Chapter 341: Showing Off
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Parents-in-law, Concubine Du, your words are reasonable. I will bear them in mind…'
Qiao Xuan found it funny that her husband had started to become sneaky!
He bore those words in mind but he did not accept the suggestion.
Officer Qiao instantly lost interest in Shao Yunduan.
What could a Cultivated Talent do? A Cultivated Talent might be quite admirable at the village, but for him, a Cultivated Talent was nothing.
If Shao Yunduan was just a Cultivated Talent, he would likely remain this for the rest of his life. He was not going to waste any more energy on a man like him.
Officer Qiao got up. "You can sit here if you want to, and have some lunch." Then he left, not offering them any reason why he was leaving.
Seeing this, Madame Qiao got even more happier. She chuckled at them and said, "You can stay for lunch before heading back home!"
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look and nodded.
Neither of them was interested in the lunch, nor were they invited with a sincere heart, but they still decided to stay for politeness' sake, otherwise they would be pointed at by the people in the mansion.
The couple had the same thought. They did not want to cause any trouble for themselves.
Madame Qiao ordered the servants to take Shao Yunduan to have a seat in the hall whilst turning to Qiao Kou. "Your Second Sister is barely home, you can take her to your room for a while."
"Okay, Mother!" Qiao Xuan nodded with a smile and guided Qiao Xuan to her room.
The yard was not very large. Madame Qiao had a separate yard, so did Qiao Wei. But Concubine Du and Qiao Kou shared one.
Qiao Kou did not like Qiao Xuan, nor did she have any interest in receiving her. But as she thought about how she could show off in front of the girl, she was very willing to bring Qiao Xuan over.
She sized up Qiao Xuan, who was dressed in an ordinary garment. She guessed that she had not worn expensive silk clothes for a long while and was not wearing any jewelry!
She had not eaten any snacks or good tea for a while too, right?
As she thought about this, Qiao Kou realized that it was worth the while to suck up to the lineal mother and sister.
After the meeting was dismissed, Qiao Wei took Liu Yan back to her room and asked her about what she had experienced at the Shao Family.
Liu Yan had no choice but narrated the story according to what Qiao Xuan had told her.
Hearing that the Shao Family shared one rotten and shabby house with just a few rooms and that Qiao Xuan had to work in the field and mountains, Qiao Wei and the maids were all laughing loudly.
"That serves her right!"
Qiao Wei suddenly felt rather glad, and snorted. "Qiao Kou keeps talking nonsense. I know that a fragile and weak person like Qiao Xuan would achieve nothing! Anyway, you can stay here. You don't need to go to the Shao Family any more."
Qiao Wei did not care about the Shao Family or Qiao Xuan. She could give out a maid and take her back whenever she felt like it. What could Qiao Xuan do?
"Okay, Elder Miss, thank you so much!"
Liu Yan was startled and thanked her happily. But she somehow felt very empty-hearted.
She had been looking forward to seeing this day happen the moment she arrived at the Shao Family, but when the day finally came, she was not very happy but started to miss her time there.
Qiao Wei did not sense that. She would never care about a maid and continued to laugh at Qiao Xuan for a while longer before ordering them to get Qiao Xuan and Qiao Kou over to her place.
Qiao Xuan was speechless when she saw Qiao Kou showing off in front of her for a long while..
Chapter 342: Lipsticks
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Wei let out a sigh of relief when someone came to fetch her.
She and Shao Yunduan had behaved well and showed no leaks, so Qiao Xuan did not think that Qiao Wei would do anything to her, apart from showing off.
But Qiao Kou would help, so what she needed to do was to display no expression.
Sure enough, Qiao Wei was acting the same as Qiao Kou. She laughed at her
and kept showing off her clothes and jewelry.
Qiao Xuan occasionally gave a jealous look, which was noticed by Qiao Wei who became even prouder.
But Qiao Xuan had a slight change when Qiao Wei showed off the one lipstick she had bought outside. Qiao Kou had a jealous look on her face this time.
Qiao Wei had got one! Seven liang for one lipstick was too much for Madame Qiao to give all the time.
But she had one of each color, and Ms. Xu, Yang Xiaoni and Taotao all had one for each other too!
Qiao Kou kept asking her proudly. "You know what it is?"
Qiao Xuan tried her best not to reveal her look and laugh. She cooperated. "Umm, what… is it?"
"I knew you would not know about it!" Qiao Kou looked even prouder. She was jealous of Qiao Wei having bought lipstick but Madame Qiao and her father refused to buy her one.
But seeing Qiao Xuan not knowing what that was, she felt happy.
"This is called lipstick, same as lip brush, but more handy and high-level." Qiao Kou said with a proud tone, "It can only be bought in the province. It is sold at the Yuezheng Family's store, limited in quantity, very popular but not easily bought."
She turned to Qiao Wei and said with a flattering look on her, "You are lucky, Sister, to have got one. Only someone like you can have a thing like this!" Qiao Xuan was quiet. Qiao Kou really knew how to suck up to her sister.
But Qiao Wei was very glad. She snorted and said proudly, "That is true. I heard that there are many different colors, and I want to buy one of each color!"
Qiao Kou added with a smile. "Many people will get so jealous of you. I am sure Mother will buy you as many as you want. So sad that someone can't even understand what it is!"
Qiao Xuan.
She glanced at Qiao Kou quickly with compassion. If they knew that the lipsticks were produced by her, they would get so jealous as to eat her up.
Good that she had predicted this!
She had kept it as a secret and was going to keep the secret for a long while!
When they were done showing off, it was time to eat lunch.
Madame Qiao had no interest in receiving them, and asked Concubine Du to receive them.
