Some in the village were muttering that Zhang Yunzhu’s household must be facing retribution for selling off a daughter, otherwise why would their only son be such a wastrel, fooling around outside day in and day out? They finally managed to marry him off, only for the daughter-in-law to be not only disrespectful to her in-laws but also utterly incapable of managing any household chore. When her husband was injured and confined to the kang, she never once offered to care for him. Now, she’d even dared to steal and consume his medicinal tonics, and when her mother-in-law discovered it, not only did she show no remorse, but she actually dared to get into a violent altercation with her, fatally wounding the son in the process.

In Zhang Yunzhu’s home, his wife sat before their son’s kang, weeping mournfully, wiping tears as she lamented, “What sins have our family committed to deserve this retribution falling upon our son? If he never wakes up, what are we to do?”

Zhang Yunzhu sighed beside her, “Alas, we should never have brought that jinx of a woman into this house. No wonder our son disliked her from the start; he must have seen the misfortune she carries in her fate!”

“That vile woman, I will never let her go!” Zhang Yunzhu’s wife spat out with deep hatred.

The 'vile woman' his wife referred to was the Gao clan. After the incident, the Zhang family urgently summoned a physician, but the doctor merely shook his head after examination, stating the injury to the back of the son’s head was extremely severe, and they couldn't guarantee he would awaken.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunzhu’s wife promptly fainted. When she finally came to, the first thing she demanded was to hand Gao over to the magistrates; this daughter-in-law was far too much for their family to bear.

Seeing his son in such a state, Zhang Yunzhu was certainly not going to spare Gao either. Conveniently, Gao had remained in a stunned silence after striking his son, never considering an immediate escape. Thus, when Zhang Yunzhu rushed back after receiving the news, he first secured his son’s care, and then locked Gao away in a room.

The thought of not knowing when—or if—his son would ever wake brought a surge of venomous intent into Zhang Yunzhu’s heart. Though he had always been deeply dissatisfied with his son’s usual conduct, dissatisfaction aside, he fundamentally held high hopes for the boy. Now that he had been brutalized like this, he vowed he would never forgive the perpetrator.

The Zhang family immediately sent Gao to the government office, and she offered no resistance whatsoever, perhaps too terrified to struggle.

With Gao confined to the prison cell, Zhang Yunzhu and his wife devoted themselves to watching over their son, praying for the day he might stir.

Among the villagers, some felt pity for the calamity that had struck Zhang Yunzhu’s house, while others reveled in their misfortune. When Yang Shi was chatting with Zhang Shi, she always maintained that one must choose a wife for one’s son with extreme care, investigating every aspect thoroughly. Otherwise, marrying someone like Gao would only lead to domestic turmoil, leaving nowhere left to cry.

Zhang Shi echoed the sentiment with a shake of her head, “Who could have imagined their daughter-in-law would be so troublesome? Such women are rare, yet they managed to marry one into the family. However, to be fair, their family isn't entirely without fault; you can’t blame everything on Gao. Think about it: as soon as their son saw Gao, he immediately returned to the town, and Zhang Yunzhu and his wife never even bothered to summon him back. By slighting their daughter-in-law first, it’s no wonder she became antagonistic toward them.”

Yang Shi nodded in agreement, “Still, it’s a pity for their son. A perfectly fine young man, and now they don't even know if he’ll ever wake up.”

“Indeed, it’s truly unknown if he’ll ever recover. I heard the physician they called just shook his head. The couple is glued to their son’s bedside now,” Zhang Shi said with a curl of her lip.

“That’s understandable; the son is their future reliance. I can only imagine how worried those two must be,” Yang Shi sympathized.

Zhang Shi was unconvinced, “What use is worrying now? What were they doing before? They only realize they should be anxious after disaster strikes. In my view, they don’t deserve pity. Even if their son wakes up, he’ll be the same as before—it might be better if he never woke up, to spare him from being soundly beaten again by someone.”

Yang Shi said no more, only letting out a long sigh.

Zhang Shi dropped the topic, moving on to something else, “Let me tell you, my sister-in-law from my maternal home mentioned she thought she saw his paternal uncle in town.”

Yang Shi was skeptical, “No way. Didn’t his paternal uncle go to perform corvée labor? Are you sure your sister-in-law didn’t just mistake someone?”

“I didn't believe it at first either, but my sister-in-law swore she saw him with her own eyes. He looked different from usual, but someone familiar can still recognize him. And she said the last she saw him, he ducked into an alleyway,” Zhang Shi reported.

“An alley? Now that you mention it, I do recall once when my husband and I were in town, we saw his paternal uncle standing near an alley entrance, saying he was waiting for an acquaintance,” Yang Shi recalled.

