Chapter 118: Letting Go
Zhang Zhaodi sneered, "Since she has been scheming against me from the very beginning, what sort of friend is that? Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how many times I would have died over these years."
The others looked at each other, then breathed a sigh of relief.
"It’s too late, let’s go back to rest." Su Yaoguang held Zhang Zhaodi’s arm, "Tonight I sleep with my mom."
"No, absolutely not, I sleep just fine alone, why do you want to join the fuss?" Zhang Zhaodi said disdainfully, "Hurry up and leave, it’s disgusting here; I won’t come back again."
From behind came the shrieks of Su Guilan’s screams, Jiang Fang’s wife’s curses, Su Guilan’s husband furiously yelling he wants to divorce her, while others around tried to speak good words. The nearby residents, unable to stay put while hearing such a lively spectacle, emerged from their courtyards to poke their heads at the entrance of Mrs. Jiang and Tong Chunlai’s courtyard.
Jiang Jing and Jia Chunni were looking at the doorway, and as they saw them return, they immediately came forward.
"Godmother (Aunt), are you alright?"
Zhang Zhaodi patted Jiang Jing’s hair and then tapped Jia Chunni’s outstretched hand, saying, "Silly child, see not a single strand of my hair is missing; I’m certainly fine, don’t worry."
"Thanks to Wang Shu today, if it weren’t for this kid’s sharp eyesight and his early revelation of the plot by Mrs. Jiang and Su Guilan, I’m afraid I really would’ve fallen into their hands." Zhang Zhaodi looked back at Zhou Wangshu, "Tomorrow I’ll make the spicy chicken you love."
Zhou Wangshu blinked and said innocently, "Thank you, Mom. As long as you’re fine. But it’s been a long time since we’ve tasted Mom’s cooking, this time it’s like a blessing in disguise."
The night was deep, and a few little heads peeked out through the window.
Su Yaoguang leaned against the window, listening to the sounds inside.
Jiang Jing whispered, "How is it? Godmother hasn’t cried, right?"
"Can’t hear." Su Yaoguang cupped her hand like a megaphone against the wall to listen inside. "Nothing."
"Aunt will snore; if she’s asleep, there’ll definitely be some sound. Since there’s no sound now, she’s not asleep." Jia Chunni followed along, listening to the sounds inside.
Zhou Wangshu stood not far off, leaning against a tree trunk, arms crossed, watching the three little girls secretly spy on Zhang Zhaodi’s situation.
With a clatter, the window slid open, and Zhang Zhaodi stood at the window, scowling at the caught-off-guard three little girls, "Not sleepy? If you’re not sleepy, go chop wood and make breakfast for tomorrow."
"Sleepy, of course sleepy, we’ll go to bed now." Jia Chunni darted back to her room like a little eel.
Jiang Jing obediently said, "Godmother, there was a mouse that ran by just now, I was afraid it would frighten you. Now it seems the mouse has run far away, I’ll return to my room immediately."
Zhang Zhaodi looked at Su Yaoguang with a half-smile, "And you? What are you up to?"
"I’m stargazing with Wang Shu!" Su Yaoguang pointed to Zhou Wangshu behind her. "We’ll go rest now."
Saying that, she dashed to Zhou Wangshu, grabbed his hand and ran off to the side, saying, "Quickly, quickly, my mom is about to burst."
Zhang Zhaodi watched the kids, a smile flashed in her eyes, "Being young is great."
Su Yaoguang ran back to Zhou Wangshu’s room, picked up the teapot and poured herself a cup of water.
"Thank goodness I ran fast, otherwise I’d get beat by my mom."
"I have never seen Mom hit you," Zhou Wangshu said, "Would she really bear to hit you?"
Su Yaoguang paused, trying hard to remember, and then said with lowered eyes, "Yeah, my mom hasn’t hit me for a long time."
"From the way you sound, you seem disappointed?"
"Wang Shu, will you take a rest in the upcoming days?" Su Yaoguang asked, "Looking at the sky, it seems it’ll rain soon; I want to buy some more grain before the rain comes."
"We’ve already bought a lot of grain, enough for a year even," Zhou Wangshu said, "There are also plenty of medicinal herbs; if Jiang Jing wants to open a pharmacy, it’s no problem."
"I’m still worried, wanting to stock up on more things," Su Yaoguang said, "Let’s go buy in neighboring towns, so no one knows we’ve stocked up on so much food. We need to find a place to store it."
Besides food, we should stock up more medicine, and also some other living supplies.
In her past life during the toughest phase, she and her mom spent it in the countryside. Food was scarce; they even uprooted all the grass in the mountains. Fortunately, after a few months, the court distributed grain for disaster relief.
Xiao Yanci didn’t suffer much in the past life; after all, he was in the academy, and the students were the foundation of the academy, also a basic component of the place, they were among the easiest to get food.
Zhou Wangshu saw her expression so heavy, intending to focus on this matter. However, it wasn’t difficult for him. A few days ago, when he prepared the grain, he told Chen Buyu and Zhong Chushan, and they also bought a large batch of grain. Tomorrow he would find them and ask them to stock up more; by then, the grain he bought could be transported back with the Chen Family’s and Zhong Family’s convoy.
"Okay."
"Wang Shu, aren’t you asking me why?" Su Yaoguang looked at him.
"The rain looks a bit unusual; it’s fine to be uneasy and want to stock more grain. After all, grain can be eaten and sold."
"Wang Shu, you’re so great!" Su Yaoguang stretched out a mischievous hand to pinch his cheeks.
Zhou Wangshu: "..."
She really treats him like a child.
"With your help, I feel I’m not fighting alone; having someone to fall back on is really nice." Su Yaoguang sincerely said, "Indeed, keeping you was the wisest decision."
Su Yaoguang got up and waved her hand at him, leaving his room.
Zhou Wangshu sat at the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it all.
The next morning, Su Yaoguang returned after running errands outside, finding many people gathered at the doorway, squeezed through the crowd and asked, "Can you let me through, what are you all crowding here for?"
"Boss Su, your grandparents have come, wielding a knife wanting to slit their throats at your shop’s door, saying you’re unfilial to them."
Annoyance flashed in Su Yaoguang’s eyes.
Why do they haunt like ghosts?
Shouldn’t they be too busy dealing with Su Guilan’s situation now?
Su Guilan has lost her reputation; her husband surely won’t want her, divorcing her is just a matter of time. Su Family doesn’t care for her yet they’ve come here to create a scene, clearly showing just how powerful the lure of money is.
"Report to the official!" Su Yaoguang took out ten cents and said to the aunt who told her, "Please help us report to the official, this is your trouble fee."
"Alright, I’ll go immediately."
Grandpa Su and Grandma Su have been arguing here for a long time. Zhang Zhaodi couldn’t get rid of them, had no choice but to let them cause trouble at the door. Plus Zhong Lanhua was chiming in, everyone began believing what Grandpa Su and Grandma Su said, disapproving of Zhang Zhaodi and her daughter for not respecting their elders.