Shen Yuning was a person who could adapt to circumstances. Although the Zhang family's house was shabby, it was clean and fully furnished, which was much better than the empty house in Shenjiapo.
On the first day, they took down a door panel to make a bed for Xuanzhi. On the second day, Old Man Zhang and Shen Fugui went up the mountain to cut trees and made a small bed in a day. Xuanzhi was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
Shen Yuning took out the silk fabrics she had brought and began to embroider silk handkerchiefs and purses again.
Zhang Rong stared at her from the side. She wanted to reach out and touch them, but was afraid that her rough hands would scratch the delicate fabrics. When she saw the lifelike hibiscus flowers and butterflies on the silk handkerchief, she was truly amazed.
"I saw such delicate things when I went to the market before. I thought that if I had some extra money in the future, I could buy a silk handkerchief or a purse. But even when I had a little extra money later, I just wanted to save it for my future children..."
After Shen Yuning finished embroidering, she handed the silk handkerchief to Zhang Rong. "Sister-in-law, you don't have to wait. This one is for you."
Zhang Rong was flattered. Seeing that the pink silk handkerchief was carefully hemmed by Shen Yuning, she waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no, no. I'm used to doing rough work on weekdays. I don't need this. Usually, I just use a rag. You've worked hard all day to embroider this. You can sell it for silver. Why give it to me?"
Shen Yuning's eyes curved into a smile. "I originally planned to give it to you, sister-in-law. Look at this hibiscus flower. It's exactly the same as your name."
Zhang Rong just asked Shen Yuning to put the handkerchief on the table. Then she got up, washed her hands with laundry soap, rummaged through the box and found a small bottle of clam oil to rub on her hands. After carefully checking that there were no burrs on her hands, she took the handkerchief and grinned.
Shen Yuning moved closer to her and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you think I can sell these embroidered items if I take them out?"
Zhang Rong stared at the real - looking flowers and butterflies on the handkerchief, nodded, and then thought for a while and shook her head. "This is too precious. Xitian Town is the poorest town around here. In previous years, no one was willing to buy such things. Even though the situation has improved a lot in the past two years, I'm afraid not many people will buy them."
It wasn't that she wanted to dampen her younger sister - in - law's confidence. It was just that silk handkerchiefs and purses were not something that peasant girls should use.
Hearing this, Shen Yuning turned around and took out the purse she had made before and handed it to Zhang Rong. "Then sister - in - law, help me see if I can sell this?"
Zhang Rong held it in her palm and examined it carefully. She looked at Shen Yuning in surprise. "Silk handkerchiefs like those may not sell, but embroidered items made of ordinary cloth like this will definitely sell. Yuning, your craftsmanship is really good."
Shen Yuning didn't explain. She just pursed her lips and smiled. "It's good if it can be sold. I'll embroider another ordinary one tomorrow and ask my brother to accompany me to a cloth store in the town to give it a try."
The more Zhang Rong looked at this younger sister - in - law, the more curious she became. She had never seen such a graceful woman. Every gesture of hers seemed to be carefully crafted, and she never showed her teeth when she smiled.
Thinking like this, Zhang Rong felt that no wonder her husband was reluctant to let his sister stay in the countryside to suffer. Even after just one day of getting along with her, she just wanted to take good care of this younger sister. How could she bear to let her suffer even a little bit?
She waved her hand. "What does your brother know? He can only do rough work. I'll go with you tomorrow."
Shen Yuning looked at her belly in surprise and it took her a long time to suppress the uneasiness in her heart. When she was in the Marquis's Mansion before, whenever she heard that any of her relatives or friends was pregnant, they would surely rest well and not do any work at all.
But since she came to the countryside, she found that all pregnant women would not stop working until they were about to give birth. At most, they did less work than before.
The two women were happily discussing in the room when they heard Old Man Zhang's roar from outside. "You little brat, stop for me!"
Then they heard Shen Fugui's repeated persuasion, which was directed at Yuanbao.
Shen Yuning's heart skipped a beat. During the long - distance journey from Shenjiapo to Xiaoshu Village, Yuanbao had been well - behaved all the way and not as naughty as before. When they first arrived yesterday, although Yuanbao didn't look very happy and was reluctant to greet people, she just thought that Yuanbao was timid and not used to new people.
