This day, Zhao Cheng returned home from school as usual, his eyes alight with unconcealed excitement. The reason was that the Master had praised his calligraphy that day.

Upon arriving home, he saw his mother, Lady Huang, sitting in the room doing embroidery, her face serene. Noticing her son had returned, she looked up and smiled at Zhao Cheng, "You're back!"

"Yes, Mother. The Master praised my writing today at school," Zhao Cheng eagerly shared the happy news.

Indeed, Lady Huang's smile deepened upon hearing this, and she praised, "Cheng'er, you are truly amazing!"

Zhao Cheng smiled shyly at the compliment. However, in a moment, as Zhao Cheng looked up again at the embroidery in Lady Huang's hands, his expression dimmed. Mother was working on embroidery again, day and night. His father had passed away when he was very young, and after his father's death, his paternal uncle and his family had seized their fields and household wealth. With no other recourse, his mother had to bring him to town to make a living. It could be said that his mother had raised him single-handedly, even working tirelessly on her embroidery so he could attend school; all the little money the household had managed to save was spent on his education.

Thinking of this, Zhao Cheng felt a pang of regret. If he hadn't expressed his desire to study, Mother wouldn't have had to struggle so desperately to earn money.

Lady Huang noticed her son had suddenly become quiet and felt a rush of concern, "Cheng'er, what's wrong?"

Zhao Cheng quickly shook his head, "Nothing, Mother... What are we having for dinner? I'm starving."

"We'll have flatbread tonight, alright?" Lady Huang asked with a smile.

"Yes! Mother, flatbread tonight, with some pickled vegetables to go with it," Zhao Cheng nodded contentedly.

Watching her son look so satisfied, Lady Huang felt a familiar ache in her heart. In her mind, she would rather suffer herself than let her son endure any hardship. But reality was often cruel. First, her husband died, and then the family's land and money were taken by her husband's older brother. She thought of seeking help from her own family, but both her parents were deceased, and she only had a younger brother whose wife held sway over him; they wouldn't lift a finger to help her. In the end, she had no choice but to bring her son to town alone to try and survive.

But it wasn't easy for a widow to make a living. In the beginning, some people advised her to remarry, but unwilling to let her son suffer, she grit her teeth and persevered. Later, when things had slightly stabilized, she thought she had done all she could. Yet, one time, she accidentally saw her son using a twig to scratch markings on the ground. Approaching quietly, she saw him meticulously writing characters he must have seen somewhere. The tears she had held back for so long finally spilled over, startling the boy, who from then on dared not write anything in front of her again.

Though her son stopped writing, she remembered it in her heart. Thus, she began to save money desperately, hoping to amass enough for him to enter the school. But accumulating several liang of silver was no easy task.

Until one day, she encountered a certain man. Had someone proposed such a thing to her before, she would have chased them out with a broom instantly, but thinking of how much her son longed to study, she agreed. Later, through that man, she managed to save the money needed for him to attend school.

Though her son was clever from childhood, due to his age, he remained oblivious to some matters and never suspected how their household suddenly acquired so much money. And she certainly would not volunteer the truth to him; after all, if her son knew he had such a disgraced mother, he surely wouldn't be able to bear it.

Lady Huang went to the kitchen to bake the flatbread. Once done, she brought out the leftover pickled vegetables and called her son to eat.

As Zhao Cheng ate the bread, he felt an immense satisfaction. But Lady Huang, looking at her son’s joyous and content face while he ate, then contrasting it with his clothes—old and covered in patches—felt her heart sour. She wondered if he was ridiculed at school. For the first time, Lady Huang actively wished that man would visit; perhaps if he came, she could finally have the money to buy cloth and make her son a new outfit. But she calculated that the man hadn't visited in a long time.

Meanwhile, the man Lady Huang was thinking of was currently lying on the kang in their home. He hadn't gone out in ages. Beside him, Lady Tian was busy with her needlework.

"Are the villagers still gossiping about me getting beaten?" Wang Youliang asked Lady Tian.

Lady Tian glanced up at him, "Of course, some are still talking about it. But many are now talking about Zhang Yunzhu’s precious daughter-in-law."

"What do you mean, 'precious daughter-in-law'?" This was the first time Wang Youliang had heard the term, as he hadn't left the house in so long, and Lady Tian didn't always bother telling him everything.

