61 Rabbit Nest
Qiao Xuan picked two more orchids but there was no activity in the space.
After the orchids were taken, they continued to hunt prey.
Qiao Xuan suddenly felt that the superpower was expanding. It was getting more sensitive as well.
It was getting late and they headed home.
Shao Xiaoqi had hunted three roosters, but Qiao Xuan did not have time to boost him.
She thought for a while and decided to drop the idea. Too many prey might draw attention, and this amount was enough.
She had the superpower, with which she did not have to worry about anything.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao thought the same. So they went to pick the chopped trees and started to head home.
But suddenly, on the way home Qiao Xuan sensed a big activity. On a hill 30 meters away from them, there were hundreds of wild rabbits that had dug hundreds of nests, thanks to the terrain.
It was indeed a kingdom of rabbits!
Qiao Xuan got so overjoyed.
She paused and turned in that direction. "There is a wild grape tree growing really vividly at that place. I want to take it home!"
Her small request was not turned down by anyone from the team.
So they decided to head towards that place.
Then, Shao Xiaoqi accidentally noticed the rabbits on the hill and as he took a closer look in that direction. He saw that there were so many of them!
"Fifth Brother, Fifth Sister-in-law, Taotao, just come and see! There are so many wild rabbits here! This must be their kingdom! How wonderful!"
Shao Xiaoqi's eyes sparkled. He was really excited.
Shao Taotao cheered. "Remember this place. Henceforth, we will have endless wild rabbits to eat!"
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. "Same as what I think!"
They could not help but try to get some more prey on their way home.
Shao Xiaoqi had the itch of holding the arrow and brought down two wild rabbits.
The rabbits which were eating grass next to them, hushed into the hole.
Shao Xiaoqi went to pick up the two rabbits and smiled at them. "I have created this place in mind!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "That makes everything so easy!"
"Yes!"
Now, they were fully loaded.
Apart from the roosters, rabbits and trees, they had got some more mushrooms, including wild shittakes, enoki mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms. They even pulled out a bunch of wild onions, as well as cress by the creeks.
On their way home, they paused and happened to find a patch of yams.
They dug three to four kilos of them. Vissit novelbin.c.𝒐m for updates
Shao Xiaoqi smiled. "We won't make it today, but tomorrow, me and Taotao, as well as my Elder Sister-in-law, will come to dig up everything from this patch. Yams can be stored, and they don't go bad even after being stored for two months in the dungeon of the yard!"
Shao Taotao smiled. "Yams are my favorite food! Pink and sticky, very tasty!"
Shao Xiaoqi added. "Fifth Sister-in-law, will you be able to make any dishes with yams?"
Shao Yunduan and Shao Taotao turned to Qiao Xuan when he asked the question.
Shao Yunduan was curious, but Shao Taotao was looking forward to the answer.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Of course… yes! We can wok, stew, cook porridge and serve cold dishes with yams. We can also make yam mash, steam tams, crush them or add egg flour to make yam cakes, dry and grind yam into powder to make yam pastry, and hang syrup to make yam desserts…"
Shao Taotao gasped. "So many ways of eating yams!"
Everything sounded so tasty.
Shao Xiaoqi could not help but show a drooling look. "Fifth Brother, you are so lucky to have married such a capable Fifth Sister-in-law!"
Shao Yunduan. "…"
Qiao Xuan laughed. "We can stew wild roosters with yams tonight, then we can also eat woked sliced yams and syrup yams. Now, I am craving for them too!"
62 Sour
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao nodded out of excitement. They hurried back home.
Once they went back home, Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao became busy in processing the yams, mushrooms and roosters, whilst Shao Yunduan kept Qiao Xuan company and helped to put down the wild lemons and bergamots as well as grapes.
As the wild grapes were planted in the opening place inside the land, Qiao Xuan decided to set up a frame.
She decided to try if the superpower could change the quality of the fruits, which she firmly believed could.
She was especially satisfied by the two wild lemons, and she looked at them with deep affection.
Shao Yunduan could not help but ask. "Would the fruits taste good when planted in this way?" Yôur f𝒂vorite stories on 𝒏/o/(v)𝒆/lb𝒊n.c𝒐m
Qiao Xuan smiled. "What do you think?!"
Shao Yunduan thought for a while and said, "Maybe not."
The fruits looked like citruses, but they were not. On the other hand, fruit trees such as wild citrus produced fruits that were basically either bitter, astringent or sour, and could not be eaten at all.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "You are right, the fruits would taste very sour!"
Shao Yunduan just could not understand. He became even more curious. "Then, why did you bring them home as if they were precious things?"
Qiao Xuan answered. "I like sour things!"
Shao Yunduan. "…"
He felt that she was talking about something else. She liked sour things? Did she mean that she could get sour and jealous very easily? That made Shao Yunduan's heart skip a beat.
But then Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Alright, I will not tease you any more! Lemons are sour, but they are good for seasoning, better than vinegar! You wait until I make some dishes for you to taste, when the fruits get ripened."
There were many dishes that could be made with lemons, such as lemon ducks, lemon chicken, lemon shrimps, lemon fish, lemon ribs… sugar lemon syrup, lemon honey water, etc.
However, the pity was that they could not buy a large amount of chicken feet, otherwise she could make a very tasty chicken feet dish.
Shao Yunduan stiffened and let out a very expressionless 'okay'. He started to feel a bit shameless inside his heart.
He had misunderstood her again. She just wanted to make dishes with lemons, and meant nothing else. What was he thinking about?
Luckily she was not aware of what he was thinking, otherwise…
Qiao Xuan saw that his interest had dropped, and thought that he may not have believed her. So, she kept explaining to him. "It is true! Trust me, wild lemons create yummy dishes. I am sure that you will change your mind after one bite!"
Shao Yunduan replied. "I don't like sour things."
Qiao Xuan blinked. "Then you definitely need to try the dishes, they have a different kind of sourness!"
Shao Yunduan. "…"
He really had no interest in hearing the word 'sour' any more. It would make him think too much of what should not have been considered.
"Just have a try!"
She insisted.
"Okay, okay…" Shao Yunduan simply wanted to end the topic.
Qiao Xuan chuckled.
There was no flower pot for orchids, so Shao Yunduan decided to buy some porcelain pots from the porcelain sellers.
He was going to put down the orchids as soon as possible.
Qiao Xuan insisted on going there with him.
The village was very close to where they lived, and it took them less than ten minutes.
There were all kinds of porcelain at the store, some of which were terribly made, and some were nature-looking and possessed ancient elements. Qiao Xuan was obsessed with everything on the shelf.
Shao Yunduan picked six pots and the seller tied up everything with one straw rope.
They were headed home as it was getting late.
On the way home, they suddenly heard a man and a woman talking with each other in the bushes.
"The steamed bun tastes so good, the filling is leeks with eggs, I have not yet eaten such delicious food for so long!"
"Just enjoy yourself, I can bring you two more around this time tomorrow."
63 Cultivated Talent's Wife
"Do you want to have a bite too?"
"No thanks, I have food at home!"
"Brother Shao, you are so nice! I wonder if we can get married, as we wish to."
"Don't worry, I already told my mom that I will only marry you. I will tell Mom again tomorrow. She is a very soft-hearted person, and I am her son. I am sure that she will give her consent to our marriage."
"Really? You should not lie to me!"
!
"I will definitely not!"
"Ah, the steamed buns are so tasty!"
"…"
Qiao Xuan tilted her head and looked at Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan had no expression on his face, but he was not in a good mood.
Qiao Xuan used her superpower and figured out who the boy and the girl were. The boy was Shao Sanlang, Shao Yunduan's brother whilst the other was a 16 years old girl. She was dressed in a blouse with many stitched patches and her hair had turned yellow. But her skin was fair and her lips were very thin. She had a very tall nose bridge, and looked quite pretty.
But for the malnutrition, she would have looked even better.
