After listening to Lin Xiaoman's words, Cheng Ruyi realized that so many things had happened. She thought the Lin family had stopped causing trouble, but she didn't expect that after seeing their family getting better and better, they would start having bad ideas again.
"Mother, so why did they act so strangely later? They even seemed to have been frightened by something?" Xiaoman didn't understand. Zhao Shi and her two younger brothers were usually very arrogant and fearless when they bullied her.
"Well... how should I put it? This is probably a typical case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Some people are actually not very capable or skilled, and they know it in their hearts. So if they encounter someone weaker than themselves, they will try to suppress the other person to show off and make themselves seem like a powerful person. This self-deception makes them feel better."
"But when they encounter a powerful opponent, they are very aware of their own incompetence and weakness, and instantly recognize the situation and become humble."
Lin Xiaoman listened, seemingly understanding but not quite. "Will I become like that too? Why don't you mothers become like that?"
Why do people become like that? It's related to their own personality, their upbringing, and the development of society.
"And you're probably like us, with kindness outweighing evil in your personality. Our mothers raised us very well when we were little, and they gave us so much love. So, you grew up to be an upright, kind adult who doesn't bully the weak."
To be honest, Cheng Ruyi didn't consider herself a great philanthropist. Her kindness was always purposeful; whether it was helping refugees or rescuing children, it was always something that benefited her.
Of course, she also felt there was nothing wrong with it. Everyone has selfish desires, but if these selfish desires are beneficial not only to oneself but also to everyone, then why not do it?
Looking at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in front of her, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the girls of this era. If this were modern times, they would be worrying about whether to choose science or humanities and which university to go to in the future. But here, they are forced to get married and have children early, and from then on, they are trapped in a small house for the rest of their lives.
"Xiaoman, do you know that in the far north, there is an endless expanse of ice and snow, and in the west, I've heard, it's all sand, seemingly without end? In the east, there are continuous high mountains and forests, and in the south, there are thousands upon thousands of lakes, the largest of which is bigger than our country! Do you know that? This world is incredibly vast. If you had the chance, wouldn't you like to go and see it?"
Cheng Ruyi didn't know how to change the fate of these girls, but she knew that a person's breadth of knowledge could influence their vision and mind. Traveling and seeing the world with her own eyes was one of the most meaningful things she had done in her previous life.
Lin Xiaoman didn't really understand. With her current understanding, she couldn't imagine the scenes her mother-in-law was describing. However, she felt that her mother-in-law's eyes were full of stars when she spoke these words. If even her mother-in-law thought something was good, then it must be very, very good.
"Yes, I want to go take a look!"
Ever since chatting with Lin Xiaoman that night, Cheng Ruyi suddenly noticed a problem.
That is, apart from her, almost everyone else in the family has no money at their own disposal. However, in reality, each of them has been working for the family, and each of them should receive the wages they deserve.
However, the entire Cheng family was baffled by Cheng Ruyi's sudden decision to pay everyone's wages.
"You reap what you sow. This not only increases everyone's enthusiasm for work, but also teaches children important lessons and prevents them from going astray in the future if they want something for nothing. Therefore, we adults should set an example!"
When it comes to twisting logic, the Cheng family members are no match for Ruyi, so even though they felt something was off, they still accepted her strange decision.
Finally, Cheng Yan's wages were five percent of the furniture shop's monthly income, while Yun Ping's were three percent; Xu Cui's were five percent of the income from selling rabbits; Xiao Man's were five percent of the income from selling bean sprouts and egg pancakes, and Yun An and Yun Le's were three percent.
In fact, Cheng Ruyi had already calculated that, based on their previous monthly income, Cheng Yan would receive about one to three taels of silver, Yun Ping about one tael, Xu Cui about two taels, Xiao Man about the same as Yun Ping, and the two sisters about five hundred coins.
"Although we've given you all this money so you can use it as you please, I actually hope that everyone has some savings on hand in case of any emergencies. Also, if you see anything you like or find interesting, you can buy it. This money is all earned through your hard work, so feel free to use it!"
"Ruyi, Yun'an and Yunle are still so young. Aren't you worried that they'll squander their money?" Xu Cui said worriedly. "Why don't you just save the money for them as their future dowry?"
"No need, no need. This is actually a test for everyone, to see how everyone will allocate their money. Of course, it would be best if everyone could use it reasonably. But if someone can't control their spending and spends money recklessly, we can immediately find the problem and help them correct their mistakes to avoid more serious consequences in the future."
Cheng Ruyi believes that, whether in modern or ancient times, a "woman" can only take the first step towards becoming a "person" if she has a skill and can achieve economic independence.
