Chapter 30 Controlling the Old Lady

As they reached the end of the village, Zhou Dazhu got off the carriage first and went back to his own home.

The grain and oil shop assistant continued driving the carriage directly into the Qin family’s courtyard.

After parking the carriage, without Qin Ruo needing to say anything, he diligently helped unload the things from the carriage.

At this time, Old Lady Qin was in the kitchen, grumbling as she prepared dinner.

In the past, Qin Qiuxi would always return early from selling her hunting spoils to help with the housework.

Old Lady Qin was furious when she thought about how Qin Ruo had deliberately left her behind and taken Qin Zimu to the market alone.

Qin Ziyan had already gone back to the academy in the morning, leaving empty-handed and with a dark face.

Old Lady Qin was angry when she thought about Qin Ziyan’s expression when he left. This anger was mainly directed at Qin Ruo.

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, she rushed out of the kitchen.

“You little wretch…”

When she saw the carriage parked in the courtyard and the assistant unloading things, her throat tightened, her neck felt like it was being choked, and she abruptly stopped mid-sentence.

After the grain and oil shop assistant unloaded everything, he immediately bid farewell to Qin Ruo and drove the carriage away.

As soon as the carriage left the Qin family’s courtyard, Old Lady Qin could no longer contain her anger.

“You little wretch, are you crazy? Where’s the money from selling things? Where’s the reward money from the government office? Did you spend it all?”

Looking at the pile of things on the ground, Old Lady Qin’s forehead throbbed.

She looked closely, it seemed like she had emptied the entire grain and oil shop.

Didn’t she know what the situation was at home?

Fine rice and white flour, could the Qin family afford to eat such things?

Then she looked at the two brand new quilts and several sets of clothes, and Old Lady Qin’s heart sank.

Thinking about the money Qin Ruo earned from selling hunting spoils and the reward money from the government office, she hadn’t seen a single copper coin, she estimated it was all spent, and for a moment, her heart ached so much that she felt faint.

Qin Ruo didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids, she directly instructed Qin Zimu to move the things back to the house.

Seeing that Qin Ruo didn’t pay any attention to her, Old Lady Qin followed her into the house, becoming angrier and angrier, her voice getting louder.

“Qin Qiuxi! Are you even listening? I’m asking you, where’s the money? Hand over the rest of the money! These useless clothes and quilts, you better take them back tomorrow and return them!”

“Are you lacking food and clothing at home?”

She had always controlled the family’s money, and Qin Ruo’s self-willed attitude made Old Lady Qin feel a deep sense of crisis.

In her anger, Old Lady Qin almost forgot how Qin Ruo had treated her these past few days.

Qin Zimu cowered in fear, not daring to speak.

“Have you forgotten? I said that I wouldn’t hand over a single copper coin from the money I earn.”

“Lacking food and clothing? Did you buy winter quilts for me and Erlang? Have you bought us a single new piece of clothing in the past three years? What’s this? Are Erlang and I outsiders? Do we not have the Qin surname?”

“Also, I need to inform you. From now on, there is no Qin Qiuxi in this family, only Qin Ruo. I just went to the government office today to change my name, and it’s already registered.”

Qin Ruo, who was organizing things, stood up straight, staring at Old Lady Qin without fear, her expression cold.

“What’s yours and mine? Isn’t it all this family’s…”

“I ate two eggs, and you yelled at me for stealing. What’s this? The money I earn suddenly becomes the family’s? Don’t be so hypocritical!”

Old Lady Qin was stunned by Qin Ruo’s words, her head spinning.

What did she mean there was no Qin Qiuxi in this family, what did she mean by hypocritical, she didn’t understand any of it.

She only understood one thing, her granddaughter would no longer hand over the money she earned to her to control.

Then… what about Dalangg’s education?

Old Lady Qin’s eyes were red, and she turned her head, wiping away her tears as she ran out.

She couldn’t argue with Qin Ruo, and she had no way to control her. She felt both heartbroken and wronged.

It was true that she favored Dalangg a little more, but she ate the same food as Erlang and Qiuxi.

She hadn’t hidden anything or secretly cooked extra for herself.

As for Qin Ruo’s statement that she hadn’t bought them new clothes in three years,

But she hadn’t bought any new clothes for herself in those three years either!

With a scholar in the family, every penny had to be stretched.

Clothes could be worn as long as they were still wearable. Wasn’t that how poor people lived?

Why was it different for her own daughter?

The hard times would eventually pass. When Dalangg achieved success, wouldn’t they have a good life?

Look at all that fine rice and white flour! Did that look like someone who knew how to manage money?

The more Old Lady Qin thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She didn’t even bother to cook dinner anymore. She went back to her room, buried her head under the covers, and sobbed.

Qin Ruo heard Old Lady Qin’s crying from the next room, but she felt no emotion.

Qin Ruo had deliberately ignored Old Lady Qin. She was determined to establish her own rules.

If everyone wanted to live well, they had to follow her rules.

She didn’t want Old Lady Qin to interfere with everything she did. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle it, she just found it annoying.

As for whether Old Lady Qin would kick her out of the Qin family, it wasn’t even on Qin Ruo’s radar.

When the time came, she would leave on her own, without Old Lady Qin having to chase her away.

Qin Zimu listened to Old Lady Qin’s voice, and a look of pity appeared in his eyes.

Grandma was angry with Sister because of the money. He touched the pouch on his waist and looked at Qin Ruo with longing eyes.

He was conflicted about whether to hand over the tael of silver he had received.

“Don’t ask me! I told you, what belongs to you, you can do whatever you want with it.”

Qin Ruo found it amusing to see Qin Zimu’s cautious movements.

Qin Zimu was kind and soft-hearted, and she wouldn’t stop him.

Everyone should have their own independent thoughts. She never thought about pulling Qin Zimu into her camp.

Nor did she want Qin Zimu to oppose Old Lady Qin like she did.

The reason she was willing to treat Qin Zimu better was simply because she felt a sense of shared hardship.

There was also another reason. Since Qin Zimu was someone the original owner was willing to protect, she didn’t mind protecting him a little, as long as it didn’t violate her principles.

Of course, if one day Qin Zimu turned around and pointed a knife at her, she wouldn’t hesitate.

Qin Zimu received Qin Ruo’s response and a faint smile appeared on his face.

The simple boy happily ran out and headed towards Old Lady Qin’s room.

Old Lady Qin had been pretending to cry in her room, but when she didn’t get any comfort from Qin Ruo after a while, she really started crying.

As she cried, she suddenly felt something was wrong.

She thought about it for a while, then slapped her forehead and suddenly realized.

The amount of money didn’t add up!

According to her calculations, the money from selling the wild game, plus the two taels of reward money from the government office, shouldn’t have been enough to buy so many things.

Where did the rest of the money come from?

Old Lady Qin had forgotten about her grievances. She immediately sat up and wanted to go find Qin Ruo to get some answers.

As she opened the door, she saw Qin Zimu standing awkwardly at the door, clutching a pouch.