Chapter 34

The room instantly fell silent. Qian Guocheng clutched his groin, on the verge of tears. Old Madam Qian watched her youngest son’s state with both heartache and fury. She opened her mouth to shout at him, but seeing the shattered wood scattered across the floor and Qian Jianing smiling calmly at her, she swallowed her words.

In Old Madam Qian’s eyes, Qian Jianing was a venomous, brutish she-devil, quick to resort to beating her precious youngest son whenever displeased. Yet, frustratingly, the old woman had no power to restrain her. She forced herself to look away from Qian Jianing, not wanting to acknowledge the tremble in her legs—the undeniable evidence of her fear.

Suddenly, a clatter came from outside the window. Zhao Xiu’e went to the door and sighed with relief. “Li Jie’s here.”

Li Jie was Qian Guocheng’s wife, having married into the family from a nearby impoverished village. Her family was desperately poor with far too many children, constantly short on food and necessities. When her sisters reached marrying age, they’d been traded for steep bride prices – married either to disabled men or elderly widowers. Li Jie was clever. Long before she was marriageable, she began going regularly into town. Once she met Qian Guocheng, she made a dramatic, life-or-death fuss, refusing to rest until she could marry him.

Initially, Li Jie’s parents were unwilling. Letting a daughter they’d painstakingly raised leave without securing a lucrative bride price felt like a terrible business loss. Knowing her parents’ nature, Li Jie fed them smooth talk: a son-in-law from town would bring them prestige, earn others’ respect. Once she married into town, she could also help find a town girl for her younger brother. Her parents took the bait and agreed. But once Li Jie got her way, she cut off contact with them. The few times they sought her out in town, she shooed them away, severing ties completely.

Li Jie didn’t love Qian Guocheng; she despised his laziness and selfishness. But given her circumstances, this was the best match she could secure quickly. Qian Guocheng wasn’t entirely satisfied with Li Jie either, seeing her as a country girl with no dowry. However, town families, aware of Qian Guocheng’s idleness, refused to marry their daughters to him. Thus, two incompatible people settled for each other.

After marriage, their life was wretched. Qian Guocheng had no job. Anything he scrounged up—mere pennies—barely covered cheap vegetables and meals. During long stretches when he had no money, he wouldn’t give Li Jie household funds for months on end. Livelihood became a perpetual visit to Old Madam Qian at the start of each month, arriving empty-handed. The old woman would secretly hand over her hoarded food, barely keeping starvation at bay. Only after enduring two years of this bleak existence did they finally have a child. For the child’s sake, Li Jie found a job but kept her earnings entirely out of Qian Guocheng’s hands, guarding it against him like a thief.

Li Jie stepped inside, saw Qian Guocheng’s pathetic state, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Got in another fight? Wasn’t yesterday enough for you?”

Qian Guocheng didn’t dare shout at Qian Jianing, but he felt no restraint with Li Jie. “Shut your damn mouth, bitch! Can’t you see my head’s busted? Get me to the clinic!”

Li Jie frowned slightly, her voice unnervingly calm. “Where would I get money for the clinic? It’s not bleeding anymore. Just wash it when you get home and apply some soot from the stove.” She glanced at the puddle of filth on the ground, her expression filled with revulsion. “Right. Don’t just stand here reeking like that. Change your clothes and get home. Can’t stand the embarrassment.”

Qian Guocheng was eager to escape anyway. He turned to leave. Old Madam Qian called after him plaintively, “Guocheng! When will you come to get me?”

Instantly, Li Jie’s mood shifted. She turned a cold stare on the old woman. “What do you mean?”

A smug flicker crossed Old Madam Qian’s face as she looked at her. “We just decided. From now on, I’ll live with Guocheng. Just look at you—can’t even take care of your own man! How could I be at ease?”

Li Jie let out a cold laugh, her gaze icy as it landed on Qian Guocheng. “You know our situation. Bring her back? Are you going to support her?”