Being able to support yourself means you don't have to depend on others, which is actually a kind of "power" and "freedom." Anyone who has tried it knows how great and enjoyable it is, and they will never want to go back.
Money and power are both good things; otherwise, men wouldn't have fought for them for thousands of years.
*
On the morning of the last day of the first lunar month, Cheng Ruyi, who hadn't gotten out of bed yet, suddenly received a notification from the system.
"Ding-dong! Congratulations on completing one main quest, three side quests, and one hidden quest."
She lay in bed in a daze for a while before it finally came to her senses: Ah! It's finally here after all this time!
Wait, there's a hidden quest? And she actually completed it by accident? What on earth is going on? Curious, Ruyi immediately opened the system to check.
Task Details:
Main Quest: Expose the Blood Sacrifice Incident (Completion Level: B)
Side Quest 1: Rescue Cheng Yunle (Completion Level: A)
Side Quest 2: Rescue Luo Xiuwei (Completion Level: A)
Side Quest 3: Capture Fan Sheng, the bandit leader of Hungry Wolf Stronghold (Completion: C)
Hidden Quest: Obtain the Evidence Box (Completion Level: A)
Note: Both side quests and main quests have a significant impact on the future, so please choose carefully.
The main quest was indeed to expose this matter, but despite her hard work, her completion rate was only B... There was nothing she could do; this main quest involved too many important figures, especially those in the imperial court and harem. As an ordinary person, she had already done her best.
Fortunately, she got a hidden quest. It turned out to be that wooden box. No wonder she felt something when she saw the wooden box. It was all worth it for her first attempt at jumping off a cliff, and for swimming so far in the middle of the night. It seems like she got lucky.
"Main quest completion: B, reward: 7 points of spiritual power."
"Side Quest 1 Completion: A, Reward: 5 Spirit Points"
"Side Quest 2 Completion: A, Reward: 5 Spirit Points"
"Side Quest 3 Completion: C, Reward: 1 Spirit Point."
"Hidden quest completion: A, reward: 10 spiritual points."
Current spiritual power level: 51
Although the main quest wasn't very helpful, the hidden quest made up for it. As a result, my spiritual power doubled from the original 23 and broke through the 50 mark. Congratulations!
Although there aren't many places where she needs to use spiritual energy right now, Ruyi feels that this thing will definitely be very useful because the system has been giving her too little. She should try to earn as much as possible while she can, just in case.
Since the system has indicated that the main quest is complete, it means that the higher-ups have probably already reached a decision on this matter. I wonder how it will be handled in the end? Will the imperial court make an announcement?
In the past, she might have completed her mission and then stopped caring about what happened afterward. But now she understands that as long as she lives in the Great Yue Dynasty, anything that happens in Great Yue could affect her.
What exactly is the White Lotus Sect's objective? What is the Emperor's attitude? What is the current situation in the court? Why are the Gu family and the Imperial Preceptor at odds? Are there any other third-party forces taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble?
On the surface, all of this should have nothing to do with the ordinary people in Huaishan County, but in reality, it affected not only Huaishan County, but also the entire Chongzhou Prefecture.
How innocent those children were!
Strictly speaking, she was also one of the victims, so she really wanted to know what the final outcome would be. If the court didn't post a notice, she could only ask Guo Qinglan after some time.
Of course, no matter what, she hoped that this matter was truly and completely over.
I'm begging you, can you please give her a longer, more stable period of time to develop and prepare properly?
My thoughts are in a mess, and I'm wide awake. Since I've already been woken up, I might as well open the system again and complete today's check-in.
According to the system, the first day of the second lunar month a year ago was the day the original owner first checked in. Later, she took over the task, and it has been a full year since she checked in!
For the past year, the first thing she does every morning without fail is to sign in, and she checks it several times a day, for fear of accidentally missing a day and regretting it for the rest of her life.
Now that I've finally signed up for a full year, how can I not be excited?
"Ding-dong! You have successfully checked in for the latter half of January and are entitled to a gift pack. Would you like to claim your gift pack?"
"Ding-dong! Congratulations on signing in for a full year! You have triggered the special first-year reward for newcomers: the [Fourth Quarter Consecutive Sign-in Gift Pack]. Would you like to claim the gift pack?"
"Ding! Congratulations on signing in for a full year! You have triggered the special first-year reward for newcomers: the [First Year Consecutive Sign-in Gift Pack]. Would you like to claim the gift pack?"
As the check-in was successful, a series of system notification sounds rang out, and Cheng Ruyi immediately found the notification sounds very pleasant! Moreover, this time the gift pack was still extremely generous!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com