Chapter 53: Safekeeping

The strength seemed to have drained completely from Madam Hu’s body, yet she couldn’t utter a single word.

Qin Ying stepped forward to write her own name and, using the inkpad handed over by Xu Xia, pressed her fingerprint.

Xu Xia then handed the agreement to Madam Hu and Guo Nier.

Madam Hu was illiterate, so she drew a circle and pressed her fingerprint.

Guo Nier could write her own name, but having not written for a long time, her hand was stiff. Her handwriting came out crooked and messy—like chicken scratch compared to Qin Ying’s neat and proper characters. She also pressed her fingerprint.

One copy was kept by Qin Ying. The other was supposed to be given to Madam Hu, but Zhou Yu shook the paper and said, “To prevent you from denying this later…”

Xu Xia quickly added, “Sir, allow me to copy another version for them?”

“No need,” Zhou Yu gave him a sidelong glance and said coldly, “This agreement will be kept by me.

“If any of you dare act up again, you will be immediately chained and thrown into prison!”

Xu Xia barked at Madam Hu, “Did you hear that? If you dare stir up trouble again, you’ll be chained up on the spot and tossed behind bars!”

Madam Hu, her face twisted in misery and on the verge of tears, stammered, “Yes, yes, we wouldn’t dare again!”

Zhou Yu then turned to look at Uncle Chen Jiu. “Uncle Jiu, would you please send a few people to escort them home and explain today’s events clearly to their families?

“If they’re not convinced, I’ll be right here—they’re welcome to come find me directly!”

Uncle Chen Jiu responded loudly, and several villagers stepped forward to volunteer. In no time, they dragged away Madam Hu and Guo Nier.

Auntie Zhao finally let out a full sigh of relief. She quickly thanked the villagers and invited them into the house for some hot water.

The villagers waved her off. “It’s not a big deal! Not worth fussing over!”

“Alright, time to go. It’s getting dark, and we’ve still got chores to finish at home!”

“Sister-in-law Zhao, if anything else happens, just holler! Anyone causing trouble for your family is messing with the whole Tongshu Village!”

Everyone dispersed.

Auntie Zhao also invited Zhou Yu and Uncle Chen Jiu.

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and didn’t decline. Uncle Chen Jiu accompanied him, and Xu Xia followed behind. They all entered the Zhao household.

An’an was already asleep and had been placed on the kang bed inside, with a blanket roll placed along the edge to prevent her from falling.

In the main room, Zhou Yu was invited to the seat of honor, with Uncle Chen Jiu beside him. Auntie Zhao hurried to boil some hot water.

Qin Ying and Zhao Hu brought out the homemade snacks, laying them out to fill the table. Then, the three members of the Zhao family solemnly thanked Zhou Yu once again.

Zhou Yu waved his hand and looked at Qin Ying with appreciation. “Miss Qin, you handled the situation well today.”

Qin Ying blushed slightly. “I only borrowed your authority to scare them. I hope you don’t mind, sir.”

Zhou Yu smiled and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Uncle Chen Jiu chimed in from the side. “Yingzi, that’s exactly how you should act! Think about how good you were to Guo Nier before!

“It’s not even an exaggeration to say you practically raised her yourself—feeding and caring for her day and night, and even teaching her how to read.

“When her parents died, weren’t you the one who arranged for their burial?

“But in the end, she didn’t hesitate to betray you! What an ungrateful wretch!”

“Yingzi,” Auntie Zhao suddenly said, “maybe you should just cancel the engagement with Guo Wen. Back when we weren’t so close, I didn’t feel it was my place to speak.

“But truth be told, the Guo family doesn’t have a good reputation in this village.

“Honestly, you and your mother were just unlucky—how’d you end up crossing paths with them as soon as you arrived?

“They only took you in because they thought you had money.

“Think about it. Wasn’t it when you stopped giving them money that their attitude toward you started to change?”

Qin Ying fell silent for a moment. How could she not know this? Although she was still young at the time—just over ten years old—her mother had warned her.

That’s why they stayed on guard and didn’t bring out everything they had.

Uncle Chen Jiu quickly interjected, “Sister-in-law, you can’t say things like that so casually! Marriage is a big deal. You can’t just break it off like it’s nothing!”

But Zhou Yu’s attention was elsewhere. He asked Qin Ying, “Miss Qin, who taught you to write?” He could tell that while she was a bit rusty and hadn’t practiced in years, her basic foundation was solid.

“My late mother taught me by hand,” Qin Ying answered honestly. “But I’m dull-witted and never fully grasped the essence.”

Zhou Yu nodded slightly. After finishing his bowl of water, he stood up to take his leave. “It’s getting dark. I won’t disturb your New Year’s Eve any further.”

Before he left, Auntie Zhao packed him some snacks. “All homemade. The night is long—these can help pass the time.”

Zhou Yu looked down. Besides the five-spice dried mushrooms, there were salt-boiled beans and all sorts of nuts and seeds. The nuts, in particular, were pre-cracked, making them easy to peel.

He couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you very much.” And accepted them.

Uncle Chen Jiu then called out to Zhao Hu, “You, boy, go help deliver dumplings to the neighbors! Big young lad like you—no use sitting idle!”

The dumplings were placed outside after being made. With the cold, they froze solid quickly, so the ones delivered to each household were frozen dumplings—ten per family.

There weren’t many three-person households left in Tongshu Village. Most were just two people or even one. So ten dumplings per house was already generous.

After dinner, they sat around chatting.

Uncle Chen Jiu sighed emotionally to Zhou Yu, “Our Tongshu Village used to be a big one, you know—hundreds of people lived here.

“But when the famine hit, some fled, some died. Now, only eighty-two of us remain.”

Zhou Yu didn’t know how to comfort him and could only say, “Things will get better.”

“They will,” Uncle Chen Jiu said with renewed energy. “With Lord Zhou standing up for us, things will slowly turn around.

“When life gets better for our village, and if this old man’s still alive, Lord Zhou—I’ll treat you to a drink!

“My wine-brewing skills aren’t bad. Folks used to line up to ask for my help making wine.

“If I weren’t so old and lacking energy now, I’d really want to set up a small brewery…”

The atmosphere in the Zhao household was now much more relaxed.

Auntie Zhao beamed, “Did you all see? I beat that Madam Hu until her face looked like a pig’s head! Ha! That felt so good!”

“What’s so great about that?” Zhao Hu muttered under his breath. “The villagers had finally stopped calling you a shrew, and now you’ve shown your true colors again.”

Auntie Zhao smacked the back of his head. “Your mother’s not deaf, you know!”

Zhao Hu ran to Qin Ying, pouting. “Sister, look at Mom! She keeps hitting my head—do you think she’s gonna knock me stupid someday?”

Auntie Zhao raised her hand again, pretending to hit him.

An’an, watching from the side, was having the time of her life. She clapped her hands and giggled uncontrollably.

Qin Ying playfully pinched her little nose. “You little rascal!” Then said to Auntie Zhao, “Mom, Huzi’s turning fourteen tomorrow. He’s a big boy now—you really shouldn’t be hitting him anymore.”

Zhao Hu had just started to smile proudly when Qin Ying turned to him and added, “And you—think twice before you speak next time, so you don’t end up saying things people don’t like to hear.”

Zhao Hu immediately wilted.

An’an thought that, honestly, some people really did deserve a beating sometimes. Grandma hitting that shrew was totally justified!

In fact, she thought it wasn’t even hard enough!