261 Assured
The cooking utensils, rice and flour and daily necessities were bought. They could buy vegetables themselves, and also could raise chickens and ducks. In this way, they would be able to settle down properly.
Five liang could make them buy a lot. The family could easily live on it for three or four months.
Ding Erzhu did not turn the money down. He had nothing in his hands!
Feeling burdened, he sobbed as he held the money in his palm. "Nephew, and Niece-in-law, please count it against our salary. We can't ask you for any more money!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "In that case, count two liang out of it as wages. The house building is not counted. When the house is torn down at the end of the year, we can still use the wood."
A piece of wood with a width of thirty centimeters and a thickness of two centimeters cost less than twenty wen. Three tales of silver, including labor and roof, was enough to cover a simple wooden house for their family of three.
Ding Erzhu nodded and agreed.
They could start a family and live frugally in that 2 liang.
Luckily, it was still summer and they did not need to care about heating yet.
Qiao Xuan decided to pay them one liang a month, and with the first two months excluded, the salary would be given starting from the third month.
Ding Erzhu was startled, saying that it was too much and refused to accept it.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Just take it. I have a lot of work for you to do in the future. You will know soon! By that time, if you think that I pay you too little, feel free to tell me!"
Shao Yunduan added. "Please take it. The money isn't much when you realize how much work you need to do. We are paying others on our payroll, the same money."
Ding Erzhu had to accept it since he failed to turn it down. "Okay… But don't worry, I will watch over the fields for you diligently!"
After Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan left, Ding Erzhu told Ms. Zhou about the money, who cried. "I miss my Ding Xiang. She was such a nice child, I wish I had… I had…"
Ding Erzhu replied with a pale face. "It was my fault…"
Ms. Zhou felt sorry for him and shook her head. "No, it is not! Anyway, let's just drop it, drop it…"
The couple sobbed, looking at each other for a while.
Qiao Xuan felt her heart feel lighter when she was done with this.
Zhang Chunlai was not part of her family and she had no time to train her employees. So she hoped that Uncle Erzhu and his wife should be able to do that well on her behalf.
After three days, Shao Yunduan would go to the college for discussions with his fellows and teachers. Qiao Xuan told him about going into town with him, so she could visit Manager Qin at Mingren Tang to talk about tea leaves and watermelons.
Shao Yunduan did not turn her down, but he still felt quite worried. "At that time, you should stay at Mingren Tang and not run about. Manager Qin is our friend, and he won't set us up…"
Feeling warmed, Qiao Xuan smiled. "Don't worry, I won't wander around. Manager Qin would not be able to set me up so easily…"
Shao Yunduan smiled and nodded.
The following day, Qiao Xuan continued to work on the lipsticks in the floral field. Soon the Yuezheng Family should come to fetch the goods.
She was going to stop the work of lipsticks after she had 1,200 pieces ready.
Qiao Xuan did not foresee that Yuezheng Xiao would come to the village personally and that Xie Jingrong would be with him too.
262 Yuezheng Xiao Here
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong took the lipsticks home but they were not even enough to share with their own families. All of them felt so attracted to the novel things.
The lipsticks looked beautiful and were handy to use. There was a small scent of flowers that drew women's attention completely towards it.
Young ladies and madams were all so happy to have them.
Those who had not gotten anything kept asking the two of them about where to get more of these. They were ready to pay whatever amount.
Xie Jingrong had expected that girls would take to this thing, but he had not thought that they would be so attracted by it. He was troubled by his sisters the whole day.
He entrusted Yuezheng Xiao with the work. It was his business anyway.
Yuezheng Xiao was both happy and troubled. The way lipsticks were received fell beyond his anticipation. Those ladies were all greedy for the lipsticks and they did not care about the cost. What they wanted was to simply get it. This was going to be a huge business!
But Qiao Xuan was the supplier, and she needed to be able to give him enough goods.
After telling his sisters and his sisters' friends and relatives, Yuezheng Xiao used his own money to start the business. He rented the stores, hired workers and booked tubes as well as followed the secret instructions given by Qiao Xuan, trying to keep the whole thing from leaking to anyone.
The Yuezheng Family was also quite complicated.
They had two sections of the family. He ranked third and belonged to the first section of the family. His Elder Brother was the lineal grandchild of the whole family.
But his father ran into an accident five years ago, and he was so badly injured that he was still convalescing in the wing-yard. His mother was so worried about him that she spent the whole time taking care of him.
His Elder Brother was in charge of the business line in the northwest, and he barely spent any day at home.
When the first section of the family was confronted with such a situation, the second section of the family started to get ambitious.
Especially when he heard about some gossip from his father's generation. His second aunt-in-law, namely Ms. Mi Junior, was the niece of his grandma Ms. Mi Senior's family, but his grandma took her home and hence, she grew up with grandma.
Ms. Mi Junior was ambitious and intended to seduce his father but he turned her down. He told his grandpa about arranging a martial connection for her.
Hearing that his father was going to establish a martial arrangement for her, Ms. Mi Junior took the risk and planned to get herself pregnant. However, his father had always been cautious against her, and did not fall for the trick. However, his Second Uncle ended up falling in the honey trap.
Grandma got so angry that she almost passed away when she knew what happened. Her niece had become a woman who seduced a man, and worse, that man was her son! If she revealed the news to the public, she would be totally humiliated!
However, Second Uncle did not propose marriage to Ms. Mi Junior.
But Ms. Mi Junior tried to convince him and the couple kneeled down in front of his grandparents, begging for the marriage.
But grandpa turned down Ms. Mi Junior's proposal of becoming the lineal wife.
She had used a terrible method to come into the family before the lineal son got married, which was quite disgusting.
Therefore, grandpa sent her back to her own family, and arranged a martial arrangement for his father, who married his mother.
Three months after his mother was married to the family, Ms. Mi Junior managed to become Second Uncle's wife.
His mother had no idea about what she did earlier, and she kept sucking up to her, so his mother treated her true-heartedly. After all, they were sister-in-laws.
But disasters happened.
They were never on good terms with each other.
Ms. Mi Junior was always in a shadow under his mother, but she knew his grandma well. So she kept serving his grandma and sucking up to her. After a long while, his grandma started to like her more.
263 Widow Sun
Luckily, her tricks did not work on his mother, except that there was some trouble caused by her.
She gave birth to two daughters and no son, and after she gave birth to the elder daughter, she did not get pregnant for three years. So his grandparents gave Second Uncle a concubine, who soon gave birth to three sons.
Ms. Mi Junior got so annoyed that she blamed the first section of the family for causing all her misfortunes.
After grandpa passed away, she kept instigating his grandma to do something.
When his father had an accident and his mother took care of him, his Elder Brother was barely home as he was in the northwest running business, he just did not want to go home and let Ms. Mi Junior do whatever she wanted.
The housekeeper, the accountant-in-chief as well as some important managers were all working for the first section of the family. Ms. Mi Junior as well as the Elder Sister-in-law was in charge of food supply, whose account was checked every half a year. Therefore, they would not be out of the first section of the family's control. So, they did not care about the small troubles she caused.
His grandma was going to pass away soon, and when she did, they would live separately.
