Springtime Farming: A Happy Wife At Home

by Usui Takumii

not mine, novel bin dot me and all novel updates. Also at ao3.

8. 141 to 160

141 Family

The two sections of the family had sensed that they were not in a good place as before. Ms. Fang was annoying, and more domineering than before. Moreover, Qiao Xuan had joined her.

They kept bitching about her mistake.

They tried to console Eldest Brother and even flattered him.

Eldest Brother was the master of the family. As long as he was well manipulated by them, everything else would be solved easily. It was just a matter of time!

Eldest Uncle felt so moved, when he saw how his brothers, nieces and nephews were chatting with him. They were so nice to him.

They were his family!

He had treated them well these past few years and it was all worth the while! Their parents would be gratified in heaven as well! He had lived up to their parents' standards.

In the kitchen, Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma were quite distracted.

Ms. Ma could not help but look outside the kitchen, mumbling. "What are Eldest Sister-in-law and everyone else doing? What is keeping them for so long?"

True, they all believed that the eldest section of the family would definitely be here, with Eldest Uncle coming over first, and the others following later.

Ms. Niu was quite displeased as well.

She knew exactly what Ms. Ma meant.

When Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu were here, they would definitely help in cooking. Also, Eldest Brother treated them well, and would always come with some gifts, like a chicken, for example.

Ms. Niu even expected to wait until Ms. Fang arrived to kill the chicken.

A while later, Ms. Ma could not stand the wait any more. "What on earth is taking them so long? Xiaozhi, Meiling, go and check on them. Tell them to be here as soon as possible."

"Just wait." Ms. Niu stopped her. "Let's just hold on! We can kill the chicken and make the food. We will fetch them when dinner is served."

Ms. Ma was startled.

Ms. Niu really started to think that she was stupid. She snapped. "Haven't you got it? Eldest Sister-in-law is so annoyed by us that she wants to postpone her arrival! Just drop it, we can make some dishes as we want!"

Ms. Ma nodded.

That was exactly what Ms. Fang would have done.

"She is so stingy! We have apologized and made dinner, what more does she want? Should we kneel down and kowtow to her?!"

Ms. Niu rolled her eyes. "What else can we do?"

Ms. Ma was stuck with words.

Yeah, what else could they do?

"Alright, alright!"

It was their own fault that they were caught red-handed. They had to be tolerant at the moment.

It was Widow Sun, the bitch's fault. But for her big mouth, nothing like this would have happened!

That bitch needed to be punished.

So, Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma dropped the idea of fetching Ms. Fang at the moment, and pretended to make dishes with full sincerity.

Ms. Niu, against her will, killed one of her chickens, whilst Ms. Ma brought 12 eggs as well as some vegetables from her house.

They made the dinner without putting any oil or salt in it.

When dishes were served on the table, Ms. Niu smiled. "Eldest Brother, the dishes are ready. What are Eldest Sister-in-law and the others doing?"

"Yes, we are all waiting for them!" Ms. Ma added with a smile.

Eldest Uncle's face stiffened.

"They…"

"It is fine, we can wait a little longer! Meiling, Xiaozhi, go and fetch them, okay?"

Second Uncle made a gesture and let them leave.

Eldest Uncle was about to stop them, when he suddenly realized that maybe these two children would be able to move Ms. Fang.

142 Embarrassment

Shao Xiaozhi and Shao Meiling were not very happy to go when they saw the dishes on the table, but they had to agree to the instructions given.

At the eldest section of the Shao Family, they were already done with food, and were just cleaning up the table.

When Shao Xiaozhi and Shao Meiling entered the room, Shao Taotao was carrying the last bowls into the kitchen.

Shao Meiling and Shao Xiaozhi did not see what the feast was like, but looking at the happy expression on the whole family's faces as well as the layers of bowls which Shao Taotao had carried away, along with the remaining smell in the air, they could tell that the dinner must have been abundantly tasty.

"Eldest Aunt, my parents asked me to take you there for dinner, but you seem to have eaten already?"

These two girls were not well-mannered since they were taught by their parents. Ms. Fang did not want to throw temper at them, and said smilingly, "Yes, there are so many of us here, so we aren't going over. We have eaten dinner. You can go home to eat yours."

Shao Meiling nodded and left with Shao Xiaozhi.

"Dad, Eldest Aunt and the others already ate. They had already finished and the table was getting cleaned. The table was full of dishes!"

Shao Meiling pursed her lips.

They were all startled.

"What?"

"Eaten already?"

Second Uncle and the others turned to Eldest Uncle.

"…"

Eldest Uncle's sweat dropped from his forehead. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a pit in the ground and disappear.

"Oh yes, let's just forget them, it is their bad luck not to have eaten dinner here, let's just eat our food!"

"Eldest Brother!" Third Uncle sighed in disappointment. "Is she still mad?"

Ms. Ma pursed her lips. "Yes, otherwise what is she behaving like this for? She could have just carried the dishes here and we could have celebrated together!"

Second Uncle sighed too. "Eldest Brother, when will Eldest Sister stop this behavior? It is such a small matter! We have already apologized. Is she going to cut ties with us just because of that thing?"

"Of course not!"

Eldest Uncle denied directly, as he forced out a smile. "We can leave her alone. You know her well, right? She is sharp in tongue but soft in heart. She should forget about this soon."

Since the guests were absent, Second Uncle and the others could do nothing but start the dinner.

At the dinner table, they kept showing passion to Eldest Uncle, who was so moved…

The following morning after breakfast, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan told Ms. Fang about buying fields, before heading towards the town.

The crops were budding, and farmers had started plowing the fields and planting rice seedlings. Every household was very busy.

Qiao Xuan had to postpone the planting of mushrooms.

When the busiest period was finished, and the wedding of Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni was done, she could come and get the mushrooms.

But she could start to make lipsticks.

Also, she could also start the planting of medical herbs.

With her superpower, she could always make sure that the plants grew well from the seedlings.

Those gastrodia in the garden were growing unbelievably well.

The watermelons were as big as small fists, round and green, spread all over the land. They looked really tempting.

Wild grapes were all over the stack, creating a large shelter whilst small grapes started to bloom and fruits were growing out.

The loquats, plums, and bayberries were also turning ripe, but Qiao Xuan intentionally controlled the growth so that they could stay on the branches for at least one more month.

143 Arrival

The couple came to the town and visited the Zhang Village with the landowner to check out the field.

Zhang Village was located in the east outskirts of the county, almost 10 miles away from the town, closer to the county compared to the Shaoding Village.

It was a really good area of more than 240 mu gold fields.

Since they needed cash urgently, and the seller did not want to split them, very few families were able to pay in cash at one go, so Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan bought the whole thing at a low price.

Qiao Xuan was very satisfied, so she made the deal right there and then.

The field was sold at 7 liang one mu, which should be 1,680 liang for the 240 mu in total.

Qiao Xuan bought another 5 mu of drought field at 20 liang, where she intended to build a small yard for future residence.

Therefore, 1,700 liang was spent in one go.

They had around 200 liang left from selling gastrodia elata after this.

When the fields were bought, the tenants were available. But Qiao Xuan did not want to reveal her identity, so she did not meet the tenants, but entrusted Zhang Chunlai and Zhang Xiaofeng with this matter.

They were the chiefs, and Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan believed that they were down-to-earth farmers. So the task was delegated to them.

Tenants were very afraid that when the landlords changed, the rent would be raised, but when they realized that everything was the same, they were assured in heart.

