81 Taken Advantage Of
He had realized that they did not have a close relationship, and Ms. Fang was not very easy to deal with. Besides, Ms. Fang had a daughter-in-law who was the daughter of the County Magistrate…
By that time, the Yang Family might not be able to take any advantage of the marital connection.
Persuaded by his wife, Yang Liang decided to marry Yang Xiaoni off to a landlord as the concubine.
But he had a very narrow network.
When he eventually found one landlord who intended to get a concubine, he proposed 20 liang as dowry and was beaten by the slave. The landlord got extremely annoyed.
She was just a countryside girl and the family needed 20 liang? That was crazy!
The landlord was not going to be taken advantage of.
Six or eight liang would be the maximum amount!
Furious and annoyed, Yang Liang went to a widower.
That turned out to be an even worse decision.
Those widowers, who would like to remarry, were all poor. They could barely afford a wedding gift of 3 or 6 liang.
The poor one waved away the proposal, when he heard that the wedding gift should be at 20 liang.
Everyone had difficulty in making money. 20 liang for one daughter-in-law? That was not worth the while! Half a kilo of rice was only 7 wen, and a wedding gift at this large amount was just beyond the possibility, even if the girl might be a fairy from heaven.
Wives were married by men to spend their days with and give birth to babies, what did they need a fairy from heaven for?
Yang Liang got so distressed after being turned down so many times.
If they failed to find anyone else who would like to offer the wedding gift, the Shao Family would be the only choice left.
Ms. Tian shouted at Yang Liang for being useless, and then she sneered. "That goddamned girl is a part of our family. We are her brother and sister-in-law, acting like parents for her. I can marry her to anyone I want! No one has the right to get involved. Why must our business be in charge of anyone else? It is against the ethical standards!"
But Ms. Tian could do nothing except make some complaints at home, since Third Grandma Yang had already made the announcement in public and the Land Officer, as well the chiefs all nodded in agreement.
Despite her fierce temper, she knew pretty well that she could not make chiefs and Land Officers change their decision. If she dared to make any more complaints, Third Grandma Yang did have the right to trap her inside the ancestral hall where she could be abused.
What a nosy old woman!
Yang Liang did not want to hear what Ms. Tian said any more. He decided to go to Ms. Fang to pass on the message and talk about this matter.
Annoyed, Ms. Tian thought for a while and said, "I will pass on the message, it is not proper for a guy like you to do anything about it."
Yang Liang, who had been humiliated to the bottom of a valley already, was glad that Ms. Tian could handle the matter instead of him.
Ms. Tian did not go there personally. Instead, she paid a messenger two times to pass on the message and stressed to him that he should treat the Shao Family badly.
She was going to make sure that Ms. Fang got so annoyed that she would not want to visit them.
In that way, she could tell others that the Shao Family did not want to marry Yang Xiaoni, and in this way, she could marry Yang Xiaoni to anyone she wanted.
She hated the goddamned sister-in-law of hers, and she was not going to allow her to live happily.
However, Qiao Xuan came over with Ms. Fang.
What she had not expected was that Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang did not come to her home at all, but went to Third Grandma Yang's home directly.
When Third Grandma Yang sent someone to fetch Yang Liang and Ms. Tian, the couple was still wondering what was going on.
Seeing Ms. Qiao and Ms. Fang, Ms. Tian's face changed and she screamed. "What are you doing here?!"
Third Grandma Yang got annoyed and she sneered. "I am also involved with Xiaoni's marriage. Why can't they come to my place? Since we are all here, we can have a thorough discussion!"
82 Ms. Tian's Sneer
Third Grandma Yang even brought two more grandmas as witnesses.
Annoyed and unconvinced, Ms. Tian said, "It is not proper for us to have the discussion at someone else's home, right? She is my sister-in-law."
Third Grandma Yang ignored her and asked Yang Liang. "Am I the senior family member of the family? Is it proper to have the discussion here at my home or not?"
Yang Liang dare not say anything against that. He mumbled incoherently and said nothing else.
Ms. Fang sneered. "This is a major matter of happiness. If we have senior family members as witnesses here, it is your good fortune!"
Yang Liang and Ms. Tian glared at everyone in fury, yet did not dare to say anything more.
Third Grandma Yang smiled. "I am an experienced person and I should take good care of the junior family members in case they go on a twisted path. We are all a family and are concerned about all members of the family."
Ms. Tian sneered and cursed inwardly.
Well, since the incident was mentioned, Yang Liang was forced to agree, but he said that the wedding gifts needed to be renegotiated.
"20 liang is way too little! You are a rich family and you can't be compared with other families! She is my only sister, and I need to see if you are sincere enough. Okay, I don't need 80 or 100 liang, but we need at least 40 liang!"
Third Grandma Yang gasped.
She had not fully believed that the Yang Family would want 100 or 80 liang as Ms. Fang had put it earlier. She had thought that the latter was just exaggerating!
But hearing what Yang Liang said… she realized that she should have believed Ms. Fang at the beginning.
Ms. Fang sneered. "I am sincere enough, so I offered 20 liang! Were you able to find anyone else who would like to offer 20 liang during this period? We are here today, because we don't necessarily need your sister. If you don't accept 20 liang, then we will drop the matter!"
Ms. Tian added. "Then we drop it! We don't care about your family! Our sister can always be married to anyone. I don't think that our sister would have a good time with your family, seeing how you are like right now!"
"You…"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Then you can ask Ms. Yang if she is suffering with you or enjoying living with you? As for our family, we sister-in-laws respect our mother-in-law. What our mother-in-law is like is not to be determined by you. The whole family knows what she is like. You are just making yourself a laughing stock by claiming so!"
Ms. Tian forced a false smile. "Oh well, we are not as good as you. No mother-in-law will have any courage to mistreat you!"
Qiao Xuan said, "It seems that this lady is just being tough. She doesn't seem to understand what others are talking about. I don't have anything to argue with you, you can do whatever that pleases you. It is all in your imagination. We have enough people to prove how we are!"
Third Grandma Yang snorted. "Yang Liang, 20 liang is enough, and you have to remember the condition of one month's time! Just think about this. If you do anything more pestering, we can all gather to teach you a lesson! We are a family with rules. Ms. Tian knows nothing, but you should! Fifteen years ago, a horrible woman irritated her mother-in-law to death, so her sister-in-law killed herself in the river. Even though she had many children, she was still trapped in the ancestral hall for her entire life and she became mental in the end! Hehe!"
Third Grandma Yang glanced at Ms. Tian and said calmly, "If our family can't even keep a horrible woman at bay, then no good girls would dare to join us. Gradually, our family would have no good offspring in the next generation!"
83 Accident
Ms. Tian's face changed. She shivered and started to panic.
Yang Liang did not counter the old woman, so the tale was real.
She knew pretty well how she treated Yang Xiaoni.
Now the bitch had decided to start a war with her, and even spent the night at Third Grandma Yang's home instead of her own house. The way she was behaving was so annoying!
What if she caused a huge mess.
Ms. Tian did get frightened hearing what Third Grandma Yang said to her.
Third Grandma Yang felt slightly better and prouder, as she managed to talk down Ms. Tian. "I think we can settle the arrangement here. 20 liang as the wedding gift. Yang Liang, anything you want to say?"
"What? I…"
"Okay, nothing to say." Third Grandma Yang said resolutely and settled the argument. "Pick a date and exchange the engagement card."
Ms. Tian, who was furious, and jealous, found that she was losing. So she snapped. "But I don't have any dowry to offer and we can't afford to host a banquet!"
Any family would turn around and walk away, when they heard those words.
But Ms. Fang did not really care about those things, otherwise she would have died out of anger long ago because of what the third section of the family and the second section of the family did to her family.
