They were doing nothing more than mocking a husband and wife in their forties for still having babies, along with comments about what having a daughter was like.
Unlike Mrs. Zhou, Lady Wu was a local girl whose maiden family lived right here. She had known these people for a long time and felt more secure of herself.
Although she had managed to calm her emotions on the way back, her mother-in-law still noticed.
"Second one, did you get into a fight with someone?"
Tian Guihua gently put down little Qiujiu, while using the fabric the brothers had just bought to measure against the little one's body.
"No."
"I know you. You look gentle-tempered, but you've got a fierce streak in you. Let people outside say whatever they want; you don't need to pay them any mind."
Lady Wu deeply admired this mother-in-law. She couldn't read a single character, yet possessed profound wisdom. She could guess the truth of many things just like that.
"I know, Mother."
Mrs. Zhou put down the clean diapers she had just brought back, stacked them neatly, and catching sight of Tian Guihua's actions, hurriedly called a halt.
"Oh, goodness! You're still in confinement! You shouldn't be doing needlework—you'll strain your eyes. If you don't mind, let me do it."
Lady Wu's needlework was exceptional. Back at her maiden family, she had relied on it to earn money and supplement the household expenses. Times were hard, so she had tried every possible way to bring in a bit more cash.
"Well, that would be wonderful. But aren't you pressed to finish some other work?"
"It's fine. Little Aunt's small garment can wait; I'll just sleep a little less tonight and get it done."
As the voices of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law faded, Fu Baiwan's happy laughter rang out from outside the door. "Good, very good! This money has to be kept..."
"That's right, it'll be the end of the month soon, and Fifth will be coming back. We'll give him a bit more this time so he won't go hungry anymore. He's the only scholar in our family; we can't shortchange him."
Fu Dajin cracked his knuckles and looked at his younger brothers. "Sanjin, later on the two of us will head up the mountain again to see if we can find any more treasures."
At the mention of going up the mountain, Fu Qiujiu, who had been resting with her eyes closed, instantly snapped open her large, grape-like eyes and burst into tears with a downturned mouth.
At her cry, the hearts of both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law shattered.
Without needing Tian Guihua to instruct her, Lady Wu understood. "I'll go see what they're bickering about. Look at how they've frightened Little Aunt."
In truth, the men had already stopped the moment they heard Little Qiujiu's cries.
They had to stop—Fu Baiwan's glare was terrifying enough to scare someone to death.
"Stop all that yelling! You scared your little sister, and I'll kick the lot of you."
Ironically, his own voice had just been the loudest.
Seeing that the crying wouldn't stop, Fu Baiwan hurried back to take a look. His little daughter always listened to him the best; if he held her, she would definitely stop crying.
"What's wrong with Qiujiu?"
Fu Baiwan ran into Lady Wu and signaled for her to go on outside.
Tian Guihua shook her head in bewilderment. "She hasn't peed, she hasn't pooped, and she won't take milk. She just started crying out of nowhere."
"Could she be sick?" Fu Baiwan had barely spoken before he slapped his own face. "Spit, spit, spit! My daughter is perfectly fine."
The old couple were beside themselves with worry. Fu Baiwan held her and coaxed her to no avail.
Fu Qiujiu was even more frantic—she couldn't let them go up the mountain! There were tigers up there, and besides, they were already talking about the back mountain.
How did she know?
Fu Qiujiu looked toward the tightly shut window; two birds outside had said so.
She had no idea why she could suddenly understand bird language, but at least it counted as a cheat code. However, she had no clue whether the spatial dimension from her past life had followed her over; anyway, her consciousness couldn't get inside it right now.
Fu Qiujiu cried until she was exhausted and stopped, knowing that if she cried any longer, she would pass out.
Seeing this, Fu Baiwan decided this must be his doing—no one else could coax her, only he could.
Sure enough, having a daughter was the right choice; daughters were closest to their fathers.
"Be a good girl, Qiujiu, don't cry, don't cry. Later, Eldest Brother and Third Brother are going up the mountain to hunt and earn money to buy you lots of good things."
Having finally waited for what she wanted to hear, Fu Qiujiu let out a wail and started crying all over again.