Yang Xiaoni, which was the name that emerged inside Qiao Xuan's head.
Her brother-in-law was talking about marrying a girl like that, but her mother-in-law did not say anything about it.
She had no idea why there was no approval, and she had an interest in gossip. She believed that her mother-in-law must have had some reason to turn down the marriage.
Qiao Xuan was quite surprised to hear how Yang Xiaoni talked and what she looked like. She seemed like a very nice girl.
Shao Yunduan was, however, thinking inside his heart that his brother was acting so unreliably.
What was he doing here? He was speaking so loudly close to the road! It was lucky that it had been him and Qiao Xuan who heard their conversation. What if they were heard by someone else?
Moreover, he should not have had a date with someone privately. It was so immoral!
Shao Yunduan made some coughing sound.
The voices in the bushes stopped suddenly.
"Brother, it is getting late, time to go home." Shao Yunduan said.
Then a shushing sound came, and Shao Sanlang walked out. Behind him was Yang Xiaoni, who looked bashful and was twisting the hem of her blouse.
"Oh, brother, and sister-in-law…"
Shao Sanlang scratched his head, looking timid.
"Cultivated Talent Shao, and Cultivated Talent's Wife, I… need to leave."
Yang Xiaoni forced a smile and greeted Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan, as she dashed off.
Qiao Xuan almost held her laughter – Cultivated Talent's wife? What kind of title was that?
"You went to buy pots, for flowers? Oh… there are so many of them, let me carry some for you!" Shao Sanlang said with a flattering laugh, and grabbed the pots from Shao Yunduan's arms.
He blinked at his brother and begged. "Brother, please don't mention this to Mom, okay? Keep this a secret for me, and I will give you all, no, half of what I earn, for real?"
He needed to use the other half to buy food for Xiaoni.
Shao Yunduan looked at him with no expression on his face. "You better pray that no one else will pass by you in the future." Yôur f𝒂vorite stories on 𝒏/o/(v)𝒆/lb𝒊n.c𝒐m
Shao Sanlang's face changed as he said regretfully, "I… I wasn't paying attention…"
There were no rules in the countryside like this. Girls from farmers' families went down to the field to work. There was always a matchmaker who would arrange the marriage, if the two sides found each other to be good suitors.
But private dates did not work that well.
There would be gossip and rumors spread all around, once they were heard and seen like this.
Moreover, Mom did not like the Yang Family…
64 No Explanation Re𝒂𝒂d the latest stories 𝒐n nov𝒆
"It is my fault!" Shao Sanlang struck his own head. He looked so anxious. "What should we do? Brother, please help me think of a solution!"
Shao Yunduan frowned.
"Brother!" Shao Sanlang got anxious. "You can't watch me suffer just because you have married such a good wife! I even helped you drive away bad people in the past!"
Qiao Xuan could not help but throw a look at Shao Yunduan, who happened to be looking at her. Qiao Xuan was smiling and Shao Yunduan instantly withdrew his look.
He could not make it clear to his brother about his actual relationship with Qiao Xuan.
!
"How can I help you? The girl is good, but her brother and sister-in-law want 80 liang as the wedding gifts, not a wen less, what can you expect Mom to do?"
Shao Sanlang was struck speechless.
Qiao Xuan was surprised too.
No wonder her mother-in-law did not approve of the marriage, even though the girl was good and her son loved her.
It was Yang Xiaoni's brother and sister-in-law who were the issue.
80 liang… that was really too much!
It seemed that they believed Yang Xiaoni was the girl whom the man loved, and that their sister would be able to get a lot of wedding gifts from her future in-laws.
If they had only asked for 20 liang, then her mother-in-law might have tried her best to offer that.
Shao Sanlang let out a sigh of disappointment. "That couple is just crazy! They bully Xiaoni every day and make her do all kind of hard work! They even starve her! Brother, she is really suffering from a terrible life. Oh, please…"
Shao Sanlang turned to Qiao Xuan, sounding hesitant.
Before he could say anything, Shao Yunduan said, "Stop it!"
Shao Sanlang let out a sigh of disappointment and said nothing.
Qiao Xuan got it. The brother-in-law wanted to ask for a loan from her dowry, and hence, Shao Yunduan interrupted him when he found it not to be proper.
Qiao Xuan had no intention of getting involved, but now she turned a little soft-hearted.
She asked in a soft tone. "Brother, can you talk with Mom about having a talk with the Yang Family? Maybe they are just asking for a price randomly, and we can negotiate the bride price. No one else would offer such money either."
"Honestly speaking, even if the girl is sold as a maid to some rich family, the price would be 20 liang. The Yang Family should know what to do."
Shao Sanlang did not feel that he was offended. Instead, his eyes sparkled. "True! You are right, they should know that marrying Xiaoni to me is the best deal! Thanks, Sister-in-law, I will talk with Mom about it!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "You are welcome!"
Shao Sanlang smiled and turned to Shao Yunduan. "You think I can make it this time?"
Shao Yunduan said, "I am not sure."
They could not predict what the Yang Family would think. His mother had been to the family twice, and the couple should know about his brother's affection towards Xiaoni. His mother's third visit would make things worse, maybe.
Shao Sanlang looked annoyed. "Can't you say something nice?"
Shao Yunduan sighed. "Pretty words don't work."
Shao Sanlang. "…"
Qiao Xuan chuckled.
As they returned home, they chopped the orchids and Qiao Xuan went to the kitchen, to make some more dishes.
65 Coldness
Shao Taotao and Shao Xiaoqi were waiting for Qiao Xuan and they cheered as they caught sight of her.
"Fifth Sister-in-law, we have already dealt with the chicken, rabbits and yams. We are all waiting for you!"
Even Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu were wearing a look of expectation.
They all liked the dishes Qiao Xuan made.
In the past, they only knew how to stew and braise wild roosters and rabbits, but she was able to create different ways of eating, which they never got tired of.
!
Gradually, the whole family became slightly biased about Qiao Xuan's food.
As for her splurging of oil, salt and seasoning… well, they could just ignore that.
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile and went into the kitchen, with her sleeves rolled up.
They had three wild roosters and two wild rabbits. Two of the rabbits were hidden, unknown to the other sections of the family. When the aunts from the other two sections came to get a wild rooster for each of them, Ms. Fang ignored them.
They only had one wild rooster and one rabbit for her own family, and the other wild rabbit could be left for tomorrow night.
The yams were stewed with chicken and porcinis, whilst rabbits were fried with chili and garlic.
Then, she soaked a handful of fungus that had dried two days ago, cut water celery into sections, sliced yams with an oblique knife, and stir-fried them together. Not only was the dish fresh and delicious, but the color looked really bright as well.
After that, she fried a dish of lettuce.
The yams were diced and served on the table after being well-placed. Soon, she made one more dish of sugar-coated yams.
As they were about to eat the food, Qiao Xuan told everyone to eat the sugar-coated yams first. "It would not taste good when it gets cold."
The whole yams had been cooled with a layer of amber-colored syrup, looking crystal clear and beautiful. Even the air felt sweet, delicious and attractive.
Everyone started to pick up the chopsticks.
"Oh it is so delicious!"
"It is very sweet and nice!"
"How did you come up with this idea of making yams?"
"Let me eat some more!"
Ms. Xu was surprised too. She, on one hand, gave some to her children whilst stuffing a lot into her own mouth. She believed that the dish would taste equally good even after it turned cold.
Ms. Fang was also a little worried about the sugar, thinking that Ms. Qiao had used too much of it. She was going to tell her to save some sugar even though it was bought with her own money.
Seeing her grandchildren enjoying themselves, Ms. Fang said with a smile, "You have eaten so much, Third Son! Don't eat any more, spare some for Junyan and Qing!"
Eldest Uncle was eating as he started to speak. "All children like it. We can spare some, so Taotao can share some with Xianwen and Juan later."