Qian Guocheng shot Li Jie a meaningful look. “Mom talked to the others. They’ll contribute monthly expenses. Twenty each from them, ten from Big Sister.”

Hearing this, Li Jie’s expression softened marginally. She nodded. “Alright, I agree. But it’s settled upfront—I handle all the money. I wouldn’t trust him with it. If he wastes it all, I won’t have food for her.”

Qian Guocheng scowled, “You’re taking all that money? Give me half at least!”

Old Madam Qian immediately chimed in for her son. “That’s my pension money! I should decide how it’s spent. Why give it straight to my daughter-in-law?”

A derisive snort escaped Li Jie. “Then don’t move in with us. I won’t serve you.”

The old woman flushed with humiliated anger. “It’s my son’s house! I’ll go if I want!”

Li Jie fired back instantly, “Then get your son to cook, wash, and look after you! Mark my words: if I don’t see the money, don’t expect a bite of food from me.”

Qian Guohua sighed, pulling gently at Old Madam Qian’s arm. “Ma, rethink this. You’re living fine here. Why ask for trouble? Don’t move.”

“I have to move! Look how she treats your brother! Could she possibly care for him properly? Going there means I can look after Guocheng better.” Old Madam Qian shook off Qian Guohua’s arm impatiently. “Besides, if I stay, I’ll never see Guocheng. That would hurt worse than cutting flesh.”

Qian Guohua’s expression hardened. “Ma, Guocheng should be caring for you.”

The old woman waved her hand dismissively. “He’s still too young. I couldn’t bear him having to serve me.”

A collective, derisive chuckle rippled through the room as everyone’s eyes swept pointedly over Qian Guocheng.

Li Jie’s gaze landed again on Qian Guocheng, her face a mask of contempt and disgust. “Well? Decided who gets the money?”

“Give it to Li Jie!” Qian Guohua declared, cutting off her mother’s loud protest. “Ma, giving it to Li Jie at least means you won’t starve. If it’s in your hands or Guocheng’s? Who knows where it’ll vanish.”

“I refuse!” the old woman spat stubbornly.

“Fine. If you refuse, we stick to the old ways: deliver rice, flour, meat. Not a single cent.”

Old Madam Qian abruptly lost her fire. Qian Guohua approached Li Jie, speaking gently. “Sister-in-law, we’ll give the money. Please, when you have it, promise us you’ll spare a little effort for Mother. Don’t let her go hungry or thirsty.”

Li Jie managed a hint of a smile for Qian Guohua. “Don’t worry, Sister. She’ll eat whatever we eat. We won’t treat her poorly.”

With the matter settled, Qian Jianing seized the moment to shepherd everyone to the neighborhood administrative office to formalize the agreement. They put the entire pension arrangement down in black and white. Qian Jianing handed the first month’s pension directly to Li Jie in front of the staff and had her thumbprint the receipt.

Carefully storing the receipt, Qian Jianing smiled brightly. “From now on, all payments happen here at the office. Both sides sign and fingerprint. The office staff will also add their signature to the ‘supervisor’ field. This way, if anything comes up later, we’ll have solid proof.”

With one twist of her thoughts, Zhao Xiu’e grasped all of Qian Jianing’s concerns. The couple Qian Guocheng and his wife were a pair—one foolish and the other vicious. Having the elderly woman live in their home at such an advanced age would inevitably invite trouble sooner or later, with those two likely stirring up chaos and making trouble. It was far better to clearly lay everything out in black and white right now. Though the paperwork might be complicated, it would bring peace of mind in the long run.

As for Li Jie, she had no objections whatsoever. After all, the ten-yuan bills were lining her pockets one after another—all for the trouble of making a single trip to the neighborhood office to press her thumbprint.

With noon approaching, Zhao Xiu’e had no intention of keeping Qian Guocheng’s family for lunch. She promptly sent them off with the old lady and returned home to bundle up the elderly woman’s clothes, asking her son to deliver them.

