Chapter 86: The Unlucky Soul Injured by Lianhua

“Little sister, your family is living quite well now, even drinking tea. We do have some tea at our place too, but it’s much worse than this. How much does this tea cost per 50 grams?”

Zhang Shi picked up the teacup, took a sip, savored the bitter yet slightly sweet taste, and felt the warmth from the heated teacup. She envied the blue flowers on the surface even more. Which ordinary family could afford such good tea leaves and teacup? Even the Zhao family only used large bowls for drinking water!

Su Zhi smiled and said, “This tea was a gift from someone yesterday, just 50 grams. I only brewed a pot today because you came. After we built this house, we had no money left. Where would we find spare money to buy tea? Fortunately, someone sent it over. We can use it for entertaining guests in the future.”

“Little sister, crying poverty again? You used to cry poverty to Mother, but look, your family has built such a big house and bought so much land. Saying you’re broke is like treating us as strangers.”

Zhao Yuanbao chimed in, “That’s right, little sister. We’re your family from your mother’s side. We’re happy to see you doing well. Stop saying you’re poor all the time. It makes us feel bad too. Don’t be so heartless!”

Su Zhi said, “Big brother, sister-in-law, since you’re my family from my mother’s side, I’ll tell you the truth.”

Immediately, everyone from the Zhao family perked up, eager to hear how much money Su Zhi still had. They were quite curious about that!

Seeing their greedy expressions, Su Zhi chuckled inwardly but maintained a serious demeanor on her face. With a tone of distress, she said, “It’s true that Zi’an and I made quite a bit of money from selling tigers and ginseng. But it’s like the money just slipped through our fingers. We bought cows, carts, built houses, bought land, and all the furniture in this house. We’ve spent all the money. Now it looks like we’re living great life with houses, land, cows, and carts. But truth be told, Zi’an and I don’t even have a few dozen coins left!”

The faces of the Zhao family members fell at once upon hearing Su Zhi’s words. They had expected to hear a substantial sum from Su Zhi, but the reality hit them hard. The disparity was too great, and they found it difficult to accept.

Zhao Yangshi exclaimed, “Impossible! I refuse to believe you’ve spent all the money! I heard that ginseng was as thick as a person’s arm, a thousand-year-old ginseng! It must be worth several thousand taels of silver, at least? And even after buying your house and land, it wouldn’t be enough to spend so much! You, girl! You must be lying to us!”

Su Zhi couldn’t help but think that Zhao Yangshi must be obsessed with money. How many thousand taels of silver had she seen in her lifetime? But, speaking of it, if that thousand-year-old ginseng were sold in the capital, it wouldn’t be impossible to fetch several thousand taels. However, in such a small place, selling it for eight hundred taels would already be considered a high price.

Su Zhi looked at Zhao Yangshi’s greedy expression and felt fortunate that she wasn’t Zhao Xiaomei. She immediately showed her fierceness from the beginning. If she had been Zhao Xiaomei, Zhao Yangshi might have demanded two thousand taels from her now, claiming the ginseng was worth that much. In that case, selling Zhao Xiaomei and Shen Zi’an wouldn’t even fetch that much money!

“Mother-in-law, although that ginseng is indeed a thousand-year-old one, it got damaged during excavation. Moreover, in our area, no one is willing to spend several thousand taels to buy a ginseng, even if it’s a thousand years old. That ginseng sold for four hundred taels. If you don’t believe me, you can go to the pharmacy and inquire.”

Shen Zi’an interjected from the side. Since Su Zhi didn’t want to tell the truth to her maternal family, he would help cover up. At this moment, his words carried more weight than Su Zhi’s. After all, it was they who had deceived him into marrying their daughter. He had always maintained a stern demeanor towards them, and they were afraid to push him too far.

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Zi’an spoke, Zhao Yangshi’s momentum weakened immediately. She grumbled, “How could you sell it for such a low price? You must have been cheated! You didn’t even try to raise the price. If you had called me at that time, I could have definitely helped you get more money. Now look, this money isn’t enough to spend!”

Zhao Yuanbao also chimed in, “Little sister, you’re married now, so why can’t you manage your household? If you don’t have a big enough stomach, don’t use such a large bowl! Why would a rural family like ours build such a nice house and a large courtyard for? Having money on hand is the most secure. At least if you get sick again in the future, you won’t have to worry about not having money for treatment!”

He made it sound like he was concerned for his sister, but in reality, he was just upset that she didn’t leave any money for him to benefit from.

Lianhua covered her mouth and laughed, “Isn’t it just to make others jealous? Wait until you can’t even afford to eat, then see how others mock you! What’s the point of pretending to be wealthy when you’re not!”

Zhang shi frowned and said, “The house you built is indeed nice, but the location is too remote. You bought a lot of land, but it’s all barren land that doesn’t grow anything. Even if you wanted to sell it, nobody would buy it!”

Su Zhi and Shen Zi’an both furrowed their brows, wondering what they were talking about. They had just finished building the house and buying the land, so why would they sell?

“We’re not selling!”

Shen Zi’an glared at Zhang shi with a stern face, startling her. She thought her brother-in-law looked quite handsome, but he was a bit fierce. She wondered if he would mistreat his wife.

