181 Qiao Xuan's Compensation
Qiao Xuan passed the jade to Qiao Kou, and said with a smile, "Third Sister, please keep it well."
Qiao Kou's face sank, as she took it from her with clenched teeth, forcing a smile out of her lips. "Thanks, sister."
"No worries…"
Qiao Wei pursed her lips, thinking that she was such a useless person who could not even give her sister a hard time.
Qiao Kou's obvious behavior made people feel very uncomfortable, so someone suggested that they should take a walk in the yard. The idea was supported by many people, and everyone headed towards the garden with Qiao Wei.
Qiao Kou glared at Qiao Xuan but the very next second, she smiled and went after Qiao Wei instead, showing a flattering expression.
Qiao Xuan could not help but sigh. This sister of hers was as thick-cheeked as Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma.
No wonder the original host did not have a good time at the Qiao Family. Her lineal sister was so arrogant and her second sister was worse. Both of them had their own mothers as the support, but she had nothing. What could she have done?
Qiao Xuan raised her eyebrows and started to look around extensively.
Everyone was watching the flower show, and headed forward without noticing the two-finger thick vines stretching out, which tripped Qiao Kou over.
"Oh!" Qiao Kou became annoyed but was worried that Qiao Wei would be displeased, so she kept flattering Qiao Wei and showed no awareness of the vines. That's how she tripped over together with Qiao Wei.
The two sisters fell to the ground and the whole crowd let out a scream.
"Elder Miss Qiao!"
"Help Elder Miss Qiao up quickly!"
Most of the people present did not take Qiao Kou as someone important. They had seen how Qiao Wei behaved and how Qiao Kou treated her. They all thought of Qiao Kou as someone useless. Even though she fell hard, no one cared about her.
But Qiao Wei fell, which was a troublesome matter!
Qiao Wei was in so much pain that she turned pale. She could not regain her breath until a while later.
She was snorting inwardly with hands over her knees, as she was helped up by the crowd.
The maid lifted the dress and everyone gasped. There was a purple patch on Qiao Wei's knees, which was bleeding against her fair skin. It was a very shocking scene.
"Bring the doctor over quickly!"
Zhao Ming's face crumpled as she turned to her maid and instructed. She was making complaints inside her heart.
Elder Miss Qiao was hurt in her garden, and that would make her look like an irresponsible host! Elder Miss Qiao better not get mad at her.
Qiao Kou was even more anxious than her.
She almost wanted to kill herself.
She felt like collapsing into a faint.
How did this happen? She was not injured, but Qiao Wei was!
"Sister!" Qiao Kou sobbed."I am sorry, I did not mean that, sorry…."
Qiao Wei felt like she was dying, but she had to keep her temper down in front of so many people. She bit down her anger and said, "I knew you did not mean to hurt me."
Qiao Kou felt slightly assured. "Thanks, Sister!"
Qiao Xuan tried to offer some concern, but Qiao Wei was surrounded by so many people and she was directly squeezed out, so she did nothing.
Qiao Xuan felt slightly cheerful as she glanced at Qiao Kou.
It served her right!
Soon Qiao Wei was carried into a nearby room.
Qiao Wei wanted to calm herself, so she only had Fendie and Qiao Kou, as well as Ziling with her.
When everyone else left, Qiao Wei changed her face directly as she glared at Qiao Kou fiercely.
182 Lecture
Qiao Kou shivered as she said in a trembling voice, "Sister…"
"You bitch!" Qiao Wei glared at her and almost burst out in anger. She had the intention of ripping her off. "Kneel down!"
Qiao Kou fell on the ground without any hesitation. "Sister…"
"Your eyes are useless if they can't even see the road!" Qiao Wei cursed with her teeth clenched. She said to Fendie, "What are you looking at, discipline her!"
She was suffering from so much pain and she could not tolerate the idea of having been tripped over in public!
Pale, Qiao Kou begged for mercy in a small voice.
Fendie was very proficient. She immediately went to pinch Qiao Kou's arms.
It was early summer and people were wearing thin clothes. Arms would hurt from the pinch, but the wound would not be noticed.
They were guests in someone else's home, and should not slap them on the face. It would be seen.
Qiao Kou's head almost exploded. She, out of compulsion, could not dodge it. The tears were gathered in her eyes, but she could not cry out. She begged and said, "Sister, please, forgive me!"
Qiao Wei's anger was vented, as she said coldly, "You bitch, just wait until we get home. I will teach you a proper lesson then!"
Qiao Kou sobbed. "It is my fault, I have hurt you, Sister, I will definitely beg for forgiveness from Mother. Please don't be mad at me!"
Qiao Wei snorted and stopped glaring at her.
What a bitch! She was not even worth the attention.
Seeing her on her knees, wiping the tears, she was still really mad at her.
Qiao Kou gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she could not offend Qiao Wei, so she had to keep the hatred inside her heart.
She hated Qiao Xuan fiercely at this moment.
She was humiliated in front of Qiao Xuan.
She had wanted to embarrass Qiao Xuan but got humiliated herself.
Qiao Kou felt increasingly annoyed.
"Sister, it is Qiao Xuan who pushed me so I bumped into you!"
Qiao Wei threw a cold look at her.
Qiao Wei knew clearly that Qiao Xuan was not next to her, and Qiao Xuan never did anything to her, when Zhao Ming and the crowd were next to them.
But she did not counter Qiao Kou.
She did not have the intention of defending Qiao Xuan.
Seeing that her sister seemed to have accepted her words, Qiao Kou brought herself up and started to narrate the incident as if she were telling the truth. "Sister, Qiao Xuan is the real bitch. You must have noticed that. She is getting so sneaky these days. She looks as if she were down-to-earth, but honestly, sister, she has never had a bad day. Everyone is also saying that you are bullying her! She is just playing dumb to make herself seem innocent!"
"Now she is married and living far away. That's why she is getting bold. She just takes advantage of the situation and is giving us a bad time. What if she does something horrible behind your back, then…"
Moved, Qiao Wei started to think over her words and felt weird.
However, Qiao Xuan looked absolutely humble, but she never had a hard time. She even made herself forget about humiliating her… it all seemed so strange…
183 Maid
Qiao Wei could not help but start to think about the past. She suddenly felt that she never had any impression of Qiao Xuan at all.
She was just a silent person who never drew anyone's attention.
She looked honest at the moment, but she did not seem as genuine as before.
Qiao Wei's face started to turn twisted.
Was Qiao Xuan putting on a show?
Was she lying to her? What was she thinking?
Qiao Kou was observing Qiao Wei who apparently had taken her own words seriously. She could not help but chuckle inside her heart. She was trying to make Qiao Xuan get sullied with all kinds of filth.
Soon, Zhao Ming was knocking outside, whispering that the doctor was here.
Qiao Wei threw a look at Qiao Kou. "Get up!"
"Thank you, Sister!" Qiao Kou answered and got up carefully with the help of the maid's hand.
Qiao Wei had just skinned her knees, and the extreme pain had already passed.
The doctor gave the medicine and went away.
Qiao Wei was not in a mood for any more fun. Her limping leg could not take her anywhere.
She even wanted to leave without eating lunch.
Zhao Ming could not keep her but walked her out personally.
When she left, the others did not remain there any longer and bid farewell.
Qiao Xuan let out a sigh of relief that she was finally going to leave.
But Qiao Wei said to her, "You don't come to the town often, so come back home with me and greet our mother!"
Qiao Xuan agreed obediently and glanced at Qiao Kou.