This left Fu Baiwan completely baffled, not knowing what to say, so he blurted out, "Oh, oh, oh, then we won't go, we won't go."
Right, don't go.
Fu Qiujiu's cries stopped abruptly. Fu Baiwan took a deep breath and looked at his equally bewildered wife. "Do you think our Qiujiu can understand what I'm saying?"
Tian Guihua glanced at him and snorted with laughter. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How could your daughter be that amazing? Is she a deity? She understands speech after just two days? It's just a coincidence."
Fu Baiwan took a deep breath and looked down again at the little daughter in his arms. "Daughter, your Eldest Brother and Third Brother went up the mountain."
Fu Qiujiu had stopped crying simply because she understood her parents' conversation and felt she shouldn't expose herself too early, lest she be treated like a freak.
Watching the unresponsive little baby, Fu Baiwan took a deep breath. "Did they really go?"
Tian Guihua couldn't help laughing. "You silly old man. If word of this gets out, people will definitely say you've lost your mind. What does a two-day-old baby understand?"
Fu Baiwan also felt he might have gone a bit crazy. Though it dispelled the notion that his daughter was a prodigy, he couldn't bear to let go of her.
"I think we shouldn't let the two boys go up the mountain today. They're already worn out from the trip to town. And what about the eldest's wife? She hasn't shown her face since I gave birth; she must be feeling upset inside. Didn't we get money?"
"Mm, what's wrong?" Fu Baiwan teased the little milk bun in his arms.
His daughter's eyes were bright and sparkling, flashing with light.
Prettily fierce.
No, wait—his daughter's nose, mouth, and ears were pretty every single which way.
"The eldest's wife has been married into the family for four years and hasn't borne any children. Now that we have money, let the eldest take her to see a physician. There aren't many women who get married and don't want to have babies."
Mentioning this matter regarding the eldest's household gave Fu Baiwan a bit of a headache. "We've seen so many doctors, and they all say she has a hard time conceiving..."
"Even so, we still have to look."
Fu Baiwan thought about how they had earned over twenty taels of silver this time; giving a bit to his eldest son wouldn't pain him.
"Wife, guess how much money Qiujiu earned for our family this time?"
"You old fogey, you're biased beyond reason! Aside from eating and sleeping, how did your daughter earn money? Be careful, if the boys hear you say that, it'll break their hearts."
"Let them hear it. This is all the good luck my daughter brought us," Fu Baiwan said dismissively.
Tian Guihua pushed his face away. "Watch out that your beard doesn't prick the baby."
At these words, Fu Baiwan immediately pulled back his chin—he decided to shave off his beard.
Tian Guihua watched as he pulled a silver ingot full of teeth marks from his bosom as if performing a magic trick, her eyes widening a full circle. "There's this much?"
Fu Baiwan blinked and pulled out another one. "Not just this, there's more!"
We've struck it rich! Tian Guihua had never seen such large silver ingots in her entire life.
The little daughter truly was blessed; as soon as she was born, the family had money, unlike the older ones who had nothing to eat or drink and could only go hungry.
"Grandma, I want to see Little Auntie! I want to give Little Auntie mushrooms."
The smiling old couple instantly underwent a drastic change in expression.
Chapter 7: This Brother is Extraordinary
"Eat your head with mushrooms! The mushrooms you foraged last time almost killed the whole family."
Ever since that last incident, Fu Baiwan turned pale at the mere mention of mushrooms and made up his mind that even if he starved to death, he would not eat mushrooms.
Not a single bite.
"You man, when you want to make a point, you have to drag it out and nag. The child is still young; don't frighten him again."
Fu Baiwan had a somewhat fiery temper, but fortunately, Tian Guihua was gentle-natured—though that was only toward her own family. To outsiders, she was not someone to be trifled with.
"If I don't put it that way, he won't remember the lesson."
Tian Guihua happened to catch sight of her little daughter staring with her dark, round eyes, so she smiled and said, "You're so fierce, what if Qiujiu is afraid of you tomorrow? Let's see what you do then."
The anger that had rushed to the top of Fu Baiwan's head was instantly doused by this single remark.
