Chapter 281: Going Back To The Capital
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Even though there was no mention, Qiao Xuan laughed inwardly, and told Shao Yunduan that their Second Uncle and Second Aunt really liked dreaming!
Despite that they had no idea who Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong really were, they should have at least thought that people from ordinary families did not dress like that at all!
They wished to climb higher through marriage, but had they ever thought about whether the other person wanted to marry someone like their daughter?
Soon it was the day when Yuezheng Xiao's men came to pick the watermelons.
When it was dawn, the coachman as well as two page boys arrived. Apart from Ms. Fang and Eldest Uncle, everyone else was up, busy picking the watermelons.
Eldest Uncle also wanted to offer some help but Ms. Fang stopped him.
Ms. Fang said, "You don't have to come along. There are already so many who are in the field, and it wouldn't work if everyone went there."
In fact, Ms. Fang just did not want him to see what was going on in the yard.
There were so many things in the yard, after all.
Although they all knew that it was Qiao Xuan's personal property, the Eldest Uncle was never resolute especially if he saw this.
Hearing that, Eldest Uncle nodded and believed that it was true. So, he did not go over to help.
The watermelons were very large, and with so many people helping out, the watermelons filled up the wagons within one hour.
They had 200 watermelons altogether, and the total amount was 60 liang.
60 liang wasn't that much for the first section of the Shao Fa_mily. But it was a business without cost a_nd the amount was enough to last for four or five years.
Qiao Xuan did not share the money with the rest of the family, but she offered to make a delicious dinner that night.
They cheered, especially Yang Xiaoni and Shao Sanlang, who started looking forward to the dinner already.
Even if Qiao Xuan did not offer to make dinner, the rest of the family would say nothing. They had cold, sweet and juicy watermelons every day for lunch, and that was a huge advantage for them.
Qiao Xuan gave one to the coachman and the pageboys respectively.
The coachman and page boys were so happy that they kept thanking her. Watermelons were rare, and they were going to take them home for friends and family to eat. That would surely lift up their reputation.
There were a few watermelons that were not ripe and Yuezheng Xiao would send some more men to fetch the remaining ones after a week or so. At this rate, they would come over at least three more times.
With watermelons ready in the wagon, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong decided to leave the town.
Yuezheng Xiao simply could not wait to sell the watermelons and lipsticks.
County Magistrate Qiao had been watching them all the time. His messenger did not follow them on their trip, but would pass on the information to County Magistrate Qiao the moment they arrived. Then, Strategist Lu and he would come to the door and greet them, exchanging a few words.
That really annoyed Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong.
But he was an officer of the town and they could not possibly drive him and his people away.
When they were just about to leave, County Magistrate Qiao came with Strategist Lu in a hurry, to see them off, making the two young masters feel irritated.
Yuezheng Xiao complained. "What is County Magistrate Qiao doing here?"
Xie Jingrong said calmly, "He is very anxious to return to the capital."
Yuezheng Xiao was startled and burst out into laughter.
Hurrying back to the capital? No wonder they wanted to get on well with the Xie Family. He hoped that the Xie Family could help him to get back to the capital! But this officer with such low competence would not return with a high title. Also, he would have to wait for a few more years before being granted even a small position..
Chapter 282: Plan
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
County Magistrate Qiao and his gang suddenly spotted the wagon full of watermelons.
Atter seemg Ott Yuezneng Xiao and Xle Jmgrong, County magistrate (Liao's eyes sparkled. He tried to press down his excitement and said calmly, "Strategist, you saw that too?"
Strategist Lu could not help but lick his lips, drooling inwardly. "That was a wagon filled with watermelons!"
He would like to have some too!
It would be wonderful if they could eat those large, juicy watermelons, and feel their coolness and texture.
He had been working for the County Magistrate for a few years, but he only ate two slices of watermelons last summer, which was given by the County Magistrate.
The County Magistrate himself had not yet eaten any watermelons this year!
Strategist Lu could not help but lament. "That Young Master of the Yuezheng
Family just doesn't know that he should offer you a dozen!"
That was what County Magistrate Qiao was thinking inwardly, but he was not going to say it out loud.
He waved his hands, pretending to be open-minded. "Young Master Yuezheng is a businessman, who only cares about profits. Also, I don't accept things from others for free."
"You are honest, Officer. You never take benefits from anyone, that I know." Strategist Lu raised his eyebrows and started to think. "So, do we have someone who is planting watermelons in our county? I will go around and try to see who is doing that? We can buy some too. The watermelons would be so good for the summer."
County Magistrate Qiao nodded as he smiled. "Good, you can go about and take a look. Try and buy as many as possible!"
"Okay, Officer!"
Strategist Lu smiled and felt happy inwardly.
The farmers would definitely be glad to have a connection with the County Magistrate when he finds them and buys their watermelons!
He would get however many he wanted when he saw them.
No one would ask the officer for money!
By that time, he was going to get dozens of watermelons, enough for the whole summer,..
When Officer Qiao returned to the mansion, Madame Qiao said with a smile, li lt is getting really hot these days, and we are not sleeping well. I decided to send some people to get some watermelons from the province tomorrow to bring home. If you need anything else, we can buy them together."
Qiao Wei was spoiled and greedy for watermelons. Madame Qiao cared about her and did not want to see her suffer.
Watermelons did not have a high yield last year due to the torrential rains, and the housekeeper said that one good watermelon would cost 7 qian, which was way over the budget. So only a few were bought.
When the housekeeper went to fetch some more, the watermelons were nowhere to be seen.
So, they needed to go there earlier this year.
Officer Qiao smiled. "No need to go to the capital, we have watermelons here
too.
He told her what Strategist Lu's plan was.
Madame Qiao cheered and smiled. "That is good! Just let Strategist Lu get the information and watermelons too.. You are working for the county day and night, and the farmers should not ask you for money!
Chapter 283: Gossip
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"They should have brought some to you on their own. Damned civilians, never understanding the rules!'
Officer Qjao rubbed his beard and nodded. He believed that his wife was right damned civilians!
Madame Qjao added. "Young Master Yuezheng is also too arrogant. You saw them off. He should have given you some watermelons on his own. How dare he ignore you!'
Officer Qjao, who was deeply hurt by Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong's ignorance, felt very humiliated hearing what Madame Qjao said. "Young Master Yuezheng never thinks about those small things."
Madame Qiao brought herself back and smiled. "True!'
Madame Qjao spoke to Qjao Wei about watermelons, and she was very happy too.
It seemed that they were going to have many watermelons to eat during this summer season.
"I hope they are sweet. Not every farmer is able to plant good watermelons, otherwise they would not have been so rare. Mom, we are buying them in the province if they are not sweet here."
"Of course!" Madame Qjao said with an indulgent smile.
It was going to be a very quick exercise. Watermelons were planted in the field and no one was able to conceal that for long. What they needed to do was to do some simple investigation.
Qjao Wei and Madame Qjao even got prepared to eat watermelons the following day.
It was going to be such a cooling relief, if they were able to eat large watermelons on this hot day.
That was a tempting thought!
However two days passed and they could not see a thing!
Qjao Wei could not help but complain. "They are so lazy! How can they be so slow as not to get an idea of where the watermelons are!'
Madame Qjao frowned and got someone to ask Strategist Lu.
Strategist Lu was very anxious and disappointed as well.
