Zi Fu had to say that yesterday when he returned home, he found the paperweight was gone. His family had just visited Da Mao and his brothers in the morning. Today, on the street, he saw an identical one at a grocery store. After asking the owner for half a day, he finally said someone sold it to him yesterday afternoon. Zi Fu tried every means to persuade the owner, considering their neighborly relationship, and spent 500 coins to buy it back.

  "As soon as I mentioned this matter, Er Mao immediately scolded me. It was only then that I confirmed it was indeed Er Mao who had stolen the thing. The two silver coins' worth of goods were sold for just one hundred copper coins; if we had gone later, who knows who would have bought them? That would be a real pity." Zi Fu continued to say.

  The old man was so angry that he kicked Er Mao twice as soon as he went up. Tian Shi saw it and quickly protected Er Mao, while the old man gritted his teeth and scolded: "You still protect him? You provide for him to eat, drink and study, but look at what he has done! He even stole things into our home! At such a young age, he doesn't behave well. In the future, there will come a day when his legs will be broken by others. I wonder how you'll protect him then? You might not even find a place to cry."

  The old man took a deep breath and said to Zeng Ruixiang: "Keep him under control, don't let him go out and cause trouble all day. If he deserves to be beaten, beat him; if he deserves to be scolded, scold him. I'll take responsibility for everything. Just don't let him go out. When the time comes, I'll go pick him up. This afternoon, I'll send him over to write his characters properly. In short, you two are not allowed to collude with each other again and deceive me. Such a big thing happened at home, and you all thought of hiding it from me. If this child is not strictly disciplined, he will definitely go astray in the future." Then he said to Tian Shi: "You're also not allowed to spoil him anymore, don't give him any pocket money."

  "Which of you two doesn't want to study, just get out of here and go back home. I don't have food to waste on feeding a bunch of good-for-nothings like you." The two of them meekly assented.

  Zeng Ruixiang took Zi Shou and Da Mao back to the school to practice calligraphy, while Zifeng took Zilu, Ziqing, and Zixi directly home. Along the way, Ziqing jumped up and down, humming a little tune, "Qing'er, you're so happy!"

  "That's it, big brother you're too formidable. Although our family lost five hundred coins, I think Er Mao will be back home in a few days and Dad and Mom will definitely be happy." Zi Qing felt that her own big brother was truly not to be underestimated at such a young age, with a surface appearance of kindness and warmth, but with many sinister ideas in his belly. A simple sentence had revealed Er Mao's true nature. A typical two-faced person! Someone like this shouldn't waste their talent by not going into the government."

  Five days later, Er Mao could no longer bear the days that felt like being in prison, and he finally had a big argument with Lao Ye Zi, ran back home, and said he would never read this ghost book again.

  Zi Qing was listening to Zi Shou say all this at the dinner table. At that time, Shen Shi had not returned home yet. Zi Qing watched as Zi Shou learned from Er Mao's tone and jumped up and down, shouting: "I'd rather die than read this ghost book!" Zi Qing hugged Zi Xi and almost laughed to death.

  The next day, Shen brought the children back home and had dinner together as a family in Shen's bedroom. After a while, Zishou returned to his room to practice calligraphy, Ziqing read books on one side and told stories to Zixi on the other. Shen was coaxing Ziyu to sleep when he heard that Zeng Rui Xiang said Er Mao had finally left, and asked with a smile what happened.

  Zeng Ruixiang recounted the story of the paperweight in detail, "I didn't expect Fu'er to be so clever, not only did he spend 500 coins to buy back the paperweight, but also made Ermao return home voluntarily. This child's future fortune will definitely surpass mine. Lu'er is relatively more obedient and has less talent for studying, but staying by my side to manage the family business isn't a bad idea either, at least we won't have to worry about food and clothing. Qing'er is clever, unfortunately she's not a boy, her future life won't be our concern. The remaining few are still young, can't tell much yet."

  "Dad, why don't you worry about me? How old am I? You say these things, not that you're biased, but instead you say I'm not worth worrying about." Zi Qing asked with a pout.