Therefore, he had already started to plan his future two years ago. He had been running private business these years, and the business was growing very well.
After they separated in the future, he was going to integrate the business which was sure to grow well.
Therefore, how the second section of the family did had nothing to do with him.
He was so surprised by how the response to the lipsticks turned out. It was going to be a huge business. He was going to open some high-end stores for cosmetics.
Feeling bored and attaching great importance to this business, Yuezheng Xiao decided to go to the county again personally.
He asked Xie Jingrong whether he wanted to come along. Surprisingly, Xie Jingrong agreed and both of them went onto the wagon and headed out.
Yuezheng Xiao was very curious why his spontaneous idea was approved by Xie Jingrong.
Xie Jingrong did nod at this proposal.
The two of them had some pastry, tea leaves and gifts ready and started to head towards Shaoding Village.
The servants and the coachmen had no idea about the way, so they kept asking around.
They still needed to ask about where Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan's home was.
Yuezheng Xiao's servant, Qu Shan hopped off the wagon and looked about. Seeing an aunt walking not faraway, he went up and greeted her. "Please, where is Shao Yunduan, the Cultivated Talent's home?"
The aunt whom Qu Shan asked was none other than Widow Sun.
Hearing that he was asking about Shao Yunduan, Widow Sun got really furious.
But as she turned around and looked at the wagon, she saw Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong. They had lifted the drapery and were looking around, chatting happily.
Widow Sun was not standing very close to them, but she still caught a vague look of Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong.
These two young masters looked so handsome, and rich too!
She smiled. "Are you Cultivated Talent Shao's friends?"
Qu Shan thought for a while and nodded with a smile. "Yes, we are."
Widow Sun felt even more jealous! How was Ms. Fang lucky enough to get Cultivated Talent as her son, who had rich friends and even married a rich daughter-in-law?
Widow Sun felt so annoyed about Shao Yunduan.
Two years ago, her daughter Ding Qingqing told her bashfully that she wanted to marry Shao Yunduan, but Widow Sun had rejected her proposal.
At that time, the first section of the Shao Family was under the control of the second and third sections of the family and Shao Yunduan had not yet made it to Cultivated Talent, so Widow Sun was not very satisfied with his family.
264 Hoax
She had not only turned down the idea, but also snapped at her daughter, telling her never to mention it again.
Ding Qingqing admired Shao Yunduan and felt a bit sad about her mother's scolding, but she was an obedient girl so she dropped the thought.
However, Shao Yunduan became a Cultivated Talent and the first section of the Shao Family got better and better. Widow Sun could not help but feel regretful.
Ding Qingqing felt even worse.
But he was already married and the mother and the daughter did not mention anything about it any more.
However, the more Widow Sun thought about this, the less she liked Shao Yunduan and the first section of the Shao Family. Widow Sun wished that they would just run into trouble.
Seeing these two good-looking and well-dressed rich young masters, Widow Sun came up with an idea and smiled at Qu Shan. "Come with me then."
Qu Shan scratched her head and smiled. "You can just tell me where it is, you don't have to be our guide."
Widow Sun waved her hand as she smiled. "It is okay, we are good friends with the Shao Family, we always help each other!"
Qu Shan felt that she was a kind-hearted person, so he thanked her and accepted the offer.
Qu Shan passed on the message to his own young master and Young Master Xie. Yuezheng Xiao did not think that was a big deal, so he asked his coachman to follow the woman.
Widow Sun smiled proudly. She was leading Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong back to her own home. "Come off the wagon, let me tell you a story."
Xie Jingrong frowned and asked Widow Sun. "Aunt, is it the Shao Family's home?"
"Just get off the wagon first, you two." Widow Sun smiled brightly. She would have grabbed Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao, if she had been any closer.
"You couldn't have known that the Shao Family is going through trouble right now, and it is not very convenient for you to goe there. You can have a seat at my place first, and I will tell you the details. After that I will fetch Duan here from the Shao Family, okay?"
"What?"
"Trouble?"
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were startled. They were so surprised.
But they would never think that they ran into someone who did not like the Shao Family.
Widow Sun added. "Just get off the wagon, young masters. My Duan is very happy to receive you. He will be very happy to see you and he will also be disappointed not to see you. Please, come to my house and have some water, I will help you get him here…"
Widow Sun managed to get Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong off the wagon and walk into the house. She was so happy.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong had never expected a woman they ran into on the street would make up such lies. So Yuezheng Xiao, who was Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan's partner, was very anxious.
What if something stopped their deal from happening? That would be a horrible thing!
Therefore, he was definitely going to meet Shao Yunduan and ask him what was going on, so he could offer some help.
Widow Sun guided the two men into the yard and called out. "Qingqing, we have guests. Come and serve them tea!"
Ding Qingqing was busy sewing soles when she got confused and rushed outside. "What guests?"
As she looked up and saw Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong, Ding Qingqing could not help but feel nervous. She turned shy and lowered her head.
265 Widow Sun's Plan
These two young masters looked so handsome.
She could not help looking at her mother, with her heart throbbing. Where did her mother get those guests? Was she trying to make a suitor for her?
These two young masters were so good-looking, which one should she say yes to?
She was so shy that she did not even dare to look up at them.
"What are you standing here for? Go and pour the tea!" Widow Sun smiled and said passionately, "Come young masters, come to the room!"
Widow Sun did have a plan.
Those Young Masters must have come from rich families, and she was going to make them do something for her.
If one of them fell for Qingqing, things would work out. If that did not happen, it was still fine. They would have no evidence about what happened inside the room.
If they did not pay her well, they would not be allowed to leave.
The reason why Widow Sun dared to set up Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong was because she looked down at Shao Yunduan.
In her opinion, these two rich young masters hung out with Shao Yunduan because they were pretty, not because they were really rich, since Shao Yunduan was so poor himself.
She looked at the wagon, which was very ordinary and they only had one pageboy with them.
These young masters who had only little money were the easiest to take control of.
Moreover, they were currently at Shaoding Village and the villagers would always favor her and her daughter.
They could not possibly belong to some powerful families. They would definitely have to accept everything they were told under pressure.
If these two men had some accident on their trip to Shao Yunduan, then they would definitely hate Shao Yunduan and cut off their friendship with him as well. Definitely!
As a result, they would refuse to hang out with him in the future.
Widow Sun started to imagine everything in her mind vividly.
Ding Qingqing nodded as she tugged her own clothes. She glanced at Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong and ran into the room with a red face.
Yuezheng Xiao's face changed. He put his hand over Xie Jingrong's wrist and said, "Let's leave!"
The two men turned around and hurried away.
Xie Jingrong did not need to be reminded twice. He had noticed the strangeness of this whole thing.
They were not innocent young masters. They had met so many curious and strange women.
They had thought that rural women were relatively more honest, but after they walked into the yard and found these two women alone, they were worried that they were planning something nefarious, especially judging from the way the older woman was behaving. Hence, they decided to leave directly.
They did not want to get involved with something weird.
Widow Sun had not even realized what happened, when Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong already went onto the wagon and hurried away.
Widow Sun rushed out after them but the wagon was already faraway.
"You!" Widow Sun snapped and stomped her feet. "Assholes!"
