A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Once the twelfth lunar month arrives, the wind picks up.

Chen Tianfang went up the mountain for three consecutive days. On the first day, he brought back a roe deer. On the second day, he brought back two rabbits. On the third day, he was lucky and stumbled upon a den of hibernating badgers, and he took three of them.

He would sneak back home in the dark every night, and then go to town with Jinzhu early in the morning to sell the game. His grandmother had no idea how many hunts he had been doing lately!

That evening, after locking the door, Wang Jinzhu pulled Chen Tian to the corner of the room, pointed to the three badgers on the ground, and whispered, "Watch carefully."

With a gentle touch of her hand, the badger vanished.

Chen Tianfang's eyes widened suddenly. He leaned closer to examine the ground, then looked up at Wang Jinzhu, his voice extremely low: "What's going on?"

"This is a good place to hide things." Wang Jinzhu showed it again, taking the badger out and then putting it back in. "From now on, we can secretly store the game we hunt and the food we buy. In case of natural disasters or man-made calamities, we'll have something to be prepared for."

Chen Tianfang took a while to process the information before letting out a heavy sigh. He grabbed Wang Jinzhu's wrist, his expression more serious than ever before: "This matter is between heaven, earth, you, and me. People's hearts are hidden behind their skin; revealing it will only bring trouble."

"I know what's important," Wang Jinzhu nodded. "That's why I'm only telling you. From now on, when I'm collecting things, you'll have to keep an eye on the people."

"Alright." Chen Tianfang agreed readily. "Outside, you can take the game and food however you want. Once we're inside, the door is closed, and you can put them away whenever you want."

Ever since Chen Tianfang learned that Wang Jinzhu had a place to store grain, he wanted to fill it up for him. It had already started snowing, and Chen Tianfang still wanted to go into the mountains, but Wang Jinzhu stopped him.

"Snow has started to accumulate on the mountain, the roads are slippery, you are not allowed to go."

"I know the way—"

"Even knowing the way won't help. Whether breaking your leg is worth it is up to you."

Chen Tianfang opened his mouth, but didn't argue, and obediently hung the hunting knife back on the wall.

Chen Tianrun peered through the doorframe and whispered to Chen Tianwei, "My brother wilted the moment his sister-in-law glared at him."

Chen Tianwei pinched him: "Say less."

Before the sky was completely sealed off, Wang Jinzhu and Chen Tianfang went to town again. They bought fifty catties of coarse grains, fifty catties of fine flour, and three catties of salt. When they reached a secluded spot, Wang Jinzhu quickly stored most of the grains into her spatial storage, leaving only a small portion for Chen Tianfang to carry home.

Including what I had saved up before, there were about four hundred pounds of coarse and fine grains in the space.

The first snow fell heavily that day, covering the yard with a thick layer that crunched underfoot.

Chen Shuyan stopped going to town. Liu Family Study closed for half a month in winter when Boss Liu took his employees to the prefectural city to buy goods, leaving the shop closed. Chen Shuyan then stayed in the second room to study, reciting poems in the morning and writing poetry in the afternoon, never going out all day.

Liu Yiyi would grind ink for him and occasionally bring him a bowl of hot water; the two of them lived peacefully together.

Life was tough, but the New Year was finally approaching.

That night, Wang Jinzhu discussed it with Chen Tianfang, and the next day they called Old Lady Chen to the kitchen.

"Grandma, it's almost Chinese New Year, we can't keep drinking brown rice porridge every day."

Old Mrs. Chen tucked her sleeves in, her eyes brightening slightly, but she still said politely, "Well, it's just that we don't have any money."

Wang Jinzhu took out a piece of silver from her sleeve and placed it on the stove.

"Take this money and buy some fine flour and rice to eat together. Also, buy some meat. It's the New Year, so we should eat something good."

Old Mrs. Chen had already reached out her hand, but Wang Jinzhu pressed it down with one hand.

"There's a condition."

Old Mrs. Chen withdrew her hand, her eyes darting around: "What are the conditions?"

"From today until after the Lunar New Year, the second branch of the family will be responsible for cooking every day."

"Cook?"

"Yes, cooking, washing dishes. Three meals a day, plus cleaning up."

Old Mrs. Chen felt that the conditions were not excessive. She quickly weighed the options in her mind—one tael of silver for half a month without having to cook, plus fine noodles and rice to eat. No matter how you looked at it, the eldest son's family was at a disadvantage.

"become!"