Concubine Du did not like Qiao Xuan either, and left after telling the kitchen and the servants what they should serve.
Therefore, only Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were at the table.
The original host would have been annoyed and felt sad and bullied.
But Qiao Xuan did not care. She even consoled Shao Yunduan, who consoled her back, though he felt that she was treated so unfairly. He was really concerned about her..
Chapter 343: For Festival
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The couple had fun during lunch.
After all, it was lunch provided by the parents and they should eat it well.
After lunch, the couple waved goodbye and left.
Officer Qiao was nowhere to be seen, and he would not bother seeing them off, nor would anyone else.
The couple loved the way it was handled, and left the Qiao Family smoothly.
As for Liu Yan… they had not seen her since they walked into the mansion, and Qiao Xuan seemed to have forgotten about her existence.
Shao Yunduan took hold of Qiao Xuan's hands gently as he said in a mild yet irritated voice, "I will definitely hit the high level of the examination and they would never be able to bully you ever after that!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "They are just strangers in my eyes and their well-being has nothing to do with me! I believe that you will make it, but don't get too stressed about it. Stay calm, just calm!"
You could never hit the goal if you were too hasty or stressed.
Shao Yunduan smiled and felt relaxed. "Don't worry, I know what to do!"
He paused before adding. "Let's go home!"
Qiao Xuan smiled and looked at him with a pair of sparkling eyes. "Okay, let's go home!"
Soon it was Mid-autumn Day and they made mooncakes as well as many delicious dishes.
They killed the duck to make crispy duck, bought the lamb chops to make pan-fried lamb chops, as well as crispy roasted pork with the braised hoof and the golden brown and crispy skin.
The fish and shrimp in the river were quite plump at this time. Two days before the Mid-Autumn Day, Qiao Xuan and Shao Xiaoqi went to catch fish. They got a lot of fish, and they were lucky enough to get two soft-shell turtles.
On the Mid-Autumn Day, dishes such as braised eel segments, prawns in tomato sauce, boiled fish filets, and crispy small river fish were served on the table.
The whole family celebrated the day together.
What Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan had not expected was that Yuezheng Xiao also had some presents delivered to them.
The gifts included exquisitely-made mooncakes at the store in the province, six jars of fine liquor as well as several other snacks and pastries, fresh fruits, lotus roots and water chestnuts.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan accepted them happily, especially lotus roots and water chestnuts, which Qiao Xuan was very satisfied with.
Lotus roots were delicious while making cold dishes, stewed soup, or even when they were fried. Water chestnuts could also be fried, but it was more delicious when they were steamed.
The fruits at Qiao Xuan's yard had ripened too.
Jujubes, pears, grapes, pomegranates were the common ones, and she expected that Yuezheng Xiao would not be too interested in them, so she picked four large bergamots.
The bergamot, which grew up under the care of her superpower, were particularly stylish and beautiful. They were huge, with long and straight claws, beautiful at the first glance. The golden color simply had no flaws.
The scent given out was very nice too.
It held a special significance in Buddhism, prepared by madames and ladies of rich families. It was not easy to buy things like these.
In addition to the bergamot, the figs were also ripe, and the branches were covered with dense fruit. Qiao Xuan picked two full baskets and gave them to
Qu Shan.
There were fresh mushrooms and wooden ears as well.
All of them were produced at her home, not very easy to buy.
After the Mid-Autumn Day, the days became colder. The rice was growing well and could be harvested within a month's time.
They got more than 10 kgs of honey wax from the honey in the floral field, which was enough for the lipsticks to be processed..
Chapter 344: Harvest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The honey would be kept for themselves to eat, or saved as presents after selling more than 50 kgs to Mingren Tang.
The other medical herbs were growing well, but they could only be harvested every third year.
With Qiao Xuan's superpower, they could be harvested every second year. But she did not want to overdo it, otherwise it would be too unreasonable.
The gastrodia dug from the mountains had already grown. After speaking with Manager Qin, Qiao Xuan asked Ms. Xu to harvest more than one mu of it.
The gastrodia grew very well, and they had harvested more than 500 kgs from one mu.
It was of great quality too.
They obtained more than 2,300 liang at one go.
Manager Qin got so happy and expressed that they should sell as many of these plants as possible in the future.
Qiao Xuan gave Ms. Fang 200 liang and 150 liang to everyone except for Eldest Uncle. Qi and Taotao got the biggest portion whilst Shao Dalang and Shao Sanlang as well as their wives received an equal amount.
Everyone was very happy, and Ms. Xu could not help but start to count the money she had saved in the room.
Yang Xiaoni and Shao Sanlang got so excited that they talked about going into the town and buying some food to eat. But before they were done with discussion, Ms. Fang took away half of the savings and saved it up.
Qiao Xuan counted her savings and found that she had 6,300 liang in total.
Good… Qiao Xuan smiled. It had indeed been a great year.
The roses could still bloom two times. After they bloomed, they needed to be pruned again, and her superpower could be applied to let them continue to flourish in the winter with energy. What she needed to do was to wait for the coming year when big and gorgeous flowers would grow vividly.
She needed to go back and work on the lipsticks.
Ms. Xu, Yang Xiaoni and Taotao were all ready to help Qiao Xuan with that. They were very occupied, but it was highly motivating as well.
They could earn 40 won a day! They could earn a lot already but this was another way of making money.
When the first batch of lipstick was made, the flowers were trimmed, nourished with water. Also, Qiao Xuan put some of her superpower in it. As a result, after two weeks, the last batch of the lipsticks of the year could be put into production.
She calculated and realized that they could make more than 1,500 in total.
In that way, she could get more than tens of thousands of liang in properties.
When the first batch of lipsticks were made, the rice was ready to be harvested.