The Zhang Village was located on a relatively flat field, where a large patch of land was spread across the distance.

There were also some beautiful dikes and creeks.

Qiao Xuan decided to have a look around since they were here.

Shao Yunduan kept her company.

They climbed the mountain, and saw the river flowing across the beautiful landscape.

It was May, the trees were shady and the vines were entwined. It was not as beautiful as the blooming flowers in spring, but there were still many wildflowers swaying on the banks of the river and the forest road, embellishing it in a deep and shallow shade of green.

The mountain scenery was so outstanding that as they were walking in the middle, they felt relaxed and happy.

Qiao Xuan had been to many mountains, but it was all for work. This was the first time when they were having fun in the mountains, thus, both of them were overjoyed.

Seeing her happy smile, Shao Yunduan could not help but feel happy too. They intended to climb up to the top of the mountain.

Shao Yunduan and his fellows had been to this spot, so they knew that there was one pavilion on the top as well as a hole. Qiao Xuan became interested in visiting the spot when she heard about this.

However, as they reached half of the mountain, the couple ran into Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao as well as their four followers.

Both sides were startled.

Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Young Master Shao, Second Miss, what a coincidence!"

Qiao Xuan let out a small cough. "What a coincidence… you are having a good time, aren't you?"

They were almost considered to be friends, so they greeted each other politely. All of them were heading towards the top of the mountain, so they had no choice but to walk together.

Yuezheng Xiao could not help but ask. "Are you here seeking Chinese fleeceflower root? But the village is just next to the mountain, where a Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old might not be found, right?"

Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged an embarrassed look between themselves, as he said the words.

They were not here for Chinese fleeceflower root…

They were here for fun!

Yuezheng Xiao might not have noticed it, but Xie Jingrong had understood the point. Of course the couple was not here for herbs! They were not equipped with the right tools. They must be here for fun!

They had just expressed their willingness to help them to find Chinese fleeceflower root, but here they were strolling around, which made Xie Jingrong feel displeased. He believed that the couple was not sticking to the promise, nor were they reliable.

144 Dumbfounded

Qiao Xuan shook her head but smiled. "We were just doing some business in the village nearby, but I heard that the scenery here is very good, so we came to take a look at it. It is very unlikely that we can find Chinese fleeceflower roots over 500 years old in this place. We would seek that somewhere else. Don't worry, it is very likely to find it in the deep mountains!"

Only now did Yuezheng Xiao realize that he must have not asked the right question. He could not help but complain inwardly – this couple was indeed open-minded, how could they find a Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old so easily? What were they doing here, after they made the promise to them?

Moreover, they were caught red-handed by Brother Xie… What bad luck.

He was a Cultivated Talent, and she was the daughter of the County Magistrate, they should have the idea of who the Xie Family was, right? Why were they letting go of the opportunity of doing them a favor!

Yuezheng Xiao shook his head inwardly, but he did not want to show it. So he chuckled dryly. "That is true. The scenery here is indeed beautiful, let's visit the place together?"

But Qiao Xuan paused. "I think that it is going to rain soon, so we are not going up. I suggest you two walk downhill as well!"

There was another change that happened to her superpower the day before. She could not only see the past and future of the strange man, but it led to another good function.

The humidity and temperature in the air were all related to the vegetation, so when she took a deep breath just now, she vaguely smelled something strange.

When she concentrated carefully and then inhaled again to distinguish, she could feel the humidity brought by the mountain wind, and the breath of rain.

It was going to rain soon.

This new superpower of hers was still weak, and the range was not wide, hence the prediction period was not completely accurate.

But she could easily confirm that it was going to rain soon.

Yuezheng Xiao subconsciously looked at the sky, hearing what Qiao Xuan said.

It was sunny everywhere, how could it be raining anytime soon?

Oh, she must be trying to find one excuse to get rid of them. Well, they were not friends, and, worse, were caught red-handed for being lazy. The couple must be feeling rather uncomfortable inside their hearts.

Even Shao Yunduan believed so.

He did not know what to say. The excuse his wife found was just… too unreliable…

But he nodded at the excuse and helped her anyway.

Shao Yunduan added. "True, the weather keeps changing after the Dragon Boat Festival, and it is going to rain soon… maybe. We will take your leave now, and you two better go downhill as well."

"Alright then, see you."

"Bye!"

Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan went down the hill together.

Qiao Xuan admired her husband's excuse. She had her superpower that helped her to cheat, but what about her husband? Did he read so much so that he could predict the weather as well?

The couple had just walked into the village, when the rain came down heavily.

The couple found a farmer's family for shelter.

"Good that we ran off the mountain fast enough!" Qiao Xuan stuck out her tongue. Otherwise she had no extra clothes to wear!

"Yes…" Shao Yunduan was dumbfounded.

So his wife was not coming up with an excuse? She really sensed the rain?

He asked involuntarily. "How did you know that it was going to rain soon?"

Qiao Xuan was startled. "You sensed that too, right? I saw the heavy cloud in the sky faraway."

145 Guilty

Qiao Xuan felt a bit guilty.

She believed that it was because of Shao Yunduan's rich knowledge that he could forecast the weather, but he was just wondering how she could tell the change of weather at the moment.

He could not have remembered that there was no heavy cloud in the sky, all this while, right?

Sure enough, Shao Yunduan did not remember, nor did he think of it deeply. He smiled. "Oh that is right, you are a very careful person!"

Qiao Xuan laughed. Of course, she was.

But it reminded her of one thing. She should be careful when using the superpower, and could just put it at bay, when she did not have to use it.

Once or twice would be enough, too many times might cause suspicion, and lead to nothing good.

The rain was pouring, and soon the drapery of clouds covered the whole sky.

The couple were waiting, without knowing what to do.

The rain came too fast, but it left fast too. Soon it would stop.

But before the rain ended, two unexpected guests, namely Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong arrived there.

The two of them were soaked thoroughly. Their hair and clothes were all wet.

They were in a total mess.

The four of them got startled as they ran into each other again.

Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Young Master Xie, Second Miss, we are bound together, aren't we?"

Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan. "…"

Oh well…

The two of them exchanged some greetings, and Shao Yunduan added. "Just tidy up and don't get cold!"

Qiao Xuan even asked the mistress of the house to boil a bowl of hot ginger soup.

Yuezheng Xiao wiped away his face and smiled. "It is fine, our servants are fetching the clean clothes. They will be here soon."

Their wagon was parked outside the village, which was a bit far away from here.

The road wasn't flat, and the rain was so heavy. These two young masters had never been through any bitterness, so they had no choice but to find a house to take shelter whilst their servants went to get the wagon.

Yuezheng Xiao sighed regretfully. "We should have listened to your advice and followed you downhill. It is raining! But Second Miss, how did you know that it was going to rain soon? It was so sunny just a while ago!"

Yuezheng Xiao's eyes widened. He was really curious!

He had found Qiao Xuan's words ridiculous, when he saw the good weather. He had thought that Qiao Xuan and her husband must be thinking of an excuse to stay away from them. However, she had been telling the truth…

Qiao Xuan lied as she smiled. "I saw heavy clouds in the sky!"

Xie Jingrong looked at her. "But there did not seem to be heavy clouds in the sky!"

He used the word 'seem', but he sounded resolute.

Qiao Xuan was startled, so was Yuezheng Xiao.

Shao Yunduan wasn't happy at the moment. His wife never lied.

And why did she have to lie anyway?

Young Master Xie was so arrogant!

Shao Yunduan added without hesitation. "There were dark clouds in the sky."

