Yan Xia is now a wealthy household, a landlord!
Half a tael of silver a month, that's six taels a year! How many poor families can only save one or two taels a year? It's practically free money.
However, Yan Xia only selected three people: Qian Chonghe, the youngest son of Brother Qian; Bai Xiangsong, the eldest grandson of the village head; and Zhao Tietou, the eldest son of Zhao Dali.
She had a good relationship with all three families.
It was essentially pre-arranged.
The three children are all honest and law-abiding.
With only one spot left, Yan Xia was still hesitating.
Sure enough, someone came knocking on the door early this morning.
"Bang bang bang—"
"Yan Shi, are you home? It's snowing lightly. Are you cold? There are no men at home, do you have enough firewood? I specially asked my eldest grandson to bring you some firewood. Open the door quickly!"
You could tell it was Aunt Cuihua's voice just by listening to it.
Her eldest grandson, Xu Zhaoxing, is only 13 years old.
"What can a little kid like this guard the gate?" Yan Xia shook her head in annoyance.
Even if Xu Zhaoxing were old enough, she wouldn't agree.
Aunt Cuihua has a sharp tongue and has often gossiped about her to others.
Yan Xia is no good person; she keeps a grudge.
Aunt Cuihua practically knocked the door down, but Yan Xia didn't open it. She deliberately chopped firewood in the yard to make noise so that Aunt Cuihua could hear her and let her know that she wasn't welcome.
"Open the door!"
"What the hell? Pretending not to hear when you're clearly home. So what if you're just a doorman? Who cares? Pah!"
"You little whore, you're so pretentious. Let's see how long you can keep up this act. Come on, grandson, let's go home."
Sure enough, Aunt Cuihua left in a huff, muttering curses under her breath.
She knew Yan Xia was deliberately not opening the door.
They have a heart smaller than a pinhole.
As Yan Xia heard the footsteps fading into the distance, she immediately put down her wood-chopping knife and returned to the main room to warm herself by the fire.
It's so cold.
Her hands turned icy cold almost immediately after she stretched them out. Why didn't the system make her resistant to heat and cold when it modified her body?
Terrible review!!
After lunch, Yan Xia took a nap. Winter always makes you feel tired, like an animal about to hibernate. You just want to lie in bed and never wake up. But she was worried about having trouble sleeping at night, so Yan Xia had to get out of bed. There was nothing to do in the afternoon, so she stayed in the main room eating persimmon cakes and drinking hot tea while telling ghost stories.
Just as Madam Wang blew out the candle, she noticed a dark shadow flash past the window. Thinking it was her husband returning, she quickly opened the door and peered out, but there was no one there. Thinking she had been daydreaming, she closed the door and took off her shoes and socks. Just as she sat on the bed, the shadow flashed by again. Madam Wang felt a little scared. She mustered her courage and asked, "Who is knocking?" There was no response from outside, but after a few breaths, a knocking sound came.
"Knock knock—"
"Knock knock—"
"The doorbell rang twice, twice each time. Madam Wang asked again, 'Who is it? Who is knocking?' She thought the person outside would not respond, but the next second her husband's voice rang out from outside the door."
"It's me!"
"Open the door! It's so cold outside! I want to come in!"
"The weather was bitterly cold; it was just as cold outside as it was inside. Wang Niangzi, feeling sorry for her husband, quickly got out of bed. Without even putting on shoes and socks, she went barefoot to open the door. Just as her hand touched the latch, she was suddenly startled—"
Yan Xia paused, looking at Xiao Ji and Xiao He who were trembling in front of her.
He chuckled softly and continued.
"Wang Niangzi remembered a rumor. The village elders said that when you knock on someone's door, you must knock three times to signify that the person wants to come in as a guest. If you knock twice, it means that the person is a ghost. Because one of the three souls is missing, the door will not make a sound when it knocks a third time. Recalling the knocking sound just now, wasn't it exactly two knocks?"
"Wang Niangzi broke out in a cold sweat. She took several steps back, hid under the covers, and trembled. Suddenly! The knocking on the door sounded again."
"Knock knock—"
"Knock knock—"
"There were two more sounds. Madam Wang dared not answer again. The dark figure outside the door swayed by the window, as if trying to look inside through the window."
"Open the door! I'm so cold! Since you won't open the door, I'll just come in myself!"
"Hehehe~"
The dark figure outside began to chuckle softly, and Lady Wang was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes. Just then—
Just as Yan Xia raised her voice, there was a knock on her front door.
"Knock knock knock—"
"ah--"
Xiao Ji and her daughter-in-law screamed in fright at the same time.
The two hugged each other, trembling uncontrollably.
"Oh dear, look how scared you are, you cowards. Three knocks on the door, where is someone? I wonder who's knocking. I'll go check."
Yan Xia burst into laughter and left the main room.
Xiao Ji and Xiao He were almost crying from fright.
But the ghost stories that their mother and mistress told were so captivating that they couldn't stop listening, feeling both afraid and fascinated.
Realizing they had just made a fool of themselves, the two who had been hugging each other separated and awkwardly tugged at their clothes.
Yan Xia opened the door.
I spotted two familiar strangers.
One is the original owner's youngest son, and the other is Chen Shouzhu, the sister of the original owner's deceased husband.
Chen Shouzhu and Chen Shouguo are twins, a boy and a girl, and it is precisely because of this genetic connection that the original owner was able to give birth to five children in two pregnancies.
"What's the matter?"
Yan Xia's smiling eyes instantly turned cold.
She spoke softly.
"Oh my, sister-in-law, you look so much younger than half a year has passed! Is that silk you're wearing? My goodness, you've really made it big! No wonder my son said he saw your Jinfu selling pastries in town. Is that shop yours? You're really something. Jinshou, look how capable your mother is! You don't listen to your mother and you're throwing a tantrum. Quickly apologize to your mother."
Chen Shouzhu obsequiously pushed Chen Jinshou in front of Yan Xia.
"Mom, I was wrong. I was possessed for a while. I want to go home. Can you forgive me?"
Chen Jinfu was extremely obedient; even in the original owner's memories, her youngest son had never listened to her like this.
However, that fleeting hatred did not escape Yan Xia's sharp eyes.
She gave a crooked smirk, watching the two people in front of her put on a show as if it were a joke.
“Sister-in-law, I only found out about your falling out with the Chen family when I went home to visit relatives this morning. That’s why I brought this brat here to apologize to you. He’s your own son, how can he not stay with his mother? Look at him, he’s so thin from missing you so much, doesn’t it break your heart? And my mother is just like that, always talking a lot. If she has offended you in any way, please don’t take it to heart. My second brother passed away a long time ago, sister-in-law. I know you’re suffering. We’re all women, who doesn’t understand the hardship of being alone in an empty house, right?”
Chen Shouzhu pretended to wipe away her tears.
Her acting was superb; she actually managed to shed two tears.
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