Her plan was about to be accomplished when it was ruined.
Ding Qingqing was feeling bashful and wondering which young master to pick. She quickly combed her hair, washed her face and went to pour the tea.
However, when she came out with the tray, the two young masters were long gone, so was her mother.
266 Guests
Ding Qingqing was confused. She put down the tray and rushed out, asking her mother who was coming back into the house. "Mom, where are the two young masters?"
Widow Sun clenched her teeth and shouted angrily. "They are gone! Stupid people, just leave them alone!"
Ding Qingqing. "Well…"
"Didn't you invite them in?"
Ding Qingqing was confused. She had thought that they were the suitors her mother had found for her?
Confronted with her own daughter, Widow Sun could not help but shout angrily. "Just don't mention them ever again!"
Ding Qingqing. "…"
She was angry, shameful and annoyed. She felt so humiliated that her eyes turned red.
All she needed was to find a good suitor, but why was it so difficult? These two good ones were also gone!
Seeing that no one was coming after them, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong let out a sigh of relief.
Yuezheng Xiao complained to Qu Shan. "Look, who you found!"
Qu Shan had no idea what was going on. He said with surprise on his face, "Third Young Master, what is wrong with that aunt?"
"Stupid!" Yuezheng Xiao said angrily, "I don't know if there is anything wrong with her, but she only has her daughter with her at home, we men should not just go in randomly."
Xie Jingrong added calmly. "Men and women should not stay too close to each other. They were alone and they still invited us in… they did not have the right intention!"
Qu Shan was dumbfounded.
"Third Young Master, Young Master Xie, I did not do that on purpose. I really did not expect that…"
"Just be careful!" Yuezheng Xiao hit his head on the fan. "I will let you go if you continue to be so stupid!"
"Don't… Third Young Master, I will be much more careful henceforth!"
Yuezheng Xiao snorted. "One more problem, you are fired!"
"Ah… Okay, no, no I won't, please!"
Qu Shan continued to ask around for directions.
He found two children and asked them.
Women could be sneaky, and men could have other thoughts, but children would not lie, right?
The two children did not lie to him. They showed the direction passionately and the carriage finally arrived at Shao Yunduan's home.
Ms. Fang and Liu Yan were alone taking care of the children and doing chores. Ms. Fang had not seen anyone like Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao before. They had a different, special air around them, and that made her feel a bit nervous.
Liu Yan's eyes widened. She said with surprise, "Young Master Xie, and Young Master Yuezheng, what are you doing here?"
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were a bit hesitant when they saw the house full of women. But hearing what Liu Yan said, they were dumbfounded.
"Who are you?" Yuezheng Xiao was very confused, wondering who she was.
Liu Yan smiled. "I am the maid working for Officer Qiao. I met you at the mansion…"
"Oh okay!" Both of them felt slightly assured.
Maid from Officer Qiao's mansion was here, meaning that she was here with Second Miss. Then, they had come to the right place.
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "We are here visiting Shao Yunduan, is he at home?"
Liu Yan smiled. "Oh, you are visiting him? Yes, he is studying in his room, I will fetch him now."
267 Beneficial Things
Hearing that the two men were asking for her son, Ms. Fang thought that they were her son's friends he made in town.
So, she smiled at them and said, "Oh, you are Yunduan's friends. Come in and sit down. Our house is very shabby, please, young masters, don't blame us for that."
"Thanks!"
"Thank you!"
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong exchanged a look and felt assured. That was how people should react to them. This Ms. in front of them looked quite different from the one they met just a while ago.
The two of them had just sat down, when Shao Yunduan arrived.
He was startled too. He went forward and greeted them.
They exchanged a few random words when Liu Yan served them tea and retired. Ms. Fang took her grandchildren to the yard instead of disturbing their conversation.
After a few moments, Yuezheng Xiao expressed his intention of coming over.
"…we are just curious about where you live. Brother Shao, you just don't know how popular lipsticks have become! My sisters, cousins and their friends are all waiting to get some more. Please, Brother Shao, does Mrs. Shao have any more available? We are going to make a huge fortune from it!"
Yuezheng Xiao spoke vividy.
Shao Yunduan finally understood what was going on. He really wondered what these two young masters were doing here all of a sudden. They needed the lipsticks!
But hearing what Yuezheng Xiao said, Shao Yunduan was very happy that the lipsticks were so well-received.
He even felt slightly proud.
That was something his wife had invented! Her invention had made the ladies in the town so obsessed about it.
His wife was really capable! She was excellent!
Shao Yunduan nodded with a smile. "Ever since we separated last time, my wife has been busy making lipsticks with her sister-in-laws and sisters. She counted a couple of days ago, and has around 1,000 available currently."
Yuezheng Xiao cheered. "That is great!"
He had thought that they would get at most 500, or 600, 800 being the upper limit. But they had managed to make 1,000 lipsticks! That was beyond their anticipation!
The Second Miss of the Qiao Family, Mrs. Shao was really capable!
Before he came to this place, he even thought about providing some trustworthy servants and maids for Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan to help them with the work.
But it seemed that the help was not needed.
Yuezheng Xiao laughed with a smile. "Brother Shao, I want them all!"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Sure, but please, Young Master Yuezheng, do remember not to reveal the source of the lipsticks to anyone."
Shao Yunduan was not worried about the other sections of the family because Qiao Xuan's industry could not be copied by either of them.
But he was worried about County Magistrate Qiao and Madame Qiao.
Yuezheng Xiao came to their door personally and asked for the supply politely, only because the lipsticks were very popular and produced large profits.
No one would refuse to get involved with any profitable business.
He wasn't sure about the County Magistrate, but if Madame Qiao knew that his wife was able to make so much money, she would never leave her alone.
Yuezheng Xiao knew clearly what those people were up to.
He said calmly, "Don't worry, Brother Shao, I remember it well. I will tell my servants never to reveal a thing. And, don't call me Young Master Yuezheng, just call me Brother Yuezheng instead!"
268 Not Enough
Apart from doing business with them, Yuezheng Xiao found that Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were good people to get on with. They were worth being friends with.
Startled, Shao Yunduan nodded. "Okay, greetings, Brother Yuezheng!"
"Greetings!"
The three of them exchanged a few words before Qiao Xuan returned.
Yuezheng Xiao's eyes were sparkling, as he asked politely how big the production number was.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Young Master Yuezheng, you can take away 1,200 lipsticks. The roses are no longer blooming, but other flowers can replace them. We will make 500 more next month. But have you got any lipstick tubes with you?"
Yuezheng Xiao nodded and then showed the box to Qiao Xuan, asking her to take it. "I asked for a special design, what do you think?"
Then, he offered Qiao Xuan some special tools that she had asked him to find. He smiled. "I have completed my mission. I hope you can be satisfied, Mrs. Shao."
Seeing the jade-made jars and all tools including the pestle, small hand mill, large and small beakers, funnels, filter utensils, Qiao Xuan smiled. "Thanks, Young Master Yuezheng, you have done very well!"
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Great!"
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong both understood that they made the lipsticks in the floral fields, which should be their business secret, so neither of them proposed to visit there.