He hurriedly picked up the little milk dumpling. Well-fed and well-watered, Fu Qiujiu still had a trace of milk at the corner of her mouth, and she smelled sweet and milky. If he hadn't been afraid that his rough skin would hurt her, Fu Baiwan would have kissed her over and over again.
"Qiujiu, don't be scared. Daddy isn't fierce to you; Daddy is fierce to them."
Fu Qiujiu stretched out her arms and moved her legs, taking this as her response to her old man's pampering.
Seeing this, Fu Baiwan's gloomy mood instantly cleared up, and his tone softened considerably. "Tianfu, did you forget how much your stomach hurt after eating those mushrooms last time? Go find your Eighth Uncle."
"Eighth Uncle isn't home."
"What did he go and do?"
With so many sons, they usually raised each other. Now that the little daughter was born, Fu Baiwan had even less time to keep tabs on the boys.
Besides, with a large population in the village and plenty of children, adults let go of kids once they were three or four years old, only calling them back when it was time to eat.
Not being home all the time saved them from the noise and fuss.
"I don't know. He wouldn't take me."
At the end, the little fellow sounded somewhat aggrieved, showing that he was a bit angry at not being able to go out with Fu Bajin.
"That stinky boy just won't listen, running all over the streets. Forget it, forget it, I won't bother with him."
Fu Baiwan waved a hand. "You go play too."
Fu Tianfu had just been shooed out by his mother, who was making clothes for Little Auntie—they looked so pretty! "Grandpa, when can I see Little Auntie again?"
"Soon, soon. When your Little Auntie is a month old, you can see her whenever you want."
Fu Tianfu was easy to appease. He counted on his fingers: there were still twenty-eight days until Little Auntie's full-month celebration.
Speaking of the full-month, Tian Guihua had originally thought the family would just sit together and have a lively meal to mark the occasion.
But Fu Baiwan disagreed, shaking his head like a rattle-drum. "That won't do!"
"What's wrong?" Tian Guihua was somewhat displeased. "I gave birth to a daughter for you, and having the family get together for a lively meal won't do?"
"I didn't mean that."
Knowing she had misunderstood, Fu Baiwan hurried to explain. "I mean, Qiujiu's full-month banquet must be a grand affair. We need to let relatives, friends, and all the elders and fellow villagers know that I, your old man, have a daughter!"
Tian Guihua chuckled. "Look at how a couple of taels of silver have gone to your head—a grand affair indeed! Even if you don't host one, everyone already knows our family has a daughter."
The village was only so big. Forget about a family like theirs having a daughter; even if someone's dog gave birth, people could clearly pass around the exact number of males and females.
Fu Baiwan wouldn't hear of it. He was determined to hold a grand celebration; he couldn't let his little daughter suffer any grievances.
Taking advantage of the time Fu Baiwan went to squat by the outhouse, Fu Bajin lifted the door curtain. Tian Guihua, who had been resting with her eyes closed, caught sight of her youngest son and continued to feign sleep.
The old man didn't know what was going through his head—the daughter was chubby, pretty, and yet he wouldn't let people look at her.
Fu Bajin walked on tiptoe to the edge of the kang. He remembered his fifth brother once saying that their hands were actually very dirty, and even if washed, they carried things that made people sick.
Little Sister couldn't get sick. Her mouth was the same—not even rinsing would do. To ensure Little Sister grew up healthy, he had to restrain himself from kissing or touching her.
That was why he had stopped Fu Tianfu earlier when the boy wanted to kiss the little sister.
"Qiujiu, I'm your Eighth Brother. The two of us have met. This is for you."
Fu Qiujiu had been looking at him with a guarded expression, truly afraid he might spirit her away again. Fortunately, thankfully, it was just her little brother.
"Do you like it? I made this with my own hands, you know!"
Fu Qiujiu hadn't been particularly interested in this trinket, and the workmanship was quite crude, but the moment she heard he had made it himself, her eyes lit up.
How old was this kid anyway? She had heard her mother talking earlier about giving him milk to drink.
His manual dexterity was actually this strong—holy crap!
A prodigy.
"Daddy is back, I'm leaving. When you grow up, I'll make you even more little toys. Qiujiu, you have to grow up fast, okay?"