She could clearly see that Ms. Tian was evil and she was doing all of this on purpose. So, in order to win the argument, she was going to say yes to the marriage at any cost.
Also, her useless son insisted on marrying Yang Xiaoni.
So Ms. Fang nodded constantly. "Okay! We just like Xiaoni and don't care about her dowry!"
Third Grandma Yang suddenly felt really jealous.
How could her own daughter fail to have such good luck!
Feeling even more furious, Ms. Tian said annoyedly, "I don't have much food to give to someone else's daughter-in-law. Since the marriage is settled, you should take her away as soon as possible."
That was exactly what Ms. Fang expected to hear. "Okay then, after the Dragon Boat Festival in May, we will pick an auspicious date for the wedding!"
Ms. Tian sneered and added. "You should not look down at us. You must hold one wedding on the same scale as the one you held for your fifth daughter-in-law!"
"Ms. Tian!" Third Grandma Yang sank her face. "How dare you compare the village girl to the daughter of the County Magistrate? What scale? If you ever cause trouble to the Yang Family, we will all go down together!"
In other words, what she meant was that the County Magistrate was not in the same category as these people, and if the County Magistrate learned about the comparison, he might not be happy.
The other elderly grandmas also had stern expressions on their faces, and snapped at Ms. Tian.
Qiao Xuan sneered and threw a disdainful look at Ms. Tian, as if she were going to take revenge on her without warning.
Ms. Tian turned slightly pale and did not dare to say anything more.
When this errand was settled, Ms. Qiao and Ms. Fang left together.
Ms. Fang smiled at Qiao Xuan. "You have helped us a lot!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "No worries, Mom, we are a family. You treat me so nicely and Third Brother has helped me a lot too. This is all I can do to repay you."
Ms. Fang laughed. "Oh, my child, you are so adorable!"
It was Qiao Xuan's idea to come to Third Grandma Yang's home for the settlement. She even had two bottles of honey and one patch of cotton cloth to offer.
Those gifts delighted Third Grandma Yang greatly, and she spared no efforts to defend them in every way possible.
84 Ms. Fang's Concern
That very afternoon, the matchmaker came over to exchange the engagement card. The date of May 20th was settled upon, and the whole thing was organized at a lightning speed.
Qiao Xuan saw the date and her lip corners could not help but twitch. 520, what a good date…
Shao Sanlang laughed as if he had turned mental. He went to Ms. Fang and kept flattering her.
Ms. Fang struck hard on his head and snapped. "You useless man! Now you have realized your goal! But let me tell you right now, if your daughter-in-law doesn't respect me or disobey me openly and defends her family, I will not keep her here! If you dare to defend her in this way, you and I are no longer mother and son."
As for whether or not Yang Xiaoni's brother and sister-in-law would continue to pester them after Yang Xiaoni was married, Ms. Fang wasn't that worried at all.
They were just her brother and sister-in-law.
No brother or sister-in-law of any family would get involved with their married sister, unless the married sister was taking her brother's side.
Ms. Fang would not agree to hang out with those shameless people either.
She was not going to allow them to take advantage of her family.
Since they were just brother and sister-in-law, Ms. Fang agreed to the marriage because Yang Xiaoni was a good girl.
Shao Sanlang smiled and nodded constantly. He said in a flattering tone, "Don't worry, Mom, I will respect you and father along with her! She hates her brother and sister-in-law too, so she is not going to take their side."
Haha!
Ms. Fang was amused.
Seeing his mother smiling, Shao Sanlang turned to Qiao Xuan. "Thank you very much, Fifth Sister-in-law. Both of us owe you big! You can turn to me for help if you need anything in the future!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "No worries, Third Brother, we are a family!"
"Yes, yes we are a family! We will remember what you have done for us forever!" Shao Sanlang smiled and said, "Oh yes, you don't have to pay me any salary. When Xiaoni is here, we will work for you together!"
Qiao Xuan laughed. "Third Brother, these are two different things. You are getting paid anyway. Otherwise Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law would be very embarrassed."
Shao Sanlang was startled, wondering why.
Ms. Fang glared at him and explained things to make him understand what she meant. He smiled at Qiao Xuan and laughed even more awkwardly.
Shao Sanlang got paid but the money was given to Ms. Fang.
He was getting married next month and they needed to host a simple banquet, which might cost some money as well.
Ms. Fang accepted the payment.
When this matter was settled, Qiao Xuan, together with Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao went up into the mountains and hunted honeycombs. Shao Yunduan was not assured, so he followed them for a walk.
Ms. Fang was worried about Shao Sanlang's wedding.
The bride had nothing to offer, and they had to prepare for everything.
They needed the matchmaker, the happy litter, and the orchestras too. Moreover, they needed new blankets for the room, and the couple needed to have new clothes too. Then, they also needed to provide small snacks for the guests too…
Also, there would be at least one representative from each household of the village to attend either weddings or funerals, including children. But some close relatives, apart from the formally-invited guests, would all be present too…
85 Money
There would be at least twenty tables at the wedding.
The banquet might not be as luxurious as the one for Shao Yunduan's wedding, yet one bowl of chicken and one bowl of meat would definitely have to be served.
Yang Liang and his wife were annoying, but the bridegroom was her own son, and Yang Xiaoni was going to spend the rest of her life with him. Therefore, she could not make the wedding look too shabby, otherwise Yang Xiaoni might not be so happy about this, not now maybe, but most likely in the future.
Ms. Fang did want the wedding to be the 'hidden bomb' in the relationship between her son and daughter-in-law. So, she decided to make it look good.
But where was she going to get the money to pay for the bill?
Before she went to bed at night, Ms. Fang sat in bed and did the calculation with Elder Uncle. They would need at least 2 liang for the wedding.
The problem was that the wedding gift had already cost them everything and they did not have 2 liang at all!
"…Duan has just got married and now it is our third son's turn. This is totally beyond anticipation. Only if he doesn't hold the wedding until two years later. But… Ms. Qiao already offered us 10 liang for the wedding. Though she explained the reason to us, yet it is her kindness! We must not ask her for any more money for the wedding!"
"We should not take money as loan from her either. Also, Ms. Qiao is not going to ask us to pay her back. That would be immoral on our part!"
"Also, let me tell you, we can't even pay for Duan's examination next year. By that time, Ms. Qiao is going to pay for his fees, because it is her husband who is going to the examination. This is how our current situation is…"
What she meant was that they could not possibly ask Qiao Xuan to loan them any more money for Shao Sanlang's wedding this time.
They could not just bully her just because she was rich.
Eldest Uncle also got annoyed. "We can't even spare 2 liang?"
Ms. Fang sneered. "You really have no idea what is going on?"
Eldest Uncle looked dazed, and could not utter a word.
His two brothers kept borrowing money from him and he was well aware of this…
"What about me asking my brothers about the money tomorrow?"
Ms. Fang sneered inwardly, but she agreed. "That is good, you can try tomorrow, or we can also try to come up with some other ideas."
Early next morning, Elder Uncle went to the second section of the family and the third section of the family for money.
But the result was well on the predicted lines.
"Elder Brother, we need your help all the time. Of course we don't have any spare money! We can definitely lend you some if we do have any in stock. We are family, aren't we?"
"Brother, Liulang is studying right now and we are barely making ends meet. We need your help, rather than being able to help you!"
"Why not ask Ms. Qiao? She has so much dowry. 2 liang is so small an amount for her! I don't think she even considers 2 liang as a big amount."
"Go and ask Ms. Qiao, she has wasted so much money on the lands and splurged so much. Won't she even want to offer any money for your real business? That is so rude of her!"
Eldest Uncle felt so annoyed after speaking with his brothers.
