Seeing this, Old Lady Liu immediately began cursing.
"You wretched woman! If you lay hands on that duck today, I won't let you off the hook!"
"Not only will I eat this duck, but have you seen that pig? I won't spare it either!"
Hearing this, Old Zhang could no longer remain seated.
He strode out and barked at Xu Xiu, "These chickens and ducks are kept for laying eggs. If you slaughter another one, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Old Zhang had always been the unchallenged authority in this household. No one dared defy him even slightly.
Now that his face had darkened, who would dare utter a single word?
Yet Xu Xiu acted as though she hadn't noticed. She gripped the duck's neck and gave it a light twist—the duck instantly met its end.
Witnessing this, Old Zhang nearly fumed with rage.
"I told you to let go! Didn't you hear me?" As he spoke, he began advancing to strike Xu Xiu. But before he could reach her, she casually picked up a stick and brandished it.
"Have you forgotten yesterday's lesson so quickly? Or do you still think I'm the same foolish Xu Xiu who'd endure beatings without fighting back? Let me make this clear—that person is gone. If any of you lay a finger on me, I'll return it tenfold. Test me if you dare!"
These words halted Old Zhang mid-step.
He gaped at her in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly like a suffocating fish.
Holding the slaughtered duck, Xu Xiu gave Old Zhang one last disdainful glance before sauntering toward their dim storage room.
The Fourth Branch's cramped storage room barely fits two beds.
Without a single window, it was the smallest and darkest space in the entire compound.
Xu Xiu's makeshift stove stood by the doorway—if she cooked inside, the room would choke with greasy smoke that never dispersed.
Thus, whenever she prepared meals outside, all three other branches could observe, including Old Zhang and Old Lady Liu.
Now, watching her plop the entire fat duck into the cooking pot, Old Lady Liu writhed as though being flayed alive.
"Old man, what should we do?" she finally blurted, unable to contain herself.
She'd assumed that keeping the Fourth Branch under their roof would force the shrew to resume her meek servitude within days.
Who could've predicted this defiance? Old Zhang rubbed his temples. Dividing the household now would mean losing their most profitable branch.
Though Zhang Zixuan lay bedridden, he required no care from others—the Fourth Branch managed everything themselves.
Crucially, they ate far less than the other three branches yet shouldered multiple times the workload.
By Old Zhang's calculations, expelling them meant forfeiting free labor. Yet allowing this daily feasting couldn't continue.
Inside the Fourth Branch's room...
Xu Xiu guessed their limits were approaching, but one more day remained.
Tomorrow, she needed to slaughter that pig too.
"Coco! Coco!"
"Here, Master!"
"Are points easy to accumulate?"
Once separated, given Old Zhang and Old Lady Liu's nature, the Fourth Branch would leave empty-handed.
She had to prepare thoroughly for independence.
"Master, it's hard to say! For plants or animals the system urgently needs, each point could be exchanged for one yuan. Currently, rice costs three yuan per jin—cheaper during promotions."
"Seems I must venture deep into the mountains soon," Xu Xiu muttered.
"Indeed! With zero points now, more exchanges will upgrade the system. Unexpected benefits might follow!"
"Upgrade? Will the system evolve?"
"Yes! But I don't know what changes await—I've never experienced it!"
This revelation plunged Xu Xiu into contemplation.
Division was now urgent.
Impatient for tomorrow, she instructed Liu-Tou: "Tend the fire. I'm stepping out."
"Understood! Be careful, Mom."
For pig slaughtering, Xu Xiu first headed to the kitchen.
She retrieved the firewood cleaver and honed it vigorously on the grindstone.
Deeming it sufficiently sharp, she rose and swept a frosty glare across the family.
They stared blankly, baffled by her actions—she'd already killed the duck. What more did she want?
Yet Old Lady Liu felt ominous foreboding.
"Wretch! Don't you dare—"
Before she finished, Xu Xiu marched toward the pigpen.
Realizing her intent, Old Lady Liu blocked her path, arms spread.
"Touch that pig today, and I'll—"
"And you'll say what?" Xu Xiu's tone drew mockery.
"I—I—" The old woman glanced about for weapons.
"There's a stick. Pick it up," Xu Xiu taunted.
Old Lady Liu froze. This shrew seemed transformed since yesterday—had her former meekness been an act?
"No? Then don't blame me." Xu Xiu effortlessly shoved her aside.
"You wouldn't dare!" Old Zhang roared.
"Stand there and watch what I dare!" Xu Xiu retorted coldly.
The Zhangs raised two pigs, both fed by the Fourth Branch's labor. In her view, slaughtering one already showed restraint.
"What are you gaping at? Stop her!" Old Zhang bellowed at his three sons.
These pigs represented the family's major income—the plumpest in Zhang Village. He'd banked on selling them for silver to fund Da-Tou's academy fees and supplies.
If we include all these, it would cost over twenty taels.
It must be said that even with so many people in their Zhang family, they could only afford to support one scholar.
And even that was an immense struggle.
Fortunately, the Zhang family still owned over ten mu of premium paddy fields, plus several mu of sandy land.
