But she hadn't expected the Qin family's kindness to her and her younger siblings to exceed her expectations.
They sent food, made clothes, and even sent her younger brother to school.
Even though the clothes were old ones refitted and the brushes and inkstones were ones Qin Sen no longer used, Zhang Dani knew the Qin family didn't want her to feel burdened.
As for Qin Daniu, there was no need to even mention it.
Ever since Qin Mother agreed to Qin Daniu marrying her, their water缸 and firewood pile had never lacked water or firewood.
Qin Junyao gave her the highest wages among all the hired workers. Later, when she helped at the noodle shop, her younger sister Zhang Erni also received wages.
Every month, Master Yan Jun would give her all of her father's wages. She knew this was Qin Junyao's instruction, solely for her to quickly save twenty taels.
Zhang Dani was both looking forward to marrying Qin Daniu and panicked by the secret she was keeping. Moreover, her mother, knowing her father had gone to the salt lake and wouldn't return, asked her to save her half-brother.
All these reasons made Zhang Dani waver. On impulse, she confessed everything on the first day after her marriage.
"Impulsive?" Qin Grandmother raised an eyebrow and looked at Qin Junyao. "She wasn't impulsive at all."
Qin Grandmother tapped her leg. "Alright, our Qin family needs someone with a bit of cunning."
"Yaoyao, let your brothers manage the noodle shop from now on. Your mother is still more suited to stay in the village."
Qin Junyao was still thinking about what Qin Grandmother had said about Zhang Dani not being impulsive, and was then drawn to Qin Grandmother's subsequent words.
"Grandmother, didn't we agree that my brothers would handle the snack stalls? The salt lake is quite profitable, and if the Cistanche is growing well, we should be able to harvest a batch in the autumn. I was thinking of having my brother cultivate some Cistanche on rented land."
Qin Grandmother waved her hand. "That's not urgent. Your father has only one son; what's his will be Daniu's."
"Once your brother's marriage is settled, the family house will also need to be rebuilt. It's a good time to divide the family, and I can also relax. I'll stay with you until Chui Zi returns. Your mother will have to manage the household."
"Your brothers going to the county town will put them far from your mother, which will prevent her from getting angry to death."
Qin Grandmother looked at her eldest granddaughter. "Go and persuade your mother to comfort her. Tell her that as long as you, the General's wife, are here, Dani will not be able to cause trouble."
"Sigh!" Qin Grandmother sighed. "Dani is not ruthless enough. If I were her, I would have made that father meet his maker with just a packet of medicine. Why all this trouble? She's still too young."
Qin Junyao touched her nose. She couldn't respond to that. In her grandmother's eyes, the most effective way to solve a problem was to eliminate the person causing it.
Upon learning that Qin Daniu had no intention of divorcing his wife, Qin Junyao left Qin Grandmother's room to find Qin Mother.
Even without Qin Grandmother's instruction, she was going to talk to Qin Mother anyway, as Qin Mother had been refusing to eat or drink.
"Mother, drink some congee," Qin Junyao placed the congee on the kang table and gently patted Qin Mother, who was pretending to be asleep.
Qin Mother's eyeballs shifted beneath her eyelids, but she didn't open them, seemingly unwilling to talk to Qin Junyao.
Qin Junyao sat beside Qin Mother. "Mother, I think you are right. Zhang Dani is too wicked. We should make my brother divorce her."
Qin Mother's eyes suddenly snapped open.
This was the first family member who had agreed with her since morning.
It was good that she had reacted, so Qin Junyao continued, "Mother, Zhang Dani is too unfilial. How could she treat the father who gave birth to and raised her like that?"
Qin Mother sat up and nodded in agreement.
Yes, how could a daughter treat her father like that?
But what Qin Junyao said next shocked her.
"She should help her father appease her mother, so her mother can have more children and sell them to subsidize the household."
"Doesn't her father just like gambling?"
"The family isn't at the end of its rope. When there's really no money, let her father gamble away the house. Who knows, if her father wins, they might live good lives."
Qin Junyao stopped Qin Mother, who was about to speak.
"Besides, Zhang Dani's mother is also wrong. What's the big deal about having a few more children? What woman doesn't have children?"
"She already has sons and daughters. Having more children would mean more expenses for food and drink. Selling them is fine. A woman marrying is like a chicken following a chicken, and a dog following a dog."
"Qin Junyao," Qin Mother yelled her daughter's name in anger, her eyes wide.
She hadn't expected such infuriating words to come from her daughter's mouth.
But seeing Qin Junyao's calm expression, Qin Mother's shoulders slumped. She understood her daughter's intentions.
Qin Junyao's tone shifted, and she softly persuaded, "Mother, Zhang Dani is only seventeen years old. It's already difficult for her to protect Erni and Sanni from being sold by her father. She can also save her mother's life and prevent her father from gambling again."
"Mother, forget the past. Just consider our escape from Yongning Prefecture. If it weren't for my grandmother, who disregards rules and is as cunning as a sieve, would we have survived to reach here?"
Qin Mother lowered her head, not objecting, tacitly agreeing with Qin Junyao's words. Although it wasn't good to say Qin Grandmother was cunning, it was an undeniable fact.
Without her mother-in-law, their family might have perished years ago.
"Mother, my grandmother can be a good mother-in-law. Why can't Zhang Dani be a good wife?"
Qin Mother pouted upon hearing Qin Junyao call Qin Grandmother a good mother-in-law and waved her hand, dismissing her.
"Alright, you don't need to worry about household matters. Just take care of your own family. I have my own ideas. You've been here for quite some time; hurry back."
Qin Junyao stood up and moved the congee on the kang table towards Qin Mother. "Okay, I'll go back now. Mother, don't forget, I am the General's wife now."
"If you really can't stand Zhang Dani, I can find an excuse to get rid of her."
Under Qin Mother's stiff gaze, Qin Junyao calmly walked out.
.
After leaving the Qin residence, Qin Junyao did not go home. Instead, with Liu Yu's support, she walked towards the fields.
"Liu Yu, my belly hasn't even started to swell. You don't need to support me on flat ground."
"Madam, it's best to be cautious."
Qin Junyao knew that unless she was angry, Liu Yu would not change her cautious behavior towards her. Not just her, but everyone in the Zhao family now treated her like a protected animal.
She first inspected the wheat field. The wheat watered with water from her spatial well grew well, while the wheat that wasn't watered was sparse, with uneven sprouts, thin and short.
In the desert poplar field, the three-year-old saplings had a good survival rate. Half of the small seedlings didn't survive; when broken by hand, they were dry and could be used directly as firewood.
"Madam, how is it? The brothers have planted the saplings," Deng Zhui Tui, with a cloth tied around his leg, ran over to report their work progress to Qin Junyao.
"Quite good," Qin Junyao nodded insincerely.
Although she hadn't attended Qin Daniu's wedding ceremony, she had done all the necessary chores. Therefore, Qin Junyao hadn't checked on the desert poplar field during this period, and she was truly "surprised."
"Yan Song, didn't I ask you to water the saplings? Why didn't you?"
To ensure the survival of the desert poplar saplings, Qin Junyao had left water from her spatial well for Deng Zhui Tui and the others.