He could sense that they did have some savings, but… maybe he had thought too much?
As for Ms. Qiao… he really could not turn to Ms. Qiao for help!
Eldest Uncle felt extremely distressed.
86 Qiao Xuan Satisfied
He asked for a loan from other villagers, but met with the same result.
For villagers, 2 liang was not a small amount and it was very difficult to get.
Eldest Uncle was feeling very distressed. He turned to Ms. Fang. "What about asking Ms. Qiao for help…"
Ms. Fang looked at him in silence.
Then she said, "That seems to be the only way to do it right now! But let me tell you, if we borrow the money, we have to return it to her! Also, Qi and Taotao are growing up and they are going to get married too. So, we need to prepare for that as well. They are your children, you have to take them into consideration first! From this moment on, we have no money for any other sections of the family!"
"You can't even help your own children before you help others. Be sure your children don't blame you for that."
"Also, Duan needs money. He is studying. If he passes the examination and goes into the capital for further examinations, it would cost more. You can't possibly let Ms. Qiao offer the money to him, right? Otherwise, how would he stand with back straight in front of his wife!"
"Junyan is intelligent too, and in a couple of years, he will probably go to school as well. What if he makes it through? Even if he can't pass any more examinations, it would be better to be able to read than know nothing!"
Eldest Uncle felt head aching and could not help but feel guilty and bashful. He interrupted Ms. Fang impatiently. "Alright, alright, I got it! I am, of course, going to consider my own children first. It is just… anyway, let's just do this."
Ms. Fang snorted and felt slightly better.
As long as her husband did not interrupt her, the second and the third sections of the family would never get even a penny from her!
As for the other wild animals… well, she could just ignore that for the time being.
Qiao Xuan loaned them the 2 liang without any hesitation.
Elder Uncle was gratified, yet felt a bit guilty and embarrassed inwardly.
In a couple of days, the field was filled with plants and flowers that were needed.
There were large patches of wild roses and ordinary roses, small patches of pomegranates, gardenias, sweet-scented osmanthus, jasmines, lilies, cloves, and white orchids.
All the flowers were growing well, especially the wild roses and ordinary roses. They were sprouting many small buds that were yet to bloom.
The fences were all up, which were higher than 2 meters. Along the iron fence, there were wild roses, and one could not see anything from outside.
When the door was chained, no one was able to walk in.
Twenty out of thirty honeycombs were filled with bees, who kept flying in and out every day.
Qiao Xuan was very satisfied looking at the scene.
In a couple of more days, there would be 30 boxes of bees!
One box of bees could help in extracting two or three times of honey and beeswax, which would be purified into at least 500 grams of pure honey.
Therefore, there would be more than 15 to 20 kgs of honey in one year.
That was plenty for them under the circumstances.
Mostly, they did not need so much anyway.
Before she became powerful enough, she was not going to reveal this way of making money, and the lipsticks would not be produced at a large scale either.
In order to keep everything a secret, she even had a hat on when she went to book the modes and tubes for lipsticks. She signed a non-disclosure contract with the craftmen so that the move was not revealed.
When all the boxes were done, Qiao Xuan put away the beeswax carefully and decided to sell honey in the capital.
87 Anticipation
The wild bees did not produce much honey. Moreover, Qiao Xuan did not work too hard on it, so in the end, she harvested more than 50 kgs of wild honey and 9 kgs of beeswax.
Qiao Xuan kept around 1.5 kg of honey and decided to sell the remaining 50 kgs.
Nine kg beeswax, plus the plant oil, almond oil as well as purified red-colored flower juice would make at least 2,350 lipsticks at least.
How much did that mean? Qiao Xuan looked as if she had already seen money coming her way.
With this amount of money, she was going to buy more land and open stores.
In the beginning, she would do everything in secret. She did not intend to show up as the owner. She could not let Madame Qiao learn about this. When she became powerful enough that she went beyond Madame Qiao's influence, she would establish business relationships with some big businessmen with strong backgrounds. In this way, she would have nothing to fear in the future.
Most importantly, it would be great if Shao Yunduan could make it to Advanced Scholar level!
If he cleared it, she would be protected as well. By that time, even her bad father would not dare do a thing to her, let alone Madame Qiao.
Advanced Scholar was different from Cultivated Talent. He could replace the official position of a minor County Magistrate. With some relationships and achievements, he could even be the head of a county.
So, even if her father wanted to do something about him, he could not possibly win by using small tricks. He would need to report him to the government office where the head supervised the whole case.
Qiao Xuan believed that Madame Qiao would try and do some tricks, but her father would not.
What if her father's bad deeds were revealed, it would be the end of his career! He was not stupid enough to do something detrimental to himself.
In his eyes, Shao Yunduan was his son-in-law, and when Shao Yunduan became successful, he had to pay respect to him, otherwise his name would be ruined and Shao Yunduan would not help him in the future.
In fact, if Shao Yunduan became successful, he would get extra help with relationships in the office, and that would make him really happy. Hence, he would not allow Madame Qiao to play any tricks.
Therefore, as long as Shao Yunduan made it to Advanced Scholar, it would be the starting of his flourishing career. That made Qiao Xuan feel really excited.
50 kgs of honey filled up three large porcelain jars.
Everyone was so happy. It would earn them a lot of money.
So on this day, when Shao Yunduan was going to the school in the capital, they rented a bullock cart and everyone went there together.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao, as well as Ms. Fang tagged along.
Ms. Fang had another purpose, that of buying some things needed for Shao Sanlang's wedding.
Honey was going to be sold to the pharmacies.
Many side materials used at the pharmacy needed honey. Moreover, some precious materials would be soaked in wild, authentic honey so as to be preserved well.
For example, ginseng, the best fresh wild ginseng, was sliced and cut into sections, soaked in pure wild honey and sealed, so that it could be stored for seventy or eighty years without any loss of efficacy.
Qiao Xuan went to one of the two big pharmacies in the capital with her family, and the manager showed them to the backyard. He tasted the honey and was shocked.
"How did you get so much honey?"
Wild honeycombs were very difficult to find.
Their clinic needed wild honey throughout the year, and in late spring and summer, they would hire specialists to seek honey in the mountains. Normally, they would at most get 100-150 kgs. Sometimes they would get even less than 100 kgs.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Just good luck. Manager, are you buying the honey? If not, we will sell it somewhere else."
Manager smiled, as he saw the beautiful married woman in front of him. "It is a long way for you to come to this place, we will take it…"
88 Fifth Sister-in-law
Those words might have made others feel anxious, but Qiao Xuan rolled her eyes inside her head, and said straightforwardly, "Manager, you don't have to force yourself into doing any business. If you don't want to buy it, just say it directly!"
Manager, "…"
Shao Yunduan added, seeing her handle everything calmly and with composure. "True. Manager, if you really want to buy the honey, please name a price."
Qiao Xuan said with a smile, looking quite indifferent, "Wild honey is a great thing. Even if we fail to sell it, we can still keep it for ourselves. Honey can be preserved for a long time, and it won't go bad even after years. We can eat it slowly, or give it away as a gift, it will always come into use. I hear that wild honey with water can help extend lifespan!"
Ms. Fang's eyes widened. "That is great!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "That is really good, Mom!"
Manager's mouth twitched. He could not help but feel really concerned for this precious honey.
They were ruining this wonderful treasure!
He was a sly businessman, and after some testing, he realized that this young couple wasn't so easy to be coaxed.
In that case, he decided not to bargain.
Manager said with a smile, "Your honey is really pure and wonderful, but it is too mixed. So I will buy it at 70 wen for 500 grams, what do you think?"
Ms. Fang's legs collapsed, as she felt dizzy in head. She asked in a shivering tone. "How… much?"