Qiao Xuan nodded and sounded innocent. "There were!"

Xie Jingrong raised his eyebrows.

He had always had a good memory and could never forget things after one glance. He remembered clearly that there was no heavy cloud in the sky, but… could he have been wrong?

Seeing the resolute look on the couple, Xie Jingrong could not help but feel unsure.

146 No Need

Yuezheng Xiao laughed as he looked at him. "Oh alright, no wonder this happened!"

Young Master Xie never forgot whatever he saw, and he never made mistakes in remembering things. Yuezheng Xiao was thinking in a mocking way.

Qiao Xuan smiled. "I should have reminded you more urgently… oh here is the ginger soup, drink it to drive away the coldness. The rain is just so torrential!"

Qiao Xuan let out a sigh of relief, and felt lucky to have ended the topic.

Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao expressed their gratitude to the farmer and accepted the ginger soup.

They should not get cold. Though the ginger soup tasted bad, they still took it and drank it.

The farmer had never spoken with any noble, handsome young master, so she was startled by their gratitude. She got startled and staggered, and finally ran away in a hurry.

Shao Yunduan said to Qiao Xuan,. "Drink some ginger soup too, I will get you some."

"No!" Qiao Xuan took hold of him and whispered. "I don't like the taste, I don't want it."

"But look at the weather…"

"No!"

She spoke in a coquettish tone, which made Shao Yunduan's heart throb. He flushed slightly and dropped the topic.

She was healthy, and had never complained about being tired after so many visits to the mountains. She should be well.

Soon, Yuezheng Xiao's servants arrived.

They came with a well-wrapped clothes bag, but not a wagon.

The wagon had fallen into a water pit, and was broken…

Now they had to wait until the rain stopped, so someone could come and fix the wagon…

There was nothing else they could do at the moment.

The rain was slowing down and it should be over soon.

But the road to town was very far away.

Qiao Xuan smiled. "It is lunch time, if you want, I can borrow the farmer's kitchen to make some casual food, what do you think?"

Yuezheng Xiao was startled. "Second Miss, you know how to cook?"

Qiao Xuan chuckled as she raised her eyebrows. "It is just cooking, right?"

Yuezheng Xiao laughed and said to her happily, "Sure, then, thanks, Second Miss, we are really starving!"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "So are we. I will just make some casual food since I will be using the farmer's kitchen!"

"You can change your clothes till then and wait. I will be done soon!"

Qiao Xuan told them and dragged Shao Yunduan inside to give her a hand.

Shao Yunduan had no opinion and followed her into the kitchen.

Yuezheng Xiao found the whole scene so rare. He said to Xie Jingrong happily, "Second Miss is so interesting, so is Cultivated Talent Shao. He is willing to cook food with his wife. How did Second Miss manage to make him so obedient?"

Xie Jingrong glanced at him. "Just drop it."

Making him so obedient? That was not a very polite phase to use.

Yuezheng Xiao chuckled and stopped.

In the kitchen, Shao Yunduan could not help but say. "Are you really making food for them?"

She did not have to.

Shao Yunduan wasn't pleased. Why must his wife make food for those two?

Qiao Xuan patted his hands and smiled. "We are starving too, right? And the farmer is helping us, it should be done quickly."

"I can help you as well, just tell me what to do."

He knew that when she was making food at home, washing and cutting vegetables as well as dishing were all done by his elder sister-in-law as well as Taotao. She had never done such work before.

She was a nobly born daughter, and did not know how to do all of these.

147 Offering

Qiao Xuan agreed to his offer and then spoke to the farmer lady regarding the ingredients. After the discussion, she laughed and gave 3 qian to the lady.

The lady gave 30 wen to the neighbors and told them to do something, so two children around the age of 12 went out.

The farmer lady killed one rooster after she returned, and according to the instruction of Qiao Xuan, she pulled out garlic sprouts, shallots, picked cabbages, as well as eggplants.

By the time the chicken was de-haired, cut into pieces, boiled, and all kinds of vegetables and seasonings were getting ready, the two neighboring children came back.

They had three eels with them.

Under this weather, the water in the ditch was rising, and the loaches and eels were seen everywhere, easy for them to catch.

The two children had gone to the ditch to catch eels.

Apart from eels, they had a dozen loaches and offered them as a present.

Those things were not worth any money. They only used them to feed chickens and ducks.

But Qiao Xuan loved them. She had many ways of making loaches, but due to the lack of seasonings at the lady's home, all she could do was to wrap them with egg porridge and pan-fried them.

With the help of the lady and Shao Yunduan, the lunch was ready within no time.

The dishes included roasted chicken with eels, pan-fried loaches, eggplant with garlic, shredded cabbages, fried egg with shallots, plus a big bowl of light cabbage soup.

The lady was very concerned about the way Qiao Xuan cooked, and was dumbfounded too. But thinking of the 300 wen in her pocket, she said nothing e.

The lunch, plus the chicken, cost around 100 won. She had made a great deal of money from this lunch, so the guests could do whatever they wanted with the ingredients.

What amazed her was that Young Master Shao was doing the dishes, washing vegetables, starting a fire and doing all kinds of dirty and filthy work. All Mrs. Shao did was stir and fry the ingredients in the pan which wasn't a very difficult task.

The lady could not help but feel jealous. "Mrs. Shao, you are so lucky to have such a diligent husband!"

Young Master Shao looked quiet, but he was so willing to do all these tasks, whilst her own husband never even wanted to step into the kitchen for anything.

Qiao Xuan threw a look at Shao Yunduan who looked embarrassed, then she smiled at the lady and nodded.

Shao Yunduan threw a sneaky glance at her and pretended to be calm. But actually, he felt excited inwardly, and even felt happiness striking his heartstrings.

Qiao Xuan asked for clean bowls and gave some portions to the lady's family, before the dishes were served.

The lady's family was out for work, only she and her youngest daughter and son were at home, who were already drooling but had made no sound.

They knew that it was something their guests bought, not something that belonged to their family.

Qiao Xuan did not like that.

"Lady, try these dishes with your children!"

"Oh, thank you so much!" The woman was surprised and happy, but also felt a little embarrassed. But seeing how her children were greedy for the dishes, she did not turn her down and accepted the dishes after saying a few polite words.

When the dishes were served, both Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were startled.

Yuezheng Xiao looked at the dishes and then at Qiao Xuan suspiciously.

He was really confused. Did she really make all the dishes?

Even Xie Jingrong was taken aback. He could not think of how Yuezheng Xiao said that she was different from all the concubine daughters they had met till date.

Concubine daughters were often those who got spoiled by the madame of the family and behaved like a dumbass.

148 Intention

Otherwise, they were often those types of ladies who could not stand up because of the strike from the madame of the family and dared not say a thing.

Or, they were barely-seen but were cautious and dull.

Second Miss seemed to be really different.

Shao Yunduan was displeased. He said calmly, "I wonder if the dishes my wife has made are catering to your tastes. We have limited ingredients in the village and I apologize for that."

His wife had taken so much effort to make a table full of dishes, and they were even suspecting if they were tasty?

How could a random lady make such dishes?

"What?" Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Young Master Shao, you have been too modest. The smell has told us that the dishes are definitely going to be tasty, let's just sit down and eat! We are starving!"

"Please!" Shao Yunduan smiled and asked Qiao Xuan to sit as well.

The eel chicken nuggets wrapped in the thick soup were salty and delicious, the eel meat was tender, and the chicken nuggets were fragrant, whetting everyone's appetite the moment they were eaten.