“Maybe it really was his uncle! But didn’t the Old Master say he went for corvée duty? Did he perhaps pay a substitute instead?” Zhang Shi speculated.

Yang Shi still sounded perplexed, “But why would his uncle lie to the Old Master? If he truly didn't want to perform the labor, he only needed to ask the Old Master; given how partial the old man is to him, he surely wouldn't have refused to let him off. Why agree one moment and then do the opposite?”

“Who knows what he was thinking? It’s a wonder he isn’t afraid of how much shock it would cause the Old Master if he ever found out,” Zhang Shi scoffed.

“Forget it. We can’t manage this matter. If we even speak of it, the main house will surely hate us!” Yang Shi remarked.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a fool. Why would I tell them? Whatever chaos erupts over at the main house is their business; I can’t be bothered with them!” Zhang Shi dismissed.

“That’s true. Let them manage their own affairs!” Yang Shi concurred.

Meanwhile, over at Huang Shi’s place, Wang Youliang had been busy planning the opening of a food stall. When the topic of hiring a skilled cook came up, Huang Shi immediately recommended herself. This was one of the reasons she encouraged Wang Youliang to start the venture. She intended to work first at Wang Youliang’s stall to learn the ropes of running a food business. If Wang Youliang abandoned her later, she could open her own stall to support herself and their son.

When Wang Youliang first heard Huang Shi claim her cooking skills were excellent, he was skeptical, having never tasted anything particularly delicious from her in all the time they had been together.

Huang Shi knew she hadn't shown her abilities before; she had always been frugal with food ingredients, reluctant to buy many things, so her culinary skills had nowhere to be displayed.

Huang Shi instructed Wang Youliang to purchase the ingredients she specified. Once he returned, Huang Shi set to work. It had been a long time since she’d made these things; she wondered if she’d become rusty, but fortunately, what she produced was still at about eighty or ninety percent of her old skill level.

From the moment Wang Youliang saw Huang Shi start cooking, he knew she hadn't lied; it was evident she was a seasoned hand, and he became eager to taste the results.

As expected, Huang Shi did not disappoint him; the food she prepared was exquisite. Wang Youliang immediately decided that Huang Shi would be the one to handle the cooking from then on.

Huang Shi was delighted and proceeded to discuss other preparatory matters with Wang Youliang.

Wang Youliang, in his entire life, rarely dedicated himself to anything with such seriousness. If he hadn't been under the obligation of corvée labor right then, preventing him from openly showing his face, he would have already put the plan into action.

Huang Shi sensed Wang Youliang’s eagerness and knew he was frustrated by his current necessity to remain hidden. Furthermore, she feared he might grow discouraged while waiting, so these past few days she had been intensely discussing with him which foods would be popular and sell well. After that, they discussed pricing for each item. When it came to money, Wang Youliang immediately perked up, and he and Huang Shi enthusiastically debated the matter of pricing.

Soon, the period of corvée duty ended, and Wang Youliang was finally free from hiding. He pretended to have completed his service and returned home with the others.

Consequently, what the main house welcomed was not a man worn down by hard labor, but one brimming with vigor and fighting spirit. This first caused the Old Master a moment of confusion, followed by relief. It seemed his decision to send his son for corvée labor was very correct; look how much his son’s temperament had changed!

Wang Youliang wasted no time, immediately stating that he wanted to find work in town, arguing that he couldn't remain idle at his age, or so he claimed. This led the Old Master to nod repeatedly, thinking to himself that sending his son for corvée duty had truly been the right move; after just one stint, his son finally understood the value of hardship.

The Old Master was thrilled by Wang Youliang’s transformation and, in his excitement, asked if his son needed any financial assistance. When Wang Youliang heard the Old Master bring up money voluntarily, he was immensely pleased. In the past, with his former disposition, he would have certainly extorted a large sum from the Old Master. However, for some inexplicable reason, Wang Youliang suddenly recalled what Huang Shi had said that day—something about money earned being far more reliable than money received from others. Driven by this strange impulse, he only requested start-up capital for a street stall: five taels of silver.

Tian Shi had initially been delighted that the Old Master brought up money, certain that Wang Youliang would demand a large sum, as it was in character for him. What she never expected was that Wang Youliang would only ask for five taels. Had Wang Youliang truly changed his character after just one experience with corvée labor?

When the Old Master heard Wang Youliang hadn't asked for much, he felt even more assured. It seemed that after experiencing a bit of suffering, his son's character had completely turned around. With his son like this, the Old Master could rest easy in the future.