Shao Taotao helped her up and her eyes were also widened.
Shao Xiaoqi was dumbfounded too.
Honey was so valuable?
Fifth Sister-in-law was excellent. Her things earned more than his hunt.
Manager smiled. "70 wen, Ms, that is a very reasonable price!"
Ms. Fang could not say a thing.
She was not trying to raise the price…
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look and Shao Yunduan nodded. "Okay, deal."
After weighing, the honey measured upto almost 50 kgs apart from the porcelain jar.
Manager gave them 7 liang, and Qiao Xuan generously gave away the three porcelain jars to the manager, who smiled and thanked the young lady.
He even told her to bring it again, if they have any more in the future.
When they left the clinic, Ms. Fang was still feeling dazed.
Seven liang… they had just earned seven liang at one go!
Ms. Fang stared at Qiao Xuan transfixed and mumbled inside her heart. "She is our lucky star, indeed a lucky star…"
After her fifth daughter-in-law came to their home, they were living a better life than before. They had not only dealt with the second and the third section of the family, but also accomplished Third Son's marriage. They were having a good time. They even had a spring at home…
Her fifth daughter-in-law was just too fortunate!
"Mom, I will give 3.5 liang to you, and the remaining will be divided between me, Qi and Taotao."
"I will take 1.5 liang and you both will get 1 liang each respectively, does that sound ok?"
Qiao Xuan was not going to take advantage of them. It was true that she had done most in getting the honey, and it was reasonable that she should get a little more from the portion that was distributed after giving the family share.
There would be a lot of occasions when they would make money. If they did not set a rule for profit sharing, conflicts would definitely arise in the future.
By that time, they might even lose their friendly relationship.
Ms. Fang was still feeling blank inside her head, when she took over the money.
Neither Qi nor Taotao was satisfied by how the amount was divided.
89 With Fifth Sister-in-law
The brother and sister nodded and shook their heads dazedly.
"Fifth Sister-in-law, that is too much! We did nothing much, please just give half of that amount."
"Yes, yes!"
Ms. Fang also brought herself back and said with a smile, "Ms. Qiao, we got this because of you, they can just take 1 liang in total."
In the past, before her daughter-in-law was married to their family, no one had sold honey for so much money. They managed to earn this much because of what her fifth daughter-in-law did for them.
Now they would be able to host a good wedding for her third son. Ms. Fang felt really relieved when she received so much money suddenly.
Qiao Xuan did not change her mind. Qi and Taotao thanked her and looked at their fifth sister-in-law in admiration.
They were definitely going to hang out with Fifth Sister-in-law more in the future.
Qiao Xuan added. "Mom, put away the money. We may use it at some point in time, and… keep it a secret…"
Ms. Fang realized what she meant. She looked at her two sons and her daughter. "True, you must keep these earnings a secret, and not reveal it to anyone else, not even to your father."
Money was always going to be useful, and she needed to save some.
Qi and Taotao nodded in agreement. So did Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan was heading to the school, whilst Qiao Xuan and Ms. Qiao were going to do some more shopping, so they waved goodbye at an intersection.
Shao Yunduan whispered to Qiao Xuan. "If you ever run into someone from the Qiao Family, just avoid them…"
If Madame Qiao knew that Qiao Xuan was in town, she was not going to let go of the opportunity to humiliate her.
Qiao Xuan felt her heart turn warm, as she smiled. "I will. And I will take care of Mom and our brother and sister."
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Thanks."
Ms. Fang pretended not to notice that her son and daughter-in-law were whispering with each other. She smiled brightly. "The two of them are so sweet together!"
Qiao Xuan had intended to stay away from the Qiao Family, so after she left Shao Yunduan, she grabbed a towel to cover herself.
Ms. Fang was very satisfied seeing how her daughter-in-law behaved. She thought that Qiao Xuan had covered herself up because she did not want anyone else to stare at her beautiful face.
Ms. Fang told Qiao Xuan that she was not going to return the 2 liang to her. She said, "We must let your father-in-law know that we owe you 2 liang. If you need money at any point, come to me in private."
Qiao Xuan had never intended to ask Ms. Fang to return the 2 liang, but if there was a proposal like this, she would not turn it down. She smiled and nodded in an understanding way.
That made Ms. Fang feel even more gratified. Ms. Xu would not have said yes to such a proposal ever.
Soon, they were done shopping.
Qiao Xuan weighed 1 kg of snacks, some dried chilis, star anise, fennel and other seasonings, before heading ahead to buy the meat.
Qiao Xuan bought a large piece of lamb chops. She wanted to go back and make pan-fried lamb chops. After adding some honey on top of it, the dish would smell delicious.
She bought one more hoof and a large piece of pork belly.
The hoof could be stewed with turnips, and half of it would be fried to make a dish with a sweet and sour flavor. The other half would be served with chopped chives, and the taste would be really beyond anticipation.
The pork belly would be added with soy sauce, honey and then fried to make BBQ pork.
May was around the corner, and the day was getting warmer. The meat could not be preserved for long. If it was made into BBQ pork, it could be kept for two more days.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao offered to pay for the meat. They could not possibly ask Qiao Xuan to pay for everything.
"I was thinking about buying some meat and having Fifth Sister-in-law cook it for us. We can't let you pay for it and cook at the same time!"
90 Background
"Yes, we have money now!"
The four of them laughed.
It cost just ten wen for 500 grams, and they only paid 200 wen for so much meat. Qiao Xuan decided not to argue with them any more, so she smiled. "Then, I can treat you to a bowl of noodles each, let's go!"
A bowl of noodles consisted of green onions, pickled vegetables, beans and a spoonful of bone soup added on top. It only cost three wen.
One egg could be sold at one wen, and villagers were not really happy to spend money upon buying one bowl of noodles, normally.
But they felt that they had made a fortune today, so they all agreed and went to eat noodles together.
When they were done eating, they went to fetch the bullock cart, and guarded their stuff for a while, whilst Qiao Xuan went to buy some garments and needles at the garment store.
The garments would be used to make the sole and the top of the shoes.
Summer was coming soon, and there were many kinds of beautiful garments in the store. Qiao Xuan picked some and decided to make three sets for herself and Shao Yunduan, two for her in-laws, and one each for the others, respectively. She even counted Yang Xiaoni in.
She also needed some underwear for the hot days. So, she bought some thin white cotton garment and decided to make two sets for herself and Shao Yunduan as well as Shao Taotao.
Girls from the countryside would normally make garments for themselves, so they knew about each other's sizes. Qiao Xuan asked Shao Taotao to tell her the sizes, and gave the order to the garment store, telling them that she would fetch the clothes in a couple of days.
Shao Taotao was really worried about splurging so much money. But Qiao Xuan smiled and whispered. "We should not waste our time upon making clothes. We have to earn money during that time instead…"
Shao Taotao fell silent.
The manager of the store saw how generous Qiao Xuan was, and everyone laughed. They treated them nicely, and decided to give the cotton garments to them for free and gave some other beautiful garments as gifts too.
That made Shao Taotao really happy. She was definitely going to make a beautiful pair of new shoes for her beloved fifth sister-in-law!
As they left the garment store, they went around and saw a person selling small geese.
There were nine of them, bigger than a fist. They had long necks, and their eyes looked like black beans, lovely and cute.
Qiao Xuan bought all of them.
There were many chickens at home, but no ducks. Qiao Xuan had asked her mother-in-law about the reason, and her mother-in-law said that it was because ducks ate too much. Keeping them was not worth the while.
Qiao Xuan dropped the idea of keeping ducks. They could wait until they had more money in the future.
But geese were different. They only fed on grass, and little grains.
The family could stew the geese and eat geese eggs as well.
