Chapter 17 – The First Family Meeting

As expected, it didn’t even take an hour before Chu Xiaoqi rolled restlessly into Ji Jingxuan’s arms, clinging to him like an octopus.

Ji Jingxuan was once again awakened by the pressure, unable to breathe.

But this time, when he saw the person lying on his chest, his emotions and impulses were completely different—he actually wanted to lower his head and give her a kiss.

And he did exactly that.

Although he didn’t have the guts to go too far, he gently kissed the top of her head.

Then, like a child who had stolen a piece of candy, he smiled foolishly with his lips pressed together.

He reached out, wrapped an arm around Chu Xiaoqi’s back, pulled her tighter into his embrace, grabbed the blanket to cover them both, and closed his eyes in satisfaction, ready to sleep again.

He had just shut his eyes and hadn’t yet drifted off when he heard a noise coming from the courtyard.

As he perked up his ears to listen more closely, Chu Xiaoqi suddenly opened her eyes wide in his arms, then quickly sat up.

“Xiao—”

Ji Jingxuan had just opened his mouth when Chu Xiaoqi covered it with her hand.

She put her index finger to her lips and said, “Shh,” shaking her head. “Don’t speak!”

Then she flipped off the bed, walked lightly to the window, and quietly opened a small crack to peek outside.

She saw two sneaky figures creeping toward the kitchen.

Judging by their shapes and movements, it wasn’t hard to guess who they were.

Their family had nothing but a few worthless scraps—and yet those thieves just couldn’t stop thinking about them!

She turned back to the room, whispered a few words into Ji Jingxuan’s ear, then grabbed the stick that had been used to bar the door and slipped out the back door of the side room.

Inside the kitchen, the aunt and her son were rummaging through everything—even looking under the cupboard—and still came up with nothing.

“Ma, did you mishear? Second Uncle’s kitchen is cleaner than my own face. Where would any meat come from?”

Auntie thought for a moment, then shook her head firmly. “Impossible…

If it was just one person saying it, I might have heard wrong.

But the whole village is talking about it—how could I mishear that?”

“But there really is nothing here…”

“That sly old Ji Lao’er—he must’ve hidden the meat in his room.

Come on, let’s go check his room.”

Just as the mother and son turned to leave the kitchen, a chilling voice rang out behind them:

“Little thieves—where do you think you’re going? How about I escort you to the yamen for some tea?”

Before they could even turn around, a thick stick as wide as an arm came down hard on their backs.

The kitchen instantly descended into chaos, with the clatter of objects falling to the ground and two voices screaming in utter misery.

Meanwhile, Ji Jingxuan stood at the front gate of the courtyard, banging loudly on a broken gong and shouting:

“Thieves! We’ve caught thieves!”

The aunt and her son, wailing from the beating inside the kitchen, panicked when they heard the commotion outside—but they couldn’t escape because Chu Xiaoqi was blocking the door, still swinging that stick.

If the villagers caught them in the act, they wouldn’t care if they were relatives—once labeled a thief, they’d be erased from the family records and expelled from the village.

Being called a thief would ruin their reputation in all the surrounding villages; they’d be hated like rats in the street, beaten whenever seen.

Luckily for them, Chu Xiaoqi didn’t intend to beat them to death. Hearing the villagers approaching, she deliberately let up so the two could escape.

As soon as the aunt and her son ran out the courtyard gate, they ran straight into a group of torch-wielding villagers.

In a panic, they turned and fled in the opposite direction from their home.

The villagers chased them all the way to the village entrance before finally stopping.

Chu Xiaoqi and Ji Jingxuan, of course, followed along, pretending to shout and give chase.

“Xiaoqi, did they steal anything?” one of the concerned villagers asked.

Chu Xiaoqi waved her hand, “No, we caught them just in time.

Thank you all so much for helping tonight. I really appreciate it.”

“I’ll treat everyone to tea another day!” Chu Xiaoqi called out gratefully.