The eggplant dish was rich in garlic, and the eggplant meat was delicate. Vinegar had been added for a more unique flavor.

Shredded cabbage and dried loaches also had their own characteristics.

The lunch consisted of simple and ordinary dishes, but they grasped people's heart, leaving unforgettable taste in people's mind and mouth.

What surprised Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong was that the dishes were made of ordinary ingredients, but the way they were made had never been presented to them before, apart from the scallion egg and cabbage soup.

It was a huge surprise!

"Second Miss, you have cooked such great dishes, excellent!"

Yuezheng Xiao could not help but speak highly about the lunch.

Xie Jingrong was calmer than him, but he looked as if he agreed with what Yuezheng Xiao had said.

Qiao Xuan smiled and replied calmly, "These are just ordinary dishes, not really that amazing!"

Qiao Xuan had never been a good cook. She could make some ordinary dishes with not so outstanding tastes as before, but after she was equipped with the superpower, she seemed to be better at making dishes! She could control the fire well, and had developed a sharp culinary skill.

It was a subconsciously sharp sense.

Especially when it comes to vegetables.

Yuezheng Xiao laughed. "Second Miss, you are really modest!"

Food could definitely form a relationship between people. After lunch, the four people seemed to feel more relaxed among themselves, and talked a lot more.

The rain had ceased, and the clouds went away. It was sunny again, casting its light all over the land.

Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were ready to head back soon.

The four of them waved goodbye to each other.

Yuezheng Xiao could not help but say. "We are staying in the county for some more days, you can come visit us when you have time, so we can treat you back."

Shao Yunduan lowered his head slightly and replied politely. "The landscape is very beautiful, and there are pagodas, waterfalls to see, and we can travel by boat in the lake. We will definitely visit you, when we have time."

Yuezheng Xiao laughed loudly. "Sounds good! We will all go there for a trip! See you around!"

Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan left, as Yuezheng Xiao raised his eyebrows and looked at Xie Jingrong. "It is worth the visit, isn't it? We have met such interesting people here."

Xie Jingrong threw a look at him, saying nothing more.

He had not expected that Yuezheng Xiao had opened his mind and admired so openly, whilst he was the one who kept falling into the pit…

On the way home, Shao Yunduan looked at Qiao Xuan and could not help but ask. "Do you intend to establish a relationship with them?"

149 Not Really

He was feeling a little guilty, nervous and anxious as well.

They were just a contract couple, and were not in a real relationship. She was building a road for her future, which was a normal thing, but somehow he could not stand that.

"Oh, you noticed that!" Qiao Xuan winked at him and smiled. "You are so smart!"

Shao Yunduan. "…"

He did not really want to be this smart.

But Qiao Xuan added. "I think that we should be better prepared for the future. You have seen how Qiao Wei treated me yesterday, and even if I didn't want to irritate her, she would come to me for no reason. Madame Qiao adores her, and I am nothing in their eyes. They must be thinking that it is my luck when Qiao Wei can vent her anger on me."

"But we are lucky to have been granted this chance, why not establish the relationship. We may not rely on this kind of relationship fully, but it is always better to have something, than nothing! Maybe one day, we can ask them for help."

In one word, it was never easy to make a living.

She had just realized that Qiao Wei was a stupid woman, who was spoiled and had no brain.

She could humiliate her whenever she wanted, but she had no way to counter her.

Her words made Shao Yunduan feel motivated.

"I will definitely become the Recommended Man next year, I will!"

He looked at Qiao Xuan with a gaze full of profoundness. He was determined.

Qiao Xuan smiled and nodded. "Yes, fight on! I believe that you will too!"

She added. "Even if…"

"There is no even if." Shao Yunduan said seriously, "I will definitely make it!"

If he made it, she would not have to be suppressed or scared or anxious.

Qiao Xuan was struck speechless. "Oh okay… I believe that you can make it too!"

He was so confident that she did not want to discourage him.

Shao Yunduan smiled and nodded. "Yes!"

As the couple returned home, they repeated the matter to Ms. Fang, who was very happy for them. She could not help but praise Qiao Xuan once again.

Now there were wonderful fields for more than 200 mu in the family!

They could have endless grains for the rest of their life!

Moreover, she was also happy for her son and daughter-in-law, even though those grains could not be shared.

But she also stressed to them about not revealing this matter to anyone else.

Ms. Fang cribbed to Qiao Xuan again.

Soon the spring plowing was coming…

Rakes needed to be made, and seedlings were required too.

The matter regarding seedling was easy, but rake was not so easy to make.

The problem was that not every household had bulls.

There were around 100 households in Shaoding Village, but only a quarter of them had bulls.

Therefore, when they needed to make the rake, they would need fathers and sons, brothers and even couples to make the rake, and do the plowing through pure manual work.

Or they would need to rent the bulls with money.

Bulls were expensive at that time.

So, ordinary families could only rent bulls for half of the work, leaving the other half for the family members to complete.

150 Helpers

The first section of the Shao Family had plenty of money.

Qiao Xuan suddenly thought about buying two bulls for home and raising them.

But Ms. Fang turned around and said, "Not buying, they can be rented for other people. What about just renting?"

Ms. Fang had so much money in her hands, so she was speaking with confidence. She did not care if the money was spent on renting bulls for plowing.

Qiao Xuan complimented her mother-in-law for being so considerate.

When the rake was to be made, Ms. Fang offered the money and rented the bull, so her husband and sons did not have to work so hard.

They had only 7.5 mu of fields at home.

The production per mu at this time was very low. The grain harvested per mu of land was just over 200 kgs. If it was a bad year, it might be even less than 200 kgs.

The 200 kgs was counted with shells on the rice, and only 30 kgs of rice could be produced out of 50 kgs crops.

The whole family used to have a very tight life. With the inclusion of taros, various beans, pumpkins, winter melons, and dug up yams in the meals, they could get through the year.

When the matter of rakes was solved, everyone was very happy.

Ms. Xu in particular, because her husband, who was the eldest son, was always the most tired of all.

This year, everything became easier!

However, Second Uncle and Third Uncle came to ask the first section of the family to help them make rakes.

They had no bulls either, but they had plenty of money to rent the bulls, yet they did not want to spend their own savings.

Ms. Fang had argued about this earlier, but it did not work.

The first section had offered them enough help through the years.

But this year, Ms. Fang was really confident and acted much more fiercely.

She was not going to ask Shao Dalang to offer help.

Second Uncle said in a pretentious tone, "Elder Sister-in-law, we should help each other, don't we always do it together? How about you finish your work this year, and then come to help us?"

"Right?"

Second Uncle and Third Uncle were trying their best to try to convince Ms. Fang.

Ms. Fang looked at them and though to herself that these two men were strong outside but stupid inside. She should have seen through that before.

Ms. Fang sneered. "Together? No, thanks, Dalang and Sanlang are terribly tired people every year. This year, we have rented a bull, so you two families can work together and solve it yourselves!"

"What!"

"Where did you get the money from?"

Second Uncle and Third Uncle exchanged a look between themselves – it must be Ms. Qiao!

Ms. Qiao must have offered the money!

So, they had a rich daughter-in-law, and now they were looking down at people!

They were so jealous.

Third Uncle said sourly, "Oh, my brother and sister-in-law are living a better life with a rich daughter-in-law married to the family!"

Ms. Fang was startled, but didn't reply when they had this misunderstanding. Instead, she nodded along.

The two men got increasingly annoyed.

They went to Elder Uncle to seek family love.