She could see how proud Qiao Kou looked. At this moment, Qiao Xuan withdrew her gaze and understood that she must have played some tricks in the middle.
Qiao Xuan hated Qiao Kou deeply. She was like a fly who kept disgusting people.
Sometimes she just did not understand what benefit would Qiao Kou get after picking on her?
It was never easy to understand what these rubbish people were thinking.
Qiao Xuan followed Qiao Wei and Qiao Kou to the wagon and headed towards the town.
Qiao Kou kept mocking her on the way there.
But Qiao Xuan did not counter her and stayed silent.
She was going to see what Qiao Kou would get after sucking up to Qiao Wei.
Qiao Wei did not mock Qiao Xuan, but called out a maid called Liu Yan.
She said to Qiao Xuan, "You are Father's daughter and you don't even have a maid. Father would look bad in this way. Take Liu Yan home, she will be your maid from today onwards."
Qiao Wei never mentioned anything about the maid's contract, because Liu Yan's contract was in Qiao Wei's hands.
Qiao Xuan was startled and she panicked. "I don't think it would work, we are just a countryside family!"
"Just take her!" Qiao Wei looked impatient as she said coldly, "You don't even want to accept my gift?"
"No! Thanks, Sister…"
Qiao Xuan accepted Liu Yan reluctantly but Liu Yan wasn't at all happy.
She clearly knew that the countryside wasn't a good place to live in and she didn't know when she would return to the town.
She did not even look at Qiao Xuan, but kowtowed to Qiao Wei politely. She looked extremely unhappy.
184 Maid From Sister
Qiao Xuan ignored her reaction.
Soon Qiao Xuan waved them goodbye and left with Liu Yan.
The moment she left, Madame Qiao turned angry seeing Qiao Wei's wounds on her knees. Before Qiao Kou could beg for forgiveness, she scolded her and grounded her for ten days and asked her to copy ten scrolls of Buddha scripts.
Angry inside her heart, Qiao Kou looked pitiful and helpless. She had tears in her eyes but did not dare to utter another word.
Qiao Xuan left with Liu Yan and met up with Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan let out a sigh of relief seeing her coming back safe and sound. But he was surprised to see Liu Yan there.
He turned to Qiao Xuan with a look of inquiry.
Qiao Xuan winked at her and said pretentiously in a weak voice, "This is Liu Yan, a maid given by my sister."
Liu Yan could not help but purse her lips, snorting and rolling her eyes at Shao Yunduan.
Maid? They were just poor people, how did they call her a maid?
Also, her elder miss did not give her to them. She was asked to spy on them! Her contract was in her Elder Miss's hands who said that when she was done with her task, she would be brought back home again.
Did this couple really think that they were someone of importance? Did they think that she was going to serve them for a long time? They were just dreaming!
Shao Yunduan frowned slightly. He understood what Elder Miss Qiao wanted to do.
Madame Qiao must have been involved in it too.
Shao Yunduan did not show any reaction when they were in town. He nodded gently. "I got it. Then, let's go home!"
He was totally relieved to see Qiao Xuan safe and sound.
"Yes, let's go."
Qiao Xuan nodded and felt a bit gloomy.
She could do something about Liu Yan, but she was not going to do that right away.
They had no choice but to return empty-handed, instead of buying some meat and snacks for home.
What bad luck for them! The roasted chicken they bought the other day was used to save the man on the road. She had intended to buy another one today. The roasted chicken looked crispy on the surface and it must be delicious.
They rented the bullock cart for their transportation. The rakes were almost done and they did not need to spend money on rakes any more. So they had the bullock cart with them.
The rent was twice as high as on regular days.
Shao Yunduan was driving the cart while Qiao Xuan took the back seat.
But Liu Yan did not like it.
She did not even help Qiao Xuan get onto the cart, and even if she saw Qiao Xuan getting on the cart, she refused to do anything.
Qiao Xuan sneered inwardly. What was this maid thinking? She had her life at the mercy of someone else. What rights did she have to showcase her sense of superiority in front of a free woman like her?
How ridiculous!
But she did not bother to engage with a stupid woman like that. Instead, she said gently, with a smile, "The cart is a bit shabby. It is okay if you aren't used to it. You will be able to catch up with us. We won't run too fast, so you can walk along!"
Liu Yan was startled.
So, she was either taking the cart or walking. Qiao Xuan was not going to hire the wagon for her. She did not have money!
Liu Yan felt that Qiao Xuan was actually stabbing her right in the face, and she could not see what was going on.
However, she was not going to walk it. She was going to travel far into the mountains, and she needed to keep her legs for such an unknowingly long trip!
185 Overcome
Liu Yan pursed her lips, but started to climb up to the cart unwillingly.
When she was about to climb on, Shao Yunduan waved the whip that hit straight on the bull's back. The bull, which got the jerk, suddenly lunges forward. Liu Yan let out a frightened scream. She took hold of the edge and climbed onto the cart in a messy way.
But Shao Yunduan did not have the intention of stopping. He did not care about the commotion behind his back.
Qiao Xuan asked Qiao Xuan in concern. "Are you alright?"
She almost burst into laughter but controlled it. Shao Yunduan, who looked so honest, could even throw a prank like this.
She loved it!
After a long while, Liu Yan finally settled on the cart. She was furious and glared at Qiao Xuan.
Alright? She was not at all alright!
Qiao Xuan ignored the stare and showed a gentle smile, sounding tolerant. "That is how a bullock cart works, not as comfortable as a cart, so… please learn to get used to it!"
Having said the words, Qiao Xuan ignored her and whispered to Shao Yunduan.
Looking at the shabby cart, and the chair that had been taken by Qiao Xuan, she found that she did not even have anywhere to sit apart from the filthy board.
Moreover, her hands were still on the board!
Liu Yan felt so disgusted that she raised her hands in the air.
The next second, she again got flung backwards on the cart, and almost got herself smashed on the board.
Feeling wronged, Liu Yan burst into tears. She felt so humiliated, but she did not want to show it. So, she tried to hide the sobbing sound.
Poor her!
Why her? Why was she suffering from misery!
She did not want to stay here any more.
She turned to Qiao Xuan's retreating figure. It was the Second Miss who made this happen.
She was going to see what Second Miss had so she could take revenge on her when she returned.
Finally, they arrived at the village.
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan led Liu Yan home.
Seeing the shabby-looking house, Liu Yan felt even more sad.
What a terrible place!
Qiao Xuan felt a little bit troubled too. What was she going to do about the accommodation?
They had two rooms available, but they needed to be cleaned up.
Qiao Xuan presented Liu Yan to Ms. Fang and Shao Taotao. Then she turned to Liu Yan. "Come and greet Madame Shao and Third Miss!"
Liu Yan was startled.
Ms. Fang and Shao Taotao were startled too. "No, no, it is okay!"
Ms. Fang shook her head and arms. She was not used to such behavior.
Qiao Xuan added. "Mom, this is the maid my sister gave us. We can use her in any way we want. That is the rule. Liu Yan, kneel down and greet them!"
Slaves, when they met their masters for the first time, needed to kowtow.
Liu Yan felt dizzy and was shocked.
Was she going to greet a countryside woman and a rural girl? Second Miss was mental! She was not her real master!
Qiao Xuan frowned. "What are you doing Liu Yan? If you don't even know about the rules, you are humiliating my parents. I will send you home so you can learn them again!"
Startled, Liu Yan collapsed and kneeled. "Greetings, Madame Shao and Third Miss! Greetings!"
186 Habit
Seeing that Qiao Xuan could make her kneel down so smoothly, Liu Yan could not help but feel irritated. But it was already too late.
