The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Removing the Stumbling Block

In Mrs. Zhu’s mind, aside from her constant thoughts of food, drink, and taking petty advantage of others, her number one priority was sending Ji Mingmao to the town to study.

The fortune-teller had said it himself: her Mingmao was the reincarnation of a Scholar, destined to become a great government official!

The village school’s teacher didn’t have much learning himself, yet he had the nerve to call Mingmao stupid and was always punishing him.

It made Mingmao dislike studying even more, and he would often skip school to run wild with that pack of brats from the village.

But how could that be her son’s fault? Clearly, the teacher at the village school was incompetent.

If they just sent him to the town school, with a good teacher to guide him, Mingmao would definitely become more outstanding than his fourth uncle.

But no matter how much of a fuss she raised at home, her parents-in-law simply refused to budge.

’As if I don’t know why,’ she fumed. ’It’s because they’re stingy with their Silver Coin!’

Fourth Uncle had never earned a single copper coin, yet the entire family had to support him, and her own son was being held back because of it.

The more Mrs. Zhu thought about it, the more unfair it all seemed.

She did hope Ji Liantang would pass the exam to become a Scholar so she could bask in his reflected glory, but she’d much rather her own son be the one to bring them prestige.

"Big Sis, you’re so clever, even Father praises how smart you are. You have to give me an idea."

Mrs. Zhu took the bait. The deep furrows between Ji Xiu’e’s brows relaxed slightly, but she didn’t offer a plan right away.

"To be honest, this isn’t really my business. I’m an aunt who has married out of the family. No matter who gets Ji Huan’s house in the end, it won’t be me, so why should I bother myself with it? I don’t want to get involved only to get no thanks and end up covered in shame."

Mrs. Zhu knew she was still angry about what happened earlier. Shamelessly, she launched into another round of vows, swearing up and down. ’Promises are cheap, after all,’ she thought.

"Oh, Big Sis, look at you! I was just joking, and you took it so seriously! You’re trying to help Mingmao out of the goodness of your heart, how could I do something so heartless? Besides, how could this be ’bothering yourself’? Mingmao is your own flesh-and-blood nephew, and in the future, he’ll have to show you filial respect as his grand-aunt! You can rest easy. If this works, the third branch of the family will be grateful to you for the rest of our lives. And even if it doesn’t, you won’t be implicated in any way!"

Ji Xiu’e put on a skeptical expression and said with great reluctance, "I’ll trust you one more time."

Mrs. Zhu’s heart settled, and she asked excitedly, "Then tell me, Big Sis, how can we stop that little monster from fighting with Mingmao over the house?"

"You just need to get this stumbling block out of the way."

Ji Xiu’e said it casually, but Mrs. Zhu jumped in fright.

"Heavens, you’re not asking me to kill someone, are you? I can’t do that! No, no, absolutely not..." Mrs. Zhu waved her hands frantically, shaking her head like a rattle.

As greedy as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to do something so wicked. Not only could you lose your head for it, but you’d also go to hell when you died!

Ji Xiu’e shot her a fierce glare. "What are you thinking? Who told you to kill anyone!"

’Not killing someone?’

Mrs. Zhu asked with a tremor in her voice, "Then... then what does ’get him out of the way’ mean?"

"I’ve heard that recently, there are people in town specifically buying up boys and girls to sell as servants to wealthy families in the Capital City and the Southern regions..."

Mrs. Zhu had heard of this.

Some poor families, unable to make ends meet, would sell their sons and daughters. It wasn’t uncommon.

It could earn the family some Silver Coin to buy food, and for the children being sold, it wasn’t necessarily a bad path.

It was better than starving to death, right?

But those people were selling their own children, which was perfectly natural and something the law couldn’t touch.

Selling someone else’s child... would that work? If they were caught, they’d go to jail, wouldn’t they?

Mrs. Zhu voiced her doubts, earning a sharp rebuke from Ji Xiu’e.