Shao Xianwen and Shao Juan were the grandchildren of the Second Uncle.
Cold air spread across the table the moment the words were spoken.
Qiao Xuan pursed her lips. It was enough!
Ms. Fang sneered. "We have very little ourselves, and we will get troubled by the second and the third sections of the family. I don't think they will get enough of our food."
Shao Sanlang nodded. "True!"
Then, he stuffed a slice into his own mouth again.
Shao Junyan had just finished what he was given in the bowl and he wanted to have some more. But Ms. Xu did not dare to take any more slices after hearing what her father-in-law said. She consoled him by patting his back and offered him wild roosters instead.
Ms. Fang did not care. She gave Shao Junyan some more and said, "Lovely grandson, we barely have a chance to eat such a thing, take as much as you want!"
She did not want to share anything with any other sections of the family, when she had her grandchildren to take care 𝒂𝒂d the latest stories 𝒐n nov𝒆
66 Not Countering
Eldest Uncle's face sank. Shao Yunduan said, "Dad, just eat your food. We can share some things when we have more in the future."
Qiao Xuan smiled. "True, when we have sugar next time, I can make half a basin for them if they want!"
As for the dishes on the table, she had full control of them since she bought them with her dowry.
Ms. Fang snapped. "I won't buy this much sugar!"
Eldest Uncle was stuck with anger.
!
Why was Ms. Qiao talking about her dowry all the time?
He simply had no way to counter her.
He could only abstain from eating every dish bought with her dowry.
But there was nothing else he could do. After all, he could not stop the others from eating the dishes.
Eldest Uncle suddenly felt very sad. It seemed as if he were like an outsider though he was the master of the family, whilst the others present belonged to another family.
Qiao Xuan had no idea what Shao Sanlang said to her mother-in-law, but she found that her mother-in-law looked very gloomy the following morning.
After breakfast, Ms. Fang asked Qiao Xuan to come to her side. "Ms. Qiao, could you please accompany me to a place later?"
She had been feeling embarrassed when she first started the conversation, but gradually, she got excited.
"Honestly, that couple of the Yang Family are goddamned hooligans, right? 80 liang? Do they think that Yang Xiaoni is a fairy?"
"We are trying to talk about marriage, but they are selling their sister! They want nothing but money! They annoyed me so badly last time!"
"But Yang Xiaoni is a very strong girl and she can do a lot of labor work. Moreover, my son loves her, but what can we do about her family?"
"And this son of mine seems to be so obsessed with her! What do I do about it?"
Ms. Fang made a lot of complaints and told Qiao Xuan that she was very clever, so she hoped that she could keep her company while visiting the Yang Family.
Ms. Xu was not reliable. She did bring Ms. Xu with her last time, but the daughter-in-law did not dare to utter any words. She just stood there motionlessly like a piece of wood! Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)
Qiao Xuan would not turn down her mother-in-law's request. She consoled her and said with a smile, "Mom, if you like that girl from the Yang Family and my brother loves her, then I will keep you company. But how much do you want to offer as a wedding present to them? We need to have an estimate for the bottomline figure!"
Ms. Fang suddenly felt her heart ache.
They had no savings at home.
The other sections of the family kept their eyes glued upon all the income she earned from selling pigs, chickens, ducks, eggs, beans and even peanuts.
Shao Yunduan was quite frugal at school and often earned his pocket money by copying books in exchange for paper and ink with bookstores. Qi also hunted many animals which brought in some income.
But Shao Yunduan's wedding almost cost them everything they had!
So she had less than 10 liang in savings. This was after accumulating the change she earned as well as the payment she got from Shao Dalang's salary from Qiao Xuan as well as the 5 qian Shao Xiaoqi offered to her a couple of days ago.
She decided to borrow two liang from some friends because by the end of the year, she could get 10 liang after selling the pigs.
"Ten at most, or 11 liang, no more!"
10 liang was already a large amount. Villagers did not have a rich life, and for those who had the intention of starting a martial relationship, 3 or 5 liang would already be enough. 6 or 7 liang would mean a large wedding.
67 Meaning
10 liang was already over the top.
But the Yang Family had asked for 80 liang, and 10 liang might not work.
"Mom." Qiao Xuan smiled. "What about me offering 10 liang as well and together, we have 20 liang. Listen to me, mom, I don't do housework, and Third Sister-in-law might not like me after she comes to our family because of my laziness. But if I pay the 10 liang here, she will not be able to say anything bad about me. Then, we will have one large, happy family. I am actually taking advantage of you all."
Ms. Fang was startled. After thinking about it, she could not utter a word in response.
She sighed. "Ms. Qiao, this is…"
"Mom." Qiao Xuan smiled. "My husband is studying at school and you all support him. So it is our duty to make contributions to the family. When my husband gets a promising job in the future, he is going to take care of the family."
"Okay!" Ms. Fang patted her hands slightly. "It is Duan's luck to have married a wife like you. If he ever treats you badly, you have to tell me. I will teach him a lesson on your behalf. No matter whether he is going to have a promising future, he will never betray you!"
Qiao Xuan's heart turned warm and she said with a smile, "Mom, I will keep your words in mind. If my husband treats me badly, I will report him to you directly so you can hit him!"
Ms. Fang smiled. "Of course, of course!"
"You are so nice, Mom!"
Outside the room, Shao Yunduan left from there but he felt that his feet were floating ion the air. His head had turned messy.
He really had no idea what this woman was thinking about.
What did she mean?
She should not have made such an offer. Moreover, it wasn't so nice to say things so boldly. What was she thinking all the time?
After Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang were done with the discussion, they headed to the Yang Family together. RE𝒂ad updated st𝒐ries at n/𝒐
Yang Xiaoni's parents passed away ages ago, and her brother, Yang Liang and sister-in-law, Ms. Tian were both lazy, and greedy.
They should have gone out for work by this hour, but in the Yang Family, only Yang Xiaoni was forced to do the hard work whilst Yang Liang was just idling around and Ms. Tian was lazing around at home.
Seeing Ms. Fang coming over with her daughter-in-law, Ms. Tian's eyes sparkled. "Oh hey, you are here again, come in and take a seat!"
She sized up Qiao Xuan and displayed a look of greed. She showed a hidden smile. "This daughter-in-law of yours couldn't have been born in the countryside. She must be your fifth daughter-in-law, the daughter of the County Magistrate, right? Oh, she looks so beautiful. Only a Cultivated Talent can be a match for her!"
Ms. Fang knew what Ms. Tian was doing. But she was happy to hear what was being said, so she added. "My daughter-in-law is a very good girl!"
"Of course!" Ms. Tian showed a smile and sent her elder son to get his father back.
After a few sentences, Ms. Tian asked purposefully. "What are you doing here?"
Ms. Fang was cursing her inwardly. This Ms. Tian was trying to calculate Ms. Qiao! But for her stupid son who had fallen for Yang Xiaoni, she would not have walked into a family like this ever in her life.
Who would want to hang out with someone like this!
Ms. Fang smiled. "Let's wait until your husband comes back!"
Ms. Tian smiled and said confidently, "Of course, my husband makes decisions for all kinds of important things in the house!"
Soon, Yang Liang hurried back. He looked at Ms. Qiao and Ms. Fang, greeting them happily.
68 Yang Xiaoni's Happiness
Yang Liang was sizing up Qiao Xuan while they were talking. He looked greedy and indecent.
Qiao Xuan felt very disgusted.
Ms. Fang sank her face and coughed. "Yang Liang, you two know what I am here for. We think that Xiaoni is very diligent and kind, so we need to talk about the wedding gift."
Yang Liang and his wife exchanged a look between themselves. They looked really proud. They knew that the Shao Family would be coming to them.
Ms. Tian snapped inside her heart. What was so good about Yang Xiaoni? Shao Sanlang was so obsessed that he just wanted to marry her!
The Shao Family was a good family. Why should Yang Xiaoni go and enjoy herself!
