Chapter 7 Stimulation

  Qizhen'er and Huzi hid in their own room, watching from the small window as Qiqiang busily fed the chickens and pigs, laughing with uncontainable joy.

  Qizhong has been spoiled by Liu's family since childhood, what kind of thing is this? Now that no one helps Liu's family do these things, and she is lazy too, she pulled Qizhong over to serve as labor. As for Feng'er, she really can't bear to let her touch these things, if her hands get roughened, she would have nowhere to cry.

  Qifeng also cried a lot because her mother didn't let her be a maid, and took away her perfume to give to Qizhen, she even told on her father, but it had little effect. For the past two days, she has been sulking, not even daring to provoke Qiqiang.

  From that day on, Hǔzi looked at Zhēn'er with a gaze full of admiration. His sister was so clever! Now not only did his sister not have to work, but he didn't either, and they could even eat first, although it was still the same food, at least it was hot now.

  Since Qiang was knocked to the knife's edge, Liu's family pulled him back to feed the chickens and pigs. Qi Zhener then warned Hu Zi not to go out if nothing happened, just stay in his own room. Hu Zi didn't understand why, but he was used to listening to his sister's words and obediently stayed in the house.

  It's actually an exaggeration to call it a house, this used to be a small storage room next to the woodshed, it was very dirty and messy inside, more importantly, the lighting was poor, it was dark even during the day.

  After Qi San Niu's death, Liu Shi used the excuse that Qi was too powerful and needed his own room to drive her siblings here. The space is small, fortunately, Hu Zi listened and didn't make a fuss about running out.

  Zijin'er doesn't need to do anything now, she just washes her hands in front of Liu Shi and takes good care of them. Every time this happens, Liu Shi's face, which has been darkened by doing household chores, will brighten up, and that's money.

  After five days, the steward of the county town's Qi Fu finally arrived at Qi Jia Zhuang under everyone's anticipation. The next day, he spread the word to let families who intended to send their daughters to Qi Fu bring them over for a look.

  Hearing this news, Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the money was soon in hand.

  At mealtime, Liu also examined Zhen's hands again and found that the calluses had decreased a lot and her hands were smoother than before. She felt relieved in her heart, but she couldn't mess it up for her.

  Qifeng'er gazed coldly at Qizhen'er, her eyes flashing with indignation. Qizhen'er, however, ignored her, knowing that as long as Liu Shi was around, she wouldn't dare do anything to her. If she were sent back tomorrow, it would be a different story altogether. And even Liu Shi probably wouldn't let her off scot-free.

  Liu was quite satisfied with Qizhen's hand, about 7 or 8 out of 10. He happily went back to share the good news with Qixingwen.

  Qifeng'er glared at Qizhen'er and was about to leave, but didn't expect Qizhen'er to call her back.

  "Feng'er sister, I might be going to the county town of Qi Manor tomorrow. I've heard it's very big and beautiful, even the maidservants' clothes are better than those worn by daughters from small households. So, I was thinking, I'd like to borrow that new dress Big Aunt made for you to wear, to give a good impression to the steward who has seen the world." Qi Zhen'er seemed not to notice Qi Feng'er's dark face and continued: "I saw you liked that handkerchief embroidered by Ping'er sister, don't worry, once I enter Qi Manor and have money, I'll also get one embroidered for you, and one for Big Aunt too."

  Qifeng didn't expect Qizhen to be so shameless, taking her place in the Qi Manor and wanting to wear her new clothes. That dress was specially made by her mother to make up for her, with a great style and fabric that she hadn't even had the chance to wear yet. And now Qizhen has set her sights on it. What's with offering to embroider a handkerchief for her later? Does she think she'd be interested in something embroidered by her? This is just a slap in the face.

  "You're really shameless, Qi Zhen'er. You don't even look at what you are, and yet you want to wear my clothes? I'm telling you, no way." After saying that, Qi Feng'er suppressed the fire in her heart and stormed out of the door, afraid that she would really lose control and scratch Qi Zhen'er's disgusting face.

  Hu Zi had never had a good impression of Qi Feng Er, and hearing her scold her sister like that made him even angrier and want to beat her up.

  Qī Zhēn ér however was very calm. Recently she would occasionally provoke Qī Fèng ér's temper, her face had been gloomy for the past few days, and with tonight's words stimulating her, she thought that what Qī Fèng ér did would definitely not disappoint her.

  Take out the things that have been secretly hidden for a few days, pack them up, and Qizhen carefully instructed Huzi: "You take these things to the foot of the mountain where we usually dig wild vegetables tomorrow. Remember to go quietly, don't let anyone find out. And when you get to the foot of the mountain, hide yourself, only come out when I call you, understand? If it's late in the afternoon and I haven't arrived yet, just throw the things there and go home."

  Hutou nodded. In recent days, his sister would secretly hide some food, and he had been curious about it before but didn't ask. Just like when his sister told him to go to the foot of the mountain, he just needed to do as she said.

  Qizhen'er instructed Huzi. She glanced out the window and saw Qiqiang leaving, only then did she put her mind at ease. Tomorrow at the Zhuangzi it would be so lively, Liu Shi would definitely have Qiqiang go to the front of the Qi Fu's manager to show his face, if he could get some benefits that would be even better.

  Qizhen put the tiger to sleep and sneaked into Qiqiang's room. She hid the money in the gap between the stones under the wall corner pot, fortunately Qiqiang was a careless child, if it were Feng'er she would have found the money long ago. This was the money her father had risked his life to earn, meant for saving her siblings' lives.