How would he know? The whole thing was so strange that they could find nothing!
He had sent many people to look around and theoretically speaking, they should have been able to eat watermelons by that night itself.
However, it seemed that the watermelons Yuezheng Xiao carried, had appeared out of nowhere. No matter what, they could not find the source!
Strategist Lu got so annoyed. He just did not understand where the watermelons would have grown? So, he got someone to dig deeper.
Before he could find anything, Madame Qjao's men came to ask him for the result.
Strategist Lu had to tell the truth.
Madame Qjao complained that he was useless but she had no choice except to wait.
Yet no matter how much they tried, they still could not even find out who planted the fruit and some people even had no idea of what watermelons were.
Then they heard that watermelons might have grown out in the wild field, and not planted at home.
Strategist Lu thought for a while and could not find out any other explanation, thus telling the truth.
The County Magistrate was disappointed but he believed the excuse and dropped the idea.
What a pity that the watermelons were gone!
Madame Qjao and Qiao Wei felt even more annoyed. Madame Ojao sent her servants to buy watermelons from the province!
"Dont worry, Wei, we are going to buy many of them, even though it costs 1 liang for one!'
Only then did Qjao Wei drop the anger.
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan finally let out a sigh of relief hearing that the officers stopped seeking the origin of watermelons.
Although they stressed repeatedly that the family should not spread the news around, they were still quite worried.
They could counter the situation if they were found, but the best thing would be that they were never found..
Chapter 284: Watermelons
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Hearing that Officer Qiao's family made so many efforts just to eat watermelons but obtained nothing in the end, Qiao Xuan ate two more slices purely out of delight.
Luckily, they did not let Manager Qin help them with selling watermelons.
Also, they dropped the idea of giving two watermelons to Manager Qin.
Yuezheng Xiao took the watermelons home but did not plan to sell them. Instead, he was going to give them away as presents.
He gave Xie Jingrong twenty watermelons, 20 to his parents and kept 20 for himself. By this point, half the amount was gone.
The watermelons were large and round, looking beautiful and tasting sweet. They were most suitable as presents.
Especially in this weather, nothing was better than a few large watermelons.
There were many watermelons in the market, and those fixed farmers already got their watermelons booked before they turned ripe.
Therefore, those that could come to the market were not only quite limited in number but also unripe.
Madame Qjao sent her housekeeper to buy the watermelon and luckily, he ran into some cheap ones in the market the following day.
Although the housekeeper said that it was just one of the leftovers and not very sweet, yet the housekeeper believed that the watermelons looked really good and sounded quite crispy from outside, thus buying them as good watermelons.
The expensive watermelons would not be too sweet but surely would not be bad. The housekeeper bought ten altogether.
Five liang for one pile of watermelons. That was very costly.
Five liang could buy hundreds of kgs of rice.
But he decided to tell his master that it cost seven liang so he could save two liang for himself.
Once watermelons as well as other things were bought, the housekeeper went back home early the next day.
Madame Qjao and Qjao Wei got so happy when the watermelons arrived that they started to drool.
Qiao Kou and Concubine Du were serving them and feeling greedy inwardly. They knew that even one slice would be quite satisfying for them.
However, when the maid broke open a watermelon, it looked really white with just a touch of redness.
Worse, the skin was not at all fresh.
After a bite, one realized that it had no taste, and the soft texture did not taste sweet or fresh at all.
Qiao Wei spat and had one more cut up.
But all the ten watermelons were the same!
"Ah!" Qjao Wei snapped. "What rubbish did the housekeeper buy? Is he blind? He cant even buy one correct one!'
The more they wanted something, the less likely they were able to get it. That caused a huge disappointment and the anger arose involuntarily.
Qjao Wei could not help but want to hit someone.
She threw herself in Madame Qjao's arms and cried.
What she wanted was to just eat one watermelon. How could that be so difficult?
Madame Qjao got so annoyed that she scolded the housekeeper.
The housekeeper's face turned. He begged for forgiveness continuously.
He had not foreseen this! How could the farmer sell the rotten watermelons at such a high price?
And the watermelons could not prove bad unless broken open.
He was cheated too!
Madame Qjao scolded him and ordered him to back off..
Chapter 285: Watermelons Available
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Of course she knew that the housekeeper had been fooled as well. But she still felt really annoyed.
Consoling Qjao Wei, Madame Qjao sent someone else to buy watermelons again.
She just did not believe that it was not possible to eat one watermelon.
She was quite vexed. Therefore, she must eat at least one watermelon to drive away the anger.
Unexpectedly, the housekeeper never ran into anyone who was selling watermelons even after spending so many days in the province.
Feeling helpless, the housekeeper did not dare to stay for too long. He returned empty-handed.
The mother and daughter, alongwith Officer Qjao, got very annoyed by this.
They could eat a few watermelons last year, but this year, they managed to eat none.
They felt so horrible not to have been able to eat any.
The more Qiao Wei thought about this, the more angry she became. "I just wanted to eat one watermelon! How can this broken, shabby place offer none. I am so fed up with it!'
Distressed, Madame Qjao consoled her. "It is just a watermelon, nothing precious. It is not so rare that we eat nothing good otherwise. We can get all kinds of things we want when we go back to the capital." Qjao Wei snorted and felt very displeased. Her face was sullen.
It was so irritating.
On the other hand, in the first section of the Shao Family, watermelons were very popular. Every day at lunchtime, they would cut two large, round ones and have a good taste of it. Their thirst was properly relieved.
Everyone present was very happy.
While County Magistrate Obo's family failed to get any watermelons, two more wagons full of ripe watermelons were transported out of the village and headed directly towards the province.
This time, Yuezheng Xiao decided to sell the watermelon at the price of 3 qian for one. Three of his friends bought them really quickly.
The clients were very passionate about these watermelons, which he had given out as presents at the beginning. This fruit turned out to be so tasty and sweet, and the cost wasnt high either. They bought them for themselves and friends, and they would not resell them to anyone else.
When watermelons and tea leaves were sold out, Qjao Xuan started to focus upon the business of mushrooms.
The sheds and materials for mushrooms were ready, and the seeds had been found. Once the project kicked off, they were going to make a fortune.
With her superpower in play, Qjao Xuan could easily distinguish the categories of the mushrooms, so she was never anxious about starting with this business.
Ms. Fang and Shao Xiaoqi could not help but feel worried for her. They were worried that the mushrooms were difficult to find and they kept consoling her that she did not need to work so hard for it.
Qjao Xuan smiled and nodded, accepting the kindness.
There was very little they could do in the farmland, and when the last batch of lipsticks was made, the flowers stopped blooming.
Roses had been picked out and the other kinds were already withering. Even if Qiao Xuan wanted to use her superpower, she needed to be cautious.
So, she had to wait a little longer.
Also, the beeswax was used up, and they needed to get some more of that.
Therefore, Qjao Xuan, Shao Xiaoqi, Shao Taotao as well as Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni went into the mountains together.
Shao Dalang and Ms. Xu were helping Qjao Xuan sort out the floral fields, where they trimmed the leaves and watered the plants.
Qjao Xuan brought in some water that was hundreds of meters faraway, and when the water was to be used, the only thing they needed to do was turn it on and the water would come.
They were paid 30 wen a day for their work.
Shao Dalang and Ms. Xu were both quite willing to do the work.