Ms. Fang saw the geese and said nothing, since she knew that they only fed on grass. She was glad too.
Shao Yunduan returned at four in the afternoon, and they all went back to the village together.
Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma did not show up this time, unexpectedly. Shao Taotao could not help but mumble out of curiosity.
Ms. Fang sneered. "They knew that we were going into the village to buy things for your brother's wedding, and they did not want to be here in case we would ask them for money!"
They groaned so terribly about their poor situation, but that worked only on her husband, not her.
She knew them pretty well!
They were afraid of being blamed by her.
Qiao Xuan laughed. "You have seen them through, Mom!"
Ms. Fang was proud and replied with a smirk. "I have!"
91 Eldest Uncle Stuck
Good that they were not here! Qiao Xuan took a rest and after a while started to work in the kitchen.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao helped alongside.
Ms. Xu was very happy to see Qiao Xuan making some snacks for her children. She offered to help too, but Qiao Xuan told her to leave.
During dinner, dishes including pan-fried lamb chops, stewed radish soup, pan-fried sweet and sour hoof, stir-fried yam slices, stir-fried lettuce, and cold spinach were served. The view made people drool.
The BBQ pork was made as well. But it was stored in the kitchen for the next night.
When Elder Uncle saw the table full of meat, he could not help but gasp.
Before he could say anything, Qiao Xuan smiled. "Don't worry, Father, all this was bought with my dowry, not with the shared money. My husband has been studying hard, and our brothers and sisters-in-law are working hard too. We should eat something good."
Eldest Uncle was stuck with words, and said nothing more.
He owed 2 liang to his daughter-in-law and could not possibly ask her to share the food with the other sections of the family.
Eldest Uncle answered briefly and said, "But this is too much for us…"
He meant that they could give the rest to the second and the third sections of the family, because their children were starving too.
Shao Sanlang pursed his lips. "We are all grownups. Of course we will be able to finish it all. Dad, the dishes taste great, I will make sure I finish them all!"
Qiao Xuan chuckled.
Seeing that Qiao Xuan had not yet realized what he meant, Eldest Uncle snapped at his son and said, "You only know how to eat! You are getting married soon!"
Ms. Fang rolled her eyes. "Just sit down and eat!"
Eldest Uncle fell silent.
The lamb chops tasted crisp on the top and the hoofs were not tough to chew. A bite of both of them tasted great. They were soft, sweet and sour at the same time, with a really fragrant taste of the broth.
The wok dishes and cold-served spinach were good for appetite.
After the whole family was full, they spoke highly of the dishes and did not spare even the broth.
Shao Sanlang looked at Elder Uncle, as he poured the broth over the rice. "Dad, look, I knew I could finish it!"
Eldest Uncle responded in a dark manner. "Just shut up!"
Qiao Xuan tried to hold down her laughter.
Back in the bedroom, Shao Yunduan said to Qiao Xuan,. "After the Dragon Boat Festival, we will have a competition with dragon boats. The teachers of the school asked me to join. Do you want to watch the game?"
Qiao Xuan's eyes brightened. "Is it fun?"
Shao Yunduan felt slightly delighted. He knew that it would be interesting for her. He nodded. "Yes, and it is going to be festive!"
"Okay!" Qiao Xuan smiled. "I will be there!"
She had never seen such a show before, and would definitely like to watch it.
Moreover, she could make a thorough observation of the local area.
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Ok, it is settled then."
"Yes!"
Following day, Qiao Xuan thought of the batch of watermelon seeds.
She struck her head. She should not have forgotten about this. She will take Qi and Taotao to the mountain, and bring some watermelon seeds to the yard.
There were many watermelon seeds there, and with the help of her superpower, she was going to make the fruits grow fantastically in her field.
The watermelons would grow to be numerous, large in size, round and sweet too!
92 Fifth Sister-in-law
Watermelons were not commonly-seen things. According to the original host's memory, they only got two watermelons at home once and her parents regarded them as treasure.
Of course, those precious fruits were eaten by her parents, and the original host did not have the qualification of eating it.
But this time, she was going to eat everything!
The three of them trekked upto Wangqing Mountains, and then Qiao Xuan 'accidentally' found the wild watermelon seeds.
The seeds were already budding, and there were many veins everywhere, tangled and spread over the ground.
They could tell that when the watermelons grow well, there would be many animals and birds flying all over.
Qiao Xuan said to Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao, "This is a very good thing. We can go back and plant some in the yard. They are called watermelons, round, red and swee. We can even sell them in the town. I am sure that everyone will buy it!"
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were not completely convinced by her words. But they were glad to hear that these seeds could be worth the while.
"That is great! Fifth Sister-in-law knows everything and we can earn money again!"
"Let's dig out the seeds!"
The three of them worked together. Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were very proficient in it.
It was a simple task, and Qiao Xuan helped too.
Soon, they got enough seeds within two hours.
Qiao Xuan left some for the animals in the mountains.
Surprisingly, they saw two mulberry trees next to the watermelon field.
It was a season when mulberry grew well, and many of the fruits had already shown up.
Birds loved the fruits, and there were only a few remaining on the trees.
Qiao Xuan's eyes brightened and she said that those fruits could be eaten as well. Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao trusted her completely. They picked the ugly-looking fruits and put them in their mouths. Instantly, their eyes brightened too.
"These are so sweet!"
"So tasty!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "See, I was not lying to you, right?"
When the mulberries were picked, Qiao Xuan decided to bring some back home too. She could duplicate the trees.
Hence, they will receive many fruits next year.
Moreover, the extra mulberries could be used to make liquor.
The seeds were all gathered, tied up into several bunches, and put into the basket.
Since they were going to plant the seeds, they decided to go back earlier.
They spent two more hours in the mountains, where Shao Xiaoqi caught one rooster, and then they went to Rabbit Hill together.
"We can hunt two rabbits today and there is no need for more. I can just come here whenever you want to eat it!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Qi, you should never come here alone. It is dangerous here. I need to be here with you, understand?"
Qiao Xuan was not bragging. There were dangerous zones in Wangqing Mountains as well. The reason why they never ran into danger was because Qiao Xuan could scan over the place and helped them avoid the dangerous zones within their nearby range. That is how they managed to escape from the beasts' infested areas in the past.
What Qiao Xuan did not know was that Shao Xiaoqi was more capable than he displayed in front of others. He could escape even if he ran into wild boars or tigers.
93 Fifth Sister-in-law, So Good
Moreover, after three years' time, they could even fight for it.
Hearing what Qiao Xuan said, Shao Xiaoqi felt very moved. He nodded and answered. "I got it, Fifth Sister-in-law!"
Fifth Sister-in-law was so concerned about him. She was really nice.
"But, you have to remember not to lie to me!"
"Of course, Fifth Sister-in-law!"
The rabbit nest was full of fat and large wild rabbits, three of which became Shao Xiaoqi's catch. Shao Taotao brought them home.
The three of them walked for some time before Qiao Xuan found the fig trees.
The trees looked quite like wild-growing trees, but with a special smell. Surprised, she decided to take them home, but the decision startled Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao!
The two of them tried to stop her.
"Fifth Sister-in-law, we must not take these home. They smell terrible!"
Qiao Xuan pointed at the finger-size green fruits with a smile. "The smelly tree you know of is different from this one. That tree doesn't grow fruits, but look at this tree. It has figs which taste good when they ripen!"
More importantly, the trees were much easier to grow, better than mulberry trees. Even one twig could make it grow wildly.
Also, the figs tasted good but could not be transported easily. So, they were often dried.
Even in the modern time, no fresh figs could be found in the fruit stores that were away from the place where figs were grown.
If some fresh figs were transported before they turned ripe, the taste would be much worse.
