First Assistant's Petite Wife Has Space

by Usui Takumii

not mine, readwn dot org.

5. 61 to 75

Chapter 61: Human Blood? Deer Blood?

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xie Yunjin's eyes fixated on the bowl of blood. The nice surprise was blood?

"That is blood? Is it human blood?"

Xie Yunjin narrowed his eyes and slowly raised his head to look at Lu Jiao. Could it be that this woman before him drank human blood?

Lu Jiao's face blanked out, "Human blood? This is deer blood. You know how I hunted a deer? Before the deer died, I collected this bowl of its blood. Deer blood can nourish the stomach and increase blood flow. Drink up. This is good for your health."

Lu Jiao shoved the blood into Xie Yunjin's face. The smell of metal rushed to Xie Yunjin's head.

His face froze and he subconsciously retreated. He said to Lu Jiao faintly, "I think you need it more than me."

Who knew where this woman came from? He's heard that certain ghosts or goblins enjoy drinking blood. So it appeared to him that she needed this blood more than him.

Xie Yunjin pushed the bowl away, "You drink it."

He then stopped looking. It didn't matter which animal's blood it was, he couldn't stomach it.

Lu Jiao was confused, "Why would I drink deer blood? I got it for you."

Xie Yunjin's face was full of disgust. Even his body displayed signs of rejection.

"Thank you. I'm not going to drink it. You should drink it."

Lu Jiao wanted to slap this guy. Why would she drink deer blood when she was healthy?

"What do you mean by that? Hurry up and drink it."

Her tone was alluring, similar to the devils who try to lure souls into hell.

Xie Yunjin was determined, "I'm not drinking it. If you want it, you drink it."

Lu Jiao saw how resolute he was at not wanting to drink this. She looked into the bowl and stared at the red liquid. True, it did look gross. Oh well, she will just cook it with the deer meat then.

Lu Jiao left the room with the deer blood. Behind her, Xie Yunjin watched her leave and fell deep into his thoughts.

Could it be that that woman was going to a desolated place to drink the blood? Deer blood was still blood.

Lu Jiao had no idea what was going through Xie Yunjin's head. If she knew, she would hit him to death.

Outside the room, Lu Jiao handed the deer blood to Lady Tian, "Mom, this is deer blood. Pour it into the pot and we'll cook it with the deer meat for lunch."

Beside her, Lu Gui asked excitedly, "Sister, we're eating deer meat again for lunch?"

Lu Jiao nodded, "Yeah, that deer is huge, we have so much meat left. If the weather was cooler, I'd make us deer hot pot."

As excited as Lu Gui was, he felt bad for his dad and his siblings. He remembered that Lu Jiao brought this deer to the Lu family for them. However, because of how they treated Lady Tian, Lu Jiao brought the deer back.

Just then, some people walked in through the gate. They were the Lin family who were just here to ask to see Qi Lei.

The Lin's saw Lu Jiao and anxiously shouted, "Yunjin's wife, can you please come with me and take a look at Erdan?"

Lu Jiao thought that was weird, "Isn't Doctor Qi there?"

Erdan's mother, Lady Sun, started to cry, "Doctor Qi said he's not sure what medicine to prescribe. He's worried that whatever medicine he gives Erdan, won't help with the fever. If the fever keeps on going, Erdan's brain may get damaged."

The thought of her son becoming an idiot made Lady Sun cry out loud.

Everyone from the Lin family stared at Lu Jiao expectantly.

Lu Jiao didn't decline and said to Lady Tian, "Mom, I'm going to go with them. Keep an eye on Yunjin. If he needs anything, ask Lu Gui to help."

Lady Tian didn't speak. Lu Gui however, happily accepted, "Sister, don't worry, I'll take care of my brother-in-law."

By now, he could tell that his sister was a capable being that needed his flattery.

Lady Tian worriedly looked over to Lu Jiao, "Jiaojiao, are you sure you can handle this?"

Though her daughter told her she learned medicine from Grandma Huang, she still felt like it was just a dream. Her daughter's never mentioned that before!

Lu Jiao comforted Lady Tian, "Mom, don't worry. Doctor Qi is there. I'm only going to take a look."

Inside the yard, Soot and Marble were playing with the four children. When they heard the commotion, they all rushed over, "Mom, we're coming with you."

"I want to go too!"

Lu Jiao didn't bring them. Where the Lin family lived was rowdy and she didn't want the children to get hurt, "I have stuff to do and that's why I'm going. I'll bring you next time when I go for fun."

Lu Jiao then left with the Lin family. The four little ones were sad as they stood inside the yard and watched their mom leave pitifully. The look on their face was as if they've been abandoned. Lady Tian felt bad and gathered them around to comfort them.

There were lots of people gathered inside the Lin family's yard. Right now, everyone was talking about Erdan's fever.

The Xie Village wasn't big, and news circulated fast.

Of course, other than the select few who wanted chaos, most people came over out of worry.

Everyone here knew that the Lin family went to get Lu Jiao.

Now, they were all betting whether or not Lu Jiao could cure Erdan.

"I think Yunjin's wife can do it. She managed to get rid of a ringneck snake's venom. A fever is nothing in comparison."

"I think it's unlikely that she can do anything. Even Doctor Qi from Baohe Tang isn't confident, how could Yunjin's wife know what to do? If she knows what to do, then I would be mind blown."

"It would be nice if she can figure it out. Or else the child's brain will melt soon."

Once Lu Jiao arrived, everyone parted a path for her. The Lin family and she walked into the Lin family's bedroom.

The Lin family was big. Erdan's parents were the second child of the family and lived in the west room.

Inside the room, Qi Lei was doing a physical exam. When Lu Jiao arrived, he nodded at her and continued his exam.

Once he was done, Lu Jiao asked, "What's the situation?"

"His fever keeps on coming back. I'm worried it may be caused by something more serious. I checked to see if there are any rashes, but he has none."

Qi Lei stepped aside so Lu Jiao could take a look. Lu Jiao walked up and first checked Erdan's pulse, then did a physical exam as well. Once she was done, she turned to look at Qi Lei.

Qi Lei sighed, "Nothing?"

Lu Jiao shook her head, "If I figured it out, would you be embarrassed?"

The Lin family nervously asked, "Yunjin's wife, you figured it out? What's wrong with Erdan?"

Lu Jiao lifted Erdan's shirt and pressed his stomach with one hand while her other hand gently hit it. Everyone heard rather loud thuds from the hitting.

Lu Jiao asked the Lin family, "It's been a while since he's used the washroom?"

The family didn't understand and exchanged glances. Lu Jiao clarified, "It's been a while since he took a dump?"

Erdan's mother, Lady Sun, nodded, "That's right."

"Have you been eating a lot of meat lately? This caused him to be constipated. Due to constipation, a lot of heat is trapped inside his body, which caused a fever. To heal, he must take some laxatives. Once he poops, his temperature will drop. You don't need medicine that tackles a fever directly."

Chapter 62: Ready for Surgery!

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Jiao's words made Qi Lei exclaim, "No wonder the medicine he took was useless. This explains it."

There was so much astonishment in Qi Lei's eyes as he stared at Lu Jiao. Lady Lu's knowledge of medicine was beyond his expectation.

"Lady Lu, you're amazing."

The Lin family was frantic, "Then, Yunjin's wife, please prescribe some medicine for my Erdan. We are going to buy it right away."

Lu Jiao glanced at Erdan, whose face was bright red due to discomfort.

Lu Jiao couldn't help but offer, "You don't need to go into town to buy medicine. I have some raw rhubarb at home. You take it, boil it, and then feed him the water. He should be able to poop after that. Once he poops, make sure he sweats a lot to get rid of the heat. He should be fine after that."

The Lin family listened to Lu Jiao and was more than appreciative. Lady Sun walked out with her to get the raw rhubarbs.

Behind them, Qi Lei assured the Lin family, "Don't worry. Everything will be okay."

He then followed Lu Jiao as well.

Outside in the yard, everyone's caught up with what happened. They were all so excited, even more so than the Lin family.

"Oh my, Yunjin's wife is amazing. She just took one look and figured out why Erdan got his fever. She's a better doctor than those from the Huichun Clinic and Baohe Tang."

"I wonder if her method will actually work. Let's judge after Erdan's fever goes away."

"If it works, then Yunjin's wifewould be considered a miracle doctor."

There were all sorts of discussions going on. Lu Jiao ignored all the villagers and brought Lady Sun home.

On the way back, she remembered the matter of Xie Yunjin's surgery. Suddenly, she snapped her head around to look at Qi Lei. He was a doctor from the Capital City. What if she asked him for help?

That idea gave Lu Jiao energy. She smiled at Qi Lei and asked, "Doctor Qi, can I ask you for a favor?"

Qi Lei admired Lu Jiao very much. Her request made him nod, "Please speak of it."

Lu Jiao wasn't in a rush to tell. Since Lady Sun was there as well, she couldn't blatantly ask him about Xie Yunjin's surgery.

"We can chat later."

The three of them went back to the Xie house. Lu Jiao went to fetch the rhubarbs' from the kitchen. In reality, she took it out of her space.

She kept stuff like this in her little storage unit in her space. The rhubarb she looked for had been concocted.

Lu Jiao took out a little and gave it to Lady Sun, "Rhubarbs are somewhat toxic, so this much is enough. Go home and boil enough liquid for two bowls. Let him have one bowl and see if he poops. If he does, then don't give him the second bowl. If the first bowl doesn't do the job, then feed him the second bowl. After two bowls, he will for sure get better."

Lady Tian took the rhubarbs and thanked Lu Jiao profusely before she left.

After she left, Qi Lei asked Lu Jiao, "You need a favor from me?"

Lu Jiao whispered, "Don't say anything and don't ask me anything. Just cooperate with me in a bit."

Qi Lei nodded. Lu Jiao led Qi Lei to the east bedroom. As she led the way, she excitedly conversed, "Doctor Qi, so you are the famous doctor from the Capital City. This is so great. I will have to rely on you to help with my husband's injuries."

Qi Lei felt all the hair on his body stand up. He was getting a bad vibe.

By now, the duo had entered the east bedroom.

Agitated, Lu Jiao headed straight to Xie Yunjin, "Husband, let me share some good news with you. Doctor Qi here is a doctor from the Capital City. His knowledge base is deep and he says he knows how to perform surgery."

Inside the room, Qi Lei froze out of shock. What was the meaning of this? He wasn't a surgeon so why was this woman making such claims?

Qi Lei wanted to speak.

Lu Jiao snuck him a glare to remind him that he agreed to cooperate.

Qi Lei started to perspire. He didn't know how to do surgeries though!

Oh my goodness, this lady sure knew how to dig a hole for someone.

Lu Jiao ignored him and stared at Xie Yunjin, "Did you hear me? Doctor Qi said he can perform surgery on you!"

Xie Yunjin was astounded. He suppressed all the emotions he felt and asked, "Doctor Qi, you really know how to perform surgery?"

He didn't know! He's never done it! He didn't dare!

Beside the bed, Lu Jiao stared into Qi Lei's soul and silently warned him that if he ruined her plan, she would kill him.

Qi Lei sweated harder and whimpered. Why did he agree to cooperate? This was a scam.

Lu Jiao once again spoke up, "Doctor Qi, hurry and examine my husband. Tell us, can you really treat him?"

While being stared at by Lu Jiao, Qi Lei walked up to Xie Yunjin to examine him.

This Lady Lu was a devil.

How come he was so sure before that she was harmless? That was poor judgment on his part.

After he examined Xie Yunjin, Qi Lei confirmed, "Your legs have high hopes of making full recovery after surgery."

He didn't lie. The problem was that he didn't know how to do surgery!

Qi Lei's words made Xie Yunjin think that he was now operable! Overwhelmed with happiness, his cold and jade-like skin reddened a little.

There was much happiness on his face as his dark pupils lightened up. The once aloof and cold man now appeared kind and warm.

"This is great news."

Lu Jiao chimed in, "Yes! This is an unexpected surprise. We can finally cure your legs."

By the bed, Qi Lei was flustered and he paled. Oh my god, why did he come to this village? He should've checked his horoscope before he left his home today.

He wasn't meant to be out here today. What should he do now?

Lu Jiao ignored Qi Lei and continued to smile, "Doctor Qi, do you think you can do the surgery in two days? After Yunjin gets a little better?"

Xie Yunjin wanted to get the surgery this second! So he burst out impatiently, "We can arrange for surgery right now!"

