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

June 11, afternoon.

Chen Shuyan stormed in, followed by Chen Yang, who had his head down and looked like he didn't want to come.

"Brother," Chen Shuyan bowed respectfully, his manners impeccable, but his tone was icy cold, "Is sister-in-law here? I have something to say."

"What is it?" Chen Tianfang didn't move aside.

"My mother's eyes," Chen Shuyan's voice rose slightly, "were splashed with saltpeter, and the swelling hasn't gone down after ten days. The doctor said if it hadn't gone on any longer, it might have become a chronic condition. Who should pay for this medical bill?"

Wang Jinzhu walked out of the workshop, her hands still covered in pearl powder.

"Scholar Chen, your mother climbed over the wall into my yard in the middle of the night, tripped over her own feet, and knocked over a bucket. How dare you come to my door asking for money after trespassing?"

Chen Shuyan smiled, looking confident of victory.

"My sister-in-law said she climbed over the wall. Did anyone see her? Are there any neighbors who can testify?"

Chen Shuyan took a step forward. "When the family divided the property, there was no wall between the two houses, and you only added one. My mother was standing on the top of the wall looking this way—even if she really climbed over, it wouldn't count as trespassing, would it?"

"If you don't believe me, sister-in-law, we'll report it to the authorities and see if that's the truth."

Chen Tianfang clenched his fists, but Wang Jinzhu stopped him.

She knew in her heart that Chen Shuyan was right.

Chen Shuyan noticed her hesitation and pressed his advantage.

"Furthermore, the saltpeter was from the elder sister-in-law's yard. Knowing that the yard wall was low and the two houses were close together, the elder sister-in-law did not properly store the dangerous item, resulting in injury—in the county government, this is called 'injury caused by improper storage of items,' and according to the law, compensation can be sought."

Wang Jinzhu stared at him for a while.

This man had indeed been to school for several years and was more familiar with the legal provisions than she was. More importantly, he was certain of one thing—she had no witnesses.

That night, they deliberately remained silent and dark, hoping to make Chen Xiufen suffer in silence. They certainly had their fun, but they also left no witnesses or physical evidence.

"How much do you want?" Wang Jinzhu asked.

Chen Shuyan held up one finger.

"Ten taels. This covers the doctor's visit, medicine, lost wages, and subsequent eye care expenses. Ten taels is a fair price."

Chen Tianfang stepped forward: "You're dreaming! Your mother was up all night—"

"Tianfang, come back." Wang Jinzhu called out to him. She turned around and went back into the house, taking out a cloth bag from the cabinet. Ten taels of silver were inside. She counted them in front of Chen Shuyan and placed them on the threshold.

"The silver is here, take it."

Chen Shuyan bent down to pick it up, and just as his hand touched the cloth bag, he heard Wang Jinzhu speak again.

"But listen carefully to this. I accept this ten taels today. I don't accept your twisted logic; I accept that I didn't catch your mother red-handed and hand her over to the authorities."

She took a step forward, facing Chen Shuyan directly.

"Next time anyone touches a single blade of grass or tree in my yard, I won't resort to tricks or underhanded methods. I'll just tie them up and send them to the county yamen with a bang. You're a scholar, you should know better than me—theft is punishable by caning at the lightest, tattooing and exile at the heaviest. If your mother ends up in jail, you'll have to consider whether you can keep your scholar's degree."

Chen Shuyan paused for a moment, holding the silver purse, then stuffed it into his pocket, turned, and left. He had won today, after all.

Chen Yang followed behind, and when they arrived at his house, he couldn't help but say happily, "Shuyan, you're amazing! You brought back ten taels of silver in one go."

Chen Xiufen quickly stepped forward: "Son, you've got the money. Give some to your mother so I can get a doctor to take a look. My eyes really hurt a bit."

Having just received ten taels of silver, Chen Shuyan was generous and took out two taels of silver from his own pocket to hand to Chen Xiufen.

Chen Xiufen, who wanted ten taels of silver, comforted herself, thinking that two taels would be fine too, better than nothing.

On the other side of the courtyard wall, Chen Tianfang was filled with self-blame. "It's all my fault for taking it upon myself to change the saltpeter, causing you to lose ten taels of silver."

Looking at Chen Tianfang sitting on the wood, looking emo, Wang Jinzhu patted his head. "It's not your fault. I knew but I didn't stop you! We should learn from this experience and not make the same mistake next time."

