581: Bending At The Door
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The worst result would be that the quantum of their properties was exposed to the Qiao Family. If that time came, they would have to turn to the province for help.
"Darling, do you think that we should wait to see what more the Zhao Family would do to us, or should we do something proactively?"
Qiao Xuan asked.
Shao Yunduan thought of how his mother, wife and sister-in-law went to the Ding Family and asked Ding Qiuyue what was going on, he smiled. "Let's go to the Zhao Family and ask what on earth do they want?"
The Zhao Family was such a wealthy family. Why did they want to hold onto the dozens of mu of fields? They were going to ask about their intentions.
Qiao Xuan nodded readily. "l think so, too!"
The two of them grinned at each other.
Hearing that the couple was at the doorstep, Old Master Zhao smiled.
"l knew it! See? They are here to bend their knees in front of me! I knew that they would not be able to confront us."
Madame Zhao was in a good mood too. "You are right, Old Master Zhao, should we get them in now?"
"Bring them in!"
Old Master Zhao did not want to meet them initially. But he was very curious about what the couple looked like. So, he let them in.
Unexpectedly, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were not here to bend their knees. They were here to interrogate him.
Old Master Zhao was so annoyed by their questioning of him. How dare they ask him 'why Old Master Zhao wants to get those fields when you already have so many of your own?'
When the couple left, Old Master Zhao got so annoyed that he smashed the cups in front of him.
Madame Zhao was annoyed too. "Old Master Zhao, what did they mean?"
"Just drop it!" Old Master Zhao said sinisterly, "They are right. I am making the Zhao Family into a joke when 1 linger over some dozens of fields. Let's see who will laugh to the end!"
This was not something that should be done on the surface, and it had to be finished very fast. But it seemed not possible at this moment.
Old Master Zhao had not yet found another plan, when Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao came to the village for a visit.
They were both shocked by the newly-built house of the Shao Family.
Especially the glazed windows, which must have cost a lot.
But Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were able to afford the decorations, anyway.
Their house was big enough to give Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao as well as their servants enough space to stay overnight this time.
Xie Jingrong was relatively introverted. He was just curious but Yuezheng Xiao was different.
He was an open and easygoing person, and after spending so much time with Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan, who saved his father's life, he had already regarded them as his own family.
So, he wandered curiously all around the place.
Their house was not exquisite or shining, but it was convenient and spacious, giving a concise yet comfortable feeling, making people feel relaxed. People could easily sense that it was a very leisurely place to live in.
Yuezheng Xiao felt a little envious, actually.
They reached the gardens on the back side. Qiao Xuan did not hide anything from them, and opened the door for them to have a look.
The view was shocking…
They had so many things, including shiitake mushrooms, fungus, white fungus, Gastrodia elata, heterophylla, tea tree, figs, bergamot, lemons, peaches, plums, loquats and other fruits, some of which they could or could not recognize. There was also a plot which was ready for planting watermelons.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were totally dumbfounded..
"You have got so many wonderful things!" Yuezheng Xiao sighed emotionally. "No wonder you have such a high enclosing wall. People would be jealous simply by seeing you have so many good things here."
They all laughed.
"That is exactly what I was thinking."
"What a wonderful place, There is a spring pool here too!"
Qiao Xuan smiled and felt really proud inwardly.
The water was the source of life and with this spring watering the land, those plants were growing vividly.
This flourishing scene made people feel happy. Who would have predicted that one year ago, this was a deserted land.
People from the village would feel so jealous to see this now.
The couple showed them around. They had no ripe fruits in this season of the year, even the loquats were not ripe enough. So, all they could do was just look at it.
The fruits had better quality compared to that from outside, due to the usage of her superpower.
Yuezheng Xiao smiled when saw the Gastrodia elata and heterophylla. "l remember that Manager Qin took hold of some wonderful Gastrodia elata last year. He got that from you, didn't he? Unfortunately, I was one step late at the time."
Qiao Xuan nodded and smiled. "Manager Qin has booked all of these, so I am sorry. But if you want, I can give you around 5 kgs as a gift."
They would save some for soup braising too.
Yuezheng Xiao did not turn her down and said, "Oh yes, can you plant more snow fungus? Yours is of great quality and they can be sold at a high price when transported to the capital. You should plant more of them."
All of these were going to make them money.
Then he paused and added. "Oh yes, the mushrooms and wooden ears are of great quality too. Bergamots look great as well. Anyway, if you need to sell anything in the future, get someone to tell me so I can sell them all for you!'
Yuezheng Xiao was shocked by what the Shao Family had produced. These things were very well taken care of, and could be sold at a really good price in the market.
No one would miss such a deal, either in private or public.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were very willing to do so. So, they agreed on it directly.
They walked around in the house and Shao Yunduan kept them company for some more time, whilst Qiao Xuan went to make lunch.
The preparations of the dishes were all done, as the pot was cleaned. All Qiao Xuan needed to do was to roll up her sleeves and start to wok them together.
They had a plethora of dishes for the guests on this day. These included stir-fried smoked meat with fresh spring bamboo shoots, braised chicken nuggets with onion and ginger, stir-fried eel segments, miscellaneous fish and sauerkraut pot. The Yan Family sent a lot of fresh tender tofu and tofu cream skin this morning, just in time to make another tender tofu minced meat, and cold-stirred tofu cream skin.
There were a few cold dishes too, including cold salad with shredded bamboo shoots and bracken, cold preserved egg tofu, cold wolfberry sprouts, plus a crucian carp, scallop and dried shrimp soup, in which a few pieces of bacon had been added to enhance the taste.
But they had no yubas and dried tofu and puffs. She wondered if the Yan Family had them. She would ask the Fourth Cousin-in-law to see if she could bring some for the two guests to have a taste..
With an outline in his heart, Yuezheng Xiao would be able to make a final decision about the business deal.
The Yan Family had been busy building workshops, booking tools and trying new products. They should have spare ones available.
On the table, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were very surprised when they ate the cold-stirred yubas.
They had eaten all kinds of delicious things, and they always had some impression of what they had tasted.
But whenever they were offered food at the Shao Family, they would look forward to seeing something new. After all, they could always eat something different at the Shao Family each time they were here.
This time too, they realized that they had never eaten yubas before.
Yubas had a taste of bean, and a tender texture. They wondered how yubas were made.
Yuezheng Xiao was about to ask when Shao Yunduan smiled. "They are made of beans, the same as tofu. We can talk about this after lunch. We have other similar ones.'
When Yuezheng Xiao heard that this business would become his as well, he nodded with a smile. "Okay, okay, we will talk about it later. I have some surprisingly good news to share with you as well."
It was a lively and fun meal, and after lunch, they gathered again in the hall where Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were living.
Xie Jingrong knew that they were going to talk about business, so he went back to his guest room to take a break.
Yuezheng Xiao became really interested in the bean products Qiao Xuan talked about.
Tofu was a popular and common thing, cheap and delicious, always well-received among civilians. The Yuezheng Family had never run any tofu business, but they had never stopped eating dishes with tofu.
The servants would always eat dishes with tofu as well.
But what Qiao Xuan told them was different. These bean products could be kept for a long time. Yubas, and cream skin, when dried, could be preserved for months. Puffs as well as dried tofu could be stored for a few days as well, which would make selling them much easier.
