Little Shitou was crouching in front of the entrance and combing Tinys fur with his little hands. When he heard the trotting sounds of horses, he lifted his head and looked towards the direction of the sound. He noticed that the youth leading the group looked somewhat familiar, so he couldnt help but squint his eyes to check more carefully.

Young Master, that five-room house with a courtyard in front is Uncle Yus residence. From this servants inquiry, there were only a few households within the entire village with such a big house, but Third Young Master Zhous personal manservant, Simo, paused hesitantly for a moment.

What? Third Young Master Zhou had already recognized the little kid in front of the door from afar. It was Xiaocaos foolishly cute younger brother. This should be the place!

Simo also saw the little boy dressed in a patched-up green quilted clothing and sighed, With Uncle Yus abilities and the size of this house, the Yu Family should have decent living conditions. However, the clothes on his children were even more shabby than the other children in the village.

Look, isnt that Miss Xiaocaos younger brother? His worn-out clothes should have been thrown out long ago. Recently, they should have earned at least sixty to seventy taels from selling game to Zhenxiu Restaurant. Its almost the New Year, but theyre still unwilling to buy a new set of cotton-padded clothing for the children

Zhou Zixu frowned slightly and said, Uncle Yu doesnt look like someone who would mistreat his children. Could it be that they have some undisclosed difficulties?

Having personally experienced the struggle for power and constant scheming within his family, Zhou Zixu would think deeply about every situation he encountered. Wasnt his own family like this? Had his grandparents not been around to control the family, with the display of his talent in business over the past two years, the second branch would had been devoured by his greedy relatives long ago. Uncle Yu probably also had his own difficulties that he couldnt express.

I remember you! Youre the third young master of the Zhou Family, right? Little Shitou stood up and raised his head with a beaming smile.

Zhou Zixu dismounted from his horse, ruffled the little guys messy hair, and said with a warm face, Little Shitou, who are you calling Third Young Master Zhou? Call me Third Brother Zhou! If you make a mistake again next time, then Ill punish you!

What kind of punishment? Little Shitou blinked and asked curiously.

Ill punish you Zhou Zixu took a box of pastries from Simos hands and smiled, You will be forbidden to eat the pastries that Third Brother Zhou brings over!

Little Shitou eagerly stared at the exquisite food box within Third Young Master Zhous hands and slowly read the name on the box, Lian ji Pastry Shop! Is it the Lianji with the biggest storefront and the most expensive pastries in town? Doesnt this box of pastries cost a lot of money?

Zhou Zixu was somewhat amazed and said, Oh, Little Shitou is so young, but you can already read?

Little Shitou shyly scratched his head and said, When playing at Wuzis house, I learned a few words from Brother Wen

Little Shitou is so smart! I heard that your second sister is sick? Zhou Zixu asked.

Yes! Shes very sick. If Eldest Granduncle hadnt lent us money, my second sister might have The little fellow lowered his head and appeared to be in low spirits. He and his older sister were both very obedient, but why does their grandmother dislike them?

Shitou, who are you talking to? Arent you going to hurry up and gather some firewood while the weather is good? All you know is how to play! Everyday, youre only concerned about eating and not doing any work! Moreover, we have to provide for a chronic invalid! I must owe you people something! Madam Zhangs jarring shrieks traveled over.

Zhou Zixu couldnt help but furrow his brows, Hes such a young child, yet hes already being ordered to work?

Just as he was deep in his thoughts, a mean looking old lady with a fierce gaze came out of the door. With her hands on her waist, she made a stance of a shrew who loudly cursed in public.

Seeing three imposing people in front of her, Madam Zhang forced down the curses that was about the come out of her mouth. In front of the courtyard was Zhou Zixu who was obviously born of noble status, Madam Zhangs originally threatening manner immediately withered down. With her shoulder drooped and head shrunken, she asked in a timid voice, You Who are you looking for?

Simo had disdain for the wicked old womans double standards and differential treatment, so he had a face of contempt as he asked, Is this Yu Hais residence?

Yu Hai? Had Yu Hai offended great lords? That damn bastard is always causing trouble for our family! This young master, Yu Hai hasnt returned from hunting in the mountains. Whatever he did has nothing to do with us! Seeing the grim expression on Simos face, Madam Zhang was so scared that she spoke incoherently, scolding and breaking off relationships.

Simo was even more displeased and impatiently interrupted her, Yu Hai isnt home, but Yu Xiaocao should be home, right?

Xiaocao? Is she also involved? I knew that wretch was sharp-tongued and would eventually stir up some trouble. Isnt this That troublemaker is causing trouble for our family Madam Zhang was completely bewildered as she murmured.

Is she here or not?! Simos expression was even more ugly when he noticed that his young master had narrowed his eyes, which was a sign of his anger.

Yes In the west room! Madam Zhang trembled in fright when he suddenly raised his voice. They wouldnt be implicated by the noblemens anger, will they?

Zhou Zixu threw the reins to Simo and walked into the courtyard with his steward. He looked around briefly before he turned to enter the small and cramped west room.

Third Young Master Zhou, youre finally here! It was rather dim inside the room and Zhou Zixus eyes hadnt adapted to the light inside, so he was surprised by Xiaocaos voice.

Zhou Zixu glanced around and saw the simple furnishings in the room. There was a large kang bed, on which the quilts were old and shabby, but tidied up. An old rattan trunk was placed at the head of the bed. Beside the kang bed, there was a wooden table that was about to fall apart. There wasnt anything else in the room besides these simple and old furniture. Even the lowest ranked servants of the Zhou Family had better living conditions than them.

