When Qiao Yunqing arrived, he saw Qiao Xin looking dejected and listless.

His expression changed instantly.

Without even waiting for the carriage to come to a full stop, he threw down the reins and hurried forward, asking, “What’s wrong? Did you run into trouble?”

Qiao Xin weakly waved a hand at him and said, “Nothing, I was just hit hard by how broke I am. I’ll be fine after a bit. You go ahead and move the stuff.”

Qiao Yunqing was confused.

He turned his head and finally noticed the huge pile of items behind her.

This was what she called “just buying a few things”?

No wonder his “mother” was broke with spending habits like this! She practically emptied an entire store!

Half the carriage was already occupied by clothes and bedding alone.

There were also more than ten books, clay pots, kitchen knives, raincoats, straw hats…

“Hiss!” Qiao Yunqing took a deep breath as he became increasingly aware of one reality—when Qiao Xin claimed she was “financially secure and had no worries about food and clothing,” she wasn’t lying.

A person who had truly grown up poor would never be this extravagant with food and necessities!

A struggling household would never spend like this.

Meeting his adoptive mother’s expectations in the future was not going to be easy.

The pressure was immense!

He needed to start making arrangements for his studies as soon as possible!

After recognizing the reality of the situation, Qiao Yunqing quietly followed behind Qiao Xin, acting as her porter.

The two of them worked in perfect harmony—one buying, the other loading—until, after an hour, the carriage was almost too full to hold anything else.

Finally, they left the city.

Qiao Yunqing let out a deep breath.

Shopping with this woman was even more exhausting than going to war!

Next time, he’d let his elder and younger brothers accompany her instead!

“Where are we headed? Are we still going to Xuanzhou?” Qiao Xin lazily sat in the front passenger seat of the carriage, watching Qiao Yunqing drive.

She quietly memorized his every move.

“If it weren’t for the Yang family causing trouble, Xuanzhou would have been a good choice. But now, we can’t go there—the magistrate of Xuanzhou is a student of Old Master Yang. Moving there would be like walking into a trap. We should head further south, to Weizhou.”

Qiao Xin yawned, disinterested. “You decide. I don’t care where we go. I can live anywhere! The sooner we settle down, the sooner we can start making money. I can’t stand living like a broke person for even one more day.”

Qiao Yunqing glanced at her and said, “Just from this trip alone, you got 3,000 taels of silver from Xu Can. That’s more than most people earn in a lifetime. Isn’t that enough for you?”

Qiao Xin immediately disagreed. “What’s 3,000 taels? I already spent nearly 500 today! You can’t just be satisfied with that. Think about it—there are thirteen of us in the family right now. We need a decent place to live, right? At the very least, we need a two-courtyard house, which will cost at least 300-400 taels. Even if we build our own house, it’ll still cost more than 300 taels.

“Then there’s the cost of food, travel, and bribes along the way—that’s another huge expense. Once we settle down, we’ll need to buy farmland too. And that’s not even counting the dowries we’ll need for the girls, the betrothal gifts for the boys, and the money needed for all of you to continue studying. That’s a bottomless pit!”

Qiao Yunqing looked at her with a complicated expression. “She never thought about all of this for us. You don’t have to either. This isn’t your responsibility—I will take care of it.”

Qiao Xin knew exactly who “she” referred to.

But that person was that person, and she was herself.

She had her own principles, and she preferred to rely on herself to live comfortably.

“I’m not doing this out of selflessness. I just want to live comfortably. There’s no way I’m going back to the days when you guys could barely afford to eat.”

“You’re a woman! It’s not easy for a woman to go out and work. If you overexert yourself, people will talk behind my back and say I’m useless.”

Qiao Xin smacked Qiao Yunqing hard on the back, nearly knocking him off the carriage.

Startled, she quickly grabbed him to pull him back.

She needed to adjust her strength—she still wasn’t used to it.

Qiao Yunqing hadn’t been treated like a child in a long time, so he was momentarily stunned.

After a while, he dryly muttered, “A gentleman uses words, not fists!”

“I hit you, so what? If you keep pissing me off, I’ll hit you again! Whether you accept it or not, you’d better behave and call me Mother properly from now on!”

Qiao Xin felt the need to make things clear. “So what if I’m a woman? Women hold up half the sky. As long as I don’t want to, no one can force me to stay locked in some backyard. You’d better get used to that. If you can’t accept it, we should part ways now—no need to keep up this ‘loving mother and filial son’ act.”

Qiao Yunqing remained silent for a while and didn’t argue further.

Although the current emperor wasn’t as strict about restricting women as past dynasties, common folk still held conservative views.

If his adoptive mother wanted to live freely, she would face many difficulties.

Forget it. He would just have to look out for her more in the future.

Soon, the family reunited at Liuting.

The children spotted their grandmother and second uncle from afar and excitedly ran toward them!

Qiao Xin got off the carriage and was immediately greeted by their bright, eager eyes—and the steamed bun they held up to her.

“Mother!”

“Mother!”

…

San Niang cautiously moved closer to Qiao Xin and said, “Grandma, eat!”

Qiao Xin automatically ignored the little fingerprints on the bun.

This child had clearly saved it for her.

Her heart softened.

She picked up San Niang and instead brought the bun to the child’s mouth. “Grandma already ate. This is for you. From now on, you must listen well—always eat your fill when I give you food. Understand?”

She then patted the heads of the other children. “The same goes for you—no hiding food. You need to eat well to have the energy to travel. If you ever want something, just tell me.”

She repeated the same words to her sons and daughters-in-law, not caring whether they believed her or not.

Seeing that it was getting late, she ordered, “Everyone, get in the car! We need to hurry! Divide the things in the carriage—let the children ride with me. Eldest and second daughters-in-law, take the other carriage.”

Clothes weren’t heavy, but they took up space.

Qiao Xin instructed everyone to change out of their tattered rags.

When she saw Zhang Shi trying to pack old clothes into a bundle, she immediately stopped her. “Just leave them by the road. We don’t need them.”

“But, Mother, I can still make a few pairs of shoes from this fabric,” Zhang Shi said reluctantly.

“No need. We need to hurry. Anything unnecessary gets left behind—it’s too heavy, and the carriage will slow down! We’ll be traveling nonstop, barely staying anywhere for long. Do you really think you’ll have time to wash clothes?”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t wash them—it was just that, in Qiao Xin’s eyes, these clothes were so filthy they’d fall apart if scrubbed too hard.

The only reason they were still intact was thanks to the thick layer of grime coating them!