They decided to find mushrooms and wild honey as well as some other precious herbs during their trip to the mountains..
Chapter 286: Love Shown Off
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yang Xiaoni had never walked into mountains as deep as these, so she was both very curious and excited. She looked around, swinging her neck.
Shao Sanlang wasnt all that experienced but he was very willing to show off his knowledge in front of his wife by bragging about how interesting things were in the mountains, and how was able to get numerous prey.
Hearing him say all that, Yang Xiaoni could not help but look at him with admiration. "Brother Sanlang, you know so much!"
Odao Xuan could not help but clog her ears as she walked next to them. They were too much!
They managed to track down numerous mushrooms and got more than 35 to 40 kgs of wild honey.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni ate a lot of honey while they were dating, since he was very annoyed by how he got stung years ago.
But later, they both got fed up.
Itt was too much for them.
But after so many days in the mountains, they only found four sites of snow fungus. Qjao Xuan used her superpower every now and then, but she could not use too much of it. So, they failed to find too many.
Snow fungus were very precious and once they grew, the values would be much higher than the other categories of mushrooms.
Qiao Xuan was not anxious. She was going to urge the already-growing ones so they would be enough.
Shao Xiaoqi got a lot of things too. He had roosters, and rabbits to take home which were enough for the family to eat.
They even got two honeycombs on this day and Qiao Xuan had a discussion with the rest of the family that they could cease the search after the next day.
They were all quite exhausted.
Also, they needed to work on the honey.
Shao Taotao and Yang Xiaoni both agreed. They believed that floral fields were more important, especially when the new flowers bloomed. They would need to work hard on it.
Luckily, Shao Xiaoqi got one water deer, chubby and large, weighing around 15 kgs.
Water deer should taste really good, but it was quite timid and ran fast. It was never easy to catch it. Therefore, even finding one water deer made everyone happy.
They all turned to Qjao Xuan, asking. "How should we make it?"
Qjao Xuan just could not help but feel a bit helpless. They now considered her to be the chef!
But it was very easy to work as a chef. She just needed to work on the pot, whilst the rest were done by the others.
She thought for a while and said, "Deer, wild sheep, and wild deer are almost the same. Just follow the way of making mutton. Braised, stewed, stir-fried, and boiled are definitely not bad."
They all nodded and agreed.
Yang Xiaoni licked her lips, saying cheerfully, "I became so hungry after hearing your words."
Shao Sanlang added. "This is a large one, you can eat some more at dinner!'
"Yes, Brother Sanlang, you should eat some more too!'
"Of course…
Qiao Xuan and the others. '
They showed off love wherever they were!
Ms. Fang was very glad to see such a huge prey when she came home.
She helped with boiling the water, and removing the fur.
Many villagers were drawn to watch the show.
Such a large prey was rarely seen, and the villagers wanted to see what they were going to do with it.
However, as they were watching the processing of the animal, a gray-haired old woman, together with two young men and two young women arrived there.
"Is this Ms. Fang's home?"
They all turned to look at the newcomers..
Chapter 287: Ms. Zhou's Family
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Fang glanced at them, nodding with a smile. "I am Ms. Fang, who are you?'
She really had no idea who they were. Nor did anyone from the Shao Family recognize them.
Someone seemed to recognize her, and was about to speak up, when the old woman went up to her and took hold of Ms. Fang's hands. In a grateful voice, she said, "I am from the Zhou Family. My daughter used to be the second daughter-in-law of the Ding Family. I am older than you, and I will address you as my niece! Thank you for helping my daughter!'
Oh, they were from Ms. Zhou's home!
People present could not help but wear a look of understanding.
Ms. Fang brought herself back, laughing. "Dont worry, Ms. Zhou and I have always been good friends and it was just a little help! No need to make a big deal out of it."
"But I am grateful!" She said with teeth clenched, as she sneered. "Some people are the worst human beings! Thank goodness you were here!'
Ms. Fang shook her head out of courtesy and asked them to have a seat inside.
The villagers left, seeing that something was going on in the family and Ms. Fang was driving them away.
When Ms. Zhou and Ding Erzhu had the wooden house built and all was settled, they bought some chicken and opened up the field. Their life had just started.
The remaining work should just be routine.
Only at that time did Ms. Zhou return to her own home with her child.
Ms. Zhou had thought about turning to her natal family when she ran into trouble, but she felt too ashamed to go over.
When she went home and talked about the whole issue, the mother and the daughter cried a lot.
Ms. Zhou had a brother who always cared about her. She was not very close to her sister-in-law, but they always talked in a friendly way.
Hearing that, her parents and brother got so annoyed.
Ms. Zhou spent one night at her mother's home and the following morning, her parents, brother, sister-in-law and cousins all rushed to the Zhang Village and hit Ding Erzhu. Ms. Zhou shielded him but the whole family scolded Ding Erzhu angrily.
They married their daughter to him only because he looked very honest. But now their daughter was suffering so much.
Ding Erzhu cried too. He felt very guilty while facing his brother-in-law as well as his parents-in-law.
His parents-in-law had always treated him well. Every time he visited them, they would kill the chicken to treat him and let him bring some food home when he returned. He even borrowed some grains from them.
But he failed to protect their daughter, and let her suffer so much during the past few years.
When she was done scolding her son-in-law, she took her children and nieces as well as her family to the Fifth Grandpa Ding's home.
She did not have her husband with her, who stayed back at home.
Fifth Grandma Ding was at home. Seeing the Zhou Family coming towards her, she was about to defend herself when everyone rushed forward and hit her.
They ripped off her clothes, grabbed her hair, hit her face and pinched her arms. They spared no efforts to hit her.
Fifth Grandma Ding's two sons were gone, and two daughter-in-laws were both absent. So she was mercilessly hit by the Zhou Family.
Also, she treated none of her daughter-in-laws well, and even if they were around, they might not have offered any help either..
Chapter 288: Purpose
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Later, Madame Zhou took her son and daughter-in-law, rushing into Fifth Grandpa Ding's home and smashed everything.
They broke every utensil in the kitchen and spilled the seasonings onto the ground.
But for being a farmer's family himself and not wanting to ruin the food, they would have poured all the grain into the ditch.
Fifth Grandma Ding's heart felt broken. She cried and kept calling her a bitch constantly.
Annoyed, Madame Zhou hit her again.
They were in the midst of the fight when the Ding Family finally came home.
The Ding Family got so annoyed that they demanded the Zhou Family to repay them.
Madame Zhou snapped. "Repay you what? You need to compensate me for my granddaughter's life first!'
Fifth Grandpa Ding could not hold it in. "That was her fault..
"She was just a child, what did she know? You believe that she can think rationally? You were so cruel as to trap her in the ancestral hall and not allow her to eat or drink anything."
Fifth Grandpa Ding felt so strange when he heard this. How did she know about not getting any food?
Fifth Grandpa Ding flushed out of anger. He shivered and could not utter a sound.
Madame Zhou sneered. "My daughter and my son-in-law are not lazy, are they? They show respect to you, right? Still, you drove them out without giving them any share in the properties! How dare you separate the family like this?" Ding Sanzhu snapped. "It was them who wanted to do so."
"Oh really? But you allowed them to go away, right? They were forced to move out without getting anything. It is ridiculous!'
