Xu Di looked at Xu Zhi, who was as round as a glutinous rice ball, and his heart softened.
When Xu Zhi saw Xu Di looking at her, she smiled and called out "Brother." Xu Di responded, took Xu Zhi's hand, and said, "Little sister, I will definitely protect you well from now on and won't let anyone bully you."
Xu Zhi nodded, and Xu Rao said, "Our daughter is so good. She's beautiful and has a good personality. Xiao Jiu, Daddy is going out tomorrow. If there's anything you want to eat or play with, just tell Daddy, and Daddy will bring it back for you, okay?"
Xu Zhi said, "Father, Xiao Jiu doesn't want anything. She just wants Father to come back safely."
Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this; raising a girl is truly different from raising a boy.
Xu Rao said, "Then when Father goes out tomorrow, he should go to the street and buy some hair accessories and some snacks for our Xiao Jiu."
Zhang Zhaoci said, "If you pass by the cloth shop, buy some brightly colored cloth for me. I'll make two outfits for our Xiao Jiu."
Xu Zhi had always thought that the family didn't have much money, so upon hearing this, she quickly said, "Mother, I don't need to make new clothes; Father will have to spend money."
Zhang Zhaoci knew that when the original owner got married, the dowry given by her family was not very impressive on the surface, mostly consisting of medicinal herbs, but there were also a lot of silver notes, and even several shops on the most prosperous street in the capital, all of which were rented out, with the annual rent alone being quite substantial.
The Zhang family are pragmatic people who have always made their fortune quietly. So everyone thought the Zhang family was just a poor family of doctors. In fact, they didn't know that the members of the family not only sold medicinal herbs, but also owned several ships at sea.
Zhang Zhaoci smiled and hugged Xu Zhi in his arms, saying, "A young girl should dress well, eat well, and play well. We have enough money at home. And from now on, your father and mother will start saving up for Xiao Jiu's dowry so that she can have a grand wedding."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi stared blankly at her mother. Zhang Zhaoci couldn't resist any longer and leaned down to kiss Xu Zhi's cheek, causing Xu Zhi to blush instantly. Zhang Zhaoci laughed heartily and had Xu Rao bring over a jewelry box from her dressing table. Inside were only a few common silver jewelry pieces. Zhang Zhaoci rubbed the four corners of the jewelry box with her hands, and somehow, the bottom of the box suddenly fell off, revealing several rolls of silver notes inside. Xu Zhi glanced at them and saw that the silver notes were all over a thousand taels each. These rolls must have been worth tens of thousands of taels.
Zhang Zhaoci sorted through the silver notes and said to Xu Zhi, who was still stunned, "Look, our family is rich. When I got married, because I was marrying your father, your maternal grandfather and your uncles prepared more than a dozen loads of dowry for me. They also gave your mother a lot of silver notes to keep her safe, as well as several shops in the capital. Xiao Jiu, our family is really not short of money. If you want to buy anything, just tell your mother, and your mother can buy it for you."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi's mind went blank. She had no idea her mother was so wealthy. Was there anyone else in the household who knew how rich her mother was? Where did all that money go after her parents passed away?
The more Xu Zhi thought about it, the colder she felt. She felt as if there was a large net in front of her, and the more she tried to break free, the tighter the net would bind her.
Xu Di noticed Xu Zhi's unusual behavior first, and quickly took her hand, saying, "Little sister, what's wrong?"
Xu Rao and Zhang Zhaoci were also startled when they saw Xu Zhi's appearance. Xu Rao said to Zhang Zhaoci, "Quickly put these away. Look, you've frightened the child."
Zhang Zhaoci hurriedly put the silver notes into the box. Xu Zhi looked at her mother and saw that tens of thousands of taels of silver notes were just rolled up and put into the jewelry box. After that, she closed the box and stuffed it aside. It was obvious that she didn't care much about the money.
Xu Zhi almost choked on her own breath. She used to be the poorest person in the Marquis's mansion. She had eaten cold food for months on end because she didn't have money to tip the kitchen staff, and sometimes she would only have two cold, hard steamed buns for breakfast. She used to think that her father was an illegitimate son of the Marquis's mansion and was not favored. She had heard that her mother was also a girl from a poor family of doctors. She was only betrothed to the Marquis because he was saved by someone. Who would have thought that her mother was so wealthy and powerful? But after her parents passed away, why did no one from her maternal grandparents' side come? And why didn't her brother know about her mother's dowry?
Zhang Zhaoci hugged Xu Zhi and said, "Good child, it's just some money, don't be afraid."
Xu Rao said, "Xiao Jiu, look at all this money your mother has hidden away. It only becomes money when you buy things with it. Just leaving it at home like this is no different from a roll of waste paper, right?"
Xu Di chuckled upon hearing this and said, "How can you coax a child like this? I think our Xiao Jiu is quite good. Xiao Jiu, all this money from your mother will be yours in the future. You can spend it however you want, and we'll buy whatever you want, okay? Your brother is a boy, and he'll have to earn money to support the family in the future. Your brother won't compete with you."
Zhang Zhaoci looked at Xu Di with some disdain and said, "Still want to compete? You can only compete if I give you the opportunity, right? What, Xu Di, you're a boy, don't you want to think about how to earn money to support your family, your parents and your sister, but instead you want to compete with your sister for your mother's dowry?"
Xu Di said, "Mother, do you have to belittle me like this? With my abilities, how could I not make money? Just wait and see, I will definitely make a lot of money, so that you can be the richest old lady and Xiao Jiu can be the richest girl. When she finds a husband, if he doesn't listen to her, I will have Xiao Jiu bury him in silver. What do you think?"
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