Chapter 52 Token

Shao Diandian was not a particularly sentimental person, but perhaps due to the unique constitution of this body, her eyes suddenly grew a little warm.

She hugged the three little ones and said in a gentle tone, "I won't go hungry. I have money."

The three of them did not believe her.

With no other choice, Shao Diandian had to take out the money she earned from selling the recipe, along with the consultation fee she received from Young Master Xiang—well, her secret identity as the physician was exposed to the three of them first.

The three of them earnestly counted the silver ingots.

Only after confirming that their mother's money was big and plentiful, and that she lacked for nothing, did they reluctantly and satisfiedly nod.

Watching their intensely worried little expressions, Shao Diandian amusedly said, "Put the money away properly. If I ever run out of money one day, I'll come ask you for it."

The three thought about it, decided this plan was viable, and temporarily took their little money back.

However, that ugly black token was discarded by Dahuhu with a look of utter disgust.

The three of them returned to Shao Erdan's room, chased Uncle Erdan out, and enthusiastically scrambled to hide their small bundle!

...

In the afternoon, snow began to drift down from the sky again.

Wei Ting and Shao Kang returned from the fields. The three little ones had already fallen asleep, though it was unclear whether it was for a nap or for the night.

The two of them entered the house covered in wind and snow.

Along with his gradual physical recovery, Wei Ting's complexion had also improved a lot, making him look all the more imposing, handsome, and extraordinary.

Shao Kang's appearance was actually not bad either. If not for her fierce reputation abroad, there was no telling how many people would have wanted to become stepfather to her and Erdan.

"Dad, didn't I tell you not to bring him along? His leg is injured, he needs to exert less force."

He had been injured the last time they went to catch Wang Laizi; his knee was scraped, and his shin had nearly suffered a relapse.

Old Man Shao's eyes flickered as he touched his high-bridge nose: "My son-in-law wanted to go himself! If you don't believe me, ask him!"

Shao Diandian turned to Wei Ting: "Wei Ting."

"Aiya! I'm so hungry! Is there food in the kitchen?" Old Man Shao decisively slipped away.

Only Shao Diandian and Wei Ting remained in the main room.

For some reason, the atmosphere suddenly turned... a little strange.

Wei Ting's aura was directly proportional to his recovery; his formidable presence was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

With his back to the light, his sharply defined brows and eyes were slightly veiled in shadows, yet his calm and piercing gaze was like a sharp blade waiting to be unsheathed, filled with cold and piercing sharpness.

He looked at Shao Diandian.

Shao Diandian looked back at him: "What?"

Using the new crutch Shao Kang had made for him, he pointed past Shao Diandian: "You're blocking my way into the room."

"Oh."

Shao Diandian turned around and walked into his room.

Wei Ting: "..."

Figuring that she was here to change his dressing, Wei Ting said nothing and followed her into the room.

The moment he sat down, Shao Diandian pulled out a token and handed it to him: "Is this your thing?"

At the sight of the token, Wei Ting's expression changed instantly: "Where did you find this!"

Shao Diandian took the token back, gently tapping it in the palm of her hand: "Tell me first, what is this?"

Wei Ting gave her a deep look, his expression suddenly relaxing.

This was one of the most important tokens he possessed. He had originally thought it had fallen into the hands of those people, but who could have guessed it was in her hands.

"The three of them gave it to you?"

He clearly remembered that those people had snatched his bundle. If the token was still around, there was only one possibility: the three little rascals had hidden it.

"No, I picked it up myself!"

"Ha!"

It was definitely given by the little rascals!

The little rascals took his token and refused to give it to him, yet handed it to a girl they had just met halfway—that was simply going too far!

Wei Ting said flatly, "If you picked it up yourself, have the ability to recognize it yourself."

Shao Diandian tossed her head proudly: "Don't bully me just because I'm illiterate. I've learned quite a few characters during this time!"

