Liu Yun was afraid that Chu Nanzhi would beat the child again. A few months ago, she had given Lin Ruiwen a vicious beating that had almost killed him. If she had not rushed over in time, there would have been one less child.
Before Chu Nanzhi could blow up, she quickly pulled Lin Ruiwen over and lectured him.
"Granny just said that you have to address her as Mother. If you want more, ask your mother nicely. Why are you so rude?"
"She's the one who won't let us address us as mother. She's the one who said we popped out of a crack in a rock and she finds the sight of us irritating."
Lin Ruiwen roared in exasperation.
Hearing this, Chu Nanzhi suddenly felt a little upset.
She remembered that the Host often told the four children this.
Not long after the Host married Lin Jinxiao, she wanted to bring him to the Qi family to beg that domineering aunt to get him a good job at the county office. However, he had adamantly refused. He would rather go along with the arrangements of his two teachers and stay in the county office as a low-ranking official.
The Host felt that he was too rigid and did not know how to seek out opportunities. She felt that she had married a good-for-nothing and had gradually grown resentful.
After having children, the Host asked Lin Jinxiao to learn from his colleagues in the county office, who extorted money from merchants behind the county magistrate's back. He had refused once again, so she had to be content with his monthly salary of five taels of silver and two catties of rice.
Although this allowance was considered generous, it was not enough for the Host's extravagant ways. As a result, the Host had grown increasingly desperate and began to vent her anger on the children.
Then she met Priest Ximen and saw that the priest could refine pills and curry favor with people from all walks of life. He was very resourceful. Finally, she completely gave up on this family. Whenever she saw the children, she felt like hitting them. She found them very annoying.
At that thought, Chu Nanzhi stopped speaking and quietly walked into the kitchen.
Liu Yun thought that she was going to get a stick or something, so she quickly chased after her and pleaded on behalf of the children, "Da Zhi, stop hitting them. Stop hitting them. The children are still young. Even if they are immature, they should be taught. You can't keep hitting them. Ruiwen's old injuries haven't healed yet."
"Mother, what are you thinking? I won't hit him."
Chu Nanzhi looked at the remaining pork and the few green peppers on the chopping board. "Since everyone wants more, I'll stir-fry another portion."
"That's good, that's good. The children have been on tenterhooks for the past few days and haven't eaten properly. They should have a good meal."
Liu Yun smiled knowingly. "It's just that Ah Zhu bought too little meat today."
"It's fine. I'll go buy some more tomorrow. Mother, go rest first. You can have some more later."
Liu Yun was relieved when she saw that Chu Nanzhi was not going to beat the children. She obediently went out to comfort the children.
When Chu Nanzhi finished cooking and brought the dish to the table, the children did not dare to eat anymore. They stared dumbly at it for a long time. They looked at each other, feeling that something was amiss.
Lin Ruijia, leaned towards Liu Yun in disbelief and muttered softly, "Granny, did she really go crazy last night? She stopped hitting us and even cooked for us."
Liu Yun shushed her, but Lin Ruiwen also whispered into Lin Jinxiao's ear, "Father, what's wrong with the bad woman today?"
"Father, did the bad woman really do something bad? Maybe she's afraid of being struck by lightning, so she's suddenly treating us so well."
Lin Ruichong whispered to Lin Jinxiao.
This matter was already bothering Lin Jinxiao. He was even more confused by her current behavior.
"What does that evil woman want?"
Lin Jinxiao asked himself silently.
Chu Nanzhi saw that they were all whispering to each other sneakily, so she immediately raised her voice and shouted, "Hurry up and eat. If you don't eat, I'll take it away."
The four children looked at each other and then at Lin Jinxiao.
Lin Jinxiao thought about it and ordered, "Hurry up and eat."
For now, he would take it one step at a time.
With Lin Jinxiao's permission, the four children finally dared to pick up their chopsticks to take the food.