Zhou Zixus brows were tightly creased and said unhappily, What happened to the money that you earned? Where did all the money go? The quilt is already so stiff, so how are you still able to use it? Your family had earned quite a lot of money from selling game, so dont hesitate to spend it

Shh shh Xiaocao swiftly pulled on Third Young Master Zhous arm. If she wasnt so short, she would had already covered his mouth with her hand!

Third Young Master, I have bad health and easily fall ill, so my family has borrowed a lot of money for my medical treatment. These days, the money that my father earned from hunting wasnt even enough to repay the loan! How can we afford to buy new bedding? Yu Xiaocao amplified her voice and spoke towards the direction of the door.

Zhou Zixu followed her gaze and saw the harsh-looking old lady and a fat woman in the yard looking into the room from time to time.

He signaled Simo with his eyes. Simo went out of the west room and stood imposingly in front of the door. With a grim expression on his face, he appeared like he was a door god [1] as he stared at the two sneaky women, who were greedily watching them.

The two women were both only fierce at home, so they recoiled in fear and went back to the main room when they saw Simos stern gaze.

Madam Li looked into the courtyard warily and whispered, Mother! Who are these people? They look like they came to demand a payment for a debt! Did Second Brother-in-law borrow money from a loan shark? They charge really high interest rates, so lending one tael means that we have to pay back ten taels!

Madam Zhang couldnt help but panic, and scolded, Yu Hai refused to tell us how much that wicked girl, Xiaocaos, medical fees cost. Third Daughter-in-law said that theres ginseng in the prescription, so it must be expensive! Shes such a waste of money. Even if we sold her, she wouldnt be worth the money of the ginseng! That scourge, if I knew earlier, I would had strangled her and thrown her down the mountain!

Mother, what should we do now? They sent three people over, so Second Brother-in-law must had borrowed a lot of money. If Second Brother-in-law cant repay the debt, they wouldnt take the things in our house to pay of the debt, will they? No way! I have to securely hide all my valuables Madam Li was somewhat unsettled and wanted to go back to her east room.

Madam Zhang also felt extremely anxious, so she swiftly pulled Madam Li back and rebuked, What valuable things do you have in your room? Eldest Son wouldnt be keeping a secret stash of money behind my back, right?

Madam Lis face stiffened and hastily said, Mother, we wouldnt do that! Dashan is the most devoted and dutiful son, so he wouldnt have such thoughts. Didnt I return to my maiden home recently? My mother gave me a piece of cloth and secretly hid some money in there for me. Mother, youre the most understanding and reasonable. You wont confiscate the money that my maiden family gave me, right?

In fact, this wasnt something that Madam Zhang hadnt done before. Every time her second daughter-in-laws maiden family came to visit, they would always leave goods or money for her. However, everything eventually ended up in Madam Zhangs pockets. Moreover, she didnt even forget to leave them a warning. If they didnt turn everything in, then she wouldnt pay the medical fees for the two chronic patients of the second branch.

However, Madam Lis maiden family had a stronger background, so Madam Zhang didnt dare to give her the same treatment. Madam Zhang would pretend that she didnt see Madam Li constantly bringing things back from her maiden home since half of the things she brought back would be used by her grandson.

Alright, alright! Would they care about the few copper coins that you have? If youre so worried, then go. But be careful and dont offend the nobles! Madam Zhang was also waiting for Madam Li to leave so that she could move the money in the cabinet to a hidden place. She didnt want to send money down to the bottomless pit made by her second son.

Seeing that it had finally quieted down in the courtyard, Zhou Zixu glanced at Yu Xiaocao and sat on the kang bed, Alright, theyre gone now, so stop pretending to be poor!

I dont have a choice either! You dont know about our familys situation! The old lady forbids the children from keeping a secret purse, especially our second branch! Shes always monitoring us as if were thieves! If she found out that I have money, wouldnt she turn the second branch upside down! Yu Xiaocao didnt shy away from talking about the situation in her family.

Every family had their own difficulties. Zhou Zixu shook his head and whispered, Well, if the money continues to stay in your hand, then it will eventually be exposed. You should just take it out and invest in a business with me!

He had just made a casual remark, so he hadnt expected that Yu Xiaocao had been waiting for him to make this suggestion, I had heard from Xiaolian. What kind of business is so difficult for Third Young Master Zhou that you have to pull me into it?

Hey! Something thats too difficult for me to handle? Is there anything that I, Third Young Master Zhou, cant do? Zhou Zixu glared at her and said, In gratitude for your help, I had wanted to take you along to make a fortune! However, lets just forget it since you said that

No! When Yu Xiaocao saw that he was going to leave, she hastily pulled him back. She was also joking earlier. If it was something that even the Zhou Family, who were imperial merchants, couldnt handle, then what would a fishermans daughter like her be able to do?

Alright! You, Third Young Master Zhou, has a magnanimous heart, so dont be bothered by a little girl like me! So, what kind of business is it? Tell me the details! Yu Xiaocao smiled and repeatedly bowed with her hands clasped.

Of course, Zhou Zixu wasnt really angry at her, so he smiled and tapped her forehead, You! Stop putting up this weird act! I want to open an oyster sauce production factory and sell the products to the big restaurants in the neighboring cities. But, as you said, the oyster sauce doesnt have a long shelf life. Thus, I wanted to ask to see if you have any solutions to this problem.

[1] Door Gods () divine guardians of doors and gates; protect the family against evil and bad things, while bringing peace and good fortune to the family