Chapter Ten: The Buffalo Charge

No one dared to argue with Liang Yunqing anymore, especially since she had promised a double return on their investment.

However, Li Pinghua, who had always been cautious with money, spoke up with some hesitation. "This... could I see how the business is doing before I hand over the cash?"

Liang Yunqing almost laughed. Her second aunt truly dared not take the slightest risk. "If the business is already thriving, would I still need your money? The money you invest now counts as capital, and the extra amount I pay back later will be your dividends."

Madam Wang and the second aunt looked completely baffled, and the others didn't understand the concepts of "capital" or "dividends" either. But they understood the first part: if the business was doing well, she wouldn't need their money. They couldn't let such a good opportunity fall into someone else's hands.

With this thought, Li Pinghua was the first to turn and rush back into the main room, digging to the bottom of a cabinet to retrieve 150 wen from a red cloth-wrapped stash of 300. Grandmother Wang also brought out 100 wen from the master bedroom. Liang Yunqing looked at her father, who stood there feeling somewhat awkward.

"Father, won't you lend me some?"

Her mother, Chu, pulled her back and whispered, "Qing'er, our family..."

Forget it. There was really no need to say more. Given the weak and submissive nature of her parents, it was only natural that all their money had been divided by the grandmother and the second branch of the family.

When everyone’s scattered coins were pooled together—even Liang Youyong chipped in 5 wen—they had a total of 696 wen. She began to assign tasks simply. "Tomorrow, Mother, Second Aunt, and I will go to town to buy materials. Father and Youyong will stay home to build a wooden stall cart, and Grandmother will be responsible for washing the steaming cloths, pots, and bowls."

With everyone's duties assigned, no one had any objections. In fact, each of them secretly felt a strange sense of motivation.

That night, Liang Yunqing huddled on a small wooden bed in the side room with her mother, while her father and A-Yan slept outside in the evening breeze. Liang Yunqing looked at her mother, who was just as thin and gaunt as she was. Seeing that she seemed uncomfortable, she reached out to pull a thin quilt over her.

As the patched collar shifted, large swaths of bruising were exposed to Liang Yunqing’s eyes.

"Mother, your neck..." She pulled back Chu's clothing. The bruises on her nape and shoulders were terrifying; these were the marks left by that scoundrel Liang Zhiyan during the day.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Chu Youmai said with a gentle smile. She was used to it; she had been beaten almost every day before.

Liang Yunqing had originally thought she would be unable to feel pity for the characters in the story, but she felt a heavy, choking sensation in her chest. It must have been the lingering emotions of the original heroine. She sighed softly and said to Chu, "Mother, even if it's just for my sake, please try to find a little more courage."

Chu Youmai’s numb heart seemed to be lightly nudged by something. She looked at her daughter lying beside her in astonishment.

In the dark of the night, the room could not afford an oil lamp, and they could only rely on the moonlight streaming through the window. Liang Yunqing’s eyes sparkled with a dazzling light in the moonlight—resolute and stubborn.

Chu Youmai felt as if she had been touched by something searing. She timidly withdrew her gaze. It turned out that her daughter was far stronger than she was. Overcome with self-reproach, she turned on her side and remained silent.

Liang Yunqing knew that long-standing cowardice and retreat could not be changed in a single sentence. She stopped talking, waiting until A-Yan squeezed onto the bed before slowly drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, her mother rose early to prepare breakfast for the family. The Liang family usually skipped breakfast, but since there was labor to be done today, they added a meal. Chu Youmai took a small handful of the remaining coarse rice, added water and some wild vegetables, and boiled a pot of thin porridge.

The Liang family was uncharacteristically harmonious. As they sat around the wobbly table drinking the thin gruel, an uninvited guest arrived.

"Spending my money to drink watery porridge? Where is my wife!"

Standing at the entrance was a ragged, balding old man. He limped inside, his eyes leering hungrily at Liang Yunqing as she drank her porridge. "Wife, wife!" He flashed a mouth of yellow teeth, his eyes full of desire, looking as if he wanted to toss his crutch aside and pounce on her.

"Old Man Chen, I already sent a matchmaker yesterday to say that our Liang family is calling off this marriage," Liang Mingxue stood up to block him. But Old Man Chen didn't care; he spoke while eyeing Liang Yunqing. "The matchmaker didn't return my money when she came, so she is still my wife. I don't care!"

As he spoke, he tried to shove Liang Mingxue aside with his shoulder. Li Pinghua, who was still waiting to get double her money back, stood up, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, "You old rascal! We already said we would return the money, yet you dare to come to our door?"

"Yes, yes, we all agreed to return the money," Liang Zhiyan, his shoulder wrapped in strips of cloth, quickly chimed in.

Old Man Chen had originally intended to just take his money and call it a day, but after seeing Liang Yunqing today, he changed his mind. "No need to return it. I just want my wife."

Liang Yunqing sipped her porridge calmly. This kind of old rascal was easy to deal with, but she needed to get some food in her stomach first.

Liang Mingxue pushed at Old Man Chen, who was trying to squeeze past, and pointed at him. "We will give you the money. If you dare to come here again, we will report you to the local gentry."

"Heh heh, money in one hand, the person in the other. Even if you report me to the gentry, it won't work." He was right; Liang Mingxue had no rebuttal.

Liang Yunqing set down her bowl and stretched her shoulders and neck. Grandmother Wang and Li Pinghua, sitting to the side, immediately stood up.

"You want me, is that it?" Her voice was crisp, carrying a unique, youthful charm. It completely bewitched the old cripple; he nodded repeatedly, his mouth agape. "Yes, yes, I want you. I will treat you well."

"Alright then." Liang Yunqing’s tone was very lively as she stood up and walked gracefully toward Old Man Chen.

Old Man Chen, who had been lost in his fantasies, suddenly felt that the gazes around him were a bit off. Everyone was looking at him with sympathy and pity.

When she was just a few meters away, Liang Yunqing stopped. Suddenly, she bent down, placing all four limbs on the ground, her back arched high. She hissed like a wild beast, her back feet mimicking a bull digging into the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You... you..." Old Man Chen’s jaw dropped in shock. Why on earth was she acting like this?

"Wild bull charge!" Liang Yunqing shouted, coordinating her limbs as she lunged forward, her neck stiff as she charged straight at Old Man Chen.

The speed was so fast, and the posture so bizarre, that Old Man Chen completely forgot about wanting a wife; he dropped his crutch and scrambled away. "Ahhh! Don't come over here! Don't come over here!"

He was chased for over ten meters. At first, he managed to hop on one foot, but eventually, he had to drop to his hands and knees just like Liang Yunqing to crawl away.

"I don't want a wife anymore! Stop chasing me... stop it..."

Exhausted, with drool hanging from his chest, Old Man Chen hid behind Liang Mingxue, clutching his trouser leg and screaming, "Do something! I don't want to marry her! She's a lunatic!"

Hearing this, Liang Yunqing stopped, patted the dust off her clothes, and returned to the appearance of a delicate young girl. "Old Man Chen, are you sure about that?"

Old Man Chen nodded frantically, his head bobbing like a drum. "Yes, yes, I won't marry her. I just want my money back." He wasn't stupid; how could he take care of himself if he brought a lunatic home? Plus, after that visual shock, he wouldn't marry her even if he were beaten to death.

"However..."