Volume 1, Chapter 9 – The Huang Family Has Truly Found a Good Daughter-in-Law

Huang Bo glared fiercely at his “eldest sister-in-law”, his face twisted with resentment, before reluctantly stomping off to help with the cooking.

Huang Long, more tactful, had kept his mouth shut the entire time. Seeing his younger brother yield, he scurried off to assist as well.

Xie Mei, being older and more experienced, wisely stayed silent.

Huang Qi cast a disdainful glance at his two “sisters-in-law”, then turned away with a cold smirk.

Qu Zhen, however, glared at Huang Qi with such fury she nearly ground her teeth to dust. Yet in the end, she said nothing—simply spun on her heel and marched toward the gate.

Xie Mei couldn’t stay either and followed her sister-in-law out.

“Where are you going?”

Huang Long and Huang Bo hurried after them, but the two women ignored them completely.

“If you leave during your grandfather’s birthday celebration, you’re no longer descendants of the Huang family!”

Huang Kairong shouted after them, but his nephews paid no heed.

“Heh…”

Huang Kairong wasn’t angry. As long as the label of “unfilial” stuck to them, that was enough. Whether they listened to him or not didn’t matter.

“Sigh!”

Huang Xinghu shook his head in disappointment at the scene.

With the brief farce over, the atmosphere finally settled into harmony. Huang Kaiyou and his wife no longer dared to look down on others with their mocking remarks.

For Huang Qi, this was complete vindication—a thorough settling of old scores. Just as he was basking in his triumph, his parents approached, wanting to have a “good talk” with him.

Now that they had vented their frustrations and gained immense face thanks to their daughter-in-law, Huang Kairong and Li Fen naturally wanted to learn more about her background.

And so, Huang Qi was summoned by his own parents into the inner room.

“Young lady, what’s your name?”

Huang Kairong asked first, his face still stiff from grinning nonstop.

Huang Qi froze. His heart pounded erratically—he hadn’t actually prepared for this question. Panicking, he stalled by reaching for the brush and paper, buying himself time.

‘What do I do? What name should I use? Huang Qi… Huang Qi…’

As he fumbled with the writing tools, he caught his mother’s suspicious gaze. The pressure felt like a mountain crushing him, making it hard to breathe. Then, inspiration struck.

Gritting his teeth, he wrote two characters:

Reaԁ on ΚatReadіոgCаfe

“Qi Huang.”

“Qi Huang? A fine name! With your height, you truly stand out among women—worthy of the ‘phoenix ( 凰, Huang)’ character.”

Huang Kairong, uncharacteristically poetic, lavished praise.

“Not just among women—I doubt there are many men in Ping’an County who can compare to her.”

Li Fen wholeheartedly agreed.

Huang Qi’s face burned with embarrassment. Here he was, a grown man, being lumped into the category of women by his own father. The awkwardness was unbearable.

“Miss, where are you from? What does your family do?”

Huang Kairong pressed eagerly.

Huang Qi’s breath hitched again. Thinking back to his dream, he impulsively wrote:

“Prefecture City.”

“Merchant family.”

“A wealthy young lady from the prefecture! Marrying our Huang Qi must feel like a step down for you. But don’t worry—if he ever dares to bully you, I’ll break his legs myself!”

Huang Kairong immediately started making grand promises.

‘Seriously, Dad? You’d abandon your own son for a daughter-in-law?’

Huang Qi was torn between laughter and tears.

“Miss Qi, where is my son? Didn’t he come back with you?”

Li Fen, reminded of her son, took over the questioning.

Huang Qi thought quickly and wrote:

“Huang Qi is tied up with matters and couldn’t return, so he sent me in his place to celebrate Grandfather’s birthday.”

“What matters? How could he miss such an important day?”

Li Fen’s smile stiffened. When it came to her son, she wouldn’t let things slide.

Caught off guard by his mother’s persistence, Huang Qi scrambled for a plausible excuse. Finally, he wrote:

“Huang Qi went with my father on a business trip. They were delayed on the road and couldn’t return in time.”

“Ah, I see! As a son-in-law, it’s only right he learns the trade from his father-in-law. That’s a blessing for him.”

Rеad оո ΚαtRеαdіոɡСafе

Huang Kairong exhaled in relief.

Li Fen’s expression softened. The explanation was reasonable enough.

Huang Qi let out a silent sigh of relief and practically fled the room. As he stepped out, he spotted Wang Bao, the man butchering meat, and suddenly recalled the earlier conversation between him and his wife outside the gate.