Then they heard a cracking sound from outside. Shen Yuning and Zhang Rong rushed out quickly. They saw Yuanbao hugging a branch on the tall locust tree in front of the door. The branch was half - broken and was about to break completely. Yuanbao was sure to fall.
Old Man Zhang was not a man with a good temper. He already didn't like this little kid very much. For a moment, he roared and cursed with dirty words, asking her to come down quickly.
Shen Fugui was extremely anxious and kept shouting, "Yuanbao, be good. Come down quickly. Don't hurt yourself. Uncle won't blame you, okay?"
Old Man Zhang was still scolding. "Steal a pin when you're young and steal gold when you're old. You're just a little kid, but you've got quite a lot of tricks! It's okay if you stole them. I thought you were just a little kid with a craving. But you smashed all those eggs! Little brat, come down here. I'll break your legs today!"
Seeing that her father was extremely angry and her husband was in a complete mess, Zhang Rong quickly grabbed her father. "Dad, stop scolding. Yuanbao is still young and doesn't understand."
Old Man Zhang was furious. "Is she still young at the age of five? A whole basket of eggs! I saved them for so long just to nourish your body well and have a big fat grandson for me. And she smashed them all!"
Zhang Rong quickly persuaded him again. "Alright, alright. The eggs have already been smashed. Now the most important thing is the child. She's climbing so high. If she falls, it won't be a joke."
Yuanbao hugged the branch, shivering with fear. Even so, she just stubbornly glared at the people below and refused to climb down.
Shen Yuning squinted at her for a while and sneered. "Alright, stop bothering about her. Let's go inside."
Shen Fugui was shocked. "What are you talking about? Don't we need to persuade Yuanbao to come down quickly and let her stay in such a dangerous place?"
Shen Yuning didn't care. "I've said before that she can do whatever she wants. If she likes to stay on the tree, then let her stay. Later, tell Xuanzhi that there's no need to prepare dinner for Yuanbao. She won't eat."
Hearing this, Yuanbao's tears were about to well up. The stubbornness on her face gradually turned into grievance.
At this time, the branch creaked. Yuanbao didn't expect it. It was too late for her to grab the branch next to her. Even Old Man Zhang, who was still muttering in a low voice, was startled. He pushed Shen Fugui hard, asking him to catch the child.
But a figure flew in from outside. Xuanzhi caught Yuanbao steadily and they both landed on the ground. The whole family was so shocked that they opened their mouths wide and didn't dare to make a sound for a long time.
Shen Yuning sized Xuanzhi up and down. She knew that Xuanzhi had a noble background before, could read and was very talented in literature. But she didn't know until today that he could also fight. In this world, being both literate and martial was definitely not something that an ordinary family could cultivate.
Shen Fugui quickly stepped forward and hugged Yuanbao. He saw that Yuanbao's face was as white as paper and she was still trembling with fear. He quickly comforted her. "It's okay, it's okay. Don't climb so high in the future."
Old Man Zhang was still angry. He stepped forward, put his hands on his hips and roared. "You little brat. Not only do you not admit your mistake, but you also do such a dangerous thing. If you were my child, I would..."
Before he could finish his words, Yuanbao spat on his face, which shocked everyone.
Zhang Rong was the first to react. She knew her father's temper best. She quickly walked over and pulled Old Man Zhang inside. Old Man Zhang didn't want to go, but seeing his daughter covering her stomach, he didn't dare to struggle too hard. He had no choice but to go inside reluctantly and angrily to wash his face.
Shen Yuning looked at Yuanbao coldly and shouted, "Put her down."
Shen Fugui silently put the child down.
"Xuanzhi, make her stand in the corner facing the wall. You take a whip. If she moves, whip her once."
Xuanzhi looked at her blankly and stammered, "Sister, this is not okay. Yuanbao is still a child after all."
Shen Yuning rolled up her sleeves, went to find a long rope by herself, and whipped it hard in front of Yuanbao. Yuanbao was so scared that she took a step back and finally burst into tears.
