Zhenniang: The Three of Us (Part 5)
The lingering fragrance, hanging from the nooks and crannies and requiring desperate licking, seems to be more addictive than the actual aroma.
Zhao Zhenniang kept her mouth closed, savoring the sensation over and over, trying to capture every taste in her tongue and throat. That subtle, lingering feeling was even more captivating.
Just as she was savoring the moment, Aunt Wang came out beaming: "Girl, come with me and pack your things!"
After becoming godparents, Granny Wang moved into the Zhao family home. Coincidentally, Zhao Zhenniang was now the only one left in the Zhao family, and she needed someone to help her look after the house.
The Zhao family's relatives and uncles had long been eager to get their hands on Zhao Zhenniang's house.
However, the Song family issued an order that Zhao Zhenniang should stay at home to observe three years of mourning for her father. Zhao's relatives dared not retaliate against the Song family, and could only watch helplessly as Granny Wang was about to move in.
He jokingly remarked, seemingly unintentionally, "My uncle-in-law is gone, but I've found a godmother."
Granny Wang, being the kind of person she was, immediately understood the implication in her words. She laughed heartily as if nothing was wrong and replied, "Thanks to the blessings of the immortals, I've been blessed with such a daughter who will serve me for the rest of my life."
"My dear daughter, I'm going to stick with you from now on. You can't leave this old woman behind and go off to enjoy life all by yourself."
Zhao Zhenniang had been tamed to the point of being somewhat dull, but she wasn't stupid. She slowly came to understand the meaning behind her godmother's words.
Moreover, she had promised to take care of her godmother in her old age, so she would definitely take good care of her. She nodded and said, "Okay, godmother, I will take you with me wherever I go in the future."
Hearing them say that made the group feel a little better.
The Zhao family's property, ostensibly belonging to Zhao Zhenniang, is actually theirs. How could they willingly allow an outsider to live in their property?
But if Zhao Zhenniang marries into the Song family, she will take her godmother away. That's fine, that's fine.
The speaker immediately changed his expression, smiling, and said, "Aunt Wang is so lucky. Do you need help moving your things? We can help you."
To hire someone who can ask these questions would require paying a higher price, which is unaffordable, so he quickly waved his hand and said no need, no need.
While outwardly helping Zhao Zhenniang refute her suggestions, Granny Wang's true intentions were actually quite different.
She had never imagined that a fairy would grant her a child, but now that wealth and fortune had come knocking, she was determined to seize the opportunity.
...
While Zhao Zhenniang was controlling the body, Ye Xiqing stood by. Most people would find it boring, but for Old Ancestor Ye, who could sleep for eight hundred years, it was perfectly normal.
The viewing position on the person is not as comfortable as the system space. You have to be bound to an active perspective, which can be quite tiring after a while.
Ye Xiqing then asked the system: Could you grant her permission to freely travel between the system space and the mission world?
She can watch the plot on the large screen in the system space just the same way, and it's even easier for her to grasp the plot.
If anything serious happens, come back immediately so as not to delay things.
It's convenient for both the task and the host, a win-win situation. Don't be too rigid, just give her one.
system:……
"I still need to follow you, so do you need to grant me permission to freely return to the system space?"
"How can that be the same? I have to be confined to Zhao Zhenniang's body, but you can run around anywhere. You are much freer than me."
"Did I ask you to be trapped inside Zhao Zhenniang's body?!"
"Don't worry about the details. I can go back, and so can you. Let's talk to the world about it."
"The world is so easy to talk to, what loss would it cause you to go back to the system space to rest?"
It's supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement, but the system is like a supermarket owner who insists on having employees standing all the time even when there's no one around. Seeing employees resting would drive the owner crazy, so it's definitely not going to agree to that.
Ye Xiqing sighed, and could only cling to Zhao Zhenniang to enjoy the limited space, fortunately, she didn't have to move her body.
When she's not on duty, she doesn't feel the strain. Even if Zhao Zhenniang does heavy work, the fatigue doesn't affect her. But she can eat her meals herself, which is relaxing and reassuring.
Seeing Ye Xiqing's consciousness so relaxed, even the ultimate skinflint of the system couldn't stand it and started causing trouble.