More importantly, no one had done such business before.
As long as they were the only ones, they could earn a lot of money.
As long as the bean products were seen in the market, many tofu makers would try to find out a way to produce something new. But they would not be able to figure it out so fast, so there was a chance for Yuezheng Xiao to take over the market first.
He had not eaten yubas or dried tofu, but the stirred crema skin had already surprised him and made him happy.
Qiao Xuan said that tofu cream skin could be stirred and fried with almost all vegetables and meat. They could be the wrap for different fillings to fry and cook, or boiled in hot water with or without spices. They were great ingredients for all kinds of dishes.
The best thing was that they could be sold at a very low price.
Therefore, once launched in the market, the products were going to be really popular.
Yuezheng Xiao was very glad. He always received wonderful news whenever he was here.
"l have got some good news for you too. I am not going to save it for tomorrow. I have held it in for too long! Brother Shao and Sister-in-law, the tea bricks worked! Thank you so much for helping us out, Sister-in-law!"
The Yuezheng Family's most important business was the tea leaves transported to the northwest. Now that the tea bricks were so well made, the Yuezheng Family's business would flourish from the foundation up.
The instruction Qiao Xuan gave to them in making tea bricks surprised all the masters, who were all experts and could tell whether the instructions were reliable with just one glimpse.
They had tried making it according to the instructions. There were some bumps in the process initially, but the direction and key points were all on the track, solving all the minor issues..
The tea bricks made according to this new process were not only firmer, more durable to store, but also better preserved the tea aroma and tea taste. Even when it was raining, it did not damage or affect the drinking experience or the quality of tea smell or the tea itself.
These were the best tea bricks that had ever been made!
The masters claimed that the Yuezheng Family had the best tea bricks for the whole country. There was no comparison between them and their competitors.
Yuezheng Hong and Old Master were both really glad. They started to process the tea bricks and got ready to have the tea transported northwards.
The Yuezheng Family's tea business would flourish even more with these tea bricks around. They were going to leap over more than three floors with this improvement.
Yuezheng Xiao's eyes were sparkling, as he narrated the whole story. He could not restrain his excitement and kept thanking the couple for what they had done for them.
Qiao Xuan was very glad because she could not possibly bring up her tea business alone as there were fixed clients for tea leaves who only bought the products from people they were familiar with.
Especially when you knew how excellent your products were but no one else did, it was very difficult to enter into the market, since you could not even put in money to advertise your products.
In all probability, before they were able to make it, they would be ruined by competitors.
Looking at the incident involving the fields of the Zhang Village… the Zhao Family were already trying to take revenge on them.
Also, even with instructions in her hand, she needed people with skillful technicians who could build up the whole thing, which was not easy.
Also, where would she find those people?
Such talents must have written years of contract with the masters. Or the masters' sons… so they were not to be acquired so easily.
For the Yuezheng Family, whose main business was tea, it was so easy to get the whole infrastructure without any headache. All she needed to do was to offer the instruction manual, which was useless for her but priceless for the
Yuezheng Family. Qiao Xuan did not think that it was a loss to have revealed it.
Now she knew that there was a good way to sell her tea leaves… not to forget the golden sprouts and lavender.
Yuezheng Xiao took out a box of brocade and asked Qu Shan to fetch a long case. "This is what you deserve. Please don't think that it is too little,"
"Anyway, if you need any help, just say it. I am not saying this out of politeness. Your timely help has saved our business, honestly!"
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look with each other. Yuezheng Xiao was speaking for the whole Yuzheng Family, who were grateful to them. So, they accepted the presents.
"Brother Yuezheng, you are so nice. We will accept the presents. Also, there is one thing we would like Brother Yuezheng to help us with," said Shao Yunduan politely.
Yuezheng Xiao asked him immediately. "What is it, please tell me Brother Shao!"
He was so eager to help them.
This meant that Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan regarded him as their best friend.
Shao Yunduan smiled and narrated the incident about them with Old Master Zhao.
Then he said, "l and my wife think that this issue should be dealt with directly and sharply.. So, Brother Yuezheng, could you please announce that the tea mountain and fields are your properties…"
Old Master Zhao was so stingy. Just because the seller did not want to give away the field cheaply, he decided to take revenge on those who bought the field.
Although he did not dare do anything more, the problem was not solved fundamentally.
It would be so annoying to confront tricky people again and again.
One would never know what was coming next.
If Yuezheng Xiao stepped forward, things would be different.
For one thing, if Yuezheng Xiao could announce that he had the fields and the tea mountain, at least, Old Master Zhao would not dare do anything about it.
More importantly, Shao Yunduan was going to take the examination soon and there should be no accident happening at that time.
Since Old Master Zhao had learned about the fields, then the tea mountains as well as the creeping fig fields would be exposed too. Maybe Qiao Wei and Madame Qiao would learn about them soon.
Especially those trees… if someone with knowledge noticed that they were golden sprouts and lavender…
Everything would turn into chaos!
Most importantly, Madame Qiao would get really furious as well!
Yuezheng Xiao looked really annoyed and said disdainfully, "How immoral! Shame on him. You are right, Brother Shao, Sister-in-law, such people always do whatever they want and we never know what they will come up with next.
"Brother Shao, you are soon going to take the examination, and you need to focus on your studies. If you are bothered by these things, it would be detrimental.'
That was what Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan believed too. They said, "Thank you so much, Brother Yuezheng!'
Yuezheng Xiao laughed. "No worries. This is nothing! You should be careful and just send people to the province to ask me for help, if you need anything!'
That made Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan feel assured. They thanked him again with a smile.
After a few more words, Yuezheng Xiao got up and left.
After he left, Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan looked at each other and started opening the two gift boxes.
They contained a contract of a house as well as details of profits in the smaller box.
The contract for the house was for a place located in the province, which included a very nice garden property of seven mu.
The location was in a very affluent place with convenient traffic and easy access to shopping. It had a really nice scene with a large lake next to it.
"This house is big, and located in such a great place. It must have cost thousands of liang! They are so generous!"
Apart from the house, the profit share given to them was 10%. The Yuezheng Family had a large business and 10% was too much. By this calculation, they would easily earn around 10,000 liang.
If the tea bricks were of great quality, and easy to preserve, the sales would rise too, and 20,000 to 30,000 liang a year for 10% of profits should be possible to reach.
So, if Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan did nothing for the rest of their lives, they would still have so much to live on.
The house in the province, and the profits… it was really too much.
Shao Yunduan sighed emotionally. "The Yuezheng Family is very generous! They have offered so much."
He smiled at Qiao Xuan. "Actually, it is all because of you, Darling!'
Qiao Xuan secretly felt proud. She blinked and smiled and said modestly, "l wasn't sure how much 1 could help, but the masters from the Yuezheng Family are very experienced, so they made it happen well."
She could tell that Shao Yunduan was genuinely praising her, and that made her very happy..
It was difficult to find someone who would not trap her in the backyard and support her in her career and even speak highly of her.
She was so lucky!
Shao Yunduan asked Qiao Xuan to put away the papers carefully.
Qiao Xuan put them into her space, to keep it safe.
In the other box, there were dozens of jewels and five or six pieces of jade.