The corners of Wei Ting's lips twitched: "Oh, you mean the names on the list? How many characters were those even?"

Shao Diandian's face darkened.

These days, under the guise of asking Wei Ting to read the list of names, she had learned quite a few characters, yet he actually said... it was only a few characters?

Who was he looking down on!

Seeming to sense her ruffled feathers, Wei Ting smiled faintly, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at the token in her hand: "Recognize it, then."

Recognize... my foot!

If she recognized it, would she even come to ask him?!

Shao Diandian took a deep breath and smiled sweetly: "If you won't say, fine. At worst, tomorrow morning I'll go ask Shen Chuan!"

With that, she put away the token and turned to leave!

Wei Ting had long since heard from Shao Erdan about Shen Chuan—the son of a small academy's headmaster, a wet-behind-the-ears punk.

Wei Ting said indifferently, "If you don't want to die, go ahead and ask."

Shao Diandian's steps paused; she glanced sideways at him suspiciously: "Stop trying to scare me."

Wei Ting smiled coldly: "If you dare to gamble with your whole family's lives, I won't stop you."

Shao Diandian's plump little fists clenched so hard they cracked: "I'll figure it out sooner or later! Until then, this thing stays in my custody!"

"As you like." Unconcerned, Wei Ting leaned back against the head of the bed, moved his injured leg up, and closed his eyes to rest.

Shao Diandian wanted to beat him up.

Forget it. No matter what, at least she had a piece of leverage in her hands now. The more indifferent he acted, the more it proved how important this item was to him.

After Shao Diandian went out, Wei Ting slowly opened his eyes, his gaze freezing cold.

He had to find an opportunity to take his token back!

--

Shao Diandian went to the kitchen, gnawed on an ear of corn, and began preparing dinner for the family.

Ever since Wei Ting mentioned that she had lost weight (just a tiny bit), her confidence in losing weight had skyrocketed. She hadn't touched refined carbohydrates for days, mostly using whole grains as her staple food.

Tonight, she planned to steam a pot of sweet potato and brown rice.

Halfway through dicing the sweet potatoes, the three little tots scurried in through the back kitchen door looking flustered, throwing themselves into her arms one by one as if they had been frightened.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Before the three could speak, a sharp reprimand came from next door, belonging to Elder Madam Wu: "Eat! All you know is how to eat!"

"Wuwu—"

It was the sound of Xiao Meizi crying.

Elder Madam Wu was beating the eldest branch's children again.

"Grandma! Don't hit sister!"

Meizi was trying to mediate, but unfortunately, not only did she fail to stop Elder Madam Wu, she instead earned herself a severe beating from her.

"Eat malt candy, Wu grandma, beating!" Dahuhu gestured as he spoke.

The incident was triggered because Xiao Meizi had eaten a piece of Niudan's malt candy, which Elder Madam Wu discovered and beat her for.

However, this was merely the surface phenomenon witnessed by the children. The real reason was that Liu Ping had returned from town for the New Year without bringing back much wages. Elder Madam Wu was filled with dissatisfaction, used this pretext to vent, and took her anger out on three-year-old Xiao Meizi.

Right then, the men of the family were out. Younger Madam Wu was gathering clothes in the front courtyard, but upon hearing her two daughters' crying, she hurriedly dropped her work and rushed to the kitchen.

This time, Younger Madam Wu did not swallow her grievance as she usually did, instead arguing reason with her mother-in-law.

"Mom! Xiao Meizi only ate half a piece of malt candy, was it necessary to hit her this hard?"

"Aiyo, your man is back, so you have someone backing you up, and now you dare talk back to your mother-in-law, is that it? Do you know how expensive malt candy is! A good-for-nothing money-loser actually dares to steal food!"

"Sister didn't steal it! Niudan threw it on the ground and didn't want it!"

Slap!

"How dare you talk back!"

Elder Madam Wu slapped Meizi across the face.