The Formidable Lady of the Poor Scholar’s Household

Chapter 10: What I Think Is Mine Is Mine

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Qian Sishui sauntered around, observing the stream flowing down from the mountain.

“Don’t stray too far. What if we meet a wild boar?”

Shi Jinhua looked at the person in the distance. It was like taking care of a child. He had to watch her at all times.

“Alright.”

Qian Sishui walked to the distant mountain and encountered many rabbits. There were also many wildflowers on the mountain, and it seemed like it was the season for them to be in bloom. Of all things the man was right about, it had to be about the wild boar!

Wild boars had a gamey taste to them, but their meat was crispy and tender. If one knew how to cook them well, wild boar was especially delicious. Even when cooked by those who didn’t know how to cook, it didn’t taste bad either.

After the wild boar ran out, a group of piglets quickly followed in succession.

“Huh.”

Qian Sishui decisively gave up on the idea of killing the boar. Although Qian Sishui didn’t have much compassion, she could not cross her bottom line.

She continued to stroll leisurely through the mountains. She wouldn’t exchange this life for for gold. Of course, it would be better if there were some improvements in her daily diet.

When she thought of Shi Jinhua, her brows furrowed. She didn’t feel like a married woman.

Just as Shi Jinhua was slogging away, Qian Sishui returned with a couple more rabbits.

“When we get back, I’ll go to the village chief’s house and say that the land will be ours from now on. We’ve even gotten rid of the grass. If we get the land ready, we can plant soybeans.” Taxes on soybeans were cheaper too.

Qian Sishui looked at him. He was really a useless scholar. He had taken half a day, yet so little had been done!

Shi Jinhua was a little embarrassed by his wife’s obvious disdain. “Well, I only started learning how to plow the land in recent years. I’ll be very fast in the future! I guarantee that I won’t starve you!”

He was such a weak scholar, yet he still worked hard to farm. An orphan was indeed different.

When Shi Jinhua returned to the village carrying the rabbits, he met many people on the way.

“Hua, why did you catch so many rabbits? My goodness!.” There was a total of eleven!

“Uncle Liu, you went out to the fields too?” It was rare to see him like this.

“I won’t feel at ease if I don’t look at the fields. I’m just walking around since I have nothing to do. Good lord, a catty of rabbit costs six copper coins.”

“Is that true, Uncle?” Rabbits were valuable?

Uncle Liu chuckled. “It’s even more expensive than pork. You can ask around in the village. Leave a big one for my family later. I’ll get Second Brother Liu to send you money later.”

A catty was six copper coins, and a rabbit was at least seven catties. Eleven rabbits were about 450 copper coins! Shi Jinhua suddenly felt that being a scholar was not as profitable as being a hunter. His heart sank.

Thanks to Uncle Liu’s promotion on the way back, everyone in the village knew that the Shi family had caught a few rabbits.

Rabbit meat was hard to come by, so naturally, those who could afford to eat it all wanted to do so.

“Hey, Sister Jiaojiao, I heard that your younger brother caught eleven rabbits. Didn’t he send one to your family?”

Shi Jiaojiao rolled her eyes at the woman who spoke and stomped away.

“Tsk! Who doesn’t know about that unfilial woman?”

Seeing that she was being ignored, she cursed at Shi Jiaojiao’s back to vent her anger.

No sooner had Shi Jiaojiao stepped into the house than was she discovered by her mother-in-law.

“Stop right there. I heard your second brother caught some rabbits. Go and ask for one. We haven’t eaten meat in a long time. Actually, ask for two more. He has eleven! Your second brother’s family only has two people. Aren’t they afraid of gorging to death?”

“Alright, I’ll ask for a few more.” What was her younger brother’s was hers too.

“Okay, go quickly. Hey, Yuanyaun, you’ll cook today.” Her mother-in-law, Liu Qingchun, had eyes that drooped downwards, making her appear mean and fierce.

“Mother, I’m not supposed to be cooking today,” the eldest daughter-in-law, Li Yuanyuan, lamented.

“Well, if you’re so good, then go back to your parents’ house and bring back a few rabbits too. Then you don’t have to cook.” Liu Qingchun would even treat her well for the next few days if that was the case.

Li Yuanyuan lowered her head, resenting Shi Jiaojiao in her heart. The latter only knew how to slack off.

Without any hesitation, Shi Jiaojiao went straight to her younger brother’s house. She hadn’t returned for a few years, but now that she was back again, she still felt disgusted by this place.

The courtyard was filled with people. Some were there as bystanders, others as buyers, and there were even some who hoped to pick up the leftover scraps.

Seeing that Shi Jinhua only had three rabbits left, Shi Jiaojiao quickly squeezed in.

“Give me these three. My family wants to eat them,” she commanded.

Shi Jinhua tied up the three rabbits and weighed them. “A total of 25 catties. One catty is going for six copper coins. A total of 150 copper coins.” He would sell them to whoever he could pay for them.

“Why should I pay?” Shi Jiaojiao asked sharply.

Shi Jinhua did not spare a glance at her. “Alright, if you don’t have money then move aside. Next.”

“Give it to me!” Shi Jiaojiao tried to snatch the rabbits away while glaring at her brother.

“Hey, hey. How can you just snatch other people’s things? If you don’t want them, I want them. Hua, give me the heaviest one,” a man who was at the front of the queue shouted.

But the woman did not back down. “No! They’re all mine!”

Zhao Yun was unconvinced. “Why should they be yours? A married daughter is like water that has been spilled! Besides, you’re dirty water. Don’t you guys smell a stench over here?”

“Ouch!” The onlookers cheered the man on!

“That is the Shi family’s business. What does it have to do with you? I don’t care. You have to give me these three rabbits today!” As she spoke, she looked at Shi Jinhua. There was no way she would give up these rabbits!

“You’re not welcome here. Please leave!” Shi Jinhua couldn’t be bothered with Shi Jiaojiao.

“Do you think I want to be here? Just give me the rabbits. I won’t stay here even if you beg me,” Shi Jiaojiao said disdainfully.

When Shi Jinhua heard that, he shouted, “Scram!”

Everyone saw that Shi Jinhua’s eyes were red from anger, and some of the women could not stand it anymore.

“Shi Jiaojiao, have some shame! When your parents died, you said that you wouldn’t return to this family even if they carried you back in eight palanquins.”

“That’s right! But now, you’re coming back on your own just because of these three rabbits? Don’t you think it’s funny?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

“Yeah! When her parents died, they wanted to go up the mountains. Hua even specially begged her to send them off. At that time, her door was shut tight and her mother-in-law even beat Hua up.”

Not many people in the village liked Shi Jiaojiao because she was unfilial. Being unfilial was a serious matter in the olden days.

“What do you know? In the past, whenever there was good food at home, I was never given any! All I was given were chores. I had to do everything. Why didn’t he need to do anything?” Anyway, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

“How can you compare that? Hua has been smart since he was young. He’s a boy and the youngest in the family. You’d be married sooner or later. Your parents didn’t starve you to death or sell you. That was already very benevolent of them.”

The old man with the walking stick could not stand it anymore and cut in. In this era, it was true that boys were favored over girls. Even if that was not so, Shi Jinhua and Shi Jiaojiao were simply too different to be compared!