Zhang Daguang had been kicked in the butt by someone, his hair was a mess, and he looked like a beggar fleeing famine as he slunk home.

Granny Jia was covered in straw and clods of dirt, with bits of grass and dust everywhere, and she was cursing and swearing.

Chen Dazhu supported Chen Xian carefully throughout the journey.

While helping him up, he was still muttering to himself.

If Dad gets a shock this time and becomes bedridden like before, won't this family be just like before?

Just when things were starting to look up, things began to look promising.

I'm not afraid of hardship, but Cuihua will probably have to endure her father's sarcastic remarks again.

For a moment, Chen Dazhu felt as if a mountain had been placed over his chest.

It was heavy.

Sigh, I can only help Cuihua with some farm work so that my father will scold me less.

We arrived home.

Chen Xian gently pushed Chen Dazhu away.

He looked energetic and stood in the courtyard, a far cry from his previous sickly appearance.

The kitchen was filled with the fresh, spicy aroma of wild vegetables and green peppers, which wafted straight into one's nostrils.

Cuihua tilted her head and tended the fire, while Suliniang chopped wild vegetables on the cutting board.

Su Shuangshuang was busy washing clothes in the yard.

Smoke curls from the chimneys.

Liniang smiled and nodded when she saw the Chen family return.

"Husband, quickly wash your hands and get ready for dinner."

Chen Xian walked briskly to the basin.

Where is the swaying and staggering figure from before?

Chen Dazhu stared in disbelief, as if he had witnessed some kind of medical miracle.

Chen Erzhu patted his older brother's shoulder casually.

"Brother, you're still too young."

soon.

Stir-fried green peppers with dandelion greens, stir-fried mushrooms with pickled bamboo shoots, and buckwheat pancakes—all steaming hot.

He placed it on the wooden table with one leg malfunctioning, and put a wooden block underneath it. Chen Xian kicked it to push the block under the leg, making it more stable.

At the dinner table.

Chen Xian began teaching the Chen family members.

Only then did Cuihua realize what had just happened.

Naturally, I was filled with righteous indignation.

"Zhang Daguang is indeed a wicked man. He provides drinking water for the village, but he doesn't appreciate his father's kindness at all. He's a rotten bastard."

Chen Xian looked at his bewildered eldest brother, Su Shuangshuang who only knew how to eat, and the Chen family's daughter.

"The same goes for people's hearts. If I accept it so casually, the villagers will only be grateful, but they will forget about it in a short time."

"But if I make things sound difficult, aside from selfish people, others will only appreciate my efforts. In the future, if our family is slandered, people with a conscience will remember my contributions to the village."

The saying goes that when doing something, exaggerating your achievements will prevent others from feeling slighted.

Another tactic was to deliberately position himself in the lowest of all, displaying lofty virtue and letting the villagers condemn Zhang Daguang and his ilk. This made him appear aggressive and ready to kill Zhang Daguang.

The villagers would sympathize with Zhang Daguang and blame themselves for being too cold-hearted.

That's how complicated people's hearts are.

Seeing the weak evokes pity, even when the weak are in the wrong; moreover, Chen Xian himself occupies the moral high ground, so pretending to be weak will only garner more goodwill and help Chen Xian teach Zhang Daguang and his ilk a lesson.

A gentle, calculated approach is far more satisfying than a severe beating to Zhang Daguang.

After finishing the meal.

Chen Xian took the completed storybook and prepared to go to town.

After working for more than ten days, the whole family earned more than two hundred coins.

"Erzhu, let's go to town and see if the price of grain has been rising recently. If it is, we'll need to rethink how to make money."

Li Niang whispered to Shuang Shuang, "Grain prices are rising, and the cost of making cold noodles is also increasing, so we have to raise our prices, and fewer people may eat it."

As Chen Sanniu listened to the conversation, her mind kept replaying Xinghua's boasting about her next door and her experiences in the town.

The sweet aroma of maltose, the tangy sourness of hawthorn, and the golden-yellow, flaky sesame cakes.

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

"Dad, I want to go too."

The little girl tugged at Chen Xian's sleeve and pleaded incessantly.

Chen Dazhu gently comforted him, "Just wait at home, I'll bring you some food when I come back, okay?"

Chen Xian originally wanted to interrupt him, but then he thought that his eldest brother was always honest and easy to talk to, and it was time to cultivate his authority. His personality was too weak.

If I'm no longer around, my brothers and sisters probably won't listen to me at all.

Ugh, ptooey!

Why am I thinking so much? I'm really treating myself like an old man.

A 35-year-old young man, still able to snag one last chance to take the civil service exam? Is he already starting to think about retirement?

That's utterly absurd.

My mind was filled with all sorts of little scenarios, and my facial expressions were incredibly complex, shifting between cold and hot.

Dazhu assumed his father was thinking about something serious, so he didn't dare to disturb him, afraid that any thought of his might affect his father's business plans.

Chen Xian: "I'll bring you some shortbread when I get back."

He touched the little girl's face and ruffled her short hair.

"Listen to your big brother, be good."

" Um."

Liniang looked a little flustered and said softly, "Husband, can I go with you? Oh, right, and Shuangshuang too."

Erzhu frowned: "Auntie, you know that it costs two coins per person to ride in the village's oxcart for a round trip. What do you need? I'll bring it back for you."

Li Niang stammered, her hard-won courage dissipated by those words.

Chen Xian understood and took out some money to distribute to everyone.

"This is our wages for the work, one share for each person."

Li Niang opened her mouth in astonishment, "This?"

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