The jewelry included a pair of jade bracelets, several hairpins inlaid with gemstones and pearls, two pairs of gold hairpins, and two pairs of gemstone earrings. It would not be too eye-catching when she wore it.
Qiao Xuan liked them and did not put them away until she played with them for a while.
Shao Yunduan said in a low voice, "l will buy you some when I start getting my salary as an officer, okay?"
Qiao Xuan laughed. "Okay, I will wait for your gifts."
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Yes, just wait for me!"
By that time, he would accompany her back to the Qiao mansion together in glory.
The next day, Yuezheng Xiao chose to head to the Zhao Family with Qu Shan.
Xie Jingrong remained at the Shao Family.
Qiao Xuan, together with Qi and Chunyu, planted the flowers and trees that Yuezheng Xiao had taken from his mother.
The flowers included hydrangea, tuberose, hosta, crape myrtle, hibiscus, chrysanthemum, osmanthus, and acacia. They had a lot of space spared for the plants but soon the space was filled up.
After a few months, the house would be filled with blooming flowers, with fragrance over the place.
Right after, they went to fish in the river.
Xie Jingrong had never seen such a scene before. He joined them for fun as well.
They planned to have a visit in the mountains, and hunt some animals.
They did not need to make the lipsticks since the flowers were not yet in full bloom. So, there were not too many things to do during this time. The two guests had not noticed the flower fields, and Qiao Xuan did not mention the topic, either. She did not want to show them this.
Flowers were not that interesting to see.
Also, she did not want to tell anyone about how to make the lipsticks.
She trusted Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong, but not the servants. They might not be up to anything bad, or reveal any secrets deliberately, but they might spill it unintentionally.
Qiao Xuan wanted to keep the making of lipsticks a secret for as long as possible.
When Old Master Zhao heard that Young Master Yuezheng was here for a visit, he thought that he had misheard his servant.
What?
But it did seem that Young Master Yuezheng would be here soon as per the message sent. Old Master Zhao sprang up quickly and said, "Go and fetch Young Master over! Housekeeper, come and greet Young Master Yuezheng with me!"
The Yuezheng Family had gained a good reputation in the county, and everyone knew them.
The Zhao Family was a leader in the county, but compared to the Yuezheng Family, they were nothing, not at the same level.
Now that Young Master Yuezheng was here personally, it made Old Master Zhao so glad..
Maybe the Yuezheng Family was trying to do some business in the county, and heard of their name, so they wanted to involve him as well.
If he could get involved with the Yuezheng Family, then his business would bloom!
This was such a great opportunity.
Old Master Zhao greeted Yuezheng Xiao and showed him in.
Yuezheng Xiao exchanged a few words with Old Master Zhao patiently and then stated his purpose. "Oh yes, you know about the Zhang Village, right? 1 heard from the Shao Family, who are in charge of my fields and tea fields, that you are very interested in my fields, is that true?"
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Yuezheng Xiao did not want to say that the person in charge was Brother Shao, and instead called it 'the Shao Family'.
Old Master Zhao was shocked.
The question was too sudden, just like Yuezheng Xiao's visit, which did not get through to Old Master Zhao even after quite some time.
But when he brought himself back, he could not even utter a word. '
"What?"
"So, you are the owner of the fields?!"
Old Master Zhao was shocked and suddenly understood what was happening.
No wonder…
He knew that a disgraced daughter of a concubine could not possibly have a large amount of dowry and the Shao Family was a poor peasant family who could not buy those fields.
Making a fortune was not so easy!
Everything made sense when the properties belonged to Young Master Yuezheng.
But as he thought about what he had done to get the properties, Old Master Zhao could not help but feel uncomfortable.
Old Master Zhao forced a smile. "That was a misunderstanding, Young Master Yuezheng. I did not know that the fields were yours… If 1 had known that… I mean, the Shao Family did not reveal a thing, so I just… 1 don't know what they meant by not telling me anything!'
"Don't worry, Young Master Yuezheng, since I know that those fields are
yours, I won't cause any trouble, don't worry!
Yuezheng Xiao was not worried and he simply looked at Old Master Zhao.
This old man bullied the weak and feared the strong.
He was not going to make it further in his life.
He said all of these as if he had done nothing wrong.
If he knew how much the Shao Family had for real, and if Brother Shao became successful in the future… What would this man do?
Yuezheng Xiao did not stay on any longer after he made it clear. "Good that you are aware of this, Old Master Zhao. I am not worried any more. Also, don't tell anyone else about this, thanks!" "Of course, of course! Don't worry, Young Master Yuezheng!'
"Thanks. I am leaving now, goodbye!'
Old Master Zhao was disappointed and tried his best to keep him. "Young Master Zhao, just stay for lunch. We don't have much expensive food here, but we have a few mountain goods… which are very interesting."
"No need, thanks. Next time I will do so!"
Old Master Zhao did not dare to keep him and forced a smile. "Okay, okay, please, if you come to us next time, we will receive you well, Young Master Yuezheng!'
Old Master Zhao's elder son Zhao Guangyin hurried back from the store soon after Yuezheng Xiao left.
He missed the special guest and noticed that his father was not in the right state. He asked the reason for it in a concerned voice..
Old Master Zhao sighed and narrated the whole unlucky thing to his son.
Zhao Guangyin was startled as well and lamented. "Dad, what was the point in doing this? If I had known about this earlier, 1 would have stopped you. We have so many fields, why are we obsessed with such small things?"
Old Master Zhao did not tell his son the whole truth. The reason why Old Master Zhao failed to get hold of the fields originally was because he had tried to make profits out of it.
Zhao Guangyin would have surely blamed him for what he had done, if he got to know the whole story.
Zhao Guangyin was the only clear-minded person in the whole family.
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But he had too many incapable partners, and he was too busy to care about what his family was doing. In other words, he had not expected that his family would be so unreliable.
Old Master Zhao sneered. "l need my reputation and that poor family was bullying me! "
"Father." Zhao Guangyin said honestly, "They aren't a poor family, when they dare to bully you!'
Old Master Zhao glared at him. '
Zhao Guangyin tried to explain it again. "You need to think about the series of events and feel lucky."
"Those properties belong to Young Master Yuezheng in the province… luckily he is not someone who likes to take revenge, otherwise we would be in big trouble.'
Old Master Zhao finally snapped. "Shut it. You are lecturing me? You rebellious kid!"
Zhao Guangyin sighed. '1 1 am not lecturing you. I am just telling you, Father…"
"That is enough! You can mind your own business now."
Old Master Zhao got so furious and felt humiliated.
Zhao Guangyin looked at him. "Ok. Take care of yourself, Father!"
He did not want to tear his father's fig leaf any more, so he turned around and
Old Master Zhao felt so annoyed. What an unlucky day!
He muttered in a low voice, and returned to his study.
But what Old Master Zhao and Zhao Guangyin had not expected was that Zhao Ming and her maid already eavesdropped on the whole story.
Zhao Ming had been listening since Old Master Zhao started the conversation.
Zhao Ming left when Zhao Guangyin started to lecture their father, fearing that her presence would cause embarrassment.
"The Cultivated Talent from the Shao Family? The concubine's daughter from
County Magistrate? That is Qiao Xuan, isn't it? How did they befriend Young
Master Yuezheng from the province?"