Ding Sanzhu got very annoyed but was speechless in the end.
Madame Zhou glanced at them and sneered. "Since you drove them out, the relation has been cut off directly. Don't ever dare to come to us for anything good in the future. If I ever find out that you are doing so, I will slap you to death!'
Fifth Grandpa Ding shivered out of anger. "They should never come back home too! I wont accept them either!'
"We won't!"
Madame Zhou sneered. "Bear it well in mind!'
After the chaos, they thanked those who had helped their daughter before, and then they headed to the first section of the Shao Family to express their gratitude.
Although many people helped the couple, the first section of the Shao Family had given the biggest help. They even arranged the future for them. The Zhou Family were very grateful to them, and they definitely would come to the door to express their thanks.
Ms. Fang could not help but sigh, telling Madame Zhou that everything would be fine.
Madame Zhou shed some tears and thanked them again, before leaving. Ms. Fang liked Madame Zhou's straightforward personality.
Madame Zhou was a very straightforward person who had taught her daughter to be kind. But that did not become a merit.
Ms. Fang could not help but feel bothered. It seemed that her Taotao was too kind as well. She should be taught to be fierce too, maybe?
The family affairs of Fifth Grandpa Ding's home became the gossip for many people and it went on for a long time. The whole family got so annoyed but they did not dare to turn to the Zhou Family for any sort of repayment.
They had to accept the loss..
Chapter 289: Unspeakable Feelings
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Xu, Yang Xiaoni… all of them felt sorry for Ms. Zhou's family. But Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang were the ones who knew what was really going on, so they exchanged a look and smiled at each other.
It made their relationship closer.
The water deer was soon handled and the meat was sliced. They were aware that the internal organs were good things too, so they held them in a basin.
It was a huge animal that should be shared with the other sections of the family, so Ms. Fang asked Shao Sanlang to cut a few medium-level meat for them.
She was not going to deliver it, nor would she let Taotao do that. She asked Eldest Uncle to do so personally.
She decided not to get involved with them in any case.
Eldest Uncle was very displeased. But he said nothing to counter her.
Sure enough, the second and the third sections of the family complained about getting very little meat. They did not say it straightforwardly, but that was exactly what they meant.
Eldest Uncle was feeling rather displeased inwardly.
But the first section of the family did not care. They started the fire and put all the inner organs inside the pot, adding different kinds of spices for braising.
The other stove was heated as well. The water deer was cut into different sizes of diced and stewed on the dried bamboo. Ms. Xu was slicing the meat for frying while Qiao Xuan intended to make a dish of stewed ribs.
Stewed ribs were easy to make. Rice and glutinous rice were soaked a little, fried in a pan until they turned brown, then ground and a little salt was added.
She had planned to add the five-spice powder, but it was not present at the moment. So she could only make a simpler version of it and tried to see what it tasted like.
Qiao Xuan did not think that it was going to taste bad, because the fried rice smelled good. Then she could add some more spices, like star anises, fennels and cinnamon to make it fragrant.
When it was time for dinner, a table full of delicious water deer was brought to the table. Everyone was attracted to the stewed water deer meat immediately.
"That is a new dish?!"
"It looks really delicious!"
They just could not wait to touch the dish.
The meat smelled fragrant, and the rice flour over it had locked the freshness of the meat.
As the scent of rice and meat were combined, it tasted best when eaten hot.
Qiao Xuan had not eaten this kind of dish in a long while, and she had not expected that water deer, when made this way, would taste especially fresh.
Then, she could make some more similar ones.
The following day, Qiao Xuan suddenly felt a bit tired. She suggested that they should deal with the already-existing honey first and get the beeswax, before paying a visit to the mountains.
Qiao Xuan's suggestion catered to what others were also thinking.
Actually, it was because Qiao Xuan sensed the moisture in the air, and she predicted that it was going to rain very soon.
She was very sensitive towards the air changes, and she could forecast the weather within one day's time.
Sure enough, clouds covered up the sun at lunchtime, and the sky fell into darkness.
Thunderstorm arrived and the rain poured down.
They were in the middle of extracting honey and beeswax, and felt lucky that they were not in the mountains. Otherwise the rain would have been too heavy for them to handle.
Qiao Xuan could tell that the rain would last for a very long time, maybe come down continuously for a couple of days..
Chapter 290: Watermelon Candy
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
That was good. In this way, flowers would grow even more vividly.
When it was sunny again, she decided to use her superpower. Then soon, the flowers would bloom flourishingly.
However, the watermelons were not in the same state.
Although she used her superpower to make the watermelons grow better so that they could have stronger resistance against the environment compared to the ordinary ones, watermelons were, after all, watermelons. They were afraid of the water piled up.
Water puddles rottened the fruits.
And the texture as well as the sweetness would be heavily reduced.
That was horrible!
She decided to sell them at a lower price if Yuezheng Xiao's men came to fetch them after a few days.
With many helping hands, honey was all done.
There were many jars holding them, and each of them took one jar home and left the rest for sale.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "I only need this much and I don't need the profits gained from the honey sale this time. Everyone can have a share. Elder Brother, Sister-in-law, though you were not with us in the mountains, you worked so hard and you should have some profits too!"
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni were not picky people. So they nodded in agreement.
Shao Taotao smiled. "Fifth Sister-in-law found the honeycombs and she has the final call on everything!"
She hoped that this kind of day would last for a long time. However, if someone became selfish in the future, they would live separately, and would not have a row with each other.
Ms. Xu had plenty of money and she was much happier right now. Yang Xiaoni did not have many thoughts. It was Qi's wife who remained to be seen.
It was still raining the following day. They were all bored.
Ms. Fang felt very concerned about the watermelons in the yard. Qiao Xuan asked Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu to fetch some large ones home. They decided to remove the seeds and make some watermelon candies.
They were bored so they had this idea, so they could save some watermelons on the way.
They were both very excited and curious about it and helped along.
The watermelons were slowly simmered on low heat and filtered with gauze. The amber-colored viscous syrup obtained in the end was very beautiful. When people tasted it, there was a unique fragrance of watermelon in the sweetness, which was very tempting.
Qiao Xuan had a couple of large plates in her hands and poured the syrup in them.
They waited until the liquid solidified.
After two hours, the syrup set in. When it went harder, it was cut into finger sizes and watermelon candies were formed, as the new sort of snack.
It was not easy to see candies in this era, so children at home got so happy to get candies like that.
Shao Junyan and Shao Qing were excited, and Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao were happy to eat them as well.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni were no exceptions. Both of them were so happy about it.
Qiao Xuan tasted one and felt really satisfied. She gave it to Shao Yunduan and smiled. "Sweet, huh? The watermelon candies could be good snacks, handy and tasty, we can buy some yellow paper to wrap them up next time we go into the town, and we can save them in the jar."
When they made the candies in the future, they could also add some crushed peanuts, crushed walnuts, raisins, mint juice, rose juice, osmanthus. That meant that they could eat all kinds of candies..
Chapter 291: Chaos
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
She could ask Yuezheng Xiao to find a carpenter who could make some silver or bronze candy models to shape the candies and future potential cakes.
The more Qiao Xuan thought about this, the more motivated she was.
Seeing her sparkling eyes, Shao Yunduan could not help but smile and nod. "Your ideas are never bad!"
Qiao Xuan chuckled and exchanged a look with him. "I think so too!"