All of them ate happily. They could not bear to put down their chopsticks even when the food was gone.
They had never eaten such delicious food in their lives.
After dinner, Lin Ruiwen and Lin Ruichong helped Lin Jinxiao to wipe down and change his clothes. Chu Nanzhi asked Liu Yun and Chu Nanzhu to bring the two girls to play in the courtyard while she went to the kitchen to wash the pots and pans.
Before she could finish tidying up, Liu Yun carried a bag of rice in and took her leave. She also reminded Chu Nanzhi to take good care of her husband and children.
After Liu Yun left, Chu Nanzhi had just tidied up the kitchen when she heard Lin Ruijia shouting outside. "Granny, your money."
Chu Nanzhi ran out only to see three silver ingots on the wooden table in the guest hall. Each ingots was worth five taels, so there was more than fifteen taels.
"Hey!"
Chu Nanzhi hit her forehead in frustration. She blamed herself for not telling Liu Yun how she had earned money from the county magistrate.
She picked up the silver on the table and quickly chased after Liu Yun.
Liu Yun pulled Chu Nanzhu along and ran as fast as she could. As she ran, she shouted, "Da Zhi, save the money to bring your husband to see a doctor. Buy more food for the children. Don't let them go hungry."
Chu Nanzhi chased them to the wooden fence, but the mother and daughter had already disappeared.
Chu Nanzhi had no choice but to keep the money. She walked back angrily. She felt a little upset and started to think about how to help Liu Yun share the family's burdens.
However, the problems of this branch of the Chu family could not be resolved with a little money. She had to settle things here before slowly solving those problems
When they returned to the guest hall, Lin Jinxiao had already changed his clothes. He looked completely refreshed after washing up.
Although his gray robe was simple, it could not hide his handsome and slender figure.
Although he was only a descendant of the disgraced royal family, he exuded a calm and noble air.
In addition, he had lost the depressed air that he had yesterday and now he looked much more radiant.
Chu Nanzhi did not dare to look anymore. Since ancient times, good looks were always a source of trouble. She did not want to be tied down by this source of trouble.
She had wanted to take this opportunity to discuss the divorce with him, but after seeing his pathetic, half-paralyzed state, she dismissed the idea.
Now was not the time.
In this era, reputation was extremely important, be it for officials or ordinary citizens. She had not yet considered her future.
However, she had no memory of any outstanding female officials in this dynasty that were worthy of her respect.
She was very passionate about her profession in her previous life. If there was a chance, she hoped to continue doing detective work.
Therefore, she could not give anyone grounds for gossip.
Back in the small wooden hut, she sorted through some vague memories and calculated how much silver she had and how she might use it.
Before long, night gradually fell, and the entire room grew dark.
They had a very late lunch today. The children had eaten a lot just now, so they probably would not be hungry again.
She was really exhausted after such a busy day. She washed up, bolted the door, and lay on the bed for a long time. When she did not hear any movement outside, she relaxed and fell asleep.
After sleeping for awhile, she vaguely heard the sound of a walking stick outside the hut.
Although the noise was soft, it could not escape the ears of a professional police officer.
She quietly got up and lit the lamp. After listening at the door for a while, the sound of the walking stick suddenly disappeared.
Chu Nanzhi opened the door suspiciously, wanting to find out what was going on. However, the moment the door opened, she saw a handsome figure topple towards her and crush her.
Chu Nanzhi reacted swiftly. Just as she was about to fall, she dragged the figure and spun a few times before they both fell onto the bed.
Chu Nanzhi sighed inwardly. The Host's body was really too weak. Otherwise, with her usual agility, she would definitely have been able to restrain him.
Fortunately, she did not fall to the ground. Otherwise, her head, which had just been injured, would probably suffer further damage.
The light allowed her to take a closer look at the face on the bed. It was Lin Jinxiao.
Chu Nanzhi sat up gloomily and scolded angrily, "Do you want to die? Why are you sneaking around outside my door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"