Chapter 264: Trouble

Su Zhi found another way to make money, and of course, she found a partner to help her earn it. With just a stretch of her hand, she could offer some diluted spiritual spring water to the other party and sit at home waiting to collect money.

Of course, Su Zhi actively improved this so-called “ingredient.” She added some other things to the diluted spirit springs, tested it out, and still dyed the cloth very well, just to prevent others from figuring out what exactly it was.

This venture kept her occupied for a while, and in the blink of an eye, it was mid-July.

There hadn’t been a drop of rain in the sky, and the weather was getting hotter. It seemed three degrees hotter than usual, as if the heavens wanted to scorch everyone to death without a shred of mercy.

The river was almost dry, leaving only scattered puddles on the riverbank. The fish had long been picked clean by people.

The trees were still green, but they had started to droop, tinged with yellow amidst the green. The grass on the ground, though green, seemed lifeless, limp as if devoid of any moisture.

The ground was so dry that walking on it stirred up a swirl of yellow dust.

In front of the fields, there were always quite a few people gathered, all there to inspect their crops. They weren’t admiring how well the crops were growing but checking if they were drying up.

People in the village were now grateful that they had listened to Shen Zi’an’s family earlier about switching to sweet potatoes. Otherwise, if they had planted rice paddies, there would have been no harvest at all. Without water, the seedlings would have withered long ago! Though the sweet potatoes looked wilted, they were still alive. When dug into the ground, they still had roots growing. As long as they were growing, there was hope—at least they wouldn’t starve to death.

“Zi’an, your family really has excellent feng shui here. You have so much water, even the flowers, plants, and trees thrive. Ah, what a blessing. If it weren’t for your residence, thinking about digging a pond, where else could we find a water source? How could we share in this fortune?”

A man fetching water lifted a bucket and gazed at the pond admiringly. “I envy Shen Zi’an’s family. Even the village wells are drying up now, and several springs in the mountains have run dry. But Shen Zi’an’s family still has water in this pond. Though it’s less than before, there’s still plenty, which puts one’s mind at ease.”

Shen Zi’an politely replied a few words.

Old Liu also came to fetch water and said, “Brother Zi’an, your place really has good feng shui. I see the leaves on these trees are more vibrant, and the flowers bloom more brightly than elsewhere. I think even the water here tastes better.”

Old Liu spoke the truth, genuinely feeling this way.

The people who came to fetch water echoed these sentiments. They felt that compared to the vegetation outside, the flowers and plants in this blessed garden were extraordinary. It seemed that just looking at them brought comfort to the eyes. Many believed it was because they had found this spring, turning what was once a difficult and barren land into fertile fields.

“That’s right! When it comes to the village’s good feng shui, Brother Zi’an got it all covered. Back then, he bought this land for just four taels of silver per acre, practically like picking it up for free. With this blessing, no one can compare!”

A sharp, somewhat resentful voice cut in—it was a woman’s voice, piercing and distinct. Without needing to look, everyone knew it was Dazhu’s wife, known for her sturdy frame that could produce such a sharp tone, almost like a sewing needle. It was quite a spectacle indeed, leaving a lasting impression on people.

Dazhu’s wife was the type who couldn’t stand to miss any opportunity for gain. Now that her own household faced water shortages, and with everyone in the village coming to Shen Zi’an’s place to fetch water, she naturally brought her husband along too, often fetching more water than others. She seemed intent on coming ten or eight times if possible.

Later on, people in the village couldn’t stand it anymore. Many criticized Dazhu’s wife for being careless with water usage, especially at such a time, and for being so wasteful. She was scolded thoroughly, even the village head stepped in, which finally made Dazhu’s wife tone down her behavior.

Dazhu’s wife could be considered the most envious person in the village of Shen Zi’an’s prosperous household. Initially, she had tried to cozy up to Su Zhi to earn more money. Then, when Qingniang married into the Zhao family and Dazhu’s wife realized Qingniang was as wealthy as the Shen family, she became even more arrogant.

Now, facing a severe drought, Dazhu’s wife also joined the villagers in fetching water. She knew well it was out of the kindness of the Shen family’s hearts that they allowed everyone to come. Yet, she insisted on making sarcastic remarks, secretly hoping to sow discord among the villagers towards Shen Zi’an’s family. Even if they didn’t reclaim the pond, she wanted Shen Zi’an’s family to cough up more silver. It was a classic case of harming others for her own gain.

With Dazhu’s wife saying such things, some people in the village began to have similar thoughts.

Old Liu, despite being honest, was not naive. At this moment, he began to understand and wondered if he had inadvertently caused trouble for the Shen family by praising their garden earlier. He didn’t want to be seen as a bad person.

“Dazhu’s wife, you can’t say that. This land was originally barren. No one wanted it back then. It was brother Shen’s who spent money to buy this land. Didn’t many people in the village say they were foolish for buying this marshy land? It’s their good fortune that they found a spring.”