The two of them smiled at each other.
Qiao Xuan picked some tomatoes for stewing. She made a jar of ketchup, and asked Ms. Xu to yeast the pasta. She was going to make ketchup with egg noodles.
Ketchup was a very good thing. She could save some to make sugar-coated ribs or braise the tofu.
The sweet and sour ketchup was added with eggs and mixed into the noodles, which provided great texture and it was really good for the stomach.
It was really lively at the first section of the family, whilst the second section of the family was having problems.
Due to the heavy rain, everyone was quite free at home.
Ms. Niu was bored and decided to clean up the room a little.
However, she found that the five liang she had hidden earlier was gone.
Ms. Niu was a very sneaky person. She never hid her money in one place. So she was very startled when she saw the money missing. She checked around and found that everything else was still available. So she let out a sigh of relief.
However, she felt so heart-broken thinking of the missing money.
She always hid things well, and she never leafed through her hidden things in the room, otherwise she would have thought of this earlier.
She suddenly thought of Ms. Zhang.
Especially when Ms. Zhang kept asking her for two liang of money, saying that her brother's wife was going to give birth and needed money…
Ms. Niu did not agree to give her any.
Ms. Zhang always sneaked things home and Ms. Niu hated her for her small moves. She would never loan her any money.
Also, Ms. Zhang never returned any money she had borrowed!
"This bitch! How dare she steal my stuff?!"
Ms. Niu rushed to Ms. Zhang.
Ms. Zhang did not admit to it initially, but after being scolded, she had to admit in tears. "My brother's wife gave birth to a baby, and we are too poor. You don't even want to loan me anything! I had no choice, please, forgive me! I will never do that again!"
Ms. Niu kicked Ms. Zhang to the ground.
"You will never do it again? You will always do it, given another chance! My children need money for their marriages, and we need money for our family. How dare you steal money to support your own family! I will make my son divorce you!"
Ms. Zhang cried. "Don't, Mom. I really won't do that again!"
Ms. Zhang was very scared. But she did not regret a thing.
She felt lucky.
When she stole the money and took it home, her parents and brother were all cheerful. They kept praising her for being capable. That made her feel so satisfied and gratified. She believed that she had done a good deed!
Her brother was the only son of the family and he needed to be treated well..
Chapter 292: Furious
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Her mother-in-law would do nothing more but scold or hit her. She could bear that. After all, she had given birth to grandchildren for the family, and her mother-in-law would not drive her out.
Also, it was not the first time for her to hear that she was going to be driven out. Hence, she did not panic.
However, Ms. Niu was really pissed this time.
She was not very happy about her stealing some stuff, but she could still tolerate that.
But it was cash worth five liang this time!
Worse, Ms. Zhang dared to sneak into her room to do the search.
If it had happened once, it would happen twice! Her remaining cash would be taken out as well!
Most importantly, she needed money to help her son and daughter to find good marriages, and Ms. Zhang was still focusing on her own family! What was this daughter-in-law good for?
Second Uncle and Shao Erlang were chatting at someone else's home but returned when they heard that something had happened at home.
Second Uncle's face darkened, as he pointed at his son. "You two go to the
Zhang Family to get back the money!"
Ms. Zhang cried. "Don't, please. Dad, forgive me!"
Ms. Niu spat at her and sneered. "I will forgive you when you get the money back, but if you fail, you can stay at your own home and never return. Son, you can divorce her!"
Shao Erlang was startled. "What?"
"You are questioning me?" Ms. Niu barked at him.
"No…" Shao Erlang staggered. "But our children are still so young!"
"So what? You can marry another one next year!" Ms. Niu sneered. "I am not letting her get away with it this time! She can still be divorced even if she bore children for you! I won't let her go this time!"
Ms. Niu was really angry about this.
If Ms. Zhang only stole a few coins, she would not have been so angry.
But this was too much money for her to accept.
Also, Ms. Zhang always had her own ideas. No matter how much money she stole, she would have been scolded, so she must have thought to take it all…
Ms. Niu pushed Ms. Zhang and Shao Erlang out of the yard and slapped the door shut, sneering at them. "Go to the Zhang Family to get the money back. Without the money, Ms. Zhang will never be allowed to come back home!" Ms. Zhang cried. "Erlang, please, our children can't lose their mother!"
Shao Erlang snapped and said angrily, "Shut up now! How dare you cry like this! Go to your family to get back the money!"
Ms. Zhang's face changed. "But…"
"How dare you steal five liang from my mother? Your family is so greedy!" Shao
Erlang sneered.
With her head lowered, Ms. Zhang did not dare to speak up.
The first section of the family soon heard about the story of the second section of the family.
Ms. Fang pursed her lips and laughed. "That's their family affairs! Your Second Aunt is not a good thing, nor is Ms. Zhang! How can she help her family like this? Her brother is like a piece of trash now!"
All the three sisters of the Zhang Family kept helping their brother with all efforts.
Hearing the gossip, Qiao Xuan and the others felt so speechless.
Suddenly, Ms. Zhang came rushing with tears and kneeling down in front of
Ms. Fang..
Chapter 293: Begging
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Zhang begged tearfully as she said to Ms. Fang, "Please help me. Mom says that she is going to throw me out of the family, but my children should never lose their mother!"
Ms. Fang's face changed. "You!"
Ms. Xu could not help but retreat. She did not like to get involved with anything strange.
Qiao Xuan was so disgusted.
She stole Ms. Niu's money, thus, was getting driven out. She came to Ms. Fang for a totally obvious purpose.
She was trying to ask Ms. Fang to give her the money.
Qiao Xuan could not help but feel shocked inwardly.
She spoke up. "Second Sister-in-law, you can talk to us in a normal way. Why are you crying like this? People might think that Mom has done you some bad."
Ms. Fang realized what was happening too. She pressed down her anger and sneered. "True, what are you crying at my feet for? How annoying!" Ms. Zhang shivered and ceased crying.
She did not dare to counter Ms. Fang but stared at Qiao Xuan. "Fifth
Sister-in-law, I am so pitiful, please don't scold me any more."
"Second Sister-in-law, you are pitiful but not because of us. I am just telling the truth." Qiao Xuan said coldly, "You think you are pitiful, so you believe that Second Aunt has been wrong in teaching you a lesson?"
Ms. Zhang.
Only then did Ms. Fang feel a bit better. She drove away Shao Sanlang and Shao Xiaoqi, but said to Shao Erlang, "Erlang, have her get up, I can't stand this behavior."
Shao Erlang felt a bit uncomfortable but moved to help his wife up.
Ms. Zhang pushed him away. "Please, help me!"
Seeing her on her knees, Ms. Fang said, "Ms. Xu, Ms. Yang, get her up and deliver her back to the second section of the family. You have your own senior people in the family to take care of your affairs. I don't want to get involved in this matter."
She would be crazy to get involved in their family's dealings.
Ms. Zhang got so anxious as she looked at Ms. Fang with despair. "Please, Eldest Aunt, loan me five liang!? Fifth Sister-in-law must easily have this much! Please, just five lian, I will definitely repay you! Erlang will divorce me if I don't give her the money. If my children lose their mother, you will feel bad too, right?"
Ms. Fang did not even change her expression. "So, if your mother-in-law loves her grandchildren, she will never divorce you. Those are her grandchildren too, right? Just go back and offer a sincere apology!"