Eldest Uncle did not dare to ask his daughter-in-law to pay for the other sections of the family, but he did not think that the spring plowing should be delayed as well.

151 Ideas

If the spring plow was postponed, the harvest by the end of the year would be ruined!

That would not work.

Ms. Fang did not approve of it. She kept reminding him of what Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma did to them, and Eldest Uncle felt quite helpless.

But they already apologized! Could this matter not be done by now?

The two of them argued but could not talk it through, so Second Uncle and Third Uncle had to leave first.

Ms. Fang felt much better after telling Qiao Xuan what happened. She sneered. "I am determined this time. I will never let them get what they want! We have given them so much over these years. It won't work, if it continues in this way!"

Those people not only failed to thank them, but kept showing off outside the family, saying that the first section of the family were like their employees.

Worse still, they even made up lies about the first section of the family.

Her third son was getting married soon, and when they had so many daughter-in-laws at home, the daughter-in-laws would not be happy about the arrangement. Their dissatisfaction might lead to unhappiness in their own family, which would be such a pity.

Those two sections of the family never made efforts in spring plowing, and Ms. Fang was displeased to see that they had more fields than she did.

Qiao Xuan smiled. "Right, Mom! We should never let them get what they want this time, but we can also think of a solution to make them pay for what they ask from us."

Ms. Fang's eyes sparkled, and she asked. "Do you have any good ideas?"

Qiao Xuan had a clear knowledge of what was going on.

Her mother-in-law acted toughly, but she might not have full clarity about the situation.

Her father-in-law would never allow his two brothers' family to miss the spring plow. It was a major event that could not be ruined at any cost.

The second section of the family had a few sons, but the third section of the family had just one son who was only focused on studies. After he started to go to school, and read, he believed that he was different from the rest of the family. He was definitely not going to the fields to do labor work!

Therefore, they could never make any rake or finish the plowing.

It would be so troublesome, if they missed the spring plow and came to the first section of the family for food, when they had nothing at home to eat.

They could not just be driven out of the family, right?

Qiao Xuan explained all this to Ms. Fang with a smile.

She said that even if they offered the help, they should not do it so easily.

Ms. Fang smiled. "Yes, we will do as you say. I will never make them happy!"

Sure enough, the second section of the family and the third section of the family came to them in the evening again.

Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma were present too. They were here to make an apology.

The two women were not so willing to offer an apology and were really angry and irritated since that day.

They had been so intimidating in front of Ms. Fang over the years. They never thought that one day they would have to apologize to Ms. Fang.

But Ms. Fang was really furious this time. She did not allow her sons to offer a hand, which made the two women very worried.

For the practical help they would receive, they had to tolerate the displeasure and humiliation at the moment.

Ms. Fang felt slightly happy, as she saw how these two women behaved.

So she decided to put on the air of being the eldest sister-in-law of the family.

"Since you all know what mistakes you have made, I can forgive you somehow. But just look at what you have done outside the family? You are never thankful! It is so cruel of you! We have offered you so much help during the past few years, and you never remember how kind we are! No wonder the proverb goes that the more help you offer, the less thankful the receiver would be!"

152 Empty Words

"I understand now that the more help you offer, the more greedy the receiver will be!"

"Eldest Sister-in-law…"

"Anyway, I will let go of this matter this time, but you have to remember not to spread rumors outside! You have to be honest and down-to-earth as good human beings! And you should be grateful too! Otherwise you are worse than animals, right?"

Second Uncle and the others were so irritated in their hearts.

But they had no right to counter her. They forced a smile and nodded.

Ms. Fang felt even prouder. "Just think before you do anything and don't break your eldest brother's heart. You all have sons and daughter-in-laws, grandchildren and everything. Don't keep turning to your eldest brother for help whenever you have problems. Your eldest brother is getting old and he can't really be of help all the time."

Second Uncle and Third Uncle felt very humiliated, when they had no excuse to counter her words.

Eldest Brother stiffened and was silent.

Ms. Niu added. "Then… Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, what about spring plowing…"

"Oh yes, what about it?" Ms. Ma added. "What about going to the field tomorrow? Time is so pressing."

Second Uncle and Third Uncle nodded in agreement.

Ms. Fang sneered inwardly.

It seemed what she said in the past few minutes were all empty words!

They were never going to become independent or examine themselves.

They were so used to relying on their eldest brother for everything that they could not change the habit so easily.

There were always people who could not change their nature, no matter how the environment changed.

Ms. Fang said, "We are a family, but we still need to have an account for everything. My sons can't help you for free all the time. Instead, we can make an exchange."

Second Uncle and the others nodded in agreement.

They agreed because the exchange would happen in the next spring plowing time. For now, everything could be agreed upon and then later left behind.

Ms. Fang knew exactly what they were thinking, seeing how easily they nodded.

She sneered inwardly and added. "Since we need to settle it fairly, we will write it down!"

They were all startled.

Second Uncle felt very uncomfortable. "We are a family. We don't need to make it so serious, right?"

"Why not?" Ms. Fang sneered. "I don't want to take advantage of anyone, what if some rumor is spread again? I only trust written words!"

Eldest Uncle could not say a word.

Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma were so angry. That episode was the bargaining chip Ms. Fang could always use throughout her whole life, right?

Actually, Ms. Fang truly planned to do that – they were the ones who betrayed her, no?

Second Uncle did not want to prolong it any longer, and did not think that it was a big deal, so he said, "Eldest Sister-in-law is right, just write it down."

Ms. Fang added. "I won't let you suffer. Your rakes will all be made by us. Second section of the family, you have 8 mu of field, third section of the family you have 7.6 mu of fields right? So together with rakes, the second section of the family has 19 laborers, whilst the third section of the family will have 15 right? Any problem?"

Second section of the family and the third section of the family were all dumbfounded.

Even Eldest Uncle was dumbfounded.

Ms. Xu was startled, and she was about to say something, but could not counter her mother-in-law's authority. She was feeling so hurt inside her heart. Was her mother-in-law giving herself up out of anger?

What nonsense was she talking about?

153 Your Words

Her man would get so tired, when he had to do all the work.

Ms. Xu almost cried, with teeth clenched.

"Sister-in-law, you are sure?"

"If you are so happy about this, we are willing to assist you too!"

Second section of the family and the third section of the family were very pleased.

Ms. Fang looked at them expressionless. "Good that you have nothing against my proposal. Duan, fetch the paper and pen and write it down."

"Okay, Mom!"

Shao Yunduan soon got the paper and pen and wrote two contracts according to Ms. Fang's opinions.

Second Uncle and Third Uncle made a thumbprint on their names respectively.

"Dalang, Sanlang, get up early to do work, don't forget about the fields!"

The two sections of the family left after getting the assurance.

Eldest Uncle suddenly felt guilty and he sighed. "What are you doing? You… Why did you agree to take all the work for yourself? My sons are going to get so tired!"

Ms. Fang sneered. "Oh, feeling sorry for your sons? I thought you would be happy! After all, they are your brothers, aren't they?"

Eldest Uncle was struck speechless. "You…"

"You think that your brother and nephews would work hard? Just ask your sons, when do the fathers and the sons actually work? It is all done by our sons!"

Shao Dalang laughed as Shao Sanlang pursed his lips. "That is right!"

Qi said voluntarily, "They are even worse than me!"

Eldest Uncle, "…"

Ms. Fang threw a look at her sons and daughter-in-laws, as she put away the paper and said, "Don't worry, I have my own idea, just go and rest."

