Chapter 8: A Slip-Up
When Old Li returned home, it was already late. Qian sat on the doorstep feeding her grandson, glancing anxiously outside from time to time.
“Why hasn’t your grandfather come back yet?” she murmured to herself.
He left early this morning—could it be that the old hen didn’t sell?
“Grandpa!” her five-year-old grandson pointed at the weary figure of Old Li silhouetted against the night.
Qian quickly took the boy inside, leaving her daughter-in-law to continue feeding him, and hurried outside to greet Old Li.
“Why are you so late? Did you sell the chicken?” she asked as she looked toward the ox cart.
“I sold it,” Old Li replied.
“What about the gifts for the villagers?” she pressed.
“All bought and delivered,” he said.
Qian gave him a puzzled look. “I feel like something’s off with you. What happened?”
Recalling the events on the road, Old Li’s heart swelled with emotion. “Today... I came back with Fatty Shao.”
Qian gasped sharply. “That troublesome girl tried to extort you again, didn’t she?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“She rode your cart for free again!”
“No, she didn’t.” Old Li opened his coin pouch and counted; not a single copper coin was missing, in fact, there were ten extra. “She paid her fare.”
Qian opened her mouth but said nothing.
Old Li continued, “She even chased away the town ruffians.”
Qian was stunned.
---
At the Shao family home, Shao Diandian’s tears flowed uncontrollably.
It wasn’t that she wanted to cry, but the body’s instinctive reaction. This body not only experienced pain differently but also had an unusually active tear gland, impossible to control.
In her past life in the military, she excelled in every aspect—fitness, shooting, hand-to-hand combat—almost always ranking first.
She had always thought it was due to her hard work, but now she realized that while effort mattered, her exceptional physical condition and genes were innate.
Once her tears subsided, Shao Diandian disinfected her wounds with iodine and then went to the kitchen.
Shao Kang and Shao Erdan were tending a fire in the kitchen, heating water to wash the three little ones.
The door was tightly shut, so they hadn’t heard any noise from outside.
When Shao Diandian pushed open the door, Shao Kang was solemnly naming the three little ones.
“From today on, you’re Big Tiger Shao! You’re Second Tiger Shao! And you’re Little Tiger Shao!”
The three little ones, with their wet, round heads, sat naked in a wooden basin, looking up at Shao Kang with blank, innocent faces.
Shao Erdan squatted behind the stove, feeding firewood into the hearth, roasting some sweet potatoes.
---
A breeze blew in, bringing light with it. Shao Kang felt a chill and turned, delighted. “Big Ya! You’re back!”
Seeing his daughter filled him with joy.
The three little ones also looked toward Shao Diandian, their innocent expressions utterly adorable.
“Sis!” Shao Erdan called out.
Shao Diandian’s gaze swept over the chaotic kitchen.
Great, just one day away and it’s become a disaster zone again…
“No more kitchen visits from you all!”
“Dad, Erdan,” she said, remembering to greet family members.
As for the three little ones...
She closed the door and gently touched their heads.
Warmth returned to the room.
Shao Kang dragged a small stool over with his foot for his daughter to sit.
Shao Diandian sat down and asked, “Dad, were you just naming them?”
Shao Kang grinned proudly. “Yep! Big Tiger Shao, Second Tiger Shao, Little Tiger Shao. Not bad, huh? I picked good names!”
Thinking of her own and Erdan’s names, Shao Diandian had long given up hope on Dad’s naming skills.
She asked, “Don’t you think those names make them sound like our peers?”
Shao Kang looked puzzled. “Do they?”
Whatever, she thought, it’s just nicknames anyway.
She pressed on, “How do you know who’s the oldest, second, and youngest?”
Shao Kang let down their hair and confidently pointed. “One hair whorl means oldest, two means second, three means youngest!”
Shao Diandian was speechless.
While Shao Kang continued bathing the three little ones, Shao Diandian went to Wei Ting’s room to change his dressing.
The wounds were healing well; she had sutured them expertly. Yet he still had a slight fever and was very weak.
After treating his two severe wounds, Shao Diandian applied anti-inflammatory and pain-relief ointment to his other minor injuries.
“Sigh, so exhausting,” she plopped down on the edge of the bed.
She had been busy all morning—shopping, fighting on the way—her strength was completely drained.
“Hiss—” Wei Ting gasped.
Shao Diandian casually asked, “You awake?”
Not only awake, Wei Ting had even communicated deeply with her family.
He already knew the three children were here. Yesterday, when he asked where the kids were, the woman lied and said she didn’t know!
He had worried needlessly for so long!
“Does my father know?” Shao Diandian asked.
Wei Ting gave her a look as if she were crazy.
Clearing her throat, Shao Diandian pressed on, “Looks like he came by. Did he say anything to you?”
Wei Ting’s eyes turned icy cold. “He said someone tried to ambush me, and he chased them off, saving me and the children, demanding I marry into the Shao family as your son-in-law.”
“Ahem, ahem!” Shao Diandian choked on her laughter. “What did you think of that?”
Wei Ting sneered, “You think I don’t know that the one who ambushed me was your father?”
Though he hadn’t seen it, he’d heard his voice before passing out.
“You want me to marry the thief’s daughter and accept the thief as my father? Dream on!”
Well, this was awkward.
Shao Diandian rubbed her head in frustration.
Wei Ting snorted coldly.
Suddenly, Shao Diandian stretched out her chubby hand to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked warily.
She lifted her chin, looking down on him with a superior air.
“Though my father tied you up, I saved you too, so we’re even! Since you don’t plan to marry into the family, we need to settle the score properly!”
“Food, lodging, medical care, nursing—20 taels a day! That’s 500 taels a month! Plus 100 taels per child for childcare, three kids make 300 taels! Pay up now, no credit!”
Creak—
The door opened.
Shao Kang walked in. “Big Ya, the kids are washed... Huh? The son-in-law’s awake?”
Shao Diandian thought: Son-in-law? It’s already blown—great!
Wei Ting looked at Shao Kang, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “Dad, I’m hungry.”
Shao Diandian: “...!!”