Autumn harvest was a busy period and much more tiring compared to spring plowing. The most feared thing when drying the grain was the rain. But in this season, a dark cloud and a shower often came, exhausting people.
Every household was praying to Heaven to bestow good weather upon them. They would not feel relieved until they had the sun-dried grains put away in the storage.
If it rained during the sun drying, the millet would turn black, and the accumulated millet would ferment and then germinate, which was equivalent to complete waste.
During the autumn harvest, everyone was racing against time to get good weather. Therefore, even if they had money and wanted to hire someone to harvest, it was very difficult to book the laborers on time.
The first section of the family was lucky to have managed to hire people, who worked for them for two days, and the grains were all brought in.
The whole family went into the field. While Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang took care of young babies and made food at home, doing all kinds of housework, Taotao, Qi and Shao Yunduan went into the field and worked hard..
Chapter 345: Weather Forecast
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Autumn harvest differed from spring plowing. It required good timing.
Taking advantage of the good weather and the bright sun, they needed to quickly harvest the mature rice and dry it in the sun, otherwise, if it rained, especially for several days in a row, it would be a complete waste.
Qiao Xuan was a bit sorry about not having been able to develop her abilities of forecasting the weather. By sensing the sensitive changes of plants to the weather and the amount of moisture in the air, she could predict whether there would be rain or not. Now she could only predict the weather changes half a day ahead.
But that was already good enough for this time of the year.
She was able to know the future weather conditions half a day in advance, and that could help everyone perfectly avoid showers and ensure that the recovered food would not be wet by the rain.
When the grains were recovered, the rain came down the following afternoon.
Qiao Xuan hurriedly told her family more than half an hour in advance that it might rain in a while, and the rice had to be quickly gathered and covered with something, or carried to the house or under the eaves.
Ms. Fang was a bit skeptical, but Shao Yunduan stressed that Qiao Xuan knew a bit about weather forecasts, and Ms. Fang was used to trusting Qiao Xuan. Thus she followed what she was told.
Qiao Xuan thought about the other families, and told Ms. Fang asked Shao Dalang to inform the others.
It was a very important thing for them to harvest since rain would ruin everything.
Shao Dalang was honest and when he passed on the message, people tended to believe him.
Hearing what Shao Dalang said, the villagers looked up and saw the shining sun, laughing at him.
"Yunlian, you must be confused. Look at the fine weather, how can it start to rain soon?"
"Yeah, don't joke about it at this time."
"What about your own home? You can't have put the rice away!"
Shao Dalang found the message a bit confusing too. He laughed as he scratched his head. "Yeah we have, but the weather changes a lot and we need to be very careful."
When Shao Dalang was gone, everyone started to get very confused and hesitant too.
"Is it real?"
"I don't think Yunlian likes joking about…" "But what does he know? He is kind but he is not so capable."
"Yeah, let's just watch out for the weather."
Soon the wind blasted, and the sunlight faded away.
Someone's heart skipped a beat, and he started to put away the rice.
"We need to be careful about everything."
"Yeah, it seems that Yunlian is right. I think the weather is changing too."
"But isn't it a normal change, it won't rain, will it?"
So those who put away the rice had no problem with their crops because soon the rain poured down.
Those hesitant ones did not make it, and some rice was unfortunately wet.
They just hoped that the rain would not last for too long.
From that time on, some families, who had been in a good relationship with the first section of the family, kept their eyes on how the first section of the family moved. They would follow suit seeing when the first section of the family started to put away rice.
Therefore, after a while, the first section of the family became the indicator of weather.
Qiao Xuan did not stand out to say so, and when they were asked, they all said that it was Shao Yunduan who had learned that from books, and gained some knowledge about it..
Chapter 346: Teaching For Free
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The villagers suddenly felt a lot of respect for him.
"Cultivated Talent is very different from the rest of us!"
"Yeah, that is why he is a Cultivated Talent!"
"He is so smart, a Cultivated Talent knows everything!"
Due to the autumn harvest, Shao Liulang happened to be at home on the break from the college. Hearing the rumor, he felt so jealous that he sneered. "He doesn't read anything from the books, he is just trying to fool you all!"
The first section of the family was not helping the second and the third section of the family for the autumn harvest because they already owed them so much labor fees.
The second and third section of the family got really annoyed and only Eldest Uncle was willing to offer help.
Therefore, Shao Liulang was even more sour about Shao Yunduan.
But what could be done anyway?
The first section of the family was no longer helping them for free.
If thev dared to challenge them. thev would show the contract to them.
They had helped with the spring plow and would not continue to help them for free.
Shao Liulang was feeling very unconvinced. He went to Shao Yunduan and showed a fake smile. "I wonder what books you have read, Cousin. Can you loan the books to me?"
Qiao Xuan was mumbling about this annoying man inside her heart when Shao
Yunduan said calmly, "I am afraid not!"
"Why? You are so stingy!"
Shao Yunduan replied. "I came across the book when I was in the province but I did not buy it."
Shao Liulang. '
He did not trust his cousin's words. But he had no evidence to prove that Shao Yunduan was lying to him.
Shao Liulang continued in a forceful voice. "Oh, but how do you forecast the weather, what is the basis for it? Can I learn that too?"
Before Shao Yunduan said anything, Ms. Fang got quite displeased.
"Liulang, you are behaving over the top. Why must he teach you for free?"
Qiao Xuan added. "Yeah, he has mastered the skill and he is not going to teach anyone for free. You can pay him to teach you."
Shao Yunduan glanced at him and said nothing more. In silence, he agreed with what Qiao Xuan and Ms. Fang said.