He hurried back inside and wrote a note for his father:

“Wang Bao is planning to steal meat.”

“Wang Bao wants to steal meat?”

Huang Kairong read the note aloud, then frowned. “Daughter-in-law, how did you know?”

Huang Qi stiffened, then scribbled:

“I overheard them talking.”

“That dog! Can’t teach an old dog new tricks. I’ve been meaning to deal with him.”

Huang Kairong cursed, then strode out to keep a covert eye on Wang Bao.

Sure enough, under his wife’s urging, Wang Bao soon slipped a chunk of meat into his clothes while chopping—only to be caught red-handed.

“Hand over the meat!”

Huang Kairong didn’t mince words, marching straight up to demand it back.

“What meat?”

Wang Bao played dumb, standing innocently by the meat pile.

“Still pretending?”

Huang Kairong reached for Wang Bao’s collar.

Realizing the jig was up, Wang Bao clutched his clothes protectively.

The two men scuffled, drawing everyone’s attention.

Enraged, Huang Kairong kicked Wang Bao hard in the stomach.

“Agh!”

Wang Bao doubled over, tears and snot streaming down his face.

“Help! Huang Kairong is beating guests! Is there no justice? We came to celebrate your father’s birthday, and this is how you treat us?”

Reаⅾ on ΚαtRеαԁiոɡСαfe

Wang Bao’s wife shrieked, rushing over like a madwoman to claw at Huang Kairong.

Huang Kairong spun and kicked her away, then yanked out a two-to-three-pound slab of lean meat from Wang Bao’s collar.

“Evidence! Still denying it?”

“This is brutality!”

The Wang couple were stunned. So was the crowd. The Huang Kairong today was unrecognizable—bold, ruthless, utterly transformed from his usual meek self.

“As guests, the Huang family is happy to provide food and drink. But theft? That’s the act of a petty crook, and I won’t tolerate it!”

Huang Kairong’s voice was steel.

The courtyard fell silent. No one could refute his words.

“Oh, how noble! ‘Provide food and drink’? Huang Kairong, let me ask you—what do you have to offer? A pig under a hundred pounds, less than half a peck of rice… You’re so poor you rattle, yet you put on airs like the rich? Don’t make me laugh!”

Wang Bao’s wife, recovering, lashed out like a rabid dog.

“I may be poor, but that’s no excuse for your man to steal.”

Huang Kairong stood his ground.

“Of course it is! We knew we wouldn’t get enough to eat, so we took some. What’s wrong with that?”

She twisted logic shamelessly.

The crowd stayed silent. Some even nodded in agreement. As uneducated villagers, they easily swayed by whoever spoke loudest.

Huang Kairong’s face darkened. He hadn’t expected such shamelessness—the man was clearly in the wrong, yet his wife dared to spin it like this.

Seeing the situation deteriorating, Huang Qi quickly wrote another note and handed it to his father.

Huang Kairong read aloud:

“Father, buy another pig from the villagers. Today, we must ensure everyone eats and drinks their fill.”

His face lit up. With this “wealthy daughter-in-law” backing them, money was no issue.

Without hesitation, Huang Qi handed over three taels of silver—more than enough to buy a village pig.

“Wow! A wealthy lady indeed, so generous!”

“She’s not even officially married in yet, but she’s already looking out for the Huang family. They’re in for good fortune.”

“Why can’t my son find a wife like this?”

Rеаⅾ оո KatRеaԁiոɡСαfe

The villagers buzzed with admiration.

Wang Bao and his wife, however, turned ashen. They’d forgotten the Huangs now had a rich daughter-in-law.

“Right away!”

Huang Kairong was ecstatic.

“Wait! We have the pig, but no firewood. We’ve used up all we had!”

Li Fen reminded him. In these times, with wandering spirits everywhere, households kept little firewood. They’d already scraped together everything for the banquet.

Huang Qi wrote decisively:

“Buy.”

“And rice?”

“Buy.”

“Flour?”

“Buy.”

“But where? The villagers don’t have enough, and the county town is too far.”

“Offer double the price. Someone will sell.”

Huang Qi scribbled rapidly, then handed over the required silver without blinking.

The villagers stared, wide-eyed. Some had never seen so much money in their lives.

Huang Qi wrote one last message and held it up:

“Today, all food and drink are on me. You’re all our honored guests.”

Money truly brought confidence.

“Wonderful! The Huang family has truly found a good daughter-in-law!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Huang Qi, immensely satisfied, added another note and thrust it at Wang Bao and his wife:

“Except for you two. As thieves, you can go eat prison rations!”