Chapter 163 -

Chapter 163: Chapter

The morning air was freezing cold as Yimei opened her eyes.

She washed her face, straightened her hair, and got herself ready for the day. Today was going to be extremely busy. Because of the heavy, painful balm she had applied to Zhengyu’s legs last night, his nerves needed time to settle, so she wasn’t going to do any acupuncture on him this morning. Seeing him still sleeping deeply, she left him on the bed to rest.

The moment Yimei slid open the bedchamber door, a chunk of white snow fell right off the wooden roof and slammed onto the ground in front of her.

She looked out into the courtyard. The entire compound was completely covered in thick, heavy snow from the storm last night. It hadn’t even started to melt yet, turning the whole yard into one massive white ice rink.

[Host! Look at this mess! How are you going to move around with all this snow in the compound? You need to get this whole place cleaned up right now!] Nine chimed in her mind.

Don’t worry, Nine, Yimei replied with a sharp smirk. I have a whole house full of people to help me.

She walked straight to the kitchen, grabbed a heavy metal bowl and a thick wooden spoon, and marched back out into the courtyard.

Standing right in the middle of the frozen yard, Yimei began banging the wooden spoon against the bowl as hard as she could. BANG! BANG! BANG!

The loud, horrible clanging sound echoed through the entire compound, shattering the quiet morning. Yimei walked from door to door, banging the spoon without showing any mercy.

"Wake up! Everyone get out of bed! Morning time!" she shouted cheerfully.

First, she woke up Qinqin and the girls, Bai Meiling, Bai Rulan, and Bai Shu who all sat up rubbing their eyes in shock. Then she moved on to the other rooms, waking up Madame Zhao, who was Bai Kang and Bai Shu’s mother, alongside Bai Kang himself. Next came An Yulan, Wenliang, Bai Shishi, and Bai Wenxiu. She even banged loudly on the doors of Madame Chen and Liu Feng!

By the time she reached Master Bai’s room, he was already awake. Madame Bai was helping him tie his robes so he could head out for his early work.

One by one, the sleepy, shivering family members opened their doors and stumbled out into the freezing courtyard, groaning and wrapping their coats tightly around themselves.

Madame Chen came stomping out of her room, her face red with absolute rage.

"What is your deal, you witch?!" Madame Chen shrieked, pointing a shaking, frozen finger at Yimei. "Can’t you for one single day stay without causing drama?!"

"Why are you making so much noise?!" Bai Wenxiu yelled, rubbing her sleepy eyes as she stood right behind Madame Chen.

"Is it a crime to sleep in when it’s freezing outside?!" Bai Shishi snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at Yimei. "You’re just doing this to torment us!"

Before either of them could utter another word of complaint, Yimei stepped forward with lightning speed.

CLACK! CLACK!

She brought the wooden spoon down sharply, hitting both Bai Wenxiu and Bai Shishi right on top of their heads!

"Ouch!" Bai Wenxiu gasped, clutching her forehead in shock.

"Are you insane?!" Bai Shishi shrieked, jumping backward with tears instantly springing to her eyes.

"That’s for opening your mouths before washing your faces," Yimei said coolly, tapping the wooden spoon against her palm. "Look around you! The whole yard is buried in three feet of snow, and you two lazy girls are talking about sleeping in?"

Madame Chen’s jaw dropped in absolute disbelief. "You hit my daughters?! How dare you touch them, you evil girl!"

"If you don’t want me to hit them again, give them a shovel," Yimei replied without batting an eye, pointing toward the corner of the yard. "Every single person in this household who eats food will help clear this snow today, no exceptions!"

Master Bai stepped out into the yard, wearing his heavy coat and pulling his hat down low against the cold.

Every single person stopped yelling and froze, staring at him.

Master Bai looked at Yimei holding the wooden spoon, then glanced around at the massive piles of snow burying the compound. He cleared his throat, patted Yimei’s shoulder, and said quickly, "Yimei... I will buy some meat on my way back today since I won’t be helping to shovel."

Without waiting for anyone to say a single word, Master Bai turned on his heel and literally ran straight out the front gate toward his job!

"Master Bai! Y-You come back here!" Madame Chen shouted, waving her arm at his retreating back, but he was already gone down the snowy path.

Just then, Madame Bai stepped out of the house, neatly dressed and ready for the day. She looked at the giant mess in the yard, then at the grumpy crowd.

"Yimei, I think you are right," Madame Bai said calmly. "I’ll go ask Mr. and Mrs. Shen to lend us some shovels to clear the snow."

Yimei smiled sweetly at her mother-in-law. "Thank you, Mother. You are always so sensible."

She turned back to Madame Chen, Bai Wenxiu, and Bai Shishi, holding up the wooden spoon with a wicked grin. "You heard her. Shovels are on the way. Nobody goes back inside until every single flake of snow is cleared from this yard!"

The three of them groaned loudly, clutching their arms and complaining to Madame Chen about how cold it was and how unfair Yimei was being. Yimei completely ignored their whining and walked straight over to Qinqin and the young girls.

"Hope you guys slept well," Yimei said, her sharp tone softening completely. "Go get ready and come join us."

Qinqin, Meiling, Bai Shu, and Rulan all nodded eagerly. The girls actually looked excited at the thought of jumping around and playing in the snow while working.

Satisfied, Yimei turned around and walked over to An Yulan and her husband, Wenliang.

An Yulan crossed her arms tightly over her chest, glaring at Yimei with pure disgust. "Don’t you dare think I’m going to shovel a single flake of snow! I am your elder sister in this house!"

Yimei tilted her head, a slow, dangerous smirk spreading across her face. "Elder sister? Maybe. But I am the First Young Madame of the Bai family, while you are only the Second. My title is higher than yours, sister."