So, You’re the Henpecked One? 13

Chapter 13

The person ran off so quickly that Chu Xihuan was momentarily dazed. Finally, she shook her head with a small laugh and turned back into the house.

This east room had originally been empty. Chu Xihuan had tidied it up and planned to use it as a study in the future. She had intended to organize and arrange the books she had brought with her today, but after seeing the clothes Lin Zhao was wearing, she temporarily put that task aside.

She went back to her room and opened the large chests she had brought. She had new clothes made for every season, so she had accumulated quite a lot. She took out a few sets and returned to the study, planning to alter them for Lin Zhao to wear for the time being. When they had more money, she would have new ones made for her.

Lin Zhao’s clothes were simply unbearable!

Fortunately, Lin Zhao kept herself quite clean. Otherwise, Chu Xihuan would have started to suspect she had married a beggar.

While she was altering the clothes in the house, Lin Zhao, who had run out, realized that she was holding Chu Xihuan’s money.

She had just casually given her the entire money pouch?!

Wasn’t she afraid she would run off with the money!

Lin Zhao was stunned.

Did Chu Xihuan trust her that much?

She opened the money pouch, and her eyes widened when she saw the money inside.

She had never seen so much money at once in her life.

There were three silver taels, each worth about four or five liang, and several copper coins in denominations of five and ten wen. In total, it was nearly twenty liang.

In the past, Lin Zhao could have lived on this money for a year or two!

But now, in Chu Xihuan’s words, it was already a sign that the family was running out of money…

Lin Zhao once again clearly felt the gap between them.

Lin Zhao felt a little dejected, but it also spurred a sense of motivation. No matter how much money she could earn, she had to earn as much as possible.

She went to the market. To be honest, her own cooking skills weren’t great, and she knew how to make very few things. After all, she had grown up alone and didn’t have many decent ingredients to cook with, let alone someone to teach her how.

She bought a few things she knew how to make and carried them home. As soon as she entered the courtyard, it was completely quiet, as if all the previous liveliness had been a figment of her imagination.

Lin Zhao stood in the courtyard with her things, feeling a little dazed. A wave of panic washed over her, and she quickly walked to the east room and pushed open the door.

Chu Xihuan looked up in surprise at the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

When she saw Chu Xihuan sitting there quietly mending clothes, the heart that had been in her throat finally settled. Only then did she realize that her previous reaction had been a bit over the top.

“N-nothing. I just came back and didn’t hear anything, so I thought you had gone out,” Lin Zhao stammered an explanation.

Chu Xihuan didn’t dwell on whether she was telling the truth and looked at the things she was carrying. “Did you buy anything?”

At this, Lin Zhao grew even more nervous and glanced cautiously at Chu Xihuan. “I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I just bought some things I know how to make.”

“I can make boiled vegetables, vegetable porridge, and meat soup.”

“Meat soup?” This was the first time Chu Xihuan had heard this term.

Lin Zhao looked embarrassed. “It’s just slicing the meat and boiling it in water. I call it meat soup.”

These were all methods she had come up with herself. They were simple, and it didn’t matter if they were cooked for a little longer, as she could be sure they were cooked through.

Chu Xihuan was speechless.

She suddenly had no hope for the food Lin Zhao said she would make for her.

She had previously asked her to teach her, but now it seemed she probably didn’t know how to cook very well either.

Chu Xihuan thought for a moment, wondering if there was a cookbook among her pile of books. She wondered how difficult it would be to learn to cook from a cookbook.

But… it should be fine, right? After all, she was so smart.

Chu Xihuan put down what she was holding and stood up. “I’ll go to the kitchen with you and take a look.”

With that, she was already walking toward Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao clearly hadn’t expected her to do this. Especially as she walked toward her step by step, it was quite intimidating. Lin Zhao subconsciously backed away and waited for Chu Xihuan to reach her side before they walked to the kitchen together.

It wasn’t until they were in the kitchen that Lin Zhao belatedly realized what Chu Xihuan had come for.

She turned to look at Chu Xihuan and saw that she was already looking at her, gesturing for her to take out the things she had bought.

Lin Zhao was speechless.

She was a little confused, but she did as she was told. Finally, she took out the money pouch she had carefully tucked away and handed it to Chu Xihuan.

“These things today cost a total of 363 wen. The rest is in here.”

Chu Xihuan took the money pouch but didn’t open it to check if she was telling the truth. She just pondered for a moment and asked, “If you have money, can you guarantee that you won’t spend it recklessly?”

“Of course I can!” Lin Zhao’s eyes widened. Finally, she looked down and muttered with a bit of grievance, “Do I look like someone who would spend recklessly?”

She couldn’t even bring herself to buy a bowl of sweet soup. How could she possibly spend recklessly?

Chu Xihuan’s gaze flickered as she looked at the patchwork clothes on her. That was true. This person didn’t even have a decent set of clothes. Apart from the time she had caught her in the casino, she hadn’t found any other unbearable flaws in her.

“Then you can keep this money for now. You can use it to buy groceries or anything else the house needs in the future,” Chu Xihuan said.

Lin Zhao stared blankly at the money pouch that had been returned to her, feeling as if it were a freshly roasted egg, scorching hot.

“No, no, this is your money.” Lin Zhao was in a panic. How did this money end up in her hands?!

Chu Xihuan ignored her panic and looked down at the things Lin Zhao had bought, making a mental note of them so that she could replenish them herself in the future.

“If I tell you to take it, then take it. Or are you not going to listen to me either?”

Lin Zhao clutched the money pouch, her brow furrowed. “It’s not that I won’t listen, it’s just that this is too, too…” she said in a small voice.

Lin Zhao was having a hard time describing her feelings, which made it difficult for her to express what she wanted to say.

“Too what?” Chu Xihuan turned to look at her, asking patiently.

Looking into her calm, unwavering eyes, Lin Zhao’s shoulders slumped. “It’s too much,” she said dejectedly. “I feel uneasy holding it.”

She chose a feeling she could articulate.

“I’ve never held this much money before. If I have it, I probably won’t be able to do anything else all day but worry about not dropping it or having it stolen.”

Chu Xihuan was speechless.

This person…

Chu Xihuan rubbed her forehead. “You really aren’t fated for a life of luxury.”

With that, she took the money pouch back and picked out about fifty wen, placing it in Lin Zhao’s hand.

“How about this? Do you feel at ease now?”

Lin Zhao’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the copper coins in her palm, and she nodded repeatedly.

“At ease, at ease!”

Chu Xihuan found it amusing and patted her head.

Not bad. She was an obedient and easy-to-please child.