Chapter 48: Fetching Water with a Bamboo Basket—All in Vain

"Heh, quietly making money? You lot leech off our family and still have the nerve to say we're not generous enough, Pah! How shameless!" Since unlocking the troll mode today, Chi Huai Qian has been like his meridians were opened, spitting out a barrage at the Ruan family.

"Chi Family third son, that's not right to speak like that; we borrowed from you, we're not not returning!"

Chi Huai Qian curled his lip and laughed a few times: "Return? That's a nice phrase, now go ahead and return! If the goods are hard to count, you can turn them into silver."

Zhao Huilan's face flushed red with anger, she could barely stand to tear his mouth off.

"I won't bother you with more words, hurry up and go!" Zhao Huilan shoved Chi Huai Qian aside and headed toward the carriage.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What are you doing?"

Ruan Dong and Ruan Jing lifted their chins and said, "Aren't you heading back to the village? Perfect, give us a ride."

"On what grounds…"

"Third brother." Chi Nan Yi said with a smile, "What's wrong with that? We're all relatives."

"Exactly." Ruan Dong laughed, "At least the Chi Family little sister is sensible."

"Mother said a few days ago she wanted big brother to earn money by pulling people with a carriage, right? Two cash per person, three people makes six cash. Since we're relatives, we can give a little less, five cash is fine." Chi Nan Yi gave Chi Huai Qian a glance; Chi Huai Qian instantly understood and spread his hands to the Ruan family, "Five cash, pay that and you can get on the carriage."

"Five cash? Why don't you go robbing?" Zhao Huilan leapt up and scolded, "You little brute, how dare you demand money from me! It's on the way, what's wrong with giving us a ride?"

"Rob? Auntie really does flatter us. We're not like you; we wouldn't rob." Chi Nan Yi laughed, "You want the horse to run, but also want the horse not to eat grass; Auntie's calculations are really loud." Chi Nan Yi placed a cinnabar root on the carriage, "We're not from the same village as you, so it's not on the way. Since you can't bear to part with five cash, just go back with your two sons." She got on the carriage, shut the door, sighed comfortably, "Ah, riding is so comfortable. Third brother, let's go."

Chi Huai Qian glanced at the Ruan family, raised the whip, and drove the carriage away.

Pah! Pah! Pah! This damned thing, it kicked up dust all over us.

"Mother, I'm hungry, let's hurry and go!"

"What are you walking for?" Zhao Huilan glared at her two sons: "Are you idiots? Just now that damned girl from the Chi Family dug a huge cinnabar root in the forest; we should also dig some, go to town to exchange for silver, and have a good meal—that's the proper way."

"A good meal?" Ruan Dong's eyes lit up: "Mother, I want noodles and buns!"

"Me too!"

Zhao Huilan nodded: "As long as we dig more, we can eat well every meal."

The three of them coordinated and hurried toward the forest.

Chi Nan Yi saw their silhouettes from the carriage window and sneered.

Go on, go on! There's not even a single cinnabar root there; you'll be digging till night and find nothing.

Sure enough, until sunset they hadn't found a single plant identical to the one Chi Nan Yi held.

"Mother, I'm exhausted, is there any?" Ruan Dong plopped onto the ground, panting heavily: "We've been searching all afternoon and haven't found even a single root."

"It shouldn't be like this! That damned girl clearly dug here, why can't we find it?" Zhao Huilan murmured, "Could it be that the girl tricked us? No, no, she didn't know we were following, how could she be playing with us?"

Ruan Jing said impatiently, "Mother, could there be only one here, and she took it?"

When the words fell, Zhao Huilan and Ruan Dong thought that must be the case.

"That damned girl! She must have known there was only one here, didn't warn us, deliberately made us dig till dark, a black‑hearted thing!" Zhao Huilan turned to Ruan Dong: "I'll tell you, when that damned girl comes in, you must never give her a good look. I'll grind her down, how dare she play with me!"

"Mother, rest assured, when she enters, I'll have her serve you well by your side." Ruan Dong stroked his chin, and Chi Nan Yi's stunning face flashed in his mind, a lewd glint rising in his eyes.

"Let's go! Home!" Having found nothing, Zhao Huilan stormed forward; it was already dark, the forest floor uneven. She stepped on a dead branch and went down hard, and Ruan Dong and Ruan Jing behind her did the same. The three fell together in a perfect line—no wonder they call themselves a family.

Ruan Dong tried to stand, but felt something prick his finger; the pain made him gasp sharply.

But the pain faded after a moment, and the three muttered as they limped out of the forest, hobbling toward home.

The Chi family gathered around the table, eyes wide at the eight taels of silver laid before them.

"Is… is this all earned in the past two days?"

"Not bad." Chi Huai Qian pounded his chest, "Mother, this is all me!"

Everyone's gaze fixed on him, waiting for what he'd say next.

"I personally! Dragged my little sister to earn it!"

The Chi family murmured: "..."

Seeing his lofty, impassioned demeanor, anyone might think he earned it himself!

"Yi'er, thank you for your hard work. Our family has no more urgent matters now; starting tomorrow, we'll all follow you up the mountain. Just tell us what herbs to dig, and we'll command from the side; the heavy and tiring work will be for your father and brothers." Wen Zhilan looked at her hand with concern: "Since you came here, your skin's darkened, your hands have become rough; you must be exhausted."

Darkened?

Rough?

Her mother's heart has drifted all the way to the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Since gaining the space, her skin improves day by day, tender as a baby's.

"Yes, little sister, I'm pregnant and can't go up the mountain, but I'll cook for you; when you return, you'll have hot food."

Chi Nan Yi could only laugh helplessly.

Taking so many up the mountain… she won't sleep tonight, she'll just go up to bury the herbs!

She thought for a moment, then smiled, "Father and mother, the herb‑selling can be left to me and Third brother, our most pressing matter now is the house."

"The house?"

"Hmm, our house is really old; in a few months snow will fall—big snow outside, light snow inside, it'll freeze people. We should repair it, or rebuild."

"Rebuild?" Wen Zhilan hesitated a moment, "Rebuilding would probably need a lot of silver!"

"Mother, don't worry. Third brother and I will dig herbs for a few more days; we'll surely save enough silver." Selling only cinnabar roots isn't enough; the space holds many precious herbs, selling a few will do. "Just tidy up the house; when we rebuild, we'll need to find another place to live!"

"Ah! Fine."

While the Chi family discussed building a new house, the Ruan family fell into misfortune.

Early the next morning, before dawn, a wail rose from the Chi family courtyard.