She was a maid after all, and she was used to kneeling down. So she did it almost subconsciously.
Shao Taotao got so frightened that she retreated backwards, and turned to look at Qiao Xuan nervously.
Ms. Fang was startled as well. "Well… get up, now!"
She almost reached out to help Liu Yan up, but Qiao Xuan stopped her secretly.
Qiao Xuan turned to Liu Yan and smiled. "You have done well. Get up now. From this moment on, you should settle down properly and serve us full-heartedly. Just do what you are supposed to do. Do not say anything that should not be said, or do anything that should not be done. In this way, you can live a good life."
"My mother-in-law and her family are all excellent and kind-hearted people. You can be assured."
"Okay, let's go and clean up your room!"
Qiao Xuan looked at Ms. Fang when she said that. Ms. Fang nodded dumbly as Qiao Xuan led Liu Yan to a small wing-room, where she needed to clean up everything alone.
She was the maid, but why must she clean up her own accommodation as well?
Seeing that the light was bad, and there was some mold floating in the air, Liu Yan noticed that the broken side room was filled with stuff. Everything was so filthy. She got so angry that she said to Qiao Xuan, "Second Miss, this is not a place to live."
Qiao Xuan smiled. "This is what the countryside is like. What about me sending you back home, if you are not used to living here?"
Liu Yan. "…"
She wanted to do that too, but she could not leave, not right now!
Liu Yan almost burst into tears. "But how can I clean it up? I don't know how to do that. Second Miss, please get two people to help me out!"
She worked with Elder Miss as the secondary maid, who had never done this kind of tough labor work.
Qiao Xuan stopped smiling and frowned. "Who do you want me to get to help you? Me? My mother-in-law? My sisters-in-law? You are a maid, and this is your work. What about you going back to the Qiao Family and bringing someone over to help you!"
Standing there motionlessly, Liu Yan turned to look at Qiao Xuan in disbelief.
Qiao Xuan ignored her, turned around and left.
Liu Yan stared at Qiao Xuan transfixedly. For a moment, she almost felt that there was something wrong with Second Miss.
But she said nothing in return. Seeing the mess in front of her, she felt so bad that she wanted to die. She was not in a mood to do anything!
Qiao Xuan went to speak with Ms. Fang and Shao Taotao about Liu Yan's presence here.
"…I did not dare to tell you about this, Mom, because I was worried that you would hate me. My lineal mother doesn't like me that much, and Liu Yan is here to spy on me. She might even do something to make our family worse. So…"
Shao Taotao was transfixed.
She always believed that Fifth Sister-in-law must have lived a good life at her mother's home, where she never needed to worry about anything.
But it seemed that her fifth sister-in-law had not been in a good position earlier.
The kind-hearted girl felt so sorry for Fifth Sister-in-law. She did not have a mother to love her, and did not even dare to report it to her father. It was so difficult!
She was going to treat her fifth sister-in-law well, so she could live a happy life!
187 Ideas
Ms. Fang was dumbfounded. She felt very sorry when she heard her daughter-in-law.
She soon realized what was going on.
No wonder she had felt that something was wrong right at the beginning.
The Qiao Family did not seem to be very passionate about marrying their daughter. She had thought it was because they never thought the Shao Family were a good match for their girl, but she never expected that it was because their daughter was not considered as someone important.
Her daughter-in-law did not even bring a maid with her. She should have noticed that before!
"Good girl, don't be silly! I will never blame you. I will cherish you for the rest of my life! This maid is not here to serve you full-heartedly. Now that I understand that, I will not allow her to do anything bad against us!"
Ms. Fang consoled Qiao Xuan and started to feel disgusted towards Madame Qiao and her husband. She knew what she should do with Liu Yan.
Madame Qiao and Officer Qiao were blind not to treat such a good girl kindly.
Qiao Xuan let out a sigh of relief, and smiled brightly. "I feel so relieved that you don't blame me! I will definitely treat you and all the siblings well!"
Ms. Fang smiled. "You are already treating them well already!"
Qiao Xuan added. "Liu Yan may not be that obedient. You have to stay alert, and tell Sister-in-law about her too."
Ms. Fang nodded. "I will. Don't worry, if she ever dares to do anything, I will beat and scold her. She is just a maid, isn't she?"
Ms. Fang, who had not been pleased with the maid, suddenly felt motivated. She found herself feeling like the master.
Qiao Xuan chuckled and nodded. "Of course!"
Ms. Fang was satisfied with her response.
Qiao Xuan went to Shao Yunduan and discussed the matter.
They had no idea what Qiao Wei's purpose was.
Qiao Xuan said, "My lineal sister always has different ideas. I believe that Qiao Kou must have said some bad words about me. Let us just keep the maid, she won't be able to turn the table."
Shao Yunduan nodded. "Don't let her know that you can make money, hide it well."
Qiao Xuan burst into laughter, feeling warm inside her heart. "I will!"
She suddenly added. "She should never get close to our room or touch your books, or disturb your studies!"
Shao Yunduan nodded seriously. "I will not allow her to get close to me at all!"
Qiao Xuan liked what she heard, and gave him a smile.
When they were done talking, Qiao Xuan asked Shao Taotao to come over to her room.
They took out the seeds of tomatoes and sundried them, so they could be planted.
Qiao Xuan took out the seeds, spread them out in a small round dustpan covered with gauze. She said to her, "Taotao, please take good care of the seeds for me. They should only be planted after being sundried. The fruits can be eaten as either snacks or vegetables. They are good things!"
Qiao Xuan did not want Liu Yan to see these, nor did she want mice or birds to peck at them, so she entrusted Shao Taotao to do the job.
Shao Taotao nodded at her and said, "Don't worry, Fifth Sister-in-law, I will take good care of the seeds and lose none!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Just relax, and make sure that you have some left!"
She believed that one seed could create a whole plain. She could make it spread faster and wider after that.
188 Feeling Good
The two of them talked and then went up to the yard for a walk.
There were many loquats, plums, mulberries, and bayberries in the garden, which looked very attractive as they were hanging on the branches.
The two of them held a few in each basket. They washed and sundried them, so that the whole family could eat it.
Wild lemons had grown quite a bit, so had peaches, as well as dates, persimmons, pears, grapes, and figs.
The watermelons' veins were everywhere, casting a patch of greenness on the ground, looking really interesting.
The watermelons were round and in different sizes. The large ones were as big as bowls. Qiao Xuan felt that she could pour in some power so the watermelons could be ready to be eaten earlier.
What a wonderful thing!
The pomegranates were also blooming, and they were particularly bright and dazzling. No wonder there was a sentence in the ancient poem, 'In May, the pomegranates shine brightly'.
The planted Panax notoginseng and ginseng had already sprouted and grown more than two inches tall. Gastrodia looked even more energetic and neat.
Shao Taotao was very careful and excited when seeing the medical herbs. They were all worth a lot of money!
She was so happy for Fifth Sister-in-law, even though the plants did not belong to her.
By evening, the whole family was back and learned about the maid.
For farmers' families, it was a fresh thing, so Liu Yan attracted a lot of attention as if she were someone rare.
Liu Yan started to feel quite proud inwardly. She could not help but straighten her back, thinking that these rural people must have not seen the noble air around a girl like her.
The maids from large families were surely more noble than ordinary daughters!
Also, she was in a better position than those from the large families, since she was working at the officer's home.
These rural people must feel so ashamed and jealous seeing her!
But those villagers felt strange as to why she looked so proud?