Chen Tianfang rubbed his head against Wang Jinzhu's hand, but just as he was about to kiss it, a hand slapped his head away. "By the way, how's that piece of land at the east end of the village?"

"I went yesterday, and the village chief said the contract can be signed tomorrow."

"Yes, once the new house is built, we won't have to see these annoying people anymore."

Despite saying she wasn't angry, Wang Jinzhu ate two extra bowls of food at dinner. Chen Tianfang noticed this and silently put the last piece of cured meat into her bowl.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was June 20th, and Wang Xiaobao and Chen Tianwei's wedding was just around the corner.

Chen Tianwei sat by the window, meticulously embroidering her wedding dress, stitch by stitch. As the red thread pierced the silk, she occasionally glanced up at the light, a newfound brilliance appearing in her eyes.

Wang Xiaobao was also extremely busy. The wedding dress, betrothal gifts, and wedding quilt—everything required his attention.

This resulted in Wang Jinzhu not having enough manpower. She needed to make soap and high-end products, so she had to hire people, otherwise she would work herself to death.

"Tianfang, go help me with two people. Ask Chen Wangda from the village chief's house and Chen Daniu from next door if they'd like to work. Thirty coins a day, meals not included."

"Okay!" Chen Tianfang agreed, feeling grateful for Wang Jinzhu's thoughtfulness. She still remembered that Erniu had helped Tianwei.

"But let's get this straight: let's work until the end of the month, and then we'll see how good the job is before deciding whether to extend it."

Chen Tianfang nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Wang Jinzhu called out to him. "Make it clear, they're here to work, not to learn a trade. Their jobs are chopping wood, grinding flour, carrying, and packaging—those kinds of tasks."

A short while later, Chen Tianfang brought the person back.

Chen Wangda was in his early twenties, stocky and resembling a miniature version of Chen Defu, speaking with the same mature air his father had. Upon entering, he first looked around the workshop, then, without asking many questions, simply said, "Sister-in-law, how should the work be divided? You tell me."

Chen Daniu, on the other hand, was much more hesitant. He was half a head shorter than Chen Tianfang, dark-skinned and thin, with calloused hands. He stood at the door rubbing his hands for a long time before stepping in.

"Brother Tianfang, I've never done this kind of delicate work before, don't cause your wife any trouble."

"I can't add any more." Wang Jinzhu brought out two wooden buckets from the house, one containing ground rice flour and the other containing dried flower petal fragments. "Wangda, you are in charge of grinding the flour. Use this stone mortar and pestle. Grind it until there are no granules when you rub them between your fingers."

"Da Niu, you tend the fire and watch the distillation pot. The fire in the stove shouldn't be too big; just hold your hand about a palm's width above the lid, and it should feel slightly warm. Too big a fire and the floral dew will taste bitter; too small and the water won't come out."

The two took their places without saying another word.

Wang Jinzhu turned to mix the coloring for the lip rouge, then turned back after a few steps and added, "The pay is thirty copper coins a day, paid every ten days. The first three days are a trial period; if you don't perform well, you're fired and paid half your salary."

Chen Wangda responded, and Chen Daniu nodded vigorously.

Just as everything was settled here, a head peeked in through the courtyard gate.

Old Chen.

He leaned against the door frame and peered inside, seeing two unfamiliar faces working. His eyes darted around.

"Jinzhu, have you hired anyone?"

"Thank you."

"Should Grandpa lend a hand too?"

Wang Jinzhu glanced at him. Old Chen had been in good spirits lately; ever since he helped her buy land last time, he had been standing very straight.

But he's not good at working, though he's good at talking—everyone in the village with ears knows that his eldest granddaughter-in-law has landed a big business deal in the prefectural city.

"Grandpa, you can't do the work in the workshop. But there's something you can help with."

"What's up?"

"There are about ten other miscellaneous things to do for Tianwei and Xiaobao's wedding that no one can run errands for. We need to borrow tables and chairs from town for the banquet, find someone to write the 'double happiness' characters, and buy firecrackers in advance. It's much more convenient for you to handle these things than for us younger generation."

When Old Man Chen heard that it was related to marriage, he got really excited.

"Leave this to me! Your grandpa may not be good at much else, but he's got a knack for organizing things."

He turned and left, walking faster than the young man.