Meanwhile, Lianhua was impressed by Shen Zi’an’s demeanor. She thought her brother-in-law was quite impressive, scaring her sister-in-law like that. She found her sister-in-law annoying, always bullying her. Shen Zi’an was venting her frustrations for her. She couldn’t help feeling a bit shy as she thought that if her future husband could protect her like this, it would be great.

Su Zhi also admired her husband’s authority. She had a bunch of troublemakers in her maternal and in-law families, but her husband was not only normal but also so good. Dealing with these troublemakers didn’t seem so annoying anymore; she could even find it enjoyable.

“Spending so much money does make me feel a bit distressed, but there’s no other way. That ginseng was given by the Sacred Beast. We thought of building a good house and a large courtyard so we could invite the Sacred Beast to play. Of course, the place where the Sacred Beast stays should be good. Besides, the ginseng was originally given by it, so using it for this purpose is the best.”

Lianhua retorted, “You’re just lying! The Sacred Beast is just a wolf. You want to invite a wolf to live in your house? Aren’t you afraid of being eaten alive, bones and all!”

Su Zhi added, “Believe it or not, but this ginseng was indeed given by it. Even if it’s a wolf, it understands human nature. It won’t harm me, but you, on the other hand, might be in danger!”

Lianhua was taken aback and glared at Su Zhi, then turned to Zhao Yangshi, “Mother! Look at her! She dared to scare me!”

Zhao Yangshi glared at her and said, “Who asked you to talk nonsense about the Sacred Beast! Did you make that up? If you keep being so foolish, maybe the Sacred Beast should eat you for real!”

Su Zhi chuckled to herself, thinking that Zhao Yangshi was quite superstitious about the Sacred Beast. If they could really invite the Great White Wolf over in the future, it would definitely scare her to the point where she wouldn’t dare to come knocking. Even if she dared to enter, she wouldn’t dare to be arrogant.

Feeling wronged, Lianhua snorted, stood up, and said she would go outside for a walk, then rushed out.

Zhang shi still didn’t fully believe that Su Zhi had spent all her money. She asked again, “Little sister, do you really have no money left at all? Sister-in-law hasn’t asked to borrow money from you. Just tell the truth, so we can ease our minds.”

Su Zhi’s eyes brightened, and she put on a distressed expression, saying, “Sister-in-law, you’re truly concerned about me. I really don’t have any money left. I was actually thinking of borrowing some money from you, but I was afraid you didn’t have any money on hand, so I didn’t want to ask. Now that I hear you’re not short of money and are so worried about me, I have no choice but to ask. Father, mother, brother, sister-in-law, I really need to borrow some money from you. It won’t be much, just one or two taels of silver.”

After saying that, Su Zhi looked at them with pleading eyes, but inside, she was laughing. Let them be greedy!

Zhang shi  widened her eyes, realizing she had inadvertently dug herself into a hole.

Zhao Yuanbao immediately lowered his head. He didn’t want to lend money to Su Zhi. He came here to make money, not to give it away!

Old Man Zhao drew on his pipe. He hadn’t said anything since he came in. In this household, he was like a decoration, rarely speaking unless necessary, and others wouldn’t ask him to speak.

Zhao Yangshi glared at her daughter-in-law and said with difficulty, “Daughter, your sister-in-law didn’t make it clear. When she said she wouldn’t borrow money from you, she meant that our family doesn’t currently need money, but we also don’t have any extra money. You know she’s pregnant, and the expenses are significant. Just eating alone costs more than usual. We really don’t have the ability to help you.”

Su Zhi lowered her head in disappointment and said, “Daughter has caused you to worry again. Next time, please don’t ask daughter about any difficulties she’s facing. I’ll keep these troubles to myself in order to ensure you don’t worry. But if I speak up because you asked, and you still can’t help, it will only cause you more worry. Then it becomes my unfilialness, and I don’t want to be an unfilial daughter.”

The Zhao family members felt a bit embarrassed by Su Zhi’s words. Fortunately, Su Zhi said she would go prepare the meal at that moment, and Shen Zi’an would accompany them.

Su Zhi had already prepared the vegetables and meat, kneaded the dough, and everything was ready to be cooked. So, it was easy for her to start cooking.

She made a tofu fish head soup, stir-fried pork with green onions, potato chicken chunks, stewed ribs, shredded cabbage with pork, a bowl of braised pork, and finally, a plate of radish shreds, along with a plate of cold pig head meat.

“Has Lianhua returned? It’s time for dinner. Brother, could you go find her?”

Su Zhi said, and Zhao Yuanbao looked at the delicious food but hesitated to eat. However, he had no choice but to stand up and go out to call out a few times. Just as he stepped out, he saw Lianhua running back, looking panicked.

“Why are you running? Did you suddenly realize the food is ready? You’re such a glutton,” Zhao Yuanbao habitually scolded his younger sister. He had been annoyed a moment ago when he was asked to find her, but now, seeing her running back, he immediately mocked her without hesitation.

Lianhua didn’t have time to retort and said anxiously, “Mother! I just injured someone!”

Zhao Yangshi and Old Man Zhao were both startled and hurried over to ask what happened.

Lianhua, with a mournful expression, was about to speak when another person walked in from outside. He had clear eyebrows and eyes, and was dressed neatly—a delicate young man, none other than Shen Ziju.

Su Zhi saw that Shen Ziju was holding his forehead, blood dripping from there. She realized that he was the unfortunate fellow injured by Lianhua.