Only Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan could tell what she was thinking, and they rolled their eyes inwardly.
Qiao Xuan decided to get two crucian carps from the backyard water tank and braised them.
There were many fish and shrimps in the river and Shao Xiaoqi always brought back some and added them to the water tank when they ran out of ingredients.
Qiao Xuan was used to making meat dishes, and Ms. Xu, as well as Shao Taotao would take care of the preparations.
Seeing Qiao Xuan working so hard in the kitchen, Liu Yan stayed far away from them, fearing that Qiao Xuan would ask her to help as well.
She laughed at Second Miss. She was even worse than a maid like her.
She had never needed to do any work in the kitchen.
She was going to remember this and tell Elder Miss about this. Her Elder Miss was definitely going to be very happy.
Qiao Xuan made braised carps, steamed eggs and then walked out of the kitchen.
Ms. Xu made fried yam slices and stewed beans.
They added a bowl of sponge gourd and the whole family started to eat together.
Before Liu Yan could see the dishes, Qiao Xuan took her to the kitchen.
"We don't have any rules here, you don't have to stay by our side when we eat. You can eat in the kitchen if you want to."
Liu Yan. "…"
Staying by their side? What were they dreaming about?
189 Too Lazy
Thinking that the rural people did not live in a luxurious state, Liu Yan refused to eat with them on the same table. So, she nodded and left.
Qiao Xuan smiled and went for lunch, leaving Liu Yan alone in the kitchen.
Liu Yan looked at the dish that was left for her. There was half a bowl of rice, with yams and beans, as well as some slices of gourd.
All were vegetables, and there was not much oil in them. How could this be edible?
Ms. Fang told Ms. Qiao to put in as many seasoning spices as possible, which was much better than before, considering that the family had plenty of money for the moment. At least right now, the dishes were not tasteless.
But compared to the kitchen of the County Magistrate's home, the dishes definitely paled in comparison.
Liu Yan was a secondary maid, who was used to eating meat during every meal. Whenever Qiao Wei was happy, she would even give the maid some desserts or leftovers of the delicious dishes. So, Liu Yan was not at all used to the poverty she had to face now.
Seeing the rice and vegetables, Liu Yan suddenly felt unhappy.
How could this food be eaten?
She was not satisfied, but Qiao Xuan, who was very cautious towards her and could punish her whenever she made mistakes, would never mistreat her.
If she were in anyone else's family, she would not even end up being given a bowl of rice.
Liu Yan could not stand it any more. She ate a small portion of the dish, put down the chopsticks and bowl and returned to her wing-room.
She kept sobbing lying on the hard and shabby wooden bed.
Liu Yan had a very difficult time throughout the night.
The following day when Liu Yan woke up, she was feeling very sore on her limbs and back.
She felt like dying, all alone in this place.
But she was here on a mission and she could only leave when she was done with the task.
That made Liu Yan feel motivated.
Her mission was not about serving the whole family, so she refused to get out of the bed, when she woke up.
What if she was asked to do hard labor work?
Liu Yan did not get up until a long while later.
Ms. Fang was alone at home, taking care of her grandchildren.
The others were out for work, except for Shao Yunduan, who was studying in the room.
Qiao Xuan was making lipsticks in the floral field.
Ms. Fang would have gone out with her grandchildren to visit others, but for the fact that she had to keep an eye on Liu Yan.
She glanced at Liu Yan's room, feeling very displeased.
How could a maid be so lazy? She should have been sold away.
Liu Yan combed her hair, washed her face and found two steamed buns for breakfast. She ate them up in silence.
The steamed buns were cold, and stiff. For Liu Yan, they were like wax.
Liu Yan was greedy for the steamed buns with meat and ground-meat porridge.
She desperately wanted to go back to where she came from.
Liu Yan gave herself a pep talk and then went upto Ms. Fang. "Greetings, Madame Shao…"
She came to Ms. Fang and said with a flattering smile, "Young Master Grandson and Lady Granddaughter are so good-looking. They must have a great fortune in the future."
Shao Junyan and Shao Qing were eating loquats and plums, seated on the chairs next to Ms. Fang.
The bright yellow loquats and dark red plums were big and plump, and the juice flowed across the lips when they took a bite. The flesh was thick and tender, and the fruit was full of flavor. The two children ate everything with relish and had satisfied smiling faces. It looked delicious at first sight.
Liu Yan could not help but feel like eating the fruit as well. She gulped down the saliva, and reached out for the basket.
190 Not Her
Ms. Fang moved the basket and snapped at her. "You are not at all honest. You are such a lazy maid. Even the most lazy woman in the village wakes up at this hour and does not even get to eat porridge!"
Liu Yan sneered and thought that she was not a woman from the village anyways.
Liu Yan felt humiliated when she was snapped at by an elderly woman from the countryside.
She forced a small smile out of her lips. "You are right, Madame Shao, I will correct myself. Where is Second Miss, is she also working in the field?"
"Of course." Ms. Fang snapped at Liu Yan, as she pursed her lips. "We need to eat by doing labor work! You can sweep the yard, the broomstick is in the corner. That is your job from this day on, one sweep in the morning and the evening, no early sweeping in the afternoon, wait until the ducks, chickens and geese all return to the nests…"
Liu Yan felt even worse when she heard about her task.
"Madame Shao." Liu Yan's smile stiffened, as she said unhappily, "But I am here to serve Second Miss, and I can't do such heavy labor. I am not good at it either."
"There is such a thing as serving!" Ms. Fang's eyes arose as she sneered. "Let me tell you, Ms. Qiao is working at our home, and your status is even less than hers! What are you countering me for? One more word, and I will slap you right on the face!"
Liu Yan's face turned pale. She was startled.
She believed her words completely.
Rough women from the countryside always hit or scolded people, instead of talking reasonably.
She could look down at Ms. Fang and her family in her heart, but she could not dare to counter Ms. Fang, if she really slapped her.
"It is my fault, I am sorry! Madam, don't be mad, I will sweep the floor now!"
Instead of arguing, Liu Yan started to sweep the floor.
Ms. Fang frowned.
Shao Taotao had swept the floor early in the morning. Liu Yan could never do a good job.
This was such a mess!
Ms. Fang looked down at her inside her heart. What was she doing here, and she even wasted their food!
Ms. Fang wanted to drive her away directly, if she could.
Liu Yan sneaked back to her own room, when she saw that Ms. Fang was not paying attention to her.
The broken wing-room was a poor place, but it was much better than doing the labor work.
She was very worried that Ms. Fang would make her do the hard tasks again.
Liu Yan kept herself hidden from everyone. Qiao Xuan as well as the rest of the family did not care, because they never expected her to do anything in the first place.
Qiao Xuan even was worried that Liu Yan would seduce Shao Yunduan, but it seemed that Liu Yan was avoiding the brothers of the Shao Family, fearing that she would be too attached. That made Qiao Xuan feel quite assured.
Liu Yan did not dare to irritate Ms. Fang, so she tried to get close to Ms. Xu and Shao Taotao, hoping to get some news about Qiao Xuan from them.
But Ms. Fang had told Ms. Xu and Shao Taotao not to say anything, so her attempts failed.
They were worried not to be able to counter Liu Yan who might use tricky means, so they kept silent and said nothing.
Without any way out, Liu Yan failed to get any valuable information for Elder Miss Qiao, so she clenched her teeth, and expressed that she was going to keep Qiao Xuan company to do labor work in the fields.
But Qiao Xuan turned her down.
191 Different Identities
She was never going to let her know about the existence of her floral fields.