Ms. Fang also told Ms. Xu to tell Dalang not to go to the second section of the family's field the next morning.

Ms. Xu felt a bit confused, but she never wanted her man to help the other sections of the family anyways, so she nodded in agreement.

The next day after breakfast, Qiao Xuan asked Dalang, Ms. Xu and Erlang to help her work in her medical field. She was going to pay them 20 wen a day as before.

Ms. Xu was very happy when she heard that, especially since she did not have to help the second section of the family. She even felt that her shovel was lighter than before.

Qiao Xuan had brought the seeds of notoginseng and false starwort from Manager Qin, and needed to plant them down as soon as possible.

She decided to allocate two mu for each of them.

There were not many fruit trees at the moment, so they had enough fields empty for herbs.

If she was able to get the right buyer, then she could buy some more fields through Manager Qin and expand the planting of medical herbs.

Or she could pick some households from the village, and rent their fields for mutual planting.

Qiao Xuan had not forgotten about Chinese fleeceflower root. She told Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao about it as they headed to the mountain together.

Shao Yunduan did not follow along, but asked them to be careful.

It was their goal for the day when they entered the mountains. Qiao Xuan used her superpower and started the search.

She could see everything within a 6 kms range.

The only shortcoming was that the road became very bumpy as they went deep into the mountains, and they were not fast enough to catch up with the superpower's speed.

Qiao Xuan was not in a hurry either.

She was trying her best, but also needed some luck.

She had looked everywhere, as far as she could.

If they really failed to find it, then it meant that there was none existing.

And that was what eventually happened!

154 Second And Third Section Of The Family

But they found a lot of delicious wild mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, and bitter bracken. Moreover, Shao Xiaoqi also hunted two wild roosters.

They also found a lot of wild lilies, but they just started to grow before the mature season. Hence, Qiao Xuan didn't bother to pull them out. She was going to wait until autumn, as long as she wanted, wild lilies were not troublesome to find at all.

They also found a batch of wild wolfberries.

She was very interested in wolfberries, so she asked the brother and sister to take some tender wolfberries seedlings back home.

They broke off a bunch of older branches, cut off the leaves and branches. She planned to take them back and place them around the flower field. In the future, they would often have fresh and tender wolfberry sprouts to eat.

Wolfberry sprouts were delicious in soups, stir-frying, stir-frying meat, scrambled eggs, salads, and steamed dishes.

Also, sprouts would turn into wolfberries as well.

Wolfberries could be used to make tea and soup.

They also passed a waterhole, which was flowing smoothly. There was a long creek running through the mountains, and there were a lot of fish in the pools and ravines.

Especially in the water pool, big fish which were longer than a foot could be seen swimming lazily in it.

Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao could not help but drool over the fish which they had tasted before. But for the distance away from home, they would have taken two of them home.

Qiao Xuan was quite motivated as well. She said to them, "Don't worry, when we are free in winters, we can ask everyone in the family to fetch the fish together. We can even make smoked fish when the days turn colder. The fish is so big that it is the best material for making smoked fish!"

Smoked meat would always be made in farmers' families every year, and some frugal families would eat smoked meat for half a year.

Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were very happy hearing what Qiao Xuan said.

"Smoked fish! That sounds amazing!"

"I will bear this place in mind, and we can come back in winters!"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "Then, we can hunt some more roosters and rabbits to turn them into smoked meat, but they have to be big and fleshy, otherwise there would only be a skeleton left!"

By that time, she could even find some wild boars and goats.

Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were even more pleased.

It was getting late, so the three of them decided to head home.

Back home, Ms. Fang put the wild bracken into boiling water and blanched it over a fire, then tore it in half and soaked it in clean water.

Brackens had a bitter taste and needed to stay in water overnight.

But the bitterness also tasted good, like bittermelons, which was a delicious dish for people.

The bitter brackens tasted even better than bittermelons.

They ate up the two roosters and the whole family finished it all.

They deep-fried the meat in the oil and it could never turn out bad.

They left nothing for the second section of the family and the third section of the family.

Ms. Qiao heard some gossip from Ms. Fang.

Second Uncle and Ms. Niu must have been thinking that everything was sorted, so they started to show the intimidating behavior yet again.

They came to the door in anger.

They wondered why Shao Dalang and the others did not go over to help them with the fields.

But Ms. Fang drove them away coldly.

"What are you in a hurry for? I will take responsibility if something goes wrong. We have drawn contracts, right? What are you afraid of?"

Second Uncle and Ms. Niu got really angry but they could not do anything when they heard what Ms. Fang said.

155 Here Again

The contract was written down and they could not deny that.

Despite this assurance, they were still worried that no one would make it in time for the plowing.

They got even more angry, when they thought of how Shao Dalang was helping Qiao Xuan with her useless garden.

Ms. Fang replied coldly. "That is something happening in our house, and of course it is more important. Also, Ms. Qiao pays them 20 wen a day for the work they do."

Of course they were not helping for free… what did they think!

Qiao Xuan had only hired Shao Dalang for work, instead of outsiders, so Second Uncle and the rest could not say anything about it.

Ms. Fang put that out on purpose, just to annoy them.

"You can never imagine how they looked when they left, honestly, it was so funny!"

Qiao Xuan could not help but smile. "Serves them right! This is the consequence they have to bear for bullying you all these years. If they want to trouble you again, we will never allow it to happen!"

"Thank you so much!" Ms. Fang smiled so kindly.

Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Mom, to celebrate this, let me cook tonight. I will make many delicious dishes!"

Ms. Fang laughed. "Alright, alright, make anything you want, we have plenty of money! Oh by the way, you don't have to buy rice or flour for the shared savings. I will ask Third to buy it from his share."

Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. "Okay, Mom, you are the best to me!"

"Oh my child, you are so sweet-tongued and adorable!"

The fresh mushrooms were washed and thinly sliced. The breast meat of two roosters was taken, coated with flour and egg whites, marinated with rice wine, salt, ginger, etc, and stir-fried together.

Two eels were picked from the big water tank, chopped into pieces. Some pieces of yam were added, and simmered together with the chicken pieces.

Mixed mushrooms and wolfberry sprouts were stir-fried separately.

The oil pan was heated, and then the dried river prawns were put in it. The sound of 'swish' was heard as the oil sizzled. Green and red peppers were chopped, garlic was added to the stir-fry, a little soy sauce, salt, along with half a bowl of water were also put in. The smell spread across the place, appealing to everyone's stomachs.

There were still some yams left, so another plate of sugar-coated yams was made.

The dishes were put on the table, and the whole family was raring to get started, feeling no longer tired.

"It is so fragrant! I can eat an extra bowl of rice by just smelling the food!"

"Me too!"

Eldest Uncle opened his mouth but did not say anything about delivering some food to his brothers' families, when he thought of how Ms. Fang still held a grudge against Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma.

He was very happy to see how happy his own children were. It was just that he had always paid too much attention to his brothers subconsciously.

The dinner was finished earlier than usual, especially since Qiao Xuan had cooked it.

She did not like to cook under the oil-lamp. Before the sun went down, Ms. Fang and Taotao helped with the preparations, so when they were done with dinner, the day was still bright.

In the evening, Second Uncle and Ms. Niu came over again for the issue regarding rakes.

Ms. Fang said the same thing again that they had the contract, and there was no need to worry about the work getting postponed.

She was not going to let her sons do the work. Following Qiao Xuan's advice, she had decided to hire the family with bulls to finish the labor.

156 More Angry

Although the price rose up to 18 wen for one mu for the rake work, she was not worried about spending the money.