The villagers all waved their hands generously. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing… We’re all neighbors—this is what we should do.”

“Well, if there’s nothing else, we’ll head back now.”

“Alright, thanks again, everyone. Time to go home…”

The villagers began to shuffle away. Chu Xiaoqi, still holding her stick, and Ji Jingxuan, still carrying the broken gong, also swayed along the road back home.

They hadn’t gotten very far when they saw Ji Father and Ji Jingze rushing toward them anxiously.

“Xuan’er! Xiaoqi! Are you two hurt?” Ji Father looked them over from head to toe, worry all over his face.

“Dad, we’re fine. But those two thieves—Xiaoqi didn’t go easy on them,” Ji Jingxuan said gently as he supported his father.

“As long as you’re okay… that’s all that matters.” Ji Father wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

Ji Jingze pouted, clenching his fists in frustration. “Those damn thieves—we’re already so poor we can barely cook a meal, and they’re still eyeing our house?”

“Those two thieves knew their way around our kitchen a little too well,” Chu Xiaoqi said with a half-smile, half-smirk, looking meaningfully at Ji Father. “Not many in the village think about our house this much.”

Then she hoisted her stick and walked off by herself.

Since they were nearly home, Ji Jingxuan didn’t chase after her, letting her go on ahead in peace.

Ji Father stood frozen in place for a moment. His cloudy old eyes grew moist as he gazed up at the night sky and murmured in a trembling voice:

“I don’t know what sins I committed in my past life to end up with such family in this one…”

Even a half-grown boy like Ji Jingze could understand what Chu Xiaoqi had implied—let alone Ji Father, who was already over fifty.

“It was Big Aunt and Cousin Yang!” Ji Jingze roared with gritted teeth. “How can they be so vile? They just can’t stand seeing our family doing even slightly better than them…”

Ji Jingxuan sighed and helped his father walk back toward home.

“Dad, maybe Xiaoqi is right. We can’t just keep swallowing our anger anymore.

If it weren’t for her, how badly would our family have been bullied by now?”

Ji Father wiped his tears with his sleeve and nodded silently.

On the other side, Ji Jingze supported their father too, grinding his teeth as he plotted something silently.

Meanwhile, Chu Xiaoqi could already see Ji Mother and Ji Jinglan standing outside the house, wrapped in clothes, anxiously stretching their necks and stomping their feet in worry.

As soon as they saw her returning, they rushed over.

“Xiaoqi! Are you hurt?” Ji Mother asked nervously, scanning her up and down.

Chu Xiaoqi shook her head and, before Ji Mother could say anything else, she spoke first:

“Dad and the others are right behind me… Everyone’s fine. Let’s all go back in and sleep.”

Without waiting for a response, she hoisted the stick and walked straight into the house without looking back. She hadn’t even had a moment to breathe all day.

Once inside, she kicked off her shoes, jumped onto the bed, and dove under the blanket.

Mmm… good!

The lingering warmth inside the quilt hadn’t even fully faded yet.

She closed her eyes—and instantly fell asleep.

When Ji Jingxuan returned to the room, Chu Xiaoqi was already snoring softly, sound asleep.

He gently lifted the blanket and lay down, keeping his distance from her, worried that the cold from his body might chill her.

But just as he closed his eyes, Chu Xiaoqi rolled over in her sleep and wrapped herself around him.

He let out a soft chuckle, pulled her closer into his arms, and closed his eyes again.

While the younger generation managed to sleep peacefully, Ji Father and Ji Mother stayed wide awake, worried that another thief might break in during the night.

“Old man… Was it Big Sister-in-law and her son tonight?” Ji Mother asked anxiously as she leaned against the bed, wrapped in a blanket only marginally thicker than burlap.

Ji Father sat silently at the head of the bed, staring out the window.

“They’re trying to push us to our deaths…” Ji Father didn’t reply, but Ji Mother knew her guess was right. Tears welled up in her eyes and began to stream down her face.

