I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

Having decided on the method for selling the herbs, it was getting dark.

The three of them hurried down the mountain while they could still see the road clearly and went to Aunt Wang's house first.

Aunt Wang warmly welcomed them in, and after hearing their purpose, readily agreed.

"No problem, leave it to me. I'll make sure you keep the money safe. You don't need to pay me. It's such a small thing, why would I need to pay you?"

"Aunt Wang, please take it. You've always taken such good care of us. If we don't take something, we'll feel embarrassed to ask you for help again in the future," Liu Nanjia tried to persuade her further.

"No, no, you three siblings are already struggling, you should save some money. In case something happens, with Old Man Liu and Madam Fang's temperament, hmph."

Aunt Wang also disliked that family very much, and then changed the subject.

"You must be starving coming down from the mountain so late. Have something to eat before you go."

"No, no, we've already eaten. We just roasted a rabbit on the mountain."

Liu Nanjia quickly refused. Aunt Wang's family wasn't wealthy either, and the food they usually received was saved up from her own frugality. Otherwise, she wouldn't have trusted Aunt Wang so much.

“Yes, Aunt Wang, I just ate a huge rabbit leg and I’m already full,” Liu Sirou chimed in.

"Really? Let me feel your belly." Aunt Wang bent down to tease the little girl. Si Rou had always been well-behaved since she was little, and Aunt Wang had always been particularly fond of her.

"Mmm, I'm really full." Liu Sirou tugged at her belly, a gesture that made everyone around her laugh.

Seeing that they were indeed full, Aunt Wang didn't try to persuade them any further. She put away the herbs and offered to take them home.

“If you don’t go back now, they probably won’t leave the door open for you. I’ll go with you, and if they don’t open the door, I’ll call everyone in the village.”

Liu Nanjia did not refuse Aunt Wang's kindness; they were really capable of doing such things.

The group took a lantern and walked to the Liu family's door, only to find it locked.

It was already dark by then, and the villagers were reluctant to light oil lamps, so they went to bed early, and the whole village was quiet.

bang bang

Aunt Wang pounded on the door, shouting, "Anhe's mother, open the door! Your children haven't come home yet, why did you lock the door? You did this on purpose!"

Liu Anhe is Fang's eldest son and the elder brother of Liu Nanjia and others.

In the village, married women are either named after their husbands (calling them "so-and-so's wife") or after their sons (calling them "so-and-so's mother").

Liu Nanjia disliked this way of addressing her, but there was nothing she could do about it; that was the custom at the time, with the husband being the head of the household.

The person inside didn't want to open the door when they heard the knocking, but when they heard Aunt Wang's voice, they reluctantly opened it.

By the time the door opened, quite some time had passed.

Fang opened the door, looked at Aunt Wang and Liu Nanjia, and said in an unfriendly tone, "What other family's children are like these, not home this late? What if thieves break in if they don't come back and the house is unlocked?"

Aunt Wang immediately retorted, "We're all neighbors, who are you afraid of coming to your house to steal things?"

Actually, there are a few scoundrels in the village who have done petty theft and other misdeeds.

But when Aunt Wang said that, Fang's words were directed at everyone in the village, which could easily provoke public anger.

Liu Nanjia silently gave Aunt Wang a thumbs up.

"Besides," Aunt Wang continued, "who else is like you, not worried at all that your child hasn't come home this late, not even looking for them, just locking the door and going to sleep, not afraid that something might happen to the child? Are you hoping that if something happens to them, you'll be able to eat without paying?"

Both of them were quite loud, and some villagers were already coming over to see what was going on.

Fang got anxious: "When did I ever want anything to happen to them? Don't make false accusations. My parents are still alive. I'm not the one running the household. I feed and care for them every day. I'm doing all this work for nothing!"

"Don't you know what kind of effort you've put in?" Aunt Wang sneered. "Everyone can see how these three children are doing. Don't think that no one knows what you've done."

The Liu family is always rife with shouting and cursing; do they really think everyone else is deaf and blind?

The clothes of Liu Nanjia and the other two were patched upon patched, and they were all thinner than the last, looking as if they would fall over in the wind.

In contrast, the eldest son's clothes were noticeably newer, especially the younger son, who was quite well-fed.

Fang was about to retort, and the two were about to argue even more fiercely, attracting even more villagers to watch.

Grandpa Liu finally came out of his room and shouted, "Enough! What's all the noise about! What kind of behavior is this! Go back to your rooms and go to sleep!"

Then, speaking to Aunt Wang in an unfriendly tone, he said, "Dahe's family,"

Wang Dahe is Aunt Wang's husband.

"You have no need to meddle in our Liu family's affairs. It's getting late, you should go home early."

He then said to the surrounding villagers, "A few words exchanged are nothing to see, go home."

Aunt Wang wasn't afraid of him. This old man Liu, when Liu Nanjia's father was still alive, he relied on his son to make him look good while he disliked his daughter-in-law and let Fang cause her trouble.

After his son and daughter-in-law left, he ignored the children of the second wife and showed favoritism towards the first wife in every way. He couldn't be more snobbish.

"If it weren't for the fact that these children are pitiful and I really couldn't stand it, who would want to get involved in other people's business? They are all my own grandchildren, old man, please don't be too biased."

Aunt Wang's tone was equally unpleasant, tinged with sarcasm: "Our two families live quite close to each other, so we can hear everything. If I hear you hitting your child again, I'll go and call the village head. I can't handle this, so I'll get someone who can."

Grandpa Liu was furious, but he didn't want to argue with a woman and make a fool of himself in front of everyone, so he stormed off.

Liu Nanjia almost wanted to applaud Aunt Wang's fighting prowess; it was truly exhilarating!

She said, "Aunt Wang, thank you so much for today. It's getting late, you should go home now and be careful on your way."

"Don't mention it, it's just a few steps," Aunt Wang said with a smile. "I'm leaving now, you can go in too."

Liu Nanjia and the others entered the courtyard, put down their things, quickly washed up in the dim moonlight, and went back to their rooms to sleep.

Perhaps because Aunt Wang had made a scene, the next few days were quite peaceful.

Whenever Liu Nanjia and Liu Yanxi had the chance to go out, they would go up the mountain for a walk. They would collect a lot of herbs, some more, some less, and send them to Aunt Wang's house. They would also dig up some wild vegetables or chop some firewood to appease the Liu family.

To avoid attracting attention, Aunt Wang would sometimes go along, or have her two sons, Zhao Dahu and Zhao Xiaohu, go with her.

Otherwise, it would attract attention; how come no one from his family goes up the mountain, yet they still sell herbs?

Liu Nanjia still couldn't find a way to get Old Master Liu to agree to the division of the family property, and he couldn't help but get a little anxious.

Fang has calmed down a bit these past few days, and hasn't hit anyone anymore. She just curses a few times, but Liu Nanjia just ignores it.

But this peace could be broken at any moment. It was unknown how many more days Fang would endure it. After being humiliated by Aunt Wang that day, Old Master Liu's gaze towards them had become even colder, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Liu Nanjia felt as if there was a Damocles' sword hanging over her head, ready to fall at any moment.