Li Jie took the clothes and flung them onto the kang bed inside the inner room, telling the old lady to tidy up herself. She then went to the kitchen, heated several mixed-grain buns, stir-fried three vegetable dishes, and called everyone to eat. The elderly Mrs. Qian took one look and frowned. “No meat?”

Li Jie glanced at her. “Our home isn’t like Big Brother’s with their pig farm. We’re lucky to have vegetables to eat.”

Over at Qian Guomao’s house, the two brothers felt a pang of bitterness and emptiness as they surveyed the room their mother used to occupy. More than anything though, they felt resignation. In Mrs. Qian’s eyes, only Qian Guocheng was her precious jewel. To her, everyone else was replaceable. No matter how filial they were, they couldn’t win her true affection.

Zhao Xiu’e, on the other hand, was utterly delighted. Having lived with the old woman for decades, no one loathed her blatant favoritism more. Now that the old lady had chosen to live with her younger son herself, Zhao Xiu’e felt she had finally shaken off a massive burden.

Zhao Xiu’e practically skipped to the kitchen to stir-fry dishes. Feeling too awkward to sit idle, Qian Jianing and Li Wanzhen helped clear the scraps of wood from the room, stacking them in the firewood pile. Seizing a moment when no one was nearby, Li Wanzhen tugged Qian Jianing’s hand and whispered, “You can’t keep smashing things from now on. If people see how incredibly strong you are, how will you ever find a husband?”

Qian Jianing sneered coldly. “If a man truly loves me, he’d dare marry me even if I could shatter an ox with one slap. If he doesn’t truly care for me, he’d eventually tire of me even if I were as beautiful as a flower. Mom, marriage isn’t something you settle for. So I won’t change myself for anyone. Whoever likes me must accept all of me. If they can’t, they should steer clear right away. Otherwise, I’ll definitely slap them into the air.”

Li Wanzhen glared at her, but Qian Jianing’s face was set with stubborn defiance, clearly rejecting her advice. Li Wanzhen shook her head helplessly. “You really are grown now, and set in your ways. You’ve even figured out marriage.”

Qian Jianing smiled faintly. “Of course I have to figure it out. If I don’t, I might as well not have lived at all.”

After lunch, Qian Guosheng didn’t linger. He loaded his wife and daughter onto the tricycle and headed home. On the way, they encountered Sun Lao’er and several others trying to shove Qian Guocheng onto another tricycle. Seeing the Qian Guosheng family approach, Qian Guocheng screamed like a stuck pig. “Brother! Big brother! Tell them not to make me work! I have money now! I’ll give them fifty back first, the rest I’ll pay next month!”

Qian Guosheng stayed silent, glancing back at Qian Jianing. Qian Jianing gave another cold laugh, rolling her eyes at Qian Guocheng. “And what about my family’s thousand yuan? Planning to pay me back in fifties too? Think this is installment payment?!”

Hearing this, Sun Lao’er breathed a sigh of relief. Though Qian Jianing and Qian Guocheng were relatives, if Qian Jianing had suddenly softened and changed her mind, Sun Lao’er would have been caught in an impossible position.

Not knowing how to address Qian Jianing properly, Sun Lao’er scrambled over, bowing respectfully. “My humble self has worked it out with the coal mine. He’ll be sent directly to work. The mine provides food and lodging, and his wages will be paid straight to me. May I ask which day of the month suits you? I’ll deliver the money to you then.”

Qian Jianing thought for a moment. “The first of every month. My dad comes to deliver my grandma’s allowance. You can give the money directly to him.” Sun Lao’er quickly studied Qian Guosheng’s face, memorizing it carefully to be sure.

Regarding Qian Guocheng, Qian Guosheng didn’t dare ask too many details, afraid of upsetting his daughter if he handled it poorly. Li Wanzhen, however, wasn’t as timid, though lacking experience in such matters, she felt uneasy. “But… is it okay if you force him to work in the coal mine like this? Wouldn’t the police arrest you?”