Others who had initially praised the garden chimed in, “He’s right. Even if someone in the village had been willing to spend money on this land, it would have been to build a house. No one would have bought this marshy land. Digging a pond requires labor and money. Who in our village would spend that kind of money? This land was still just a marsh. We wouldn’t have seen this spring in our lifetime if it weren’t for Shen’s young couple. We owe them for finding it.”

Upon hearing this, Dazhu’s wife glared at the two men and retorted, “That’s not necessarily true. My husband’s brother is wealthy too. If it were him, he could also find a spring.”

Zhao Dazhu pulled his wife aside, thinking to himself, why was she dragging his brother into this unnecessarily? It wasn’t that he was afraid of causing trouble for Zhao Daliang; rather, he didn’t want his wife to subtly boast about Zhao Daliang. He had always resented the fact that he was fostered out to another family, compared to Zhao Daliang who was not, though he didn’t show it outwardly, he didn’t show it.

Dazhu’s wife, glared back at Zhao Dazhu and thought, “This fool, why did he drag me into this? Right now, all I can think about is if it was Zhao Daliang’s family who found this spring, when they move to the city, maybe they could claim ownership of the houses here. This place with good feng shui  should rightfully belong to them. Now that it’s in someone else’s hands, how can I not feel bitter about it?”

The villagers fetching water nearby were at a loss for words upon hearing Dazhu’s wife’s remarks. They wondered if they had to wait for Zhao Daliang to buy the land. There was an unspoken understanding that there was an order of things, and being late meant missing out. They couldn’t let this issue cause trouble for other families, could they?

Unconsciously, the distance between the villagers and the Zhao family grew further. They thought, these people are really unreasonable.

Shen Zi’an was displeased by Dazhu’s wife’s words as well. He stood there, giving her a cold look, and said, “The Sacred Beast resides here. It’s only fitting that this place carries some auspiciousness.”

Shen Zi’an didn’t want people to keep saying his wife was blessed, whether in good or bad ways. Sometimes, exaggerated rumors could lead to trouble. To prevent jealousy from spreading too much among the villagers, he brought up the Sacred Beast, challenging anyone to envy it.

Sure enough, when the villagers heard Shen Zian’s words, they thought about how the Shen family had a sacred beast, so they should quickly fetched some water and leave. Only Shen Zian and his wife could live in this place, and others could not live with the sacred beast. Be careful not to be bitten to death.

“Da Zhu, take your wife home quickly. It’s lucky that your brother came back late. Otherwise, he would have been persuaded to buy all the wasteland on the east side of the river. There won’t be any sacred beasts then. Not to mention water, even the grass grows lower than elsewhere.”

“That’s right. Not everyone can get along with the sacred beast.”

“Back then, this low-lying land was quite far from the riverside. Even if the Liang family wanted to dig a pond, they would definitely dig closer to the river, not here. Even if there were water sources, they couldn’t dig them out.”

“That’s right. It’s all because of Zi’an and them digging here. The original house was closer!”

“People with blessings need not hurry; those without blessings are anxious to death.”

The group of people chattered on, all directing their words towards Dazhu and his wife. They were thinking that Dazhu’s wife had just caused trouble for Shen Zi’an here. They stood by without speaking, feeling embarrassed and trying to make up for it, hoping Shen Zi’an wouldn’t get angry. If they couldn’t use the water later, it would be a disaster. With the sacred beast standing at the door, there was nothing they could do.

Zhao Dazhu pulled his wife and hurriedly carried the water away.

Finally, the group fetching water left. Shen Zi’an didn’t want to stay there anymore. The recent commotion made him feel it was pointless, so he decided to go back to the house to find his wife. Just as he reached the main road, he saw Shen Ziju and Shen Zhu approaching.

Shen Ziju had been frequently visiting Fuyuan lately. He had discovered Su Zhi’s intelligence. After learning those poems and arithmetic, he continued to come here, thinking that Su Zhi had even more knowledge to impart. He believed that mastering all that knowledge would greatly benefit his future. Besides, he genuinely wanted to see Su Zhi.

Seeing her brother often visiting, Shen Zhu frequently followed along too.

Lately, Shen Zhu had been very troubled. Due to the severe drought, she had become a topic of conversation among the villagers. Some said that when she was chosen to be the Rain Goddess but fell ill at the last minute, it angered the Rain Goddess, causing the heavens to withhold the rain. Regardless of the reason, people ultimately believed that Shen Zhu was responsible. They thought that if she hadn’t developed that rash and had smoothly become the Rain Goddess, the drought might not have happened.

This made Shen Zhu extremely angry, and she eventually found a way to direct all this blame onto Zhao Xiaohua, which made her feel somewhat relieved.

Now, the villagers were saying that because the Rain Goddess saw Shen Zhu being wronged and believed that Shen Zhu was the most suitable Rain Goddess, she withheld the rain to punish those who harmed her. As a result, all the villagers blamed Zhao Xiaohua.

Only then did Shen Zhu dare to come out.