Shen Mingzhi picked up the broken pieces and the crushed fever-reducing patch from the ground and put them into a bamboo basket. "About a week. I'll be staying at the Shen family's courtyard house on West Street. You'll be there then—"

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Xiuzhu interrupted, "Hey, so you're living in my house."

"Are you the landlord?" Shen Mingzhi's attitude immediately softened.

"That's right, the location over there isn't good, and it would cost me a lot of money, so I let it go. Come on, come on, let's go back and take a look. Which room are you staying in?" Shen Xiuzhu said very enthusiastically.

Shen Mingzhi felt a little embarrassed and declined, saying, "You've already helped me, you don't need to come along."

"Don't be so polite," Shen Xiuzhu said, immediately turning to his henchmen, "Hurry up and help her pick them out. What are you all standing around for?!"

A henchman immediately stepped forward and took the load from Shen Mingzhi's shoulders.

"Thank you," Shen Mingzhi said to her younger brother.

The younger brother blushed slightly. "Big sister, you're welcome."

"What are you calling me 'big sister'? She's so young and beautiful, are you blind?!" Shen Xiuzhu came over and slapped her younger brother on the head.

After saying that, he called out to the embarrassed Shen Mingzhi, "Miss Shen, don't you think so?"

"You can call me 'Big Sister' if you want, there's no need to be so formal," she replied with a forced smile.

Upon arriving at the Shen family's courtyard house, the gatekeeper, seeing Shen Xiuzhu and then looking at Shen Mingzhi, called out in confusion, "Young Master Shen, what brings you here?"

"Come and see how my tenants are doing. Enough with the nonsense, get out of here." Shen Xiuzhu pushed aside the young man guarding the door.

The young man silently stepped aside.

Following Shen Mingzhi to the innermost small attic, he smelled a faint stench as soon as he reached the door... He frowned involuntarily, looked around, and found the outhouse not far away. He immediately beckoned to his henchman, "Go, go and find Wang Wu."

"The price here is cheap, and I'm quite satisfied. When I have time, I plan to clear out a plot of land to grow some vegetables. The fact that the outhouse is close by is a big advantage for me," Shen Mingzhi said to Shen Xiuzhu.

Changing rooms would require paying more rent, so Shen Mingzhi doesn't want to change rooms for the time being.

Although I made some money, I still had to buy new medicinal herbs and replace the outer packaging, which was a considerable expense.

Shen Xiuzhu knew she was reluctant to part with it; she had even argued with him about the previous rent of two yuan a month.

"You're quite the schemer," he said, and walked into the house.

When Wang Sao heard the noise outside, she assumed that Shen Mingzhi had returned. She came out carrying the child, but when she saw Shen Xiuzhu, she was stunned.

"Who is this, Miss?" Aunt Wang asked warily.

She knew that Shen Mingzhi was young and beautiful and attracted men, so it was normal for someone to have their eye on her, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

"Oh, they said they'd come to pick up the medicine in a few days," Shen Mingzhi said.

Sister-in-law Wang watched as her younger brother carried the bamboo basket to the doorway and thought to herself that he was a rather nice man.

As soon as Shen Xiuzhu entered the room, he immediately felt unbearably hot and stuffy, and the room also had a strong milky smell.

The only old electric fan was blowing towards the two children who were sleeping quietly on the bamboo mat.

Judging from the baby's size, it's probably less than a month old.

The creaking sound, combined with the dimly lit room, gave the pampered young master, who had been spoiled since childhood, a very strong shock for the first time.

His sister has a very comfortable life taking care of the child. She doesn't lift a finger, and her husband cooks for her every day. She lives in a bright, spacious room with air conditioning and a TV.

The only time she took her child to the health center was when she was too bored at home.

If a woman who has just given birth is in such a sorry state, then what about her usual life? Wouldn't she be treated like a beast of burden?

"Where's your man?" He came out of the room, frowning as he asked. What kind of useless man was he, making his wife and her family live in such a tiny place, and forcing his wife, who hadn't even finished her postpartum confinement, to go out and sell things to make money?

Shen Mingzhi went into the house, took an enamel mug, poured a glass of water, and handed it to the younger brother who was helping her pick out things. "Why are you asking this?"

“You’re still in your postpartum period and you’re already doing this heavy work. Your man doesn’t care about you at all. When my sister was in her postpartum period, she didn’t even touch water, let alone pick things up.” Shen Xiuzhu frowned.

Speaking of no one caring about her, Shen Mingzhi thought of Jiang Shaozhen who had gone into hiding... He had spoken so earnestly back then that she had actually been somewhat moved, but after just one night, she was kicked out of the Jiang family by Jiang Yinyin.

Banishing her distracting thoughts, she smiled indifferently, "So what if my husband is dead? I can only rely on myself. If I don't take on any responsibility, how will I raise the children?"

Shen Xiuzhu genuinely believed that she had lost her man, and immediately showed a sympathetic expression, "I'm sorry."

“He’s not really dead.” Shen Mingzhi smiled.

Shen Xiuzhu remained silent, his face grim.

The environment here was too cramped; he couldn't stay there, so he took a quick look around and left.

After he left, Aunt Wang said softly, "Zhizhi, I treat you like my goddaughter, but I still have to remind you that your relationship with Young Master Jiang is still not settled. You can't get too close to unmarried and childless men, or you'll easily attract criticism."

“I know, it’s just that his sister wants the medicine, and I think they’re quite wealthy, so I’m just a potential client. Right now, I’m only thinking about making money, nothing else,” Shen Mingzhi said casually.

Aunt Wang grunted in agreement. Seeing that she had lifted the cloth covering the bamboo basket and that the medicine and fever-reducing patches were ruined, she immediately came over and asked, "What happened?! Did someone vandalize your stall?!"

“Jiang Yinyin brought a few young women over and accused me of selling fake medicine. They ruined all the medicine. If it weren’t for Shen Xiuzhu and his henchmen helping me out, I would have not only lost everything today, but I would also have been criticized and my reputation would have been ruined. I would never be able to do business again,” Shen Mingzhi said with a smile.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!