Chapter Four: Life, Life, Life—You Are the Most Prolific!

“Old Third Su’s family, you’re having such a good meal today?” Aunt Niu, who was grouped with Qin Jiuhong, swallowed her saliva upon smelling the aroma of chicken soup.

She hadn’t expected that just after finishing her own cooking, she’d see the two of them eating chicken.

These days, old hens were mostly kept for laying eggs. Many families relied on the chicken coop as a source of income. Yet here was someone willing to kill a chicken to make soup.

“I’ve been tired lately, so I wanted a good meal,” Qin Jiuhong said as she stuffed herself with meat.

Seeing the mother and daughter devouring the food like starving wolves, Aunt Niu could tell they were really hungry. That chicken soup must have been snatched from Old Lady Su.

Sure enough, Old Lady Su stormed angrily over to Qin Jiuhong and Su Yanchu. Seeing how much soup and chicken was missing, her fury almost made her faint.

“Eat, eat, eat! Why don’t you just eat yourselves to death!”

“You’ve eaten my chicken soup—you owe me money!” Old Lady Su grabbed the pot and cursed.

“Mom, listen to yourself. We haven’t even split the family yet, and all the money is still in your hands,” Qin Jiuhong wiped the grease from her mouth and said.

“If you hate our Third Family so much, why don’t you let us live separately?” she continued. “When the family splits, remember to divide the communal property and money!”

“Bah! The family won’t split unless your father and I are dead!” Old Lady Su said furiously, lifting the pot.

Looking at how half the chicken meat and soup was gone made her mad, but seeing Qin Jiuhong and her daughter shamelessly licking their lips, she cursed once more, “Sooner or later, I’ll make Old Third divorce you, you burden who can’t bear a son. Take your daughter and go back to your parents’ home!”

“Give birth? You’re the most fertile one! Mom, I hope you and Dad have another 108 children!” Qin Jiuhong snapped back angrily.

“And Mom, you were born to your mother and raised by your father—aren’t you a burden too?” she added.

“Mom, maybe the milk you drank was from a pig, otherwise you wouldn’t say such things,” Su Yanchu chimed in.

“Pfft! Hahaha! Zhang Xiaohua, your granddaughter isn’t entirely wrong!” Aunt Niu, who didn’t get along with Old Lady Su and knew she favored her youngest son, enjoyed seeing Old Lady Su’s misfortune.

“Zhang Xiaohua, I think you should change your name to Zhang Pig. Pigs belong in pigsties!”

“This is our family’s business, old woman. Mind your own foolish son,” Old Lady Su snapped, nearly dying of anger, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Both families were old neighbors and knew each other’s weaknesses well, so their quarrels were ruthless.

Aunt Niu had a son who suffered brain damage from a high fever as a child. Now, her and her husband supported him. He was of marriageable age, but no girl wanted him.

“Zhang Little Pig, you think your family is so great? You’re so fertile—tell your daughter-in-law to have another hundred or so kids!” Aunt Niu insulted without holding back.

“You…” Old Lady Su was furious but at a loss for words. She glared at Qin Jiuhong and Su Yanchu: “You two are really rotten to the core. I’ll deal with you tonight!”

The chicken soup had been out for a while and would need reheating, but Old Lady Su was more worried about Su Yaozu getting impatient.

After cursing, she left.

“What a coward!” Aunt Niu spat on the spot.

When Old Lady Su left, Qin Jiuhong high-fived Su Yanchu.

“Mom, where’s the chicken soup? That wicked girl Su Yanchu even snatched my soup. You better punish her later!” Su Yaozu had already finished the chicken soup he was served earlier.

“Mom will definitely punish her!” Old Lady Su said through gritted teeth. “Yaozu, eat your meat quickly before it gets cold!”

“Okay, Mom. I promise to be good to you from now on!”

“That’s my good Yaozu,” Old Lady Su said, looking at him with affection.

Su Yanchu entered her space and ate a few more buns and a pack of spicy sticks before leaving the space.

After lunch, Su Yanchu didn’t head straight home but went back up the mountain again.

This time, she was just trying her luck.

In the story, Su Qiqi had found a large stash of gold buried by a former village landlord deep in the mountains. Years later, she used that gold to start a business, buying many courtyard homes in the capital and becoming the richest person in the area.

That chest of gold was ownerless now. Su Yanchu knew about the gold’s existence but not its precise location.

She planned to search the mountain regularly.

Unexpectedly, Su Qiqi returned up the mountain as well. Su Yanchu quickly lightened her footsteps, hiding and following behind her.

Su Qiqi carried a hoe into the deep mountain and soon stopped in front of a ten-meter-high tree.

Seeing Su Qiqi stop, Su Yanchu immediately entered her space.

After confirming no one was around, Su Qiqi started digging with the hoe.

This place was where Su Yanchu had witnessed the landlord bury the gold three years ago, before he was overthrown.

Su Yanchu planned to dig up a few gold bars to sell cheaply to the state-owned gold shop. When the family split, the money could buy a dilapidated house in the village, giving them a place to live.

Besides, the money from selling gold could help her get a job, so she wouldn’t have to work in the village every day.

After digging about a meter deep, Su Qiqi successfully unearthed a small wooden box, about half a meter long, with a copper lock.

She picked the lock with a wire and saw the chest full of gold inside.

Su Qiqi took two bars and hid them on her, then reburied the chest deep in the pit.

She covered the hole with dry grass to conceal any signs of disturbance.

Then, carrying the hoe, she left, collecting pig fodder and firewood before descending.

While Su Qiqi worked, Su Yanchu stayed in her space, eating sunflower seeds and studying industrial materials from her past life. After three hours, she emerged.

Sure enough, Su Yanchu found the spot where Su Qiqi had been. She brushed aside the dry grass and saw freshly turned earth.

Taking a small iron shovel from her space, Su Yanchu dug through the disturbed soil.

After digging about one meter deep, she found a wooden box.

Seeing the box, Su Yanchu immediately closed her space and reburied the soil.