Ms. Fang was not a very good-tempered woman and they even had one Cultivated Talent at home. It was said that the second and the third section of the family were not very good-tempered either. So they needed to find some way to control them.
The little bitch Xiaoni was good-looking enough to marry anyone.
She should stay at home and do some more labor before she married some old man as a concubine. That was a better plan.
Ms. Tian believed that as long as Yang Xiaoni married someone bad, she could be flexible with the wedding gifts. It was because of this thought, Yang Liang asked for a very high price as wedding gifts.
Otherwise, Yang Liang would have said yes about the Yang Family marrying Yang Xiaoni.
Yang Liang smiled. "Ms. Fang, my sister is very good looking, and she is worth around 100 liang! If you want to have her as part of your family, you won't care about this little amount of money, would you?"
"What are you talking about?" Ms. Fang was both surprised and angry. "100 liang? You raised the price!"
And 'this little amount of money'? Did the Yang Family have this much?
Yang Liang said, "Of course, you have got a rich daughter-in-law. Why do you care so much about this little amount of money!"
"True!" Ms. Tian showed a false smile. "When your fifth daughter-in-law held the wedding, she had 26 sets of dowry! That is more than 100 liang, right?"
Yang Liang nodded in agreement and then added. "100 liang, and two sets of… no, six sets of cotton garments!"
Ms. Tian said, "Also, a pair of silver hairpins and one pair of bracelets!"
Ms. Fang got so annoyed. "How dare you say these things? We can have any girl as a daughter-in-law we want, yours is not necessary!"
Ms. Fang was so annoyed.
She had never met anyone so disgusting.
Ms. Tian let out a snort. She said slowly, "Ms. Fang, you have a fifth daughter-in-law who has so much dowry. You don't even want to pay this much money. I think it is because you are not actually sincere!"
Ms. Fang snapped. "Ms. Qiao has full control of her dowry. We would never covet it! Also, we would never pay so much to marry someone home. Stop dreaming! It seems we have nothing to talk about anymore. Ms. Qiao, let's leave."
Ms. Fang regretted having paid such a visit. It was so humiliating. She swore that she was not going to be here ever again.
She was not going to bring in Yang Xiaoni as her daughter-in-law either.
She was going to teach her third son a lesson!
She was going to find another suitable girl for him so he could forget about Yang Xiaoni.
"Mom." Qiao Xuan patted Ms. Fang's hand and said to them, "Yang Xiaoni is 18 years old. You want to keep her until she becomes too old? If we have her as the daughter-in-law, we will definitely not treat her badly. You really don't want to allow her to be part of our family, right?"
69 Qiao Xuan's Idea
Yang Liang was startled and started to hesitate.
He knew pretty well that but for Shao Sanlang's affection towards Xiaoni, no families would turn their eyes upon a family like them.
Ms. Tian sneered. "You don't have to worry about a thing!"
Qiao Xuan suddenly realized what was going on.
Ms. Tian was trying to make this marriage not happen.
All families were worried that their girls would be too old to get married, yet Ms. Tian feared nothing. She did not care about Yang Xiaoni, nor did she care about her reputation.
She disliked Yang Xiaoni.
No, she hated her!
"We want to offer 20 liang as a wedding gift. Are you not going to consider it?"
"No, no way!"
"Think about this, and we will come to you in a couple of days," said Qiao Xuan and left with Ms. Fang.
"Mom, let's go to the village and find the Land Officer there. We can ask the chiefs of the Yang Family for help."
Ms. Fang sighed. "Silly girl, it won't work even if we speak with them. They can't make the decision either. Yang Liang and Ms. Tian are a greedy couple and they won't listen to anyone."
It was always the parents who decided who their daughter should marry, and when the parents were gone, their siblings would make the decision instead.
Who else could have the authority!
Qiao Xuan sneered. "Mom, we don't need them to have the decision making authority. What we need is just to let the Yang village know that we are here to establish a marital relationship sincerely. There should be a turning point after that."
Ms. Fang, who was angry, suddenly turned lively. She nodded. "We can discuss this in detail. We should let everyone know what is going on, and at least, we can make the couple feel bad."
Ms. Fang did not think that there would be any turning point.
But, she could at least vent the anger.
So, they headed to the Land Officer of the Yang Village and then, they went to the chiefs and aunts. All of them could not help but sigh…
Soon, the story spread all over the whole village.
"Yang Liang and his wife are crazy! Xiaoni is very pretty, and the Shao Family are so devoted. How could they say no?"
"True, that is 20 liang. My daughter's wedding gift was only 6 liang!"
"The couple is really terrible, you know."
"Ms. Tian lectures and hits Xiaoni and she has to do all the labor of the family. They would not want to marry her away."
"But Xiaoni has grown up. Are they going to keep her next to them forever? That is just too immoral!"
"How dare you marry a girl to their family. It is definitely a pit!"
"Poor Xiaoni. She has no parents. Her brother is such a useless man and her sister-in-law is stingy. Sigh!"
"Poor girl!"
"Poor girl, indeed!"
"…"
Yang Liang was so humiliated that he did not dare to go out. He was the brother, yet he was doing something wrong.
Ms. Fang got really annoyed. She cursed at Ms. Fang and Ms. Qiao, and then she called the villagers nosy. They were not in the position to discuss their family affairs. It had nothing to do with them!
"I can marry my sister-in-law to anyone I want. None of your business!"
"I don't care about the goddamned Shao Family!"
"You can take them from me, if you want to!"
70 Ms. Tian's Fierce Words
Ms. Tian cursed the whole village and everyone, who heard her, could not help but shake their heads. They were looking down at her.
It was a common thing if a sister-in-law did not like her husband's sister, since stepmothers never liked the children from the previous marriage. Yet Ms. Tian's behavior was way over the top.
She was not only forcing Yang Xiaoni to work hard and feed her no good food, but was also trying to ruin the rest of her life!
Why was she not satisfied with the Shao Family? They were far better than the Yang Family and they even had a Cultivated Talent in the family, who could have a promising future.
They had offered a high-priced wedding gift as well, worth 20 liang. The Yang Family had never seen a wedding gift of over 20 liang.
The couple was asking for far too much! They craved for 100 liang as well as silver hairpins and bracelets as well as the best cotton!
They were not really devoted to the marriage. They were trying to annoy the Shao Family…
Ms. Tian complained all over the village, and someone reminded Yang Liang about his wife's behavior that might offend the whole village. If she caused a bad name for herself, their sons would never have any wife in the future.
Only then did Yang Liang pull Ms. Tian back home.
On the way home, Ms. Tian kept cursing loudly.
Her two sons were too young to consider a potential wife.
Ms. Tian could not help but get annoyed when she saw Yang Xiaoni back at home. She lectured constantly.
Yang Xiaoni had her own way of survival and was used to being lectured by this sister-in-law of hers. She ignored those unfriendly words and also idled about when she was supposed to be working out there. She was trying her best not to exhaust herself.
Ms. Tian was extremely fierce today. But she ignored those words as usual.
Ms. Tian could not help but stand up and slap Yang Xiaoni's face. She screamed. "Bitch, what are you wearing this expression for when I am speaking with you? Can't I just tell you a few words when you live under my roof. You have to turn to me and ask for my permission, if you want to marry into a good family! Let me tell you, you are never going to marry anyone good!"
Yang Xiaoni was startled. She got annoyed, furious, irritated and scared. With hands over her face, she rushed out.
Yang Xiaoni had two large hand prints on each of her cheeks, as she ran all the way to Third Grandma Yang and Third Grandpa Yang. She was begging in tears for help!
Third Grandpa Yang was her grandpa's brother, and he was the close relative to the Yang Family when her parents were still alive. The two families had a relatively good relationship.
Yang Liang was useless, and Ms. Tian was rude, so during the past few years, no one from the village had the interest of hanging out with them.