The real, mature figs had a great taste!
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao took a closer look at it and admired the fruit.
"They are different! Fifth Sister-in-law, you are so clever. You know everything!"
"Yes, we were wrong! Fifth Sister-in-law, how does fig grow? Does it bloom?"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Yes, it blooms, except that the flowers are too small to be seen."
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao came to a realization, and helped Qiao Xuan to dig the tree.
The three of them returned home and ran into Ms. Niu, who was wandering about with her grandson in her arms, just as they were about to enter the village.
Ms. Niu, who saw them carrying baskets and bags, had her eyes wide and bright. "Hey, what all have you got?"
Ms. Niu tried to dig out what was inside their basket.
She saw some mushrooms and melon veins on top.
Wild roosters and rabbits were in the bag in Shao Taotao's hand, whilst Qiao Xuan was carrying two wrist-thick fig trees under her arms.
The three of them felt speechless as they saw Ms. Niu's behavior.
Shao Xiaoqi dodged her. "Hey, Second Aunt-in-law!"
pursed her lips. "What are those seeds for? Why are you carrying them home?"
"For food!" Qiao Xuan smiled and bragged. " The seeds look very fresh, they should taste good."
There were all kinds of wild plants in the mountains during this time of the year and in this era. So Qiao Xuan loved to bring a lot home every time she went into the mountains.
Ms. Niu heard of this before.
So she did not suspect Qiao Xuan's words. She lost her interest instantly and rolled her eyes, complaining. "She, who is born nobly, has no idea what is worth the while and what is not."
Ms. Niu cribbed inwardly yet said, "So wild roosters and rabbits are in this bag, aren't they? You can hunt more wild animals for us, look at my grandson, he has lost so much weight!"
Qiao Xuan blinked. "But you have so many roosters at home, you can feed them to your grandson too, right?"
94 Teasing Ms. Niu
"What are you talking about?" Ms. Niu glared at her. "Those hens are for eggs, we can't kill them to eat. We are not wasting food at home!"
Qiao Xuan snorted. "But Qi of our family is young, and he needs rest. He gets tired too. Our parents feel sorry for him, so do we as brother and sister-in-law!"
Shao Xiaoqi added. "Yes, my legs feel languished after a full day's running. It takes me several days before I am able to completely relax!"
The three of them laughed.
They were obviously teasing Ms. Niu.
Annoyed, Ms. Niu shot back. "You are countering the senior member of the family!"
Qiao Xuan's face sank, as she said coldly, "Second Aunt-in-law… should we try to seek justice with our parents? You are setting us up! Whenever Qi returns with wild animals, you always speak ill about him when you don't get anything from him. Also, me and Taotao… have we ever offended you, Second Aunt-in-law?"
Ms. Niu felt even more angry.
Shao Taotao had never offended her, and they had taken many things from what Shao Xiaoqi had hunted, so she should not be blamed. Ms. Niu felt very annoyed by Qiao Xuan, whilst she could not utter a single word of complaint.
Qiao Xuan was too treacherous!
Ms. Niu mumbled in anger. "I am just saying, what are you being so serious about? I am a senior member and I can, of course, discipline you a little."
Qiao Xuan immediately reacted. "You, as the senior member, can definitely discipline us, if we make any mistakes. But you are ruining our reputation for no reason. Why can't we be upset? Our reputation is important, and it can't be taken as a joke all the time. You can't be deliberately doing it, can you? Will you be happy if my mom keeps ruining Meiling's reputation?"
"They have done nothing wrong, why must they be talked about?"
"Then what have we done, Second Aunt-in-law?"
Ms. Niu became so furious that she shivered. Goddamned Ms. Qiao, she was awful!
Qiao Xuan's eyes looked cold. "Second Aunt-in-law, you have to remember not to spread rumors about others. Don't ever forget that you have your own children and grandchildren too. If you offend us severely one day, I am not sure what I will do, for real."
She was the daughter of the County Magistrate, and if she made such a claim, there would be many people who believed her.
Standing right on the spot, Ms. Niu spat seeing them leaving. "Ms. Qiao, you goddamned woman!"
Qiao Xuan reached home and dropped one rooster and two wild rabbits. Then she took the mushrooms for drying.
She shared the mulberries wrapped in a broad leaf, for everyone to eat.
Ms. Fang tried a few and said that they were tasty. Shao Junyan and Shao Qing felt the same.
Ms. Fang smiled more brightly, when she heard that it was Qiao Xuan's achievement. She said, "Your Fifth Sister-in-law is a very intelligent person, and has knowledge about everything."
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao nodded in agreement.
Qiao Xuan still felt a bit shy hearing the compliments. She flushed, and ran away with mulberries in her hands, saying that she was going to share them with Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan had become even more devoted to studies, after being humiliated at the Qiao Family. He had sworn that he was going to make it to the next level, so he spent the whole day studying and writing articles.
Qiao Xuan pushed the door and walked in, yet he did not even realize it.
Qiao Xuan did not disturb him either. She closed the door slightly and stood next to him, watching him quietly.
The man did not notice her. And she sized him up straightforwardly.
The way her husband wrote, made him look very attractive.
95 Good Idea
The man had a slender body shape, and good physical proportions. When he was seated at the table, he looked concentrated and careful. He was calm as he wrote the characters, and the straight-back manner in which he was sitting made him look graceful and unworldly.
He, who had been reading books since a young age, looked no longer like a villager.
Qiao Xuan subconsciously believed that he was going to become someone more than a minor Cultivated Talent. She believed that he was going to have a promising future.
Maybe one day, he was going to press down her parents, like a gigantic tree!
Qiao Xuan was dreaming, when Shao Yunduan suddenly looked up and met her eyes. Both of them were startled.
Shao Yunduan was taken aback at first. Then his eyes were on her for a long while.
Caught red-handed, Qiao Xuan realized that she had been looking at him in a straightforward way, and it was very embarrassing when she was caught.
"Oh well… I have picked many mulberries, and they are really sweet. Want to have a try?"
Qiao Xuan smiled as she showed the mulberry wrapped in the large leaf, pretending that she was not embarrassed.
She could just leave if Shao Yunduan shook his head.
But Shao Yunduan nodded. "Oh really? Let me taste it!"
Qiao Xuan. "…"
Failing in her plan, Qiao Xuan had no choice but to step forward.
She put down the mulberries in front of him, smiling. "They are very sweet!"
Shao Yunduan threw a look at her, and put a black, ripe mulberry into his mouth. He bit it open and the sweet juice went across his teeth. He smiled. "It is definitely very sweet."
"I was telling the truth, right?" Qiao Xuan calmed down, seeing his relaxed state. She added with a smile. "The mulberries look ugly, but they taste great!"
"Yes." Shao Yunduan chuckled. "You are right."
"Oh… ah, you can just take your time eating them, I will go and deal with the melon veins, planting melons, I mean."
Shao Yunduan stood up. "I can help you, I will eat the mulberries later."
Qiao Xuan blinked and was about to say something, when Shao Yunduan smiled. "I have been studying for half a day, and I need to stretch myself!"
Qiao Xuan laughed. It was coincidental, and had already happened numerous times. So, she did not turn him down but said, "Okay, then, let's go!"
Shao Yunduan nodded and left with her.
Ms. Niu, who had been so annoyed when countered by Qiao Xuan, came to the first section of the family with her grandson, out of curiosity.
Seeing Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu drying the mushrooms, Ms. Niu could not help but speak up. "Can the mushrooms be eaten? You will get poisoned!"
Ms. Fang snorted. "None of your business!"
Ms. Niu persisted and said, "Honestly, Elder Sister-in-law, why don't you tell your daughter-in-law not to go into the mountains for useless work? She always brings back wasteful stuff, so Qi gets no time to hunt."