"Host, if you really enjoy a life of eating and laziness, then you should just obediently become a pampered young mistress!"
"How can that be the same? If Zhao Zhenniang wanted to dump me, she would have to commit suicide. What cost would the Song family have to pay to dump me?"
"Why do you have to think about being dumped? It's better if you don't get dumped in the first place!"
"What are you saying? If someone wants to dump me, what can I do?"
"With your abilities, you can't even avoid getting dumped?!"
"With my abilities, I certainly can do more than just avoid being dumped. So the question is, if I have such great abilities, why would I use them just to avoid being dumped?"
system:……
After going around in circles, the logic returned to square one, leaving the system furious.
"You are capable, but what about Zhao Zhenniang?"
"In modern times, you can say that women don't need to rely on men. But how can women live without men in this era? If the head of the household dies, even the property will be taken away by relatives!"
Ye Xiqing said without pausing: "Men can also lose their property. Zhao Zhenniang's father was scammed and lost half of his family's possessions."
"Anyone who wants to seize property will do so, what does it have to do with men and women?"
“Some people are tempted by money and will kill men without hesitation. Zhao’s father’s body, weakened by wine and women, is even easier to kill than Zhao Zhenniang.”
The system replied without hesitation: "How can that be the same! Even murder for money has to consider the costs. Killing Zhao's father to seize his property is murder!"
“Even in such a chaotic world, murder is a serious crime. The police are investigating crimes that are not without cost.”
“But if a family has no man to head the household and no son to carry on the family business, then relatives can instantly and legitimately seize the family’s property without paying any cost.”
"Are the probabilities of committing crimes the same for two different crime thresholds?"
The system presented such a scientific theory to demonstrate the necessity of men in this era, but Ye Xiqing couldn't help but smile.
"So you also know that the probability of a crime occurring is related to the cost of committing the crime."
"What do you call it when you make taking a woman's assets a costless thing?"
system:……
The opening of evil requires a valve, and crimes must be considered in terms of cost. Everyone has evil thoughts, but they are restrained by worldly morality and law.
What is it called when laws are enacted against a group of people, and there are no costs associated with their crimes?
Even without prior reference, one can always sense a similar feeling in this era.
...
Aunt Wang's house didn't have much; it was just her tools for making a living. As for money, of course, she had to hide it well and take it secretly.
Huang Qiuju received many good things from Zhao Zhenniang, and the whole family celebrated as if it were New Year's Day. Upon hearing the commotion, they immediately brought their two children to help.
The three children that Aunt Huang had left behind, the eldest of whom was even older than Zhao Zhenniang, worked as maids for wealthy families in the county town and brought back some money every month.
The two younger ones were about ten years old and only three or four years old. They didn't understand anything yet. We were worried about leaving her at home alone, so we let her follow a group of people around, with the older ones watching over the younger ones.
Life may not be kind to everyone, but happiness is universal. Even when life is tough, a group of people can still laugh when they get together and tell a joke.
Zhao Zhenniang had just lost her father, so she shouldn't be laughing.
But when I put my godmother's things at home, and she just talked to me without telling me what to do, I suddenly felt very relaxed.
However, this relaxed feeling only lasted a short while before the worries about making a living soon began.
Digging the piggy bank out of the ground, I had a feeling that my aunt had spent more than she knew today…
Sure enough, after counting, only fifteen of the twenty neatly arranged silver dollars remained. Adding the two that were left, there were only seventeen left.
She worked herself to the bone all day grinding sesame seeds, and only managed to produce about thirty catties of oil.
Sesame oil is expensive in shops, costing 12 cents for a four-ounce bottle. It's not so expensive at oil mills, sometimes 35 cents a pound, sometimes as low as 30 cents.
It seems like a lot, but you still have to pay oil tax, milling tax, and all sorts of other taxes. The sesame seeds used to make sesame oil are also more expensive than ordinary grains.
The only advantage was that her family had a millstone, so they didn't need to raise donkeys. Zhao Zhenniang was more capable than a donkey, so they didn't need to waste donkey feed or worry about the donkey getting sick, thus avoiding the waste of money on buying a donkey.
After deducting all the miscellaneous expenses, the best-case scenario is to earn only two dollars, but there are far too many undesirable things.