"Mother has agreed. You can talk to the second branch of the family. If you can't get through to them, I'll take the money back, and we'll continue having porridge on New Year's Eve."

Old Mrs. Chen tucked the silver into her bosom and slipped away to the second house.

When the news reached the second wife's family, Chen Xiufen's face turned pale, and Liu Yiyi's lips pouted so much they could hold an oil lamp.

"Why should she, Wang Jinzhu, be able to boss people around just because she spends a few stinking coins?"

Chen Xiufen glanced at her: "If you have money to spare, you don't need to wash."

Liu Yiyi shut up. She held onto her meager savings tightly, not willing to part with a single penny.

Chen Shuyan looked up from his book and said calmly, "If you're going to cook, then cook. Don't make a fuss about this and distract me from studying."

So the second wife started cooking and washing dishes.

The first two days were alright; Liu Yiyi managed to wash them passably. On the third day, in the dead of winter, the well water was freezing cold. She stood in the yard with a basin of bowls in her hands, her fingers turning bright red from the cold, gritting her teeth as she washed.

When she returned to her room that evening, she held out her hand to Chen Shuyan.

"Look, my hands are all cracked."

Chen Shuyan glanced at it and turned a page of the book.

"Just bear with it a little longer. I'll take the exam after the New Year. If I pass and become a scholar, we'll separate the family and I won't have to put up with this anymore."

Liu Yiyi withdrew her hand and said nothing more. She had lost count of how many times she had heard "just bear with it." But how long could she bear it?

She glanced at Chen Shuyan's profile; under the lamplight, his face was indeed handsome. But handsomeness can't fill an empty stomach, nor can it fuel a fire. She suddenly felt a pang of envy for Chen Shujie—at least the Yang family's shop was warm, and she didn't have to look at anything.

The year-end is approaching.

On New Year's Eve, Grandma Chen was unusually generous and stewed a pot of pork and cabbage on the stove, made noodles from thin flour, and served them steaming hot on the table.

The eldest and second sons sat around the main room, making it the most complete and proper meal the Chen family had had all year.

Chen Tianrun ate two bowls of noodles, his stomach was so full that he leaned against Chen Tianwei.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for the bride to return to her parents' home.

Wang Jinzhu and Chen Tianfang went to the Wang family home. They only brought a few sweet potatoes and radishes with them. Halfway there, Wang Jinzhu took out two rabbits from her spatial storage and added ten catties of flour to the rabbits.

Upon arriving at the Wang family home, her mother gave her a long lecture about safety, warning her not to go into the mountains in winter. Wang Dali killed a chicken, and Wang Guilan made dumplings; the family enjoyed a lively meal together.

That day, Chen Xiufen also spent most of the day looking around at the gate of the courtyard.

She waited from morning till night, but the road at the village entrance was deserted.

Chen Xiufen stood at the door until dark, and only after Old Mrs. Chen scolded her, "Standing there like a door god in this freezing weather," did she go inside.

That night, there was a slight noise coming from next door, like someone turning over in bed or wiping their eyes.

Wang Jinzhu heard this, turned over, and ignored it.

Once the Lantern Festival was over, Chen Shuyan couldn't sit still anymore.

In February, for the county examination, he had to go to the town early to find the teacher at the academy for final guidance. But going out required money—lodging, food, paper and ink, everything required silver, and he only had five taels of silver, which was too tight.

The second wife had no money left, and she absolutely refused to part with Liu Yiyi's meager savings. "That's my dowry money, and no one is allowed to touch it."

Chen Shuyan didn't argue with her. He went to find Chen Xiufen.

Chen Xiufen went to see Old Lady Chen.

Old Mrs. Chen went to find Old Mr. Chen.

That evening, another disturbance broke out in the main room.

Chen Shuyan stood in the middle of the main room, his face ashen. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "I only need two taels of silver. Travel expenses, food, lodging, and writing materials are enough if I'm careful. Once I pass the imperial examination, I'll have plenty of income."

Old Chen fumbled around under the mat for a while, then pulled out two pieces of silver, weighed them in his hand, and slammed them onto the table.

Chen Shuyan put the silver into his pocket, said nothing more, and turned to go back into the house.

Wang Jinzhu leaned against her door frame, cracking open a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds, and watched the entire show.

Chen Tianfang leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Do you think he can pass the exam?"

Wang Jinzhu spat out a sunflower seed shell.

"I actually hope he passes the exam. If he does, it will be easier to separate the family property. Otherwise, it will definitely cause a huge uproar."