The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 6: Father Xu Returns Injured

The three siblings ate happily, taking turns to share the food.

Xu Zhizhi took out a chicken-foot mushroom, sliced some lean meat thinly, and cooked a pot of soup with minced ginger and chopped scallions. The aroma of the meat wafted far and wide. She then stir-fried some wild vegetables with lard and cooked a pot of rice. She couldn’t stand eating sweet potatoes for every meal anymore.

The two brothers, looking at the fragrant rice, felt like they were eating better than during the New Year celebrations.

Just as the food was served, Mother Xu returned. Seeing meat, vegetables, and rice on the table, she knew the ginseng must have fetched a good price. She didn’t ask whether the chicken-foot mushrooms had been sold and simply washed her hands before joining the meal.

Xu Da Niu and Xu Xiao Wu ate with relish, occasionally picking up pieces of meat to give to their mother, sister, and younger brother.

The more sensible her children became, the more Mother Xu felt a pang of guilt. She hated her own inadequacy and couldn’t help but lower her head to wipe away tears.

“Children from poor families grow up fast,” Xu Zhizhi thought as she watched this scene. She said firmly, “Mother, Da Niu, Xiao Wu, don’t worry. As the eldest daughter, I’ll make sure we have meat and rice every day from now on.”

Mother Xu smiled warmly. “Good child.”

After the meal, Xu Da Niu got up to clear the dishes, and Xu Xiao Wu followed to help.

Mother Xu went to sort out the corn she had brought back that afternoon. Xu Zhizhi also wanted to help.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Xu Zhizhi went to open it and saw her third uncle and a villager, Xu Da Zhuang, carrying a middle-aged man. As soon as the door opened, they shouted, “Sister-in-law, big brother is injured!”

Mother Xu hurried over. The third uncle and Xu Da Zhuang carried Father Xu inside and laid him down in the main hall.

Xu Zhizhi stepped closer to look. He was an ordinary farmhand with a square, sun-darkened face. His lower body was covered in blood. From her memories, she knew this was her father.

Mother Xu, seeing her husband covered in blood, trembled in fear and asked urgently, “What happened?”

“We were on our way back after collecting our wages when we encountered bandits. They took all our silver. Big brother saved me but was slashed in the thigh by the bandits. We had no money to see a doctor, so we just tied the wound with cloth and carried him back,” the third uncle said, crying like a child.

Mother Xu, seeing the bloody wound, was utterly distraught. She cried uncontrollably, not knowing what to do.

Xu Da Niu and Xu Xiao Wu also burst into tears.

Xu Zhizhi quickly took charge. “Da Niu, go boil some water.” She took a cup of spiritual spring water from her portable space.

“Mother, give Father some water to drink.”

Mother Xu was crying too hard to hear, so Xu Da Zhuang took the cup and, with the third uncle’s help, fed it to Father Xu.

Xu Zhizhi then poured two bowls of plain water, without spiritual spring water, for her third uncle and Xu Da Zhuang.

“Third Uncle, you haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll make some dough drop soup for you,” Xu Zhizhi said, noticing how eagerly they drank the water, likely having gone without food for a long time.

The village doctor arrived, and the hot water was ready. Xu Zhizhi asked her third uncle and Xu Da Zhuang to help clean the wound. Perhaps the spiritual spring water worked, as the bleeding stopped. The doctor bandaged the wound, and the men carried Father Xu to the main bedroom.

By then, the dough drop soup was ready. The two men ate it voraciously, as if they had never tasted anything so delicious.

Xu Zhizhi took out a tael of silver to thank the two men for carrying her father back.

Xu Da Zhuang accepted half a tael, bowing repeatedly in gratitude. They had been away for half a year and earned two taels, but it was all stolen. With a family to support, this half tael was a lifesaver. He silently vowed to help the Xu family more in the future.

The third uncle refused to take any money. His older brother had taken a knife for him, saving his life. The bandits had taken all their money and were about to kill them when a passing group drove the bandits away. The three of them had escaped in the chaos.

The Xu parents had passed away years ago, and the three brothers had since lived separately. The eldest, Xu Da Gen (Father Xu), had one daughter and two sons. Life was tough, especially since they had been supporting the family of Xu Zhizhi’s former fiancé, Jin Zijun, and his mother.

Now, with Father Xu’s leg injured, life would be even harder.

The second uncle, Xu Er Gen, had always farmed the land. He had two sons and two daughters: Xu Da Hu, Xu Chun Hua, Xu Er Hu, and Xu Xiao Hua.

The third uncle, Xu San Gen, was a carpenter who worked outside the village during the off-farming season. His life was relatively comfortable by Qili Village standards, but even so, having enough to eat every day was still a struggle.

The third uncle had two daughters and a son: Xu Lan Hua (14), Xu Hong Hua (13), and Xu Er Niu (9).

The three brothers were very close. Their wives rarely argued, and their younger sister, who had been doted on by her brothers, had married well and didn’t need to rely on them for support.

The third uncle thought about how his eldest brother’s family had been supporting Jin Zijun’s family. Now, with his brother’s leg injured and the possibility of him becoming crippled, he couldn’t accept the money.

“Third Uncle, you’ve been away for half a year. Your family is counting on the money you bring back. Take it. I won’t be supporting Jin Zijun’s family anymore,” Xu Zhizhi said, seeing his reluctance.

“Why won’t you support them anymore? Did he pass the imperial exam?” the third uncle asked excitedly.

“No, he and Wang Shishi bullied my sister, so we broke off the engagement,” Xu Da Niu said proudly.

“Zhizhi, how could you be so impulsive? He’s the most promising young man in our village. Don’t act rashly. Let’s wait until your father wakes up to decide,” the third uncle said, frustrated.

“No way! My sister is protected by a god. The god said she’ll marry someone amazing, and Jin Zijun will turn out to be a traitor,” Xu Xiao Wu declared confidently.

Xu Zhizhi awkwardly rubbed her nose, wondering how to explain this lie.

As night fell, the third uncle reluctantly accepted half a tael of silver after much persuasion. “I’ll come see big brother tomorrow.”

Xu Zhizhi told her brothers to go to bed and decided to do the same to save lamp oil.

Mother Xu stayed to care for Father Xu. The doctor had said that if he didn’t wake up by tomorrow, they would need to take him to the town clinic.

Reassured by her daughter’s words, Mother Xu told her children to go to sleep.

Xu Zhizhi returned to her room, entered her portable space, and took a bath. She also washed her clothes. The space had a well for drinking water and a pool for bathing and irrigating crops.

In the modern, technologically advanced era, this space would have been useless, but in this ancient world of scarcity and outdated medical skills, it was incredibly valuable.

It was a golden finger that could lead her to the pinnacle of life.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t know why she had inexplicably traveled to this time and place, but since she was here, she would make the best of it.

She took out the seeds she had bought in town and planted them using her mind, without needing to use her hands. However, her mental strength needed to be trained gradually. She planted a little at a time, enough to feed her family for now.

(End of Chapter)