Lu Jiao disagreed. She needed at least two days to get things in order. She hasn't even communicated with Baohe Tang. How could she just rush into surgery?

Her expression didn't change as she replied, "Yunjin, surgery is a serious matter. You should leave it to Doctor Qi to plan and execute."

Lu Jiao then looked up to Qi Lei and indicated to him that it was his turn to speak.

Qi Lei's face was rather sour. He wanted to cry. What should he do now? He wanted to cry to the man stuck in bed and tell him that he really shouldn't be hopeful as surgery was an unknown field to Baohe Tang.

Against Lu Jiao's threatening gaze, however, he quivered, "You should rest for at least two more days. Once I'm ready, I will send someone to inform you."

He wanted to get into his horse carriage and leave this village. He shall never return! What bad luck for him to have met this woman!

Her doing was digging him a hole! Worse, she was digging a hole for her husband!

She was giving her husband false hope. Once he found that the surgery was a no-go, he would likely go insane. This woman was scamming many people at once – was she trying to set up her husband because she hated him?

As Qi Lei pondered in darkness and silence, Lu Jiao was busy comforting Xie Yunjin, "It's only a matter of a few more days. You should rest well and prepare for surgery over the next two days."

Xie Yunjin once again did his best to suppress the excitement he felt. Not even in his wildest dreams did he think he would successfully meet a surgeon.

How wonderful.

Chapter 63: The Village Turned Restless

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

The more Xie Yunjin thought about it, the happier he became. His entire face glowed and his hands quivered.

Perhaps he was far too excited at the moment because he completely overlooked the doctor's perspiring face. If he was calmer and more observant at that moment, he would've caught that.

Terrified that Qi Lei may blow this, Lu Jiao grinned at him.

"Doctor Qi, then I leave everything to you. Let me walk you out. Once Yunjin's physical health improves, we will do the surgery."

Qi Lei's face was tense and he couldn't find any words to say out loud. All he could do was slowly walk outside.

If one observed closely, one would notice that his walk was extremely awkward.

Lu Jiao walked him to his horse carriage that was parked outside the trellis.

Qi Lei's head cleared then and angrily gawked at Lu Jiao, "You're setting me up for failure and hurting your husband. I do not know how to do this surgery."

Lu Jiao said slowly, "I know how. Enough now, I will go find you in two days in town to prepare."

She then turned to leave.

Inside the carriage, Qi Lei was still furious but Lu Jiao's words echoed inside his mind.

"I know how."

What did she know?

Surgery?

This time, Qi Lei's face changed color. Oh my god, Ms. Lu knew how to perform surgery? Was that true?

For a woman to be a surgeon was unbelievable to him. What kind of woman on this earth dared to do such a thing?

There were surgeons in the Zhou dynasty, but all those doctors were sent to work in the military. After every battle, there were usually many wounded, so the doctors there were able to practice and try out new methods to help patients. The only reason they were able to get good at surgeries was because of the high number of patients who needed surgeries.

Normal doctors rarely got to meet patients who needed surgeries and therefore, had no experience to gain.

Yet Ms. Lu told him she could perform surgery?

Qi Lei's heart beated quickly. If what she said was true, then she must be one hell of a doctor.

Before, Ling Feng had wanted to hire another doctor for Baohe Tang. However, after he tried out several, he felt like their skills were not up to par.

If Ms. Lu was a surgeon, then her skills must be up to Ling Feng's standards.

In a daze, Qi Lei returned to town.

Back in the Xie house, Lu Jiao was all smiles and congratulated Xie Yunjin, "I want to be the first to congratulate you. I wish you a fast and speedy recovery. I'm sure your health will go back to normal in no time."

Xie Yunjin was now much calmer but still very much thrilled. As if he pleaded for a firm answer, he looked over to Lu Jiao, "Lu Jiao, that Doctor Qi, can he really perform surgery on my legs and cure me?"

Before Lu Jiao could answer, another excited scream entered the room.

"Yunjin, is that for real?"

Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao turned their heads toward the door and found the Village Leader, Xie Fugui there.

Xie Fugui was noticeably delighted as he gaped at the two inside the room in disbelief.

"The doctor from Baohe Tang can treat Yunjin's legs?"

Lu Jiao was calm as she nodded, "Yes, Doctor Qi said he can do it. He said Yunjin needs surgery, then needs two to three months of rest. After that, he should be able to walk."

Xie Yunjin raised an eyebrow. Doctor Qi said he needed two to three months of rest? How come he didn't hear that?

Just then, Xie Fugui marched to the bed and grabbed Xie Yunjin's hands, "This is great news! Doctor Qi is our village's savior!"

Xie Yunjin dropped his suspicion. As he stared at the excited Xie Fugui, he did his best to calm his excited heart, "Even if I do get surgery, I may not be able to walk again."

Xie Fugui laughed, "If Doctor Qi agreed to treat you, I'm sure you'll be able to walk again. This is such good news! I must tell the others."

Xie Fugui then left and did not give others any chance to speak more.

Inside the room, Xie Yunjin and Lu Jiao wanted to stop him but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

After he left, Lady Tian and Lu Gui rushed in, followed by the four little ones.

Just as delighted, Lady Tian stared at Xie Yunjin, "Jiaojiao, can Doctor Qi really cure Yunjin?"

Lady Tian nervously stared at Lu Jiao and Lu Gui did the same.

The four little ones surrounded her and looked up.

Lu Jiao smiled and nodded, "Yes, Doctor Qi can cure Yunjin's legs. As long as the surgery is performed, Yunjin will be able to walk again after two to three months of rest."

Lady Tian was over the moon, "This is great!"

Lu Gui nodded as well, "My brother-in-law can walk again soon. This is the best news!"

The four little ones now crowded Xie Yunjin and tried to get a word in.

"Daddy, once you start walking again, you can go back to studying in the county!"

"Daddy, you can lift us up again!"

"You promised you would bring us to your school and show us."

"You said you're going to get a really big job in the city. A really really big job."

The fourth born formed a big circle with his arms as if to show how "big" of a job his daddy was going to get.

Xie Yunjin saw how overjoyed everyone was and couldn't help but be influenced. His handsome face was now soft, as beautiful as emerald water and faraway mountains. His originally dark and sullen eyes now showed emotions that rippled like spring water, moving and sensitive.

Lu Jiao scanned the room and her lips curled up. This was nice.

Lady Tian felt the same way. However, when she caught sight of her daughter, she became worried.

Once her son-in-law heals and finishes his studies, would he abandon her daughter?

Though Lady Tian was worried, she didn't want to ruin the moment. She said to Lu Jiao, "This is good news. We need to make some nice dishes tonight."

"Okay."

Lu Jiao also felt the need to celebrate.

The mother and daughter pair went to the kitchen to make lunch, while the four little ones stayed to keep Xie Yunjin company.

After the Village Leader Xie Fugui left the Xie family home, he roamed throughout the entire village and informed every villager of the news.

Doctor Qi from Baohe Tang would perform surgery on Xie Yunjin.

Once that's done, Xie Yunjin will be able to walk again after two to three months of healing.

This meant Xie Yunjin could return to school, do his exams, and get a government job.

Oh my goodness, this was wonderful!

The entire Xie Village turned restless when they heard the news. Many families stopped making lunch just to get together and talk about this turn of events.

Chapter 64: When I Lie, I Blush

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Of course, Xie Laogen's household received this news as well.

Compared to other families, who were happy to hear the news, Xie Laogen's family was deep in bitterness. Lady Ruan continued to rumble in disbelief.

"How's that possible? That old doctor from Baohe Tang said even if he gets treatment, he will be bedridden for life. Did that doctor lie to us?"

Xie Laogen was frustrated, "That doctor was a doctor who studied in town. Doctor Qi is from the Capital City and he was trained there. His skills are of another level. If he says he can do surgery, then he can."

Xie Laogen recalled how he forced his son to move out after he sustained injuries.

If his son did heal, would he still consider them family?

Inside the yard, the eldest son grinned, "Isn't it good news if the third gets cured? If he does well, then we will all do well."

Chen Liu nodded, "Exactly. What are you so worried about, mom and dad?"

Lady Ruan slapped her leg after she heard those words, "That is true. I gave birth to him. So what we made him live separately before? He is still my son. There's nothing he can do to change that. If he disobeys me, then he is unfilial. Then I will go to the judge and accuse him of disobedience."

Xie Laogen interrupted, displeased, "Shut up. What are you going on about?"

Xie Lan smiled and said to Lady Ruan, "Mom, why don't we ask the third brother to move back?"

Lady Ruan nodded, "That's a good idea."

She then ordered Xie Laogen, "Go pick up the third this afternoon."

Xie Laogen sighed, "I'm afraid he won't want to come back."

Lady Ruan lowered her gaze, "He wouldn't dare."

Xie Laogen thought about it and finally agreed, "Okay, then I will go pick him up this afternoon."

In the corner of the room, the fourth son, Xie Yunhua's face dropped.

If his third brother moves back, where will he live once he marries?

Xie Yunhua wasn't happy with this idea and progressively got more depressed over how his third brother's legs were going to heal.

At the moment, Lu Jiao had no idea how shameless the Xie family was being. She was currently happily preparing lunch with Lady Tian.

For lunch, she made a whole pot of white rice and several dishes.

Braised deer meat, pig tongue with napa cabbage, braised pig ears, leek with lettuce, and steamed eggs with spring onion.

Lu Jiao wanted to cook more but realized that she didn't even have enough plates at home to put the food on. On top of that, she only had one pot, which made timing impossible. In the end, she gave up on cooking more.

After she made everything, she remembered something very important.

This morning, she didn't get a chance to ask Uncle Youcai to make them a table and chairs. So for lunch, the whole family had to eat standing up again.

Lu Jiao helplessly went to tell Xie Yunjin, "We have to eat standing up again today. I will go find Uncle Youcai right after lunch."

Xie Yunjin knew how busy Lu Jiao was all morning and nodded, "Apologies to your mother and brother."

Lu Jiao smiled, "It's no big deal."

Just then, the Second Born ran inside like a rabbit. While panting heavily, he announced, "Mom, there's a giant carriage outside our gate. There is a lot of stuff on there."

Lu Jiao was confused and turned to look out the window. As described, she saw a horse carriage outside the trellis. Two to three young people stepped off the carriage and were now looking around.

Many children surrounded the horse and pointed curiously.

Lu Jiao's head hurt. Who was it now?

She said to Xie Yunjin, "I'll go and check to see who it is."

Why did they come during lunchtime? She didn't have enough resources to ask them to stay and eat.

She wasn't cheap. It was just that she didn't have enough utensils or space. How could she ask the guests to eat standing up?

In front of the trellis, Lady Tian and Lu Gui chatted with the three strangers.

"Who are you?"

The oldest-looking person from the group stepped forward, "We are from town. We are the apprentices of Carpenter Chen. Doctor Qi from Baohe Tang bought some drawers, closets, tables, and chairs from us. He had asked us to deliver everything here. Doctor Qi said that he feels indebted to you, given that you shared many prescriptions with him and therefore ordered these goods to show appreciation."

Many villagers have now gathered outside Lu Jiao's gates. Once they heard what they were here for, they started to chitchat.

They weren't saying anything bad – they merely were surprised at how generous Lu Jiao was. She gave prescriptions to Doctor Qi? She should've asked him for money in exchange!

Outside the trellis, Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow. The villagers may not know the whole story, but she did.

Qi Lei did take three prescriptions from her, but he paid for them.

Why did he decide to gift her all this furniture now? Could it be because he thought he underpaid her?

But moments ago, she didn't see any signs of him feeling bad.

Lu Jiao pondered and quickly realized that Qi Lei appeared very enthusiastic when she revealed that she was a surgeon.

Could it be that he wanted to learn that skill from her? That was why he sent her so many gifts? If he genuinely wanted to learn, then she had no issues teaching him.

That thought made Lu Jiao feel okay with accepting the gifts. She then smiled and responded to the strangers.

"What exactly did he purchase from you?"

The other man from the group handed her a list.

Lu Jiao took a look. Two bed frames plus bed stands. A desk and several boxes for storage. There was also a dining table and several chairs.

Her home did not have a lot of furniture, and this shipment sure made up for most of it. This Doctor Qi was quite observant and considerate.

Lu Jiao had no intention of declining this offer. This stuff was exactly what she needed. Since Qi Lei wanted her to have them, she will accept everything.

"Okay, then come on in and help me move everything."

"Sure thing."

The three young men started to unload. Lu Jiao took the list and headed to the living room. Behind her, Lady Tian was worried.