Also, that made sense. He had no obligation to share his skills with others for free. Anyone who understood that would not even ask about it.
Shao Liulang snapped and said, "Then I am going to remind you, Cousin, that you are just fooling others. Be careful not to show your fox's tail!" Ms. Fang shouted. "What are you talking about?"
Shao Liulang stiffened and left the place in pretentious calmness.
Ms. Fang shouted behind his back. "Don't come to our door if you are going to continue to talk nonsense. Stay away from us, as far away as possible!"
"What kind of a man is that?!" Ms. Fang sneered. "Yunduan, just leave him alone, he is just narrow-minded and jealous."
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Don't worry, Mother. I don't care."
Qiao Xuan whispered to him. "Don't stress, I won't allow you to show your fox's tail!"
Shao Yunduan smiled and tilted his head, looking at her. "Okay."
After the autumn harvest, Qiao Xuan and Taotao continued making lipsticks.
Shao Liulang was ready to take the examination. He would make it to a Cultivated Talent if he passed it.
Ms. Ma and Third Uncle even took Shao Liulang to kowtow to the ancestors and asked for their blessings..
Chapter 347: Furious
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Ma and Third Uncle were very confident.
The reason why they were confident was that if Shao Yunduan could make it, so could their son.
Ms. Ma was quite displeased thinking that Shao Yunduan became the Cultivated Talent before her son did, so she went to Ms. Fang again and uttered a few sour words.
Ms. Fang said firmly, "My son is a Cultivated Talent anyway!"
That was a fact that could not be changed.
Ms. Ma was indeed furious.
The result was announced soon, but Shao Liulang and Third Uncle were both quite distressed after checking the result in town.
Ms. Ma's heart skipped a beat, as she forced a small smile looking at their faces. "Doesn't it look good? It is okay as long as you cleared the level!"
Shao Liulang threw her an expressionless look, snorted and returned to his room.
"Oh well…'
Ms. Ma turned to look at Third Uncle.
Before the Third Uncle was able to say anything, the Eldest Uncle asked concernedly. "How is it? Did Liulang make it?"
Third Uncle instantly burst into anger.
"Eldest Brother, you are here to joke with us and poke us in the heart, right? Your son was lucky enough to make it, and he even has a wonderful wife. You don't need to show off here!"
"What did you say?"
Eldest Uncle was shocked. He looked unconvinced and replied. "I am here because I care about Liulang!"
"You are not showing care towards us!" Third Uncle said angrily, "You are laughing at us!"
"I…" Elder Uncle's eyes widened. "But… Do you mean to say that Liulang didn't make it?"
"What?" Ms. Ma's eyes widened as she screamed. "How could that be possible? My son is so talented. How could he fail when Yunduan made it? It must be a huge mistake! "
Eldest Uncle frowned slightly at what Ms. Ma said.
But he could not complain about this. He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but then he sighed in silence. Third Uncle left in a hurry, saying nothing more.
What else could he possibly say?
Ms. Ma was still in shock, as she mumbled. "That is not possible… My son failed? But he can do anything, how can he fail?"
Eldest Uncle sighed, glanced at Ms. Ma and felt equally disturbed.
He was very happy when his son Shao Yunduan made it because that was an honor for him. But he could not show off in front of the third section of the family when Shao Liulang failed, fearing to hurt them deeply.
For some reason, he could not help but feel a bit guilty when Shao Yunduan made it but Shao Liulang did not.
He had hoped that both Shao Yunduan and Shao Liulang could make it to a high level.
But Shao Liulang failed once again.
"Sigh!" Eldest Uncle sighed, feeling distressed. No wonder his third brother snapped at him.
"Third Sister-in-law." Eldest Uncle felt that if he left without saying a thing, the situation would be even more embarrassing. So he sighed emotionally. "You don't need to be distressed. Liulang is still young and he can try again next time. Don't worry, he will definitely make it." Ms. Ma glared at Eldest Uncle. "What if he fails again?"
Eldest Uncle was startled. "What?"
Ms. Ma sneered. "Eldest Brother, don't laugh at us.. I know that you are happy that your son made it, but you can't possibly stab me in my heart, right?"
Chapter 348: Messing
Hurt and saddened? Of course, she was saddened. Liulang was young? But Yunduan was not much older than him. He was just laughing at Liulang!
Next time… but the future could never be predicted. She had decided that he was just laughing at them!
The more Ms. Ma thought about this, the angrier she became. She sneered with a sunk face. "Eldest Brother, your family is different from the past now. Your door's threshold is high now, too high for us to cross. You can go home now. You don't have to visit us any more, if you don't have anything else to say!" Eldest Uncle felt his chest hurt.
"Third Sister-in-law, I am Liulang's uncle and I really hope that he can do well."
Ms. Ma sneered and said ironically, "These words are too much for us. We don't need your hope!"
Those were fine words, but the first section of the family never did them any good during the past half a year.
Eldest Brother just wanted to have a good reputation for himself without making any contributions.
She was not going to allow that to happen.
Eldest Uncle was shocked. He felt his heart breaking.
He moved his lips and said nothing more. He finally left with a sigh.
The moment Eldest Uncle left, Ms. Niu came and smiled. "Hey, did your son make it?"
Ms. Ma threw her a fierce look.
"Oh god." Ms. Niu clapped, feeling sorry. "That is a pity!"
That was not what she actually felt in her heart. She was actually cheering happily.
This was excellent!
Otherwise only her family would lack a Cultivated Talent, and it would be bad.
Seeing Ms. Ma's long face, Ms. Niu came up with an idea and smiled. "Don't be sad about it, your son studies hard and he should have made it. It must have been sheer luck due to which it didn't happen." Ms. Ma glared at Ms. Niu, looking distressed.
