Mrs. Zhou did not know when to leave well enough alone. "Father, I mean, you bought these things—they can't be eaten or drunk! You'd have been better off buying a piece of candy or some pastry!"
As if he would ever buy just one piece; if he had, how would everyone get a share?
Lady Wu, who had just come back from feeding the chickens, walked in and her face blossomed into a wide smile the moment she caught sight of the colorful fabrics on the table.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, you're wrong about that. Even though these fabrics can't be eaten or drunk, they're great for patching things together. This is Hang brocade, and that is cloud satin. If you sold them individually, they'd cost a fortune."
She often did embroidery work for people, so she knew what good materials looked like.
Fu Qiujiu blinked at her beaming Second Sister-in-law.
Second Sister-in-law was the best; she understood her completely.
Delighted, Lady Wu pinched Fu Qiujiu's cheek. "Little Aunt, give these colorful scraps to Second Sister-in-law, and she'll make you a pretty little dress, how about that?"
Mrs. Zhou let out a cold snort and cursed her as a sycophant in her own mind.
The second branch was shamelessly sucking up to the Little Aunt. Earlier, she even washed diapers stained with shit and piss, and now she probably thought even the Little Aunt's farts smelled like roses.
Ignoring Mrs. Zhou's sour expression, Fu Qiujiu simply smiled at Lady Wu.
To the adults, she looked just like she understood every word.
Lady Wu rummaged through the pile of fabrics, ready to pick out what could be used, and whatever couldn't be used could be made into a pair of little shoes or something for the Little Aunt.
But then...
"Oh my, what... what is this?"
Hearing her, the others looked over. From the pile of fabric, she had actually pulled out a wooden hairpin. It was quite pretty, though unfortunately, a piece of the head was broken off.
"Sigh... It's broken. If only it were gold! Silver would have been fine too," Mrs. Zhou sighed in disappointment.
She didn't stop to think why something made of gold or silver would be thrown away here; this hairpin was likely discarded precisely because it was broken.
Tang Xian rarely spoke, but he glanced at the wooden hairpin as well. It was top-grade red sandalwood.
To him, it wasn't expensive, but for a farming family like the Fu family, it was definitely not cheap—quite different from the plain wooden sticks the Fu women wore in their hair.
Still, it was a pity that a piece was broken off.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, it doesn't matter if it's broken. Father, how about giving it to me?" Fu Bajin stepped forward proactively.
Since it was just a broken wooden hairpin, Fu Baiwan didn't make much of it. "What does a boy like you want with this thing?"
"Exactly. Little Ba, you can't wear it. Are you saving it for a future wife?" Mrs. Zhou said coldly.
Fu Bajin shook his head. "Not for a wife. For my younger sister."
He was just a little brat; let him say whatever he wanted. Having the right intention was what mattered.
Fu Baiwan picked up the wooden hairpin and handed it to Fu Bajin. Had he known the hairpin could have sold for several hundred wen, he wouldn't have been so willing to throw it away like that.
...
Before falling asleep, Fu Baiwan thought of his fourth son's attitude. The more he thought about it, the more restless he became, tossing and turning.
Tian Guihua was kept awake by his tossing, though the two children, perhaps exhausted from the day's activities, had fallen asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow after dinner.
"What are you doing not sleeping?"
Hearing that his wife wasn't asleep either, Fu Baiwan was overjoyed. He had been wanting someone to talk to.
With his sons and daughters-in-law around during the day, he hadn't found a good opening.
"Wife, I have something..."
"Have no shame, what are you fussing about? The children are still here."
Fu Baiwan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, realizing his wife had misunderstood.
"Not that kind of thing, what are you thinking? I want to talk to you about Sijin."
Fortunately, it was dark and no one could see; Tian Guihua covered her face in embarrassment. "You old codger, just talk about Sijin then! Stuttering like that made me think..."
"Hehe, you were thinking about it?"
"Thinking my foot." Tian Guihua shoved him, though she still let him steal a kiss.
"What's wrong with Sijin? Tell me quickly!"
"Sijin isn't having an easy time over there. That step-aunt of his is too harsh. I'd bet anything she doesn't give him a pleasant look."