Yuezheng Xiao said in a joking tone that he did not need to worry about lipsticks, and that he could sell as many as he wanted. He just wondered whether she wanted to expand the scale.
Qiao Xuan shook her head and turned down the proposal.
She did not think that it was time yet.
It wasn't a very easy thing. Her superpower would urge the flowers to bloom, but if that was going to be a big business, she needed to stay away so that the business chain could develop well.
For example, she needed a lot of staff to work on the whole process, which would cause a lot of trouble and which was not something she was able to do right now.
Yuezheng Xiao said nothing more, though he felt that it was a pity.
He just told her that she should pay attention to the news, and could just buy a few maids to work for her so that the production could be increased some more. She shouldn't be restricted to her own family members.
Also, she could not hire someone who was outside her control to do the work, otherwise the business secret would be revealed.
That was really a neutral suggestion, which Qiao Xuan had thought about as well. She expressed her gratitude.
But she knew that it was not the right time yet.
She needed to wait until Shao Yunduan passed the next level of the imperial exam.
Please, God and Buddha, please, let her husband pass the next level in the year to come!
She figured that Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong would stay back for lunch.
So while Shao Yunduan chit chatted with them, Qiao Xuan asked Liu Yan to help her cook some food.
It was a hot day, and Qiao Xuan decided to make some light dishes to serve an elegant young master like Xie Jingrong. She would avoid making chili chicken or boiled fish.
He would not be used to this kind of taste.
Qiao Xuan hoped that the two young masters would have a good impression of her home.
269 Broad-minded Brother Shao
Qiao Xuan thought for a while, and instructed Liu Yan to kill the chicken. She went to the flower field to pick some wolfberry sprouts, and then to the vegetable yard to get some fresh loofah, and beans. She also dug out some yams from the cellar, cut a handful of leeks, and went home. She made Liu Yan wash them all.
Then, she went to the yard to pick two large round watermelons and let them soak in the spring water. She picked some egg-sized tomatoes.
The two young masters were lucky. Even she herself had not eaten the ripe tomatoes yet.
For lunch, she stewed chicken with boletus and Hericium erinaceus, and battered the crucian carp with a thin layer of paste and fried it in oil. After that, there were many small river prawns that were braised and baked two days ago. In the meanwhile, there was steamed mandarin fish, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and loofah soup.
Beans, wolfberry sprouts and yams were all served as cold dishes.
She cut the beans into pieces about two inches long, blanched them and placed them on a plate neatly, sprinkled some salt and drizzled them with sesame oil.
Wolfberry sprouts were also mixed with sesame oil, salt and vinegar after being blanched.
Some seasoning and scallion slices were added to yams and wooden ears, after being blanched.
It was a table full of meat and vegetable dishes. The meat dishes were clean and bright, whilst the vegetable dishes were fresh and tender. For a farmer's family, it was an extremely good lunch.
Yuezheng Xiao felt a bit bored. After being seated for too long, he went around in the yard, and Shao Yunduan kept him company.
Yuezheng Xiao laughed when he saw the spring in the backyard. "Brother Shao, you are really excellent to have got the spring. It is fun to watch!"
Shao Yunduan smiled. He didn't think that it was fun, just handy to use.
Not far away from the spring, there was a half-man tall tank that drew their attention.
Yuezheng Xiao went forward and his eyes widened. "So many fish! You have kept so many kinds of fish which even I don't know about!"
Xie Jingrong also had a look and found it amazing. He could not help but feel gratified. "Yeah! I have never seen these many varieties of fish!"
That was true. He was a young master who had either seen the gold fish or carps, or fish being served as food.
He had never seen these many kinds of strange fish that were swimming in the tank.
Shao Yunduan said, "My brother got the fish from the river. We keep them alive till we can't finish them. If we feel like eating one, we will get one out and make a dish of it."
"That is cool! Look at the hopping fish. They must taste really good! Brother Shao, your home is fun!"
Yuezheng Xiao could not help but feel a bit envious.
Xie Jingrong raised his eyebrows and walked towards a wall. He was looking at the pots of orchids on the shabby wooden shelf in full concentration.
Yuezheng Xiao was attracted. "Wow, these are orchids, they are so lively too! Vividly growing!"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "These are brought from the mountains! They look beautiful so they were planted here!"
Xie Jingrong sighed. "Brother Shao, you are so broad-minded. These are not ordinary orchids. These two pots are spring swords, this is the plain lotus tripod, this and this look like spring swords, but they are different, and here are the jade orchid and molan, but they are not exactly the same. Should be a variant, I believe."
"Brother Shao, spring swords and plain lotus tripods are really difficult to get. These variants are so rare! Not many people are able to get one variant for one single plant throughout their whole life. Brother Shao, your flowers are worth a lot of money, judging from the leaves, shapes and colors."
270 Her Superpower
"Ah…"
Shao Yunduan was dumbfounded.
Elegant scholars loved to investigate orchids, but Shao Yunduan was too poor to have developed such a money-spending hobby.
But he had some knowledge of the topic!
He had learned about precious orchids. He had also heard of the kinds that Xie Jingrong mentioned. He knew that those were expensive orchid varieties.
Even Dean Meng, Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhou did not possess such expensive orchids.
They loved orchids and had raised a few pots. But those were just ordinary or mid-level kinds. They loved those flowers deeply.
Shao Yunduan also understood that variants of precious orchids were even more valuable.
Just as what Xie Jingrong said – they were a rarely-seen breed.
But how did he run into so many precious flowers?
That was so strange!
With his eyes on the orchids, he could not help but feel a bit shocked. "Brother Xie… are those orchids really… really…"
Yuezheng Xiao laughed and patted his shoulders. "Brother Shao, he would never be wrong about it. He has many floral houses where orchids are kept, and has more than 20 to 30 kinds that belong to the first-class categories."
Shao Yunduan. "…"
"Brother Shao." Yuezheng Xiao laughed. "What about selling me a few pots? I will pay you well, please, give some to me."
Yuezheng Xiao did not understand much about the orchids, but he understood clearly that those were good things as presents.
When those orchids were sold to some officers and noble people, his reputation would definitely rise and the receivers would be glad to have them.
Xie Jingrong thought for a while and said, "Brother Shao, if it is okay, could I get two pots too? I want one variant of jade orchid and one variant of ink orchid? If the variant of spring sword can be given to me, that is fine too!"
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Brother Xie, that is more than two pots!"
Xie Jingrong ignored him but looked at Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan was a bit hesitant. He smiled. "My wife is taking care of the flowers here, I need to talk with her. Also, we are friends, the price is totally negotiable."
He could give the pots to them if they belonged to him, but he needed to ask Qiao Xuan first.
Yuezheng Xiao could not wait but urged him to ask her.
Shao Yunduan smiled and turned to find Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan got a bit shocked when she heard the news. She could not help but feel emotional.
How did that happen? But…
That was probably because she had the superpower!
Her superpower helped her to find the precious categories.
Then, the superpower helped her grow the orchids and turned them into variants. Some turned excellent, and some turned bad. All of them were valuable, but some were worth nothing.
Really valuable.
Therefore, Qiao Xuan would use her superpower to make the orchids better so that the flowers would turn precious.