Ms. Zhang kept begging her.
But Ms. Fang did not even want to look at her any longer. Helpless, Ms. Zhang snapped angrily. "You are so cruel!" Yang Xiaoni could not hold it any more and said, "Second Sister-in-law, you are so unreasonable! You stole the money, and Second Aunt drove you away. What does it have to do with us? You think that five liang falls from the sky so you can have it whenever you want it?"
Ms. Zhang burst out in tears and was finally pulled away by Shao Erlang.
She went back to the Zhang Family with Shao Erlang against her will.
Ms. Fang sneered. "Okay, just leave them alone! We will never get involved with such stupid things!"
Qiao Xuan and Yang Xiaoni nodded in agreement.
Really stupid things.
But Ms. Zhang was really bold enough to steal money from Ms. Niu.
This woman had been too obsessed with helping her brother to understand what was going on…
Soon, Eldest Uncle hurried home and asked Ms. Fang. "I heard that Ms. Zhang is being driven out of the family.. What is going on?"
Chapter 294: Not Interested
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Fang glanced at him and exchanged a few words.
But she did not mention that Ms. Zhang had been here.
Eldest Uncle rubbed his hands. "How can a nice family become like this? Poor children, Ms. Zhang is so confused!"
Ms. Fang laughed. "True!"
Eldest Uncle thought of Ms. Zhang's family and was even more confused. "I don't think her family is able to offer this much money."
Ms. Fang replied. "Then, we will see if they love this daughter of theirs!"
Eldest Uncle sighed and went to check how it was going on at the second section of the family.
He even asked Ms. Fang to go with him, but she promptly turned that offer down.
She was not interested at all.
By the evening, Ms. Zhang returned with Shao Erlang in distress.
She was empty-handed.
The parents of hers would never be so simple-minded, when they taught their three daughters to help their youngest brother.
Ms. Zhang got scolded thoroughly when she asked them for three liang.
They had no money to offer.
Even Shao Erlang was scolded by his in-laws.
They kept saying that their only son was precious and their grandson was going to be born. As the daughter of the family, she should offer a hand too.
They would never give the money back. What was the Shao Family thinking?
As they returned home, Eldest Uncle was still at the residence of the second section of the family.
Ms. Niu understood clearly what happened, judging from how Ms. Zhang and Shao Erlang looked.
Her face sank and she asked them with clenched teeth. "Where is the money?
Nothing was returned?"
Ms. Niu got so annoyed as she was reminded of the money Ms. Zhang stole.
She pointed at Ms. Zhang and said, "What are you doing here since you can't get the money? Did they not accept your request? It seems that they don't like you either."
Ms. Zhang covered her face with her hands, begging. "Mom, please, I don't dare to do that ever again…"
Ms. Zhang had never expected that Ms. Niu would get so angry this time. She felt kind of regretful.
But how her parents and brother reacted disheartened her as well.
Yet she was more scared right now, fearing that Ms. Niu would really drive her out.
"What are you crying for?" Ms. Niu shouted and pushed Ms. Zhang out of the house. "Just get out of here, go back to your own home. I am not joking with you!"
Shao Erlang could not stand it any more and defended his wife. "Mom, please…"
"Just shut up!" Ms. Niu snapped angrily. "We can't have a thief at home! Your brother and Meiling are about to find a marriage soon, and the dowry, and wedding gifts are not yet settled. She stole our money and you are still defending her! "
Chaos arose in the family.
Eldest Uncle rushed back home and told Ms. Fang, "Loan five liang to my brother's family. They will return it soon."
"It has something to do with Silang and Meiling. We are not joking here. Please, loan the money to them!"
Ms. Niu cursed at Ms. Zhang and Shao Erlang, then she started to cry about how difficult it was to establish the marriage for the two children. Second Uncle was helping along too.
In this way, the Eldest Uncle got involved.
Ms. Fang laughed. "Of course, no one is joking. So, did Ms. Zhang not get any money from her family?"
Eldest Uncle frowned. "You know pretty well what they are like!"
"Yes." Ms. Fang sneered. "The Zhang Familv are shameless DeoDle. and thev deserve to get nothing.. We are good people and hence, we are cleaning up for them, is it?"
Chapter 295: Ms. Niu's Twisted Face
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Ms. Zhang stole her own mother-in-law's money. Why should I make it up for them?"
"You…" Elder Uncle frowned. "But Silang and Meiling are innocent, and we should understand what is more important!"
Ms. Fang had already predicted how her husband would defend his brothers, but she still felt quite heart-broken upon hearing this.
He was clueless. He kept saying that he needed to protect his brothers and their families, but none of them respected him as the eldest in the family.
Silang and Meiling were innocent, true, so they should go to those who caused them trouble, not to others.
But Ms. Fang was too lazy to explain it properly to her husband. Her husband had no sway in the family because she was the one who made the decisions, not him.
Ms. Fang said, "I don't have any money."
"We have nothing?" Eldest Uncle did not believe her. He sighed emotionally. "Don't worry, they will definitely pay us back! They are just a little tight in hand right now, and they need to establish marriages for their children soon. You all work for Ms. Qiao, everyone is paid, right?"
Ms. Fang nodded and said calmly,"True, but Yunduan needs to visit the college every month and he needs money too. He has it all!" Elder Uncle gasped, asking in disbelief. "Really?"
He did not quite believe what Ms. Fang said.
But Ms. Fang did not care if he believed her. She had the final say.
"Yes, yes!"
Eldest Uncle fell silent.
Ms. Fang sneered. "Well, I think that they can go to the Zhang Family
themselves! What are they afraid of? Ms. Zhang needs to be taught a lesson
anyway, otherwise she will make the same mistake again and again. That is not
acceptable! They can either keep their faces or their money."
Eldest Uncle felt distressed and walked to the second section of the family.
Ms. Niu and Second Uncle got very disappointed when they saw that he had no money with him.
Eldest Brother was the master of the family. But he had no say about a thing! They did not need to bother with him any more, since he was so weak.
Ms. Niu could not stand it anymore and asked. "Ms. Qiao has no money either? I believe that she just wants to keep the money for herself!"
Eldest Uncle did not know how to respond.
He also believed that Qiao Xuan had money. Look at the watermelons she had sold. But she was not going to loan them any.
Moreover, they still owed her a lot of money for his third son's wedding and he could not possibly force her to give out a loan again.
Worse, she wasn't that obedient either.
Ms. Niu snorted and pushed Ms. Zhang out of the yard. "Just get out of here!
Now!"
Ms. Zhang burst into tears again. She begged and cried for help.
Eldest Uncle felt so ashamed.
When the chaos arose here, Ms. Fang came over and asked Eldest Uncle to come back for dinner.
Ms. Fang smiled and whispered to Ms. Niu, whose face changed immediately.
Ms. Fang glanced at Eldest Uncle. "Are you coming back? Else you can stay at your brother's home for dinner, and we will eat by ourselves." Ms. Niu suddenly urged him. "Eldest Brother, go home for dinner!"
She was not going to keep him over for dinner.
"…" Eldest Uncle felt so distressed but did not dare say a thing. So he left with Ms. Fang.
Hearing what Ms. Niu said, Ms. Fang felt quite happy. She was going to see how much longer he was going to tolerate it and be like this..