"Sigh..." The smile on Tian Guihua's face vanished entirely. "What a sin. It's all because we were useless and ruined Sijin's life."
Fu Baiwan sighed as well. "Back then, I checked up on them—Boss Qian and his wife were good people and hadn't had a child yet, which is why I agreed to send Sijin over. Who could have foreseen that the two of them would pass away so early?"
If Qian Sijin had grown up being raised by his adoptive parents, they would never have worried about him having a hard time, since the couple had truly cared for him from the bottom of their hearts.
"Then what can we do? Sijin resents the two of us for sending him away and making him suffer through all this. If we ask him to come back now, he won't agree. It's not like we haven't tried."
Smart as she was, Tian Guihua was out of ideas and could only let out a sigh. "My poor child."
Chapter 022: Bare-Butt Drifting into the Little Older Brother's Quilt
Sensing her little daughter turning over and thinking she was about to wake up, Fu Baiwan quickly patted her a couple of times. Fu Qiujiu let out a soft murmur, snuggled closer to his side, and went right back to sleep.
"That's just what I was going to tell you."
"You tell me if this isn't strange: our Qiujiu never lets strangers hold her, but the very first time she saw Sijin, she called him older brother, smiled right at him, and even reached out for him to hold her!"
"Really?" Tian Guihua was very surprised. "They crawled out of the same mother's belly, and Sijin looks so much like his brothers; Qiujiu must have taken him for one of the brothers from home."
"Who knows? Anyway, I noticed that Sijin doesn't dislike Qiujiu either. I think this is an opportunity."
Fu Baiwan had pondered it all afternoon before coming up with this idea. "In the future, let's take Qiujiu to see Sijin more often, so he can see her more. Qiujiu is so loveable, maybe she can charm Sijin back home?"
Half-asleep, Fu Qiujiu heard this and suddenly felt she had a long and arduous mission ahead of her.
"Will it work?" Tian Guihua was half-skeptical.
"It has to work, whether we want it to or not. Let's give it a try! Otherwise, we don't have any other options."
If her fourth older brother was living a good life and his adoptive parents were still alive, Fu Qiujiu wouldn't have felt right dragging him back.
But now that he was having a hard time and being bullied, Fu Qiujiu felt that bringing him home was the right thing to do.
It wasn't a dishonorable thing to do.
"Did you hold my little younger sister?"
Early the next morning, before breakfast, Fu Bajin dragged Tang Xian off to a secluded corner.
Tang Xian swept a glance over him—a scrawny big-headed boy whose cheeks barely had any flesh on them.
Even though it had only happened for a brief moment, it wasn't something he had intended.
Still, a true man stood by what he did.
Fu Bajin pouted. "Not talking means you admit it. Did you kiss my little younger sister?"
Tang Xian gave him a look that said he thought he was crazy, and remained silent.
"Hmph, I bet you wouldn't dare. Let me tell you, if you dare kiss my sister, I'll beat you up."
Fu Bajin shook an arm that was barely thicker than Fu Qiujiu's. "Don't you go taking advantage of my sister."
Tang Xian finally couldn't help it. "Then keep a better eye on your sister."
It had been fine when they went to sleep at night, with Fu Baiwan lying in the middle, but by morning, when the adults woke up, the little brat had rolled right into his arms while sleeping.
When he woke up, he discovered he was holding a little milk dumpling, her fine, soft hair tickling his face and making it itch.
The crucial part was that the little milk dumpling was bare-bottomed...
Uh... men and women should keep their distance.
On her end, Fu Qiujiu was mortified as well, but in the mouths of the adults, the incident became a source of amusement.
"Mother, really? Little Aunt crawled into Tang Xian's quilt?"
Fu Qiujiu looked at Lady Wu with pleading eyes. Second Sister-in-law, is being this gossipy really okay?
Tian Guihua laughed along. "Who's to say it isn't? I went back into the room to dress her and saw the two babies hugging each other as they slept. They looked so cozy."
Both babies were very good-looking; just imagining the scene, it must have been quite amusing.
"It's a good thing she's little. If she were any older, it would be troublesome."