So… the flowers in her space must be far more precious!
271 Shocked
The couple exchanged some thoughts and found that they both had the same idea. The orchids were valuable but it had cost them almost nothing to get them. So they decided to give one pot to each of the two young masters.
If they wanted to have more, they could sell them at most two pots respectively at a proper price.
Qiao Xuan smiled at Shao Yunduan. "I never expected that orchids could be so valuable in the mountains… we can go and fetch some more if we get time."
Shao Yunduan smiled, fearing that she would get disappointed if she failed to find any more. "These aren't vegetables in the garden, how can they be found so easily? It is our luck to have found these orchids. If it is very easy to find them, people could have gotten them earlier."
That was a reasonable thing to say.
Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile. She put forward a slight look of disappointment. "Yeah, you are right!"
She could not possibly reveal her superpower, nor could she do anything big to tell others that she could turn the orchids into expensive and valuable varieties.
She could not explain everything with just 'luck'.
However, on the positive side, this basically meant that she had one more industry to develop. She could build an orchid base to cultivate new variants, and promote some for auction.
That meant keeping a low-profile.
Also, those things needed to stay rare, so they could be valuable.
The more there were, the less they would cost.
She needed to hold an auction, so the goods could look valuable.
Shao Yunduan expressed his ideas and Yuezheng Xiao, Xie Jingrong picked one pot respectively and bought two more.
Yuezheng Xiao decided to take them home as back presents, whilst Xie Jingrong bought them out of his own hobby.
The two men did not hesitate at all!
Shao Yunduan had so many here.
Also, Shao Yunduan did not seem to be interested in the flowers either, so they were assured that they could take them home.
They would not have wanted to take them, if Shao Yunduan was unwilling to share.
They gave them 1,000 liang.
That was the market price.
Shao Yunduan accepted the money since they picked what they wanted very fast.
Soon, Qiao Xuan had lunch ready and asked the three men to gather at the table.
Shao Sanlang and Shao Dalang were both home and when they saw the honored guests, they felt quite nervous.
They greeted each other and left.
At lunch, Shao Yunduan kept Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong company at one table, whilst the others were eating at another.
The table in the kitchen was very small, and Shao Sanlang, as well as Shao Dalang ate in the back yard with food. They did not mind the treatment.
They did not want to share the table with Shao Yunduan and the two young masters.
Seeing the table full of food, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were shocked.
They had eaten all kinds of expensive dishes…
But they were shocked to have been presented with such a large table of dishes within a short period of time.
Especially those cold dishes, the snow-white yam slices and fungus were distinct in black and white, and they were very crisp and refreshing at first glance, the wolfberry buds were green and refreshing, the beans were green, and the sesame paste was glistening on top, which instantly made it look attractive.
272 Golden Sprout
There was also stewed chicken with mushrooms, which was fragrant and not greasy at all. Braised crucian carp was cooked with a thin layer of gravy, the color was bright red, looking very tempting.
Loofah soup tasted light.
There was also a plate of scrambled eggs, golden and glistening red, pleasing to the eye, and it smelt a little sweet and sour, which made people feel like devouring it immediately.
Yuezheng Xiao could not help but admire and respond with a smile. "Mrs. Shao made all of these, right? Brother Shao, you are so lucky!"
Hearing the words, Shao Yunduan felt very pleased. "My wife is very good at cooking, please, eat."
"Okay, I just can't wait!"
"Please!"
Xie Jingrong kept praising the food during the entire time, and Xie Jingrong, who was rarely talkative, agreed with Yuezheng Xiao.
They could not help but feel emotional. How could a rude person like County Magistrate Qiao have such a smart, wonderful daughter?
Moreover, County Magistrate Qiao had no idea about this at all!
He would have regretted deeply if he had known about this.
They had never eaten tomato with scrambled eggs before, and Yuezheng Xiao could not help but ask, after he had a taste of the fresh and sour dish.
Shao Yunduan had once watered the plants, so he said, "My wife brought this plant home from a wild field. She calls it tomatoes."
Yuezheng Xiao asked Shao Yunduan to get some more for his own garden at home.
Shao Yunduan smiled. "I will talk about this with my wife."
Yuezheng Xiao laughed and teased. "You are so much fun! Okay, you can talk about this!"
Xie Jingrong smiled and admired Shao Yunduan. Very few people respected their wife in this way.
After lunch, Liu Yan and Yang Xiaoni came to clean up the table, whilst in the kitchen, Qiao Xuan and Taotao boiled some water and made some new tea to serve them.
Qiao Xuan brought out the tea leaves she had taken home.
After a few times, they had continued to process tea leaves at home.
Tea leaves could be sold too, and the leaves should not be wasted.
Therefore, when Ms. Fang asked Liu Yan to serve them the tea, she used the rough leaves.
But when Qiao Xuan served them, she offered the tea that had an amber, yellow tinge.
Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao's expressions changed, as they smelled it.
Yuezheng Xiao took a sip and turned to Xie Jingrong with surprise. "Brother Xie, please, take a sip and tell me. Am I confused or something, how can this taste so much like golden sprout?"
"Golden sprout?" Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look between themselves and she smiled. "That seems like a nice name!"
Xie Jingrong tasted the tea, slowly put down the teacup, and gave Shao Yunyun and Qiao Xuan a complicated look. "This is definitely golden sprout, absolutely right! Is this what you found in the mountains? Unfortunately, it is not a good way to fry it. It is slightly jerky. The tea leaves are also a little browned, the color is not correct, and the fragrance is not fully soaked."
"But it is first-class tea, and the well-processed golden sprout would cost at least 40 liang per half a kilo!"
Yuezheng Xiao could not help but feel speechless. "Brother Shao, you really have everything! The tea leaves you offer are so expensive and rare!"
273 Tryout
Qiao Xuan was shocked. "So… valuable?"
Shao Yunduan was taken aback too. "We found them in the mountains. They smelled nice, so we brought some home for processing. But how could this be golden sprout?"
It wasn't a very commonly-heard name either.
Qiao Xuan had some knowledge of other categories, like Longjing of West Lake, Biluochun of Dongting and others. But she had never heard of golden sprout!
Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled. She smiled. "Let me serve you another kind of tea!"
They knew what golden sprout was, then they might even have some idea of what this one was.
Therefore, when Yuezheng Xiao, Xie Jingrong and Shao Yunduan were talking about golden sprout, Qiao Xuan came with three other kinds of tea with a smile. She said, "Please, have some tea."
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong became quite curious.
Yuezheng Xiao had the teacup in his hands, smiling. "I don't think there is any other tea that can be better than golden sprout, good tea leaves are very difficult to find."
Yuezheng Xiao's eyes widened, as he took a couple of sips. "Lavender, this is lavender tea! Brother Xie, do you agree with me?"
Xie Jingrong gazed at him and nodded. He was even more shocked, but he looked calmer.
"Yes, this is lavender. You are truly lucky…"
Xie Jingrong did not believe them first, but by this point, he had to believe that they were lucky.
Shao Yunduan smiled. "My brother Xiaoqi likes going into the mountains, and he is a good hunter. We wanted to get some mountain stuff, and happened to run into the tea leaves, accidentially."