Both Shen Fugui and Xuanzhi had always seen Shen Yuning as a gentle and quiet woman. Even when she was angry sometimes, she just ignored people. They had never seen her so furious like today. They didn't even dare to stop her.
Yuanbao howled, "None of you like me!"
Shen Yuning's expression was strange. She sized Yuanbao up and down as if she was hearing something very strange. "Why should we like you? You have no manners, don't follow the rules, and are naughty. Why should we like you?"
Yuanbao continued to roar while crying, "It's because I'm a girl that you don't like me."
Shen Yuning sensed the key point. Old Man Zhang was a careless man who liked to swear. Maybe because he didn't have a son himself, in the past two days, she had heard him mention from time to time that the baby in Zhang Rong's belly was a son.
But now they were living under someone else's roof. A naughty child like Yuanbao would never learn a lesson if she didn't suffer a bit.
She shook her head seriously. "I'm a girl myself, so I definitely won't dislike you because you're a girl. I don't like you simply because you're annoying. But you're my niece, so I can't just ignore you. I'll give you a way out today. Go and kowtow to Grandpa until he forgives you, and I'll let you off. Otherwise, stay here tonight. Tomorrow, I'll find a way to send you back to Shenjiapo and let you fend for yourself."
Yuanbao was a bit incredulous. Since Shen Yuning came here, although she had been angry with her sometimes, she had never ignored her like this. She subconsciously looked at her uncle for help.
Shen Yuning's cold voice rang in her ear again. "Don't look at your uncle. He's the Zhang family's son - in - law. His feelings for you are just family affection. He has no responsibility for you anymore. It's okay if you're just naughty, but you're so ignorant that you even provoke your uncle's father - in - law. Don't you know that with just one word from Grandpa, we'll be sleeping on the street tomorrow?"
Yuanbao was just a child after all. She couldn't think so much. For a moment, she was flustered. She bit her lower lip tightly and it took her a long time to stammer, "He's bad. He's as bad as those people in the village. He dislikes me because I'm a girl."
Shen Yuning said "Oh". "It sounds really bad. But I think he's not as bad as your father. Look, your second aunt is his daughter, and he doesn't dislike her at all. But what about your father? He was even willing to sell his own sister. As for you, his own daughter... Tsk tsk..."
In Yuanbao's perception, the root of her misfortune was that she didn't have a father. But now hearing what her aunt said, she was completely at a loss. Her little head couldn't figure it out at all.
She vaguely remembered that when her parents were still alive, they didn't seem to be very good to her. Her mother was okay. Although she complained that she was a girl, she still provided her with food and clothes. But her father disliked her in every way. Not only did he not treat her well, but even if her mother gave her a little more good food, he would scold them for a long time.
Shen Yuning found a chair and sat in front of Yuanbao so that she could see Yuanbao's face clearly. She shrugged helplessly. "To be honest, I really dislike you. You're good for nothing, naughty and gluttonous. But I have no choice. Who asked me to be your aunt? I'm not like your father, who is even willing to sell his closest relatives. Think it over for yourself. If you still want to have something to eat every day, be more obedient."
Shen Fugui and Xuanzhi were shocked when they heard this. They thought that Shen Yuning's words, which were half - threatening and half - disdainful, couldn't persuade the stubborn Yuanbao. But Yuanbao didn't say a word. She walked towards the main room. When she reached Old Man Zhang, she knelt down and kowtowed loudly.
She kowtowed so hard that even Old Man Zhang felt pain. He quickly pulled her up. Seeing the scratches on her face from climbing the tree, he felt even more heart - ache. Thinking that she was just a five - year - old child, if he had scolded her more gently, the child wouldn't have done something so extreme.
But Shen Yuning didn't plan to let Yuanbao off so easily. She followed them in and said coldly, "Can't you speak?"
Yuanbao stammered, "Grandpa, I was wrong. I won't smash the eggs anymore in the future."
Seeing that Old Man Zhang didn't blame her, Shen Yuning said again, "Alright, Grandpa doesn't blame you. But our family doesn't live here for free. Starting tomorrow, you have to feed the chickens in the chicken coop outside. The baby in your second aunt's belly is your younger brother or sister. You have to make sure it has an egg to eat every day."