Chapter 296: Saddened
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Niu thought for one whole night before deciding to go and get the money back herself.
She must get the five liang back!
Therefore early next morning, Ms. Niu, Second Uncle, Shao Erlang and Shao Silang headed straight to the Zhang Family and started to rummage through their home, until they eventually found five liang.
The Zhang Family had been living a very rich life after getting so much from the daughters' husbands. The money Ms. Zhang brought home was still untouched.
Ms. Niu recognized her money immediately.
With money in hands, the second section of the family felt really satisfied. That son of the Zhang Family was just a stupid and timid person, who retreated and hid in a corner.
The old lady and her husband cried, but Ms. Niu sneered. "Ms. Zhang stole the money from my room and it is right for me to take it back. Stop crying! One more theft, and Ms. Zhang is out of my family. You should never cause her any more trouble in the future.
Feeling proud, Ms. Niu dashed off and left with her family.
Ms. Zhang had no idea what they did behind her back.
Ms. Niu was really relieved and showed off the money in front of Ms. Zhang as soon as she returned home.
Ms. Zhang was shocked. She snapped. "How can you… do that, Mom!"
Ms. Niu sneered. "I can definitely do it! You stole my money. Also, if you dare to do this one more time, I will go to the Zhang Family directly!"
Pale, Ms. Zhang staggered in distress. She started to cry in sadness.
Her mother-in-law was behaving way over the top! What would her brother do? He was going to have a baby soon! Ms. Zhang felt so annoyed.
Ms. Niu snorted and felt relieved. She was in a good mood and did not want to pester her any more.
Hearing the whole story, Ms. Fang told her husband. "See, that was such a simple thing to do to resolve the matter."
Eldest Uncle was shocked.
He had not expected that Ms. Fang had offered such an idea to Ms. Niu.
"How could you do that!"
Ms. Fang smiled. "Why not? Ms. Zhang steals and your brother and his wife should get back what belongs to them. What is wrong with that? Oh, should I make it up for their sake? Honestly, let me tell you, I am totally fed up with how I have been living with you guys during the past few years. I don't have money, but even if I do, I will not share anything with them in the future! You can move and go live with them if you want to. Our children are all grown up and Qi and Taotao have their brothers and their wives to help when they need a wedding. It doesn't matter if you are here or not. Also, in this way, you can work for your brothers devotedly, and we won't drag you down. That sounds perfect, doesn't it?"
Ms. Fang had no intention of getting involved with what happened to the second section of the family because it had nothing to do with her.
Every family had their own affairs.
But they kept pestering her again and again.
Ms. Zhang made the mistake but she was being forced to make up for it. That was never going to happen again.
Ms. Niu and her husband were cunning and kept coaxing her husband..
Chapter 297: Cutting The Hope
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
That was why she came up with this 'bad' idea.
Anyways, she just gave a suggestion and Ms. Niu could make her own decision.
Eldest Uncle got so stuck that he could not utter any sound. After a few moments, he said in a shivering voice, "What are you talking about?"
Ms. Fang smiled, yet the smile was cold. "I am just telling the truth, which has been inside my head for decades! I have spilled it all now!"
"You…"
"Don't get ruffled. You can do whatever you want in the future, but don't get the rest of the family involved in it!"
Ms. Fang did not want to argue with him any more. She left the place calmly.
She let out a sigh of relief as she reached the gate. She was feeling unexpectedly cheerful and relaxed.
She did not care about what had happened in the past any more. She had gone over all the misery she used to suffer.
Now she had sons, daughter-in-laws and… money. If someone forced her to do something any more, the whole family would no longer need to stay together.
She had hoped that her husband would change, despite seeing that he was stubborn for so long. But now she was losing hope and decided to let him do whatever he wanted.
She was so shocked when she saw Ms. Zhang kneeling down in front of her, begging her for money the previous day.
That was so horrifying!
The second section of the family would get more and more greedy in the future. It was all because her husband, who was the Eldest Brother, believed that he had the responsibility of taking care of them.
But Ms. Zhang was not in the same generation as they were. Then, how could she be so shameless to come to her with this request?
Was her husband going to take care of his own brothers as well as their children? Ms. Zhang dared to do so only because she had learned that from her in-laws. She also believed that the first section of the family should take care of everyone from the second section of the family.
She had not lived a smooth life for decades, and could forget what happened in the past. But she was never going to allow such things to happen to her children.
She had to cut off the tendency right here and now.
It was good that her children were all nice people.
After Ms. Qiao married her son, the whole family started to get better.
Her husband did not dare to make Ms. Qiao do whatever he wanted, after all she was from a noble family.
When her husband could not make Ms. Qiao do what he wanted, then he would not be able to make the others do whatever he wanted.
Ms. Fang felt refreshed in her mind. Ms. Qiao was their lucky star.
After hearing the truth, Ms. Zhang staggered back to her home, wanting to console her parents and make an explanation.
However, her mother, who was feeling so regretful about the money, snapped at Ms. Zhang. "Do you have any money with you?"
got startled and said in a small voice, "No… No I don't."
"Then, get out of here!" She barked. "You are useless! I raised you because I wanted you to help us! We don't need such a useless person like you here!"
Ms. Zhang cried, yet she did not have the chance to defend herself, before getting driven out by her mother.
Ms. Zhang had no choice but to cry all the way back home.
She thought for a while and rushed to the first section of the Shao Family.
"Eldest Aunt, it was you who told my mother-in-law to steal the money from my home, right? How could you do that?"
Ms. Fang sneered. "Was that your mother's money? I told your mother-in-law to get back what belonged to her. That is not stealing. You have to make a clear distinction between right and wrong.."
Chapter 298: Treatment
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Zhang cried pitifully. "My brother's wife is going to give birth soon. How can we support the baby without money? My family isn't as rich as your family, and I did that because I had no choice. How could you not understand my difficulty?"
"Every family has problems. Work hard and you will get it through, Why doesn't your brother work? Your husband's family have to support your family, Ms. Zhang, you are so stupid!"
"Anyways, that is not my business. You can do whatever you want, why did you get us involved? I won't let that happen!"
"Just tell your in-laws to stop fooling your Eldest Uncle. Your Eldest Uncle doesn't have the decision making authority in this house. You might as well work hard to earn money instead!"
Ms. Zhang could not understand it. She cried but did not dare to hate Ms. Niu. So she started to blame Ms. Fang and the first section for what she did.
She hated them so much. She hated it when Ms. Fang gave Ms. Niu the bad idea.
Her brother had been physically weak since he was young and he had never worked before. He would die if he was asked to work.
What if he got sick and hurt his body?
He was the only son of the Zhang Family and he should be completely fine all the time!
His sisters ought to take care of him!
Also, she knew that Ms. Niu had much more than five liang. She had given birth to two children for the Shao Family. Why couldn't she get some bonus?
How could they treat her like this…
The son's wedding gifts and the daughter's dowry could just cancel each other out!
When Ms. Zhang left, she ran into Qiao Xuan and Taotao who had just picked the wolfberry sprouts and two yams and brought them home. She sneered with hostility in her tone. "You are so lucky, Fifth Sister-in-law. You are loved because you have money, and you don't need to do anything."
Qiao Xuan became annoyed. What was she talking about?
'I did not irritate you! Also, it is you who caused all the problems, isn't it?'
