TFWYH – Chapter 9 Instigating the Younger Aunt

When the second branch of the Ling family was separated, they were given absolutely nothing.

No land, no house!

Even the three thatched huts they were currently living in were only obtained because the village chief, feeling sorry for their situation as a widow and her children, sold them at a low price.

At the time, to buy those three thatched huts, she had to pawn the last of her jewelry, nearly reaching the point of total destitution.

Thankfully, she was skilled at embroidery, and by taking on extra work each day, she was just barely able to provide food and warmth for her family.

Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have known what to do.

Now Tang Wan was telling her to do something else, but she truly didn’t know what she could do aside from embroidery.

Tang Wan frowned. In fact, she had plenty of ways to make money.

As a former robot, every one of her kind came installed with the Baidu knowledge base as a fundamental feature at birth—it was just that she’d never had the chance to apply it in practice.

But that was no problem! Even if she wasn’t great at hands-on tasks, wasn’t Jiang-shi (Mrs. Jiang) there?

And if that didn’t work out, there was still Ling Yue!

She could provide the theoretical knowledge, and Jiang-shi and Ling Yue would handle the execution!

Perfect!

The more Tang Wan thought about it, the better it sounded. So she asked immediately, “What do you want to learn?”

“Huh? What?” Jiang-shi didn’t catch her meaning at first.

Tang Wan elaborated, “Silkworm farming, beekeeping, cooking, gardening, firearms…”

Uh…
Maybe not that last one.

Too dangerous. Not suitable for Jiang-shi!

Tang Wan scratched her head. Not being very articulate, she grew a little anxious. Then she spotted the pork on the chopping board and remembered that Jiang-shi was a good cook. She said, “Fermented bean paste! And bean sprouts! We can sell them to restaurants—or set up a food stall in town!”

Jiang-shi: ?

What on earth are those things?

She had never even heard of them!

“Fermented bean paste? Bean sprouts?”

“Mm-hmm! You can sell them for money!”

“……” I don’t really believe you…

Jiang-shi smiled helplessly. She considered herself relatively knowledgeable.

But what Tang Wan was talking about—she had never even heard of.

And those things about silkworm farming and beekeeping earlier? She didn’t believe Tang Wan knew how to do those either.

Those crafts were passed down through generations, usually from parent to child. How could Tang Wan possibly know them?

That was exactly why honey and silk were so expensive.

Jiang-shi didn’t take Tang Wan’s words seriously. “Alright, I’ll think about it myself. You take Chen-er out to play for a while. I’ll call you both when lunch is ready.”

Tang Wan: …

How do I deal with a mother-in-law who doesn’t believe me?

Dragging Ling Chen by the hand, Tang Wan left the house dejectedly.

Ling Chen noticed she was in low spirits and grew a little scared. “Big sister-in-law… are you unhappy?”

“No.” Tang Wan saw the two tufts of hair sticking up on his head again and reached out to smooth them down. Only then did she reply, “I’m just worried… about Mom.”

The word “Mom” sounded awkward coming from her mouth.

She had no parents, and now suddenly she had a mom? Still… it felt kind of great.

Not just a mom—she also had a younger sister-in-law, a younger brother-in-law, and a husband who was as handsome as a flower.

Even if her husband didn’t like her, he was still her husband. They had an official marriage certificate.

Happiness!
Joy!

Tang Wan smiled so hard her eyes curved into slits.

She felt like she’d suddenly become a winner in life!

Ling Chen saw her smile and let out a big sigh of relief.

He didn’t want his sister-in-law to be angry. In his memory, when she was angry, she would beat him and his sister—and even yell at their mother!

That terrified him.

He liked the smiling, gentle sister-in-law—not the angry one.

Outside, Tang Wan was racking her brain trying to think of how to get Jiang-shi to change jobs.

Inside, Ling Yue was delivering the new clothes to Ling Yu. She spoke a lot about Tang Wan and finally added, “Big sister-in-law said you don’t like her and didn’t want to see her, so she asked me to bring this over. Big brother, try it on and see if it fits.”

Upon hearing that, Ling Yu let out a cold laugh. “At least she’s self-aware.”

He had been forced to marry a woman like that.

Never mind whether she was good-looking or his type.

Even if she was perfect, what man could tolerate being forced into marriage for just five taels of silver?

Wasn’t that basically being sold off?

Besides, that woman wasn’t just ugly—she had a vicious heart.

She either beat or cursed his mother and his little brother and sister. She was fierce and vulgar.

But… oh well…

He was a cripple now anyway!

Thinking of that, Ling Yu’s whole body exuded a gloomy aura, his beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with lifelessness.

Ling Yue was a little scared to see him like that, but in the past few days her opinion of Tang Wan had changed a lot. There were some things she still wanted to say.

“Big brother, whether you like her or not, you two are already married. You’re her husband, and she’s your wife. When Dad was still around, he always said, if you marry a girl, you must take responsibility for her. You don’t have to like her, but you should show her a bit of respect.”

Ling Yu looked at her strangely, clearly surprised that this little sister was speaking up for Tang Wan.

Ling Yue felt uneasy under his gaze. She didn’t know why, but even though she and her brother were born of the same mother, she always felt a bit afraid of him.

And he was just too striking—his appearance was so alluring that even in such a miserable state, he still carried an innate nobility. It was like… he didn’t belong in the same world as them.

“Uh… if I said something wrong, then… I’m sorry!” Please stop looking at me like that… it’s creepy.

Ling Yue lowered her head, feeling immensely regretful.

Why did I open my big mouth? Big brother must be upset now…

Ling Yu caught the look on her face and quickly turned away. “Leave.”

“Huh? Oh—then I’ll go now. Big brother, get some rest.” Ling Yue dashed out as if something was chasing her.

Ling Yu looked at the neatly folded plain white robe by the bed. His beautiful peach blossom eyes shimmered with light.

Clothing of this quality wasn’t something families like theirs could afford.

Just that one robe was worth three dou of premium rice.

“She’s really willing to spend…”

After what Ling Yue had said, Ling Yu started paying attention to Tang Wan.

He even called Ling Chen in when no one was looking to have him push open the tightly shut window. And he no longer lay in bed all day—now, he sat up frequently, listening carefully for any movement outside.

Tang Wan had no idea about any of this. Seeing Ling Yue come out, she quickly pulled her into a corner and started whispering urgently.

Ling Yue’s eyes widened in disbelief. “B-Big sister-in-law, you want me to rent a shop in town to sell food?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“I can’t do that! I’m not great at cooking, and I’m still young. I’ll mess it up!”

“I’ll go with you!” What are you afraid of? Just do it!

“……” Even if you’re with me, it won’t help much. “Renting a shop in town is really expensive.”

“The one at the docks is ten taels a month!” In the original host’s memory, that was the price. Not too bad—she could afford it now.

Ling Yue took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. “Even if you sold me, I wouldn’t be worth ten taels!”

The next moment, Tang Wan pulled out a fresh, still-warm silver note: “I’ve got it!”

Ling Yue’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the note’s denomination.

Wait!

She must be hallucinating.

She rubbed her eyes and looked again.

The figure 50 taels was boldly printed right there—clear, solid, and within reach.

“Big sister-in-law, w-where did you get all that money?”

“I earned it!”

“……” Can you say more than two words? Please?

I know you earned it, but how did you earn it?!

That’s not five taels, that’s fifty!

Add a bit more and you could buy a house in the poor district of town!