"Babble, babble!"
Eighth Brother is truly nice.
Fu Qiujiu looked at the skinny little boy and blinked her eyes.
She wanted to grow up too.
...
Although Old Mother Zhou believed from the bottom of her heart that sons were treasures and daughters were money-losers, she also knew that the autumn harvest was approaching, and she still had to rely on her daughter and son-in-law for help.
Her precious son couldn't possibly do such rough labor. Therefore, she had brought two catties of millet to the Fu Family to help Lady Wu's milk flow.
Visitors entering the door were guests, let alone in-laws. No matter what she thought in her heart, she had to keep up appearances on the surface.
With Old Mother Zhou's arrival, Mrs. Zhou finally followed her into the parents-in-law's room. It was already seven days since Fu Qiujiu was born, and this was her very first time seeing her.
Once she looked, she couldn't tear her gaze away from the baby's face.
A milk doll carved from pink jade, spotlessly clean, with delicate eyebrows and features—even at this tiny size, one could already tell she would undoubtedly grow into a little beauty.
No wonder the second one's wife was always sneaking into this room for one reason or another.
Such a pretty little baby, who wouldn't want to look at her?
"Matchmaker, you really are blessed. To still be able to bear children at your age, and now you have both a son and a daughter."
Though Old Mother Zhou offered congratulations with her lips, her thoughts were quite different. "Our daughter hasn't been able to bear children herself, and she isn't very good at taking care of people—unlike your second daughter-in-law, who has given birth herself. She wanted to help hold her, but was afraid of dropping or hurting her."
"With so many people in the house, we don't need the eldest's wife. What blessings do I have? I can't compare to you; you've had a son and a daughter for ages, while I'm at this advanced age and still raising a baby."
Tian Guihua smiled. Although she had to get up several times a night, this little daughter was exceptionally considerate—she ate and slept, throwing no tantrums at all.
She only cried when she messed herself or needed to pee, and rarely cried otherwise.
Raising a baby now was much easier for her than when she was young.
Old Mother Zhou looked exceedingly pleased with herself. "That's true."
She turned her gaze to Fu Qiujiu. "Such a precious little girl, like a treasure—you mustn't let your eldest daughter-in-law hurt her, right?"
Without a care, Old Mother Zhou raised her hand to touch Fu Qiujiu's face. She had just been smoking pipe tobacco in Mrs. Zhou's room, and both her breath and her hands reeked of smoke.
It stank so badly that Fu Qiujiu felt like vomiting the moment she smelled it.
Consequently, she spat up her milk.
It was completely normal for a newborn to spit up milk, but Tian Guihua's heart ached fiercely, and she hurried to pick her up and pat her gently.
She also caught the smell on Old Mother Zhou—such a heavy stench, anyone could smell it—so she pulled the baby back a bit.
Old Mother Zhou, however, thought nothing of it, figuring that a little girl was worth nothing—what was all the fuss about a precious treasure? If a poor family's girl was raised that delicately, she'd just suffer when she got to her husband's family.
"Matchmaker, if you ask me, not a single family in ten miles around has a daughter as precious as yours. I heard the master of the house is even going to throw a full-month banquet for this little girl?"
Though Tian Guihua felt it was a bit extravagant, since her man had already decided, she had no reason to undermine his face.
Husband and wife were one.
"Ah, yes. Isn't this something worth celebrating? We just thought we'd let everyone join in the fun and liven things up."
Join in the fun, my foot! She had never heard of anyone throwing a banquet for a daughter's birth; it was just money burning a hole in their pockets.
Chapter 8: Mother is Truly Formidable
"Matchmaker, liveliness is fine and dandy, but don't blame me if my words sound harsh."
Old Mother Zhou glanced sideways at the milk baby in Tian Guihua's arms and sneered. "A baby this small—let alone a girl, even if it were a boy, by the time he's old enough to understand things, you and the master will already be old."
Tian Guihua thought to herself that these words certainly didn't sound pleasant, and she'd have been better off not saying them at all.
"In-law, we're all family here. If you have something to say, just spit it out."
