The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 53: Wanting the Courtyard

At this moment, a clear and crisp voice rang out:

“Grandfather, Grandmother, uncles, you haven’t visited our family in years because we were so poor we were almost starving to death. As you can see, our thatched hut is about to collapse, and we can’t survive the winter. Now that we’ve earned some money from growing bean sprouts, we’ve built a courtyard.”

Xu Zhizhi continued, “When we first got the sweet potato seeds, my mother sent them to you right away. The method for growing bean sprouts—my mother also told you about it immediately!”

Mother Xu was shocked! How did Zhizhi know she had shared the bean sprout method with her family?!

Xu Zhizhi added another blow: “Our family has always bought cloth to make clothes for your family during the New Year, while we wore patched-up rags. The meat we bought for the New Year was also carried to your house! My two brothers were so thin from hunger. Now you’ve grown greedy and want our courtyard too?”

Xu Zhizhi went on, “We’re all growing bean sprouts. My second uncle’s family is thriving and even held a grand wedding. We built a large courtyard. What about you? Where’s the money you earned? You still want more? Who gave you the courage?”

Xu Zhizhi’s mouth was dry from speaking, so she sat down to rest for a while.

She still had a lot to say to the Li family and to wake up her so-called mother.

She could earn money, but there was no need to support a bunch of greedy people.

Like her so-called mother, who starved her own sons to save food for her family.

In the original host’s memories, her mother would work all day and then carry whatever rice or food she had to the Li family village, trying to please her relatives. She wouldn’t even drink water on the way back.

Xu Zhizhi had thought her mother was a pushover, easily swayed by a few kind words from her family.

She had starved her sons until they were skin and bones, but Xu Zhizhi noticed that her mother was just as thin!

That’s why she hadn’t made a big deal out of it before.

She built the large courtyard to give herself and her family a better life.

Not to have greedy relatives coming over every day to cause trouble. If that were the case, it would be better to live in the thatched hut!

Xu Zhizhi had been ready to explode yesterday when she saw her mother’s family eating buns while her younger brother stood there, wanting a taste but getting nothing.

She had held back then, seeing how firm her eldest brother was.

But now, her so-called mother dared to meddle in her marriage.

That crossed the line!

Her inner fury was about to erupt.

But she also saw the backbone in the Xu family! Father Xu had even lied for her sake.

She had tested them before and found that the Xu family truly cared for each other and lived in harmony.

If they hadn’t been worth it, she wouldn’t have brought them along. She really liked Daniu’s honesty and simplicity, and Xiaowu’s cleverness.

At this moment, Xiaowu, ever perceptive, brought a cup of tea to his sister.

He stood close to Xu Zhizhi.

Though young, he was very smart. He could read people’s expressions and understood what his sister was saying.

Xu Daniu’s IQ finally caught up.

He quickly poured a cup of tea for his future brother-in-law. Xiao Jingheng took the tea and handed it to Father Xu.

He was quite satisfied with his future father-in-law.

“Don’t even think about wanting the courtyard. We’ll send the usual gifts during the holidays, but if you ask for anything more, take your daughter back!” Father Xu said, exhausted and disappointed.

“Husband, how can you treat me like this?” Mother Xu cried out in grievance.

“You can’t handle me treating you this way? You were starving our sons!” Father Xu said sorrowfully.

He was often away from home, only returning during the harvest or New Year.

His sons never complained, and his daughter was often away working at her fiancé’s house. They rarely saw each other, so he truly hadn’t known about the things his daughter had just mentioned!

He had always thought the family’s poverty was due to his own lack of earnings, especially with a scholar son-in-law to support. He had blamed himself for not earning enough.

In a fit of rage, Father Xu shouted:

“I can’t believe it! As their own mother, you treated your children worse than a stepmother! And you still want money to build a courtyard? Take your daughter back now!”

After shouting, he was still furious. He gently placed the cup of tea his son-in-law had given him on the table, then grabbed another cup and smashed it on the ground.

*Crash!* The cup shattered into pieces.

Seeing the broken pieces on the ground, the Li family was terrified. Forget about the courtyard—they didn’t even dare to bring up Xu Daniu’s marriage.

Second Aunt Xu looked at her sister-in-law and said, “It’s fine to take things back to your family, but you can’t take all the children’s food and starve them until they’re skin and bones!”

She had wanted to say this for a long time. Seeing the poor children, she would occasionally give them some food.

But back then, her brother-in-law hadn’t spoken up, and when she mentioned it privately, her sister-in-law didn’t listen and even resented her!

Back then, Zhizhi had also been clueless!

She was just as heartless as her mother, taking every bit of food to Jin Zijun.

Thankfully, heaven had opened her eyes, and now Zhizhi was sensible, even bringing their family along to eat meat every day.

Third Aunt Xu, when she first married into the Xu family, had her mother-in-law keeping an eye on things. Her sister-in-law didn’t dare to go too far with the children, so she saved her own food to take back to her family. Third Aunt Xu had never agreed with this.

After her in-laws passed away, she insisted on dividing the family because of her sister-in-law’s behavior. In the end, things turned out exactly as she had feared!

Zhizhi had followed her mother’s example, neglecting her brothers. If it weren’t for her and Second Aunt occasionally giving them food, the two boys would have starved to death.

Xu Zhizhi looked at her aunts’ expressions and thought to herself:

That fool from before wasn’t me!

Then she looked at Old Madam Li, who was no longer acting arrogantly, and thought:

Grandmother, if you had been this reasonable earlier, none of this would have happened!

The Li family’s arrogance had vanished, and they were too embarrassed to say anything more.

Even the most shameless people have their limits.

Since the ancients worshipped the gods so much, she wouldn’t feel bad about using that to her advantage.

With Xiao Jingheng’s earlier intimidation, she realized that for these barbaric people, brute force worked better than words.

But she wasn’t willing to go all out.

She was a civilized person who needed to think rationally and calmly.

The Xu family had stood by her today, and being with such a family was a blessing.

She wanted a simple and peaceful life, to give her family a better future, and to maintain a good reputation.

Sometimes, to protect her reputation, she had to endure some losses.

As long as it wasn’t too excessive, she could accept it.

Now she knew: when dealing with unreasonable people, beat them once. If once isn’t enough, beat them twice until they submit.

So Xu Zhizhi said gently, “Grandfather, Grandmother, uncles, aunts, this is Xiao Jingheng, sent to our family by the gods. If you have any requests or misunderstandings, please speak up. We’ll do our best to meet your needs.”

Xiao Jingheng didn’t even glance at the Li family, sipping the tea Xu Daniu had poured for him.

He didn’t know what kind of tea it was, but it tasted quite good.

(End of Chapter)