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

Chen Shuyan passed away in early February.

Before dawn, the lights in the Chen family's house were already on. Chen Xiufen got up early and boiled six eggs, carefully wrapping them in a cloth. Liu Yiyi packed his schoolbag, adding an extra pair of thick socks. Old Mrs. Chen rummaged through the drawers and cupboards to find a small packet of ginger candy, which he would suck on to keep warm on the way. Even Old Mr. Chen put on his coat, got off the kang (heated brick bed), and, leaning on his cane, saw him off to the door of the main room.

Chen Shuyan stood in the courtyard, carrying a book box and wrapped in a cotton robe, surrounded by his family.

"Be careful on the road, it's still cold." Chen Xiufen stuffed a boiled egg and a small packet of loose silver into his arms, her eyes a little red. "This is what your mother secretly saved up, take it all with you. Don't be stingy while you're out there, eat when you're hungry."

Chen Shuyan took it, his fingertips touching his mother's cold hand, and paused for a moment before saying, "I understand."

Of all the people in this family, his mother still loves him the most.

Grandma Chen leaned forward: "Study hard and bring honor to the Chen family."

Old Chen coughed on the threshold: "Calm down, don't panic."

Liu Yiyi stood behind Chen Xiufen, her lips moved, but in the end she only said one sentence: "Do well on the exam."

Chen Shuyan nodded, his gaze sweeping over his family members. His uncle and his wife were there too. Only Wang Jinzhu and his wife, and Chen Tianwei and her brother weren't there. Good!

"Shuyan." Chen Xiufen took two more steps, her voice tight, "Come back after the exam, and Mom will make you some nourishing soup."

Chen Shuyan didn't stop walking; he just raised his hand and waved.

As soon as he left, the Chen family fell silent.

With a key figure missing from the second branch of the family, Chen Xiufen and Chen Yang seemed to have lost their backbone, becoming listless in everything they did. Liu Yiyi, needless to say, stayed cooped up in her room all day, too lazy even to go to the kitchen.

Old Mrs. Chen urged twice, "Second wife, it's time to cook."

Liu Yiyi dragged herself out, burning the pot once and undercooking the porridge once. Old Mrs. Chen scolded her a few times, and Liu Yiyi slammed the spatula on the stove.

"Since Shuyan isn't here, why should I cook?"

Old Mrs. Chen's face fell.

Wang Jinzhu sat in the courtyard sewing shoe soles, not even looking up, and slowly said, "The money is still in Grandma's hands. She took it all and doesn't want to do any work? Is that really possible?"

Liu Yiyi glanced at Wang Jinzhu, her lips moved, but she didn't dare to say anything.

She was afraid of Wang Jinzhu, but she still cooked the meal in the end.

Liu Yiyi squatted in front of the stove, tending the fire. Her face was red from the smoke, and the resentment in her heart churned over and over again—why did Wang Jinzhu get to order her around just by sitting there?

The flames in the stove leaped up and almost burned her hair. She hissed and shrank back. Annoying, so annoying.

In Chen Shuyan's absence, the eldest son's family lived a more comfortable life.

Chen Tianfang took the hunting knife back down. Spring had arrived, most of the snow had melted, and the mountain paths were passable. He went up the mountain every two days, bringing back rabbits and pheasants in rotation. He would occasionally cook one to eat, sell most of the animals, and store a small portion in Jinzhu's spatial storage.

Wang Jinzhu used the space according to the exact days, and the things that came in and out were only operated inside her own house, with the door bolted tight.

The first session of the county examination was held on the third day of the second lunar month.

The news from town was brought back later by Wang Xiaobao. He went to town to sell meat and overheard the people at the tea stall next door chatting.

"There are quite a few people taking the county-level exam this year; dozens of them are from our area alone."

"Did you go to Chenjia Village too? You mean that one—"

"Don't mention it, everyone knows about his past."

Wang Xiaobao listened intently for a long time, and then came back and repeated it to Wang Jinzhu.

"Little sister, that Chen Shuyan doesn't have a good reputation in town. The story about the academy last time spread farther than I thought; several shopkeepers know about it. There's a saying—'Selling his sister, a young scholar.'"

Wang Jinzhu cracked a sunflower seed: "Ordinary people are experts at giving nicknames."

