Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Qingmu thought for a moment, then smiled at Juhua. "Overdoing the rich food might actually be a bad thing. We’re farm folk; a simple upbringing is better. It makes us sturdier." He then turned to Liu Yunlan and said, "Eat when you’re hungry, but don’t stuff yourself. Juhua’s right. You should eat a little bit of everything."

Liu Yunlan listened and nodded obediently.

Juhua pursed her lips and smiled. "Of course. Brother, think about it. Years ago, what kind of good food did our family have? We just ate corn and coarse grains; we barely ever had white rice. But you, Huai Zi, Mom, and Dad—didn’t you all grow up strong and healthy? I was just sickly as a child, that’s the only reason I’m like this. It just goes to show that all kinds of grains are the most nourishing. We can’t start eating only meat and ignoring everything else just because our lives have improved."

Her words made Qingmu nod repeatedly, feeling as if he’d had a sudden epiphany.

Just then, Zhang Huai called from outside, "Aunty, are Qingmu and Juhua there? They can’t all be asleep already, can they?"

Qingmu quickly put down his book and went into the courtyard to talk with Huai Zi, while Juhua taught Liu Yunlan to read by lamplight.

Liu Yunlan looked at the few crooked characters she had written, her face flushing. "Juhua," she said, "am I too stupid? Your brother teaches me every night, and I’ve only learned this handful of characters. My writing is hideous, too. I can never hold the brush steady; it feels like it just won’t obey me."

Juhua shook her head and laughed. "Why are you worried about all that? It’s not like you’re trying to become a Scholar. Just focus on practicing these characters until you know them well. Then it won’t be hard for you to read account books and such in the future. Our family has a shop, you know. Maybe one day we’ll even hire someone to run a small business, and wouldn’t you need to keep the books then?"

Liu Yunlan nodded and continued to write diligently for a while longer before Juhua finally persuaded her to rest. The two of them then went outside to talk.

Faint moonlight spilled into the courtyard, where the shadows of the bamboo danced and the peach tree’s branches were thick with lush, green leaves. The only thing spoiling the mood was the caterwauling of a cat in heat, which sounded like a wailing baby and gave everyone goosebumps. When Yang Family saw the two sisters-in-law come out, she quickly called to Liu Yunlan, "Yunlan, come here. Mother has something to tell you."

Juhua saw this and smiled. She knew her mother was about to start nagging her sister-in-law again about all the things to be careful of during pregnancy. She picked up a small stool and sat down near Qingmu and Huai Zi to listen to them talk.

Zhang Huai had been whispering with Qingmu for a good while. When he saw Juhua, he gave a slight smile, beckoned her over, and said in a low voice, "Come sit a bit closer. I’ve got something to tell you."

Hearing a tone so similar to her mother’s, Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. "What are you two talking about? So secretive," she said, scooting her stool forward.

Qingmu smiled and said softly, "We’re thinking of digging a cellar in the back hill and a tunnel leading out from our backyard."

Juhua asked in surprise, "Why?"

’With the meager assets our family has, do we really need to go to such lengths to hide them?’

Huai Zi said gravely, "You don’t understand. Whether it’s for guarding against people or disasters, it’s always good to have a backup plan. The tunnel to the back hill is a ’just in case’ measure. The cellar isn’t just for hiding silver—that little bit of silver could be hidden anywhere—it’s mainly for storing grain and supplies. If we never need it for an emergency, we can just use it as a root cellar. But if something does happen and we end up needing it, won’t that be better than anything?"

Qingmu nodded and sighed. "Actually, a lot of people keep something in reserve; you just don’t know about it. We never did it before because we had nothing to hide. Now that we have some possessions and a little money, we naturally need to put some away. It’s also a precaution against corrupt government officers—they’re the worst bandits of all. If you run into a black-hearted one, they’ll steal anything they lay eyes on. Who can you reason with then? If you make a fuss, you might end up paying with your life."

Juhua listened, stunned. It suddenly reminded her of the old stories her mother used to tell in her past life—how a family would be renovating their home, and when they tore down an old wall, they’d find a stash of silver coins. Or how another family dug up gold bars. The stories always mentioned specific names and places. Back then, she had always wondered, ’Why didn’t these ancestors tell their descendants where they hid their treasures?’ Because when treasures were discovered like that, it was considered a stroke of luck—finders keepers. No one would return them to the homeowner based on inheritance rights.

’Now she understood. When those ancestors hid their money, they must have kept it a secret even from their own families to ensure it was safe. Perhaps they died before they had a chance to tell anyone, and so it became an unsolved mystery.’

’In her past life, people put their money in banks. The very wealthy, if they were worried about the state of the world, would deposit it in a Swiss Bank. But in ancient times, people preferred to hide their wealth themselves, stashing it away all over the place. In the end, it was all due to a lack of security.’