She hated to hear those words.
Before she said anything, Ms. Niu winked and said, "Hey, Ms. Qiao's father is County Magistrate. Maybe you can ask her for help. Perhaps she can speak with her father and help your son a little. Maybe your son passed the examination, but they made a mistake while evaluating his paper…"
Ms. Ma's eyes brightened.
Her heart started to throb.
"Yeah… my son must have passed, but they made a mistake while going through the paper, it must have been like that!"
Ms. Ma grabbed Third Uncle's arm and said, "Hey, hey!"
Ms. Niu pursed her lips. She felt quite glad that Ms. Ma was convinced.
The first section of the family was so annoying and she should cause them some trouble.
But she needed to follow along. If Ms. Qiao did ask her father to help the third section of the family, then she needed to stop her.
Soon, Ms. Ma and Third Uncle came out and Ms. Niu tagged along. "Let's go to the first section of the family!"
"Let's go!"
Hearing that Shao Liulang and Third Uncle had gone home after receiving the result, Ms. Fang said after a moment, "Yo, Liulang fails again."
Qiao Xuan laughed. "How do you know, Mom?"
"Of course." Ms. Fang said naturally, "They would have come to us a long time ago showing off and spreading the news across the whole village!"
Startled, Qiao Xuan thought about it and nodded with a chuckle.. "You are totally right, Mom!"
Chapter 349: Wasted Money
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Fang sighed emotionally. "Why didn't he make it? I thought he would. He has been devoted to studies for so long and has spent so much money. What more can he do after he has failed so many times?
Ms. Fang did not like them, but she never wished anything bad for them.
On the contrary, she wished that they could live a happy life so that her family could be left alone.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Mom, my husband is the only Cultivated Talent in the whole village, so I am sure that it is never easy to become one. If that was an easy task, the title would not be so valuable any more."
As for what Shao Liulang would do if he kept failing, Qiao Xuan did not dwell on it. It had nothing to do with her!
Ms. Fang smiled as she heard her daughter-in-law. "True!"
But soon she felt concerned. "But so much money was spent on him. It is very costly to cultivate a student…"
They were just talking when Ms. Niu, Ms. Ma and Third Uncle rushed into the house.
"Eldest Sister-in-law!" Ms. Ma looked as if she had seen a savior and the light at the end of a tunnel. She rushed towards Ms. Fang and took hold of her hand tightly. 'Eldest Sister-in-law, you have to help us right now. I will do anything for you if you help us!'
"Oh…" Ms. Fang was quite shocked and pulled her hand out. "Third Sister-in-law, what is going on?
'Eldest Sister-in-law!" Third Uncle sighed as they walked in and took a seat.
"My son has been working very hard on his studies, right? You have witnessed
"Yes, our son has always been devoted to his studies and the teachers at the college speak well of him!"
As they were talking, Eldest Uncle, Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan as well as the other members of the first section of the family gathered together as well.
Everyone was very curious as to what was going on. After all, Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma never liked Ms. Fang. So, what made Ms. Ma promise to do anything for them? Something big must be going on!
Third Uncle said, "But Liulang failed at the examination. How could that be possible?!"
Ms. Ma nodded constantly. 'Yes, even your son made it, and our son should have made it too! I mean… our son is smart, devoted and he couldn't have failed like this!"
Ms. Fang felt quite uncomfortable hearing that she was speaking ill of her son. She sneered inwardly, knowing that the couple must be up to no good.
Doing anything for her? That was impossible They would never change what their character was from within.
"You are here to tell me this? Well, I don't know anything about it. What is the point of telling me about it?"
Eldest Uncle added. "Yeah, Third Brother and Sister-in-law, Liulang is still young and he will definitely make it in the future. Don't stress him too much!"
Third Uncle and Ms. Ma did not like what they heard.
Yeah, your son had made it so you could say whatever you wanted.
If your son had failed, you would not have said something like this.
Third Uncle said, "Elder Brother, Elder Sister-in-law, we don't believe that Liulang really failed. We suspect that his paper has been wrongly judged. Hence, could the Fifth Niece-in-law just tell her father Officer Qiao to check the paper for us?
"We are a family, and if Llulang makes it and has a promising future, we will pay back this favor to Officer Qiao!'
Chapter 350: Talk With Senior People
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Third Uncle was worried that what had been said was not straightforward enough, so he clarified again. "Of course, we won't let Officer Qiao do that for free, we will prepare enough presents to thank him!"
He almost said that he wanted Officer Qiao to cheat by helping add Shao Liulangs name to the list.
Ms. Fang and Eldest Uncle had not expected that Third Uncle and Ms. Ma would have thought about such a method. They, for a moment, had no idea what the family was talking about.
Shao Yunduan's facial expressions changed and he said coldly, "Are you crazy, Third Uncle and Third Aunt?"
Eldest Uncle immediately reacted. "Yunduan, what are you talking about?"
They were already in a bad mood since their son failed the examination and he was just adding fuel to the oil!
Shao Yunduan said coldly, "Dad, have you understood what they mean? They are trying to make Officer Qiao cheat by adding Liulang's name on the list. That is crazy! If it is revealed, Liulang will never be able to attend any examination in the future, and Officer Qiao will lose his job, and he may be imprisoned too! You think this is a minor thing?"
Ms. Fang shouted furiously. "You are just mental, how can you even think about this?"
Ms. Ma was shocked but still replied. "You don't need to frighten us, it is not that serious! I just… I just think that the paper is erroneously judged. It is a situation where a wrong needs to be made right!"
Shao Yunduan responded in a clear voice. "If you really think that the paper is wrongly marked, you can send the paper to the government office and ask the authority there to do a re-examination. Officer Qiao can't make this decision. If you don't believe me, you can ask your son yourselves!"
