Um! Is this a lot of silver?

If they knew your daughter had five thousand taels of silver, wouldn't they be shocked?

Gu Nanjiao placed the silver in her father's hand, looked at it seriously, and said, "I sold the back mountain again, for this amount!" As she spoke, Gu Nanjiao held up five fingers.

Father Gu asked incredulously, "You bought it for five hundred taels and then sold it for another five hundred taels?"

Oh dear, his daughter is still acting up as usual, going around in circles and ending up back where she started.

It's pitiful that he spent over ten taels of silver treating Zhang Yan to meals and giving him gifts, only to lose money in the end. He'd only bought it a few days ago, and his daughter just sold it without warning.

Just like her mother, she acts without thinking.

Her biological mother is alright; she has a capable father who just cleans up her messes.

What did she have? Her father was just a poor, penniless scholar, and the family was dirt poor. The most capable and highest-ranking official she knew was her classmate, Lord Zhang Yan, and even their brotherhood was forged by him risking his life.

Seeing her father's heartbroken expression, Gu Nanjiao stopped keeping her in suspense.

She whispered, "Dad, I got five thousand taels from it. I'm a rich woman now. You can ask me for more when you've spent it all."

What?

What did her daughter say?

Five thousand taels? That's way too much.

Mr. Gu's feelings went from heartbreak to disbelief, then from a mix of emotions to a bittersweet mix, and finally gradually calmed down.

After a short while, Gu's father patted Gu Nanjiao on the shoulder: "Don't flaunt your wealth, don't let others know. Now that you're married, discuss things with Yanzhao more often."

Gu Nanjiao obediently nodded in agreement!

...

Lu Xiaomei wants to eat pickled fish, and since the weather is hot, Gu Nanjiao also wants to eat something sour and spicy.

On the way back, I bought some pickled cabbage and a black carp.

After stunning the blackfish, Gu Nanjiao began to kill it.

Lu Xiaomei placed a basin in front of Gu Nanjiao: "Sister-in-law, I've prepared the water for you. Call me if you need anything, I'll be right here." Thinking about the delicious pickled fish she would be eating soon, Lu Xiaomei couldn't help but swallow.

"Go wash the pickled cabbage, and also wash some scallions, ginger, and garlic!"

"Okay!" Lu Xiaomei readily agreed, and before leaving, she said to Gu Nanjiao, "Sister-in-law, don't throw away the fish maw, I like to eat it!"

Just as Gu Nanjiao and the other two were about to eat, the prepared pickled fish was served.

Bai Luochen arrived with Bai Su. The two exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.

Lu's mother and younger sister looked at Bai Luochen with wary expressions.

Gu Nanjiao frowned: "Why did you come to my house?"

Bai Luochen touched his nose: "I followed the smell here. I didn't expect it to be your house? What delicious food did you make? It smells so good."

The food at the quarry was prepared by someone hired by the village chief, and it was truly unpalatable. Bai Luochen and Bai Su hadn't eaten dinner yet and were just about to head back when they smelled a unique aroma that made their mouths water.

Two food lovers followed the smell and came looking for it.

Gu Nanjiao said, "Pickled cabbage fish!"

Bai Luochen and his companion looked at the table, staring intently at the sauerkraut fish and swallowing hard.

Lu Xiaomei shielded the bowls and chopsticks in front of her: "Don't even think about messing with my sister-in-law's... pickled fish!"

Although Madam Lu did not welcome this young master Bai, she felt that her younger sister was being very impolite, and frowned, saying, "Little sister, you must not be rude."

Bai Luochen smiled and said, "He's just a kid, it's alright."

Lu Xiaomei didn't think there was anything wrong with her. She just felt that this young master Bai had ill intentions and was definitely here to steal her away.

Bai Luochen exchanged a glance with Bai Su, who quickly stepped forward: "Oh, what is pickled fish? I've never heard of it! Today, my young master was so worried about something going wrong at the quarry that he stayed there all day. He must be exhausted."

