As soon as the words stopped echoing, a tiny head slowly peeked from the door, large eyes clearly outlined in black and white, filled with tension and fear.
Zhang Xiaoying watched in silence, and the little girl carefully inched her way inside.
"How much did you hear?" Zhang Xiaoying asked only when she approached.
Despite her calm demeanor, Da Niu still felt overwhelmingly oppressed.
"Granny, are you going to sell me?" it took Da Niu a while to ask with a sobbing tone, "Granny, I can do anything; I will also take good care of you in the future. Please don't sell me to the Zhao Family, okay? I'm scared of Genzi Brother."
The little girl tried hard not to cry out loud, but tears dropped like beads, plinking down, stirring up sympathy in anyone who saw.
Zhang Xiaoying seldom saw the young ones cry; she didn't understand why the little girl's tears were so plentiful, but she genuinely felt heartache.
"Apart from Genzi being a fool, there's nothing wrong with the Zhao Family, is there?" Zhang Xiaoying didn't rush to comfort Da Niu; instead, she questioned her.
Da Niu pouted, her face smeared with tears, "He even beats his own mother; I'm afraid he'll beat me to death. Granny, I don't want to go to the Zhao Family; please don't make me, okay?"
Zhang Xiaoying gestured to her, "Come here."
Da Niu's crying choked for a second. Hesitant, she stepped forward.
Zhang Xiaoying reached out to wipe away her tears, "There, why cry? You're my granddaughter after all; even if I were to sell you, I would have to find a decent family. Besides, you just started helping around the house, I should at least keep you for a few more years, until Wencong passes the imperial examination!"
"Really?" Da Niu stopped crying upon hearing this.
"Mm." Zhang Xiaoying nodded.
"Granny, you're so kind," Da Niu blurted out, then realizing she might have misspoken, she immediately hung her head in silence.
"Go out, help your Second Aunt watch the fire. As for your marriage, that's at least a discussion for when you're grown up." Zhang Xiaoying waved her hand, signaling her to leave.
After all, still being a child and hearing what Zhang Xiaoying said, Da Niu's worries dissipated like smoke in air, and she brightened up with a smile, "Mm, mm, Granny, you rest well, I'll go help Second Aunt."
After speaking, Da Niu ran out.
Although she had only been transported here for half a day, Zhang Xiaoying genuinely liked Da Niu quite a bit.
Obedient and clever, unlike the savvy children of her previous life, though a product of their environment, comparatively speaking, it was difficult to dislike a child as simple as Da Niu.
Furthermore, Da Niu was at an age where she was the most malleable, likely the one in the Xu Family who could most easily change.
Zhang Xiaoying continued to study the cookbook.
In this world, she did not want to shortchange herself!
Being well-fed and healthy was the priority; as for transforming the people of the Xu Family, that had to wait.
After flipping through the cookbook and noting the dishes she wanted to make, Zhang Xiaoying finally went outside.
Xu Qinglin and Xu Changsheng had already cleaned the boar of its fur, but having never slaughtered pigs before, they really didn't know how to proceed.
Seeing them clueless with knives surrounding the boar, Zhang Xiaoying walked over, annoyed, snatched a knife, "Lift the pig and take it to the riverside. You think it's clean to handle it here?"
The brothers were startled, Xu Changsheng unconsciously stepped back, afraid their mother might hurl the knife in a fit of anger.
He had heard his wife say that the old lady was incredibly fierce, even daring to kill a wild boar!
Zhang Xiaoying followed her two brothers to the riverbank.
The brothers only saw Zhang Xiaoying's knife flash down, and the wild boar was neatly cut open.
"Mom, you know how to butcher a pig?" Xu Changsheng asked ingratiatingly. "How come I've never seen you do it before?"
"I can kill people too, do you want to see that?" Zhang Xiaoying glanced at him coldly.
Xu Changsheng immediately shut his mouth.
Zhang Xiaoying didn't count on the brothers anymore, otherwise, it wouldn't have been done by nightfall.
She directed them to clean the innards and such, since pig offal soup was said to be delicious.
It was just the time when the villagers were returning from the fields, and they would all come to the river to wash their farm tools. Seeing the Xu Family dealing with such a big wild boar, many cast envious glances their way.
"Auntie Xu, with such a big wild boar, are you not planning to sell it? Geez, that's a lot of meat, can you finish it? Why not share some with everyone?" Li Guang, Jiang's son, approached with a smile. "Just so happens my mother hasn't eaten meat for a while."
"Don't know how to buy your own meat?" Zhang Xiaoying gave him a disdainful look. "What do you want from me?"
"Who in our village except for the Zhao Family can eat meat whenever they want?" Li Guang laughed. He lowered his voice and raised his finger. "Lately, the Zhao Family has been coming to my mother non-stop, trying to get her to find a wife on their behalf, even offering this much as a dowry!"
Not waiting for Zhang Xiaoying to say anything, Li Guang began to pick through the wild boar meat that Xiaoying had divided, "These two pieces of meat look good, I'll take them home now. Later, I'll have my mother come and talk to you."
"What are you doing?" Zhang Xiaoying called out sternly. "Put it down!"
Li Guang paused, then twisted his mouth into a smile. "I'm taking it home for my mother to try, Auntie. Aren't we like family? Haven't our families shared what we had?"
"Oh, you mean those rotten pickles that even you didn't want to eat? Or when we had to help pick the rotting vegetables from your fields, choose the good ones, and you gave us the leftovers?" Zhang Xiaoying scoffed.
People are social animals. The original host had ruined her own social standing and could only open her heart and assist Jiang's family in everything.
The calculations Jiang's family made at the expense of the original host made Zhang Xiaoying sick just thinking about them.
If she wasn't mistaken, the elder daughter was very afraid of Li Guang, too bad the original host and the people from the Xu Family didn't care!
"Look at what you're saying, Auntie." In front of the whole courtyard, Li Guang, just as hypocritical and obsessed with face as Jiang's family, was immediately embarrassed by Zhang Xiaoying's remark. "I was thinking of having my mother bring money over later. I've just come back from the fields, how could I have money on me?"
"If you don't have money, then put it down. Taking without asking is considered theft. Your family has literate people, haven't you even heard this saying?" Zhang Xiaoying snatched the meat back, upsetting his plan to take the best two pieces of meat from the wild boar.
Li Guang's face soured. "Auntie Xu, do you need to be so calculating? If you say no, that's the end of it. Is there a need to go this far? Our Li Family is not some low-life, would we short you on Silver Coin?"
The others by the river whispered among themselves.
"Look at the Xu Family, so petty over such a small thing. The Li Family has helped them plenty, and it's just two pieces of meat from such a big wild boar. Is it worth it?"
"Don't you know? Only the Xu Family profits from others; when do others ever get anything good from them? Anyway, only the Li Family is foolish enough to play the good Samaritan and interact with the Xu Family. Now they've lost face and reputation, and even got called thieves!"
"Who even knows where that wild boar came from. Li Guang dares to touch it; he might just attract a whole heap of trouble. Wait, could it be the Liu Family's?"
...