For example, she is a human being, not a machine, and it's impossible for her to grind 30 pounds of oil every day on time.
The price of sesame charcoal cannot remain constant forever.
Not all the oil produced can be sold. Soldiers and officials from who-knows-where will seize the oil under any pretext.
Three yuan may not seem like much, but it's something you have to save up by selling oil, and it feels like you'll have to save it up for a lifetime.
As she felt a pang of heartache, Zhao Zhenniang suddenly realized something was amiss: how come all the money was in her hands?
She used to just stay at home roasting and grinding sesame seeds. She never saw how much money she earned; it was all in her father's hands.
But how come she has a whole jar of money in her arms now?
Upon realizing this, Zhao Zhenniang slowly sat up straight.
Selling oil is hard-earned money, but it's not like you can't make money.
If she grinds 30 jin of oil a day and earns two yuan, that's... sixty yuan a month! That's... six hundred a year... In short, a lot! Even if she loses most of it, she can still earn two hundred yuan!
My goodness, you can buy a house in the city for 200 yuan!
So their family's oil mill was so profitable? Why is their family still so poor? Did her father eat and use it all?
Zhao Zhenniang couldn't understand such a complicated question, but she knew that from now on, when she ground oil, she would be making money for herself!
Realizing this, Zhao Zhenniang no longer cared about the loss of the three dollars, counted out a few silver dollars and ran outside.
Sesame seeds are 6 cents a pound now. She'll buy 100 pounds first, start roasting them tomorrow, and sell them the day after. She promises to grind 30 pounds a day from now on!
Zhao Zhenniang was going out, so she left Granny Wang to look after the house.
Since they were both a mother and daughter with divine guarantees, Zhao Zhenniang didn't hide her savings and plans from Granny Wang.
Hearing her grand plan to grind thirty catties of oil a day, Granny Wang was dumbfounded: "Stop it! Even if you observe three years of mourning, you'll still be the third young mistress of the Song family. Why would you need to go through all that trouble grinding oil to make money?"
Zhao Zhenniang paused for a moment, then realized that it seemed so; she was destined to be the third young mistress of the Song family.
Her father-in-law casually gave her a hundred silver dollars for her funeral. Now that she was the third young mistress, why would she care about the two dollars for oil?
There were clearly easier ways to make money, but Zhao Zhenniang instinctively didn't think of them. Only now, when her godmother reminded her, did she realize it.
Zhao Zhenniang hesitated as she stopped in front of the threshold, about to take the first step.
After what seemed like an eternity, she stammered, "I... I still need to save up some dowry, otherwise I'll be looked down upon when I go to my husband's family..."
Aunt Wang clicked her tongue in disapproval, saying, "They're like people who've fallen into a rice jar but still dream of a pittance outside. They're born to suffer!"
She was going to suffer, but Granny Wang didn't care. Anyway, she was just going to stay there for three years.
Zhao Zhenniang hesitated before leaving the house, then suddenly stopped.
Granny Wang, who had been watching the commotion, suddenly realized what had happened when she saw Zhao Zhenniang's unexpectedly different back view. She slid off the kang (a heated brick bed) without even putting on her shoes: "Third Aunt?"
Ye Xiqing turned around and looked at her expressionlessly.
Even though they share the same body, "Ye Sangu" and Zhao Zhenniang have no resemblance whatsoever. When Ye Sangu appears, it becomes difficult for Zhao Zhenniang to even catch her breath.
As soon as Aunt Ye came out, she immediately said, "Don't go to buy sesame seeds, go find someone to grind them."
Zhao Zhenniang couldn't communicate directly with Ye Sangu, but Granny Wang relayed the message easily: "Why do we need to set up a millstone? We already have one at home."
Ye Xiqing: "It's not for you, it's for your neighbors."
Zhao Zhenniang was taken aback. Should she give the money to her neighbors?
She's very generous with food, but it's outrageous to offer someone a millstone! A good millstone costs eight yuan...
Even Zhao Zhenniang found this absurd, but Ye Xiqing remained calm.
Selflessly giving to others may seem like a huge waste, but in your current situation, everyone around you wants to take advantage of you.
How can a weak woman like you survive when faced with villagers lurking like wolves?
You can only become the village chief of this village.
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