Qiao Xuan's rejection caused suspicion in Liu Yan's eyes. She tried to stalk Qiao Xuan, but was discovered by Shao Xiaoqi. Qiao Xuan lectured her and asked Shao Taotao to take her to Ms. Fang.
Liu Yan tried to sneak into Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan's room when Shao Yunduan was at the college for studies, trying to find something there.
But Ms. Fang got to know and found her when she was going through the wardrobe.
Ms. Fang snapped at her angrily.
Knowing that she was not in a good position, Liu Yan apologized and did not dare to counter her.
Knowing what happened, Qiao Xuan angrily slapped Liu Yan right on the face, pointing at her and cursing. "Who do you think you are? How dare you rummage through my room! If you ever do that again, I am going to chop your hands, and ruin your face. Let's see if my good mother is going to defend you then!"
Qiao Xuan did not care if Liu Yan was idling around.
But she could not stand it when she dared into her room.
Liu Yan should never be allowed to find anything in her room.
Slapping her was the least punishment she could give to her.
Liu Yan felt her face flush badly.
She was so shocked that she even forgot to scream and stared at Qiao Xuan in surprise.
Did Second Miss just slap her? How could Second Miss be so ferocious?
Did she really, actually hit her? She was the timid and honest Second Miss! She was supposed to be weak!
Liu Yan felt as if she were dreaming.
Liu Yan believed that Qiao Xuan was a timid person who could be bullied easily, and that was why Liu Yan sneaked into Qiao Xuan's room.
Any servant would be punished heavily if such a thing happened in a family.
Servants might even die, if their masters had a bad temper.
"Heard what I just said?"
"What?" Liu Yan brought herself back, and felt pain arising on her cheek. Second Miss seemed so intimidating at that moment.
She could not help but shiver, as she replied. "Yes, I did!"
"Then bear my words in your mind." Qiao Xuan sneered. "Don't you ever forget whose hands you are in. I am not out for your blood, but don't think that I am someone easily bullied. If I am going to punish you, your contract will become mine too! I can ruin you, and your master will not be able to do anything about it, understand?"
Liu Yan turned pale and showed horror and fright.
If Second Miss ruined her, Elder Miss would definitely not help her, but blame her for not being able to complete the mission well. She would kick her away instead of caring about her.
Elder Miss might blame Second Miss as well, but what more could she do? Second Miss was also Officer Qiao's daughter.
Liu Yan suddenly realized who she really was. She was just a maid, and Second Miss was the master!
They had a huge difference in their identities.
If Second Miss ignored her, then things would be fine, but if she wanted to do anything to her, she would be helpless against the attack.
"Go into the wing-room. No food for you today!" Qiao Xuan said coldly.
Without uttering any sound, Liu Yan rushed away.
Back in the wing-room, Liu Yan collapsed onto the hard wooden bed, and her heart throbbed heavily.
192 Elder Miss's Prize
But soon Liu Yan became excited again. Her eyes were sparkling!
No wonder Elder Miss had sent her to watch out for Second Miss. There was something wrong with Second Miss!
She was hiding herself so well that she did not reveal her real temper until this day.
Elder Miss was so smart to have noticed this secret.
Liu Yan turned extremely happy. It was a great piece of news. She was going to take the information to Elder Miss.
Elder Miss was definitely going to bestow great prizes and praise her.
Elder Miss had told her that Second Miss would go back to her mother's home on the 15th day of August. At that time, she would reveal everything to Elder Miss.
All she needed was to wait until that day.
When the rakes were ready, it was time for seedling.
That was something that needed to be done at the right hour.
The first section of the Shao Family only had seven mu of field, and their grain production was not so high. So, it took time and labor to finish the field planting.
Qiao Xuan ceased her work of lipstick, because Ms. Xu and Taotao as well as Qi were helping out with sowing seedlings in the field.
Ms. Fang was cooking at home, and Qiao Xuan was asked to take care of Shao Junyan and Shao Qing.
As for Shao Yunduan… he was busy studying in his room, whilst the other brothers were out in the field.
Second and third sections of the family again came to the door.
They first started to coax Eldest Uncle outside home.
As a result, at dinner time, Elder Uncle said, "Let's take an early break tonight. We need to get down to work on the seedlings in the field. When you are done, you can help Second Uncle and Third Uncle as well. It is a very important matter that can't be delayed…"
Ms. Fang rolled her eyes before he could finish his words.
The whole family showed no look of surprise.
They had been used to this kind of request.
But things were different this year.
"What? They don't own our fields, do they? We made the rakes, why must we do the seedling work too? Oh does this mean that we can get the fruits when autumn comes? And we can pick the rice we want?"
"Are they so handicapped that they can't move at all?"
Eldest Uncle frowned. "How can you say things like this? We talked about this before. We will forget our past grudges and start fresh. Why are you still thinking about this?"
Ms. Fang got even more annoyed. "Of course I am thinking about it. I am telling the truth! They betray us and then they badmouth us! Why must I forget about this? Why are you thinking about making us do all the work for them? We are also busy, they can do the seedling work themselves!"
"That is my brother, not someone outside the family!" Eldest Uncle stressed angrily, after being interrupted by Ms. Fang again. "You are behaving over the top. We can help them when we have time! Also, they will help us with seedlings too! What are you splitting your hair for?"
"We don't need them! They can do their own work if they have time!"
193 Clear In Mind
Eldest Uncle glared. "You are not working in the field, so you have no rights to make a decision!"
Ms. Fang looked at her sons. "Do you need Second and Third Uncle for help?"
Shao Dalang was too honest to make an expression. He scratched his head and did not dare to utter a sound. Ms. Xu did the same thing too. She did not say a thing but inwardly, she was cheering for her mother-in-law.
Shao Sanlang did not give up after hearing what his mother said.
"I don't think so! They are always lazy and they never do anything!"
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao nodded in agreement.
"They are so lazy and slow. We are much faster!"
"Last year when we helped Second Uncle with the seedling, Second Aunt-in-law took Second Cousin back home and told her to help with cooking. But when we came to her home for lunch, we did not get to eat any food except for one pot of porridge and pickles. That was such a simple lunch that I believed the Second Aunt-in-law could have done it alone…"
Eldest Uncle. "…"
"Heard that?" Ms. Fang sneered. "No one cares about them! They are just tricking us! They are getting more and more treacherous towards us!"
Elder Uncle felt humiliated, as he said in a sunken voice, "You should drop the idea! We are going to help, that is all! Understood?"
Qiao Xuan could not stand the whole thing any more. She smiled. "Mom, it is very easy to resolve this matter! We can help them the way they help us, that is fairness, right?"
The whole family immediately got clarity in their minds.
Shao Yunduan could not help but glance at Qiao Xuan, smiling.
He had come up with the idea before, but he could not say it out loud. He was the son, who should not humiliate his father publicly.
It was better for his wife to say so.
"That is true!" Shao Sanlang struck his leg, eyes sparkling. "This is a great idea! You are so smart, Fifth Sister-in-law!"
Eldest Uncle shivered. "Shut up, Ms. Qiao, what kind of idea is it? Seedling is an important thing, we have to take it seriously!"
Ms. Fang was very displeased. She sneered. "What are you shouting at my daughter-in-law for? We are being totally fair, not messing around! Seedling is a very important thing, so you can ask your brothers to pay attention to their own business. It should not be delayed, right? Why didn't you blame them for being lazy? Isn't seedling important for them?"
"If you like them so much, you can help them yourself!"