But when Yang Xiaoni came to the door and begged for help, Third Grandma Yang and Third Grandpa Yang could not help but feel moved.
"What, Ms. Tian hit you? That is so cruel!" Third Grandma Yang gasped as she said in a pitiful tone.
She became increasingly annoyed when she thought of how Ms. Tian made ruckus across the whole village earlier that day.
Soon, some chiefs and Land Officers were invited to Third Grandpa Yang's home.
It was not a good thing if a rude and wild housewife was living in the village. The Yang Village would be laughed at by others!
They had to do something about this!
Yang Xiaoni felt slightly assured and stood there respectfully.
Shao Sanlang had come to her secretly on the ground earlier and told her that if her sister-in-law hit her, she should go to Third Grandpa Yang for help with tears in eyes.
She had not fully understood what was the reason for him saying so.
But, her sister-in-law did hit her.
71 The Villagers' Look
If the chiefs and Land Officers could help her realize the wish, that would be great.
Soon, Yang Liang and Ms. Tian came over.
Yang Liang's face sank as he glared at Yang Xiaoni. This damned girl had reported them to Third Grandpa Yang! What a heartless girl!
Ms. Tian cursed Yang Xiaoni fiercely. "You bitch, what are you being so crazy for! I feed you and give you a place to live, but you are not satisfied with it and come to report your brother and sister-in-law to the public! How dare you!"
Hearing that she was turning the truth upside down, the chiefs and Land Officer as well as the villagers were disgusted and irritated.
"Ms. Tian, what are you talking about!"
"Shame on you!"
"You aren't afraid of being punished by heaven?"
The Land Officer said coldly, "Ms. Tian, we have rules in our village. You are the Yang Family's daughter-in-law, and you should not ruin your family's name. Your in-laws are dead, and Xiaoni has been working so devotedly for years. How can you treat her like this? Yang Liang, how dare you bully your sister like this? Aren't you afraid that your deceased parents would turn into ghosts and come to you at night!"
Yang Liang cringed and stood in the corner, showing a little fear.
Ms. Tian shouted. "Land Officer, you should not wrong me! This bitch… Xiaoni has grown up and she can't just live under our roof without doing anything, right? Every girl in the village works. You don't know that this girl is really lazy and tricky. She is greedy and craves food all the time. If we don't urge her to work, she won't even move an inch. I have to teach her as a sister-in-law all the time! I am teaching her a lesson, not bullying her! Who says that I am bullying her? Come and show me the proof!"
"You!" The Land Officer was very annoyed.
The villagers exchanged a helpless look among themselves and could not say a thing.
It was a family affair that could not be explained clearly. No one could stand up and show the proof. How could there be a proof for something like this?
Ms. Tian showed a look of pride and snorted. "Bitch, what are you staying here for? You should remember which family you are living under!"
She meant to tell her that she was living under her roof!
Yang Xiaoni was sobbing as she grabbed Third Grandma Yang's arms. "No, I am not going back. She is going to kill me!"
"Shut up, that is enough, what are you talking about?" Yang Liang was annoyed too as he snapped at her in a fierce voice.
This bitch should not have spread bad things about the family to outsiders!
"You two treat her like this in front of us. How can we trust that you treat her well behind our back!" Third Grandma Yang said annoyedly, "I watched Xiaoni growing up and she is a really good girl. How can you think that you are reasonable, when you lecture her and order to do this and that all the time? Ms. Tian, don't think so highly of yourself. Just because no one can prove it doesn't necessarily mean that you have done nothing! You know pretty well what you have done! Everyone can see that you have done something bad. Watch out for repayment!"
"Okay, now, I am going to ask you what you are going to do with Xiaoni's marriage!"
Ms. Tian was feeling so annoyed and cursed this old grandma for being nosy. She snorted. "That is our business!"
"This is the Yang's family and when your parents were alive, they respected me enough. Xiaoni calls me Third Grandma, so I have the right to ask you about it."
Ms. Tian was about to say something when Third Grandma Yang said coldly, "Yang Liang, you are the master of the family. Are you going to keep Xiaoni until she gets too old to marry someone? Are you sure this is the right thing to show respect to your parents?"
72 Irritation
Yang Liang forced out a word. "Of course not!"
"Then, just make a decision about her marriage!"
Yang Liang was staggering. "I… we are trying to find a suitor for her, aren't we?"
"Oh, yes?" Third Grandma Yang sneered. "Shao Dakun's family offers you 20 liang but you still don't think that is enough? What kind of family do you plan to find?"
Ms. Tian said, "The Shao Family is so rich. If they want to set up the marriage, they need to offer more than 20 liang! They are looking down at us. We can't marry her to the Shao Family!"
"So, you find someone better?"
The Land Officer said, "The Shao Family has a lot of money but the money is at their disposal. 20 liang is well over the standard for a village wedding!"
Ms. Tian immediately responded. "We are seeking a good suitor for her all the time!"
"Nonsense!" Third Grandma Yang was terribly annoyed by the shameless words spoken by Ms. Tian.
Ms. Fang and Qiao Xuan had gone to their home for help. Moreover, Ms. Fang gave her the money which was enough for buying at least 300 kgs of rice!
That pleased her a great deal.
Ms. Fang had even suggested that she was going to offer more money if the marriage worked out well.
Third Grandma Yang had naturally agreed to help.
She felt sorry for Yang Xiaoni, but she was not part of the family so she could not say something rashly. Also, Ms. Tian was a very fierce woman and no one would dare to irritate her for no reason.
But things were different at the moment. Yang Xiaoni came to ask her for help in tears, and she, as the elderly woman in the village, could not just push away the girl under such circumstances.
That was why she decided to get involved.
Ms. Tian had managed to irritate the whole village, and this was the best time to do something about it.
Third Grandma Yang said coldly, "I will tell you this today – Xiaoni is a poor girl and she is asking me for help, so I will not leave her alone. If you are not satisfied by the Shao Family's proposal, you need to find someone better than the Shao Family quickly. Xiaoni is no longer young and she can't wait! You have to settle this marriage for her within one month. Yang Liang, you better bear in mind that Yang Xiaoni is your sister! Ms. Tian, we can't allow this thing to spread outside our village. If you continue to cause trouble, you better go to the ancestral hall and get your mind cleared!"
The other chiefs nodded in agreement.
Everyone was looking at Ms. Tian with disgust.
The reputation of the Yang Family could not be ruined because of this woman.
Ms. Tian was very annoyed as she glared back at Yang Xiaoni. "We are a poor family and we have no parents who defend us! You all are bullying me and we have nowhere to express ourselves!"
Third Grandma Yang got so annoyed that she glared at Ms. Tian.
This woman was very tricky and annoying. What she said could just make anyone hearing her words get irritated.
Third Grandma Yang got very annoyed. She was a respected elderly woman who had never been countered by anybody younger like this. She would not allow this woman to oppose her publicly.
If she retreated now, she would be humiliated as well!
So, Third Grandma Yang stuck to her suggestion and the Land Officer, as well as the chiefs, all took her side and held a grudge against Ms. Tian. No matter how Ms. Tian tried to turn the truth upside down, Yang Xiaoni's marriage would most likely be settled in the way as Third Grandma Yang had suggested.
It had to be settled in one month's time!
If they did not like the Shao Family, the couple needed to find someone who exceeded the Shao Family in some way!
73 Dumb
Since she kept saying that they were doing this for Yang Xiaoni's sake, then alright, do it for her!
Yang Xiaoni did not want to go home with her brother and sister-in-law.
"Third Grandma, Land Officer, and Chief Grandpas, could I just stay at the ancestral hall? I can do all kinds of work. Third Grandma, I can work for you, but please just give me some food. I don't eat much, really not!"
Yang Xiaoni cried so badly as she did not let go of Third Grandma Yang's arms.
Everyone felt sorry for her but could not say a thing.