Sun Lao’er chuckled. “No need for worry, sister-in-law. Repaying debts is natural justice. That coward Qian Guocheng won’t dare cause a scene either. Besides, although the work at the mine is tough, the pay is very high. Once he’s paid off the debt, if he wants to keep working there, it’s actually a decent job.”

Qian Jianing looked at Qian Guocheng, who was crouched on the ground wiping his tears. Curious, she crooked her finger at Sun Lao’er. “When you went to fetch him from his home, did the old lady there make trouble?”

“She did! That Qian Guocheng hid behind her like a turtle retreating into its shell. The old lady screamed for us to go pester Qian Guomao for the money. But following your instructions—knowing we shouldn’t involve others—we dragged him out anyway.” Sun Lao’er paused, then added, “Mind you, his wife seemed quite pleased. She even asked how long he’d be working there. When I said he gets one day off every two weeks, she looked almost disappointed! Then she suggested the mine could perhaps give just one leave every two or three months!”

Qian Jianing hadn’t interacted much with her uncle and his wife before. She hadn’t realized their household was so… lively.

Seeing Qian Jianing listening with evident amusement, Sun Lao’er shared a bit more: “When we were hauling Qian Guocheng out, we heard his wife and his mother suddenly start screaming at each other! The old woman accused her daughter-in-law of not caring about her husband. The daughter-in-law fired back, saying the old hag had raised her son into useless trash. Things got so fierce they even started brawling! I’m pretty sure Qian Guocheng’s wife clawed the old lady’s face.”

Qian Jianing felt a pang of regret at missing this spectacle. Who would have won, she wondered: the old lady’s sturdy shoe soles, or Li Jie’s shadowless claw technique?

In the blink of an eye, winter arrived. Qian Jianing’s little restaurant had already gained some renown in Zibo City, thanks particularly to the roaring success of her wellness meal sets. The first customers who tried the wellness meals had already noticed tangible improvements in their health.

Old Mr. and Mrs. Meng Yimin never failed to order one wellness meal set every week during their visits to the restaurant. Previously, they could only manage three or four hours of sleep with the help of sleeping pills. Now, they could sleep for five hours every night without any sleeping aids. Especially on the days right after having the wellness meal, they were guaranteed to sleep peacefully through the night until dawn.

Meng Yimin’s grandson Xu Mingming used to find eating more troublesome than taking medicine. Ever since having two consecutive health meals at Qian Jianing’s place last time, his appetite had been great since returning home. However, the child often complained that the food cooked at home didn’t suit his taste, insisting on eating dishes from Qian Xiaomi’s shop. To help him eat more and grow taller, the couple increased their trips back to Zibo City from the provincial capital from once every two months to twice a month. Each time they returned, they made sure he had two health meals consecutively. In just over three months, Xu Mingming had shot up by three centimeters. Xu Chen and his wife wept tears of joy—in the past, the boy couldn’t grow three centimeters in a year and was nearly a head shorter than his peers.

Similar effects were observed among other health meal patrons. The coughing of chronic bronchitis patients eased, blood sugar levels in diabetics dropped steadily, and hypertension patients saw more stable blood pressure readings…

While queuing, customers exchanged experiences, all agreeing the health meals truly delivered results. Many affluent patrons planned long-term commitments. Take Meng Yimin and her husband Xu Haoran: previously, they suffered sleepless nights with constant bone-deep aches, severely reduced quality of life. Had they not endured worse during past political movements, the elderly couple might have long ended their lives.

But Qian Jianing’s health meals renewed their hope. As they slept better and joint pain lessened, they became loyal patrons. After lifelong hardship, anyone would want healthy, comfortable twilight years. If money could buy such relief, most would gladly pay.

True to Qian Jianing’s prediction, after a month at “preferential pricing,” the meals returned to an eye-watering premium cost. Yet, customers multiplied rather than dwindled, filling Qian Jianing’s coffers.

On the night after final exams, as Qian Jianing locked that day’s earnings in her trunk, Treasure Bowl popped out cheerfully. “Congratulations on your first hundred thousand yuan! Now you get a prize draw! Excited? Thrilled?”