"Jiaojiao, is it okay for you to accept everything? You should ask Yunjin."

Lu Jiao glanced at Lady Tian and smiled, "Don't worry. It's fine."

Compared to Lady Tian, the four little ones reacted very differently. They were overjoyed at the new objects and watched as everything was being moved.

"We have beds now?"

"We even got a desk."

"We have a table to eat on now. And chairs!"

"We don't have to eat while standing up anymore."

Lu Jiao was happy to find the four little ones happy. She went to the east bedroom and told Xie Yunjin what happened.

Xie Yunjin's face was cold and his eyes were full of suspicion, "Why would he give us all this stuff?"

Lu Jiao did give him prescriptions, but she was paid for them.

Logically, they were even now.

Ah no, since Doctor Qi was performing the surgery in a couple of days, they should be the ones who were indebted to him. So why was he eager to send gifts over?

Something was wrong.

Xie Yunjin narrowed his eyes and stared at Lu Jiao, "You asked him to buy all this?"

Lu Jiao shook her head.

Xie Yunjin asked again, "Did you make some kind of deal with him?"

Lu Jiao shook her head again. What deal?

Xie Yunjin continued to stare at her. He tried again, slowly, "Are you lying to me?"

Lu Jiao responded in a serious tone, "Why would I lie to you? Growing up, I've never lied. When I lie, I blush. When I lie, I get flustered. When I lie, I don't even dare to look the other person in the eye. Is my face red? Am I flustered? Am I afraid to look you in the eye?"

She was gaping at Xie Yunjin the whole time as she made her speech.

Xie Yunjin laughed in anger.

Now he knew another skill of this woman's – to lie with her eyes open, to lie without needing a rehearsal, to lie without being flustered.

He knew exactly the type of person she was! She claimed to never lie? What a joke!

Chapter 65: Must you Act like this?

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xie Yunjin faked a smile, "Are you sure you never lie?"

Lu Jiao was genuine as she looked back at him, "Yes, I never lie."

Xie Yunjin gently nodded, as if he believed her. Then, he looked back up and slowly murmured, "Lately, I get the feeling that you are a different person. You are not at all like who she used to be. Could it be….?"

Xie Yunjin suspiciously gawked at Lu Jiao, who tensed up instantly. Could it be that she had been uncareful and did something to reveal her identity? No way. This guy must be bluffing.

She did her best to appear calm and responded in a confused manner, "What are you talking about?"

Despite her best efforts, Xie Yunjin could still see the anxiety in her eyes.

Satisfied, he grinned. Ha, so she enjoyed lying to him. Then he will return the favor for scaring her.

Lu Jiao didn't want to stay on this topic in case she really does reveal something about herself.

As fast as she could, she changed the subject, "Since the furniture's been delivered, let's just use them. We need them anyway. I'll ask them to put together the bed frame here first, then they can work on the bed frame for the west bedroom."

Lu Jiao walked closer. She planned to carry Xie Yunjin to the west bedroom until the bed here was ready.

This time, Xie Yunjin was calmer than usual – he was used to this.

Before, he wasn't used to being carried, but now, he had accepted it.

Not only did he accept his fate, he even extended his arm to hold onto Lu Jiao.

This time, it was Lu Jiao's turn to be uncomfortable. With her body rigid, she carried Xie Yunjin to the west bedroom.

Her nervousness lifted Xie Yunjin's mood. Almost caringly, he asked, "What's wrong with you? Your arms look tense."

Lu Jiao wanted to drop this guy. He deserved it.

She had to remind herself of his serious injuries in order to stop her urge. Somewhat furious, she almost threw Xie Yunjin onto the bed.

The impact on landing made Xie Yunjin's ribs hurt. At once, his face paled.

Sadly, Lu Jiao didn't even acknowledge him and left. She first ordered Lu Gui to take apart the existing bed frame in the east bedroom which only had three legs. Then, she asked him to sweep the room.

Carpenter Chen's apprentices then moved the parts into the room and started to assemble them.

Other than those three, the villagers who were here for the show also started to help out. As they helped, they chatted with Lu Jiao."

"Yunjin's wife, you are so generous. How can you just give away prescriptions to that doctor?"

"You should've asked him for money."

"But, you truly have a good heart."

"Right, I heard you gave medicine to Erdan, is Erdan okay now?"

Lu Jiao answered to them one by one – she didn't seem to mind them.

She knew that the news of Xie Yunjin's soon recovery will only get the villagers to get friendlier and friendlier. After all, Xie Yunjin was a scholar, someone who had hopes of leaving the village and one day would take on an honorable job.

Lu Jiao also didn't act arrogant. After all, she would one day separate from Xie Yunjin and she would one day have nothing to do with these villagers. She just needed to get through the next two to three months.

The thought of her future separation made Lu Jiao think of the Lu family. Her original plan was to escape back to her mother's Apricot Flower Village. However, how the Lu family's been acting made her not want to do that anymore. She had to think of alternatives.

After the boxes, chairs, and table were assembled, the apprentices left. The villagers who helped out also bid their farewells one by one. Lu Jiao gave everyone two to three pieces of candy as a thank you.

Though it wasn't a lot, the villagers were happy to receive them. They silently thought of Lu Jiao as generous and once again remembered how Lu Jiao divided up the silver she received from Widow Li last time.

She also gave prescriptions to Doctor Qi after she gave free medicine to Er Dan's family.

This woman truly was different from before. Many people praised her.

Lu Jiao didn't mind all the chatter as she toured her home happily.

Though her home was old, she had all the furniture she needed now. This place now looked more like a home.

Before, she didn't buy any furniture because she was afraid of the villagers would blame her for spending money on things other than medicine.

Qi Lei's gift truly solved a big problem of hers.

Inside the living room, the four little ones climbed up and down the chairs and table. Their faces were bright red from too much laughter and their eyes were crescent shaped from smiling so big.

"This is our table."

"These are our chairs."

"From now on, we can start eating while sitting down."

"Daddy can also start studying using this table."

Lu Jiao was so happy to see how excited everyone was, "Okay, perfect. Today, we can dine using this table."

The four little ones' eyes lit up. The First Born, however, slid down the chair and ran to the east bedroom, "I will eat with daddy."

The other three heard him and also sled down their chairs and rushed to the east bedroom.

"We will also eat with daddy."

The Second Born even shouted out loud, "If we all eat by the table while daddy lies in bed alone, he will look too pitiful."

Inside the east bedroom, Xie Yunjin heard them and tried to convince them, "It's okay. You guys eat outside."

The First Born rejected, "No! I will eat with you."

The other three nodded. Xie Yunjin raised an eyebrow and stared at them seriously, "Have you forgotten about grandma and uncle? They are our guests. How can you just leave our guests alone? I am stuck in bed and cannot spend time with our guests so you should be hosting them on my behalf."

Outside the room, Lady Tian heard this and wanted to interrupt and tell him it was okay.

Lu Jiao stopped her. Xie Yunjin was educating the four little ones and should not be interrupted.

The Second, Third, and Fourth Born turned to look at the First Born, who was very conflicted. Xie Yunjin saw how troubled he was and kindly comforted him, "My legs will be healed soon. Until then, you host grandma and uncle. Once I'm healed, we can do it together."

The First Born finally agreed and nodded, "Okay, we will host grandma and uncle."

Xie Yunjin praised, "Good boy."

The four little ones smiled.

At the door, Lu Jiao shouted, "Okay, come out and eat now."

The four little ones headed to the living room. However, they remembered to look back every step of the way. It was difficult for them to separate from their father.

Lu Jiao was speechless, "It's just a meal, must you act like this? You can spend time with your daddy after."

Lu Jiao then went to the kitchen to get all the food. Honestly, every single plate, bowl, and utensil was put to use for this meal. She even had to use a chipped bowl to get all the food out of the pan and onto the table.

Chapter 66: The Four Little Ones' Biggest Fear

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Jiao brought food into the east bedroom to feed Xie Yunjin. Before going in, she reminded the four little ones, "Be a good host to grandma and uncle."

The First Born nodded in a serious manner, "Okay, got it."

The other three copied him and nodded as well.

The four little ones became more and more cute and adorable. Lady Tian and Lu Gui were head over heels in love with them and continued to put food in their bowls.

The four little ones tried to copy their behavior and they too scooped food into Lady Tian and Lu Gui's bowls. Their actions made Lady Tian and Lu Gui very happy.

Inside the bedroom, Lu Jiao fed Xie Yunjin and asked, "How is it? Is the new bed frame comfortable?"

The bed Xie Yunjin slept on before was very old. Half of it was essentially collapsed due to a missing leg and therefore, tilted. When he wasn't cautious, he would find him on the other side of the bed.

Though the new one they received was not of the best quality, it was smooth and flat. They even placed a new mat on top of it, so Lu Jiao figured it was a lot more comfortable than the old one.

Xie Yunjin, however, wasn't delighted and simply warned her, "Remember to give Doctor Qi the money for all this. We aren't too poor to afford this."

Xie Yunjin stared at Lu Jiao with a raised eyebrow. He wondered just why Qi Lei would suddenly buy furniture for them.

What was his intention? Could it be that he was in love with Lu Jiao? That seemed impossible.

Not only was Lu Jiao an average rural woman, but she was also married. No normal person would have those kinds of thoughts towards her.

Xie Yunjin managed to make himself feel better. Since Lu Jiao didn't respond, he repeated himself, "Remember to give him the money."

Lu Jiao had no choice but to agree, "Okay, next time I see him, I will."

Xie Yunjin finally stopped asking and silently ate.

Since he may walk again soon, much of the sadness and anger that engulfed him before had dissipated. His entire aura was now gentler and more colorful, which made it obvious to bystanders that he was in a good mood.

Lu Jiao continued to feed him and mindlessly muttered, "Now, we are just missing some household essentials. When I get some time, I will go into town. Today, we even ran out of chopsticks."

Xie Yunjin nodded, "Take the Village Leader's ox cart when you go."

"Okay."

Lu Jiao wanted to say more but there were sounds of footsteps and an excited voice approached.

"Third brother, I heard you found a doctor who can treat your legs?"

Xie Erzhu's old face glistened. His reaction was as if his own legs were getting cured.

Since Xie Yunjin was done eating, Lu Jiao simply greeted Xie Erzhu and left.

Inside the room, Xie Yunjin and Xie Erzhu chatted, "Yes, Doctor Qi said he can operate on me. I'm not sure if I will heal properly after yet."

Xie Erzhu laughed. He was just as excited as Xie Fugui, "Since he's willing to do the surgery, then naturally your legs will heal. He wouldn't dare to operate otherwise."

Xie Erzhu then started to pace around the room, "Third brother, this is such good news. You can start studying again after!"

Just then, Lu Jiao entered with a bowl of rice that was topped with deer meat and pork, "Second brother, eat something."

Xie Erzhu declined, "No, no, I will go home and eat."

He was farming when he heard the news. The news excited him so much that he rushed over right away.

Lu Jiao shoved the bowl into his hand, "How can you visit my home and leave without eating? Eat this."

"I…"

Xie Erzhu hesitated, "Do you have enough?"

Lu Jiao smiled, "We are all done."

That bowl of rice was originally hers.

Xie Yunjin stared at Lu Jiao with a pulsating gaze.

He knew for a fact that the rice was Lu Jiao's. He didn't say that out loud, however, or else Xie Erzhu would decline.

Lu Jiao left and Xie Yunjin asked Xie Erzhu to eat, "Second brother, please eat."

"Okay."

Xie Erzhu happily dug in. This sister-in-law of his knew how to hunt and so there was always meat. Plus, her cooking skill was next level. How delicious.

Outside, Lady Tian watched Lu Jiao give away her rice. So she went to the kitchen.

Lu Jiao followed and they made some noodles together.

The four little ones went after them with their own bowls.

The First Born handed the bowl to Lu Jiao, "For you to eat."

The other three also shoved their bowls into Lu Jiao's hands, "Mommy, for you."

Lu Jiao shushed then, "Don't let your uncle hear. He would be embarrassed to eat if he heard. I'm making noodles now. It's just as delicious."

The four little ones listened to her then whispered, "Mommy, can we try the noodles?"

"Of course, let's all eat together."

The four little ones nodded. Lady Tian watched their interaction and her face blossomed.

She was worried that her son-in-law would abandon her daughter after he studied some more. However now, it looked like the children were very close to her daughter. For the children, Lady Tian was certain that her son-in-law wouldn't abandon Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao put the noodles into a bowl and went to eat in the living room. She also gave a little bit to each of the quadruplets. She didn't dare to give them too much, in case they overeat.