  "Look at you, speaking like this in front of the child! Don't you pay attention?" Shen's wife gave her husband a sideways glance.

  Zeng Ruixiang looked at Zi Qing, and Zi Qing hastily said: "Dad, mom, I'll take Zi Xi to sleep, you two talk slowly."

  After Zi Qing left, Shen Shi thought for a while and said: "According to what you just said, I should listen to Zi Qing and buy more houses and rice fields. Keeping silver at home is useless, buying houses and rice fields will at least bring in some income every year. In the future, when the children are divided, even if they don't have great abilities, at least the rent they collect will be enough for them to live a slightly richer life. I think our family's children, even if they don't have great talents, are honest and won't ruin the family."

  The couple discussed their household chores and chatted about some trivial matters. During this time, Shen Shi's mood had been good, and she had been taking care of her diet, so she finally learned how to squeeze sheep's milk, and every day she would cook a big pot for the family to drink. As a result, Shen Shi's skin was much more rosy and tender than before, making her look five or six years younger. Her clothes and appearance were naturally much better than before, and she looked great.

  At this moment, Zeng Rui Xiang looked at his wife Shen Shi under the lamp light with a gentle face and a hint of spring in her eyes. After being apart for a few days, he no longer had the mind to chat idly. He put down the curtains and only heard Shen Shi say: "I don't want to have any more children."

  "It's up to you, if you don't want to give birth then don't, anyway I'll suffer along with you when you're pregnant. Not giving birth is better, after all we already have six children. As long as I'm by your side every day, that's enough." After a bout of panting, Zeng Rui Xiang came out and carried in a basin of hot water.

  The next day, Zeng Ruixiang went to school with a clear mind and spirit. Shen's family had just sent away Tian Shifu, who was responsible for delivering eggs. This year, their son, Zi Qing, had raised nearly 1,000 chickens in the back mountain, with half being hens and half being capons. They basically collected one basket of eggs per day. Shen didn't have much time to run into town to deliver eggs, so she made an arrangement with Tian Shifu, who would come by every two days to collect eggs, and then Shen would settle the account at the end of each month. As for Zhou Zhanggui, they had a long-standing relationship, so there wouldn't be any trouble. Nowadays, just from selling eggs, they could earn over 10 taels of silver per month. Tian Shifu would deliver eggs to people along the way and charge five copper coins each time.

  As soon as Shen's family sent away Tian Shifu, Chunyu and her husband came in a rage, questioning: "Second aunt, you really have good intentions! My second child was finally able to find a place to study, and my parents and second brother had no objections that day, they agreed. What kind of trick did you use to drive away my son?"

  "Spring Jade, you can eat as much rice as you want, but don't speak recklessly. Don't say that I'm still your second sister-in-law today, how dare you be so rude to me? This matter has nothing to do with you, go talk to your parents and your second brother instead. You should also ask your son what he's learned and done, don't think others are stupid. I have something else to attend to, so I won't invite you in." After saying that, Shen Shi closed the door.

  Chunyu and her husband stood at the door, looking at each other in dismay. Chunyu muttered: "When did my second sister-in-law change? I remember before we divided the family property, no matter how my mother and older sister bullied her, she didn't say a word. When Zifeng and his family couldn't eat their fill, she didn't dare speak up. Even when she knew that Father and Mother were supporting us with grain, she didn't say a thing. Could it be because my second brother is not at home, so she's pretending to be obedient?"

  "Now it's different, she's separated and can be in charge, with money, what is there to fear? You haven't seen your second brother's family now, they eat and dress better than we do on New Year's. Look at the things in that house, which one isn't worth some silver? And those glass windows, we've never even heard of them, who knows how much silver they're worth? Such good silk fabric, people don't make clothes with it, but use it to hang curtains. In my opinion, let's not offend her, just flatter her a bit, and what leaks from her fingers will be enough for us to live well for a while." The couple discussed and walked away.

  The husband and wife, Chun Yu, went to see the old master. The old master scolded them severely, and they nodded like chicks pecking at rice, then slunk away with their tails between their legs. Er Mao's academic career was thoroughly over.