Zhao Ming snorted and turned to her maid. "What do you think Elder Miss
Qiao will do when she learns about this?"
Jiang sneered too. "l am not sure, but what I know is that Elder Miss Qiao doesn't like her sisters, and if Second Miss learns about this, she will definitely try to get closer to you and owe you a big favor."
Zhao Mings eyes brightened and she chuckled.
She heard that Qiao Xuan and the Cultivated Talent of the Shao Family bullied her father but her father did not dare do anything back.
If she told Elder Miss Qiao about this, then she would be included in the process if they wanted to do something to that girl, right?
Yuezheng Xiao preferred to eat at the Shao Family compared to eating at the Zhao Family. Qiao Xuan was very good at cooking and her dishes were made beautifully. Even simple ingredients could lead to excellent results.
So, he hurried back to the Shao Family after he left the Zhao Family. He wanted to have lunch at the Shao Family..
When Yuezheng Xiao returned to the village, the first section of the Shao family were busy making lunch!
They had caught a lot of fish and shrimps from the river and the seafood porridge was being cooked.
They specially selected fresh prawns, removed the prawn lines, added eel segments, and marinated thinly sliced fish filets. When the porridge was almost cooked, they put all these fresh fish into the porridge.
The rice porridge was put to boil again. After a while, they added a small amount of homemade soybean paste, stir-fried crushed peanuts, added chopped green onion and coriander, and then put in a small amount of salt. The delicious seafood porridge was ready.
The fish filets were tender and smooth, and the shrimp and eel segments were mouth-watering. The surface was wrapped in a layer of rice porridge with a fragrant smell of rice.
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The porridge made with fresh ingredients was so appealing.
They did not steam rice for lunch, instead a basket of steamed buns with diced smoked meat, diced bamboo shoots, and diced mushrooms as fillings was prepared.
They had a good harvest on this day. While cooking porridge, they picked a Dot of finger-sized small fish, wraDDed it in egg batter and deep-fried it.
Everything was freshly cooked and crispy.
They added a bowl of kimchi, a few sliced salted duck eggs, and a bowl of fried chili sauce with dried radish and river shrimp. Although it was homely, it was delicious.
Qiao Xuan understood that Ms. Yan had been eating a lot at her own home and liked fish, so she picked two crucian carps for her to eat, and even asked if the third section of the family wanted to have it.
The other sections of the family learned that the first section of the family was ignoring them, thanks to the guest and the busy spring day, and Shao Liulang was absent too, whilst Silang was working for the Yan Family, so they did not pester the first section of the family again.
Shao Meiling was already engaged, and Ms. Niu could not possibly let her join them.
Shao Xiaozhi was too timid to show up, even though Ms. Ma asked her to.
Ms. Ma's face sank when she saw the fish delivered by Qiao Xuan and Taotao. This thing was not tasty at all!
Ms. Ma did not like it, but it was a free gift that could be used to feed the chicken. So, she accepted it anyway.
Taotao pursed her lips, complaining in a small voice. "What is wrong with the
Third Aunt-in-law? She always looks as if we owe her everything."
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Isn't that what she is always like?"
Nis. Yan was very glad to accept the gift happily.
She saw how Qiao Xuan cooked the fish. What it needed was to figure out how much oil, salt, ginger, scallions and sauce to be added so that the smell could be removed. Then, it was fried in the hot oil with garlic and pepper, simple, yet delicious.
Now that she was a great hero in the family, Ms. Niu might utter a few words in distress yet she did not dare to comment on how much oil she used to cook the fish.
She could just ignore the nagging.
Qiao Xuan would not invite Ms. Yan over for lunch since they had male guests at home. It was not proper at all.
Ms. Yan processed the two fishes cheerfully but was seen by Ms. Zhang, who fanned away the smell and said, "You are in a good relationship with the first section of the family, but look at what trash they have sent you? You won't be able to eat this thing, will you?"
She added. "But then… aren't you always a good friend with your Fifth Sister-in-law? Why were you not invited to have lunch with them when they have a guest over and instead gave you such a terrible piece of trash? They don't like me, but they like you, right?"
Ms. Yan frowned.
Ms. Zhang was getting more and more ridiculous in her behavior when no one was around..
On most days, she either ignored her or countered her.
Any other normal person would have been pissed off by Ms. Zhang.
Ms. Yan washed the fish and smiled briefly. "Second Sister-in-law, the guests at Uncle and Aunt's home are men. I as a woman need to avoid being with them. I can't just show myself at the doorstep, can l? You dislike the fish, but I don't. You should not eat it when 1 cook it for lunch, understand?"
Ms. Zhang sneered. "l won't like it!"
Ms. Yan ignored her. She went into the kitchen and recalled the way Qiao Xuan had made fish and followed suit.
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She put oil into the pan, and when it smoked, she put the fish with sliced ginger in it. Then came the sizzling sound.
Ms. Niu was picking vegetables in the garden but she smelled something really delicious yet strange. She was drooling and could not help but wonder if it was the first section of the family who had some food delivered here. She rushed into the kitchen.
Much to her surprise, it was Ms. Yan who was cooking.
The fish in the pot was laden with garlic sprouts and chili peppers. It was oily and steaming in the gurgling thick soup. It smelled and looked delicious.
But Ms. Niu felt very concerned. "Oh, Ms. Yan, you have used so much oil! We can't just ruin the ingredients!"
Ms. Yan did not panic when she faced Ms. Niii's cry. She smiled. "Mom, it doesn't happen often, and not much oil has been used. Also, we can afford this much splurge once in a while. I did this so that it tastes well. Let's just give it a try."
Ms. Niu was reminded of the situation. Her both sons had wives, and one of her daughters was already married off. Her younger son was walking for the Yan Family, bringing 700 wen a month, and her elder son should be there soon.
So, she felt much more confident and generous. She felt that a good dream was coming soon. But when she thought of how the Yan Family made this happen and that she could not offend the Yan Family, she calmed down.
She forced a wide smile and said, "Okay, okay, just once. This is akin to ruining things. We need money for many things!'
Ms. Yan smiled. "Sure, Mom!"
She would bother about next time when that time came.
Ms. Yan did not care about her mother-in-law's words.
The fish was big, and Ms. Yan fried one but saved another for deeper cooking at night when her husband returned at night. She hid it under a big bowl.
They had two other dishes to go with it, and that was enough for lunch.
The fish was very well cooked, and Ms. Niu as well as Second Uncle both spoke highly of it.
Second Uncle said in distress, "No wonder the first section of the family fishes in the river all the time. It tastes so good!"
Ms. Niu found it delicious too. But she was still distressed by how much oil was used. "It costs too much to make it. Of course, it tastes good, it has so many condiments in it… the first section of the family… well…"
The first section had Qiao Xuan's dowry that made them afford everything. They had nothing!
Ms. Yan smiled. "Mom, it is okay if we cook like this three or four times a month, right? We have fish in the river, and we can get them for free. The cost will only be of the oil and soy sauce, which costs far less than meat. Also, it tastes as good as other meat… right, Second Sister-in-law?"
Ms. Zhang stiffened and became really annoyed..
When Ms. Yan was processing the fish, Ms. Zhang made disdainful comments. She kept saying that she would not eat it, but in the end, she ate most of the fish.
Ms. Yan did not stop her from touching it, but she wanted to stimulate her.