Inside the east bedroom, Xie Erzhu's voice could be heard, "Third brother, everyone in the village now knows about your legs. I'm afraid our parents have heard as well."

Xie Yunjin said coldly, "So what now?"

Xie Erzhu hesitated, "Our parents may want you back."

He knew his parents' nature so well and could predict that the moment they found out about Xie Yunjin's legs, they would want him to move back.

Xie Yunjin declined ruthlessly, "Since I've moved out, I have no reason to go back."

Xie Erzhu sighed, "You know what our mother is like. If she wants you back, she'll find a way to cause a scene."

"Don't worry about it. I will deal with it."

Since Xie Yunjin had a plan, Xie Erzhu didn't pursue the matter further.

In the living room, Lady Tian also whispered to Lu Jiao, "Your mother-in-law may want you to move back."

Lu Jiao didn't answer. The quadruplets, however, had a change in expression. They were all so scared and all glanced at Lu Jiao.

If they go back, their mother may turn back to her violent and mean self. Also, if they go back there, all the good food will be eaten by Maodou and Caidou.

The four little ones lost their appetite. They slid off their chairs and crowded Xie Yunjin.

"Daddy, we are not going back."

"All our food will be eaten by the fourth uncle, Maodou, and Caidou."

Maodou and Caidou were the eldest sons, of Xie Daqiang – one was ten and the other was eight.

They were once sent into town by Xie Laogen to study. However, Caidou was not made to study and ended up coming back.

Maodou was doing okay so he continued to study.

Xie Yunjin heard his sons. His face turned unspeakably cold and his pupils were dark like the deep sea.

The four little ones didn't stop because of the drop in temperature. On the contrary, they yelled out even more complaints with fear on their faces.

Their past must've left many shadows in their little hearts. Plus, Lu Jiao was such a mean person when they lived with their grandparents.

To the children, they thought their mother was mean because she hated living there. If they move back and all their stuff got stolen, would their mommy transform back into that evil woman?

The four little ones couldn't bear the thought and started to cry.

"The fourth uncle gets to eat eggs and candy, and he gets new clothes. We have no food and no clothes there."

"Brother Maodou and Caidou also get to eat. We are the only ones who don't get any food. They also hit us."

"Grandma also told us never to tell anyone. She said if we tell anyone, we wouldn't get our next meal."

"Wuuuu, we don't want to go back. We are scared."

Chapter 67: Mom, Don't Tell

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Outside, in the living room, Lu Jiao could hear the four little ones cry. She felt really bad and came in with her bowl.

"Enough now, what are you crying for? We are not going back. If your daddy dares to go back, I will stay here with you four and split from him."

The four little ones stopped crying and stared at her, "Really?"

Lu Jiao nodded, "Yes, really."

The four little ones finally stopped crying.

Xie Yunjin wasn't happy with Lu Jiao and glanced at her coldly, "Did I say I was going back?"

Lu Jiao ignored him and only paid attention to the four little ones, "Did you hear that? Your daddy isn't going back either. We will stay here as a family."

The four little ones sighed in relief and then went to hug their daddy happily.

"Daddy, you're the best."

The Fourth Born went to kiss his cheek.

The Second and Third Born quickly copied him and kissed their dad's cheek.

The First Born hesitated but ended up planting a kiss too.

Xie Yunjin, with much saliva on his face, looked up to Lu Jiao. They must've learned this from her.

Though the four little ones were close to him, they've never kissed him.

Lu Jiao raised an eyebrow and beamed brightly at him. Those kisses must've delighted him.

She then left the room. The four little ones followed.

Both their parents agreed to not go back. That was great news.

Xie Erzhu watched this and realized that there was no way his third brother would go back.

He asked, "Third brother, since you don't want to go back, you should think about how you can break that news to mom."

Though their parents were awful, it was unacceptable for a son to disobey their parents' orders. Now that his brother's legs were going to heal, he had to be even more careful with maintaining his reputation in this village.

"There's no need to worry second brother."

Xie Erzhu stood up to leave. Before he left, he said, "Third brother, let me know when your surgery is. I will accompany you into town."

"Okay."

Lu Jiao came in to take away the dirty bowls and asked, "Second brother, do you want water?"

Xie Erzhu shook his head, "It's alright. I'm going back now."

Lu Jiao didn't try to keep him and left.

In the afternoon, many different families came to visit Xie Yunjin, including the Village Leader and the Clan Leader.

Lu Jiao made them tea, greeted them, then went to make clothes for the four little ones in the west bedroom.

Many of the wives saw what Lu Jiao was doing and ended up helping. Because of that, the clothes for the babies were quickly made.

Lu Jiao made two sets of clothes for the quadruplets. One round neck and straight, and one collared robe.

The four little ones knew these were made for them and were thrilled. They watched closely as the clothes were being made.

Growing up, they have yet to receive any new clothes, making all this so much more exciting.

Since so many people offered to help, Lu Jiao didn't contribute much. Honestly, it was because she wasn't good at sewing.

She used the time to make hair bands for the four little ones so she could put their hair up.

Young boys living in the rural area typically have their heads mostly shaved with only two strands of hair on each side that were put up in two buns.

Some boys only keep a strand of hair in the middle and put it in a ponytail.

Some others shave the sides and only keep some bangs in the front.

The four little ones used to have their hair mostly shaved and two buns up top. However, over the last year, nobody cut their hair so they now had soft and somewhat yellow hair.

Lu Jiao didn't want to shave their heads. She wanted to put them up in two knots. It was cuter that way.

She never told the boys that she would shave them. However, the four children were worried, especially the Third Born.

He touched his own hair and carefully went up to Lu Jiao. He grabbed her hand and whispered, "Mommy, I don't want to be bald."

He thought he looked better with his hair. His daddy had a head full of hair and he looked great.

All the other children in the village, like Daotou and Maomao, were all shaved with only a tiny ponytail on top. How ugly!

Lu Jiao found this funny. She discovered that out of the four children, the Third Born cared the most about his appearance. Though his clothes were old, he always made sure to tiptoe and check out his own reflection whenever possible. He also knew to brush out the tangles in his hair.

"Okay, you beauty king."

The Third Born happily walked away.

Inside the room, Lady Zhao asked with a smile, "What are you two whispering about?"

The Third Born ran back to Lu Jiao and covered her mouth with his hands, "Mommy, don't tell!"

Everyone in the room laughed, "He already knows to be secretive with his mom at such a young age!"

Lu Jiao smiled and patted his head, "I got it. I won't tell. It's our little secret."

The Third Born happily nodded. The Fourth Born rushed over and whispered, "Mommy, I want to have a secret with you too."

Lu Jiao couldn't help but giggle, "Okay, what's your secret?"

The Fourth Born didn't know. However quickly, he thought of something and leaned into Lu Jiao's ears, "Mommy, let me tell you, last time, I peed the bed."

His face then turned bright red. He quickly added, "Mommy, don't tell people."

Lu Jiao laughed loudly and nodded, "Ok, I won't tell."

All the villagers saw how smart the four little ones were and praised them profusely.

While everyone here chatted and made clothes for the children, the Village and Clan Leaders were having a conversation with Xie Yunjin.

Just as everyone here enjoyed the moment, another group of people arrived outside the gate.

Xie Laogen, Lady Ruan, and their children all came to visit. Even Xie Erzhu was called to be here.

Xie Laogen felt a little uncomfortable. Lady Ruan however, acted like it was her right and led everyone through the door. Her eldest daughter-in-law, Chen Liu, noticed the lack of greeting from Lu Jiao and got angry. She said to lady Ruan.

"Mother, does the third sister-in-law not welcome us?"

Her mention of this infuriated Lady Ruan. She remembered how Lu Jiao and Lady Tian embarrassed her and dragged her out.

Lady Ruan's face was heavy as she frowned.

Her youngest daughter, Xie Lan, recalled the time when she failed to get any of the gifts Xie Yunjin's classmates gave. That memory made her hate Lu Jiao.

She said to Lady Ruan, "Mom if Lu Jiao is already behaving like this, can you imagine what will happen when my brother gets a job? She will power trip even more and flat out ignore us."

Lady Ruan's expression got uglier. She gritted her teeth, "She doesn't dare!"

Though she was saying the words, she knew that that b!tch had the guts to do so.

For all these reasons, that woman should not be kept in the family. There was no way she was going to let that happen. The rewards her son reaps should be shared with her – not with other women. Why should that fat b!tch enjoy the fruit of her son's hard work? Only in her dreams!

Lady Ruan started to plot how she could get rid of Lu Jiao.

There were so many people here so it was quite loud. Lu Jiao raised her head and saw them through the window, her gaze dimmed.

She got up to greet the group.

"Mom, dad, you're here."

Lu Jiao faked a smile.

Chapter 68: A Shameless Family

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xie Laogen suddenly remembered what Lu Jiao once said to him, "As long as you don't regret this one day."

He didn't expect this day to come so quickly. Even he himself felt embarrassed.

Beside him, Lady Ruan stared her down. As if she heard nothing, she walked into the living room.

Lu Jiao accompanied them to the east bedroom. Behind Lady Ruan, Chen Liu saw that Lu Jiao didn't greet her and angrily demanded, "Third sister-in-law, do you not want us here?"

Lu Jiao turned her head, "We are a family that has been shunned out. How do we dare not welcome honorable guests like you?"

The sarcasm in that sentence turned Chen Liu's face black.

Xie Daqiang stared at Lu Jiao angrily, "Just what do you want for you to speak to us like this? Mom and dad have their reasons for doing what they do. As an outsider, why do you use that tone?"

Before Lu Jiao could answer, lady Tian walked out and said to Xie Daqiang.

"The eldest, you have taken advantage of my son-in-law and daughter back at your home. You wronged them enough to force them to move out. Today, you find the audacity to show up here to ask them to move back? You think this makes you look good?"

Xie Daqiang's face turned dark. He wanted to argue back but given that she was from the older generation, he kept his silence.

Xie Lan smiled and said to Lady Tian, "Lady Tian, this only involves the Xie family. It's not good that you are interfering."

Lady Tian wasn't going to back off, "Yeah, now I am an outsider. When my son-in-law was the most hurt, I sure didn't see any of your faces."

Behind them, Xie Laogen didn't want any drama. He knew he was in the wrong before and may become the butt of the joke if uncareful, so he ordered, "Speak less."

The Xie family glared at Lady Tian.

Lu Jiao comforted Lady Tian, "Mom, don't get mad. It's not worth it to waste emotions on unworthy people."

The Xie family was enraged.

Lu Jiao led everyone to the east bedroom and then moved in some of the new chairs. She then left, ignoring everyone.

Lady Ruan was fuming and continued to throw daggers at Lu Jiao with her gaze. Damn that fat b*tch, she will make sure his son leaves her sooner or later.

Worried that she would cause another scene, Xie Laogen squeezed her arm.

Other than Xie Yunjin inside the room, there were also the Xie Clan Leader and several other older generations. The oldest one here was considered to be in the same generation as Xie Laogen's grandpa. This elder was over 80 years old but remained full of energy. Everyone called him Elder Xie.

Elder Xie saw Xie Laogen and said emotionlessly, "You're here?"

Xie Laogen nodded dryly.

Beside him, Lady Ruan smiled in satisfaction and spoke up, "I heard my son's legs can now be cured. As his mother, I am extremely happy and came to visit right away."

With a motherly gaze, she looked over to Xie Yunjin, "Ah my third son, when I heard the news, I was over the moon."

Xie Yunjin heard her words and his lips curled up sarcastically.

Xie Laogen noticed his son's reaction and felt his heart skip a beat. So his third son held a grudge.

Xie Laogen regretted his past decisions very much now. Why did he listen to his wife and force his son to move out?

He should've spent the money to treat his illness. Once Xie Yunjin was healed and got a job, he would've shared his wealth with the whole family. Now, their hearts were no longer in the same place. Will Xie Yunjin still help out his family in the future?

Xie Laogen didn't feel good.

Lady Ruan was angry at the way Xie Yunjin reacted. Why was this bastard acting shady?

He was so heavily wounded back then that even the doctor said he would be handicapped for life. How was that her fault? If they want to blame someone, they should blame that doctor.

Lady Ruan was angry but in order to get Xie Yunjin back on her side, she smiled, "As long as your legs heal, I am willing to die early."

As she spoke, her eyes somehow managed to turn red and she started to wipe away her tears.