The ancestral hall was very sinister, with no one living there and nothing except for the ancestral tablets. Only those who made big mistakes would be ordered to live there. Otherwise, no one else would do so willingly.
This girl must have got so frightened that she could not think clearly!
If this couple had any conscience, this girl would not have made such a request!
Both Yang Liang and Ms. Tian were furious.
"What are you doing? Just follow us home quietly! Why are you going to the ancestral hall when you have a home?" Yang Liang's veins were almost popping out on his forehead.
This ungrateful girl!
Ms. Tian sneered. "This damned girl is thinking about doing no work! Don't listen to her nonsense!"
Yang Liang got even more furious. He tugged at Yang Xiaoni and said, "Just shut up and come home with us!"
Yang Xiaoni cried loudly. "Please, save me, Third Grandma Yang, please!"
No one should live in the ancestral hall for no reason. Third Grandma Yang sighed and said, "It is okay, Xiaoni, just go home. If anyone hits you or lectures you, just come to me and I will seek justice for you! We are a family and we should not allow anyone to preach or hit people. We will teach her a lesson, if she dares to do so. We need to make sure that the whole clan is clean and has a good reputation!"
The other aunts also came to console Yang Xiaoni, who was still crying out of fear.
All the bystanders felt very sorry.
What a pity…
She was a nice girl but with such a couple as the brother and sister-in-law, she was going to suffer a great deal.
In the end, Third Grandma Yang asked Yang Xiaoni to stay at her place overnight and leave the next day.
Yang Liang and Ms. Tian glared at Yang Xiaoni and left.
The bystanders all sighed, shook their heads and also left.
Back at home, Ms. Tian kept hitting Yang Liang whilst cursing him.
Yang Liang felt so annoyed that he started to dislike Yang Xiaoni as well.
She was just asked to do some labor work. What was she being so stingy for? Her brother and sister-in-law were supporting her. In return, she did not even want to help with some work?
Worse, she even got her brother and sister-in-law humiliated in front of the whole village.
Daughters always turned their elbows out against their own family.
Ms. Fang learned of what happened at the Yang Family the following day. She told Qiao Xuan about this, but she also felt quite worried.
Qiao Xuan consoled her. "Don't worry, Mom. Yang Xiaoni seems to be quite clever, and she won't lose much. Ms. Tian won't dare to kill her anyway, right? Mom, what about reminding Third Brother that he should not meet Yang Xiaoni privately for sometime. What if they were caught, that would be very bad…"
Ms. Fang agreed and told Shao Sanlang about this.
Shao Sanlang was very anxious. He was afraid that Yang Xiaoni would face trouble. But he did not dare to do a thing, especially since his mother warned him not to be impulsive.
Qiao Xuan's land was finally ready. There was no brick wall around the patch, but bamboos were set up around the perimeter.
Behind that, all the iron fences dug from the mountains were put up and wild roses, which could climb along the wall, were planted as well.
74 Qiao Xuan's Smile
Qiao Xuan had transplanted all those plants from mountains and later, she was going to use her superpower so they could grow beautifully.
When Shao Dalang was helping with the fence, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were getting ready to buy some flowers in the city.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Actually, Qi and Taotao would be enough to come along with me. This visit might waste your study time. I don't want Mom and Dad to blame me!"
Shao Yunduan said, "It is fine, I also need to walk around a little."
She was his wife, at least in name, and it was normal that he kept her company on her trip.
The Qiao Family did not treat her well. What if they ran into the Qiao Family and she was bullied by them. What would Qi and Taotao be able to do about it?
Qiao Xuan smiled and accepted the offer.
There was only one flower store in the city, and offered just a few kinds of flowers. Qiao Xuan bought all the flowers including pomegranates, jasmines, gardenias, cloves, Chinese roses, ordinary roses, sweet-scented osmanthus, white orchids.
The bullock cart was filled with them.
The florist was very happy and even gave her some rebate.
All those flowers were very commonly-seen varieties, and the whole thing cost her only 3.2 liang.
The flowers were unloaded and Shao Xiaoqi, as well as Shao Taotao came over to help carry the flowers under Qiao Xuan's instruction.
Ms. Xu, who had been working on the fences, joined them too.
Ms. Xu was smiling happily. She had been very motivated to work recently. She got up when dawn broke and had even taken over all the housework, including washing clothes and dishes, even feeding the pigs before coming to the land to help.
The land work wasn't an easy job, so Qiao Xuan gave them a raise, making it 30 wen a day!
Qiao Xuan got a pair of scissors, and she cut away many twigs of those flowers and planted them into the earth directly. It looked quite easy.
Ms. Xu could not help but say. "Fifth Sister-in-law, I know how to plant Chinese roses. Would this make it grow properly?"
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. "Yes. They are just ordinary plants, and this method surely would work. The budding would happen very soon, within a few days!"
"Oh yes?" Ms. Xu was a bit suspicious but did not think that her fifth sister-in-law would lie to her.
She smiled. "Are you going to sell those flowers, but how?"
Qiao Xuan blinked and smiled. "Well, I will keep it a secret for now. You will know when the time comes. In fact, I might need your help too then!"
Ms. Xu understood that when Qiao Xuan asked for help, she always paid, so she smiled and said, "No problem, just tell me what to do and I guarantee that you will be satisfied with my work!"
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. "Thank you in advance, Elder Sister-in-law!"
When the fences were ready, the plants were all growing well, especially Chinese roses and ordinary roses, which grew very fast at this time of the year. Qiao Xuan used a bit of her superpower, and no one found the growth strange either.
But the volume needed was far beyond anticipation.
Qiao Xuan told the village that she was collecting Chinese roses and ordinary roses as well as some other flowers and would pay between 1 to 20 wen for one branch.
The whole village was excited.
"What is the Fifth Daughter-in-law of Shao Dakun's family doing? Flowers don't make money!"
75 Unreliable
"Ah, the daughter of a rich family is just too unreliable!"
"She is just burning money because she is rich!"
"See? I knew that the Shao Family could not do anything about her! It is such bad luck that they have a daughter-in-law like this!"
"It is not bad luck. She is wasting her own money, and the Shao Family are taking advantage of her money as well!"
"That is true!"
"Anyway, I am going to the mountain for a walk!"
"Me too!"
"…"
The villagers all went into the mountains suddenly.
There were many wild flowers and grass everywhere in the mountains, especially ordinary roses and gardenias which were really easy to find. Those flowers, which were ignored in the past, were flourishing in front of her!
Due to what happened with Yang Xiaoni, Qiao Xuan was really favored by Ms. Fang, who would not say a thing about what she wanted to do.
Ms. Fang was open-minded. She was spending her own money and had her own ideas about what to do. She, as the mother-in-law, should not get too worried.
Nor would anyone else in the Shao Family say anything about it.
But Eldest Uncle did not like it. He said involuntarily, "Ms. Qiao, the land is open now. You can plant some peanuts, beans, taros and sweet potatoes, which may help with some income. What are you planting flowers for? They are just good-looking and not at all practical. It is such a waste!"
Qiao Xuan smiled and explained. "Dad, I am going to keep some bees, and the flowers are for them. They don't ruin the land!"
"Bees?" Eldest Uncle was startled and found the whole thing even more unreliable.
"Bees are not easy to keep… just drop the idea, there are flowers everywhere in the mountains, and the bees can go anywhere they want, why would they come here?"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "My flowers are better and can offer more honey!"
Eldest Uncle, "…"
He shook his head dejectedly and sighed. She was just so unreasonable.
This daughter-in-law of his was so arrogant and never listened to the elderly's words. How annoying!
He went to Ms. Fang and asked her to persuade her.
Ms. Fang blamed him for being too nosy. She believed that it was not necessary to intervene in the matter.
Eldest Uncle got so annoyed. He just did not like Qiao Xuan at all. But there was nothing he could do.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle both came over in anger.
Both of them snapped at Qiao Xuan for being unreliable and not fulfilling her promise.