  Liu had been bullying her siblings, wanting to extort the money from them. She had been enduring Liu's abuse without giving in, waiting for a day when she would have an urgent need. In her previous life, she had used this money to treat Tiger's illness, but it was still not enough, which is why she agreed to sell herself as a maid.

  Qizhen'er put the money in a small bag and hid it close to her body. Just as she turned around, she found that her grandfather had entered the door.

  "Zhen'er? What are you doing in Qiangzi's room?" Old Qi looked at Zhen'er with obvious surprise.

  Zijin was momentarily flustered, but quickly calmed down. It turned out to be her paternal grandfather. She didn't need to be so afraid; as long as it wasn't Madame Liu or Qifeng, she could fool them easily.

  Qizhen'er lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice: "I was thinking that tomorrow I will go to the county town of Qifu, and later I don't know if I can come back. I just want to take a look at the house we used to live in and kowtow to my parents."

  Old Qi heard her say that, and thought of his third son and daughter-in-law who had left, also a sad occasion. He was an honest farmer, treating all his sons equally. But the two clever ones above knew how to please him, so he paid less attention to his dull and honest third son.

  At that time, he was looking for a wife for the eldest son. He thought that he couldn't let him down, so he found a matchmaker and asked around before mentioning this Liu woman. Liu was also not bad, she was good at housework, knew how to manage the household, and took care of the old couple very well. Gradually, they handed over power to her. Who would have thought that she would be so cruel to the third son's family?

  "Zhen'er, don't blame your aunt either. This is also something that the family had no choice but to do, and she only thought of this method because of it. Later you will understand her kind intentions." Qi Lao Tou really didn't want Zhen'er to go to the Qi Manor with hatred in her heart, so he advised her thusly.

  Qī Zhēn'er looked at her grandfather, who was trying to persuade her, and felt a surge of sympathy, not just for herself but also for him. Someone like Liu Shi would do anything for money; she wasn't foolish enough to believe that Liu Shi had her best interests at heart.

  "Grandfather, don't worry, I know that Eldest Aunt is doing this for my own good. She said so herself, that the money from selling me would be used to fund Tiger's education, and in the future, he'll even be able to become a top scholar." Qi Zhen'er intentionally spoke with a cheerful tone, thinking that since the old man wanted her not to harbor resentment, she might as well satisfy his wish. Her father was a filial son, and even though back then her grandfather and grandmother hadn't said a word in defense of her mother when Liu Shi had wronged her, her father hadn't blamed them for it either. So how could she blame them? In the future, she might not be able to show filial piety towards them on behalf of her father, so let him rest easy instead.

  Mr. Qi didn't expect Liu to say such things to Zhen'er, and he didn't believe it at all. In the past, Qiangzi didn't study well in school and came back after two days, and Liu was heartbroken for a long time because of that little bit of money, how could she be willing to spend money to let Huizi go? Alas, it's also because he didn't understand people clearly that led to today's situation. Zhen'er may not have hatred in her heart, maybe living in that big mansion was better after all.

  "Zhen'er, you're a good kid. Go to bed early, or your aunt will see you in Qiangzi's room again and scold you."

  Qī Zhēn ér's clever nod, seeing that her grandfather hadn't moved, couldn't help but ask: "Grandfather, are you going or not?"

  Old Qi shook his head and said, "I'll spend the night here tonight."

  Qī Zhēn ér listened to him say this, then lightly walked out of the door and casually closed it behind her.

  Old Qi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Since Old Three got married, he hadn't come in here anymore. But he also knew that the house had been tidied up neatly by Old Three's wife, everything was in its place. Even after Old Three left, Zhen'er kept the place tidy. But as soon as Qiangzi moved in, it quickly became dirty and messy again. Looking at this made Qi feel a pang of sadness and frustration.

  Tonight, Lao Da found him and said that Zhen'er wanted to sell herself into the Qi Mansion in the county town. He didn't say a word after hearing this, but just stared at Lao Da for a long time. Lao Da couldn't bear his gaze, and his eyes flickered as he lowered his head. He knew there was something fishy going on here. All these years, Liu Shi's attitude towards Lao San's family wasn't unknown to him. She had been thinking that after Lao San and his wife left, they would leave behind two orphaned children, but she couldn't bring herself to be ruthless enough to drive them out completely. Who knew that she still reached out her hand to Zhen'er? As a mother of a daughter herself, didn't she know what it meant to sell oneself?

  He advised Lao Da a few words, but he insisted that Zhen Er was willing to do so. He knew that his words were no longer effective now. It seemed that he had really grown old.

  Thinking of Lao San, he unconsciously walked into this house, but didn't expect to run into Zhen Er. Zhen Er was a good kid, smart and obedient, what a pity.

  The next morning, Qizhen wore the old clothes that Liu had brought yesterday for Qifeng. Qifeng was well taken care of by Liu and was already almost a head taller than Qizhen at just over ten years old. These were her old clothes from two years ago, and they were still a bit big on Zhen.

  After making sure Hu Zi remembered her words, she went out and found that Da Bo had been waiting for her at the door for a while.

  It's really hard to type on the computer when the weather is so hot~~~~~~I finally know how enjoyable it was to read other people's books in the past.

  I hope everyone can give some motivation and come to vote, collect and so on!