The elders in the room found her to be very fake and they were very annoyed at her act. They were very aware of the kind of person she really was.

Xie Yunjin's oldest brother, Xie Daqiang walked up to him and grabbed his hands.

"Third brother, it's been hard for you. I know you went through a lot. Why don't we go back home? Let us take care of you."

Behind them, the youngest son, Xie Yunhua chimed in while laughing, "Yeah, brother, we are a family. A family should stick together and take care of each other."

Xie Yunjin closely checked out Xie Yunhua. He originally thought his youngest brother was born chubby and bright-skinned. He never thought too much of it until today.

Today, he realized… As a farmer, how was it possible that he was so clean and so well nourished? It was obvious that someone wealthy had fed him. If he worked in the land like his second brother, Xie Yunjin was sure he would look just as tired and aged.

Xie Yunjin snickered. His eyes were full of coldness and annoyance. Mindlessly, he said, "Fourth brother, you are not getting married anymore? If we move back, where will you stay?"

Xie Yunhua's face dropped when he heard those words. If it wasn't for the fact that he was trying to please his mother, he never would've allowed his third brother to move back home.

His mother told him to let his third brother move back. Once his brother got an honorable job in the city, he could then follow him there.

He thought, that made sense, so he agreed to it.

After he heard Xie Yunjin's words, however, he no longer wanted him back. The key thing was that he had promised his little girlfriend that once they marry, she would get to live in a big house.

Other than his eldest brother's house, his third brother's house was the biggest.

His second brother's house was small and was also north-facing. That meant in the summer, people could die from the heat and in the winter, people could freeze to death. He didn't want that.

Inside the room, Lady Ruan filled the silence, "We have a lot of space at home. If we really cannot find any, we can build two more on the west side."

Xie Yunhua's eyes brightened.

Lady Ruan was plotting something. She recently heard that the fat b!tch knew medicine. Once they move back, she'll take all the money Lu Jiao earned from seeing patients. Then, she'll have the money to build those two houses she mentioned.

Though Xie Yunjin didn't know exactly what that mother of his was plotting, he knew she was up to no good.

In the future, he will be as filial as needed, but not more.

Xie Yunjin's eyes were unspeakably cold and his fingers formed a fist.

Xie Lan followed up, "Third brother, move back. We are so worried about you because you don't live at home."

Xie Yunjin sarcastically asked, "You didn't worry about me in the past."

Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan's expressions changed. Xie Laogen solemnly said, "My third child, are you blaming us?"

Xie Yunjin looked up emotionlessly and stared right at Xie Laogen, "What are you talking about? As your son, how can I blame my parents? However, since I'm already moved out, I will not be returning. Our home has always been crammed and the fourth needs space to get married."

Xie Laogen and Lady Ruan knew then that he was determined not to go back.

Lady Ruan opened her mouth to start crying, but Xie Yunjin beat her to it, "Mom, I know what you are thinking. Whether or not I move back, it won't make a difference. If I don't move back, we are still related and I will still help out when needed. If I move back, I will not help out with things I do not want to. Of course, I will remain your filial son."

Though his statement was well-spoken and considerate, there was not the slightest warmth in his tone.

Chapter 69: Who should Take the Credit?

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xie Laogen was so stifled he couldn't even speak. In the end, out of all his sons, his most useful third son was no longer emotionally attached to the family.

Lady Ruan's eyes reddened, "My third son, are you blaming us for – "

Xie Yunjin didn't allow her to finish before he spoke up, "Mother, why would I blame you? You are my parents. Everything you do is right. What kind of son would argue with his parents? But since I have already moved out, what's the use of moving back? Our home is already crammed and the fourth needs room to get married. As his older brother, I cannot just consider my own situation, I have to prioritize his situation."

The Xie elders praisingly looked over at Xie Yunjin.

Yunjin was such a good kid. How sad it was for his parents to continue to hurt him.

Xie Yunjin glanced back at the elders and smiled, "Elder Xie, Third Elder Xie, Village Leader, do you agree?"

Elder Xie was the oldest one here at age 83. Despite his age, he had a lot of energy, good hearing, and good eyesight.

The other elders were healthy as well. After they heard what Xie Yunjin said, they all nodded, "You are right."

Village Leader turned to Lady Ruan with an unpleasant look on his face. The words that came out of his mouth steamed with annoyance.

"Lady Ruan, since you made Yunjin move out already, don't ask him to go back. Your youngest son is getting married right? Stop complicating things."

Lady Ruan's face turned dark and she wanted to argue.

Xie Laogen pulled onto Lady Ruan. He knew very well that his son was using the Xie elders to shut them up.

Xie Laogen felt just as mad as his wife. But he knew arguing would be no use. After all, they were the ones who forced their son to move out.

Xie Yunjin watched the interaction of his parents and narrowed his eyes. He turned to Elder Xie, "My last name is Xie. In the future, if I do make something out of myself, I promise to not forget the Xie Clan."

The Xie elders smiled. The Xie family, however, was not as happy. Xie Yunjin obviously made a stance that he will share his wealth with the Xie Clan, but not them specifically.

Xie Yunjin ignored his family and continued.

"I have another matter to discuss with you, Clan Leader, Village Leader."

Both the Clan and Village Leaders looked over to Xie Yunjin, "Speak of it."

Xie Yunjin responded, "I'm sure you have learned that my wife, Lu Jiao, knows medicine?"

Of course, the Clan and Village Leaders know that by now. They even know that Lu Jiao was decent at it and that even the doctors in town complimented her.

Why did Yunjin bring this up?

They looked over to Xie Yunjin, who continued softly, "Lu Jiao knows a lot about medicinal herbs. She mentioned that she saw lots of useful herbs in the mountains. Those usually go to waste because the villagers don't recognize them and avoid them. She suggested that she can teach the villagers how to identify herbs. That way, the villagers can go into town and sell herbs to Baohe Tang. Then, every family gains an additional source of income."

Xie Yunjin's words stunned everyone in the room. Lady Ruan was the first to react and her reaction was to reject the idea.

"No! Why would she teach the villagers? Nobody in our family even knows how, why should others?"

Lady Ruan's words angered the Xie elders.

Elder Xie scolded, "Yunjin was showing his appreciation to the Xie Clan. What does that have to do with you?"

Third Elder Xie also angrily responded, "You're merely an old hag. You do nothing all day but cause chaos. We haven't asked you to pay for forcing Yunjin to move out, yet you have the audacity to make demands from us? If you dare to say anything more, we will ask your husband to leave you."

Lady Ruan froze.

Because she was the mother of Xie Yunjin, the clan acted very respectfully toward her. Now, they were not giving her any face.

Lady Ruan wanted to cry out loud but Xie Laogen glared at her, "Shut up."

Pig-brained woman. Even now, she still hasn't recognized the fact that Xie Yunjin saw them as equals to others in the clan.

Their third son was no longer emotionally attached to them. It was now impossible for them to act arrogant in front of others like they did before.

If they didn't have their third son's respect, their Clan wouldn't respect them either.

Xie Laogen was angry. However, he knew they were in the wrong first. Plus, the elders were here and if Lady Ruan tries to make another scene, they would teach her a lesson.

Nobody acknowledged Lady Ruan now. They all stared at Xie Yunjin, "Yunjin, are you for real?"

The Village and Clan Leaders were thrilled. If Yunjin's wife could teach the villagers, then everyone could gain an additional stream of income.

Xie Yunjin nodded and called for Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao heard him and walked over, "What's up?"

Xie Yunjin announced, "You mentioned that you want to teach the clan how to identify herbs. I just shared that suggestion with the elders."

Lu Jiao turned to the elders. The Village and Clan Leaders stared at her with much excitement, "Yunjin's wife, is it true that our mountains are full of medicinal herbs?"

Lu Jiao nodded, "Yes, there are a lot. Many are rather old as well, making them more valuable. Since the villagers don't know what they are, they often treat them as poisonous and don't dare to touch them. This helped make sure the herbs flourish over the years."

Lu Jiao's statement made everyone laugh in happiness, "Ah, that is so great."

The Village Leader was a little worried, "You are willing to teach the clan?"

After all, the person who had the knowledge was Lu Jiao, not Xie Yunjin. If she wasn't willing, they couldn't force her.

Lu Jiao glanced at Xie Yunjin, then said calmly, "Yunjin told me that the villagers all have a hard time and he's always wanted to figure out a way to make everyone's lives easier. Once I told him I can identify herbs, he suggested I teach everyone.

Since he's spoken, as his wife, of course, I will teach everyone. Do not worry."

Xie Yunjin was shocked to hear Lu Jiao make that claim. He originally wanted Lu Jiao to take the credit for this.

Who knew that Lu Jiao would give the credit back to him? The Clan would for sure appreciate him for this and think of him as a grateful man.

Why would she do that?

Xie Yunjin stared at her with his gaze dark. His heart fluttered a little.

Inside the room, the elders laughed out of joy.

Those in the west bedroom heard the commotion and all walked over. Once they heard the news, they shared the same level of happiness.

Everyone was having a good time except the Xie family.

Chen Liu and Xie Lan were sly and quickly inched closer to Lu Jiao and buttered her up, "My third sister sure is smart."

"Third sister, you will teach me as well, right?"

If Xie Lan could learn to identify herbs, then she could sell everything for money and use that money to get married.

Chapter 70: He Accepted this Favor

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Jiao glanced at Chen Liu and Xie Lan emotionlessly before she looked over to her skinny and honest second sister-in-law.

"Second sister-in-law, you can come and learn from me in the future."

She then looked over to the Clan and Village Leaders, "I'm thinking one person from each household should come out and learn. Too many people could get too messy."

"Okay, okay."

The leaders agreed immediately. Lu Jiao added, "Yunjin is getting surgery in a couple of days. After that, I will start teaching the villagers."

"Okay."

Lu Jiao then went back to the west bedroom with Lady Zhao and the others. The east bedroom became extremely boisterous. Most of the villagers praised Xie Yunjin for being appreciative of the village.

Xie Laogen family's faces were all indescribably ugly, especially Xie Daqiang. His cheeks were dark like the bottom of a pan and his eyes were wide from anger. It was obvious that he was refraining from dragging Xie Yunjin out of his bed and beating him.

He knew that was inappropriate so, despite his hatred, he stopped himself.

The Xie Clan villagers left after some time. Xie Laogen's family, however, stayed.

Now that everyone was gone, Xie Daqiang let his anger out, "Third brother, what's the meaning of this? You're teaching everyone but your own family?"

Xie Yunjin coldly responded, "Lu Jiao said she will be teaching the second sister-in-law. She will be collecting herbs and selling them. Of course, she will then give the money earned to the family. What do you mean I am not teaching my own family?"

Xie Daqiang was furious, "Why not teach your first sister-in-law? She's much smarter than your second sister-in-law."

Before Xie Yunjin could speak, Lu Jiao walked in and chortled.

"What are you doing, getting angry at your brother? I am the one who doesn't want to teach your wife. I'm the one with the knowledge and I will teach whoever I want to. I've never heard anyone threatening a teacher to teach. Your face sure is big."

Xie Daqiang had always been spoiled by Xie Laogen and therefore was headstrong. He had no actual useful skills but acted like he was the smartest.

For Lu Jiao to talk back at him drove him crazy. He pointed at Lu Jiao and cursed.

"You b!tch! My family is going to tell you to f!ck off!"

Lu Jiao shouted back, "Come, try me. I am Xie Yunjin's wife. Without the proper words from him, none of you can make me leave."

Lu Jiao then pointed at the door, "Get the f!ck out of here. This is my home."

Fury poured out of Xie Daxiang's eyes and he extended his arm to hit Lu Jiao.

Inside the room, Xie Laogen yelled, "Stop."

Xie Yunjin's expression changed as well, "Xie Daqiang, if you dare to hit her, I will no longer accept you as my brother."

Xie Daqiang was a little afraid of Xie Yunjin's threat. He gritted his teeth at Xie Yunjin, "You are not letting me hit a fat woman like her?"

Lady Ruan started to weep, "My third son, why keep such an unfilial wife? Leave her now."

Everyone from the west bedroom ran over after they heard the commotion. The head of the crowd was Lady Tian, who started to curse.

"You witch. Would you die if you left your daughter-in-law alone? You ask your son to leave his wife every day and tell my daughter to go away. My daughter devotes herself to taking care of your son. What did she do that was so wrong?"

The quadruplets started to cry as well and went to protect Lu Jiao. The First Born pointed at Lady Ruan, "This is my home. You are not welcome here. Go away."

