Could a Little Girl Like Her Run Such a Big Household?

Old Madam Zhou looked at her third daughter-in-law and said:

"You should learn from Huihui. Huihui knows a lot, and that's what I think too."

Now that their family is doing better and better, we naturally can't afford to fall out with them.

I figured we should at least pretend to be nice to them.

I also want to see how they're doing these days.

Zhou Fukang sneered:

"Them? What kind of life can they possibly have?"

"They lack food and clothing up in the mountains; I think they must be incredibly poor."

The eldest daughter-in-law nodded and said:

"That's for sure. They can't compare to our family. We have more than a dozen servants right now."

In the whole village, which family lives as comfortably as ours?

The Zhou Family built several large houses, each with two maids serving them.

The family even had people specifically for cooking and cleaning, just like wealthy families.

The third daughter-in-law is capable and can manage the household well, so she is in charge of all the trivial matters at home.

The third daughter-in-law nodded and said:

"Indeed, our family is doing quite well now, but we mustn't show any sense of superiority in front of them."

It's best to pretend to be poor, so as not to make them feel uncomfortable.

Old Madam Zhou nodded and looked at her third daughter-in-law, saying:

"Huihui is right, Third Brother, go and contact Daniu and Erniu!"

Tell them we miss them and want to go to Black Wind Stronghold to see them.

Zhou Fuyu took a chicken to Daniu Erniu's house.

Daniu looked at him coldly and said, "Zhou Fuyu, what do you mean by this?"

Zhou Fuyu smiled and said, "Brother, I've come to see you about something. Let's go inside and talk."

Daniu snorted coldly and said, "You're not so special now, working for the county magistrate. Why would you look down on a family like ours?"

Daniu and Erniu had a lot of complaints about their family.

Zhou Fuyu chuckled and said, "Isn't this just good luck? Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Once inside, Zhou Fuyu looked around and said, "Your family is doing quite well now, huh? This house is much bigger than before."

Daniu kept his head down and didn't say a word. Daniu, Erniu, and Zhou Fusheng had always been the best of brothers.

Zhou Fuyu looked at him and said:

"Brother Daniu, don't stay silent. I'm here today to ask you for a favor."

Our family had some conflicts with Fusheng before, and you know, my mother calculated that Zhou Wanwan was bad luck for our family, you know?

That's why I was thinking of kicking them out. Now my mom and dad are saying that they're getting old and they don't know how our third child is doing."

Erniu snorted coldly and said:

"They're doing very well now, you should know that. What are you planning now?"

Just because they're doing well, you want to climb up to their family's wealth?

Zhou Fuyu looked at him and said:

"You're mistaken. Our family's current circumstances are among the best in the area."

Do we really need to curry favor with them? That's a complete joke.

We just said we hadn't seen each other for so long and wanted to see how their family was doing.

If they really aren't comfortable living up in the mountains, we can send them back!

Erniu scoffed lightly, "You really know how to talk. Do you even believe what you're saying?"

Zhou Fuyu laughed and said, "I know you have ways to contact them. Just pass on a message to Lao Si and see what he thinks."

Daniu nodded and said, "Then you can go back now! I'll ask around for you tomorrow."

Zhou Fusheng did keep in touch with Daniu and Erniu frequently. Zhou Fusheng felt bored on the mountain, so he would sometimes go down to the mountain to have a meal with them.

They always chose a restaurant; tomorrow was also the day Zhou Fusheng had invited them.

Zhou Fusheng saw them and greeted them, "Daniu, Erniu, what would you like to eat today? Let's order some dishes!"

Zhou Fusheng ordered five dishes directly, Daniu complained, "You've been living a hard life on the mountain, why order so many dishes? Let's just have a simple meal."

Erniu nodded in agreement.

"That's right. You don't have much money either, and it's rare for you to come down the mountain. If you want to eat something good, I'll go with you."

"With both food and wine, how can we possibly accept this?"

Zhou Fusheng waved his hand and said, "Brothers, don't worry about me, I have food on the mountain!"

Then they heard Zhou Fuyu's voice from behind, "Fourth brother, why didn't you invite me to dinner?"

Zhou Fusheng looked at him warily and said, "Zhou Fuyu, what are you doing here? Are you here to arrest us?"

Zhou Fuyu laughed heartily:

"You're not wanted criminals, why would I arrest you?"

I'm here to tell you some good news: you're no longer wanted criminals, so you can go wherever you want.

Fourth brother, don't be wary of us. What happened back then was unavoidable.

You know Mom's temper; she just feels that Zhou Wanwan is a threat to our family.

That's why they treated you that way. Don't take it to heart. These past few days, your father and mother have been talking about you, wondering how you're doing on the mountain.

I'd like to go up the mountain and take a look!

Zhou Fusheng quickly waved his hand and said, "That won't do. This mountain isn't a place you can just go wherever you want."

Zhou Fuyu looked at him and said:

Hey! What does that mean?

Your parents just want to know if you're doing well. Your mother even said she'd bring you some chickens.

You know your parents have always been soft-hearted, but you're just too straightforward.

Anyway, we just wanted to let you know. We didn't plan to do anything special, we just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing in the mountain village.

Zhou Fusheng lowered his head and said, "I really can't make decisions about this mountain stronghold; it's all Wanwan who's in charge. I need to go back and ask her."

Zhou Fuyu laughed in anger:

Hey! Don't tell me Zhou Wanwan is in charge of your family. How could a little girl like her manage such a big household?

There must be at least several thousand people in that mountain stronghold, right?

Zhou Fusheng puffed out his chest and said:

"Yes, it's my Wanwan who's in charge. She's the one who calls the Wanwan in the whole village. Whatever she says goes."

If she doesn't agree to you going up the mountain, you won't be able to."

Zhou Fuyu sighed and said:

"Alright, then you should talk to her properly! Fourth brother, the New Year is just around the corner!"

"Home" means that we celebrate the New Year together.

What's past is past, and your grandparents miss you very much too.

Your grandparents have always treated you fairly well; you should think it over carefully.

Zhou Fusheng's heart softens whenever his grandparents are mentioned.

His grandparents were old and in poor health. When Zhou Fusheng was a child, he would go to his grandparents when he was hungry.

His grandparents would always give him something to eat, so he always remembered their kindness.

If we're talking about just the Zhou Family members, he wouldn't want them to step into Black Wind Stronghold.

But when he thought of his grandparents, he hesitated.

Daniu sighed and said:

"Your grandparents are having a hard time these days; the two of them can't even get enough to eat."

The Zhou Family is a bunch of scoundrels. They have so many brothers, but none of them bring food to the old couple.

Sometimes it's my wife who can't stand it anymore and brings them some food.