Qiao Xuan said, "After the seedling process is over, we are going to host the wedding for the Third Sister-in-law, and we are totally occupied. I need to hire Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law to help with preparations…"
She really did not have time to help the other sections of the family with anything.
Qiao Xuan was not yet done with lipsticks. She needed to continue with her work.
Yuezheng Xiao had told her that she should make as many as possible, and he was going to buy them all.
They only had 500 lipsticks available for sale. She had to hurry up.
One lipstick was worth 2 liang and that was a great thing.
They had no wax, so she needed to take Qi and Taotao into the mountains.
She was going to take in 30 bees boxes within a month.
She planned to plant mushrooms too, apart from lipsticks.
She had made a new plan. She was going to plant fungus, especially white fungus, which were widely accepted, valuable and precious.
194 Not Others
In addition, she could plant some straw mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and poplar mushrooms, which would be delicious to be eaten.
She did not trust anyone else, but her family!
Ms. Xu did not dare to counter her father-in-law while facing something else. But Qiao Xuan was talking about the business that helped Ms. Xu to earn money, so she had to say something!
Working for Qiao Xuan helped her earn money, and that made Ms. Xu feel really pleased. She often counted the money she had saved in the room, laughing like a silly woman. She was saving it all for her own future!
So when Qiao Xuan offered some more work, while her father-in-law intended to get them to help the other sections of the family, she felt really annoyed.
As a result, Ms. Xu said boldly, "True! Dad, we can't delay what Fifth Sister-in-law needs us to do, right? We must help our own family first…"
Ms. Fang looked at Ms. Xu. "You are right, we should understand who is closer, and who is further away from us!"
Furious, Eldest Uncle finally snapped. "You are all trying to irritate me! Alright then, you all can stay put. I will go over myself!"
Having said the words, Eldest Uncle walked away, angrily.
Ms. Fang sneered. "Alright, just leave my sons alone! Don't you forget to stay for lunch there!"
Eldest Uncle wanted to ignore what she said, but caught all of it. He got so annoyed that he almost tripped over.
Qiao Xuan bit her lips hard, trying not to laugh.
Shao Dalang panicked. "Mom, will this work? Will Dad get mad?"
Qiao Xuan was laughing inwardly. This Elder Brother was way too down-to-earth.
Of course her father-in-law was angry. He got so angry that he almost collapsed.
"Just leave him alone!" Ms. Fang sneered. "He asked for it! You should all listen carefully to me – never join him and help them!"
Shao Sanlang and the others nodded happily. "I won't, never!"
Although they felt a bit unsure about their father being angry, it was such a wonderful feeling, wasn't it?
Shao Dalang intended to say something more, when Ms. Xu tugged his sleeves, so he said nothing else.
His wife was smarter than him, so when his wife made the suggestion, he closed his mouth no matter how confused he was… unless it dealt with principles and bottom lines.
The following day, Shao Dalang and Ms. Xu went to work in their own fields.
Ms. Fang was busy with housework, whilst Qiao Xuan kept the two children company and fed the ducks and roosters.
Roosters only needed to walk in the yard, where they would get happy and return on their own at night.
Ducks and geese had grown very big as well. After they were fed, they were driven out of the home, and they returned in the evening after spending the whole day in the river.
Qiao Xuan was not very sure about the animals, so she followed the ducks and geese in the river and brought the two children along.
When they returned home, she knocked at the door, waking up Liu Yan.
Qiao Xuan felt that such a lazy person should not remain at home. If she had nothing to do, she would cause trouble.
In this case… she could be given to do something.
Liu Yan was hesitant. Apparently, she did not care about Qiao Xuan when she was not really in contradiction with her.
195 Real Second Miss
But for Shaoding Village which was far away from the town, and she, as a single girl, was worried about running into something unpleasant on the way, she would have run away rather than stay here.
That was why Qiao Xuan was never worried about her running away.
Seeing how Liu Yan was behaving, Qiao Xuan sneered. "Sweep the floor clean, chop the wood well and wash all the clothes. No food for you, if you don't finish the work. If you can stay hungry for a couple of days, then you are welcome to do nothing."
She had not entrusted her with any work before, because she wanted to see what Liu Yan could do.
It was never difficult for her to rectify her.
Liu Yan was surprised, unconvinced and extremely furious.
She was certain that the Second Miss had changed. She was different from before.
Or the Second Miss had always been pretending in the past…
Second Miss at this moment was the authentic one.
Liu Yan had never respected Qiao Xuan. So when she was threatened, she was not very happy.
She threatened back in a soft tone. "Second Miss, don't forget that Elder Miss has told me to bring you back for the gift presentation on Mid-autumn Day. I am a person given by Elder Miss and Madam to you. I can only serve you with some tea. You should remember who is behind me. Second Miss, you are humiliating me constantly, that is not good, right?"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "You are wrong. What do you mean by who is behind you? Should I explain my actions to you? Do you think that just because your contract is not in my hands, I can do nothing about you? Mid-Autumn Day is still not here yet. Do you think that I will be afraid of your report to them?"
"Just wait and see what happens if you disobey me, okay?"
Liu Yan's face changed slightly, as she stood motionlessly.
But she still did not want to move. She refused to do any labor work.
She just did not want to do farmer's work. Maids from the mansion never did anything like this.
Qiao Xuan raised her eyebrows and was about to say something, when Ms. Niu came in with her grandson in arms.
She shouted. "Elder Sister-in-law, you bear the grudge in your mind for so long. What are you staying here for? We are just offering our help…"
Ms. Fang countered immediately. "I don't care! You can do your own work if you want to. We don't need your help, because you are going to say that your time and fields got wasted because you helped us with seedlings. How horrible that would sound."
Ms. Fang told the other two sections of the family not to visit them. She did not help them either.
Second Uncle and Third Uncle had an argument with Ms. Fang, but they never showed up anyway.
They believed that they were kind-hearted, but they were turned down early in the morning. Even good-tempered people would not feel pleased after a while.
Ms. Niu came to the door directly, when she became frustrated.
Now she got even more furious, when she was countered by Ms. Fang.
She became anxious and panicked.
Actually, she was upset about having to do everything alone. She had been waiting for the first section of the family to help as always done in the past.
She could not stand losing the easy help, which used to be available to her every time in the past.
She was a greedy person and felt that she had been put into a disadvantageous situation.
Ms. Fang was so disgusting, she thought.
Ms. Niu glared at Qiao Xuan. She felt that it was all Qiao Xuan's fault.
196 Fierceness
Ms. Niu regretted so deeply that she had not protested against this marriage.
Nothing good had happened after Ms. Qiao became part of the family.
Qiao Xuan did not care about her reaction. She even thought of an idea when she saw Ms. Niu's look.
She said, "Second Aunt-in-law, we are already in different families. We should care about our own business. Mom is right. You are just humiliating yourself by coming here! But, Second Aunt-in-law, if you are so busy, I can offer some help!"
She pointed at Liu Yan and smiled. "This is my maid, Liu Yan. Why not take home and make her do your work. You can do whatever you want with her. Maybe, she can be of some help to you!"
Ms. Niu, who had been so angry a few seconds ago, stopped as she heard the words. "Are you sure? You are going to let me use your maid?"
"Yes, yes!"
Qiao Xuan nodded.
Ms. Niu could not help but turn to Ms. Fang, who snorted and looked unwilling, but she said nothing more.
Ms. Niu felt slightly better. She snorted. "That is good, you should never break your promise!"
Ms. Niu would never lose any chance of taking advantage of anything.