She had no plans to start an argument with Ms. Zhang regarding this boring topic. So, she went away with Taotao.
Ms. Zhang felt even worse and glared at her.
The day was finally getting hotter.
The blue sky was clear, the air was so clean that there was no dust flying, and all the plants and trees seemed to be fresher, greener and vibrant.
Qiao Xuan spared some time to visit the floral field and used her superpower to make the flowers and plants grow even more vividly.
The flowers would soon bloom in a couple of days.
Then, they could continue with the making of lipsticks.
After a few days, Shao Yunduan was going to Minghua College and Qiao Xuan wanted to follow along to the town.
She was going to sell the remaining filtered honey to Manager Qin, before heading to the agent to buy some more fields at the Zhang Village to plant tea leaves trees.
Shao Yunduan agreed.
After breakfast, they rented a bullock cart and headed out.
Shao Sanlang smiled. "Fifth Brother, I would like to go into the town with
Xiaoyi, should we go together?"
Yang Xiaoni looked excited and hopeful. Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Qiao Xuan. "Fifth Sister-in-law, I have never been to the town.. I would like to go and have a look at it!"
Chapter 299: Random Talk
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shao Xiaoqi and Taotao also came there and stood.
Both of them had been to the town numerous times, but it was bustling there and they would like to visit again.
Qiao Xuan smiled at Shao Yunduan. "What about all of us going there…"
Before Shao Yunduan could respond, everybody cheered.
"Okay, okay, let everyone head there!"
"Great! We promise not to run around!"
"Also, we can talk on the way there to keep everyone entertained."
"Brother Sanlang, I want to buy some good food to eat..
Shao Yunduan smiled helplessly. "Okay, okay, let's go."
Qiao Xuan whispered to him. "We should go separately later. We have to visit Zhang Village and check out our place."
Shao Yunduan nodded. "Okay…"
They had just stepped out when Ms. Zhang came over after finishing the laundry by the riverside.
Although what happened the day before disgusted everyone, and they all pretended not to see her, someone said, "Second Sister-in-law!"
Ms. Zhang showed a sneering look. "Is everyone heading to town? Rich people…
I wonder how much longer can Fifth Sister-in-law's dowry last.
It basically meant that the first section of the family was using Qiao Xuan's dowry and spending her money.
Worse, Qiao Xuan was cheering them on like a stupid person.
Having said the words, Ms. Zhang stood still.
Shao Sanlang could not help but respond. "Second Sister-in-law, you are wrong, we are not using Fifth Sister-in-law's dowry."
Yang Xiaoni pursed her lips and supported her husband. "True!"
Shao Yunduan added. "Where did you get this idea from? You better not talk
like this without evidence."
Ms. Zhang sneered.
Qiao Xuan smiled and felt helpless. "Actually, I don't understand why there are always people who consider me to be a stupid person and worry about my dowry all the time? It doesn't have to be like this!"
Ms. Zhang felt stuffy in her chest and could not give any response. She felt a bit dumb.
Seeing the two jars on the cart, she suddenly asked. "What is this?"
She reached out to pick up the lid.
No one had expected that she would be like this. They were all startled and failed to stop her.
Ms. Zhang removed the lid and felt the scent of sweetness coming to her nose.
She could not help but swallow down her saliva. Her eyes widened. "This is honey!"
Ms. Zhang could not hide her happiness. "Where did you get all this honey?" Shao Sanlang was the one who responded. "Found in the mountains!"
They were heading into the town with honey. So Ms. Zhang said, "You are selling it in the town."
All of them had a weird expression on her face. Why had they not stopped Ms. Zhang earlier?
Qiao Xuan nodded and said openly, "Yes, it can get us a lot of money when sold in the clinic!"
Ms. Zhang's teeth clenched and she glared at Qiao Xuan.
Shao Yunduan defended Qiao Xuan and said politely, "Anything else you want to say? If not, we are leaving."
Ms. Zhang snorted and said nothing more.
Shao Sanlang continued walking towards the cart.
"Second Sister-in-law will definitely tell Second Uncle and Second Aunt. What should we do now?" Shao Taotao felt quite worried.
They exchanged a look among themselves and felt the same.
Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Doesn't matter. Actually, they will sooner or later know about what is going on with our family.. But so what! What can they do about.
Chapter 300: In Town
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
They were all startled.
But Shao Yunduan smiled. "Yes. We are earning money, not stealing or robbing anyone, so we don't have to be afraid of our secret getting revealed.
Qiao Xuan nodded. "Very true!"
She was just worried about the Qiao Family, not the Shao Family. They had kept it a secret only because they wanted to avoid some unnecessary trouble.
If it was known, it would not matter either.
Shao Sanlang and the others felt assured and nodded. Soon, they started to talk cheerfully as well.
Shao Yunduan accompanied them to Mingren Tang, said a few words and then headed to Minghua College.
Qiao Xuan sold the honey to Manager Qin at the price as before – 70 won for half a kilo, and they received 4-5 qian for the 30 kilos.
They were given nine qian respectively, excluding Qiao Xuan.
Ms. Fang had told them that they did not need to hand in this little money any more and they could keep it.
This was not a small amount, and they were all excited as they headed towards the street for shopping.
"We have decided to buy some snacks, what do you think?" Shao Sanlang was actually trying to drive away Qiao Xuan and the other two followers.
He wanted to spend the time alone with his wife so that they could go shopping for food.
Qiao Xuan nodded and decided to quit as the third wheel. She said, "We will buy some garments. You both can look around."
The couple had been waiting for this sentence to come and added. "Okay, okay!
We can go shopping separately and gather here for lunch, what do you think? What about finding a good restaurant to eat in?"
The three of them nodded. Shao Sanlang told Shao Xiaoqi to take good care of Taotao and Fifth Sister-in-law. "We will buy some meat for tonight and tomorrow. You don't need to buy any!"
Qiao Xuan volunteered to become the chef for tonight. She added. "Then, buy a piece of pork belly, a pork rib, and two elbows. Last time, some rice noodles were left. Half of the pork belly would be made into double-cooked pork, the other half would be steamed, the elbow would be cooked into sweet and sour, and the rest would be served with the spare ribs. The remaining stuff can be eaten tomorrow."
Shao Sanlang and the couple could not help but drool. "Okay, let's do as Fifth Sister-in-law says."
Then, the two teams went their separate ways as per their own shopping plan.
Before lunch, they gathered at Mingren Tang with many shopping bags. Qiao Xuan even got some pastries for Mingren Tang and the two pageboys to eat so they could place their stuff there for the time being.
Manager Qin did not reject them. He received them passionately.
The five of them went into the restaurant for lunch.
Shao Yunduan was still at the college and did not join them.
Yang Xiaoni was at a restaurant for the first time and she was very excited about it. She believed that the dishes at the restaurant would be very tasty.
But Qiao Xuan could make equally good ones.
After lunch they went back to Mingren Tang and waited.
Shao Yunduan came over and went away with Qiao Xuan.
It was very easy to buy mountain fields. The agent took them to the Zhang
Village and spoke with the Land Officer about it, and the deal was done quickly.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan did not show up in person, but let the agent speak with the Land Officer, telling him that it was some relatives who were buying. The agent did not figure out why he was supposed to say that but his mouth remained sealed. He didn't ask about anything even though he was curious.. He just cared about the money!