Ms. Zhang could tell that she was being sarcastic. She snorted and said nothing, and suddenly felt that the fish was not that delicious any more.
Ms. Niu rolled at Ms. Zhang. "What does she know? She only knows how to eat!"
Ms. Zhang felt even more annoyed, and her hands holding the chopsticks shook visibly.
Ms. Yan smiled and felt quite cheerful in heart.
Second Uncle said, "Ms. Yan is right. We have fish in the river and it costs nothing to catch it. All that costs is the oil, which in the end is still lower than meat. We can eat it a few times every month."
Ms. Niu thought for a while and responded. "True. We can ask the first section of the family to give us some fish when we need it."
Second Uncle nodded in agreement.
Ms. Yan was speechless.
She would have snapped at these people if they were not her in-laws.
"Dad, Mom! There are many fish in the river. Silang and I can fetch some from the river. The first section of the family has some tools which we can borrow."
Ms. Zhang sneered coldly. "Fourth Sister-in-law, aren't you their good friend? Can't they just spare you some free fish? Otherwise, I don't think that you need to visit them any more!"
Before Ms. Niu could say anything, Ms. Yan replied. "You are wrong, Second Sister-in-law. We live separately and can't just take other people's things for our own use all the time. If they come to our home and pick our stuff, will you be happy to accept it? I will not! Also, fish are in the river and we can learn to catch the fish from them so we can get it ourselves. Why do you always say things like this?"
They were just making themselves look more annoying in front of the first section of the family.
Ms. Niu.
She felt that she was also being referred to in the speech, but she had no evidence for that.
Ms. Zhang had no proof either, but she wanted to cause some trouble, so she asked. "Fourth Sister-in-law, your words are way over the top. How dare you say this to Niom?"
"When did I refer to Mom? Second Sister-in-law, please clarify!'
Ms. Yan plonked the chopsticks, and stared at Ms. Zhang with a sunken face.
Ms. Zhang was speechless.
It had been a veiled comment and could not be proved clearly. She could not say that Ms. Niu liked taking advantage of people who were in front of her.
If she said so, Ms. Niu would definitely teach her a lesson.
Ms. Zhang said casually, 'You don't agree with Mom's suggestion of asking for fish from the first section of the family."
Ms. Yan responded cleverly. "l don't. What is wrong with it? Silang and I can both get the fish home ourselves, why turn to someone else?"
Ms. Zhang.
Ms. Yan sneered. "Second Sister-in-law, don't try to start an in-fight. Think before you speak! "
Ms. Niu felt that she had thought too much about Ms. Yan's words, after hearing what Ms. Zhang said.
So, she admonished Ms. Zhang. "Just stop it, you fool!"
Ms. Zhang got so furious that she almost left the table.
Everyone was against her and looking down at her! Even Ms. Yan, a younger sister-in-law, dared to confront her!
Ms. Yan also dropped the topic of getting fish from the first section of the family, when her in-laws said nothing more about it..
Ms. Yan simply assumed that her in-laws agreed with what she said.
She felt so stressed living with them. If they could live separately, that would be great, even if it meant that she and her husband must support the parents.
At the first section of the family, everyone was eating lunch in a cheerful atmosphere. Yuezheng Xiao suddenly patted his forehead, exclaiming that he had forgotten something. He asked Qu Shan and the coachman to fetch it from the wagon.
This bundle contained the stems of some kind of plant. It was less than 1.5 meters long, a little thicker than the thumb, and a small bundle of about forty or fifty stems.
It was so big that it was placed under the wagon, which Yuezheng Xiao could not remember when he was carrying the other things out.
Everyone was curious about what was carried in.
But Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled and she cried in surprise. "It is cassava! Oh Young Master Yuezheng, you have really got me cassavas. How wonderful! Thank you so much!"
The others were very curious. What were cassavas?
Shao Sanlang and his wife lost interest immediately. This did not look like food.
Qiao Xuan cherished the bundle and smiled. "It is a precious thing. It can grow anywhere, just like taros, easy to grow in the soil. After we dig it out, we can remove the skin, bleach it, steam, boil and bake it, and then eat it. Otherwise, we can also mash it to extract starch, which can be used to make various pastries… it is a precious thing!'
More importantly, with cassavas available, she could open dessert stores in the near future. The flour could be used to make taro balls and even milk-tea with small balls.
"That is all food!"
"So amazing, it should be tasty!'
Everyone was pleasantly surprised and interested after hearing the explanation.
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "I wrote a letter to my Elder Brother about this and he inquired about these foreign seeds. So the seeds were found! They said that the plant would live once it touched the soil. Not sure if that is true!" Qiao Xuan smiled. "l have never tried that before, but I believe it."
She had no idea how to plant it, but she could ask the space for help.
It was cut into sections of two or three inches long with an oblique knife edge, as long as there were bud bags and cuttings on each section, it could stay alive.
The stalks appeared to be dormant currently, but still alive. It could not be kept for too long. If the buds were still for too long, it would simply become a bundle of dry firewood.
So, Qiao Xuan asked Shao Sanlang to store the bunch in the cellar, and decided to find a corner place to plant in the garden.
After this, she was going to buy hundreds of mu of fields, even slopes, for next year's planting.
It also depended on the dessert stores' requirements. So, 40 mu should be enough for the next year and more could be planted in the future.
Qiao Xuan was not very assured to plant this in the Zhang Village.
New things were always very interesting for villagers to see. She could watch over it if the plants were here, but not in the Zhang Village.
For example, if she wanted to expand the scale of snow fungus, then she would need to build a huge house in the village or close to the village and enclose the plants, so that no one could steal them.
Everyone became really interested in this new item. As a result, in the afternoon, Qiao Xuan, Taotao and Yang Xiaoni made jelly with brown sugar water..
Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao were very interested in going to the mountains. In the following three days, Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan accompanied them into the mountain all the time. They were not tired and even hunted many animals, and found a lot of mountain stuff, making them more and more fascinated.
Qiao Xuan was lucky enough to have found some wild-growing snow fungus as well as two Ganoderma lucidum.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong had never had the experience of finding precious things personally, so they were both very surprised.
Qiao Xuan and the others did not think that the experience was strange. They asked the two young masters to take the precious things they picked back to their homes.
She had so many snow fungus in the space, dozens of bundles, so, these were not at all precious to her.
Three days later, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong went back in satisfaction. They both wanted to visit the place next time.
Yuezheng Xiao even carried back one batch of completed lipsticks this time, 420 pieces in total.
The two of them had a few local stuff, including yubas, dried tofu, tofu cream skin and puffs received from the Yan Family.
Yuezheng Xiao was going to talk about the bean product business with his father. He even expressed that he would ask a good manager to pass on congratulations on behalf of the Yuezheng Family when the Yan Family's workshop started.
That was going to be done mainly for the Yan Family.
In this way, no competitors would dare to pull any tricks.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan agreed. It was always good to be prepared.
If the Yuezheng Family paid attention to this business, they did not need to worry about anything any more.
The Yan Family's bean products, including tofu, would definitely sell well.
After the guests left, Shao Yunduan was asked to go back and study, whilst the others started to get busy with other things.
They first planted cassavas, then took honey, beeswax, and divided the bee colony for lipsticks.