"Of course not!" Qiao Xuan said to Liu Yan, "What are you standing here for? Why don't you go home with Second Madame Shao. Listen to her order, otherwise she is going to punish you, got it?"
Ms. Niu felt so happy hearing herself being addressed as 'Second Madame Shao', as if she had already risen higher.
She glanced at the maid. "Liu Yan, just follow me!"
Liu Yan looked at Qiao Xuan, bit her lips, and followed Ms. Niu.
Liu Yan felt somehow proud inwardly. She believed that Qiao Xuan must have been scared by what she said, so she did not dare to do anything to her. So she drove her away, just to hide how humiliated she was.
Alright then! She could leave!
Ms. Fang sneered. "The maid is going to soon know what kind of hell she is going into!"
Qiao Xuan was not a hard-hearted person, nor was Ms. Fang. But they had the right methods to give Liu Yan a hard time. They just did not want to get themselves stuck with too much trouble.
Liu Yan would soon know how hellish life could be, when she ended being with someone like Ms. Niu.
What was she thinking when she put on a look of who she was?
Hearing what Ms. Fang said, Qiao Xuan understood that her mother-in-law knew what she was doing. "Mom, you know me well, that maid has to go through some difficulties so that she knows what the world is like!"
In the afternoon, Shao Dalang and the others came home for lunch. Qiao Xuan helped with dough making and noodle kneading.
A while ago at home, Qiao Xuan cut chili noodles, shiitake mushrooms, egg skins, pork belly into dices, and fried shrimp, minced garlic, minced green onion, minced ginger, fried peanuts, and put them into a large jar just to mix with noodles.
Apart from the noodles, she picked some beans, celery and scallions from the yard.
The beans and celery were chopped, blanched in boiling water, whilst scallions were cut into minced green onions as seasonings.
When the water was boiled, the noodles were cooked, and scooped up so the vegetables, sauce and sesame oil as well as vinegar were mixed with pickles from the jar. It looked tasty and appetizing.
The dish was simple, and the meal made people feel so satisfied.
197 Balanced
Qiao Xuan picked up some mulberries and plums from the garden, washed them and put them in bamboo baskets for everyone to satisfy their cravings after lunch.
She did not work in the field, so she tried her best to let the whole family eat well.
But she did not see any cucumbers and she wondered if cucumbers were commonly-seen at this time around.
Otherwise, she could slice cucumbers and stir the slices with noodles. They would be tasty and fresh.
As long as she loved it, she could let the fruit trees grow all kinds of fresh fruits throughout the whole year.
But that was not very scientific and she might cause a sensation. At this time, the loquats were already out of season, and there was still a small portion of plums, mulberries, and bayberry. They would go out of season in about ten days at most.
But peaches, grapes, watermelons could be eaten again, then figs, and then pears, dates, and pomegranates would be ripe enough.
Eldest Uncle was still very angry with Ms. Fang. He was wearing a bad look on his face. The whole family had been fed up with the second and third sections of the family during the past few years, and they did not want to slow her down or hold her back when their mother took the lead and protested against it. So no one cared about Eldest Uncle's look.
That made him feel even worse.
In silent mutiny, he stopped the work of his own family but went down to the third section of the family to help him.
Third section of the family was not giving him a good time. Liulang was someone who worked over a desk, and there were no other sons who worked in the field.
Eldest Uncle just could not stand that the third section of the family missed the spring plow.
But the second section of the family felt very imbalanced in their hearts, thinking that their eldest brother should be fair. He could not just help the third section of the family, but also the second section of the family!
Eldest Uncle felt very uncomfortable.
In his opinion, they were brothers. They just lived separately because they had more and more new people coming to the place. But the whole family was still one.
The whole family should stay together, and help each other. As long as they combined forces, they could all have a better life.
He really did not think that it was a problem, if his sons worked hard for the other sections of the family.
Nephew Liulang was physically weak, and he could not go down and work in the field, so he felt that it was totally normal if he helped out his third brother and his family.
But what did his second brother mean, when he had so many helpers?
Why must he go and help them? When he refused to, he was considered as not being fair.
It was not about fairness…
It seemed that the second brother and his family did not understand the idea of being one family.
Eldest Uncle felt really emotional.
He tried to explain to the second section of the family, which made Second Uncle further irritated. But he stopped, when he thought of how his wife got a maid from the first section of the family.
Eldest Uncle felt better thinking that he had managed to convince his second brother. "Look, he understood it. He can see through my ideas…"
Ms. Fang did not care about her husband working for the third section of the family.
He could continue to be there. As long as his own family was on the right track, he could be left alone.
They had not been to the town for days, and Shao Xiaoqi had not hunted in the mountains, so Ms. Fang bought some tofu from the wandering sellers.
Qiao Xuan made food at night. Tofu was fried in oil and browned on both sides. She was going to make a dish of stir-fried tofu with green peppers and mushrooms.
A large catfish was killed, and she stewed it with the sauce which had been mixed with noodles for lunch.
Two more crucian carp were killed, and after the cuts were made, they were wrapped in flour and fried, and then braised.
She also made another fresh bamboo shoot soup and one dish of fried beans.
A table consisting of five dishes made a good meal.
198 One Thing Left
Eldest Uncle was very angry with Ms. Fang, so he did not eat at home. Instead, he went to the third section of the family for dinner.
Third Uncle and Ms. Ma were not very happy about his visit. Ms. Ma even made some implicit remarks but Eldest Uncle did not get it.
Ms. Ma pursed her lips, mumbling in a small voice that all he did was just offer them some help for half a day, and now he was staying for dinner! Their eldest brother was getting more and more calculative!
After many days of work, the spring plow was finally drawing to the end.
No one from the first section of the family offered help. Second Uncle as well as Third Uncle failed in their plan of letting Ms. Fang's sons help them out.
Infact Ms. Fang got more tricky now. She asked her sons to slow down their own labor work, so they did not have any free time to offer anyone else any help.
So, after the second and third sections of the family took advantage in getting the rakes made, they would not be called reasonable if they forced Ms. Fang and her sons to help with the seedlings also.
Feeling helpless, the second and third sections of the family had to ask some people from the village for help so they could finish the spring plow.
When they were done with the spring plow, the first section was done with their work as well.
The two families got very annoyed. They felt as if they had been set up!
They knew clearly by this point that Ms. Fang was getting harder to deal with.
Spring plow had just passed. Yang Xiaoni was getting ready to be married to the family, so the first section of the Shao Family was going to be even busier for the days to come.
But there were many helpers in the family, and due to the wedding of Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan which took place just a while ago, they were fairly familiar with the arrangement of the wedding this time. Besides, Ms. Fang had plenty of money now, and she was more confident and faster in getting everything done.
The large and important stuff as well as the new room were all ready. The wedding reception had been well-arranged, so was the guest lists. The meat, the vegetables and everything else was booked. Everyone was waiting for the wedding day to come.
Those whom they needed for help were all informed…
There was just one thing that remained to be done.
Shao Sanlang was very honest and he treated Yang Xiaoni well.
When he was done with the spring plow, he told Ms. Fang and Eldest Uncle that he was helping Yang Xiaoni and her family out.
Yang Xiaoni had been complaining to him all the time about what her brother and sister-in-law were like. Shao Sanlang had heard quite a lot about the couple's behavior as well.
Spring plow and autumn harvest were top priorities throughout the year and they were the most tiring errands as well. Yang Liang and his wife were very lazy and loved to eat good food. So, if they took the excuse of the spring plow and tried to ruin the wedding, that would be troublesome!
So he just wanted to offer some help to press down the couple, so that he could get the girl home.