"Some people have even made up a rhyme about this. It goes something like, 'Ten years of hard study by lamplight, selling one's sister for money to support one's studies.' The few words flow better than the few days I spent studying."

Wang Jinzhu chuckled, "Who cares? Let him take his exams, I'll take mine. If he passes, we'll separate happily; if he doesn't—"

She didn't continue.

It would be troublesome if I failed the exam.

If Chen Shuyan fails to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, he won't take the initiative to propose separating from the family. He will have to continue studying, continue spending money, and continue sucking the blood of the eldest son's family.

So this time she was really hoping Chen Shuyan would pass the exam.

The county examination ended on the ninth day of the second lunar month.

Five days later, Chen Shuyan returned.

He arrived in the afternoon, riding in Zhao Laosan's oxcart from the village. His book box was placed at his feet. He looked a bit thinner, but his eyes were still clear.

Chen Xiufen was the first to rush out to greet him. She looked him up and down for a while before trying to take the book box, but Chen Shuyan stepped aside and said, "It's not heavy, I can do it myself."

"How did the exam go?" Old Mrs. Chen asked, peeking out from the main room.

All eyes turned to him, and Chen Shuyan remained silent for a moment.

The question was too difficult.

Chen Xiufen's expression changed.

"Bias? What does 'bias' mean? Does it mean difficult or—"

"The examiners have changed this year." Chen Shuyan pursed his lips. "It's not Magistrate Sun from last year who's in charge of the exams. Instead, it's a new magistrate transferred from the prefectural city. The questions they set are different from previous years."

Old Mrs. Chen grew anxious: "So, did you answer it or not?"

Chen Shuyan didn't answer directly. He bent down, picked up his book box, and walked into the house. After taking two steps, he stopped, turned his head, and said something.

"I've finished answering the questions. Whether I pass or not, we'll know when the results are released."

The words were vague, but Chen Xiufen's eyes lit up—she knew her son well; if he had really failed the exam, he would never have spoken like that.

Wang Jinzhu stood at her doorstep, munching on half a daylily, and whispered to Chen Tianfang, "Look at his face, does he look like he did well on the exam?"

"Judging from his expression, he'll probably pass the exam. If there were no hope, he would have walked in with a long face."

Wang Jinzhu thought about it and agreed. She then stopped talking.

That evening, the door to the second room was closed early.

As Wang Jinzhu passed by, she heard voices inside, intermittent and broken. Liu Yiyi's voice was high-pitched, carrying an barely concealed anxiety—

"Just tell me, are you sure or not?"

After seven or eight breaths, Chen Shuyan returned, his voice more relaxed than during the day: "Let's call it fifty-fifty."

Liu Yiyi's voice immediately rose: "Fifty percent? Then, does that mean...?"

"Don't ask any more questions," Chen Shuyan interrupted her, but his tone wasn't harsh. "Just wait for the results."

The room was quiet for a while, then there was a rustling sound, as if Liu Yiyi was tidying up something, and her footsteps became lighter.

Wang Jinzhu withdrew her gaze and pushed open the door to her room.

Chen Tianfang had already washed his feet and gotten onto the kang (a heated brick bed). When he saw her come in, he lifted the corner of the quilt.

"Did you hear that?"

"Um."

"A fifty-fifty number, that's a 50% chance?"

Wang Jinzhu took off her shoes and threw them under the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), then crawled into the quilt.

"He said 50/50, but the truth is probably 70-80%. Scholars don't speak with absolute certainty. If he were only 30% sure, his face wouldn't have looked like that when he walked in today."

"It's good that he passed the exam. Once he passes, we can separate from the family." Wang Jinzhu turned over, her back to him. "He's passed the imperial examination and has gained confidence. He can't wait to get rid of us, this burden. Perfect, we don't want to serve him anymore."

"Fine. If you say we'll break up, then we'll break up."

The spring breeze outside the window rustled against the paper windowpane.

The results will be released on February 26th.

Twelve days left.

For the next twelve days, the Chen family remained outwardly calm, but inwardly they were all extremely anxious. Chen Shuyan locked himself in his room, repeatedly reciting the essays from the examination hall, a slight smile occasionally playing on his lips.

As for Wang Jinzhu, she took advantage of this time to add another fifty catties of grain to the space she had stored, and had Chen Tianfang walk the road on the back mountain again to get a general idea of ​​the distribution range of saltpeter.

Everything is ready.

We're just waiting for the list.