Seeing his mother and sister crying together, Fu Wenyu also felt a lump in his throat.

After a while, he handed each of them a clean handkerchief. “Second Aunt has already been taught a lesson, so I doubt she’ll dare to spout nonsense again. Besides, apart from the clan leader, no one in the village knows about this. Sister, you can rest easy now.”

“Let’s go celebrate!”

The word “celebrate” slipped out on a whim, but the more Fu Wenyu thought about it, the more it made sense. “Tomorrow, we’ll go into the city. We’ll leave in the morning and come back in the afternoon.”

“Sister, didn’t you say you’ve run out of embroidery thread? We can buy some more. As for Mother, we’ll be building a new house in a few days, so we should also prepare some good food for the villagers.”

“All of this needs to be bought.”

Building a house definitely required treating the workers well, and after some thought, Mrs. Zhou agreed.

Then, with a hint of worry, she added, “Wenyu, we’ve already made quite a few of those velvet flowers you taught us. Why don’t we take them to sell as well? I’m just not sure if they’ll sell.”

“There’s no way they won’t sell.”

Fu Wenyu reassured her, “Anyone with an eye for quality can see that the velvet flowers you’ve made are bigger and more beautiful than the one Father bought for you before. They’ll definitely sell.”

“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave early tomorrow morning. As for the sheep, chickens, and ducks at home, we can ask Chunhua to take care of them. Hmm, we’ll give her a bowl—no, half a bowl of goat milk each day. Later, we can have her tend the sheep with Sister and help cut grass and such.”

“She looks so thin, like she hasn’t had much to eat.”

Chunhua wasn’t a bad person. She got along well with Fu Rong and had even given them a heads-up earlier that day. So, Fu Wenyu thought it wouldn’t hurt to help this cousin out. After all, it was just a bowl of goat milk, and they had more than enough to spare.

As for why it was half a bowl instead of a full one, it was to guard against his greedy Second Uncle and Second Aunt. They could have a full bowl at their house, but only half a bowl to take home.

Mrs. Zhou also liked this quiet, hardworking niece who often played with her daughter, so she didn’t object. However, she reminded him, “You should also bring a bowl to your grandfather. Since it’s something good for the body, it wouldn’t be right to leave him out. Otherwise, people might say you’re unfilial.”

As for the other two members of the Second Branch—Second Uncle and Second Aunt—she didn’t even mention them. Clearly, after what had happened that day, only a superficial relationship remained between the two families.

“Alright, I’ll do as you say.”

Fu Wenyu thought that, considering the two taels of silver from earlier that day, it wouldn’t hurt to give some to his grandfather. After all, if the old man’s health improved, it would be a good thing for the younger generation.

At this point, he also brought up what he had mentioned at the village entrance that afternoon. He had suggested that anyone willing to spare some eggs could exchange them for goat milk, since they couldn’t finish it all themselves. Judging from the reactions of those present, it seemed some people were willing to make the exchange. He just needed to remind them that some people couldn’t drink it.

Mrs. Zhou agreed with his idea.

“Our family is isolated in the village, and now we’ve completely offended the Second Branch. If we can build some goodwill, it would be a good thing. Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.”

And so, the matter was settled.

Early the next morning, after breakfast and drinking the boiled goat milk—which had a slightly gamey taste and was sweetened with just a bit of sugar—they entrusted the two chickens and the goat to Chunhua’s care. They also gave her and Fu Dashí each a bowl of the remaining goat milk before setting off.

When they arrived in the city, Fu Wenyu first dropped them off at Li’s Silk Shop. Then he hurried to the blacksmith’s to pick up the needle-nose pliers, tweezers, and thin copper wire he had ordered.

The blacksmith hadn’t made needle-nose pliers before, so Fu Wenyu had to wait an extra half hour to get them.

When he returned to Li’s Silk Shop, he initially planned to wait at the entrance as he had done last time. However, a young maid led him to the back.

“Our mistress said that when Master Fu arrives, he should be invited inside, as there’s something to discuss. Madam Zhou and Miss Fu are already waiting inside. You’ll see them shortly.”

Fu Wenyu followed the maid, puzzled about what the matter could be.

Once inside, he first greeted the strikingly beautiful Madam Li before sitting down next to Mrs. Zhou. It was only then that he learned Madam Li was very impressed with the velvet flowers made by Mrs. Zhou and Fu Rong and wanted to establish a long-term partnership with their family. Mrs. Zhou would provide the craftsmanship, while Madam Li would handle the sales, splitting the profits fifty-fifty.

Just then, a maid came to inform them that a distinguished guest had arrived at the silk shop in the front.

Madam Li quickly excused herself and left.

Once she was gone, Fu Wenyu asked in a low voice, “Mother, where’s Sister?” He hadn’t seen his sister Fu Rong since entering, as only his mother and Madam Li were in the room.

Mrs. Zhou replied just as quietly, “Your sister went to the back with Madam Li’s daughter. Miss Li also loves those velvet flowers, and since I plan to do business with Madam Li, I asked your sister to teach her.”

Ah, so that was it. Fu Wenyu felt relieved.

As if remembering something, Madam Zhou sighed. “Madam Li has had a hard life. She’s from the Jiangnan region, but after her husband passed away early, she came to Liuzhou alone with her child, far from her hometown. In the early years, she endured so much gossip. It’s only recently that things have gotten better.”

“By the way, the Li family has been kind to us.”

Mrs. Zhou turned to her son with a serious expression. “During the worst of your illness, I was at a loss. I heard Madam Li knew a highly skilled physician from Jiangzhou, so I went to her for help. Madam Li, being kind-hearted, immediately sent someone to fetch the doctor and even covered the cost of the medicine. It was only after taking his medicine that you were able to get up. Otherwise, you’d still be bedridden.”

A doctor from Jiangzhou?

Fu Wenyu tried to recall but had no memory of it.

This wasn’t surprising. The original Fu Wenyu had been unable to cope with the shock of his father’s death and had fallen ill. But after falling ill, he hadn’t focused on recovering. Instead, he was consumed by melancholy and worry. He grieved the loss of his father and fretted over the future of himself and his family.

He hadn’t been resting in bed to recover but had been lying awake until dawn. On top of that, he occasionally got up at night without taking care to keep warm, which eventually led to him catching a cold.

During the early days after Fu Wenyu had transmigrated into this body, he had been taking medicine for that cold.

So, the life-saving doctor had been arranged by the Li family.

But he hadn’t known.

Thinking about it, it made sense. The original Fu Wenyu was a typical bookworm—high in intelligence but low in emotional intelligence. When his father was alive, he had focused solely on studying and had no understanding of worldly affairs. After his father’s death, he fell ill, consumed by grief and worry, and paid even less attention to such matters.

In such a situation, given the personalities of Mrs. Zhou and Fu Rong, they would have comforted him, urging him to rest and recover, rather than saying things like, “The medicine you’re taking today costs this much,” “This is where the family’s money is coming from,” or “If you don’t get better soon, we won’t be able to make ends meet.”

It was understandable that the original Fu Wenyu hadn’t known.

But now that he knew, he couldn’t ignore the debt of gratitude.