Let’s go home, alright?” 

“No! I want to eat it now! You go buy it for me right now!” 

“Where can I go to buy it now?” 

“Go to the Ji family and buy it; find my sister; she has so much roasted meat. If you don’t go buy it, just give me the money; I’ll go buy it myself.” 

Yang’s expression changed slightly: “Yaozu, aren’t you afraid she’ll beat you to death if you go find her?” 

Hu Yaozu lay on the ground throwing a tantrum, “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t taught me to curse my sister, she wouldn’t have hit me! Just give me the money; I won’t curse her this time, and she’ll definitely sell roasted meat to me!” 

Yang had no choice but to empty all the coins she had on her and give them to Hu Yaozu. 

Hu Yaozu got up from the ground, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and ran towards the Ji family courtyard with the coins. 

When he reached the courtyard entrance, Hu Yaozu peeked inside and shouted from the doorway, “Sister, I want to eat roasted meat!” 

Hearing Hu Yaozu’s voice, Hu Zhaodi turned with her anger barely in check. Seeing only Hu Yaozu there, she coldly replied, “Get lost! If you don’t leave, I’ll beat you to death.” 

Tears streamed down Hu Yaozu’s face: “Sister, I’ll never dare to curse you again! I want to eat roasted meat! I’ll pay you; can you sell me just a little bit of roasted meat?” 

Hu Yaozu opened his palm, revealing a few copper coins. 

Hu Zhaodi’s eyes lit up with mischief as she smiled, “You think you can get my roasted meat with just these few copper coins? Dream on! 

If you want roasted meat, go back and ask your grandma for silver. It’s twenty coins for one skewer, and I won’t sell it for a penny less. 

Remember, if you want to eat more, ask for more silver. My roasted meat is really delicious.” 

Hu Yaozu eagerly nodded, “Alright, I’ll go back and ask for silver now. Sister, save me some; I want to eat a lot!” 

“Sure, hurry back!” 

Hu Yaozu turned and ran, fearing that if he took too long, the roasted meat would be eaten by someone else. 

Aunt Ji shook her head, “Zhaodi, are you really going to sell roasted meat to Hu Yaozu?” 

Hu Zhaodi raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Auntie, it would be foolish not to make money. As long as I’m not losing out, I’ll sell it. Once I sell out, I’ll go hunt in the mountains.” 

“Hmm, that makes sense. Seeing you give three or two silver coins to that old hag Yang makes me feel sorry for you.” 

“Don’t worry, Auntie. My silver won’t be so easily taken. Sooner or later, I’ll make her pay it all back.” 

Aunt Ji nodded in satisfaction, “You should have been this tough earlier. Every time we saw you getting beaten and bullied, we felt powerless. After all, it was Hu family business. Now that you’ve distanced yourself from the Hu family, we can help a bit.” 

Other villagers chimed in: 

“Yeah! The Hu family is truly awful. They treat their own like royalty but look down on those they bought, it’s disgusting.” 

“From now on, we should have less to do with the Hu family. I’m worried my child might learn bad habits from Hu Yaozu.” 

“If Zhaodi ever needs help, just come to us. We won’t hesitate to assist.” 

“Thank you, Aunties and Uncles! Quickly enjoy the roasted meat before it gets cold!” Hu Zhaodi said as she handed a skewer of roasted wild boar to Uncle Ji. 

Uncle Ji took a bite and exclaimed, “This… this is really wild boar meat? How can it be this delicious?” 

Hu Zhaodi smiled, “Uncle Ji, how could it be fake? I used special seasonings to marinate it; it’s hard not to make it taste good.” 

“Now I see! This is the first time I’ve tasted such delicious wild boar meat; it’s truly special.” 

Hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but pick up pieces of roasted meat to try. 

“It really is delicious! It doesn’t have that dry texture wild boar meat usually has; it’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside—simply delicious!” 

“Yeah! I never knew roasted wild boar could taste this good. Zhaodi, your roasting skills are outstanding!” 

Listening to everyone’s praise, Hu Zhaodi simply smiled. 

Could it not be delicious? 

In her previous life, she was a full-fledged food lover, raised in a secluded family deep in the mountains. 

Hunting and fighting wild beasts was her way of growing up; she experimented with various ways to prepare the game she brought back to make it even more delicious. 

Even the cultural tutor hired by her parents was impressed by her culinary creations, urging her to go hunt in the mountains after class to study gourmet food. 

In her past life, not only was her cooking excellent, but the family’s traditional medical skills and ancient martial arts never disappointed her elders; she even surpassed their expectations. 

At sixteen, she left the mountains and went on to study Western medicine. 

By the age of twenty, she opened a private hospital and later established a fresh produce supermarket next to it. 

Now, having transmigrated to the Lingxiao Kingdom, with the skills from her past life, how could she not live well?