Lady Ruan scolded, "You bastard! Who taught you to talk like that? You want to die?"

She then raised her arm to hit the First Born.

Xie Laogen stopped her and pulled her away, "Enough! We are leaving."

If they keep this up, their son's heart will drift away further and may never talk to them again.

Lady Ruan wanted to curse more but Xie Laogen carried her out.

Xie Laogen was strong and Lady Ruan was very small. As he pulled her out, she had no strength to physically move but she continued to spit out dirty words.

"You bastards left home and started to learn bad things. You learned all those bad habits from that b!tch. You don't know how to respect the elders at all. No. This can't continue. That b!tch must leave this family."

Behind her, Chen Liu eyed Lu Jiao and said in a weird tone, "Third sister-in-law, you should stop disobeying our mother. She's your mother-in-law after all. Disrespecting the mother-in-law is more than a valid reason to be left by the husband."

Lu Jiao emotionlessly gawked at these two and simply challenged, "Are you going to walk out yourself or should I beat you out?"

Chen Liu and Xie Lan's faces froze. When they saw Lu Jiao's arm was already raised, they ran away scared.

Xie Daqiang followed while he cursed as well.

Xie Erzhu and his wife watched all this with bitter expressions. They didn't know what to say.

Xie Yunhua on the other hand glanced at his family, then at Xie Yunjin. He wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it. In the end, he left as well.

Inside the living room, Lady Zhao and others shared their opinion, "That family has such a cruel heart."

"Yeah, they moved out their son and now they came here causing a scene."

"Yunjin's wife, don't mind them."

"I don't think this is over. That mother-in-law of yours has been hard to deal with all her life. For so many years, the entire family had to listen to her."

Lady Zhao waved her hand, "Okay, enough of that. Let's finish up the children's clothes."

The wives went back to the west bedroom and got busy with making the quadruplets' clothes.

Inside the east bedroom, Lady Tian's heart ached as she stared at Lu Jiao. Just what was all this? Her daughter's mother-in-law made her daughter's life so difficult.

Lady Tian's head hurt and Lu Jiao walked her to the west bedroom, "Mom, don't worry about it."

Lady Tian nodded. Lu Jiao then went to fetch some water for Xie Yunjin.

Xie Yunjin didn't ask her to feed him and instead, took the bowl and drank it himself. He could move around now and drinking water was no big deal.

After he drank, he looked up at Lu Jiao with a gaze that was somewhat gentle.

"Why did you tell everyone it was my idea to have you teach them?"

Lu Jiao wanted to tell him that she needed him to have a good reputation so he wouldn't cause her trouble after their separation.

Those words, however, would cause much shock to the people around so she simply answered, "You need the support of the Xie Clan in the future. It's better for you to take the credit."

Xie Yunjin passed the bowl to Lu Jiao, "Okay."

He will accept this favor.

Lu Jiao turned to leave. The thought of that senseless Lady Ruan made her speak more.

"Your mother is ridiculous. Even after you finish school and move away, you will not be able to get rid of her presence."

Xie Yunjin grinned slightly as he leaned against the bed frame with his eyes droopy.

It appeared that his mother has had enough of the good and easy life. He will give her a taste of adversity.

Lu Jiao left with the empty bowl.

Within one afternoon, the two sets of clothes for the four little ones were done.

The four little ones were over the moon and continued to play with the clothes. They even imagined themselves in them. The Third Born was the most careful out of them all. He treated the new clothes like they were rare treasures.

Lu Jiao's heart ached because of it. She patted his head, "I will make you so many more pretty clothes in the future. You don't need to feel bad for wearing this new set. Tonight, I'll put you all in your new clothes and let your daddy have a look."

The four little ones' eyes sparkled as they stared at their new clothes in anticipation.

Chapter 71: A Warm Jacket

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Jiao walked Lady Zhao and the others out. While she did this, she thanked everyone who helped her.

The others happily returned the appreciation, "We should be the ones thanking you. You agreed to teach us how to identify herbs. That is a huge favor."

After everyone left, Xie Xiaobao walked in from outside the gate. In his hand was a crucian carp that weighed more than two pounds.

"Third aunty, here's a fish for you. I caught a few but this one's the biggest one."

Xie Xiaobao's clothes were sticky with mud, but he was in a great mood.

Lu Jiao saw the fish and realized a problem. Though they've been eating well, they've only been eating land animal meat, which could cause inflammation. The four little ones were small in size and were also short.

Lu Jiao wanted the quadruplets to drink milk. That way, they could get the calcium needed to grow taller.

Since the quadruplets were born together and were premature, they started off skinnier and smaller. The poor nutrition later didn't help their growth. At this rate, they may end up very short.

Lu Jiao was worried. Sadly, there was no milk to be found. So, she thought, she could make more fish and have them drink fish soup. Later, she'll have to figure out how to get them some milk. If there was no cow's milk, she could get them some sheep's milk.

Lu Jiao took over the carp and smiled, "How much? I'll pay you for it."

Xie Xiaobao pouted unhappily, "Third aunty, I don't want money. It's a gift."

Lu Jiao didn't fight it and asked, "Is it easy to catch fish in the village?"

Xie Xiaobao nodded, "It's alright. But the fish usually tastes very fishy and has a strong scent. So most people don't want to eat it."

Though they were considered to be a source of protein, nobody liked fish due to the fishy smell.

He only decided to catch some fish today because he had craved something meaty.

Lu Jiao grinned, "I will cook this and give you some to try. I promise you it won't have a strong scent."

She added, "Ah, I want to discuss something with you. If you catch fish again, sell it to me. I will buy it at market price."

In town, fish were sold for 10 tokens per pound. Xie Xiaobao wavered. However, he still looked up to Lu Jiao and shook his head, "No, third aunty, I want to give it to you for free."

Lu Jiao laughed. How funny, this little guy was embarrassed. She thought about it and asked, "What if I trade you meat for fish? When I hunt down animals from the mountains, I'll give you some in exchange for fish."

"Isn't that a bad deal for you?"

To Xie Xiaobao, meat was far more expensive than fish. Lu Jiao, however, had made up her mind, "That settles it then. Bring over any fish you manage to catch. Any fish will do, eel… loach…"

Xie Xiaobao was shocked, "How do you eat those things? They're so gross."

"It's okay. I know how to make them tasty. I will let you try."

Xie Xiaobao nodded. Lu Jiao shoved him two pieces of candy to thank him for today's fish. Xie Xiaobao left excitedly.

Lu Jiao took the fish and told Lady Tian that they'll have fish for dinner.

Lady Tian nodded mindlessly. Lu Jiao noticed how she was distracted and asked caringly, "Mom, what's the matter? Do you feel sick? If you are sick, I can help."

Lady Tian shook her head. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it again. It was as if she found it difficult to speak.

Lu Jiao thought it through. Could it be that Lady Tian wanted Lu Jiao to teach her own family how to identify herbs? After all, it was brought up today that she would be teaching everyone from the Xie Village that skill.

"Mom, you want me to teach my sisters-in-law how to harvest herbs?"

Lady Tian answered carefully, "Though they have their problems, we shouldn't fight endlessly over five taels of silver. After all, we fought over money because our lives are hard. That is why I wonder if you can teach them all about herbs. That way, our lives can get easier."

Lu Jiao wasn't that angry at the Lu family. She simply wanted to teach them a lesson. Plus, she had already figured out a way to make sure the Lu family could get consistent income. It was because of the fight that she didn't end up telling them about it.

Lu Jiao thought about it and said to Lady Tian, "Mom, I'm fine with that. But, even if they learn that skill, it's not a reliable source of income. The only reason why there are so many herbs up on the mountain is that nobody harvested them for years. Once everyone learns what they are and starts to harvest, there won't be much left.

I have already figured out a way for the family to earn consistent income. I struggled with it for a while but decided to teach you tofu making. Once you learn that, you will have a source of income and your lives will improve."

Lady Tian was in full shock after she heard what Lu Jiao said. She jumped up, "Jiaoijao, you know how to make tofu?"

She then thought of something and started to shake her head, "No, no, no, tofu making is serious craftsmanship. You should save that skill to teach the quadruplets."

Lu Jiao couldn't help but laugh. The father of the quadruplets will one day be the First Assistant. How could he let his children make tofu for a living?

Lu Jiao didn't tell Lady Tian all that. She laughed, "Mom, I have other tricks up my sleeve that I will teach my children later. Tofu making is only the method I thought suited the Lu family well."

Before Lady Tian could answer, a person slipped in from the outside and hugged Lu Jiao.

Lu Jiao subconsciously wanted to slap him away but realized that it was her brother Lu Gui.

Lu Gui excitedly held onto Lu Jiao, "Sister, you are truly my sister. We have been so wrong before. We never should've treated you that way. Please don't be mad, sister. I will treat you so well going forward."

His sister knew how to save lives, knew how to identify herbs, and now told them she knew how to make tofu. More importantly, she was willing to teach that skill to the family.

Lu Gui admired his sister so much right now. He was no longer like his old self who used to be scared to come and visit because all the villagers complained about his sister.

This time, all the villagers complimented his sister and described her as generous, kind, and caring.

Those words were like sugar water to his ears.

Lu Jiao pushed Lu Gui away, "Keep your distance from me."

Lu Gui's face dropped and he spoke carefully, "Sister, are you still mad at me? I was in the wrong. Brother and sister-in-law were also in the wrong. Don't be mad. I'll ask them to apologize to you."

Lu Jiao brandished her arm in annoyance, "Enough. I don't care about your apology. You think I am angry because of your attitude? I am angry because of the way you treated mom. The only reason I'm teaching you tofu making is because of mom, not because of you."

Lu Gui straightened his chest and promised, "Sister, don't worry, we won't make mom mad anymore. I will be the first in line to object if someone pisses off mom."

Inside the kitchen, Lady Tian wiped away her tears. This was her Jiaojiao! She was considerate with everything she did. There was a common saying that having a daughter was the same as having a warm jacket. That saying sure was accurate.

Lu Jiao stared at Lu Gui and slowly stated, "I am only going to teach mom how to make tofu. The rest of you can help her out. As for selling the tofu, the three of you go make sales, and mom distributes your salary. Each one of you gets three tokens for every 10 pounds sold. If you manage to sell 100 pounds in a day, you get 30 tokens. That makes up for 2 taels of silver a month or 12 a year.

That money would be considered your personal money. The money needed to support the family's necessities would be paid for by mom. What do you think?"

Chapter 72: The Second Born got Beat Up

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Gui's eyes shone. Of course that was okay! Twelve taels of silver a year for personal use? That was so great!

"Sister, we will listen to you."

Lu Jiao turned to Lady Tian, "Mom, are you okay with what I suggested?"

Lady Tian's heart was soft from this conversation and she smiled warmly, "Of course. I'll listen to everything you say."

The reason why Lu Jiao decided to do things this way was to prevent the Lu family from fighting over money.

"Mom, I've done the math. A pound of soybeans is worth four tokens and makes around three pounds of tofu. A pound of tofu is worth three tokens, which means you make nine tokens from one pound of soybeans. There's also tofu crumbs. If there's a buyer, sell it for a token. If nobody buys it, feed it to the pigs."

As Lu Jiao did the math for them, Lady Tian and Lu Gui's eyes brightened. Oh boy, just how much money would they earn if they keep up the business?

Lu Jiao truly thought of a great business for them.

Lady Tian softly said to Lu Jiao, "How about I give you 10% of the money we make?

Lu Gui nodded, "I agree."

Lu Jiao declined, "Mom, there's no need. I don't need it."

Lady Tian wanted to say more but Lu Jiao held onto her hands, "Mom, I know herbs and I know medicine. I also have other skills I can put to use. You don't have to worry about me. I just want you to be happy.

As for tofu making… If your three sons treat you well, you can give it to them. If any one of them treats you poorly, don't give him any."

Lady Tian's eyes were red as she patted Lu Jiao's head. Just what did she do in her previous life to give birth to a daughter this caring?

Inside the kitchen, Lu Gui hit his chest and promised, "Sister, I promise you that I will treat mom well. I won't ever make mom sad."

Lu Jiao humphed, "You better do what you promise."

She then ignored Lu Gui and said to Lady Tian, "Mom, I will teach you tofu making tomorrow morning."

"Okay, okay."

"Let's make dinner then. It's late."

Lady Tian started to make dinner happily while Lu Jiao instructed Lu Gui to move the old bed to the small room in the east building. Lu Gui will sleep on that bed tonight.

