The oxcart swayed and rattled all the way back to Shangqing Village.
Mrs. Zhou was already waiting at the door. Seeing the two children return, she finally felt relieved.
Upon seeing Zhou Shi, Shen Yuyan excitedly grabbed her and exclaimed, "Mother, Mother, we're going to be rich..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou covered his mouth.
After pulling him into the house, Zhou said, "Don't flaunt your wealth. You can't talk about how much money you've made outside, so you don't cause trouble for your second sister."
Most people in Shangqing Village are simple and kind, but it's hard to say about some individuals.
When it comes to interests, everyone has their own little calculations and ulterior motives.
“Mom, why can’t we say that we can only be respected by others when we have money, and that we can make Grandpa and Grandma regret it?”
Upon hearing this, Zhou's face darkened.
"Think about it, if your grandma's family knew that you were making money, wouldn't they come and force you to teach them how to make money, and then use filial piety to pressure you?"
Shen Yuyan was deflated upon hearing this.
But Shen Danru didn't think so. Although Chen had raised her father, she had also killed his mother. The fact that she had killed someone was enough to frighten her. As soon as they mentioned reporting to the authorities, Chen would be terrified.
When Zhou saw the food and cloth in the basket, she couldn't help but mutter, "How much money have you made? How can you still be so wasteful?"
Shen Danru was not angry.
She knew her mother was just being considerate and didn't want her to spend money.
Shen Danru smiled and said, "Mother, we made over eight hundred coins today. There was basically no cost, so it was a net profit."
She took out four hundred coins from her purse and placed them in Zhou's hand, saying, "Today we sold over eight hundred coins in total. We spent over four hundred coins on cloth and food. This is the rest of the money for Mother. Consider the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone as a gift from your teacher to my younger brother."
Zhou felt a pang of sadness, and her eyes welled up with tears, whether from joy or from memories of the past, it was hard to tell.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
The silent weeping startled Shen Danru and Shen Yuyan.
"Mom, what's wrong? Second Sister gave you money, why aren't you happy?"
Zhou wiped away her tears with her sleeve and sobbed, "I'm so happy, I'm so happy. This is the happiest day I've had since I married your father."
She married into the Shen family and was oppressed by her mother-in-law. Even though her husband earned some money, he handed it all over to his mother.
She never imagined that the first money she would receive would come from her own daughter, whom she had never raised for even a single day.
However, the money felt incredibly hot in her hands, and she couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
"Ru'er, you earned the money, so you should keep it. Don't worry about the family. Save it for your dowry."
Shen Danru and Shen Yuyan were relieved to see that Zhou was alright.
Shen Danru pushed Zhou's hand back: "Mother, you are the head of our family, you should keep it. I have no intention of getting married."
Speaking of marriage, Shen Danru felt a pang of sadness. Ever since Qi Jingcheng betrayed her, she no longer believed in true love in this world.
In ancient times, women were expected to marry and depend on men for their livelihood. But after living in modern times and developing independent thinking, she realized that women can also live for themselves.
She has two older brothers and one younger brother, so she's not afraid of the possibility of having no descendants living off her.
A few years later, she combed her own hair.
Zhou was a traditional woman, and upon hearing Shen Danru say such a thing, she immediately became anxious:
"Silly child, how can you not get married? You will meet a man who truly loves you in the future. After all, our Ru'er is so outstanding."
Shen Danru nodded: "Then Mother will save them for me."
She knew that Mrs. Zhou wouldn't be able to accept these things for a while, so she simply kept quiet.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shi no longer refused: "Then I'll keep it for now, and use it to buy your dowry when you get married. You must be starving, I'll cook you a meal right away."
"Mom, my second sister and I have already eaten. I ate two big bowls of noodles and I'm still full."
Shen Yuyan patted her belly.
Although he was twelve years old, he was his mother's youngest son and occasionally wanted to act spoiled in front of her.
"Okay, okay, you can go to town next time, but you must not make yourself suffer."
"Don't worry, Mother. Second Sister won't make me suffer."
Shen Yuyan now adores his second sister. He smiles whenever he thinks of her. She treats him better than his mother, so how could she possibly let him go hungry?
"Where's Dad? Why isn't he home?"
“Your father went to the village head to register the households, and he also took care of your second sister’s household registration while he was at it.”
Shen Yuyan's eyes lit up when she heard this: "That's great! We're going to have a good life from now on. We can eat our fill and stay warm, and we can even study with my second sister. I feel like I've suddenly fallen into a paradise."
Mrs. Zhou smiled and tapped his forehead, her face full of affection.
That evening, Shen Cheng returned, and Shen Yu'an also returned.
The village head also knew what had happened to the Shen family. Without saying a word, he took Shen Cheng to the town government office to register the household registration and also processed Shen Danru's household registration. Everything went smoothly.
Shen Yu'an also handed over ninety coins to Zhou.
Shen Yuyan looked at him with disdain: "Big brother, you only earned ninety coins in three days, while second sister earned more than eight hundred coins in one day. You should learn from second sister."
Shen Yu'an's eyes widened upon hearing this.
What?
Earned over 800 coins in just one day?
He worked three days of manual labor at the docks carrying heavy loads, and was only paid ninety coins, leaving him exhausted to the point where his bones felt like they were about to fall apart.
Seeing that Shen Yu'an did not believe her, Shen Yuyan said, "If you don't believe me, ask your mother. Second Sister gave all the money to her."
Zhou was overjoyed.
She's the head of the household now, controlling the family finances.
Shen Yu'an swallowed hard and said, "You can make this much just by selling the dried devil's taro from the yard?"
Shen Yuyan pouted and rolled her eyes at him: "What do you mean by 'ghost taro'? That's called 'konjac dessert'. Big brother doesn't know anything. Second sister is much better."
Shen Yuyan retorted, but Shen Yu'an remained unperturbed.
He genuinely admired his second sister.
"Stop talking nonsense and let's eat first."
When the braised pork and white rice were served, Shen Yu'an was even more convinced that the devil's taro could really be exchanged for money.
Each person had a bowl of braised pork, and everyone ate with their mouths full of oil.
Shen Yu'an, in particular, had been doing manual labor all day and hadn't even had a proper lunch at the dock; he was already starving.
Shen Danru wasn't very hungry, but seeing how much they enjoyed their food, she couldn't resist eating a few more pieces.
"Big brother, don't go to the dock tomorrow. Come with me to sell food. Let Yuyan study at home."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu'an was overjoyed and repeatedly agreed.
As long as he could make money, he was willing to go with his second sister to sell food.
The next day, Shen Yu'an got up early to make preparations. Shen Danru said, "Brother, there's no market in town today. Even if we go, we might not be able to sell anything. Why don't you come with me to the mountain to dig up konjac?"
When Shen Yu'an heard that they couldn't make money today, his excitement was dampened. He thought it would be great if there was a market every day, so they could earn eight hundred coins every day.
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