These were all ancestral assets passed down through generations of the Zhang family.
Third Brother Zhang Zifu immediately tried to persuade Xu Xiu: "Sister-in-law, keeping on like this isn't sustainable. Slaughtering the pig now would be such a waste. By year-end, it should weigh two to three hundred jin. Moreover, this is precisely when it grows fastest!"
Second Brother Zhang Zihua, upon hearing this, immediately retorted: "Third Brother, why waste words with this lowly woman?"
With that, he charged towards Xu Xiu wielding the hoe he'd prepared in advance.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, don't act rashly! My fourth sister-in-law is..." Zhang Zifu shouted urgently while rushing forward to separate them.
Before he could finish, they saw Xu Xiu curl her lips coldly at Zhang Zihua and murmur: "Overestimating yourself." She bent her waist slightly, seized the perfect moment to snatch the hoe from Zhang Zihua's hands, then swung it viciously at his abdomen.
"Aaahh!!"
Zhang Zihua immediately collapsed in agony, curling into a fetal position and writhing in unbearable pain.
This sudden development left Zhang Zirong standing nearby utterly dumbfounded.
Before he could even process what happened, Zhang Zihua already lay defeated at his feet.
"Still coming?" Xu Xiu asked Zhang Zirong nonchalantly while he remained frozen.
Zhang Zirong: "..."
The crowd: "...."
"If you don't dare, then step aside. I need to slaughter the pig." Xu Xiu resumed her calm demeanor.
For reasons unclear, Zhang Zirong instinctively retreated upon hearing this.
"Good! Saves me more effort. Why waste dozens of coins on a physician if you get injured?" Zhang Zirong: "..."
"Rebellion! This is outright rebellion!" Old Zhang shouted furiously at Xu Xiu.
Ignoring him completely, Xu Xiu walked straight towards the larger pig.
Admittedly, the hog was exceptionally well-fed.
Were it her own pig, even Xu Xiu might hesitate to slaughter it this early.
Zhang Zifu was right - this was the prime growth period, making the slaughter particularly wasteful.
Yet the current Xu Xiu felt inexplicable excitement upon seeing the swine.
"Zifu! Go fetch the village chief immediately!" Old Zhang ordered his third son, finally realizing the critical necessity of household division. Continued cohabitation would see all family resources devoured by the fourth branch.
Xu Xiu acted as if deaf to Old Zhang's command, continuing her advance towards the pig.
Witnessing this, Old Zhang hastily shouted: "I consent to the division! I agree to split the household!"
"Too late," Xu Xiu drawled leisurely.
With one fluid motion, her blade descended. The pig expired instantly without even a squeal.
The entire courtyard gasped in shock. None dared imagine what that blade might do to human flesh.
Unbeknownst to them, as a top-tier special agent, Xu Xiu possessed precise knowledge of both human and animal pressure points - she knew exactly where to strike lethally.
"My pig! My precious pig! Heaven's wrath upon you! Damned murderess!!"
Old Lady Liu collapsed wailing, pounding the ground with her fists in frenzied despair.
"Divide! I decree immediate separation! The fourth branch leaves now!" Old Zhang commanded, already calculating how to salvage some pork for sale.
But Xu Xiu saw through his transparent schemes immediately.
"Your scheming intentions practically slap my face. Unfortunately, I've lost interest in separating. Staying here enjoying comforts seems preferable," Xu Xiu replied airily.
As if recalling something, she added to Old Lady Liu:
"I remember Mom's teaching - 'While elders live, households stay united. Any descendant establishing separate registration or dividing property violates legal statutes.' How could I forget such maternal wisdom?"
Old Lady Liu: "..."
"This division happens whether you consent or not!" Old Zhang declared with finality.
Xu Xiu remained unfazed. Knowing their characters, immediate compliance would leave the fourth branch destitute - possibly without even a roof. Thus, despite her urgency to separate, she maintained surface composure.
Ignoring the patriarch, Xu Xiu hoisted the slaughtered pig towards their dim storage room.
Meanwhile, the simmering duck stew reached perfect readiness. Under Old Zhang's seething glare, Xu Xiu began eating with relish.
The natural flavors of ancient ingredients indeed surpassed modern fare - pure and untainted.
"Delicious!" Xu Xiu deliberately proclaimed loud enough for the patriarch to hear.
"Old man, look at her! She's completely lawless!" Old Lady Liu screeched.
Casually, Xu Xiu reminded: "Might I suggest checking on Second Brother? His injury seems... consequential."
Her earlier hoe strike hadn't been gentle. Now well-fed, her strength far exceeded yesterday's restrained efforts.
At this prompt, Chen Sixi finally rushed to her unconscious husband's side.
"Zihua! Wake up! Don't scare me like this!" She turned desperately to Old Zhang: "Dad! Zihua's dying! Fetch a physician! Waaaahh!!"
This time, Chen Sixi's panic was genuine. Her usual domestic tyranny relied entirely on her husband's presence. Like the fourth branch's former standing when Zhang Zixuan remained functional, their current vulnerability mirrored that of Xu Xiu's family after his incapacitation. The dreadful parallels chilled Chen Sixi to the core.