Lu Gui excitedly busied himself.

Lu Jiao and Lady Tian went to prepare dinner. Tonight, they would have fish and pot stickers. Lu Jiao also made some cold cucumbers and stir-fried some eggs with chives. All these vegetables were gifted by the Village Leader's family.

Lu Jiao originally wanted to make pork hog with beans. But the lack of pots once again made her give up.

Now it became a pressing matter to get more pots.

Just then, Lu Jiao heard children crying from the outside. She listened carefully and recognized the cries to be from one of the quadruplets.

Her face dropped and she hurriedly stepped out of the kitchen.

The crying came from outside the gate. Lu Jiao walked outside and saw one of the four little ones had collapsed onto the ground. Two out of the other three were comforting the collapsed one, while the other one pointed at the child who ran away and screamed, "Caidou, you dare to hit the Second Born. I am going to make you pay!"

Lu Jiao walked forward and saw that the Second Born had been slapped in the face. On his swollen cheek, there was a faint palm print.

Lu Jiao's face got cold and she remembered what the First Born just screamed.

Caidou was the son of the eldest Xie brother. He dared to come here to hit her children?

"First Born, why did Caidou come out of nowhere to hit the Second Born?"

The First Born turned to Lu Jiao with fury on his face.

"He came up to our gates and waved at us. We thought he wanted something so we came out. He asked us to move back home with daddy, and we said no. He then got angry and slapped the Second Born in the face."

The quadruplets didn't expect Caidou to suddenly hit them and were defenseless. The Second Born ended up getting slapped square in the face.

The Second Born looked up to Lu Jiao and croaked sadly, "Mommy, my face hurts."

Lu Jiao quickly took out some gel out of her sleeve and applied it. The Second Born felt coolness on his cheek – the pain got better.

He finally stopped crying and added to Lu Jiao, "Mommy, I can't win against him in a fight."

Lu Jiao stared at the four little ones. They were thin, small, and very weak. If they go outside to play, they would always be the ones that got beaten up.

Worried, she glanced at the children.

"Tomorrow I will teach you how to defend yourselves. If someone takes advantage of you again, you hit back. We shall never bully others but we refuse to be bullied."

As a military doctor, Lu Jiao knew how to hit others where it hurts. Though the four little ones were very little, if they hit the enemy in the right spot, they could still cause some damage.

The four little ones' eyes brightened, "Mommy, are you for real? Then we will start learning tomorrow."

Lu Jiao nodded. Looking at the palm print on the Second Born's face, she was enraged. Was she really just going to drop this and have her son get hit for nothing?

She grabbed the Second Born's hand and said gloomily, "Let's go. We are going to your first uncle's to ask him how he's been teaching his children."

She was going to teach that kid a lesson.

The quadruplets nodded aggressively, "Yes, he needs to pay."

The four little ones were eager to fight against their enemy.

Behind them, Lady Tian and Lu Gui walked out. They heard that the Second Born was hit and they weren't happy about it.

Lady Tian gritted her teeth, "If the upper beam is bent, the lower one also gets slanted. Just what kind family are they?"

She then grabbed the First Born's hand, "Let's go. Grandma will come with you."

Lu Gui also chimed in, "Uncle will come as well."

Lu Jiao was worried about Xie Yunjin and said to Lu Gui, "Go take care of your brother-in-law. I will go pay the Xie family a visit with mom."

Lu Gui was also worried, "You need to be careful."

Lady Tian hissed, "Why, are they going to hit us?"

Lu Gui didn't speak and went back. Lu Jiao and Lady Tian brought the four little ones to the Xie family.

Whenever someone on the street saw them and asked, Lu Jiao told them exactly what happened without concealing any information.

"I'm going to ask big brother and big sister-in-law just how they've been educating their children. Their children show up at my house and order my children to go against their father and move back home. My children disagreed so Caidou hit my Second Born. Look, his cheek is swollen."

The Second Born's face truly was swollen with a visible palm print.

Those who heard didn't take Xie Daqiang or Chen Liu's side. They knew that they were once again taking advantage of their third brother. What was wrong with them? They used to use their third brother's achievements for their own gains and now they were here to bully him?

Now that Xie Yunjin's legs are healing, shouldn't they do their best to make peace? Why would they send their children to hit Xie Yunjin's children?

As Lu Jiao walked, more and more people followed her and headed to the Xie family.

Right now, the entire Xie family was lecturing Caidou for messing up a simple task.

Chen Liu pushed her son away with her fingertips, "You only eat and eat yet your brain never grows. Could you not have buttered up those four children? If your third uncle moves back, then you get more food to eat."

Chapter 73: The Little Actor

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Caidou unhappily grunted, "I did butter them up. They ignored me, what else can I do? I even told them I have candy for them. Still, they rejected my idea."

Inside the room, Lady Ruan listened to this and was unspeakably mad, "This is all because of that b!tchy mother of theirs. Their entire family is trash."

Just then, Lady Ruan's voice echoed from outside, "Xie Daqiang, what's up with your child hitting mine?"

Everyone inside the room heard the commotion and all turned to Caidou.

"You hit your cousin?"

Caidou angrily announced, "They declined me while I was being nice. I got angry so I slapped the Second Born. It was his fault for not listening to me. If this was before, would they dare to treat me this way?!"

Inside the room, the adults were half dead from anger. He was sent to make peace with the quadruplets but he ended up hitting someone?

Lady Ruan, however, didn't think this was a big deal, "Whatever. He deserved it."

Just then, the Xie family's front door was kicked open.

The door was unlocked and not fully closed so it was easy to kick it open.

Lu Jiao walked in with the Second Born. Behind her was a group of villagers.

Lu Jiao went to Xie Daqiang and Chen Liu right away, "Brother, sister, what's the meaning of this? You send Caidou to tell my children to defy their father. When my children declined, your child slapped my Second Born in the face."

Just then, the First Born glanced at the Second Born, who immediately stretched out his lips and cried out, "My face hurts. It hurts! Mommy, I'm in so much pain!"

The villagers all stared. He hadn't been crying at all while they walked. Why was he suddenly crying now?

His pitiful and teary face, however, garnered much sympathy from the villagers.

Xie Daqiang and Chen Liu looked at Lu Jiao in fury. Xie Daqiang in particular had the urge to beat up this woman.

With a huge frown, he said thickly, "The children get into a fight while playing, what can the adults do?"

Lu Jiao coldly snorted, "Your Caidou is an eight-year-old boy who came here to hit my four-year-olds. The audacity for you to speak to me like this."

Before Xie Daqiang could answer, Lu Jiao turned to Caidou and said in a low voice, "Since you do not know how to educate your child, then I will do it for you. Young kids don't know better. They'll learn after they take a beating."

Caidou was scared off by Lu Jiao's serious expression and retreated.

Xie Daqiang gawked at Lu Jiao with fury, "You want to hit my Caidou?"

Lu Jiao shook her head, "No, I want you to educate your child."

Xie Daqiang honestly beat his son pretty frequently. However, Lu Jiao was obviously threatening him so there was no way he was going to agree. His expression was heavy.

"I know how to educate my children. You better hurry up and get the hell out of here."

"Your child hit mine. I'm not going to let it go like that," Lu Jiao responded sharply.

Xie Laogen stood up and sighed at Lu Jiao.

"Third daughter-in-law, don't be angry. It's normal for children to fight; children often fight in the village. This isn't a big deal."

"If it's as simple as children fighting, then it's no big deal. But Caidou came to my house asking my children to defy their father. This obviously means someone's asked him to do that. So, I am not going to let this go."

Xie Laogen's eyes went dark as he too grew angry at Lu Jiao's words.

This daughter-in-law of his was out of line. His third son should leave her. She was unreasonable.

As Xie Laogen thought about it, he said in an angry tone, "You are making a joke out of my family by making a scene right now. Enough. We will educate Caidou later."

Xie Laogen yelled at Caidou, "Don't hit your younger cousins in the future."

The Second Born started to cry, "I don't have such a cousin. He's not my cousin!"

Xiao Laogen now felt like he's been slapped in the face by both his daughter-in-law and his grandson, his expression grew extremely ugly.

Beside him, Lady Ruan jumped up, "You bastard! Even your father doesn't dare to speak like this. You sure grew gutsy. You deserve to be hit! Or else you don't even know to respect your elders!"

Lady Ruan then tried to hit the Second Born. Lady Tian hopped out and pointed at Lady Ruan, "Watch me kill you, you witch!"

Lady Ruan instantly remembered how Lady Tian dragged her across the yard and stopped. She knew she couldn't win in a fight against Lady Tian.

Xie Daqiang heard Lady Tian and angrily screamed, "This is the Xie family, not yours! You dare to come on my turf to fight? You deserve a beating!"

Lu Jiao sarcastically laughed, "Look at how capable you make yourself sound. Come at me, test me and see if I am scared of you. You think I am afraid of you because you're a man?"

Xie Daqiang's eyes widened and he walked over to hit Lu Jiao. Beside him, Chen Liu stopped him.

Chen Liu then grabbed her younger son by the ear and started to hit his butt. As she hit him, she furiously yelled, "You should never hit your cousins! Your cousins are family! In the future, you and your cousins will need to help each other out!"

Chen Liu hit him rather hard and Caidou started to cry instantly. As he cried, he screeched towards Xie Laogen, "Grandma, save me."

This time, Xie Laogen didn't chime in. He knew that his third daughter-in-law wasn't going to go away until her demand was answered.

This woman was still married to his son. If they fight, the villagers would see them as a joke. Though Xie Laogen's heart ached for his grandson, he endured.

As for Chen Liu, she only hit her son for Lu Jiao to see.

She was different from Xie Daqiang. Xie Daqiang thought that Xie Yunjin was his brother and that no matter what happened, they would remain brothers.

Chen Liu, however, knew that their brothership was conditional. If Xie Daqiang continued to treat Xie Yunjin poorly, Xie Yunjin wouldn't help them out once he was successful. This was why she was now hitting her son.

Lu Jiao watched as Chen Liu beat her own son and said coldly, "This is the first time and the last time this shall happen. If this happens again, I will teach your children a lesson on your behalf."

She then walked away while holding onto the Second Born. Behind her, Lady Tian walked away with the other three children.

Inside the Xie family yard, Xie Laogen watched Lu Jiao leave then glared at Chen Liu, "Enough, enough, the child doesn't know better."

Lady Ruan cursed out Lu Jiao inside the yard. Her words were ugly enough that Xie Erzhu and his wife couldn't bear to listen anymore.

"Mom, you need to improve your relationship with my third brother. You can't do this."

Lady Ruan stomped her feet, "If you are so capable, you go talk to your brother and have him move home. I'll only admit you as capable then."

Xie Erzhu's face was sour, "I have no audacity to do that. You were the ones who forced him to move out before and now you want him back."

"Your family is banned from eating tonight!"

Lady Ruan roared.

Chapter 74: I do not like How Tainted Your Heart is

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Lu Jiao didn't care for any of this and left with the quadruplets. On her way back, all the villagers tried to talk to her and tell her to not get angry at Xie Laogen's family. Nobody from that family was reasonable.

Lu Jiao chatted with everyone as she walked home. At first, a whole group of villagers followed her, but near the end, only a few remained. Before Lu Jiao got home, she passed by the Shen family home. There was much noise coming from their home including someone crying.

Lu Jiao saw how big the crowd was and remembered that before, she had convinced Luo Wangcai to marry Shen Xiu.

She was intrigued and dragged the Third and Fourth Born to watch the show.

Behind her, Lady Tian dragged the other two children along and followed. A lot of other villagers noticed the noise as well and went up to see what happened.

Inside the Shen yard, Shen Xiu collapsed on the ground, crying. Beside her was a young girl around three or four and she was crying as well.

The mother and daughter duo appeared very pitiful. The villagers outside the gate were pointing and discussing.

"I heard Luo Wangcai gave Widow Li 10 taels of silver and asked to marry Shen Xiu."

"Shen Xiu rejected him and now they are fighting."

"Where did Luo Wangcai get all that silver? He doesn't even know where his next meal is coming from. He normally steals or tricks others just to get food."

"Who knows? Maybe he's been saving."

In front of the Shen family home, Shen Xiu cried heartbreakingly. As she cried, she desperately yelled, "I'm not marrying him. There is no way. Don't you even think about it.

If you don't want me to stay here, I will leave. I'll leave right now."

This scene made the villagers pity Shen Xiu.