Tang Xian's face was already burning red from their teasing.
"Mother Fan, I'm feeling much better now. Can you change me to another room?"
"This... it's not that we can't, but you've seen how things are around the house. There are only so many rooms, and the others are all packed tight. There's no space for you."
"I'll swap with Bajin."
Fu Bajin's eyes widened, and a grin instantly spread across his face. He glanced at Tang Xian, thinking to himself that this kid finally had some sense.
"Mother, I agree to swap with him. I'll go to your room, and he can sleep with the older brothers."
That was a solution, so Tian Guihua nodded in agreement.
Being able to sleep in the same room as his parents and younger sister pleased Fu Bajin so much he felt as though it were some great honor, and he puffed out his chest as he walked.
Seeing this, Fu Tianfu began to clamor about sharing a room with the Little Aunt as well. "Mother, I want to go too! I want to cuddle with Little Aunt and sleep!"
"Cuddle your foot. You want your stinky little feet to gas out your Little Aunt?" Fu Baiwan glared at him.
Fu Bajin added insult to injury at that moment. "You even wet the bed! Don't go washing the little younger sister away."
"I..." Fu Tianfu shyly buried himself in his mother's arms. "I didn't, I didn't! Mother, I told you not to tell anyone, boo-hoo... I didn't wet the bed."
His antics sent everyone into fits of laughter.
This boy was lazy; whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, he hated getting up to relieve himself, so he frequently wet the bed. It was fine in the summer, but once winter came and it was cold outside, nothing could convince him to go out.
Consequently, the mattress bore the brunt of it.
"See? Even your Little Aunt doesn't wet the bed, and you're three years older than her. Aren't you ashamed?" Fu Erjin patted the back of his son's head with a helpless expression.
Hearing everyone making fun of him, Fu Tianfu was too ashamed to raise his head. He buried his face deep in his mother's arms and muffled a cry: "I didn't! It wasn't me! It was Father—Father did it..."
"You stinky brat, talking nonsense again."
Early in the morning, the Fu household was filled with endless laughter. Tang Xian had been keeping a straight face, initially thinking the topic they were discussing was terribly boring.
Yet, watching them laugh, he found himself infected by it, the corners of his lips curling up before he could stop them. However, he quickly reined in his smile when he noticed the little milk dumpling's bright eyes fixed right on him.
Mother Fan had wanted Tang Xian, but she hadn't wanted to spend any silver on medical treatment for him. Now that she saw he was largely recovered, her itching greed returned, and she remembered his promise of a generous reward.
Mrs. Zhou hadn't had the heart to eat the pastries distributed yesterday, planning to take them to her parents instead. Additionally, she had saved up some money from her embroidery work; aside from what the household needed, she intended to give a little to her parents as well.
Her parents-in-law knew about this—she hadn't hidden it from them, and they hadn't stopped her.
As a result, she was intercepted by Mother Fan halfway there.
Lady Wu was a local girl who had grown up watching Mother Fan; how could she not know what kind of person she was?
"Oh my, Suzhi, going back to your maiden home?"
Lady Wu didn't like Mother Fan, and in the past, she would have rolled her eyes and walked away. But after living with her mother-in-law all these years, she had picked up a bit of worldly wisdom.
Even if she hadn't learned ten parts of it, she had at least three or four.
She squeezed out a forced smile. "Yes, going home to see my father and mother."
"Did that boy from your house leave yet? How much did he give you as a reward? Did he say?"
As if afraid others might not know, Mother Fan elaborated on how the Fu family had picked up a boy and so on.
In her mouth, it sounded as though the Fu family had saved Tang Xian purely for the sake of a reward.
Just how heavy could a "generous reward" promised by a little child really be?
Lady Wu didn't take it to heart. It was good for a child to know gratitude and repay it, but her family had made it clear they weren't looking for any repayment.
They were simply doing a good deed to accumulate virtue and blessings.
"It's just like your parents-in-law to calculate like that. Picking up a child can even turn a profit; they're clever beyond belief."
Lady Wu offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Mother Fan, how about I go discuss it with Tang Xian and have him move to your house instead?"