Going to the government office?
That was not possible!
They would not be okay heading to a strange city in the province. Also, Ms. Ma did not think that it would work out favorably for them.
That was not a place for people like them to be at.
Hence, she still insisted. "It means that they can re-check the paper right? That is reasonable, isn't it?"
As long as Officer Qiao was willing to offer the help, they could find any kind of excuse to do so, no one would dare counter that.
Also Ms. Ma was confident that her son must have been wrongly-judged on the paper.
Third Uncle was also somehow confident. 'Yes, as long as Officer Qiao can extend a hand, we can definitely make it. Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, please, this is about Shao Liulangs future, we are begging you!'
Shao Yunduan did not have any idea what more to say, but sneered. "You think it is very easy to re-check the paper? If it was an easy thing, every participant would do so, and the whole situation would get messy. I told you, the officer and scholars should join forces to re-check the paper. Maybe, some learned people would come forward and take a look at it as well. If there is any problem with it, then it would be Officer Qiao's fault not to have recruited the right talents and get seriously punished. If the result is the same, your son will be hit and forbidden to participate in the examination again in the future.
Who told you that Officer Qiao has the right to make that call?"
"If you don't believe me, you can go to the office and ask about it!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "He is right. It is a huge thing if a mistake on the paper is done, and any wrong result can cause someone's death. You must be mental to have suspected the fairness of the recruitment."
Ms. Ma was not convinced. "You are just frightening us!'
"Then you can go and visit the province yourself!" Qiao Xuan sneered.. "You
have nothing to lose, right?"
Chapter 351: Not Waking Up
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"You can't just go to the county, you have to go to the province! Oh, if you don't believe me, you can go to the county office first and see if you return after some punishment."
Eldest Uncle frowned at Qiao Xuan. He was very displeased by what Qiao Xuan said. She sounded quite impolite.
He moved his lips but said nothing eventually.
Ms. Fang was really furious by this point. She got up and started to drive them away. "Just leave us alone, one more word and you will get out of the family. If you want to get yourself killed, do so. Don't drag us down!"
Shao Yunduan said, "What about first asking your son what he wants?"
Qiao Xuan could not help but add. "You keep saying that your son is smart and devoted, good at studies, but did the teacher tell you all of these things personally?"
How could they be so confident that Shao Liulang failed because his paper had been wrongly judged?
Third Uncle was startled and almost jumped after what he heard. "What do you mean?
"I mean what I said." Qiao Xuan pursed her lips, "I won't believe what I don't see or hear myself."
Shao Yunduan almost burst into laughter but tugged at Qiao Xuan. "Alright, let's just drop it."
He knew pretty well whether the teacher spoke highly of Shao Liulang, and whether Shao Liulang was smart and devoted, as he claimed.
But he was not going to tell the truth to the public since his cousin wanted to brag about his non -existent skills.
After all, he would not be able to offer any evidence to the family.
They might even call him jealous.
But Qiao Xuan was so straightforward that she said it out loud.
Third Uncle snapped. "Don't you dare slander our son just because you are jealous of him!"
Qiao Xuan rolled her eyes and countered. "My husband is already a Cultivated Talent and he is going to the next level next year. What am I jealous of?"
Jealous of you who will never make it to a Cultivated Talent?
"You!"
Elder Uncle's heart almost skipped a beat. "Just drop it, Ms. Qiao!'
His brother and sister-in-law were already having a bad time and Ms. Qiao kept poking their wounds! They were going to end up having a fight!
Qiao Xuan was not afraid of Eldest Uncle.
Instead, she said, "Dad, I am just reminding Third Uncle and Third Aunt out of kindness. They can believe me if they want to. I didn't want to tell them this much nor did I have the intention of arguing with them because there is no point in arguing about this. I am not that bored, after all, to go to Minghua College and ask about this."
Eldest Uncle. '
Ms. Qiao's words could always annoy him!
Ms. Fang laughed and nodded and said, "Ms. Qiao is totally right!'
She was not mocking them, but the third section of the family had been way over the top in their conduct and she just could not help it.
Ms. Ma snapped. "Why ask the teachers at college? Yunduan is here… Yunduan, just tell us if the teachers speak highly of your cousin and call him devoted and learned or not."
Shao Yunduan. '
He really did not want to tell lies.
"I only focus on my own studies. I am not sure if the teachers have spoken highly of my cousin. If you want to know about it, just ask him yourself.."
Chapter 352: Shao Liulang's Uncertainty
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"What do you mean?
Third Uncle asked him with force.
He panicked for some reason. He subconsciously felt that what Qiao Xuan said was right, but he just could not accept it.
Feeling confused, Third Uncle glared at Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan, sneering. "You can just put it straightforwardly that you don't want to help us. Why do you still accuse my son? You are just jealous, and you just don't want him to become good!"
"Just wait and see! Proverb says that rain takes turns in pouring down, you can be as proud as you want, but my son will become far more excellent than you!' Ms. Ma snorted. "True! Let's see whose turn it is to beg in the future!"
Ms. Fang felt so annoyed when hearing their impolite words to her son. She snapped. "Then let's see what happens. No matter what happens to my son, I will never turn to you for help! Anyways, we have never turned to you for any help ever!"
Third Uncle got so annoyed that he ignored Ms. Fang and shouted at Ms. Ma. "Let's just go!'
Ms. Niu chuckled as she watched the whole show. Then she left with the couple of the third section of the family.
Ms. Fang glared at Eldest Uncle. "Look at your brother's family, what kind of people are they? Yunduan is better than Liulang, so what? They can speak highly of their son if they want to, but why must they talk down to our Yunduan?"
