No one in that household, except the child, probably knew how the Zhu family had made their fortune.
Zhu Baoping stood there stunned, watching Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei walk away hand in hand, unable to snap back to reality.
After a long daze, Zhu Baoping stomped her foot in anger, cast a venomous glance at the receding figures, and turned to walk towards Baiyun Village.
For the next while, Zheng Wei was somewhat distracted. Shen Xiaoyan could tell he was troubled, so she didn't disturb him.
Both of them were strong and agile, and in no time, they had chopped down a lot of bamboo and wood.
Looking at the pile of bamboo and wood on the ground, Shen Xiaoyan suddenly felt they were rather foolish. Now that they had a large cart, they could have simply had the mule pull it. Yet, they had both forgotten about it.
Zheng Wei, however, didn't see Shen Xiaoyan's expression of regret. He thought she was standing there because she was tired. So, when he walked to the pile of bamboo and wood, he bent down and picked up a few pieces, saying to Shen Xiaoyan, who was still lost in thought, "If you're tired, let's go. I'll make two more trips later, and I'll get it all back."
Shen Xiaoyan looked at Zheng Wei in surprise. Would she get tired from carrying such a small amount?
Well, she had merely thought that there was an easier way.
It was too late to think of anything now. Shen Xiaoyan also picked up a few pieces of bamboo and wood and walked back towards the courtyard with Zheng Wei.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't far, and the path was clear. They made two round trips and brought all the more than twenty bamboo and wood pieces back to the courtyard.
When chopping bamboo and wood, they selected six large pieces, as thick as a bowl, and the rest were about the thickness of Shen Xiaoyan's arm.
After transporting all the bamboo and wood to the side courtyard where the new kitchen was located, they began to build a wooden shed against the wall.
They used the six thick bamboo pieces as posts, then split the thinner bamboo pieces in half, cut them into sections, and fixed them neatly onto the posts as the roof.
There were leftover tiles from when they built the house. Zheng Wei found them and, along with some mud, fixed the tiles onto the shed, which would protect them from rain and snow.
For Zheng Wei, who had personally overseen the construction of a courtyard, this was all a minor task. He could have managed it alone.
With Shen Xiaoyan helping by his side, the process was much faster. Before dark, they had finished building the wooden shed.
The shed was built against the back wall, with the east and west sides enclosed by bamboo and wood for protection against wind and rain. Only the south-facing side was left open, with a bamboo and wood fence.
Looking at the wooden shed, Shen Xiaoyan nodded with satisfaction. Their achievement was quite good; it looked very nice.
The only thing missing now were the troughs for the livestock to drink and eat from. They couldn't do that themselves, so they would have to go to town to buy them when they had time.
Meanwhile, Zheng Wei and Shen Xiaoyan didn't mention Zhu Baoping's visit. On the other side, Zhu Baoping returned to the Zhu family in a rage.
As soon as she entered the house, Zhu Kaishan and Liu Shi greeted her. Without asking how her task had gone, Liu Shi took Zhu Baoping's hand and led her into the main room. Her brothers, Fulu Shouxu, also followed.
Liu Shi poured Zhu Baoping a bowl of chilled tea with sugar and, after watching her drink it, asked, "Zhen'er, how is it? What did your fifth brother say?"
Hearing this, Zhu Baoping's face immediately turned red, and she said angrily, "What fifth brother? Where do I have a fifth brother? You gave birth to four sons, and you can't even remember them all? I am your fifth daughter."
Liu Shi was not at all annoyed by Zhu Baoping's retort. She patted her hand and said kindly, "Mother knows, of course. You are Mother's most beloved fifth child. It's just about your fifth brother... no, about Zheng Wei, what happened?"
Zhu Baoping said resentfully, "What could happen? He's rich now, why would he remember us? He's long forgotten us poor relatives. Mother, you were still thinking of being an old lady in his mansion. I'm telling you, forget it. His mansion is run by his wife."
When she said "wife," Zhu Baoping's teeth seemed to grind.
Liu Shi naturally understood her daughter. Hearing her words, she knew she had been angered by Zheng Wei. And when she mentioned the wife being in charge, Liu Shi wondered who this wife was.
Liu Shi was not the only one with this thought. Zhu Kaishan spoke up, "Baoping, who is this wife you're talking about?"
Zhu Baoping gave a mocking smile. "Who else could it be? The wife you bought for him. She's the mistress of the house now, and Zheng Wei listens to her."
Upon hearing this, Liu Shi's eyebrows shot up, and her plump face contorted. "That little slut? She thinks she's worthy?"
"Mother, wasn't she bought? Where is the deed of sale? Hurry up and sell her. Okay?" Zhu Baoping, remembering that Shen Xiaoyan was bought, quickly asked Liu Shi for the deed of sale. She wanted to sell Shen Xiaoyan to a brothel and see if she would still be so arrogant.
Liu Shi immediately agreed to Zhu Baoping's suggestion. Daring to bully her daughter was like courting death. "Husband, where is that little slut's deed of sale?"
Hearing this, Zhu Kaishan hesitated to look at Liu Shi. After a long moment, he said, "Zheng Wei wanted it at the time, and I, I, I gave it to him."
"What did you say?" Liu Shi's voice suddenly rose an octave, piercing everyone's ears.
"Father, how could you give it to him?" Zhu Baoping also looked at Zhu Kaishan reproachfully. If the deed of sale was given to Zheng Wei, he must have returned it to Shen Xiaoyan, perhaps even burned it by now. What would she use to deal with Shen Xiaoyan?
Zhu Kaishan mumbled, "I never imagined, never imagined Zheng Wei would..."
Zhu Kaishan couldn't finish. Not only him, but no one in the room had expected Zheng Wei to have a chance to turn his life around.
They had driven him to the foot of the mountain, with three mud houses and two mu of barren land. Although he could hunt, he could only ensure he wouldn't starve to death. Who would have thought he would rise so quickly?
For a while, no one spoke in the room. Finally, Liu Shi said, "Zhen'er, what did Zheng Wei say to you?"
Zhu Baoping thought for a moment and then said, "He said, who raised whom, and told me to come back and ask you."
As soon as Zhu Baoping finished speaking, Liu Shi and the others' faces turned ugly. They never expected Zheng Wei to become so heartless as to send Zhu Baoping back with such a question.
Liu Shi looked at Zhu Baoping's confused gaze and felt immense pain in her heart.
How could she tell her daughter that their family had all this because they had taken Zheng Wei's money?
"Mother, why aren't you speaking? What does he mean by that? Isn't his wife the one we bought for him? Didn't we build him a house?" Zhu Baoping asked continuously as Liu Shi remained silent.
"Alas!" Liu Shi sighed heavily. After a long time, she said, "You were young then, and I didn't tell you. Our family's current life is... it's the money your father took from Zheng Wei when he saved him."
Zhu Baoping looked at Liu Shi suspiciously and asked, "How old was he then? How much money could he have on him?"
"It was a full 500 taels." Zhu Yonggui remembered the five 100-tael silver notes he had found on Zheng Wei back then and still felt a surge of excitement. If his father hadn't been kind enough to save him, where would their family have gotten their current life? Perhaps he wouldn't even be married by now.
"What? 500 taels?" Zhu Baoping exclaimed.
After the shock, Zhu Baoping also recalled her childhood. She vaguely remembered that her family had been very poor when she was young, with not enough to eat and living in a dilapidated house. It seemed that their family's life only improved after Zheng Wei arrived.