Mother Fan was just running her mouth for the sake of it. Knowing he was a sickly child, she certainly wouldn't dare take him in if offered.
"He wouldn't come."
"Is that so? I thought you just couldn't bear to spend money on his medical treatment," Lady Wu said with a smile.
Even if Mother Fan wanted to flare up, she couldn't find an outlet for it. "You girl, you've been like this since you were little—never willing to suffer the slightest loss."
Lady Wu retorted, "Mother Fan, are you willing to suffer a loss?"
Chapter 023: The Humble-Bragging Fu Family
"I..." Mother Fan was at a word for words.
"No one is willing to suffer a loss, and neither am I. Aunties, you all keep chatting, I'm heading to my maiden home."
The moment Lady Wu left, Mother Fan glared viciously at her retreating back and snapped, "Hmph, dead girl! Just because she gave birth to a son in her husband's family, look at how cocky she's acting. Her Eldest Sister-in-law wouldn't dare act like that."
Mother Fan probably hadn't expected that Lady Wu would hear her, let alone turn around.
"Mother Fan, but the thing is, I *did* give birth to a son?"
Feeling that wasn't quite satisfying enough, Lady Wu put on an indifferent expression. "Giving birth to a son isn't such an amazing thing anyway. Which woman can't do it?"
She... couldn't do it.
Mother Fan stamped her feet with rage, but from an onlooker's perspective, Lady Wu hadn't lost her temper; she had even been smiling while she spoke.
If Mother Fan genuinely wanted to make an issue of it, the fault would lie with her.
After all, she was the one who had started the provocation in the first place.
When Lady Wu entered her home, her two sisters-in-law greeted her sourly. Seeing that she had returned empty-handed, they curled their lips in disdain and walked away.
Her father wasn't home; he had gone to the fields to deliver nightsoil, mixing plant ash, human waste, and dirt together to make a natural fertilizer that made the crops grow well.
In the past, Lady Wu would always bring things back, but whether it was food or daily goods, it always ended up in the hands of her sisters-in-law and nephews, leaving nothing for her aging parents.
Mother Wu made casual conversation as well. "Suzhi, did your father-in-law say what they're planting this year?"
"Not yet. I'll come back once he makes up his mind."
Lady Wu understood her mother's implication. Although it wasn't a drought year last year, there had been too much rain in the summer, resulting in a rather mediocre harvest—yet the Fu family's fields, which traditionally never produced much, actually yielded the best harvest of all.
That was a first, and her father-in-law had claimed it was all thanks to the Little Aunt.
Lady Wu also felt that the Little Aunt had brought good fortune to the household.
Mother Wu nodded. "Keep an eye on things. How does your father-in-law tend to the crops? We never saw anything special about his land before, but last year your husband's family reaped the most grain in the whole village."
"Mother, they don't keep secrets from me, and I haven't kept secrets from you. It's just like before."
Mother Wu found that strange. "Then it must have something to do with that Little Aunt of yours. She really is a lucky star; before she was born, your husband's family was the poorest in the entire village."
"If it weren't for your parents-in-law being decent people, and you being so fond of Erjin, your father and I never would have agreed to let you marry into that family."
The Fu family had been poor, and Fu Sanjin had reached marriageable age without any prospects—though that was in the past; matchmakers had been knocking on their doors quite frequently lately.
"Mother, how long ago was that? Tianfu is already this big, why bring that up again? Aren't our lives better now?"
Lady Wu was very satisfied with her current life. "Besides, I never suffered any grievances before, and being close to you and Father makes it convenient to take care of you."
That wasn't empty talk. People always said you raised sons to provide for your old age, but the elderly Wu couple had received quite a lot of care from their daughter.
Food, clothing, and spending money—had it not been for her, they would have ended up in the exact same wretched state as the Fu family due to the torment of those two good-for-nothing sons.
"Treat that Little Aunt of yours well, and don't act like your Eldest Sister-in-law."
Lady Wu's maiden family had never stirred up trouble, and she had never gone home to complain about her husband's family.
Yet, living in the same village, it was hard not to know things.
"Mother, Eldest Sister-in-law is quite nice too."