Old Mother Zhou chuckled and slapped her own thigh. "Then I won't beat around the bush! Dajin is the eldest son, and in the future, he'll definitely have to put in the most effort. The rest of them are still too little and won't be able to help out with anything later on."
"Matchmaker, listen to what you're saying. Why does it sound like me and her father aren't going to live much longer?" Tian Guihua wore a faint sneer, almost ready to curse.
She and her old man weren't exactly young anymore, but they were still strong and sturdy.
However, she could also see that this Old Mother Zhou had come specifically to shake her down for money on behalf of her daughter.
It was indeed time to put a bit of pressure on that eldest daughter-in-law. Since she had married into the family, even if she couldn't treat Tian Guihua like her own mother, she at least needed to put her heart into the Fu family.
She shouldn't be running back to her maiden family at every turn to gossip about the Fu household's affairs.
Old Mother Zhou's smile stiffened. She forced out an awkward chuckle, her words coming in fits and starts. "No, how could that be? I just meant that in the future, you two old folks and these two little ones will all have to depend on Dajin and his wife."
"Oh my, as the sowing, so the reaping—the more you sow, the more you harvest. When there are benefits, naturally you have to give the kids a share too, don't you agree?"
Fu Qiujiu blinked her eyes. She had never liked this old hag to begin with—slanted eyebrows, triangular eyes, upturned nose, and a weird, sarcastic tone of voice.
She used to think the woman just lacked personal hygiene, but looking at her now, not only were her nails long, but her hands reached far too far—all the way into their family's business.
It seemed that the eldest daughter-in-law's failure to be of one mind with the household had a lot to do with this woman's meddling.
"Wah... Wah..."
Fu Qiujiu opened her mouth and wailed directly at Old Mother Zhou.
With her crying, it was a major event; Tian Guihua dropped everything. "In-law, let's talk about whatever you have to say another day."
Old Mother Zhou glared hatefully at Fu Qiujiu.
Which family's child didn't cry? But the moment the old Fu family's child let out a couple of tears, it was treated like an earth-shattering catastrophe.
Seeing this, Mrs. Zhou pulled on Old Mother Zhou's sleeve. "Mother, let's go first."
She didn't want the little milk baby to keep crying; just watching broke her heart.
Old Mother Zhou viciously shook off her hand, her glare fierce enough to drill holes right through her.
As soon as they stepped out the door, she cursed in a low voice, "Useless thing! I was helping you secure your share of the family property, and you got cold feet."
"You muscle-headed blockhead, don't come crying to me later."
Once Old Mother Zhou left, Fu Qiujiu stopped crying.
Tian Guihua was caught between laughter and tears, gently tapping the baby's little nose. "You little sprite, you really know how to pick your timing for a cry."
Naturally, Tian Guihua still chalked it up to coincidence.
Either that, or Old Mother Zhou's uninviting appearance had frightened the little girl.
Old Mother Zhou sat in Mrs. Zhou's room for a while longer before leaving, though heaven knows what the mother and daughter muttered about to each other.
After they left, Tian Guihua had Lady Wu call Mrs. Zhou over.
Mrs. Zhou's heart thumped anxiously. "What does Mother want with me?"
Lady Wu shook her head. "I'm not sure. You'll find out once you go."
That was tantamount to saying nothing at all, and visible displeasure crossed Mrs. Zhou's face.
Lady Wu looked innocent enough—she really didn't know.
"Second one's wife, look at those chickens carrying on over there. Are they squabbling?"
*No, they're gossiping about the neighbor Zhang family's laying hen flirting with the backyard Wang family's rooster.*
*Animals are just as gossipy as humans.*
Ever since Fu Qiujiu had gained the ability to understand animal language, she had picked up quite a few major and minor village affairs straight from the mouths of their flock of hens.
Lady Wu knew her mother-in-law was just trying to clear the room. "Oh my, then I'd better go have a look."
Fu Qiujiu thought to herself that her mother was truly formidable. She was gentle as water toward her man, keeping her hot-tempered husband tightly under control; she was affectionate yet majestic toward the younger generation, handling matters thoroughly and smoothly.
And she still hadn't forgotten to preserve some face for the eldest daughter-in-law.