The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 7: Making Life Better

The next day, Xu Zhizhi was awakened by the sound of voices. She went outside and saw that her second uncle’s family and third uncle’s family had come to visit her father.

Her father was awake and seemed to be in good spirits. The second uncle asked, “I wonder if the bone was injured. We should call a doctor from town to take a look.”

“I feel much better. There’s no need to call a doctor,” Father Xu said hesitantly.

He was likely feeling guilty about the stolen silver and knew the family had no money, so he didn’t want to spend more.

The second uncle’s family didn’t have extra money either. His eldest son was seventeen and had been engaged for two years. He was set to marry after the autumn harvest. His daughter had also been engaged for a year and was preparing to marry. All of this required money.

The third uncle, who had just accepted silver from his niece the day before, looked at Xu Zhizhi expectantly. He hoped they would call a doctor.

“Let’s still call a doctor from town to take a look. I’ll go later,” Xu Zhizhi said.

Early in the morning, before Xu Zhizhi had gotten up, Mother Xu had told Father Xu everything that had happened at home.

Father Xu was aware of the changes in his daughter these past few days, but he thought his wife was just trying to comfort him.

Now, hearing his daughter speak so sensibly, he couldn’t help but believe it. It seemed a god really was helping their Zhizhi.

In the countryside, minor illnesses were often endured without treatment. Only serious illnesses warranted a trip to town to see a doctor.

In the end, it was decided that the third uncle would go to town to fetch the doctor.

Meanwhile, the second uncle, seeing that his elder brother was in good spirits, decided to wait for the doctor to examine the wound. Seeing that everything seemed fine, he took his family back to work in the fields.

Xu Zhizhi made a large pot of dough drop soup. She served a bowl each to her third aunt, two cousins, her two younger brothers, and her parents.

Just as they finished eating, the third uncle returned with the doctor. The doctor examined Father Xu and determined that the bone wasn’t injured, but the wound was large.

He had lost a lot of blood, which was why he had fainted. It seemed he had taken some kind of blood-nourishing medicine, as he now looked fine and would recover fully with some rest.

However, he still needed medicine to help the wound heal and prevent infection.

Father Xu, thinking about the upcoming autumn harvest and his inability to work due to his injured leg, didn’t want to spend money on medicine.

“Father, just rest and recover. I’ll take care of the family,” Xu Zhizhi said, seeing the worry on her father’s face.

The doctor prescribed the medicine and left. Mother Xu went to prepare the medicine.

Xu Zhizhi said, “I’ll go to the back mountain to see if I can find any herbs.”

“I’ll go too!”

“Me too!”

Xu Da Niu and Xu Xiao Wu chimed in.

Father Xu, watching his sensible children, felt even more uneasy.

The three siblings ventured deeper into the mountains this time.

They immediately spotted several elm trees.

Xu Zhizhi found a small area densely packed with various edible wild vegetables. She began picking them slowly, and her brothers followed suit.

Soon, they had filled half a basket. By the side of the path, they saw an elm tree. Xu Zhizhi pulled down a few branches and picked over a pound of elm seeds.

She stood up and listened carefully. The surroundings were quiet.

She dug a few traps nearby, hoping to catch some game.

“Big sister, we have enough for today. Let’s go home,” Xu Da Niu said.

Most people were working in the fields now, so hardly anyone came here to pick wild vegetables.

Xu Zhizhi wasn’t worried about finding more tomorrow, so they headed home.

She had considered taking another ginseng root from her portable space but thought it would seem too suspicious to have such constant good luck. Besides, she wasn’t short on silver now.

She decided to think of a long-term way to earn money.

“Da Niu, the wild vegetables, mountain goods, and vegetables we pick can all be sold for silver,” Xu Zhizhi said.

“Big sister, one basket is enough for our family for two days, but we can’t find this much every day,” Xu Da Niu said helplessly.

“When we get back, let’s ask Mother if anyone has mung beans. We can trade for some and grow bean sprouts to sell,” Xu Zhizhi said confidently.

Xu Da Niu blinked, rubbed his ears, and wondered if he had heard wrong.

“Big sister, what are bean sprouts? Can we eat them?” Xu Xiao Wu asked innocently.

Xu Zhizhi lowered her voice and said, “The god taught me how to grow bean sprouts. They’re a kind of vegetable that can be stir-fried or used in soup. They’re delicious.”

Xu Da Niu didn’t ask further, knowing he hadn’t misheard. He felt happy too.

The three siblings walked home cheerfully, greeting villagers they met along the way.

Unfortunately, they ran into Wang Shitou, Wang Shishi’s cousin, who had lived a miserable life in the Wang family.

Back then, he was thin, small, and timid, and everyone felt like hitting him a few times.

But after Wang Shishi arrived, he started following her around.

Wang Shitou suddenly changed. His weight, temper, and courage all grew simultaneously. Now, he felt like hitting anyone he saw.

It was said that decades ago, Wang Shishi’s grandfather had passed the imperial exams and become an official in Luocheng.

Every year, someone from the family would return to the village to pay respects to their ancestors.

This year, Wang Shishi had come back for the ancestral rites and stayed in the village, leaving a maid and a lot of silver at Wang Shitou’s house.

“Xu Da Niu, what’s in your basket? Leave some for my cousin to eat,” Wang Shitou said arrogantly.

“Oh my, which family’s mad dog is blocking my way?” Xu Zhizhi stepped in front of her brother and said disdainfully.

Wang Shitou immediately charged forward, trying to push Xu Zhizhi down. But joking aside, wasn’t fighting something Xu Zhizhi enjoyed?

In her spare time, she loved practicing yoga and taekwondo—activities that didn’t require much brainpower.

Using a clever technique, Xu Zhizhi sent Wang Shitou flying several steps away.

“Let’s see how tough you are now.”

For a chubby fifteen-year-old like Wang Shitou, who only had fat and no strength, a simple trick was enough to handle him.

Wang Shitou lay on the ground, howling in pain. The villagers passing by didn’t help him, as he had been beating up the village children for the past six months.

“Hahaha!” Everyone around laughed.

“Look, Zhizhi doesn’t seem so annoying anymore,” one person said in surprise. “She even greeted me and smiled.”

“Yeah, she’s not like the girl who used to chase after Jin Zijun and look down on everyone,” another auntie said.

“I guess she must have been shocked to see Jin Zijun liking Miss Wang.”

“Exactly, otherwise why would she change so much? She even smiles at us now.”

“Maybe she’s afraid she won’t be able to marry in the future. Even if she finds someone else, it won’t be a scholar. She’s probably trying to build goodwill.”

“Ah, this girl has worked so hard all these years to earn silver and support that mother and son. Who would have thought a rich and beautiful Miss Wang would show up?”

“She’s really pitiful.”

“Their family says Zhizhi met a god.”

“Really? That’s great! I heard Xu Da Gen was seriously injured. Meeting a god might be their only hope.”

“Whether it’s true or not, we’d better not provoke her,” the others agreed.

Xu Da Niu wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth, his sister pulled him back.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t mind and pretended not to hear. She led her brothers home.

(End of Chapter)