Qian Jianing truly was thrilled. Given Treasure Bowl’s notorious stinginess, offering a prize was unprecedented.

Beaming smugly as he awaited praise, Treasure Bowl froze when Qian Jianing solemnly raised her hand: “Hold on!”

Bewildered, he watched her dash to the bathroom, meticulously wash her hands with soap, brush her teeth, then return. She sat before him reverently: “Begin!”

After a pause, Treasure Bowl offered earnest advice: “Washing hands won’t help you win big. Better pray to me to improve your luck.”

Peering at his chubby form, Qian Jianing blurted truthfully: “If you could choose, you’d handpick the cheapest prize for me.”

Hit a nerve, Treasure Bowl flushed crimson and glared. “You’re getting talkative!”

Grinning, Qian Jianing pinched his round cheek. “Just understanding you better.”

Swatting her hand away, Treasure Bowl waved his own—a roulette wheel with five slots (first to fifth prize) appeared before Qian Jianing.

Skeptically eyeing him, she remarked, “Such minimal effort! At least label the prizes.”

Treasure Bowl batted innocent eyes. “Too cramped for words.” Seeing her disbelief, he cleared his throat defensively. “All prizes are gift packs! First prize alone has ten items. Truly no space.”

Hearing that there were so many prizes, Qian Jianing blew on her hands with determination, grabbed the wheel, and gave it a hard spin. The prize wheel spun rapidly and gradually slowed down under the watchful eyes of Qian Jianing and Treasure Bowl, finally stopping at the second prize.

Qian Jianing let out a sigh of relief, a big smile on her face. The second prize was already much better than she had expected—after all, in her past life, she had never even won a five-yuan lottery ticket.

Treasure Bowl pulled out a box from its pocket and handed it to Qian Jianing. “The second prize includes your choice of two new skills with accompanying talent bonuses; a set of cooking tools that maximally preserve the Spiritual Energy in ingredients; 100,000 Immortal Coins, which can be used to purchase Immortal Realm ingredients; and one immortal fruit, which has the effect of strengthening the body and improving health.”

Qian Jianing’s eyes lit up. One can never have too many skills, and learning a few more had always been her dream—especially now that talents came included. In the past, whether it was learning culinary arts or martial arts, she’d never received any talent bonuses.

As for which two skills to choose, Qian Jianing had already made up her mind. She said eagerly, “I want to choose medicine. The secret manual the Food Elder gave me includes medicinal cuisine. If I can master medicine, I can tailor medicinal meals to the health conditions of my customers. This could definitely evolve into a high-end, customized medicinal meal series in the future. The second skill I want to choose is face reading. Both the current health-focused series and the upcoming medicinal meal line can improve physical well-being and even extend lifespan with long-term use. So I don’t want bad, evil, or malicious people to eat my food. I want to use face reading to filter those kinds of people out.”

Treasure Bowl nodded and pulled out two skill books, one labeled “Medicine” and the other “Fate and Divination.” “Which one do you want to learn first?”

Qian Jianing took the one labeled “Medicine.” Treasure Bowl said, “The course will last ten days, taught by a divine physician from the Immortal Realm. Just call him Daoist Master of Medicine.”

Qian Jianing nodded. She placed the skill book under her pillow, and before closing her eyes, finally asked a question that had been on her mind for a while: “Bowl, how come you’re so stingy, but still have such amazing divine connections? You managed to get me all these incredible masters.”

Treasure Bowl sighed sorrowfully. “Honestly, I didn’t mean to. It’s just that I didn’t want to pay interest on high-interest loans, and there were too many immortals lining up to offer their services in exchange for clearing their debts.”

Qian Jianing looked at Treasure Bowl with sympathy, her expression saying “I get it.” “Your salaries in the Immortal Realm must be really low, huh? Not even enough for food? Even Lord Shan has to deliver packages to make a living. Life’s really not easy for you immortals.”

Treasure Bowl: “…” Wait a minute, just what kind of misunderstanding do you have about our Immortal Realm?