Chapter 26: Cultivation and Plundering the Zhou Family Estate

The two walked hand in hand toward the jade mine. They did not encounter any wild beasts along the way.

Meng Yun was in high spirits. She hadn’t expected that sparring with two wild boars would trigger the awakening of her wood-based supernatural ability. The sensation was exhilarating. Furthermore, because she had saved a child yesterday, her personal space had leveled up three times, granting her numerous rewards. Among these were several types of medicinal pills that she didn’t currently need, as well as five vials of nectar. Meng Yun collected the nectar into a small jar, keeping it for emergencies. Now that she possessed this wood-based ability, she resolved to cultivate diligently, striving to reach a level where she could heal the sick and save lives as soon as possible.

"A-Chuan, drink this." Meng Yun produced a bowl and added a single drop of nectar to it.

"Wow, so sweet!" Jin Anchuan finished it in one go, smacking his lips in delight.

"I’ll give you more tomorrow. For now, just sit here quietly. If you get hungry, there are cakes and water here. If you get tired of sitting, you can play nearby, but don't wander off, understand?" Meng Yun fell into a "motherly" mode.

"I understand, Wife. I won't go far, and I won't cause any trouble," Jin Anchuan replied obediently.

"Good!" Meng Yun sat cross-legged, focused her spiritual energy, and began her cultivation.

***

At the Jin residence, Jin An’an was returning home with a load of firewood. Before he even reached the gate, he heard crying and cursing coming from inside. As he approached, he saw a crowd of villagers gathered to watch the commotion. He hurried his pace, thinking that the people from his mother’s side of the family must be bullying his parents again.

"You god-forsaken wretch! Your eldest brother has been locked up; it will take fifty taels of silver to bail him out! Are you going to just stand there and watch your brother get beaten and crippled? You ungrateful, money-grubbing baggage!" Old Madam Zhou sat in the Jin family’s courtyard, acting out, wailing and cursing at the heavens.

Zhu Dani joined in, "Your family has been buying rice and cloth—you’ve clearly come into money! Yet when your eldest brother is in trouble, you refuse to help. If we had known, we never would have stood as guarantors for your family; we should have left you with nowhere to live!"

In the courtyard, the fabric Meng Yun had brought back the day before was clutched in the arms of Xing Lanhua and Gou Yingzi, the wives of the Zhou family’s second son, Zhou Shichang, and third son, Zhou Shishun. Two small bags of rice and flour also sat nearby.

"What are you doing? Is this robbery?" Jin An’an finally saw his father lying on the ground, clutching his injured leg, his younger brother Jin Anzhe with a swollen, reddened cheek—clearly slapped—and his younger sister holding their mother, whose own face bore the marks of a slap and was swollen high.

"Robbery? You little brat, don't use such ugly words. This is what your family owes us in filial piety. You bought things but didn't bring them to us voluntarily, so we had to come and get them ourselves. How unfilial!" Zhou Shichang sneered, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth.

"You’ve been taking things from our family for sixteen years! Isn't that enough? Sixteen years—whatever debt of gratitude existed has surely been paid off!" Jin An’an roared.

"You little brat, how dare you speak to your uncle like that? You have no upbringing! Younger sister, today your second brother will teach this little beast a lesson for you." Zhou Shichang strode over, swinging his arm toward Jin An’an’s head.

"Stop!" Zhou Maocai and Zhou Changhe arrived with their family members. They had been working in the fields and rushed over upon hearing the news, just in time to see Zhou Shichang about to strike Jin An’an. Zhou Changhe grabbed Zhou Shichang’s arm firmly.

"Zhou Changhe, this is our family business. Stay out of it."

"I don't care if it's family business or public business—bullying the Jin family is not allowed!" Zhou Changhe shoved Zhou Shichang’s arm away.

"Old Madam Zhou, what is going on here?" Village Chief Zhou De'en arrived, supported by his second son, Zhou Guangyao. The old chief was nearly sixty, and his health had been poor over the last year or two, so he brought his son along to assist him and help him gain experience for the future.

"Village Chief, you must uphold justice for us! Shiren has been dragged away, and they’re demanding a fifty-tael ransom! We don't have that kind of money. We heard that Yaru’s family dug up some treasure and got rich—buying rice and cloth yesterday! I came here to borrow some silver, but they keep saying they don't have any. If I had known she’d turn out like this, I should have drowned her when she was born, that ungrateful, treacherous hussy!" Old Madam Zhou sat on the ground, wailing as she spoke.

"Old Madam Zhou, you say Shiren was dragged away—by whom?" the Village Chief asked. The villagers muttered, wondering the same thing. They were all poor folk who barely had enough to eat from one day to the next; even bandits would bypass them.

"By..." Old Madam Zhou hesitated. How could she admit that her eldest son had gone to a gambling den, borrowed money, lost everything, and was now being held hostage until the debt was paid, or they would chop off his hands and feet?

"Auntie Zhou, while there’s nothing wrong with asking your daughter for money, there must be a limit. Everyone in Zhou Village knows how the Jin family lives. For sixteen years, you’ve come here to scavenge, rain or shine. Everyone has seen it."

"Now that the Jin family is finally seeing a bit of prosperity, you come here to plunder. Honestly, as a fellow Zhou, I blush for you. I feel ashamed. If you want a better life, you have hands and feet—go earn it yourself! To endlessly strip your daughter’s home bare... I find it shameful just to hear about it, yet your family actually did it."

Zhou Guangyao was not yet forty, similar in age to Zhou Shiren. Having studied in a private school in his youth, though he never achieved an official degree, he was well-read and possessed a firm moral compass. He had long been disgusted by the Zhou family’s behavior.

His words struck a chord with many present.

"That's right. A daughter is married off; to treat her as a target for extortion while acting righteous—how shameless!"

"Actually, let me tell you, Old Madam Zhou had no right to demand anything anyway. When Zhou Yaru was eight, Old Madam Zhou sold her. Once you sell your child, the ties are broken."

"She even sold her daughter; what kind of mother is she?"

"It’s true. Even if a girl is considered 'outside' the family, she’s still flesh and blood. They’ve gone too far."

"This is my family matter! Don't you go meddling like a dog catching mice! Zhou Yaru, I’m asking you—are you going to give me that silver or not?" Old Madam Zhou pointed at Zhou Yaru.

"I really don't have any money. Everything in the house was bought by my daughter-in-law," Zhou Yaru wept.

"Your daughter-in-law's silver, huh? Fine, I believe you. But what about the rest of the money? Don't tell me you spent it all!" Old Madam Zhou stood akimbo, her triangular eyes looking ready to devour someone.

"There isn't any," Zhou Yaru replied firmly.

"I'll show you 'there isn't any'!" Seeing that Zhou Yaru wouldn't submit to her, Old Madam Zhou lunged to strike her. Jin Anzhe threw himself forward to shield his mother, while Jin An’an, dragging his lame leg, grabbed Old Madam Zhou’s arm.

"You gave birth but didn't raise her, you endlessly exploit her, you heap abuse upon her—you are vicious to the core. You are not fit to be a mother." Jin An’an glared at her, prepared to go to any lengths; if the old woman made another aggressive move, he would disable her.