"Lavender, the tea leaves are first-class ones too?"
Yuezheng Xiao sipped some more and said with some obsession in his voice, "Of course, lavender is more expensive than golden sprout. Well-processed lavender can cost at least 100 liang half a kilo."
Shao Yunduan. "…"
They almost ruined the treasure!
They processed the tea leaves from the iron pot in their kitchen.
Qiao Xuan sat down next to Shao Yunduan, smiled. "Young Master Yuezheng, are you interested in tea leaves business?"
Yuezheng Xiao's eyes sparkled, as he turned to Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan continued. "When we came home the other day from the mountains, we did not only get some tea leaves home. Since the leaves smelled so great, we also brought some buds with us. Those buds are all growing well. If you like it… what about…"
"Of course I want it!" Yuezheng Xiao nodded in agreement even before she finished her words.
"But the two kinds of tea leaves aren't very easy to plant, if you want to do it, you need to make some efforts."
Yuezheng Xiao reminded her in an implict way.
Good tea leaves could be hard to plant.
"It is fine, let's try. If we make it, we all benefit from it. If not, then we can drop it. What do you think?"
Qiao Xuan had suspected that would happen. Easily-planted tea leaves could be seen everywhere!
These were expensive because they were rare.
Especially lavender, which cost 100 liang half a kilo… that was a lot of money.
Shao Yunduan smiled. "If you want to have a try, let's do it!"
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Okay, it's a deal!"
274 More Jealousy
"You can do the planting. Anyways, we don't have any golden sprouts and lavender in our province, and they are rarely seen in the southwest too. If the planting goes well, I can surely sell however much you have!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Ok, but I have one condition. Young Master Yuezheng, please find me a good tea leaves processor."
"Of course, otherwise we would ruin the best tea leaves!"
Yuezheng Xiao nodded and could not help but look at the tea leaves in his cup, feeling a bit concerned.
A good stir-processed lavender had slender and compact strands, and the color was purple and black. The brewed tea was crystal clear with a hint of purple, very beautiful, with a sweet taste in the mouth and a long aftertaste.
More interestingly, the scent varied depending on the water temperature, the fire temperature. There could be various kinds of scents coming out of the tea leaves, the scent of roses, beans, fresh olives, herbs, chestnuts, grass and so on.
Unfortunately, tea leaves were difficult to process and fry, even harder to breed.
Therefore, the production was always so small.
Much smaller than that of golden sprout.
The two sides worked on the deal and decided to finalize the contract in detail. They could not finish the work within one day.
The tea leaves would need more than a couple of days to come into existence.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan needed to have a talk about how to continue.
Yuezheng Xiao was glad. He believed that it was a trip worth the while.
He trusted Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan, so when they claimed that they could do that, they would definitely make the tea leaves grow well.
Xie Jingrong could not help but ask. "Can we take a look at the tea leaves buds?"
He had drunk the tea, but he had never seen what the tea trees looked like.
Yuezheng Xiao was also motivated. He smiled and nodded. "What about us checking it out together?"
He looked at Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan. "What else do you have? What about sharing them with us together so we can have a look at them."
They were getting really jealous of what this couple had.
Qiao Xuan laughed and exchanged a look with Shao Yunduan. "We have two or three mus of watermelons, very sweet. What about having a taste of them?"
"We also have 30 bee boxes and a lot of honey at home. It is really good, and we can give you two jars each when you leave."
She had many other good things too.
Like the jelly, the rose and jasmine oil, gardenia oil and so on.
But she decided to leave them for later. She had already created too many surprises today for them to accept.
She was going to release the good things little by little.
"For real?" Yuezheng Xiao's eyes widened. Xie Jingrong could not help but feel really surprised too.
Yuezheng Xiao had been joking, but Qiao Xuan did give him an answer…
"Of course!" Qiao Xuan blinked and smiled.
Shao Yunduan smiled too.
Soon Liu Yan carried the watermelon into the room and Yuezheng Xiao was shocked. "What a big watermelon! Brother Shao, you really have watermelons!"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Yes, we dug the buds from the mountains, and they grew well!"
"This is more than well! It is excellent! We rarely see watermelons of this size. Look at the color, it should taste great!" Yuezheng Xiao sighed and found that he was getting a bit numb in head.
Xie Jingrong felt the same.
His family had watermelon fields that produced fruits in summer, but they never had much yield.
Chapter 275: Worth The While
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Every year in summers, only those with important status in the mansion would be able to get a few, and concubines as well as disgraced children of concubines would normally get at most one.
Watermelons were the best fruit for summer, and those at the mansion loved it. So did he, though he did not have much knowledge about farming.
Watermelons were never large in number because it was never easy to take care of the fruit. The watermelons would not grow well due to the constant, heavy rain in May and June.
Therefore, there were very few watermelons that were available every year.
The Shao Family had offered two very well-grown watermelons of a large size and it seemed that they did not think that those were precious. That surprised Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong.
When the watermelon was cut open, the sweetness was all over the place. Qiao Xuan asked Liu Yan to served some slices to Ms. Fang and Shao Dalang whilst telling the two young masters to have a taste.
"Try and see if our watermelons taste sweet. We all think it is quite sweet."
Seeing the juicy and red flesh, Yuezheng Xiao could not wait but take a bite of it. The juice went in his mouth and gave him a wonderful feeling.
Yuezheng Xiao ate and said, "It tastes much better tha_n the watermelons at my home. Brother Shao, you have so much treasure at home, I would like to have two when I leave."
Everyone laughed.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Sure, we have so many in the yard!"
That was true. They had found the buds from the mountain, and everyone in the family was already used to seeing them grow so vividly. At first they believed that these were rare things, but now, the family treated them just as ordinary fruits.
Moved, Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "If the watermelons are all in this size and taste this good, they can sell well in the town. Brother Shao, and Mrs. Shao, how many more do you have? Can we fill two wagons with watermelons and take them away?!
They would arrive in the town by evening if they departed early in the morning. They could sell the watermelons early next morning. It was going to be a good business day.
Although two wagons of watermelons would give Yuezheng Xiao very little profit, these watermelons would definitely be well-loved in this season of the year.
Also, Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan had so much treasure and they should establish some friendship so as to strengthen their business ties.
Seeing the watermelons growing bigger and better, Qiao Xuan was also thinking about what to do with them. She smiled with joy. "1n a couple of days, we are going to have many watermelons ready. Two wagons are definitely no problem! Young Master Yuezheng, you have solved the problem for us! I was going to let Manager Qin help me sell them."
Yuezheng Xiao laughed. "Our trip is totally worth the while! It's a deal then. I will vet someone to fetch the watermelons in three dav_R_ what ahont 2 aian for one watermelon?"
They had no scale at that time, and it was difficult to weigh them. So when Yuezheng Xiao said so, Qiao Xuan agreed readily. 3 qian for one watermelon was way beyond what she had planned.
Qiao Xuan nodded happily.
The four of them talked for a while, after which Qiao Xuan handed over the 1,200 lipsticks to Yuezheng Xiao. She also gave ten lipsticks to Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong respectively as gifts..
Chapter 276: Low-Profile
Translator: Henyee TranslationsEditor: Henyee Translations
1,200 lipsticks were worth 2,400 liang.