If Shao Xiaoqi could spend more time hunting for roosters and rabbits, then they could be shared with her family.
Ms. Fang laughed out of anger. "I don't care what my daughter-in-law is doing. What is your position in talking about her? If you want more wild animals, you can go and hunt them yourself!"
96 Bad Daughter-in-law
Ms. Niu added to her list of complaints. "It is Qi who is stingy! He is hiding his skill. If he had taught Erlang and Silag how to hunt in the mountains, everything would be great!"
Ms. Fang's face sank. "Ms. Niu, you can discuss with Mr. Zhao about this, but shut your mouth in front of me!"
Mr. Zhao only recognised Qi as a talent, and only offered to teach his skills to Qi.
At that time, when they saw Qi gaining a lot of things every time he came back from the mountains with Mr. Zhao, they were eager to do the same.
The third second section of the family only had one son, who was studying and did not want to do this kind of work. But Third Uncle offered to learn the skills himself, and Erlang as well as Silang from the second section of the family chipped in as well.
But Mr. Zhao did not think that they were talented enough, so he turned them down straightforwardly.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle got so annoyed that they kept causing trouble in front of the first section of the family and making complaints about Mr. Zhao, seeing that he was alone in the village.
They were unconvinced about his decision! Shao Xiaoqi was so young, what could he do? Why did Mr. Zhao accept only him as the disciple?
Was he saying that they were worse than a pint-sized boy?
However, though Mr. Zhao was no longer as popular and influential as before, he was still capable of disciplining a couple of villagers.
So, he taught both of them a lesson quietly, before they decided to give up.
Mr. Zhao was a very skilled man, who knew that he could not face the world like before, but he did not want to die without sharing his skills. Hence, when he spotted a talented boy like Qi, he thought about imparting his knowledge to the boy.
He taught Shao Xiaoqi how to do martial arts, which was much more difficult and powerful than hunting. But he did not allow him to reveal to anyone that he knew martial arts.
That Second Uncle and Third Uncle were disciplined by him was known only to the two of them. They were so scared that they did not dare do anything. Neither Ms. Niu nor Ms. Ma ever understood why their husbands gave up.
That was why Ms. Niu remained unconvinced about the matter and started to crib about it again.
She became rather irritated when she heard what Ms. Fang said.
She was about to counter her when she saw Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan coming. She closed her mouth instantly, snorted and left with one rabbit in her hand.
Ms. Qiao was not a good daughter-in-law. She was going to defend her mother-in-law and fight her. It was not worth the while for her to stay and listen to her speech. It was her own fault that she did not have a powerful daughter-in-law. Her daughter-in-law only knew how to take things from her home to her mother's family. What a horrible comparison!
Ms. Fang was asked by Qiao Xuan to plant melons in the yard. Hence, they all went to do the work together.
Ms. Fang was glad to hear that she had got watermelon veins.
She knew what winter melons were, but not watermelons. Hearing the explanation from her daughter-in-law, she realized that it must be a sweet kind of melon that could be eaten without being cooked. She looked at her daughter-in-law and felt that she was going to make a large amount of money again, which made her feel really happy.
So, she asked Shao Taotao and Ms. Xu not to reveal a thing to anyone else in the family.
Qiao Xuan arranged it so that the melon was put next to the grape vine. It was a very broad place and with her superpower, she was going to make sure the melons would grow well.
Shao Xiaoqi, Shao Taotao and Ms. Xuo offered help too.
"Fifth sister-in-law, what should we do with the veins?"
Ms. Xu was very satisfied with Qiao Xuan. She was more than willing to help with labor and laundry as well.
97 Glad
After all, Qiao Xuan had pitched in a lot towards the shared properties, and they had taken great advantage of it.
Also, Qiao Xuan was generous enough to offer Shao Junyan and Shao Qing many snacks, and she even told them not to let their father-in-law know in case he would ask them to share those with the second and the third section of the family.
Ms. Xu was very grateful to Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan said with a smile, "There are no rules, but start planting from this spot and don't put them too close to each other. Veins won't grow properly then."
They did not need to put them too neatly.
Also, she was not very good at planting herself.
Ms. Xu and the others were a bit surprised.
Ms. Xu could not help but say, "But… isn't that too casual? We need to have rules for planting crops, this is just too…"
"Elder Sister-in-law, just do as she says, it will be fine." Shao Yunduan said.
It was her yard and she could do whatever she wanted and however she wanted, as long as she was happy.
Ms. Xu was about to say something but eventually let out a small okay. Her sister-in-law was too relaxed in crop planting, so was her brother-in-law who just let her do whatever she wanted.
Qiao Xuan smiled at Shao Yunduan and said, "Let's start it now!"
"Okay!"
The planting went on fast with some earth digging, some seed burying, some earth covering and some watering. That was it!
Soon, the land was filled with casually-planted melon seeds.
But the seeds looked withered, and were displayed in an unruly manner. They looked so sad.
Ms. Xu could not help but shake her head. "Can they really grow?" She was really doubtful!
Ms. Xu could not help but feel a little speechless seeing Qiao Xuan smiling at those withering seeds.
Anyway, as long as it pleased her…
Ms. Xu was not aware that she had subconsciously started to think differently from before.
When the melons were put down, they all walked out of the yard.
Shao Yunduan glanced at the fruit trees and grapes in the yard, saying with a smile. "Those trees are growing well!"
That surprised him as well.
Shao Xiaoqi smiled. "True, look at the persimmons, peaches and pears. They are all lush, and the fruits will be available in a couple of months!"
"And bayberries too." Shao Taotao could not help but drool at the thought. "They are turning red."
"True!"
Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Yes, I know I have spotted the right place. We will have endless fruits to eat!"
Early next morning, Qiao Xuan paid a visit to the flower field at the entrance of the village.
Everything was growing well.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, pomegranate flowers, Chinese roses, and ordinary roses would all start to bloom in large proportions. At that time, the petals would be picked and smashed to extract the flower juice. Then some almonds would be bought, almond oil would be abstracted, and beeswax would be mixed in it for making lipstick.
She could see that she had more than 2,000 lipsticks in hand. Soon, she was going to become a very rich woman!
Satisfied, Qiao Xuan put in more superpower into the field, so that the flowers grew faster, stems became stronger and leaves flourished. The twigs needed to grow faster and higher, whilst the blooms should ripen early and become bigger…
Qiao Xuan did not stop sending in the superpower until a while later.
All the flowers were growing well, and when they grew so well, no one would notice the real reason for it, which made the process reasonable.
That was why she had fenced the field. She did not want the outsiders to learn the truth. She was waiting for a contrast.
98 New Changes In Space
Qiao Xuan was still headed into the mountains with Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao.
It was the time when mushrooms were growing fastest and wildly.
They had sundried many mushrooms, which could be stewed or fried with meat, leading to the making of a delicacy.
Also, Qiao Xuan suggested selling dried mushrooms in the market, and Ms. Fang did not object to that proposal.
Qiao Xuan suggested that she could get more mushrooms when the mushrooms were growing rampantly in the mountains. Moreover, she planned to plant more mushrooms in the yard, which interested Ms. Fang, who had found the biggest hope and interest in her life.
Qiao Xuan, withy the excuse of seeking mushrooms, was actually trying to find some precious medical herbs, including wild-growing gastrodia elatas, panax notoginseng, siberia land picks as well as ganoderma lucidum.
She had decided to feed ganoderma lucidum to the space, and if the space did not accept gastrodia elata, panax notoginseng, then she could plant them in the yard.
She also decided to have a talk with the pharmacy when she had some savings, about whether she could buy some seeds of gastrodia elatas as well as panax notoginseng from them.