After the girl came to his home, he would leave the couple alone and care nothing about them any more.
Married girls would always be spilled water, and even a brother could not interfere in his sister's in-law's family.
Actually, Yang Liang and his wife had been very annoyed by the spring plow. Ms. Tian kept forcing Yang Xiaoni to ask the Shao Family for help, but Yang Xiaoni ignored her and did not want to do anything about it.
There was one time when she was slapped right on the face without being able to dodge it. As a result, she tripped over and skinned her arm.
When Third Grandma Yang was helping her put on the medicine, the girl, who had been so broad-minded and optimistic all this while, could not help but burst into tears.
She had not yet married, and was being forced to ask her mother-in-law's family to help her brother with labor. What position would she have at her new home in future? How would she be able to face her mother-in-law as well as her sisters-in-law?
So, she did not listen to what Ms. Tian asked her to do, no matter what Ms. Tian said.
But it was not so easy to ignore the issue.
Third Grandma Yang promised to get involved, only because Ms. Fang had given her some gifts earlier. Moreover, she was in the right position to get involved in their family affairs as an elder.
199 Proud Ms. Tian
By this point, she had started to feel sorry for Yang Xiaoni. She sighed and consoled her.
This girl was lucky after all, because the Shao Family was willing to accept her. When she was married, her life would surely get better.
When Shao Sanlang offered help in the field, he solved all the problems immediately.
People in the Yang Village expressed their jealousy for Yang Xiaoni's luck.
Some even regretted why they did not go to the Shao Family to ask about marital connection before the Yang Family did.
"The Shao Family is such a good family, that no one else will be able to exceed them!"
"Shao Sanlang looks quite honest, but he treats Xiaoni so well. When I look carefully, I think he is very good-looking!"
"We all say that dumb people have their luck, look at what Yang Xiaoni has got!"
Some were also feeling sour and jealous, and whispered amongst themselves.
"The Shao Family have to marry her because they already made the offer, otherwise who would want to be married to a family like that?"
"True, Yang Liang and his wife are not easily driven away. They will always make trouble, which no one can stand!"
"I wonder how Ms. Fang would treat Yang Xiaoni when she is married. Ms. Fang is a very fierce person. We can't really say that Yang Xiaoni is lucky for now!"
"That is true!"
"…"
But no matter what the whispers were like, Yang Xiaoni was feeling happy, guilty and moved. She wanted to throw herself to Shao Sanlang and promised to stay devoted to him thoroughly.
Yang Liang and Ms. Tian were also very proud.
Ms. Tian did not show any respect towards Shao Sanlang. She kept buzzing around him, telling him to offer help whenever he could and not to forget about their family later on.
But the couple said nothing about Yang Xiaoni.
Shao Sanlang ignored and snorted at them as an agreement.
They did not care about Xiaoni or what her life would be like, so he would not care about the couple either. He would not have shown up, but for the concern that the couple would change their mind about the wedding.
Two days before Shao Sanlang's wedding, Qiao Xuan, Ms. Xu, Shao Taotao were helping Ms. Fang get ready for Shao Sanlang's wedding in the afternoon, when a silhouette rushed in suddenly.
She threw herself to the ground on her knees, crying at Second Miss and kept kowtowing. "Please help me, Second Miss. I am sorry for what I have done. I promise that I will do whatever you want me to do, but please, take me back, Second Miss, please…"
The crying was loud and miserable.
Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang as well as everyone else present there got startled.
Qiao Xuan was curious. "Are you… Liu Yan?"
"Yes, yes I am!" Liu Yan screamed even more loudly.
Ms. Fang and the others had their eyes wide open, feeling absolutely shocked.
No wonder the whole gang looked as if they had seen a ghost. The girl who was kowtowing in front of them was not like Liu Yan of the past.
When Liu Yan first arrived here, she was lazy, arrogant, always well-dressed even though she was not wearing any special makeup. But her hair had always been combed neatly, and she had embroidered shoes as well as a handkerchief with flower patterns.
However…
This woman in front of them had unkempt hair and was wearing shabby, old clothes with patches, which were apparently too small for her to wear.
She was kowtowing so her face was not seen, but she must have suffered a great deal in the recent past.
200 Revenge
When she was kneeling in front of them, Liu Yan looked totally different. Infact, she resembled a refugee!
Ms. Fang suddenly realized what had happened. She snorted slightly and then sneered.
Qiao Xuan gradually understood too. She cursed inwardly that it served her right.
Ms. Niu seemed to have spared no efforts to torment Liu Yan. She must have ripped Liu Yan's clothes and given her what Shao Meiling had already worn out.
It could be seen clearly what life Liu Yan was leading when she was working for the second section of the family.
Evil always received revenge.
"Alright, just stop crying! What rules do you have by crying so loudly in front of your master?" Qiao Xuan said calmly.
Liu Yan's cry stopped suddenly, but she continued to sob. "Okay, Second Miss, okay!"
She was no longer as arrogant as before.
Second Miss was going to be her savior. She had realized that it completely depended on Second Miss whether she was going to be rescued from where she was now.
Qiao Xuan did not want Ms. Qiao and the others to see what she looked like currently. So she smiled at Ms. Fang. "Mom, this servant doesn't seem to be in a good condition. I will take her somewhere else and ask her what is going on, so that she doesn't dirty the room."
Ms. Fang nodded. "Okay, do as you want."
Then she sneered. "It serves her right! She was arrogant, lazy and always greedy for food!"
Qiao Xuan laughed. "True, otherwise she would have continued to assume that everyone is as friendly as our family!"
Qiao Xuan ordered Liu Yan to get up and took her to her wing-room.
Liu Yan, who had found the wing-room so terrible earlier, believed that it was her safe bay at this moment.
Liu Yan soon kneeled down and cried. "Second Miss, please, I am sorry, please take me back!"
The second section of the family was so horrible that she never wanted to go back there.
The first day she arrived there, she was ordered to get changed by Ms. Niu, who said that a servant did not deserve to have such good clothes.
But those were not good clothes at all. They were just made of cotton.
She had been sneering at them for being so narrow-sighted that they had never seen anything good. She could not help but look down upon Ms. Niu, who slapped her right on the cheek. She felt her ears buzzing, and had to obey whatever Ms. Niu said from then on.
Ms. Niu and Shao Meiling as well as the other members of that family kept ordering her to do all kinds of work, as if they had never ordered anyone before.
What was more, she was overloaded with all kinds of housework.
It included laundry, cooking, wood chopping, fire starting, dish washing and yard sweeping…
Apart from that, she was instructed to serve them tea, do massages and dig the ground in the yard with a shovel.
If she failed to do anything, she would be scaled, beaten and slapped on the face.
Just one day before, Shao Meiling suddenly got annoyed and started to kick her. She was pushed to the ground and constantly kicked, before Shao Meiling finally stopped. She suffered so terribly that she just could not get up.
The moment she got up, Ms. Niu ordered her to start the fire and cook.
Moreover, she was starved.
She was fed only light porridge every single day.
She did not even have a piece of pickle!
Ms. Niu said that she was just a slave who deserved nothing more than porridge.
Only then did she realize how happy her life had been when she was working for Second Miss, who gave her decent food.
She was asked to sleep in the straw pile during the night, and had mosquito bites all over her body. She felt so itchy that she could not fall asleep at all.
But that did not excuse her to rest the following day.
She had to get up and continue to work. She had never understood how difficult life could be before this.
Ms. Niu was very tricky, and kept her eye on her throughout the day. Her room was locked overnight, and she could not escape even if she wanted to.