Lady Tian couldn't help but snort thinking about the Zhang Yunzhu household, "What else could it be? They spent a fortune buying a wife for their son, and when the son disliked her, he just went to town and never returned. That would be one thing; eventually, their son would come around. Who would have thought that the purchased wife couldn't do a single chore right? It angered Zhang Yunzhu's wife so much that they now dare not entrust any household matters to the daughter-in-law; Zhang Yunzhu's wife does everything herself. Tell me, isn't that the definition of marrying a precious daughter-in-law?"

Finishing her speech, Lady Tian thought of her own second daughter-in-law, Lady Luo, and couldn't help but feel smug, "It’s good I have good judgment. I insisted that Qingyun marry the Luo family girl. And look now? Not only does she excel at household chores and needlework, but she is also filial to her elders, and now she’s pregnant. Once she gives birth to a son, I, as the mother-in-law, will certainly not treat her poorly."

Wang Youliang, thinking of his second daughter-in-law, nodded in agreement, looking satisfied, "Qingyun chose a good wife, excellent in every way."

"Naturally. Don't forget who did the choosing," Lady Tian said proudly.

Wang Youliang pouted. It was only because their family was willing to spend such a hefty bride price—a dowry that could pay for two wives elsewhere. But he didn't voice this, instead changing the subject, "Is Father's back any better?"

"Who knows? Father won't let any of us in. Only Mother goes in every day to tend to him. But according to that elder doctor, there shouldn't be anything serious; it just needs time to heal."

Wang Youliang frowned upon hearing this, "Look at you, as a daughter-in-law. Father strained his back, and you let Mother do all the serving? Mother is already old; how can she wait on people? Besides, Father has been nursing that back for days; we live under the same roof, and you don't even know if he’s recovering?"

Lady Tian bristled at Wang Youliang's implication that she wasn't serving her elders, "But Father won't let anyone else in; what can I do? Maybe Father slipped that day and felt he lost face in front of the younger generation and doesn't want to see us?"

Wang Youliang felt a flush of heat remembering the day he was beaten, and his annoyance turned to anger, "If trying once didn't work, and trying twice didn't work, can’t you try three times, or four times? I refuse to believe Father will refuse visitors forever!"

"You..." Lady Tian was so angry she almost cursed him out. Wang Youliang conveniently forgot who was responsible for the Old Master’s strained back. The culprit herself hadn't even gone to visit or tend to the Old Master after being home for so many days, only issuing orders from afar. Since the Old Master lost face and didn't want to be seen, what could she do?

Lady Tian stopped her embroidery, snorted, and walked out.

"Hey... where are you going?" Wang Youliang called out as Lady Tian started to leave.

"I'm going to make dinner," Lady Tian replied without looking back as she walked away.

Wang Youliang was extremely displeased with Lady Tian's attitude. After stewing in anger for a while, his thoughts inevitably drifted to the charming widow in town; he hadn't visited her in ages. He recalled how beautiful the widow was, how sweet her voice was, and how gentle she was, always speaking softly. Contrasting that with Lady Tian before him—whose looks had faded, whose voice had become sharp, and whose temper had worsened—Wang Youliang suddenly felt a tightness below his waist. He secretly resolved to hide out at home for a few more days, then head straight to town to find the charming widow.

Wang Qinghua, having observed closely during this period, had finally grasped the basics of running a shop, or rather, how a shop ought to operate. He mainly focused on how the shop staff interacted with customers and how the manager supervised the employees. It was surprising; although he lacked direct experience running a business, he had certainly learned a great deal he didn't know before. Furthermore, since he was literate, many things became much easier. Because of this, he was deeply grateful to Wang Qingchen for teaching him to read and write.

Wang Qingchen also paid close attention to Wang Qinghua’s endeavor to learn the shop trade. After understanding Wang Qinghua’s learning process, he suggested to Wang Youfu and Wang Qinghua that they could try opening a mill. On one hand, it would allow Wang Qinghua to quickly apply what he had learned in practice and continuously hone his skills. On the other hand, it was also because the New Year was less than two months away. The New Year was a major event; many farming families, who were usually reluctant to spend money, were different during the holiday. No matter how poor they were, they hoped to celebrate a good New Year, especially spending more on food items. Thus, the demand for premium goods like rice and fine flour, which people usually scrimped on, would increase at that time.

After considering the proposal from Wang Qingchen for a day, Wang Youfu decided to adopt it. Thus, Wang Qinghua bid farewell to the general store where he had stayed for nearly a month. Lady Yang even prepared a large amount of food for Wang Qinghua to take as gifts for the manager and staff to thank them for their care over this period. Of course, an offering to his brother-in-law from Lady Zhang's family was also necessary; since Wang Qinghua would no longer be visiting the general store, he needed to stop by and pay his respects.