Qiao Xuan accepted the money and for a while, she felt a bit dizzy in her head. She had turned so rich instantly.
When Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong left, they were given some first-class tea leaves, two bottles of honey and four big watermelons.
Not to forget the orchids…
As the wagon left the village, Yuezheng Xiao looked at the wagon filled with stuff, laughing emotionally. "These are all good things! How can the Shao Family have so many good things? The trip is totally worth the while!"
Xie Jingrong added. "In hindsight, we offered them very few presents. We will make it up to them later!"
Yuezheng Xiao nodded. "Yes, we should!"
The Shao Family was lucky to have these two people. Shao Yunduan, for example, was quite learned and well-mannered. He was going to have a bright future, they believed.
They spoke for a while and found the Shao Family getting more interesting.
Xie Jingrong whispered to himself that when Shao Yunduan made it to the next level of the imperial exam, the Shao Family would definitely get more and more promising.
After they left, Shao Yunduan gave 2,000 liang to Qiao Xuan.
They had earned 4,400 liang within a day!
As the notes were held in their hands, they felt really motivated. Qiao Xuan smiled. "We have some savings now!"
However, this amount of money was not enough to counter her father.
So, they still had to remain low-profiled.
Qiao Xuan gave 200 liang to Ms. Fang. She accepted it and smiled. "This is great! I have got enough savings now. After the autumn harvest, we will rebuild our house, so you can all have a better place!"
"That sounds great!" Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled, and she smiled. "Mom, you are so considerate. we have money now, and we can build a bigger and better place. Then, we can all have a happy life!"
Ms. Fang smiled. "Yes! The house has to be very big. In a couple of years when you all have children, the house is going to be bustling!'
Startled, Qiao Xuan agreed.
But she felt a bit unsure.
Her Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law were so much in love with each other and they should have a child very soon. But she and Shao Yunduan… were a bit different.
Qiao Xuan did not want to divorce Shao Yunduan because she liked the Shao Family. Moreover, she liked Shao Yunduan in particular.
Although her father-in-law was not clear in mind, he did not affect her much.
Moreover, her mother-in-law always took her side.
That flaw was not so bad.
Also, there was never a perfect thing in the world.
She was quite satisfied with the family she was in now.
But she wondered what her husband thought of her.
If he did not hate her, they could just live together forever, right?
When Ms. Xu and everyone else returned, Qiao Xuan gave them 10 liang respectively, telling them that the lipsticks sold well and they were all going to get a bonus.
Ms. Xu thanked her happily.
Yang Xiaoni was so shocked and glad to receive so much money. She smiled brightly and asked repeatedly. "Are you sure this is for me? Are you sure?" She laughed like an idiot.
Ms. Xu could not help but roll her eyes inwardly. Her third sister-in-law was so dumb..
Chapter 277: Annoyed
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan gave Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao 100 liang respectively.
But for their company into the mountains, they would not have obtained such great tea leaves like golden sprout and lavender.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao knew that Fifth Sister-in-law was very generous. So, they accepted the money and thanked her gratefully, adding the money to their personal savings.
Thinking that Yuezheng Xiao would send his men to fetch the watermelons in three days' time, Qiao Xuan took out some time to visit the garden and helped the fruits to grow with her superpower, so that the watermelons could grow better and faster.
In the town, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong reached the hotel around four, when the guards presented an invitation to them. County Magistrate Qiao's man, Strategist Lu had given it to them.
The invitation was asking them to have dinner at Yanhe Restaurant.
Both of them got really annoyed.
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Officer Qiao is quite quick to find our whereabouts."
Xie Jingrong shivered a little, asking. "Did he know where we have been?"
The guard at the hostel said, "No. I just told them that you were out having fun."
The two of them were out for fun. Officer Qiao would not suspect that. Nor would Officer Qiao get someone to follow them about.
"Good. ' I
Yuezheng Xiao's face changed. "I think we should be careful about sending our men to Shaoding Village."
Xie Jingrong nodded.
They knew about the battle inside the mansion. If they knew that they were good friends with Qiao Xuan, she and her family would not have a peaceful life in the future.
Both Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were so good at making money, which was an important secret to keep.
They regarded them as friends, so they should not cause them trouble.
Yuezheng Xiao cast away the invitation, smiling lazily. "Since Officer Qiao is providing us with free dinner, we will be there. He will continue to ask us to be at the dinner, since he is the officer of this place."
The Yuezheng Family were running businesses, large and noble businesses. They were good friends with some generals in the northwest. Yuezheng Xiao did not care about a small person like Officer Qiao.
That was why he could not respect this person.
Also, Officer Qiao was not that worthy of the respect, either.
Xie Jingrong frowned slightly and accepted the invitation, thinking that it made sense.
In the evening, the two of them went to Yanhe Restaurant for dinner. Officer Qiao, County Officer Zhang, Strategist Lu, Dean Meng from Minghua College as well as two rich young masters from the local area received the two of them warmly.
Seeing the oil-filled dishes at the table, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong could not help but think of the lunch they had at the Shao Family, which was fresh and full of taste, much better than the dishes in front of them.
Officer Qiao was so generous that Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao had to deal with him with half a heart.
()fficer Qiao asked what they were doing and if he could offer some help.
He did not think that they were here to only have fun.
He had missed the chance to suck up to them last time when they were seeking Chinese fleeceflower root. Now that the chance came again, he could not afford to drop it.
That made the two of them feel even more annoyed. They just said something randomly to get rid of the man.
Yuezheng Xiao was thinking that they should be very cautious about hanging out with the Shao Family.
The following day, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong had two more sets of expensive presents prepared and sent them to Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan with a thank-you note.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were both very surprised. The two young masters were simply too well-mannered..
Chapter 278: Mistakes
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The presents included cubilose, wild ginseng, silk, brocade and several boxes of delicate cakes.
That counted upto more than a dozen gift boxes.
Ms. Fang kept laughing but with guilt. "The two young masters are just so generous! So generous!"
Qiao Xuan understood the rules of the big mansions. She gave a few red packets with money inside to the coachman, and the two staff.
The three of them had not expected that they would receive red packets from a family in the countryside They all laughed happily and developed good feelings towards the Shao Family.
The guy also told Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan that in a couple of days later, their young master would get some people to fetch the watermelons and that they would arrive at dawn, hoping that they could open the door for them.
Shao Yunduan nodded.
Many people already spotted the honored guests that visited the first section of the Shao Family the day before, and more people witnessed the presents today.
Some people were even craning their necks out to see what was inside.
Seeing that they were giving presents to the first section of the Shao Family, they could not help but feel jealous.
"They are blooming!
"So great that they have married a good daughter-in-law!
"Yunduan is excellent too. What if he passes the next level of the imperial exam next year, then it would be more than just rich people who came to visit the Shao Family!'
"True!
WOW!
Widow Sun also witnessed the familiar wagon and could not help but follow up. She was also among those who gossiped.
Hearing those words, Widow Sun felt both jealous and angry. She pursed her lips and snorted, walking away.
She would never admit that she was regretful not to have approved of the marriage with the Shao Family in the past.