Yuezheng Xiao had delivered the tubes for the limited version lipsticks. They needed to hurry up so they could be sold in the market in the first quarter of the year.
It was good that they had six more maids to help them, so they could work faster.
Shao Liulang returned from the college two days after Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong left.
There was a one-month holiday from every college in the busy spring plow time every year. Shao Liulang stayed back for a couple of days at the college even though the holiday started two days earlier.
The moment he came home, he rushed to the first section of the family, asking Ms. Fang. "Eldest Aunt, where is my cousin? Did you have guests a few days ago? Why did no one inform me about it?" Ms. Fang.
Liulang was almost as stubborn as his Eldest Uncle…
Why should he be informed about the arrival of the guests? Ms. Fang felt lucky that Shao Liulang had not been here in those days.
"Why did we need to inform you? How is it related to you? Young Master Xie never even asked about you."
Shao Liulang felt irritated. "Young Master Xie is a scholar and he and his friends are elegant people. You would not know how to treat them well! Cousin alone is not enough, I should have come and helped you."
Ms. Fang turned impatient. "That is enough. They had a great time here with us. There was no need for any help from you! You either go home to help with labor or study in your room!"
"You! I can't get the message through your head ever!"
Ms. Fang snorted, thinking that he was the one who could not figure out the truth. Duan had already told him straightforwardly what he thought and this man still believed in himself.
He still behaved as if Duan was trying to stop him and the guests from hanging out together..
He needed to speak with the guests and figure that out.
If the guests really wanted to befriend him, Shao Yunduan would have gone and asked him and if he was needed, he could even be informed at the college.
But no one asked for him.
Shao Liulang still believed that Shao Yunduan must have set this up, because
Shao Yunduan did not want to let him hang out with anyone. He had failed the examinations a few times, and even though he did not say anything, Shao Liulang was panicking inside the heart.
That was why he wanted to befriend some wealthy and talented people desperately so as to show that he was capable enough to be recognized, and also gain their help.
Hence, he felt furious when he heard his mother telling him about the guests at the first section of the family.
Obviously, he would only blame others for this.
He felt that what belonged to him was stolen away by Shao Yunduan…
Shao Liulang felt that his Eldest Aunt was just being unreasonable, so he went straight into Shao Yunduan's yard to speak to him.
But the door was shut from inside. He did not manage to push it open.
"Open the door, Cousin!"
Shao Liulang banged the door.
No one answered it.
Shao Liulang continued.
The two doors were sealed.
Nis. Fang laughed and turned around.
Shao Liulang was very loud so Shao Yunduan heard his voice through the open window, thus shutting the door early on.
He was not going to talk with him about this any more.
Absolute waste of effort!
It was correct what his wife had said earlier. One could never wake up someone who pretended to sleep.
He was going to see how much longer Shao Liulang was going to pretend to be asleep.
The door was not opened after a long while, and he finally got tired. He turned to go back to Ms. Fang. "Eldest Aunt, why is the door shut?"
Ms. Fang answered casually. "He is studying, so he doesn't hear or respond to anyone. You know that when Yunduan is devoted towards his studies, he cuts himself away from everything. If you want to speak with him, you can come back tomorrow. "
Shao Liulang was very stupid and easy to deal with. Funny and annoying.
Ms. Fang made only casual efforts to push him away.
Shao Liulang felt so irritated. He felt that the first section of the family was getting very unfriendly.
He claimed himself to be a learned man, and had no words to argue further with Ms. Fang. Shao Yunduan ignored him, so he really was at a loss.
"Alright, I will come back tomorrow…"
Shao Liulang left with his head lowered.
Ms. Fang pursed her lips, and shut the gate.
But Shao Liulang showed up in the evening again.
The family was home and it was bustling in the yard. Shao Yunduan was just speaking with Qiao Xuan after reading the book for the entire day.
Shao Liulang accused Shao Yunduan of not inviting him over but Shao Yunduan did not want to deal with him, leaving Shao Liulang talking on his own.
Eldest Uncle could not stand such behavior from his son. He consoled Shao Liulang and then looked at Shao Yunduan. "Yunduan, do remember to inform your cousin when you have guests coming over next time. You are all learned people, and you can have a lively talk. If you share some ideas, you can help each other improve."
Shao Yunduan replied calmly hearing this usual talk from his father. "Brother
Xie doesn't know Cousin well enough.."
Shao Liulang got so irritated when he heard that. "But… we had such a nice conversation last time!"
Shao Yunduan. "Still, none of them mentioned cousins at any point in time.
Did you ever hear them mention him, Dad?"
Eldest Uncle got stuck in words.
Shao Liulang turned furious. "You must have messed it up! You are just jealous of me!"
Qiao Xuan blinked her eyes, looking confused. "But Cousin, why must you befriend Young Master Xie? You have so many disciples at the college whom you can befriend, right?"
Shao Yunduan turned a smiling face at Qiao Xuan.
Shao Liulang stiffened. Why must he befriend Young Master Xie? They were Shao Yunduan's friends and, of course, they were going to stand by Shao Yunduan's side. He would not get anything good out of them.
He knew that. But he just did not feel convinced. He wanted to put Shao
Yunduan into shadow.
"Just wait and see!"
Shao Liulang left the place in anger. He was going to surpass Shao Yunduan in the future.
Qiao Xuan felt that Ms. Yan had already controlled the second section of the family by gathering forces with Shao Silang. Ms. Niu and Second Uncle were focused on the Yan Family, so they had not disturbed them for a while.
They would stop coming to the first section of the family when they found that the Yan Family could earn them money, and it would help them live a better life.
But the third section of the family was still a very difficult thorn to deal with.
Shao Liulang was incapable, but arrogant, thinking highly of himself. If he failed the examination every time, he would keep babbling. If he did make it through… he would not be a good officer. He would only cause trouble, for himself and others.
Qiao Xuan hoped that he would never make it to the Cultivated Talent.
Back at home, Ms. Ma felt so sorry for Shao Liulang.
She said angrily, "I know they are all bad people. They want us to have bad luck. Just don't visit them any more. Shao Yunduan will distract you due to which you may not be able to clear your exams. You should study hard so that he can shut up one and for all!"
Shao Liulang felt even worse.
Of course, he knew that he could shut him up in this way.
But it was very difficult to pass the exam.
He had thought that it was very easy to make it to Cultivated Talent, and he even aimed at becoming an Advanced Scholar. At the time, he never cared about the title of Cultivated Talent.
But…
He was not at all confident about any of this any longer.
Days passed, and all the preparations were done. The cassavas started to bud. Qiao Xuan found the green scenery so beautiful and lovely!
When it matured in autumn and they got the flour, they could make all kinds of soft and chewy taro balls, and balls for bubble tea. They could also mix the flour with pure flour or glutinous rice flour to make various glutinous rice cakes, dim sums, etc.
Qiao Xuan spared some time to take Qi and Taotao into the town and sold the honey to Manager Qin. Then, they visited the land agent to buy the slope located next to the flower field.
The field was bought and other work should be done after the farming period was over. Then, it would be time to concentrate on cassavas.
The plants needed to be planted on the mountain, shielded from animals, so the villagers would not find that interesting.
If someone wanted to plant it next year, she would even provide free stems and teach how to plant it, as well as teach different ways to eat taros and to make it.