"I do hope that everyone can live a good life, but they don't wish so. They hope that we will have a hard life so we can turn to them for help!"
"But honestly, if that day really comes, do you think that they will help you?
Having said that, Ms. Fang left angrily without waiting for Eldest Uncle's
Shao Yunduan left along with Qiao Xuan.
The others all dispersed into different directions as well.
Eldest Uncle, '
Eldest Uncle felt his heart breaking down. He had done nothing wrong, but why did he feel that everyone else believed that he had done something wrong?
What had he done wrong? He was just feeling sorry for his Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law!
He was their family and he should feel sympathetic towards them, right? It was not good to laugh at them or counter them, no?
When it came to the third section of the family, Ms. Ma got so annoyed that she cursed Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan.
The couple knocked at Shao Liulang's door and asked him about what happened.
Both of them talked one by one and they exaggerated certain things to make the story sound reasonable.
After a long while, Shao Liulang finally understood what they were talking about.
He could not help but feel moved.
Yes, he was very confident about his abilities, but why did he fail again? Maybe the paper was wrongly judged after all?
If the paper could be re-checked, he might make it to the next level?
Seeing the expression on his face, Ms. Ma got excited and snapped. "Ms. Qiao and my nephew are just liars. They keep frightening us and saying that we can't do this unless we want trouble coming to us. They just don't allow us to flourish!"
Shao Liulang brought himself back and his face changed.
"Just forget about it, the results can't be changed once they are out." Third Uncle and Ms. Ma found what he said even more motivating.
They could not forget about it but got increasingly driven.
Forced, Shao Liulang had to spill the truth. Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan were totally right…
"Just forget about it, it isn't a good deal. Officers are not that easy to speak to..
What if they pick on us? We are just civilians, unable to counter them…"
Chapter 353: Mountain In Autumn
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Third Uncle and Ms. Ma both fell silent.
They were quite taken aback.
Ms. Ma burst into tears. "Ah, then what can we do? Poor Liulang, your paper has been wrongly judged, how terrible it is!"
Shao Liulang also looked as if that was true.
Third Uncle hesitated for a moment and asked discreetly, rubbing his hands. "Liulang, just tell me the truth, how are you doing in college? What knowledge have you obtained? Do teachers speak highly of you often?"
Shao Liulang felt quite confused, wondering what his father was talking about that he asked these questions all of a sudden.
Ms. Ma could not hold a secret but said angrily, "Shao Yunduan and Ms. Qiao say that you are just bragging about being spoken highly of by the teachers.
The teachers couldn't have ignored you but turned to him instead, right?"
Shao Liulang's face changed as he said coldly, "Just ignore what they told you! They just wish that we are worse than them. What good things can come out of their mouths?"
"That is true!"
"Alright, alright, I need a break, just leave me alone."
"But…'
"Just leave me alone!"
Shao Liulang pushed his parents out of the room, and shut the door.
He let out a breath, feeling his cheeks heat up.
He managed to lie to his parents, but felt quite uncertain inwardly.
Why was Shao Yunduan saying this about him? He was plain lucky to have reached where he was, and he was not in a position to accuse him of anything!
Shao Liulang clenched his teeth angrily.
After grains went into the granary, and the last batch of lipsticks of the year were ready, the weather became much cooler. The leaves on the mountain were also gradually changing color and falling. The color-changing trees were mixed in the evergreen green mountains and forests, which was very beautiful.
Qiao Xuan did a count. They had 1,536 lipsticks in total with four different colors by now.
She decided to produce one batch of lip balms.
It was much easier to make lip balms, but the remaining beeswax was only enough for around 1 000 pieces, according to her experience.
They could not get any more beeswax in autumn because soon winter was coming and the bees were all busy preparing for the winter.
They had to wait for the spring next year to make more lipsticks.
For Qiao Xuan and those who were good at it, lip balms were much easier to make compared to lipsticks, more handy.
The four of them made 150 pieces within one day.
After three days, they slowed down the pace.
Many things started to ripen in the mountains when autumn came, and Qiao Xuan was eager to pay a visit there.
The grapes in her garden were also ripe. According to Shao Xiaoqi and Taotao, they were bigger than the original wild grapes growing on the mountain, and they were also sweeter and far more delicious.
In fact, the wild grapes in the mountains were relatively small, but the ones in her garden were all big bunches.
Qiao Xuan was glad that her superpower helped her with all such things.
Everyone didn't think it was too strange. They just assumed that the grapes grew well because they often took good care of them and fertilized them, so that they could grow better than the wild ones.
In addition to the wild grapes, the dates, pomegranates, and lemons in the garden were also ripe. The persimmons were still a little bit sour, but they would soon ripen.
This season was the time when the wild grapes were present the most in the mountains. Qiao Xuan wanted to get some more. She was going to wash them, drain them, and mash them into large porcelain jars, to let them ferment naturally to make some wine.
It was a pity that the mountain grapes were not big enough, but the core was not small, otherwise they could have tried to convert them into raisins.
There were many mushrooms, which also grew in autumn. Those were picked to be dried, and they should be delicious when eaten..
Chapter 354: Into Mountains Again
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan had been thinking about the creeping figs and expected that they would be ripe by this point.
Each fruit was slightly larger than an egg. They could pick it and bring out a pack of finely crushed seeds from inside, and dry it in the sun. When they wanted to eat the jelly, they could wash it with water and let it condense.
They could break the transparent jelly in a bowl, add some sugar water, a little mint juice, and some other nuts. That was the taste she had been thinking about for a long time.
When the work in the farm wasn't that heavy, Shao Dalang and Ms. Xu and others waited for Qiao Xuan to go into the mountain together.