They saw that Shao Dali and the other three were still working. Qiao Xuan had forgotten about her promise of hiring them.
"Why don't you let us do this easy work? You are paying outsiders, and not thinking about us!"
"True, brother, that is so unreasonable!"
Qiao Xuan sneered inwardly – letting you work? That was like paying people in vain!
Shao Dali and those who were working for her were completely devoted to the task! They were not dragging their feet, and that was why Qiao Xuan had raised their salary.
If the second and the third sections of the family were to do the work, the task might not even be finished in three days.
They were all full of tricks, and she had seen through them how they tried to cheat the first section of the family again and again.
Before Qiao Xuan was able to speak, Shao Yunduan walked out of the room and said, "Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Brother Dali are already very familiar with what they are doing right now. We can't just fire them halfway. We can talk about this next time."
Second Uncle got furious. "What are you talking about? You are just making up excuses all the time!"
76 Qiao Xuan's Confirmation
Shao Yunduan shrugged his arms. "Well, there is nothing I can do about it!"
Second Uncle and Third Uncle got very annoyed. "Brother, what do you think of this?"
"What do you want my dad to do about it?" Shao Yunduan said coldly, "We are all from the Shao Family, and Brother Dali is not outside the family either. You are trying to make us offend our family members?"
Eldest Uncle opened his mouth and closed it. "What about this, Ms. Qiao, you can ask Second Uncle and Third Uncle to offer some help tomorrow too. They are elderly people of the family and you should pay them well."
Qiao Xuan said, "Oh, but I don't have any money right now. If our uncles want to offer help, they will only get paid when I have money."
Normally, that basically meant that she was not going to give them any money.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle got very annoyed. They immediately turned down the idea.
Qiao Xuan spoke up again. "I just don't have any money right now."
She had no money and the uncles should not possibly force her to offer money, right?
Shao Yunduan was standing next to them, and as a Cultivated Talent, Second Uncle and Third Uncle did not dare to counter Shao Yunduan. So, they kept making complaints to Eldest Uncle instead.
But Qiao Xuan did not care. If her father-in-law was lectured by his two brothers, it was not her fault. She was not that kind as to stop them.
After all, it was her father-in-law who was willing to get blamed because of his 'kindness'. There was no other way they could do it and get away with it if not for his willingness.
Ms. Fang could not stand it any longer. She came over and drove away Second Uncle and Third Uncle, who left in a fury.
Eldest Uncle was so annoyed. "Yunduan, you are a learned man, and you should understand that we need to have a harmonious family. How could you have said something like that to our family members?"
Qiao Xuan, "…"
She just ignored this blame, because it was not pointed at her.
She was not going to make a connection.
Shao Yunduan said, "Family members should understand each other and know how they should love their family. Second Uncle and Third Uncle are just confused at the moment and soon they will understand what is going on."
Eldest Uncle, "…"
Qiao Xuan almost burst out into laughter.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle got so annoyed that together with their wives, they went around the village and spread the rumor that Qiao Xuan was not treating her family well.
Everyone knew what the second and the third section of the Shao Family were like, so they all laughed away the rumor.
Some who were jealous of the first section of the Shao Family added some fuel to fire, but those who sold things earlier did not say anything more after being countered by Qiao Xuan a while ago.
Qiao Xuan had bought wood from them and paid them!
Qiao Xuan had even told them that she was going to offer a lot of chances for more money-making.
So, they were not going to earn her money and gossip about her at the same time.
Shao Dali and his wife as well as the cousin's family were all on Qiao Xuan's side. They were so used to the work and Qiao Xuan continued to hire them. It was so much less painstaking. They were not outsiders, and how could hiring them be something that was not reasonable?
Qiao Xuan had a regular schedule of buying wood every evening and those who wanted to sell, would meet her at the determined site. When the bee box that was booked before was delivered to them, she put the 30 boxes up in the predetermined place. After that, she went into the mountain with Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao to find the honeycomb.
Flowers and bees were not only for the honey. The most important part was that she was going to get bee wax, pomegranate flowers and rosebush, to make lipsticks from those red flower juices and essential oils.
77 One Step After Another
She had already given advance to the carpenters to make the modes and porcelain tubes for lipsticks. She just needed the original materials to be put in.
When the work at the land was finished, she was going to get the bee wax and when the tubes and modes were completed, she could start her attempts to make those things.
Lipsticks were attractive to most women, even in the modern time. She firmly believed that after she managed to make the lipsticks here, she was going to get a constant stream of money for herself.
The blushers sold at the market were not at all convenient, and they dried easily. Moreover, the colors did not blend well. Lipsticks in tubes were always going to be more convenient and would have better quality.
Apart from lipsticks, she was going to extract oil for perfume as well. She had the superpower and she could be quite sensitive about the smell and tastes. So, the whole process should be smooth enough for her.
Well, she was a rural wife and she was not going to expose the plan to outsiders. She needed to make a good plan about it.
When the lipsticks business kicked off, she was going to plant mushrooms to make medical herbs.
She was going to take one step after another and not rush into anything.
Most importantly, she had to be in charge of everything!
Qiao Xuan turned down Shao Yunduan's request to keep her company to find honeycombs in the mountains.
"Just study at home! It is not an easy matter to finish within a few days. Dad and Mom would blame me if you spend so much time with me. I have made so much effort just to please Mom… you know. Anyways, Qi and Taotao are fairly familiar with the mountains and with them around, I won't miss a thing!"
Shao Yunduan could not counter her.
Since he had decided to be well prepared for the examination, he was going to earn a good rank and for that, he needed to work hard.
So, he should not spend so much time with her in the mountains every day.
"But can you just… not go into the mountains?"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Only I know what to do about the honeycombs."
Shao Yunduan said, "Where did you learn all of this?"
Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Maybe it is natural talent? I am interested in these and I pick up knowledge by reading!"
Her father's biggest function was to serve as the shield for her. She could just claim that whatever she was good at, was learned from her father. Shao Yunduan would never be able to prove otherwise.
He was not going to do anything to prove that either.
But what she had not expected was that when Shao Yunduan heard what she said, he started to imagine a scene where he saw a skinny, poor girl who was left alone in the study and read lots of strange books.
Shao Yunduan could not rip her off from the hobby which she had been interested in since childhood.
He nodded hesitantly. "Just come back early, and don't go too deep into the mountains. Qi knows the mountains well. You should always ask him for directions. Watch out for the ground, it is so hot nowadays and there are bugs everywhere…"
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile.
Shao Yunduan was still not assured. He turned to Shao Xiaoqi and asked Shao Xiaoqi to take care of her.
Shao Xiaoqi said with a smile. "Don't worry, Fifth Brother, I will definitely keep Fifth Sister-in-law safe and not lead her to the dangerous spots."
Then, the three of them went into the mountains.
With the help of her superpower, Qiao Xuan soon found the honeycomb.
Then, she used the bee box to lead the bees to move in.
Due to Qiao Xuan's superpower, the bees were very willing to get close to her. They were not afraid of her, and the work was completed much more easily than she had anticipated.
78 Paid Work
Apart from honeycomb, Qiao Xuan also harvested some wild honey as well as beeswax. She had a large woven twine bag with a custom-made flat and light wooden barrel that was just right for honey.
Honey tasted sweet and smelled good. It was a precious delicacy for farmers.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were very happy. They already had a deep fondness for the sweetness. But Qiao Xuan did not allow them to eat too much, because that would ruin their appetite and they would get tired of it easily. She was going to take the honey back, then extract the essences, and store it in a jar for a long-time. It would not go bad in this manner and they could eat it for a very long time.
Honey was a great thing. If it could be put on the meat while grilling and deep-frying, the taste would be excellent in dishes like sweet and sour rib bones.
The idea had a lot of appeal to Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao, who were drooling constantly.
Shao Xiaoqi had been to the mountains frequently, but he never dared to touch the honeycomb, nor had he ever gotten any honey.
