"Impossible, you're making up stories!" Shen Wang denied without a second thought.
"Why is it impossible?" Li Yue Shu smiled. "I know medicine, and with the three hundred taels from Master Zhang, can't I open a pharmacy?"
Shen Wang's expression froze. Looking at their mocking faces, he finally realized something was amiss.
Shen Wang didn't know how he left the Hengde Pharmacy. His mind was in a daze, and naturally, he didn't notice the expressions of the children following him.
He went to the town to inquire, unwilling to give up. To his surprise, everyone said the owner of Hengde Pharmacy was a Mrs. Shen, and even the county magistrate personally attended its opening day.
Only then did Shen Wang understand how ridiculous his previous actions were.
He had no face to stay any longer and rushed home with the children.
Seeing him return so early, Mother Shen and Yang Shi looked puzzled.
As Yang Shi was about to speak, Shen Wang slapped her directly.
With a "slap," Yang Shi fell to the ground.
Mother Shen was startled by the scene and stood frozen.
Shen Wang pointed at Yang Shi with a furious expression, "You idiot, do you know how much I lost face today!"
"Hengde Pharmacy is opened by Li Yue Shu, and I said I would replace her. Do you know how they mocked me!"
Yang Shi was stunned by the slap and took a while to process his words. "That's impossible, how could that wicked woman be so capable!"
"She was able to cure Master Zhang's son and received three hundred taels in consultation fees. What's impossible about that!" Shen Wang was filled with rage. "It's all your stupid idea, not only did we spend money and effort, but you also made me lose so much face!"
Mother Shen was also shocked. "How could this be..."
She looked at the children by the door and suddenly collapsed onto the ground. "Heavens, this is going to kill me! How can I possibly raise so many children! It's all Li Yue Shu's fault, that wicked woman, she deliberately wants to harm me!"
Yang Shi's face turned ashen, clearly struck by the sudden news.
But Mother Shen's words seemed to give her inspiration. "Yes, it's all Li Yue Shu's fault, she has to be responsible for this!"
Seeing Mother Shen and Shen Wang looking at her, she ignored the pain on her face and quickly revealed her idea.
...
Li Yue Shu didn't pay much attention to Shen Wang's matters, but she didn't expect the Shen family's shamelessness to exceed her imagination.
The next day, as usual, she took the children out, but they were directly stopped by the Shen family halfway.
Mother Shen, Shen Wang, and Yang Shi stood menacingly in the middle of the road, with seven children behind them.
Many people saw this scene and gathered to watch the spectacle.
Li Yue Shu leaned on the cart, looking at the formation with a half-smile.
Mother Shen, with her hands on her hips, said in a commanding tone, "Li Yue Shu, you must take these children with you to town today. You are the owner of Hengde Pharmacy, and they will be your employees from now on!"
Yang Shi chimed in with a chuckle, "Sister-in-law, these children were beggars before, they could be fed with just some rice soup, and they don't need to go to school. They're much cheaper than the ones you adopted."
Shen Wang nodded repeatedly. "Yes, we are all family. Would we cheat you!"
Hearing the three's shameless words, Shen Tan and Shen Chen were furious and wanted to go up and beat them. Li Yue Shu, however, simply smiled.
"You adopted children, and now you want me to raise them? Do I look that stupid?"
The villagers watching the commotion were still processing their conversation, their faces full of shock.
They rarely went to town, but they had heard of Hengde Pharmacy. This was actually opened by Li Yue Shu?
Everyone couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves.
"Heavens, Li Yue Shu actually opened a pharmacy herself. How did she do it?"
"If I had earned three hundred taels, I would have hidden it all away. I would never have thought of opening a pharmacy to do business. Li Yue Shu is too smart!"
"I say, since Li Yue Shu is so rich now, she should help her in-laws. These children look so pitiful, why is she not kind at all!"
The person who said the last sentence was Aunt Zhao. Ever since she didn't get any advantage from Old Man Liu's ox cart last time, she had held a grudge against Li Yue Shu.
Since Li Yue Shu adopted Shen Tan and the seven children, Aunt Zhao had been the most vocal in mocking her as crazy in the village.
Li Yue Shu was so amused she almost laughed when she heard this.
She looked at Aunt Zhao with icy eyes. "If you're so kind, why don't you take these children back and raise them! I remember your family isn't poor. You can't raise seven children, but you can surely raise one or two."
Aunt Zhao's face changed. She didn't expect Li Yue Shu to be so merciless in front of so many people.
Of course, she wouldn't adopt these children; she was just speaking out of spite. At this moment, she was speechless.
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu didn't pursue the matter. Instead, she turned her gaze to the Shen family. "Since you've separated, live your own lives and don't always come up with rotten ideas to bother people."
With that, she whipped the ox's hindquarters.
The ox, in pain, let out a moo and lifted its hooves to walk forward.
Seeing this, Mother Shen and Shen Wang, who were blocking the road, immediately dodged in panic.
Watching her receding back, Mother Shen stamped her foot in anger. "Heavens, why did I ever marry this wicked woman!"
Yang Shi and Shen Wang's faces turned green and purple, standing by without daring to speak.
Seeing this, many people stepped forward to offer comfort, but their real intention was gossip.
Today's show ended too quickly, and they hadn't even figured out the cause and effect.
Mother Shen was already full of anger. When someone asked, she didn't think much and poured out all her grievances, cursing and blaming Li Yue Shu.
Although the crowd was curious and gossipy, they could distinguish right from wrong. This was clearly the Shen family bringing trouble upon themselves, and Li Yue Shu was not to blame.
However, in front of Mother Shen, they said nothing, but privately, they often used this matter as a joke.
Mother Shen was unaware of this. After pouring out her woes, she saw the dark and thin children again, and her temper flared.
"You useless things, eating my food, using my things, sleeping in my house, and you can't even do anything useful! Tomorrow, I'll send you back to town to continue being beggars!"
The children lowered their heads, not daring to retort, but their hidden expressions were somewhat thought-provoking.
Mother Shen was completely unaware of this. After venting her anger, she drove the seven children back to the shed.
She planned to have Shen Wang throw these freeloaders back to town the next morning, so she didn't give them any food all day.
The seven children didn't make a fuss and huddled obediently in the shed.
Seeing them so obedient, Mother Shen didn't bother them.
The next day, before she could even get out of bed, Shen Wang urgently knocked on the door. "Mother, hurry up and get up, those beggars in the shed are gone!"
Mother Shen yawned and opened the door, only to see Shen Wang and Yang Shi standing anxiously at the entrance.
She frowned and said indifferently, "If they're gone, they're gone. It saves you another trip to town."