Anyways, she was not going to tell them about it at the moment. She was going to make them anxious for a couple of more days.

As for the laborers written on the paper, she was going to save them for later use.

Ms. Fang answered the second section so decisively that Eldest Uncle could not say anything about that. He turned to Second Uncle and responded. "You can go home now, don't worry, spring plow is so important that it won't be delayed at any cost."

Ms. Fang understood that her husband was implicitly reminding her of this issue as well. So, she sneered.

Ms. Niu's eyes rolled as she smiled. "You are right, Eldest Brother, but it is always better to be early than late, right? We are really worried about this. What about letting Dalang come to my field tomorrow, and if Fifth Niece-in-law has some work to do in her yard, I can ask my sons to take it over. Ms. Zhang and I can help too!"

She was thinking that they could get paid for the work, at least 20 wen a day.

The work was taking place right in front of their home, and it would be effortless to do the work and get paid. It sounded like a great plan!

Ms. Fang sneered. "Second Sister-in-law, you think you are very smart, don't you?"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law are doing great work and I don't want to replace them. If Second Brother is so free, why not go down to the field to finish the pending work himself? Second Aunt-in-law, if you don't trust my mom, you don't have to wait for us."

"That won't work, we have a contract, you can't deny that!"

Ms. Niu waved her hands hesitantly.

Ms. Fang threw a sarcastic look at her husband. "In this case, just go home and wait."

Could her husband see the truth? They would rather wait for others than go to the field to do their own work. They wanted her sons to take over the tough task!

If they really treated the first section as a family, why did they keep mentioning the contract?

They were waiting for her sons to do the labor work, they were even trying to steal her sons' easy jobs!

Eldest Uncle was suffocating under her gaze, and did not dare to meet his wife's eyes.

But Ms. Niu did not want to give up. "How about you hire two more people and get the work done as soon as possible!"

Qiao Xuan replied. "No thanks, I like the work to be done slowly!"

Ms. Niu glared at her. "You don't want my sons to make money from you!"

"Obviously I need to think about my own brother and sister-in-law first, right? Second Aunt-in-law?" Qiao Xuan smiled as she countered smoothly.

Shao Yunduan, who found Ms. Niu to be talking too much, tugged at Qiao Xuan. "Dad, Mom, we are going to bed."

With that, he left the place.

Qiao Xuan gave Ms. Niu a smile and left as well.

Ms. Niu. "…"

What was she smiling for? Everything about her was so irritating.

When Second Uncle and Ms. Niu left, they were only discussing the eldest sister-in-law.

"What is Ms. Fang doing? What is she thinking? She can't be trying to trick us, right?"

"Of course not, we have drawn a contract! Well, let's just wait and see, if she tries to fool us, we will go and sue them. Anyways, Ms. Qiao has the money to compensate us…"

"That sounds reasonable…"

They were so annoyed thinking how arrogant Ms. Fang had become after having Qiao Xuan on her side whilst they seemed to have gotten no benefits…

The following day, Qiao Xuan took Shao Taotao and Shao Xiaoqi to the mountains in search of Chinese fleeceflower root.

The herb field in the yard was not yet sorted, so Shao Dalang and his wife as well as Shao Sanlang were still working in it.

It would take one more day before they were done with it.

The seedling work could begin once the water was poured in the soil which would be finished by the evening.

157 Finally

Hearing that their fifth sister-in-law was also working hard to make money, the three of them were very devoted and careful.

Shao Dalang and Shao Sanlang were relatively innocent-minded. What they needed was to level the field well so they could face their fifth sister-in-law truthfully, especially since she was always very nice to them.

But Ms. Xu had her own ideas. She decided to learn how to plant the valuable herbs so she could try to do it on her own for her family, and earn some extra money for herself, which would make her very happy.

Qiao Xuan and her team still did not find the Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old.

They found one that was over 100 years old, but it was not enough for her purpose.

They found some mushrooms and other mountainous stuff, which they took home.

It was in the middle of May, and the mushrooms were barely seen. They were usually available around autumn.

High on the cliff, Qiao Xuan saw lithophytic orchids, which were quite valuable, but she said nothing about them.

They were at a very high and dangerous place, and she did not want Qi to take the risk. Also, she herself could not reach there either.

They found three more ganoderma lucidum, one of which was noticed by Shao Taotao. They picked them carefully and put them away. Qiao Xuan did not put them into space.

She found the other two, and with the help of her superpower, she delivered them into her space without being noticed.

The space was not as greedy as before, and did not steal anything from her.

Gastrodia, Polygonatum and other medicinal materials were also found. But they were relatively fragmented, and the pharmacies may not accept them. Hence, they gave them up to avoid wasting time.

They even saw a herd of over 20 to 30 wild goats walking by, eating grass, which made Shao Xiaoqi drool.

But the flock was very far away, and they did not have time to capture them, otherwise he would have been able to hunt and take one home.

The flesh of wild goats was tender and tight.

"What a pity!"

Qiao Xuan smiled. "There are numerous animals in the mountains. Don't be sad, we will always run into them. But, are you capable of hunting such a large-sized wild goat?"

Shao Xiaoqi smiled. "Of course, I am! I am not afraid of wild boars as well! I got one wild boar last year too! But honestly, we have barely seen any wild boars in the mountains this year!"

Wild boars were not rare wild animals, and could be seen every now and then.

Some were tough and strong, which were beyond Shao Xiaoqi's reach. He only went out for those which were manageable.

Wild boars had very thick skin. They were ferocious and angry, not very easy to capture.

Qiao Xuan would not tell him that there were many wild boars around, and that she had actively tried to avoid running into them. She just smiled and said, "It is good that we haven't run into wild boars, they are so scary! You need to avoid them too, in case you come across them. You don't have to hunt them down, your safety is more important!"

Shao Xiaoqi felt warm in his heart, and nodded. "Yes, I will be careful!"

The following day, they finally found two Chinese fleeceflower roots that were growing together. Qiao Xuan could tell that one of them was more than 500 years old whilst the other was around 400 years old.

Overjoyed, Qiao Xuan led Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao to dig them out.

The two Chinese fleeceflower roots were entangled with vines, so they cleared away a large side of the vines, and the land around them, before digging them out carefully.

It took them over two hours to get the two Chinese fleeceflower roots out.

The plants were old, but not very heavy.

Both of them were around 2.5 kgs, but did not resemble the figure of human beings.

158 Good Things

She intended to give the one over 500 years old to Xie Jingrong, and handed over the other one with Shao Xiaoqi for future use. Actually, she wanted to put it in her space.

A 400 years old Chinese fleeceflower root should be considered as treasure. Her space would not reject it, right?

Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao followed whatever their sister-in-law said.

They were so lucky that they not only found Chinese fleeceflower roots they needed, but also another good thing called Chinese Mesona.

Chinese Mesona belonged to the family of grass, but could grow very high, sometimes as tall as an adult.

The twigs were tender, and the leaves were oval-shaped, bigger than a thumb. The color was dark green, and fruits grew out of them, sweet and edible.

Ripe fruits would turn black, and they grew in a cluster of more than ten. Each of them was as small as the eyes of a carp.

The leaves as well as the ripe fruits would give off a fresh grassy smell when bitten in the mouth.

The leaves of Chinese Mesona were first mashed, then wrapped with cotton gauze, rubbed with water in a pot, and the juice obtained was filtered and left for a while. A natural pure green jelly could be made in this way.