Well, it would be best if wild-growing ones could be found.
But it was not certain yet. The resources in the forest were abundant, and it was quite possible for her to find wild-growing ones there itself.
When they were done with planting medicinal herbs, she was going to work on mushroom planting.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were quite willing to take a walk with their fifth sister-in-law in the mountains.
The three of them spent two days searching for the herbs, and finally Qiao Xuan found more than ten ganoderma lucidum for the space.
Qiao Xuan was very surprised. She tried to feed the space according to her own thoughts, which the space accepted.
Qiao Xuan was confused.
But then she tried to pull the ganoderma lucidum out of the space as well, which worked too.
Delighted, Qiao Xuan planted all the ganoderma lucidum into the space without hesitation.
In this way, she was putting stuff into the space for saving, and she could pull it out whenever she needed things.
The orchids she planted earlier were budding, which manifested the fact that plants grew fast inside.
In this way, ganoderma lucidum could be left growing in the space instead, which could help her earn more money later.
Apart from ganoderma lucidum, Qiao Xuan was lucky enough to find five more false starworts, which space did not ask for but which were planted by her voluntarily.
She could sense that the magical air as well as the sense of liveliness had become thicker across the space. The land around the spring was no longer that bare-looking, and the earth within a range of 50 meters was becoming fertile. The space seemed to be expanding outwards in this way.
The spring was no longer still. Instead, it was moving by a finger-size far into the distance. Yet she could not see the end, since her magical sense had not yet taken her there.
As for herself… she was yet not able to enter space physically, and wondered if she would be able to do that in the future.
Apart from all of these changes, there was a patch of mist shrouding the area not far away from the spring, in which she seemed to have spotted a small house.
The house had white walls and black tilts, a high rooftop. It looked quite classical.
What was inside the house?
Unfortunately, she was not able to go deeper inside…
Still, Qiao Xuan felt really excited seeing the changes in the space.
She might be able to realize all the possibilities soon that had not been explored till now. According to the current development, she might be most likely to open up all the unknown avenues into possibilities.
Qiao Xuan eventually found a patch of wild-growing gastrodia elata.
She wondered for how many years the gastrodia elatas had been growing in the mountains, since there were so many of them, covering approximately 20 mu.
99 Harvest
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao could not recognize those plants, but Qiao Xuan had the impression, because she had bought them for the senior member of the family in her previous life.
True, here they were.
"Fifth Sister-in-law, is it a good thing?"
"Can we sell them for money?"
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao did not care if they recognized the plants, as long as their fifth sister-in-law was glad. It meant that the plants were definitely going to be precious.
Qiao Xuan nodded as she rubbed her hands. "These are excellent things, precious medical herbs, which can be sold at a really good price in the pharmacy."
Gastrodia elatas had always been sold at a high price starting from the ancient time.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao cheered.
"What are we waiting for, go and grab them! Fifth Sister-in-law, what are they called? We will dig them all up!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "They are called Gastrodia elata, growing in the earth. You have to be very careful when digging them. You should not hurt them, or they will lose all their value."
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao nodded.
Shao Taotao asked again. "Fifth Sister-in-law, how much can they be sold for?"
Qiao Xuan thought for a while and shook her head. "I am not very sure… but I think that it should be more valuable than honey!"
"Ah!"
"What!"
Their eyes widened upon listening to her, and they gasped. Both of them became even more motivated and careful hearing that.
The brother and sister were fully prepared. "Fifth Sister-in-law, don't worry, we promise to be careful!"
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. "Good that you are careful, but a little twisted stems are okay, don't get too nervous!"
Qiao Xuan suddenly thought that she maybe able to repair the damaged plants with her superpower. She wondered whether that method worked.
Even if she could not, small damages were fine. She could use her superpower to avoid the damage in the stems. But Taotao and Qi would not able to do so, they were not real professionals.
However, Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were not convinced by Qiao Xuan.
"We will definitely remain cautious!"
"Yes, we will not hurt the stem!"
That was all potential money, far more valuable than wild honey!
The three of them did not bring any shovels on this day, only blades. They needed to chop the plants away so as to make a path across the wilderness.
Soon, Shao Xiaoqi sharpened a sharp-tip twig and the digging started.
The terrain was low and flat in the woods, and the soil was not too wet or too dry. The plants were growing really well. As a result, it was much easier for them to dig out things.
Soon, they managed to get a good harvest.
All the plants looked ripe and weighed heavily, with some soil stuck to them. The plants had a fragrant and fresh fragrance but their noses could only smell money!
Twenty mu plants like this were not easy to be dug fully, and they could not possibly carry everything back even when they were done.
They had just completed digging one mu when their baskets were full.
They were not strong enough to take away everything.
Shao Xiaoqi said, "I will bear this place in mind. Let's go home first. What are we going to do with this plant? Sundry it too?"
Qiao Xuan had just tested that her superpower was able to repair the damage of plants, but the wounds could not be too large or deep.
She was in a good mood.
Hearing what Shao Xiaoqi said, Qiao Xuan thought for a while and said, "We can't do this again and again. Let's go home first, and bring Third Brother, Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law here tomorrow."
100 Ideas
The plants across the twenty mu were ripe and lush, because no one had harvested them before. It was the correct time, but soon they would go bad.
Qiao Xuan decided to move them back home before they were discovered by others.
The plants were not growing very regularly, and she decided to get some more laborers for help. With their help, the harvesting would take just a couple of days.
The three of them returned to the village. Qiao Xuan and Shao Taotao waited for Shao Xiaoqi to get the bullock cart to their spot.
Then the three of them went into the town together, and arrived at the pharmacy called Mingren Tang.
They went to the old client whom they had sold stuff to earlier.
Qiao Xuan had no idea how to deal with gastrodia elata herself, and it would be too troublesome and eye-catching as well. What if those nosy people came to their home and made trouble?
They could just dig and sell, saving a lot of trouble.
Those relatives were so shameless. How could they just return like nothing had happened, every time they finished the argument with her mother-in-law?
It basically meant that they were thick-skinned whe it came to their own interests and had a greedy disposition.
Hearing that they had gastrodia elata, Manager Qin was really astonished.
But for Qiao Xuan's previous visit and their generous sale of hundreds of kilos of wild honey last time, he would not have believed their words. Instead, he would have thought that they were here causing trouble and would have driven them out.
Seeing the plants they had brought with them, he was surprised. They were freshly-dug with soil still attached.
Manager Qin was surprised and happy, as he said emotionally, "You are indeed lucky!"
"Of course we will take it! I will buy them at a reasonable price… do you have any more?"
Manager Qin looked at her expectantly.
Qiao Xuan replied with a leisurely smile, "Of course yes, we have found more than ten mu of it in the mountains. This is just a small portion we have dug. So, Manager Qin, name a good price, otherwise we will not go and dig them any further."
Manager Qin would not have believed those words if they were spoken by someone else, and he would have quoted a low price if he was dealing with regular villagers. Well, everyone was trying to make some money, right?
But he had to believe what Qiao Xuan said.
She was a reliable person, and she must be right about what she had said.
Qiao Xuan would not trick him, like the others.
Manager Qin smiled. "You are funny, little girl, my Mingren Tang is always fair and sells things at a right price, you can bring all kinds of medical herbs you can find, and we can buy it from you at the right price."
"The plants are raw, and we still need to deal with them, which may take some time. I will pay 2 liang for every 500 grams, okay?"
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao almost fainted and their hearts skipped a beat…
They exchanged a shocked look between each other – what did they just hear?
2 liang?
They had spent a lot of effort carrying the bags and baskets from the mountains, and it should weigh at least 35 to 40 kg together…
So, how much were they going to receive?
They just could not calculate it any more…