Mother Wu curled her lips. "You'd better butter up that lucky star properly."
"Mother, even if she weren't a lucky star, she'd still be Erjin's sister and Tianfu's aunt. We have to treat her well either way."
...
In the past, Fu Baiwan hadn't liked wandering around the streets, as being poor made one afraid of being laughed at.
Things were different now, though. His greatest joy was carrying his little daughter from the east end of the village to the west, purely to let everyone in the village admire how pretty she was.
The Fu family's crops had bumper yields last year; the ears of grain were plump and heavy enough to bend the stalks, the corn cobs were a foot long, and a single stem of sweet potatoes or potatoes could yield a whole basket when dug up. Who wouldn't envy that?
Not only did his mother-in-law, Mother Wu, want to fish for information, but everyone in the village wanted to know what secret method he used.
"Baiwan, showing off your daughter again?"
Since Fu Baiwan had nodded to greet him, he replied, "So what if I am? I've got a daughter, not even allowed to show her off now?"
As Fu Qiujiu grew, she became more and more clear-skinned. Earlier, some people had said that babies who looked pretty at birth would turn ugly as they grew up, but Fu Qiujiu just kept getting prettier.
A man raised a hand, wanting to stroke Fu Qiujiu, but Fu Baiwan dodged away with a look of disgust. "Don't touch my daughter with those hands reeking of tobacco smoke. Don't you know tobacco pipes are bad for babies?"
The man gave him a resentful look. "As if only your daughter is precious. Didn't all our kids grow up smelling it from the time they were little? Which one of them ever had a problem?"
Could those kids compare to his little daughter?
One and all, they were dirty little brats, crooked and twisted. How could they compare to his little daughter, who was so tender and adorable?
Fu Baiwan chuckled drily and managed to restrain himself from boasting further.
The man had ulterior motives, of course. "Baiwan, your family's harvest last year was really something. Earlier on, I noticed your crop shoots didn't even look as good as mine?"
He bumped his shoulder against Fu Baiwan's. "Honestly, how did you pull that off?"
With spring plowing just around the corner, his question instantly piqued everyone's curiosity.
"That's right, Uncle Baiwan! Your family's granary was full to the brim last year. Tell us how you did it!"
In the past, Fu Baiwan had always been mocked for being a lifelong farmer who couldn't farm, planting whatever failed to grow.
Going from being mocked to being flattered made Fu Baiwan feel quite comfortable inside.
"Didn't really do anything special."
The crowd looked at each other, suspecting Fu Baiwan was holding out on them.
"Last year I listened to your advice. You said to plant millet, and I didn't follow along, and look—millet had a bumper harvest! Brother Baiwan, what are you planning to plant this year?"
Fu Baiwan had been pondering this very question over the past few days. For a farmer, this was no trivial matter.
"How would I know? It's all up to the heavens."
"Eldest Brother Fu, don't be modest. Give us some advice, won't you?"
With everyone egging him on, Fu Baiwan felt at a loss. How was he supposed to know? Last year, the crops hadn't looked good in the early stages, and he had practically given up on them. Yet after his little daughter was born, even without much care, they had miraculously yielded a bumper harvest.
His little daughter?
Fu Baiwan smiled. "What advice can I give? I don't know either. Last year we just lucked out and caught a good season."
Mentioning luck naturally brought up the rumors that Fu Qiujiu was a lucky star. While people hadn't quite believed it at first, the Fu family had indeed undergone a drastic transformation ever since she was born.
Especially this little baby girl: pink, tender, and strikingly handsome. No matter how you looked at her, she was lovable—no wonder Fu Baiwan went out showing her off all day long.
Anyone with such a pretty baby would want to show her off, too.
Prompted by everyone's questioning, Fu Baiwan began to seriously consider what to plant this year.
In the past, he had always left things to fate. They were poor, so they planted whatever they happened to have on hand. This year, however, they had surplus money and surplus grain.
He gathered samples of every type of grain he could find and laid them out before Fu Qiujiu.
"Be a good girl, Qiujiu. Tell me, what should our family plant this year?"
Fu Qiujiu: "..."