When the jelly was served in the bowl, with some honey as well as mint water, it would become a really good snack for hot summer!

If they could find saltpeter and make ice out of it, then the snack would taste much better, by adding some chopped ice in the jelly. When she had enough people working for her, she would open a dessert store.

Qiao Xuan chopped a large bunch and decided to plant some Chinese Mesona in her flower field.

She could even make jelly as a snack whenever she had time.

She thought of another thing that could be used to make jelly, namely the creeping fig.

The creeping fig was a far better option to make jelly than Chinese Mesona. When ripe creeping figs were dried, the small seeds inside could be collected and grounded for making jelly. It was much easier to make and store that.

But the creeping figs would only ripen in August and September. At this time of the year, the creeping figs were just beginning to bloom.

The creeping figs were growing wildly and broadly, and could be found easily. She would focus on this business in a couple of days and bring them home too.

That was a plant that could survive easily, as long as their vines were well planted.

Satisfied, Qiao Xuan asked her siblings-in-law to get ready to go home.

Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were both very motivated, when they heard that the Chinese Mesona could be used to make something tasty. They put the cut branches on their backs directly.

Shao Yunduan could not help but admire his wife's good luck. She had really found what they needed!

"Darling, we will deliver it to the town tomorrow, I believe that Young Master Xie wouldn't have left yet. We can give it to him face to face!"

Shao Yunduan nodded with a smile. "Sure."

He was going to keep her company on their trip to town, especially when she was meeting those two men.

Ms. Fang did not know the details, but seeing that they had found what they wanted, she was very happy for them.

Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were unaware that the day they ran into Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao, they also ran into Strategist Lu who was working for County Magistrate Qiao.

Strategist Lu greeted the two of them politely and even mentioned that he was trying to help them to find Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years.

Xie Jingrong had not wanted to bother County Magistrate Qiao, so he had never mentioned this to him, but County Magistrate Qiao got to know about it for some reason.

159 Tricky

Xie Jingrong, who had been thinking that one more helper might work better, expressed his gratitude politely but refused his help. He stressed repeatedly. "Please tell Officer Qiao that it is my private affair, and it is a big taboo to use public forces to deal with private matters. It is not good to hire so many people, otherwise I will feel really guilty about it! Those senior people in the family would blame me for it too!"

Strategist Lu was startled as he smiled and nodded. "You are right, absolutely right! Young Master Xie, don't worry, I will never deal with private things using public forces, never…"

Strategist Lu informed County Magistrate Qiao about it, and the magistrate had to drop the idea of getting the staff to search for the plant or putting up the poster of offering prizes to those who found it.

But he was not going to drop the idea of sucking up to the Xie Family. So, he dispatched a few servants and several trustworthy policemen to seek the same in the mountains.

Then, he gave Strategist Lu some money to look around the mountains with some reliable villagers.

He even stressed that the Young Master Xie did not want this known to others, so everyone who was looking for the Chinese fleeceflower root should stay low-profiled rather than shout around, otherwise they would be punished!

Officer Qiao said to Madame Qiao happily, "There are so many mountains in the county. I believe that with so many people going into the mountains, they will definitely find one Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old!"

"If we find it…"

County Magistrate Qiao started to dream as his eyes sparkled. "I heard that Young Master Xie is planning to give the plant to Madame Xie, which should be a huge favor they would owe us!"

The Xie Family and the court in the capital were very related to each other. The Xie Family had enormous contacts in the capital, and Xie Jingrong's grandfather was a lord who was in grace…

It would be easy for him to get a position in the capital, when he did this favor for that man.

Madame Qiao got excited as well. She crossed her fingers and said, "Please, Buddha, please give us the blessing! If it happens, all will work out so well!"

Madame Qiao's eyes rolled as she smiled. "500 years or 400 years, or less, the year is not fixed. It is just a Chinese fleeceflower root that is old enough, as long as we can find one that is over 100 years old or just 50 years old, the Xie Family would owe us a big favor anyway!"

That was such a treacherous thing to say.

It basically meant that no matter whether the thing found was right or not, since they made some effort, they should receive some favor!"

Officer Qiao's eyes sparkled. He laughed. "That is a good idea!"

After all, he was really willing to help Young Master, but it was never easy to find a Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old. If he managed to find one less than 500 years old, it could still be handy for Young Master Xie!

It was the effort he was exerting!

Young Master Xie was talented. He was young and could not stand being embarrassed. If they exchanged a few amiable words after this, the Xie Family would definitely have to owe them a favor, no matter what.

160 Favored Madame

Whenever it was festival time, they could just give some presents to the Xie Family, and that was how they would be able to actually shorten the distance between them two.

The bigger Officer Qiao dreamed, the more he liked his wife. "You are such a smart helper!"

Madame Qiao smiled proudly. "We are one family and are bound together. Your honor will be my honor, so I have to pay attention to your affairs!"

"You are so good, haha!" Officer Qiao laughed loudly.

Early in the morning, Qiao Xuan spread the seeds of some plants with Ms. Xu and Shao Taotao, before heading to the town with Shao Yunduan.

In order to show enough importance to the matter, Qiao Xuan found an appropriate sized box from her useless dowry and put the 500 years old Chinese fleeceflower root inside it.

Yuezheng Xiao had told them about their lodge when they bid farewell to each other the last time, so Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan headed directly to the hotel once they reached the town.

Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong had been resting at the hotel due to the strenuous mountain-climbing a couple of days ago.

Hearing about their visit, Yuezheng Xiao smiled and asked his servant to invite the couple in.

Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were here to deliver the Chinese fleeceflower root.

Xie Jingrong was overjoyed and also surprised. He thanked them again and again after seeing the large-sized, fresh-smelling plant, and headed to Mingren Tang along with them for Manager Qin to identify the age of the plant.

Manager Qin was dumbfounded as well.

He had never expected that they really could find the Chinese fleeceflower root!

He had dispatched many people from the pharmacy, and entrusted experienced hunters and farmers to go into the mountains, yet everyone failed to find anything.

These two were just…

They were just so lucky.

Manager Qin exclaimed in joy when he saw the size. "I have seen many Chinese fleeceflower roots, this size should definitely be over 300 years old!"

Xie Jingrong looked very happy.

300 years old would be okay, if 500 years old one could not be found.

Qiao Xuan smiled and said calmly, "Manager Qin, look carefully again!"

"Okay!" Manager Qin nodded and started to observe the roots and stems carefully, trying to distinguish every single detail.

They had no other devices to test the age, and the manager had to discern it with only his eyes. Over the years, he had become very good at distinguishing the plant's age.

Fifteen minutes later, Manager Qin nodded with a flushed face. "Alright, this Chinese fleeceflower root is definitely over 500 years old, no doubt!"

"Really?"

"Let me take a look at it!"

Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong spoke up simultaneously.

One of them thanked Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan out of politeness, whilst the other looked at the Chinese fleeceflower root curiously, as if hoping that it would bloom.

That was a Chinese fleeceflower root over 500 years old. It was such a rare thing!

The entire group was happy after they left Mingren Tang.

Xie Jingrong invited the couple to have a drink at the tea house, whilst his servant had run back to the hotel to fetch the gift.

Soon the servant came over.

Xie Jingrong opened the brocade box, and there was a jade lying in an apricorn colored brocade. It looked so white and pure, showcasing some bright circles around it. It was definitely not cheap.

Xie Jingrong smiled. "Thank you so much Young Master Shao and Mrs. Shao. If you ever need my help, please bring this jade to the Xie Family, and I will do all I can to give you a hand."