Gu Nanjiao felt a little awkward leaving him hanging like this, after all, the two of them had a partnership, and Bai Luochen was still her backer. She pointed to the stool next to her and asked Bai Luochen to sit down.

Bai Su was very perceptive and knew what her young master was up to: "Young master has been working hard all day, and he is thirsty and hungry. He is afraid of delaying the progress of the ice-making workshop. It's a pity that he hasn't even eaten yet."

Gu Nanjiao asked, "Why don't you sit down and have something to eat?"

As soon as Gu Nanjiao finished speaking, Bai Luochen unceremoniously lifted his robe and sat down at the table, saying without any politeness, "Okay."

Lu Xiaomei pouted and said resentfully, "Sister-in-law..."

Lu's mother nudged Lu Xiaomei: "Go get the chopsticks." Lu Xiaomei reluctantly left her seat.

Gu Nanjiao forced a smile: "The farm-style food may not suit my taste, please excuse me."

Seeing the enticing aroma of the pickled fish on the table, Bai Luochen had to swallow his pride and eat the meal.

Lu Xiaomei reluctantly handed two pairs of chopsticks to the two of them.

Bai Luochen said politely, "Sorry to bother you." After saying that, he waved to Bai Su. Bai Su had been by Bai Luochen's side for many years and understood his meaning with just a glance.

He quickly took out two taels of silver from his pocket and politely handed it to Lu Xiaomei: "Little girl, you've worked hard. Here's some silver for you to buy some candy!"

Lu Xiaomei rolled her eyes: "Who are you, Uncle!" But she still took the silver from Bai Su's hand.

Lu's mother glared at Lu Xiaomei and told her to return the silver.

Lu Xiaomei refused, shoved the silver into her pocket, picked up her chopsticks and grabbed several pieces of pickled fish.

It wasn't that she was greedy; if she didn't accept the money, they would think she was getting a free meal and come back next time. She had to keep a close eye on things; she couldn't let such a wonderful sister-in-law be stolen away.

Lu Xiaomei, being a child at heart, thought that this would deter Bai Luochen from coming again. Unexpectedly, Bai Luochen's act of paying gave him even more opportunity to freeload, and he came to eat every day for the next few days.

They even said they wouldn't let you eat for free, and that the money they gave you was several times the price of food at a fancy restaurant.

Lu Xiaomei was so angry that she gritted her teeth, but her mother told her to calm down.

Sure enough, experience is the best teacher.

Lu's mother suddenly fainted while setting up her stall.

Gu Nanjiao quickly took Lu's mother back to the small courtyard she rented in the county town.

And so, the family settled down in the courtyard again.

Bai Luochen, who was trying to freeload again, was disappointed. For more than ten days in a row, the gates of the Lu family's house were locked, and there was not a single person in sight.

After Bai Luochen left, Li Shi sneaked out from under the haystack, scratched her body, and felt incredibly itchy.

She knew it! How could Gu Nanjiao be so capable and make so much money? It turns out...

The villagers followed suit, and Bai Luochen took advantage of Lu Yanzhao's absence to run to the Lu family every few days. His purpose was obvious: he was after Gu Nanjiao.

Her sister-in-law wasn't disgusted at all; her daughter-in-law's lover had come knocking on their door, yet she turned a blind eye.

Li swayed triumphantly as she went home.

Huang Qingqing was carving something with a knife. When Li approached, she saw that it was long and thin, like chopsticks, but she didn't know what it was.

"All you do all day is mess around and dabble, I don't even know what you're doing!" Li muttered as she went into the kitchen.

Lifting the pot lid, the pot and stove were cold; no rice had even been cooked.

This is outrageous! What kind of daughter-in-law doesn't cook? She just eats all day and does nothing, and she even makes her son move stones. Poor Yanping's hands are all worn out, and that ugly woman doesn't even care. Thinking of this, Li Shi was furious.

She ran up to Huang Qingqing and snatched the carving knife from her hand. Unexpectedly, she used too much force and cut her finger, causing blood to gush out immediately.

Li screamed loudly, sat down on the ground, covered her bleeding fingers with her hand, and cursed at Huang Qingqing: