Chapter 56: Not Bad! This Person Is Worth Knowing!

"Little sister, do you know what three hundred taels of silver can do? Never mind rebuilding a house—you could go buy a place in town, that you could."

Hearing him say this, Chi Nan Yi smiled and said, "Actually, I was thinking the same thing. Now that we have silver, why stay in this village? Why not go to town..."

"No good." Before she could finish, she was interrupted by her grandmother. Shen shi noticed her own tone was a bit stiff, tugged at the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile, "It's not that Grandmother doesn't want to go to town. Our family has been farming folk for generations—how would we make a living in town? No good, no good."

"That's right, Yi'er. We finally got a few acres of land. If we leave, what will happen to our whole family? We can't always rely on you to support us. You'll have to marry someday, and your two older brothers will need to take wives and have children. That takes a lot of silver—we can't let you carry the whole family alone."

"Your mother's right. Our big family should just keep living here. Now that we have silver, at worst we just rebuild the house."

Chi Nan Yi figured they simply couldn't bear to leave their homeland. After all, a farmer's attachment to the land wasn't something silver could change.

Besides, the back mountain could still provide cover for her to gather herbs.

"Alright then! Since that's how it is, we'll stay here for now." She didn't mention her plan to open a shop in town.

It wouldn't be too late to bring it up once everything settled.

Late at night, a candle still burned in Shen shi's room. She sighed and said in a low voice, "Not letting her move to town—I wonder if the young miss will be angry."

Their whole family had fled far from Jingcheng to this remote wilderness, afraid someone would discover their identity.

Back then, the master's household was wiped out, and even the main wife's maiden family was implicated.

They had followed the main wife when she married in. The main wife's surname was Chi.

Though the Chi Family hadn't been stripped of their property and thrown into prison, the young miss was, after all, of the master's bloodline. If someone with ill intent discovered the young miss was still alive, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Early the next morning, just as the Chi family members got up, they heard the villagers discussing the Ruan Family's affairs.

"Oh my, you should have seen it—the Ruan Family's eldest son's finger was swollen like a club."

"Pus was oozing out! They found a doctor to look at it, and the doctor said it's no use—that finger can't be saved."

"Tsk tsk tsk, remember this well—that forest must never be entered."

Ruan Qin heard every word clearly. She furrowed her brow slightly, then returned to the courtyard to pick vegetables as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the past, her sister-in-law would definitely have gone back to check when she heard something had happened to the Ruan Family. Why didn't she say a single word today?

"Eldest son's wife." A neighbor nearby said at the doorway, "Your eldest brother's hand is probably ruined. Aren't you going back to your maiden family to take a look?"

"Not going." Ruan Qin's expression didn't change. "Going wouldn't help. I'm not a doctor—I can't fix his hand."

"True enough. If you went back, your mother would surely demand this and that from you."

The fact that Zhao Huilan was an old shrew—which village didn't know it?

Speak of the devil, and the devil appears.

They saw Zhao Huilan taking quick little steps, hurrying over.

Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. This old woman's health was quite good—the laxative she'd given her that day had her purging for a whole day, yet she was still this energetic. Looked like next time she'd need to increase the dose.

Seeing Ruan Qin leisurely picking vegetables, she couldn't help but burn with anger. She planted her hands on her hips and shouted, "You ungrateful little wretch—your eldest brother's hand is about to be ruined, and you're still here picking vegetables."

Ruan Qin's hands paused. She glanced at her but said nothing, continuing to lower her head and pick vegetables.

"I'm talking to you—didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you. So what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Exactly. My sister-in-law isn't a doctor. His hand is ruined—why don't you go find a doctor instead of running to our house all day?" Chi Nan Yi stepped forward and said with a half-smile, "We can help too—grab an axe and chop the hand off. Done once and for all."

"You! What are you saying, you dead girl?" Zhao Huilan said angrily. "I haven't even come to find you yet! Pay up! If it weren't for you, how would my eldest son end up like this?"

"What does your eldest son's hand have to do with us? I was digging up my own things. I never told you to dig. You didn't even ask clearly—just went and dug yourselves and hurt your hand. You can't blame anyone else," Chi Nan Yi said coldly. "If you're not satisfied, go to the yamen and ask the magistrate to settle it!"

Zhao Huilan choked on her anger, stomping her feet in fury.

She simply sat down on the ground and started making a scene. "I don't care! Today you must give me an explanation! It's because of you! You jinx! If it weren't for you, how could my son's hand end up like this?"

Hearing the noise, the Chi family members came out one after another. Chi Zhiqiu instinctively shielded Chi Nan Yi and Ruan Qin behind him.

"If I don't see silver today, I'm not leaving! And don't any of you think about living in peace!" Her eyes shifted and she said with a cold sneer, "You jinx—not only did you ruin our family, which of the surrounding villages hasn't been devastated by you? I've lived all these years and never once saw a locust plague in Daqi, yet the moment you arrive, the locusts come too? If you're not a jinx, who is?" She turned to the onlookers and said, "Everyone, tell me—isn't that right!"

Hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances. It was impossible to say Zhao Huilan's words had no effect on them.

The locust plague was indeed very strange.

It didn't come sooner or later, but came right when she returned to the village—it did seem rather coincidental.

Chi Zhiqiu said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? If you call my little sister a jinx again, don't blame me for falling out with you!"

"Fall out? Hmph, boy, I'm your mother-in-law. How exactly do you plan to fall out?"

"I—"

"Mother!" Ruan Qin stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Don't you dare talk about my little sister like that. What does the locust plague have to do with her? If it weren't for her, the crops in all our villages would have yielded nothing. It's one thing that you're not grateful to her—how could you sling dirt at her?"

Chi Nan Yi: "..."

"Sister-in-law, could we phrase it differently? 'Sling dirt' is a bit disgusting."

"The words are crude but the reasoning isn't. Don't interrupt your sister-in-law," Chi Zhiqiu said softly. "This is the first time your brother has seen your sister-in-law stand up to her maiden family like this."

"Mother, think about it yourself. All these years, how much have you taken from the Chi Family? My parents-in-law are kind and have never taken it out on me because of this. But all these years, every time you people came over, you made me unable to hold my head up at my maiden home!"

"Dead girl, who can't hold their head up? I gave birth to you and raised you—shouldn't you be earning silver for me?"

"When I married, the Chi Family already paid a bride price, and you didn't provide me a single bit of dowry. All these years, the Chi Family has given you plenty. From now on, just pretend you never raised me. We're cutting ties!"

Chi Nan Yi watched her sister-in-law's fierce display from the side, the corners of her lips curving up slightly.

Not bad!

This person is worth knowing!