"You can’t expect to gain an advantage without taking any risks! If you arrange for someone to pick him up and find a chance to send him away secretly, how would they ever trace it back to you? Besides, that little monster’s real relatives are all dead. If it weren’t for Ji Huan meddling, he would have either starved or been sold off long ago. It’s his fate, so what are you worried about? What is there to feel guilty about?!"

Seeing Mrs. Zhu still hesitating, Ji Xiu’e waved her hand with feigned impatience.

"Fine, fine. You want your cake and to eat it too. I suppose your Mingmao will just have to accept his fate. He should stop dreaming about things he can’t have and just watch as that little monster takes over the house and Silver that should be his. It’s his own fault for having a mother who’s such a coward."

"Who... who’s a coward?"

’Make Mingmao accept his fate? Why should Mingmao have to accept his fate?’

Ji Xiu’e was right. Without the little monster, Ji Huan’s house and Silver would, by all rights, belong to Mingmao. Why should they let someone with no blood relation just take it all?

Mrs. Zhu steeled her resolve. "Just tell me what to do, Big Sis. I’ll do whatever you say!"

A satisfied expression appeared on Ji Xiu’e’s face. She glanced around, then gestured for Mrs. Zhu to lean in closer...

When Hu Ximei arrived, Ji Huan was squatting amidst a pile of bamboo strips and wooden planks, busy at work.

"Grab a stool and sit down."

Ji Huan had a needle between her lips, and her words were muffled.

Hu Ximei skipped over, but she didn’t want a stool. Instead, she copied Dabao and squatted down on Ji Huan’s other side.

The sun was lovely today, and Dahuang had brought her babies out to bask in it.

The four snow-white furballs couldn’t quite stand steadily yet and were crawling all over the place in an adorable, clumsy manner. Dahuang didn’t immediately scoop them back, but her eyes were watching them like a hawk.

In her hands, Ji Huan was working on a flat-mouthed basket woven from willow branches.

An entrance a couple of hands wide had been cut into the side. Other than this opening, the entire basket, including the top, was covered with cotton cloth. What she was doing now was using a needle and thread to secure the cloth to the basket’s frame.

Hu Ximei reached inside and felt around. The bottom of the basket was lined with a layer of dry straw, and on top of that was an oddly shaped cotton cushion. It looked a little strange, but it was thick, fluffy, and soft. The puppies would surely be comfortable sleeping on it.

"Is this nest for Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding?"

Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding were the names of the four little puppies. They were, without a doubt, Ji Huan’s creation.

She had originally wanted to call them Dabai, Erbai, Sanbai, and Sibai, but that would mean three "Da" names in the house—Dabao and Dahuang included—which could get confusing, so she had to give up the idea.

Ji Huan gave her an approving look.

In another week, the little ones would be a month old, and Dahuang’s nerves weren’t quite so frayed.

The puppies had grown several sizes bigger. All they did was eat, sleep, and fight, so piling them all together was no longer a solution.

Ji Huan decided to make them a transitional new home.

The nest converted from the willow basket was spacious, warm, and comfortable. With the little ones settled inside, there was no need to worry about the effects of the temperature difference between day and night.

When the weather grew warmer, she could simply remove the cotton cushion.

But by then, the little ones would probably be running all over the place, and she wouldn’t have to worry about them so much.

With the final stitch sewn and a knot tied, it was up to Dabao to handle the user experience testing.

Dabao gripped the sides of the basket and moved it over to Dahuang, who was sunbathing. With his small hands, he grabbed the scruffs of the puppies scattered around and, one by one, tossed them all into the new nest. His technique was not the least bit gentle.

Dahuang glanced at him, then stuck her large nose into the nest and sniffed around. She showed no objection, turning her head to continue sunbathing as if nothing had happened.

The little ones were clearly very satisfied with their new nest as well. They crawled all over the soft cotton pad, rolled over, and stretched. Before long, they were all fast asleep.

Her hard work hadn’t been in vain. Ji Huan felt very gratified. She picked up a small hammer, returned to her original spot, and began hammering away with a CLANG, CLANG, CLANG.

"Sister Wan, what are you doing now?"

"Building a villa for Dahuang."

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