If she had known that Shao Yunduan was so good and had befriended so many rich people, she would have loved to establish a marriage relationship with them.
But she soon pressed down this idea.
She did not want to admit that she regretted it.
"He is just a Cultivated Talent, and he will not make it to Recommended Man! It is not so easy to go to the next level, he is just dreaming!"
Widow Sun felt much better after consoling herself.
Seeing Ms. Niu coming towards her, she suddenly came up with an idea, laughing. 'Your nephew, Cultivated Talent Shao has become quite successful! Two rich young masters visited their home the day before. Today, they sent him so many presents. Ten boxes! They could not even carry them home with four arms! Honestly, I ra_n into the two young masters yesterday, and they looked so handsome and well-dressed. They are defnitely not from ordinary families!
Widow Sun winked and elbowed Ms. Niu, asking with a small, smiling tone. "Your Meiling is old enough to get married right? M/hy not ask your nephew for help? You are relatives and she can marry someone handsome! If you miss it, that would be pitiful!"
Widow Sun wished that she could get her own daughter to marry one of them, but she realized that she was incapable of doing so.
Unless the two of them came to the village again and she got another chance to do so.
She had just had a fight with Ms. Fang, who would never introduce such great young men to her daughter. But she could still vent her anger, if she could make Ms. Niu pester her to do so..
Chapter 279: Interested
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
She was putting forward a good idea to Ms. Niu… she was!
Ms. Niu was also very concerned about Shao Meilings marriage, so she was quite moved after hearing that. "Really? Tell me exactly what is going on?"
Those who could give large presents to the Shao Fa_mily should not have come from a bad family.
When Ms. Niu heard about the gifts from Widow Sun, she soon had very greedy thoughts. But then she pressed down thae idea.
She understood clearly what was going on right now.
Ms. Fang was too tough in her stance to share anything.
Ms. Niu was very motivated to meet the two rich young masters.
Even if she did not like Shao Yunduan, she had to admit that Shao Yunduan was a Cultivated Talent, and he should be hanging out with people from above average families.
If the two young masters were rich and handsome as Widow Sun said, then any of them would be quite suitable to become her son-in-law.
That should not be troublesome for the first section of the family. Shao Yunduan and Ms. Fang should offer some help, right? They had to!
Hearing that Ms. Niu was interested in her idea, Widow Sun became smug and started to brag more and more.
She described Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong as special existences, who offered presents and came to visit them personally. She surmised that they should definitely be in a good relationship with Shao Yunduan. That would make everything easy for Ms. Niu.
Hearing that, Ms. Niu got so happy though she kept denying the possibility. "I am not sure, but if it works as you said, I will invite you for the wedding!
"Sure, I will definitely want to be at the wedding!
The two women exchanged a look and laughed.
Widow Sun kept bitching about Ms. Niu inwardly. This woman was so greedy. Why couldn't she realize the simple fact that rich young masters would not marry any countryside girls as the wife, even though Shao Yunduan was their friend.
Also, Ms. Fang would never make her wish come true.
Ms. Niu hurried home and talked with Second Uncle about this.
Second Uncle was quite motivated as well.
In their opinions, Shao Yunduan was Cultivated Talent and he had a promising future. Qiao Xuan was Officer Qiao's daughter and their niece-in-law. So with these two as mediators, there should be a high possibility of getting their daughter to marry one of Shao Yunduan's friends.
But they had to tell the Elder Uncle about it first.
Therefore, when Eldest Uncle asked Shao Yunduan if the guests were engaged, Shao Yunduan was totally startled.
In fact, both Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were shocked.
What were Second Aunt and Second Uncle thinking?
They did not know where the two young masters were from, but they should realize that Shao Meiling was not a match for any of them!
Ms. Fang screamed. "The couple is crazy, right? How dare they say things like this? Meiling is not a match for either of them!"
Eldest Uncle was displeased. "Meiling is your niece, and your face will also lift if she marries well. How can you demean her like this?"
Ms. Fang rolled her eyes. Damn!
Honestly, her own Taotao was better than that girl, and she had plenty of dowry to take along, still she never thought about marrying her to a rich family.
They were not from the same background and if she married into such a family, she would be humiliated and looked down upon by relatives and friends. That would not be good for her.
She could find a down-to-earth farmer and with dozens of good fields and a
lot of money. With that, they would probably have a happy life together..
Chapter 280: A Try
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Dad." Shao Yunduan could not help but sigh and shake his head. "Please let Second Uncle and Second Aunt drop the idea. Those two young masters…
He was not going to tell him where Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were really trom. What it the news spread and reached Otticer Qiao! That would be so troublesome.
"They are Cultivated Talents and from rich families. Moreover, in all likelihood, their parents have already arranged the marriage for them. I dont know whether they are engaged, but they are just my ordinary friends. How can I ask them about this? Alos, the two families don't match at all!"
Ms. Fang sneered. "True. Some people just don't understand who they are, and keep adding trouble to others. Yunduan has made some good friends and if they don't hang out with Yunduan because of this embarrassing thing, he will lose important contacts! Let me tell you, if you ruin Yunduan's future, I will hate you forever."
Eldest Uncle frowned. "I am not this kind of person, okay?! I was just asking. Since they already have marriage plans, we can drop it, of course! Also, we need to have both parties satisfied before taking it further. But Meiling is also your niece, how can you look down at her? Can't you just say something good about her?"
"She is at the age of getting married. Why can't you be nice to her?"
Ms. Fang rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, she is good, as long as she doesn't ruin my son, then she can do whatever she wants!"
"You!" Eldest Uncle glared.
Second Uncle and Ms. Niu got annoyed as they heard the hesitant answer.
"Eldest Brother, so whether or not those two young masters are not engaged is not certain, right? Why not mention the matter to them, what if either of them like Meiling?
"Yeah! Our Meiling is beautiful and diligent, why can't she be a match?"
"Just give it a try, okay? Eldest Brother, you want Meiling to marry into a good family, right? If we lose this chance, we won't get any better ones. We can just try! All you need to do is ask what if they come together? We will be grateful to you forever!
"Yeah!"
Second Uncle and Ms. Niu kept begging Eldest Uncle who became really annoyed. He wanted to promise them, but he did not want to make a decision on behalf of Shao Yunduan, so he answered briefly and hurried off.
Ms. Niu snapped and sneered. "Eldest Brother is always talking about beautiful things, about how we are a family and should help each other. But I think that he is very selfish!"
Second Uncle. "Yes, you simply take Meiling to their house when the guests come next time! I '
"Yeah!" Ms. Niu'.s eyes sparkled. 'You are so clever! I will just do that."
She felt a bit sour. "I think that Yunduan is getting more promising and he should have more friends coming to his home in the future. I will watch out for his guests henceforth. We are open to anyone."
She had to admit that Shao Yunduan was Cultivated Talent and he was not befriending any farmers. She had no Cultivated Talent at home, but she could have a Cultivated Talent as her son-in-law.
What if that man became an officer in the future?
Then, her daughter would become the wife of an officer!
They should make full use of what they have now.
If the first section could help them, things would not be bad.
Shao Yunduan and the others of the family did not know anything about this.
So, no one mentioned the matter any more..