The sound of quiet sobbing filled the room.

Ji Father didn’t comfort Ji Mother—he was still lost in thought, thinking about what Chu Xiaoqi had said that evening.

He had truly lived half a lifetime in cowardice—his own life felt worse than death, and he had dragged his wife and children down with him, making their lives feel like hell as well.

“…Tomorrow I’ll go talk to Big Brother.”

“Talk? What’s the use in talking? If your big brother could control his wife and son, we wouldn’t all be starving like this!” Ji Mother snapped bitterly.

Ji Father fell completely silent.

She was right. When it came down to it, Ji Eldest Brother wasn’t any different from him.

They were both pathetic men…

Otherwise, how could his sister-in-law have driven him out of the house in his teens under the pretense of a “household split”?

It seemed like, in the end, they could only rely on themselves.

---

The next morning, Chu Xiaoqi instructed Ji Jinglan to cook a pot of rice porridge and stir-fry two plates of vegetables for breakfast.

Once the table was cleared, she knocked on the tabletop and called out loudly:

“Gather up, gather up!
We’re having a meeting!”

The Ji family members looked a little confused but obediently all gathered in the main hall and sat down.

“Today, we are holding our first family meeting.

Since winter is approaching, I’m going to assign everyone specific tasks.”

Chu Xiaoqi sat at the head of the table facing the door, placed the money box in front of her, and lifted a chipped tea cup, sipping a mouthful of plain boiled water—completely playing the part of a high-ranking official.

The Ji family had always feared Chu Xiaoqi. Whatever she said was law. Now that all the food in the house was thanks to her, they listened even more obediently.

“First of all, the urgent issue is this house.

Before it snows, we need to repair and patch up everything that needs fixing.

Dad, how much silver do you think we’ll need to get the repairs done?”

Ji Father thought for a moment, then cautiously held up one finger. “Roughly… about one tael of silver.”

Without hesitation, Chu Xiaoqi pulled out one tael of silver from the money box and handed it to him. “Alright then. You’re in charge of this. If it’s not enough, come back to me.”

Ji Father was stunned and overjoyed, carefully clutching the silver in his hand.

“Next up—clothing.

Mom, for each family member, we’ll need one set of new clothes, one set of padded winter clothes, and one cotton quilt. How much silver would that take?”

Ji Mother did a quick calculation and quietly replied, “About three taels, give or take.”

Chu Xiaoqi didn’t hand her the money directly. Instead, she turned to Ji Jingxuan. “Later, have Mom tell you the exact materials and quantities needed. Make a list for me. I’ll go into town the day after tomorrow to buy everything.”

Ji Jingxuan nodded, deeply touched by how Chu Xiaoqi was thinking of the whole family in such detail.

“We’ll also need a lot of firewood for winter. That job goes to Jingze.” She handed Ji Jingze twenty copper coins. “For your hard work!”

Ji Jingze grinned so wide his smile almost reached the back of his head. He quickly took the money and tucked it away safely.

“As for Lan, you’ll come with me to help collect and purchase ingredients we’ll need for winter, and do errands now and then.” Chu Xiaoqi handed Ji Jinglan twenty copper coins too for her effort.

This time, Ji Jinglan wasn’t planning to hand the money over to Ji Mother again. She knew her mother was soft-hearted and bad at keeping track of money.

She decided to hold onto it herself and only give it to Mom when it was needed.

Finally, Chu Xiaoqi turned to Ji Jingxuan. “As for you, with the provincial exams coming up, you should focus solely on your studies. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

“I don’t need that much time every day to study,” Ji Jingxuan responded earnestly. “I can help out too. Give me something to do—I want to contribute.”

Chu Xiaoqi thought for a moment. “You’re right. Studying all day can get boring. Fine then—arrange your own time. Do whatever you want to help. No strict assignments.”

“Alright then, everything’s been arranged. Everyone, off to work!

Meeting adjourned!”