They could start to plant watermelons after the visit from town.
She was also going to ask Ding Erzhu and others to plant some watermelons at the Zhang Village this year..
Qiao Xuan did not want Shao Yunduan to tag along. But Shao Yunduan wasn't assured that she should face it alone.
He spared some time to keep her company.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni followed up after getting the approval of Ms. Fang, since they were done with their work.
They were greedy for the food in the town.
Qiao Xuan cooked well, but there were many interesting things to eat in the town as well. Foodies never turned away any opportunity to eat.
So, the brothers and sisters, six people altogether, went into the town together.
The donkey cart was not enough to hold them all, due to the people on it and the honey.
Shao Sanlang hired the bull cart to carry the honey, and rode it with Yang Xiaoni.
Manager Qin had been missing them after not seeing them for a long time, and mentioned this when they reached Mingren Tang.
The honey which Qiao Xuan offered was so good that there were no impurities inside. It was of a great quality.
Manager Qin bought all the 130 kgs of honey they had brought, and they only had 15 kgs left for their own use.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan separated from the others after this, and decided to meet again at Manager Qin's place in the afternoon.
The couple went to find the land agent.
The land agent felt very guilty about what happened to them at the Zhang Village. Hearing that they were going to buy more land, he promised that he was going to make sure that all went well this time around.
Ding Jiahao was not the Land Officer for the village, but someone from the Shao Family. So they could easily get the barren land, which Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were not worried about.
100 mu sounded like a large area, but the slope did not seem like a big place visually.
They could plant the cassavas on the slope, which fitted the geography well.
They decided to buy something on the street when they ran into the wagon from the Qiao Mansion.
It was Madame Qiao's mam maid, and she stopped when she saw ,Liao Xuan and Shao Yunduan. She had the wagon pulled over and called out their names.
"Second Miss, and Second Young Master, what a coincidence! Old Master and Madame Qiao were just about to invite you home. Come with me, please!" Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look and were taken aback.
This was not a coincidence! If they had not run into the woman, she would be heading towards Shaoding Village to find them. That would have been horrible.
The big house was not as magnificent as that in the town, but for villagers, it was already huge.
If Madame Qiao learned about that, it would be bad.
But why were they being invited to the mansion?
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Do you know what they want me for?"
Auntie Ling smiled. "l am not sure. You will know when you reach there. Come in, please."
Qiao Xuan had foreseen that Auntie Ling would not tell them anything, but she could tell that it was not something good.
"You can go first and inform them. I will be there with my husband."
Auntie Ling answered happily, since she had not wanted to share the wagon with them anyways. "Please, Second Miss, and Second Young Master, don't make Old Master and Madame Qiao wait for long."
"Sure."
Auntie Ling said no more and asked the coachman to head back to the mansion..
Auntie Ling did not believe that the couple would dare turn her down.
In fact, she was right.
The couple exchanged a look between themselves.
The look spoke louder than any words.
It must be because of the Zhao Family.
Officer Qiao had already given up on his daughter and the poor countryside son-in-law. They had no interest in them at all.
Same went for Madame Qiao.
Unless… there were other reasons.
They must have heard about the Zhang Village from the Zhao Family, or even about Yuezheng Xiao. That was why they needed to ask the couple what was going on.
Old Master Zhao was a very stingy and narrow-minded person. Yuezheng
Xiao's appearance had suppressed him, but he could have sold them out to Officer Qiao.
In fact, they made a mistake thinking Old Master Zhao had done this. It was Zhao Ming who revealed it. But for Zhao Mings mother who had been sick a while ago, County Magistrate Qiao would have summoned them a few days earlier…
"Anyway, let's see what is going on. First of all, we need to decide upon what we are going to say."
Shao Yunduan answered and consoled her. "Don't worry. We can always head to the province for a few days."
Officer Qiao and Madame Qiao would not be able to do anything to them when they were in the province, which was very far away.
Also, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong would be of help if they needed it.
They could repay the favor in the future, if they took one now.
They were just unlucky enough to have run into a shameless couple like County Magistrate Qiao and his wife.
Qiao Xuan agreed. She was much calmer now and nodded with a smile. "This is enough! We have nothing to worry about now!"
The couple sorted through the whole thing about the Zhang Village and decided to make it look like it was Yuezheng Xiao's business. They bore all of these points in mind.
After this, they would write a letter to Yuezheng Xiao and ask him to handle it accordingly.
In this way, Officer Qiao would not have any way to find evidence to the contrary.
They headed to the mansion after they reached an agreement.
They were not delayed by too long on the way.
The longer they lingered, the more angry the people waiting would become. There was no need to irritate them now.
In the hall of the Qiao Mansion, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan walked in and sensed the seriousness floating in the air.
Madame Qiao and County Magistrate Qiao cast a sharp look at them.
Qiao Wei was present there too. She screamed. "How dare you two!"
Concubine Du and Qiao Kou were not present. They were not qualified enough to hear the interrogation.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were startled, and turned to the main seat in confusion.
"Greetings, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law! "
"Greetings, Father and Mother!"
The couple stepped forward and greeted them calmly.
Madame Qiao sneered.
Qiao Wei interrogated again. "How did you get in touch with the Yuezheng
Family? When did that happen? How dare you conceal that from us!"
"Bah!" Officer Qiao sounded furious, asking coldly. "Did you hear what Wei said? Spill it now!"
Shao Yunduan was startled, as if he had no idea what made the Qiao Family so angry. He replied calmly. "Father-in-law, that happened last year. We were working in the mountains, when we ran into some wild watermelons, so we picked them…"
"What! Watermelons?"
Qiao Wei shouted. She felt even more annoyed.
That was what she had been dreaming about since last year and she wished to have a lot of them. But she failed to eat any, and that made her so uncomfortable in the past summer.
But Qiao Xuan and this man found watermelons?!
Both Officer Qiao and Madame Qiao became annoyed as well.
"Yeah." Shao Yunduan was confused. He sounded quite normal, and reacted to them in a confused manner which surprised them.
"We picked many watermelons to take home, and happened to run into Young
Master Yuezheng and Young Master Xie. Young Master Yuezheng was very
interested in the watermelons so he bought them all right away. He gave us some extra money as well. They asked where we found them… that was how we befriended each other.'
"Later, Young Master Yuezheng decided to open tea fields at the Zhang Village, saying that the mountains are very good and the soil is rich, so he bought many fields at the Zhang Village, when someone was selling the paddy fields. He bought them all and hired us to take care of them because he was too far away to take care of them."
Officer Qiao's face stiffened. "Why you?"
Shao Yunduan looked very calm and thought for a while in a leisurely manner. "l asked Young Master Yuezheng the reason as well. I am not experienced, right? I may ruin things. But Young Master Yuezheng said that I was the best candidate for the job, so I accepted it. Also, I can earn 2 liang a month, which is a great deal, thus I signed the contract…"
Qiao Xuan had her head lowered and was almost ready to burst out with laughter.
Her husband sounded really excited and proud as he mentioned the income of 2 liang. It all sounded so real.
They had more than 120,000 liang in cash currently and their properties would be worth more than 20,000 liang. They were constantly generating money from lipsticks, and soon they would start getting profits from tea bricks and bean products as well as the dessert stores that would be launched soon.