Qiao Xuan was asked to teach him how to extract honey.
Shao Taotao was a bit worried about bees, but she was out there to give it a try.
Qiao Xuan taught them the tricks. She needed someone to look after her bee box, and they could be in charge of this task in the future, if they knew what to do.
Anyways, she was going to pay them for it.
Apart from seeking honeycombs and getting bees and honey, they spotted a few trees like wild-growing ordinary roses, gardenia, osmanthus, which they brought home on the way.
It was never easy to fill up the 60-mu flower land, especially with ordinary roses and pomegranates which were the original ingredients for lipstick making.
Whenever they found the ordinary roses, Qiao Xuan would drive away Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao first, and use her superpower to make them grow first.
After the whole day in the mountains, the three of them brought home five honeycombs, and got two barrels of honey as well as two bunches of ordinary roses along with some delicious mushrooms and two wild roosters which Shao Xiaoqi managed to capture. They were carrying them with shoulder poles.
They ran back and forth three times and eventually got all their harvest home.
When they finally entered, Qiao Xuan came to Shao Yunduan and smiled. "I am back!"
These words suddenly made Shao Yunduan feel assured. He almost felt a bit happy.
He could not help but show a look of gentleness and said quietly, "Good that you are back. Did you run into any trouble?"
"Of course not, all went well. We were really cautious!"
Qiao Xuan exchanged a few words with him and went to sort out her harvest.
Shao Yunduan smiled, seeing her retreating figure. Then he went back to his studies.
The moment they went home, they hid the honey in Shao Taotao's room.
They were never going to let the second and the third sections of the family know about the honey.
They were so shameless!.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle, who failed to take advantage of money from her as wages, asked Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi to visit the first section every day during the lunch time, because they knew that Shao Dali was fed there.
They were two young girls, and it was quite normal that they ate lunch at their uncle's home. So, they were not driven away. Also, Eldest Uncle got happy when they kept calling him Uncle cutely.
Ms. Fang rolled her eyes. The two girls had been taught in the wrong way! They were asked to take advantage of people and were going to ruin themselves one day.
They were going to suffer a lot in the future.
79 Anger Vent
Sure enough, when the honey had just been hidden, Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma arrived, together with Shao Xiaozhi and Shao Meiling.
Ms. Fang shared a rooster with them. "Dalang and the other boys have worked very hard these days, and Yunduan has been devoted to studies and he needs to get supplements. You can share one. If you think it is too little, you don't get any."
When they heard 'work', they glared at Qiao Xuan, but when Ms. Fang talked about Shao Yunduan, the two aunts could not possibly say anything against that.
They left with one rooster, annoyedly.
"Qi gets back things even less than earlier!"
"Yes, just two wild roosters in one day, not good enough to share."
Ms. Fang snorted. She had an open mind and did not want to split hairs with these two annoying people.
But after her fifth daughter-in-law came to their home, their family situation had been raised compared to before, which made Ms. Fang feel good.
Ms. Fang said to Qiao Xuan, "Let me tell you, Ms. Qiao, Yang Liang asked someone to pass on the message that they want to see us tomorrow to talk about the wedding gifts! Damn Yang Liang, it serves him right! Your idea worked!"
Ms. Fang felt quite happy to have vented her anger.
"Really?" Qiao Xuan got happy and said, "Then I will go with you tomorrow."
Ms. Fang snorted. "Not tomorrow. We don't have to be in a hurry."
She should not let that man get what he wanted so easily.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Mom, let's just go tomorrow morning. We should not split hairs with people like them. We are going to show our sincerity to the Yang Family, right?"
Ms. Fang came to her senses. "You are right, let's go tomorrow."
She and Qiao Xuan had put on a show at the Yang Family to display their sincerity. If they slowed down all of a sudden now, the efforts they made earlier would get wasted.
Yang Liang passed on the message through a messenger, rather than come to the door personally, because he thought that they would not want to visit him out of anger.
But they were not going to fall for the trick made by him!
Qiao Xuan told Ms. Fang about honey, and Ms. Fang was both surprised and happy. She went into Shao Taotao's room and had a look at it along with Qiao Xuan.
She had a small taste of it and her eyes sparkled. "It is a rare thing! You are so lucky as to get so much honey without being stung. Some villagers were bitten all over their faces when they tried to get the honey, including your Third Brother. You are so lucky!"
"Pharmacies in the town would want to buy things like this, and the price is not low."
When Qiao Xuan decided to keep the bees, she was going to extract a lot of honey. But she did not care about the honey, except… "When I purify the honey, I will keep it in the jar and sell it in the city!"
The honey that was newly harvested was full of small things, and it needed to be purified, so was beeswax.
That was going to open a road for her in making a fortune.
Ms. Fang did not know anything about her plans, so she nodded in agreement to whatever Qiao Xuans said. Her daughter-in-law was a noble-born lady, and had vast knowledge about everything. Hence, everything she said should be right.
Since it was still early, Qiao Xuan went to help with some work in Shao Taotao's room.
The first section of the family was filled with people, and there would be more and more in the future. It wasn't always convenient to do something.
80 Your Abilities
Qiao Xuan was thinking about building a new house and was going to make a plan for it. At least, she should have a yard belonging to herself. The rooms should be enough for her to use.
Only in this way, she could close the door and stop outsiders from prying.
She did not worry about her own family, but the issue was the second section of the family and the third section of the family.
The following day after breakfast, Qiao Xuan kept Ms. Fang company on the trip to Yang Liang's home in the Yang Village.
After Yang Xiaoni made a fuss the other day, Ms. Tian got so annoyed that she had a huge fight with Yang Liang as well. She did not want to say anything, but waited until Yang Liang did something himself.
Even if Yang Liang didn't cater to her satisfaction, she was going to get involved anyway.
Yang Xiaoni came back home the following morning.
Ms. Tian could not help but glare at her, sneering. "You shameless bitch, now you have humiliated both of us. You can just leave our home, if you are so brave! How dare you think about marrying someone good, bah!"
Ms. Tian did not stop nagging her but Yang Xiaoni ignored her words. She made breakfast, and drank the porridge before going out with farming tools on her shoulders.
It was much better to work outside than stay at home.
"What should we do about her marriage? Should we ask the Shao Family again?" Yang Liang was feeling annoyed.
Where else could he find someone better than the Shao Family? The Shao Family was the best choice so far!
He could not get 100 liang, but 30 or 40 would be enough too.
"No!" Ms. Tian simply did not want Yang Xiaoni to have a good life.
"Useless person, can't you think about any other method to deal with that bitch? Why must we stick to the Shao Family?"
Yang Liang was annoyed too. "You can go and find one if you want to!"
Ms. Tian sneered. "You pig head! Why can't you just find some rich landlord or a man who has lost their wives or something. They would offer a good price too!"
Yang Liang was startled and got angry with her. "You want my sister to become a concubine, or the widower-filler? Are you crazy?!"
"I am not crazy!" Ms. Tian snapped as she shouted at him. She never feared him.
Instead, she got even more intimidating as she spoke. "Your sister? I don't think she regards you as a brother! Let me tell you, I am sure that when she marries the Shao Family, she will not even take a look at you. You know what Ms. Fang is like, right? If she is a widower-filler, she can at least understand that she needs her natal family's help in the future!"
"Also, what is so bad about being a concubine of a rich landlord? They have food and servants, and old men know how to take care of the young. She is always going to have a good life there! What is so bad about that?"
Yang Liang fell into silence.
He said hesitantly, "You said that if she marries the Shao Family, she will disown us? But I am her brother!"
Ms. Tian sneered. "If she treated you as her brother, she would not have reported anything to those elderly people in the family, and would not have humiliated you."
Yang Liang was silent again.
He thought for a while and understood that his sister was not very close to him.
If she distanced herself from her natal side after she got married, that would not work! He was looking forward to getting help from her in-laws' family!