"Widow Li is over the line. For that much silver, she's willing to marry off her daughter. Luo Wangcai is such a poor fella. If Shen Xiu marries him, there's no way her life will be easy. There's no way Luo Wangcai can take care of both her and her daughter."

"Widow Li only ever sees money. She simply does not care. For 10 taels of silver, she's more than willing to marry off her daughter. This daughter of hers earned her big chunks of silver twice."

Behind the crowd, Lu Jiao peered into the yard with a cold grin on her face.

This woman ordered Luo Wangcai to seduce Lu Jiao. Now that the same trick was being played on her, she sure was making a big fuss out of it.

However, this woman was no easy target. She chose to publicly make a scene in order to give her mother a hard time so she would refuse this marriage proposal.

Sadly, she had underestimated her mother's shamelessness.

Lu Jiao turned to leave. She'd seen enough of this show. Her family hadn't even had dinner, she had to get back and eat.

Who knew that the moment she turned around, Shen Xiu caught sight of her.

She stood up, ran out the gate, and then knelt in front of Lu Jiao.

"Lu Jiao, please save me. You have to save me, or else I have no reason to live."

The villagers had no idea what Shen Xiu was intending to do here.

Why would she kneel in front of Lu Jiao?

Lu Jiao's gaze was cold as she stared at Shen Xiu. Then, she mockingly beamed.

"What can I do to help?"

"Allow me to be Third Brother Xie's concubine."

Shen Xiu's words made everyone gawk at her in disbelief.

They weren't shocked that she was willing to be a concubine – they were astounded that she was willing to announce that out loud.

Even if Yunjin did want a concubine, he would only marry a young woman. Why would he ever take in a widow who's already had a child? Was she in her right mind to think she deserved to be his concubine?

Shen Xiu didn't care about what others were thinking and continued to beg.

"Lu Jiao, I don't want to take what's yours. I just want a concubine title. Please, let me live."

Lu Jiao found this hilarious. She looked down at her and said, "As the saying goes, a man marries the most virtuous woman to be his wife, the most good-looking to be his concubine. Tell me, where do you get the confidence to think that my Yunjin would take you in as a concubine? A once married woman with a child."

Lu Jiao shook her head, "You sure have a wild imagination."

Hatred flooded Shen Xiu's eyes. However, she didn't express it. She cried and continuously kowtowed, "Please, let me live."

Lu Jiao sympathetically looked at her, "I sure want to help you. But I cannot allow my Yunjin to take a widow as a concubine. Yunjin is going to take exams and get a government job. To have a widow as a concubine would make him the laughing stock. Forgive me for being powerless."

Many people agreed with Lu Jiao's statement and nodded.

Anyone with an above-average living situation in a rural area would refuse a widow as a concubine. Yunjin in particular was someone who had big plans ahead of him. If he has a widow as a concubine, he truly would be the joke of the town.

This woman sure dared to dream big. She's always been like this.

Everyone pointed fingers and talked about Shen Xiu.

"Is there something wrong with her brain?"

"I heard she always goes to Yunjin's home and gives him food."

"She's wanted to marry Yunjin even before she got married herself. She's someone else's wife now and she still hasn't given up. How shameless."

Shen Xiu heard everyone's comments and felt like they were stomping on her face. Her heart bled.

But if she could not manage to successfully marry Yunjin as she wished today, her mother was going to make her marry Luo Wangcai. She'd rather die than marry Luo Wangcai.

Shen Xiu suddenly jolted off the ground and ran out.

Everyone trembled in shock. Someone screamed, "Is she going to hurt herself?"

Lu Jiao didn't think so. That woman had many ideas in her head and there was no way she would go seek death.

Quickly, however, her face dropped and she mumbled, "Is she going to my place to beg Yunjin? Yunjin's still wounded."

The villagers gasped at that idea.

Lu Jiao pulled on her son and headed home. Lady Tian followed and the villagers followed as well.

Everyone rushed to Lu Jiao's place and what do you know? The moment they stepped into Lu Jiao's yard, cries from the east bedroom could be heard.

"Third brother Xie, please, save me."

The look of awe was found on most villagers' faces. Lu Jiao took the quadruplets and headed into the east bedroom. The villagers followed to watch the show.

Inside the east bedroom, Xie Yunjin watched the crying woman with a raised eyebrow.

"Look at my situation. How do I save you?"

Shen Xiu's voice was now scratchy, "Third brother Xie, my mom wants to sell me to Luo Wangcai for 10 taels of silver. I don't want to marry him. I want to marry you, third brother Xie. I'm okay with being a concubine."

Third brother Xie's legs were likely going to heal now. Even if she becomes a concubine, she will end up doing better than others in the future.

Plus, if she could successfully marry third brother Xie as she hoped, she would be able to think of a way to get rid of Lu Jiao in the future. Then, she could step up and become the official wife.

Shen Xiu was excited at all the possibilities. On the bed, Xie Yunjin's eyes sparkled with unspeakable disgust. He gaped at Shen Xiu, who was still on the ground and asked coldly.

"Do you hate me?"

Shen Xiu was flustered and looked up with her eyes red, "Third brother Xie, why would I hate you? You are the man I like."

Xie Yunjin didn't appear to have heard that last phrase as he continued to speak, "If you don't hate me, then why do you keep on trying to harm me? Four years ago, you told everyone we grew up together and were emotionally involved when we barely talked.

Today, you're someone else's widow. Yet you run over here and ask me to take you in as a concubine. Do you really think I am a junk collector?

My legs now have a chance of making a full recovery. Even if I do not recover, I would detest you. There's no way I am going to have a widow as a concubine. I do not like how tainted your heart is!"

Chapter 75: We don't want you to have Children with other Women

Translator: CokeZero Editor: Rainystars

Xie Yunjin's last sentence fatally attacked Shen Xiu. The color drained from her face as she lost all her energy and nearly fainted.

She thought Xie Yunjin treated her differently from others. After all, he would speak to her sometimes when he rarely spoke to anyone else in the village.

She didn't know he thought of her as tainted.

Shen Xiu's brain buzzed and she lost all her strength.

Outside the room, someone squeezed through the crowd – it was Luo Wangcai.

The sight of Lu Jiao made Luo Wangcai's legs go numb. He raised his arm and pointed at Shen Xiu, "I'm here to take her away."

He then went into the room and dragged Shen Xiu out.

Before, Luo Wangcai somewhat liked Shen Xiu and enjoyed the idea of having her as a wife. Today, however, he felt a knot in his heart. So, this woman had her heart set on Xie Yunjin.

If she had silently admired him, that would've been okay with Luo Wangcai.

However, today, this woman asked to be Xie Yunjin's concubine and said she would rather be someone's concubine than be his wife. Just how much did she hate him?

If he does marry her, he no longer cared too much about treating this relationship seriously.

Luo Wangcai dragged Shen Xiu out as if she was a dead dog.

Behind them, Lu Jiao said to the crowd, "This doesn't concern my family. Everyone, please go back now."

"That's true. This doesn't concern you. Some people's brains don't work as well as others."

"Yunjin's wife, don't get mad. No need to acknowledge those who are brainless."

Lu Jiao walked everyone out nicely and then waved for Lady Tian and Lu Gui to eat dinner.

The four little ones were confused about the whole thing and asked Lu Jiao, "Mommy, what's a concubine?"

Lu Jiao's lips twitched. Lady Tian nudged the little boys, "You children shouldn't ask so much."

Sadly, the four little ones refused to leave and were determined to find answers.

Lu Jiao didn't want to lie to them so she explained in simple terms, "Concubine means your daddy marries someone else on the side as his little wife. That little wife will then bear his children."

Lu Jiao wanted to say "sleep with daddy". But the four little ones were too young so she said "bear his children."

The four little ones' faces changed color. They did a full u-turn and ran back into the bedroom.

Lu Jiao and Lady Tian carried all the prepared dishes into the living room and coincidentally heard the firm attitudes the four little ones displayed.

"Daddy, we do not want you to get a little wife."

"Daddy, you cannot get another wife. You are not allowed to have children with her. When we grow older, we will take care of you."

"Yes, if you really want more children, you can have more with mommy. We will treat our little brother nicely."

"Ahhh, daddy, if you have children with your little wife, we will abandon you."

The four little ones felt that if their father had children with some other woman, he would no longer be their father. However, if he truly wanted more children, they could accept more siblings if he had them with their mother. To them, that would mean they were still family.

Xie Yunjin's face darkened and he called out angrily, "Lu Jiao…"

Lu Jiao was setting the table outside. When she heard what the children had said, she tried to hide herself like a turtle. Oops, she was just casually explaining to them what that term meant.

Lady Tian noticed Xie Yunjin's anger and glared at her daughter for speaking out of line.

What else could Lu Jiao do but admit to the crime in the east bedroom?

On the bed, Xie Yunjin unkindly stared at Lu Jiao, "Why are you saying such useless things to the kids?"

Lu Jiao explained, "I spoke without thinking."

She then looked at the four little ones, "You guys, don't be sad. Even if your daddy does marry another woman, you will all remain his favorite sons."

Her words made the four little ones cry out loud. So their daddy did want to have children with someone else.

"I don't want daddy to have children with someone else."

"Daddy is ours. We don't want other kids to call him daddy."

"Ahhh, daddy, if you have children with your little wife, I will run away from this home. I will abandon you."

"Wuuuu, daddy, didn't you say you loved us the most and didn't like other children?"

Xie Yunjin's head pulsed. He glared at Lu Jiao violently, "If I wasn't bedridden, you would be learning your lesson right now."

He then ignored Lu Jiao and looked at the four little ones, "Okay, stop crying. I won't marry anyone else. I will spend all my time with you."

The quadruplets stopped crying instantly. With their eyes red, they stared at Xie Yunjin, "Are you for real?"

"You are not going to have babies with others?"

"If you do, we will run away from home."

The four children exchanged glances and nodded together, "That's right."

The First Born looked at Xie Yunjin and said in a serious tone, "If you want more children, have it with her."

Lu Jiao jumped at the mention of her. She quickly looked over to Xie Yunjin, who looked back with a fake smile.

Lu Jiao's head hurt. Did this guy think she plotted this and asked the First Born to say that to him?

She quickly spoke up, "My baby, I'm not going to have more children. You four are enough."

The quadruplets glanced at both of them, "Really?"

Both their mom and dad nodded at the same time, which finally put their four little minds at ease. Lu Jiao was terrified that Xie Yunjin would make a bigger deal out of this and dragged the four little ones.

The Fourth Born whispered to the Third Born, "If we get a younger sister, that might be nice?"

The quadruplets pondered in a serious manner. In the end, they reached the conclusion that it would be nice to have a sister.

The First Born turned to Lu Jiao, "If you do have more babies with daddy, it should be a sister."

Lu Jiao rolled her eyes. Did they really think having a sister was as easy as laying an egg? Seriously…

Outside the room, Lady Tian and Lu Gui heard the children and Lady Tian nodded in agreement, "Once Yunjin heals, you can have a daughter. A daughter is the parents' warm cotton jacket."

Lu Jiao was speechless. Once Xie Yunjin's legs heal, she will leave. Where did more babies come from?

The Fourth Born was very interested in the cotton jacket and asked Lady Tian, "Granny, what is a cotton jacket?"

"It's a jacket that is made out of cotton. It means having a daughter can keep you warm and fuzzy."

The Fourth Born sat up straight and indicated, "Granny, do not worry. I am my mommy's warm cotton jacket."

He then turned to Lu Jiao, "Mommy, isn't that right?"

Lu Jiao nodded and agreed. As long as the conversation leaned away from having babies.

"Yes, you are mommy's cotton jacket."

The family ate happily. Afterward, Lu Jiao poured some fish soup, grabbed some pot stickers, and went to feed Xie Yunjin.

Though Xie Yunjin could move around more now and could drink water independently, eating was still too much work. Lu Jiao continued to feed him.

As she fed him, she said, "We only have one pot at home – a broken one at that. I need to quickly get two good pots. That will make cooking so much easier."

Xie Yunjin didn't speak and only silently stared. Lu Jiao thought of before and thought Xie Yunjin suspected she taught the quadruplets to say such things. She explained herself.

"I didn't teach the quadruplets anything. Don't overthink and think I was the one who told them what to say."

Xie Yunjin calmly responded, "What am I overthinking about? You tell me."

Honestly, Lu Jiao was a military doctor and only knew how to treat patients. When it came to mind games, she wasn't as skilled as Xie Yunjin. So she rather steers away from topics like this.

"Hahaha, good if you aren't."