Her husband did not look like a liar when he spoke with so much conviction and vigor. It was so funny.
She would have absolutely trusted his words if she had not known the truth.
She simply decided to hide herself next to this big-actor husband of hers…
Officer Qiao and his family bought his story, and they all looked very disdainful.
Madame Qiao and Qiao Wei were also thinking that this man was so shallow-minded to be this happy at being paid 2 liang a month!
Officer Qiao was also very disappointed and angry, feeling that he had missed the best time to establish a relationship with the Yuezheng Family. How stupid was that!
Maybe this man did not even know what the Yuezheng Family was like in the province!
"You are telling the truth?"
"Of course! I am not bold enough to lie to you, Officer father-in-law!"
"I don't think you do! If I find otherwise, I will punish you!" Officer Qiao sounded fierce and snapped at Shao Yunduan. "Why didn't you tell us about this important thing? I am your father-in-law, Officer Qiao!'
That was the most annoying part.
Shao Yunduan showed a very strange expression. He was startled and said, "l didn't think that this was an important thing, Officer Father-in-law. You are busy with so many issues, and I didn't realize that you would be interested in a matter that brings in 2 liang a month. I would have told you, had I known about this…
"What 2 liang!'! Officer Qiao snapped. "l don't care about the 2 liang, I am talking about…"
Officer Qiao was so angry that he could not say anything further..
Officer Qiao leveled a disdainful look at Shao Yunduan.
Stupid, annoying and narrow-minded man! He would never advance any further in his life!
Two liang was nothing! He did not give a damn about the money. He cared about the connection with Young Master Yuezheng and the Yuezheng Family from the province!
That was the Yuezheng Family from the province! They had such a huge business even spread across the northwest, and they were in touch with the capital as well! They might not be as good as the Xie Family, but they could bring them great benefits if they built a friendship with each other!
He needed money to get himself back to the capitol.
This stupid man did not know anything about the Yuezheng Family. He had no idea what he had missed.
"If Young Master Yuezheng drops by next time, 1 should be informed directly, understood?"
"Yes, Officer Father-in-law!"
Officer Qiao frowned, thinking that this title felt so annoying. But this low-class countryside man was his son-in-law and he could not be stopped from calling him father-in-law.
Officer Qiao felt even worse.
"You remember the Young Master next to Young Master Yuezheng?"
Yuezheng Xiao was always together with Xie Jingrong, which was a fact and they knew that well.
Shao Yunduan nodded. "Yes, a very noble-looking, and handsome young master. But he doesn't like to talk much.'
Officer Qiao snorted. That was Young Master Xie, the lineal eldest grandson of the real noble family. It was enough that he was seen by Shao Yunduan.
Officer Qiao thought to himself. 'He would never talk with someone like you, stupid son-in-law!'
Shao Yunduan was very good at reading Officer Qiao's mind. So, Officer Qiao did not doubt what he said.
He opened his mouth and closed again. He was not going to tell Shao Yunduan who Young Master Xie was. He did not deserve that! What was the point of telling him who Young Master Xie was?
Young Master Xie would not even lay his eyes on him or befriend him!
If Officer Qiao knew that Young Master Xie had given Shao Yunduan all the excellent sample texts and books and taken him to the high-profile gathering held for the literati, and even expressed that he wanted to help Shao
Yunduan's younger brother Qi, Officer Qiao would probably vomit out blood.
Officer Qiao said, "Anyway, they are all noble people. You have to inform me when you meet again. Be careful not to offend them! Ddon't be greedy so as to take advantage of them, understood?"
"Yes, Officer Father-in-law!"
Officer Qiao took a deep breath and was in a better mood.
But after a moment, he felt annoyed again when he thought of what he had missed.
This son-in-law of his was totally useless!
Qiao Wei clenched her teeth. "You talked about watermelons?"
Madame Qiao was upset too, and threw a displeased look at the couple.
Shao Yunduan showed a confused look, and nodded. "Yeah…
"Why didn't you deliver those watermelons to us?!"
Qiao Wei had been holding back this question for so long. She did not dare disturb her father when he was discussing serious business. When her father was finally done, she burst out.
Shao Yunduan still looked confused, asking hesitantly. "Those are just some wild-growing fruits from the fields, and can't be used as a present. We did not dare give them out as presents to you. Do you like them? How unfortunate!"
Shao Yunduan looked as if he really thought it was unfortunate.
Qiao Wei was totally gagged with anger..
She could not just say that she wanted it! That would make her look greedy for things from the countryside!
Madame Qiao answered instead of her. "Watermelons are the best fruits to drive away thirst in summer. And they can't be found anywhere. You don't know about this, but Xuan, you should know it, right?"
They just did not know how to respect parents. How heartless they were!
Officer Qiao snorted and turned to look at Qiao Xuan in displeasure.
Qiao Xuan looked very weak as she looked up at them three, replying in a small voice. "l didn't know…
Madame Qiao was startled and thought of how Qiao Xuan never got to eat watermelons. Qiao Xuan was always very quiet and she never went out of the yard. So, it was reasonable that she did not know about it.
Qiao Wei snorted. "Now you know what they are. If you find them henceforth, you should give them to us!"
Qiao Xuan nodded anxiously. "l will bear that in mind."
Shao Yunduan added his words as well. "You like watermelons… I will try to find them this year. Ah… I don't remember where I found them last year…"
Officer Qiao's family had a bad look on their faces.
The couple was so annoying.
Officer Qiao asked more about the tea fields and other business, but Shao Yunduan displayed limited knowledge.
Officer Qiao believed his words completely. Young Master Yuezheng had just asked him to take care of the fields and he did not need to do anything else. He should have no knowledge of anything.
Since the properties weren't theirs, Officer Qiao and Madame Qiao lost interest but stressed to them that they should report to them when Young Master Yuezheng came over next time around. Then, they let them leave.
Qiao Xuan felt that her throat was parched when they left. They had not even had a sip of water after they walked into the mansion.
But Qiao Xuan was not angry. She regarded the Qiao Family as strangers, and she was not going to change her opinion.
"Are you thirsty, darling? Let's drink some tea at the tea house."
"Okay, let's go and drink some tea and then go home."
They smiled at each other.
It cost dozens of wen in the tea house. Shao Yunduan earned 2 liang a month, so they could afford the visit to the tea house.
This matter was handled well but they were going to a letter to Yuezheng Xiao to explain the matter.
Yuezheng Xiao needed to be careful about sending his men in the future.
But they were not going to be like this for long. When Shao Yunduan became the Recommended Man, and went further up the next level, the Qiao Family would not be able to control him.
It was already very lucky for them to live to the present time. If the Qiao Family learned the truth, they might have a different reaction…
After the tea house, they went back to the clinic. The family gathered there and bought some fresh meat, before heading home together.
They were startled today, so they needed to eat something nice to soothe their nerves. Fresh pork belly was cooked and steamed, half of the pork ribs were roasted with fresh bamboo shoots, and half of them were made into a sweet and sour dish.
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan did not tell anyone in the family about the matter at her natal family.
The following day, Qiao Xuan started to plant watermelons.
Unfortunately, due to what happened the day before, she could not plant watermelons in Zhang Village. She did not want to cause any further trouble..