C18 Chapter 18

After Wan Qiqi stepped inside, everyone in the main room rushed out and crowded around the kitchen stove, going on and on about whatever was in the pot—but not a single person dared lift the lid.

Pingping caught the smell and started drooling. He turned and asked Chen Yongnian, “Dad, can we eat yet?”

Chen Yongnian looked torn. He honestly didn’t know.

Mrs. Wang stepped forward, scooped Pingping into her arms, and coaxed him, “Not yet. Wait until your mom gets back, okay?”

Mrs. Wang usually spent the most time with the two little ones, and when she spoke, they typically listened. This time was no different.

Lee Chongniang stood off to the side, frowning hard. “Mom, we can’t just eat random stuff. If it makes someone sick, that’s serious.”

“Chongniang’s right. We can’t eat it!” Chen Yongxing couldn’t shake the feeling that an Eight-foot Insect wasn’t something you should put in your mouth.

Wan Qiqi heard every word and simply waited for the moment they’d all be proven wrong.

But before that, there were other things to handle.

She swept her gaze over the people in the yard, her voice turning cold. “Inside. Now.”

No one knew what she was about to do, but they obeyed.

Then Wan Qiqi added, “Bolt the door.”

Chen Yongliang brought up the rear. He slid a thick wooden bar across the door before coming over to sit down.

Wan Qiqi set the burlap sack in her hands on the table. It tipped to one side, spilling a few grains of rice.

Lee Chongniang had sharp eyes. The second she saw what was inside, she nearly cried out and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

After what happened before, she wasn’t about to be that careless again. She lowered her voice and asked, “Sister-in-law, where did you get rice?”

“Stashed it,” Wan Qiqi said casually.

For a moment, Lee Chongniang didn’t know what to feel.

She hated that her sister-in-law had been hiding so much good food, but she was also relieved—at least there was grain, and nobody would have to go hungry.

“Sister-in-law, do you have anything else stashed away?” Chen Yongliang asked, fascinated. First she’d produced a sack of white rice, and now a sack of brown rice.

In the past, he never would’ve believed she’d share anything. But now she actually was.

Not only that—Big Sis even brought out the best white rice first!

Before anyone could react, Wan Qiqi set her coin pouch on the table. The clink of coins instantly drew everyone’s attention, and then she held up a single coin for all to see.

If they’d been surprised before, now they were stunned—almost disbelieving.

Wan Qiqi still had money!

Wan Qiqi actually brought it out!

Wan Qiqi was even sharing!

One thing after another shattered what they thought they knew about her. It made everyone realize Wan Qiqi really had changed—she wasn’t just talking.

Wan Qiqi glanced around at everyone and said evenly, “There are two hundred coins here. I want to buy Pingping and An’an each a pair of shoes—maybe some new clothes too—then replace the old pot and pick up some vegetable seeds. Does that sound okay to you?”

Everyone just stood there, still trying to process it.

Mrs. Wang looked at the pouch and nudged it back toward Wan Qiqi. “It’s your money. You decide.”

Wan Qiqi nodded, then asked, “What seeds should I buy? I don’t really know much about that.”

Mrs. Wang frowned as if thinking it over. “Cabbage and amaranth would be good. And if they have radishes, get some of those too.”

Cabbage… amaranth… radishes…

Wan Qiqi was still a little lost. She was grateful she had a way to look things up, so she wouldn’t feel completely out of her depth.

She and Mrs. Wang went back and forth, talking about planting vegetables.

The three brothers stood off to the side, chiming in now and then.

The two little ones listened with wide eyes, nodding along like they understood every word.

Only Lee Chongniang sat by herself, unable to work her way into the conversation.

Truth was, compared to Wan Qiqi, she knew all of this better. In the past, she’d been the one who took care of the family’s garden.

Now she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d become an outsider in her own home.