Shao Yunduan also wanted to take a break from his studies, so he offered to tag along.
Qiao Xuan got quite motivated being in the environment where she was surrounded by plants.
Since it was autumn when the liveliness wasn't that strong, she was slightly slower in using her superpower.
Qiao Xuan decided to find some wild grapes in the first two days as well as other things.
But birds in the woods loved to eat wild grapes, so they needed to hurry up before the birds pecked the plants.
Wine made with grapes could be brewed easily, so they had three large jars that could hold at least 100 kgs of wild grapes.
Therefore, they only needed to get around 100 kgs of wild grapes.
They were going to remove the veins, and the rotten and bad fruits.
Wild grapes were plants with veins, and they kept climbing up to the top of the trees so as to get plenty of sunlight.
Therefore, it was not an easy job to get the grapes.
There were mountain grapes also present in low and wide places, but often the mountain grapes in low places did not grow well, and the output was very low.
Shao Xiaoqi was quite familiar with the woods, and he was quite happy and energetic.
There were all kinds of wild fruits in the mountains, especially in the sparsely populated and densely forested mountains.
Soon, Shao Xiaoqi saw the wild grapes hanging on the top of the pine trees, as he said with a smile, "Look, the grapes are there!"
"Yes, there are grapes!'
"They look delicious!"
"I agree!'
Shao Sanlang and his wife said the last two words.
The tree was not too tall and twigs were very thick, so Shao Xiaoqiclimbed up very easily while the others were just looking up at him.
Soon Shao Xiaoqi came down and had half of the basket filled with the fruits.
The fresh fruits were so beautiful and they all started to try some.
They were lucky, as there were no birds visiting this grape tree, and the clusters were quite complete Each bunch was about the size of three fingers and as long as a palm, and they were tangled tightly together.
Each cluster was small but quite pretty.
They were sharing the fruits, sweet and sour, amidst the unique freshness of the woods.
"Very delicious!"
"We can take so many of them back each year!'
Qiao Xuan loved the taste too, a bit sour and sweet, suitable for wine making. They were eating the grapes while they walked forward.
Qiao Xuan used her superpower and picked the place where wild grapes were
abundant.
Soon, they ran into a patch of land where wild grapes were growing best.
"There are so many of them!"
"Yes, so many!"
Chapter 355: Harvest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"It seems that there are many wild grapes in the mountains this year!' Otherwise how could they easily find one patch of land full of it?
They all nodded in agreement.
Their arrival had startled the animals who were eating the grapes. Soon, some birds took off.
The trees were relatively high here, and some twigs were quite fragile. So they needed to be careful not to break them.
They were all aware of this. As they were talking, they all went up onto different trees.
Only Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan remained on the ground.
They exchanged a look and laughed.
Qiao Xuan said with a smile, "We are just waiting for the food to come to us!"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "That is our ability too!"
Qiao Xuan laughed. Her husband had learned to speak tricky words!
But the couple were not idle. Qiao Xuan just glanced about with her superpower.
This plain-looking forest was actually a huge feast for the eyes of Qiao Xuan.
There were treasures everywhere.
She could see roosters, rabbits, muntjacs, and all kinds of wild birds. But she could not do anything about it. Still, she couldn't help wanting to pick all kinds of mushrooms in the forest.
There were many kinds of straw mushrooms, pine mushrooms, side ears, large mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. Although the quantity of each type was not large, the two of them still found quite a lot of them.
By this point, they had not yet walked too far away.
One hour later, those on the trees came down.
Their baskets were filled with stuff, and they poured the grapes into two large baskets carefully.
They had harvested at least 20 kgs of grapes.
That was a big harvest for wild-growing grapes.
Seeing that Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan had got many mushrooms, they all cheered. They were going to have a lot to eat during dinner.
They knew pretty well how tasty and fresh mushrooms in the mountains were.
Shao Sanlang patted Qi's shoulders. "Qi, come on, you should catch at least two wild roosters for the mushrooms!"
They all laughed.
The team walked forward and within an hour's time, they found grapes again.
This patch wasn't as large, but they were still enough.
They almost managed to fill up their baskets after this trip.
So, Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni went home with the grapes first.
Otherwise it would be too tiring to carry them around.
Shao Sanlang still reminded Shao Xiaoqi as he was about to leave. "Qi, don't forget about the roosters, or even rabbits will do!"
Qiao Xuan laughed.
Shao Xiaoqi threw a helpless look at him. "Don't worry, Third Brother, I am definitely going to get some!"
As the couple left, Qiao Xuan and the rest were holding cloth bags. They stopped looking for grapes, but turned to search for mushrooms and wild animals.
They had more than 30 kgs of grapes today, and they needed to deal with them before continuing the next day.
Qiao Xuan could focus on finding the creeping figs at this moment.
But she did not find any. Instead she found some more mushrooms whilst Shao Xiaogi got three roosters and five small birds, before they all headed home.
On the way home, they got one muntjac.
It was not that hot, especially during the night when the temperature dropped tremendously. The animals could stay fresh even when they were not processed on the same day.
But they could not be put there for too long.
They got down to work as soon as they came home.
They needed to process the grapes overnight. They washed them, picked them off the twigs, filtered them and put them in the jars..
Chapter 356: Yuezheng Xiao And Xie Jingrong
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The 30 kgs of mushrooms were sorted by Qiao Xuan, who processed them well.
Some not so good-looking ones were picked out for dinner, and others were sundried. Thanks to the bright sun during the daytime, they should be put away after a few days.
They almost finished the sun dried mushrooms in spring, and what they had found today would be enough for them to make soup, and hot-pot in winter.
They decided to eat two roosters, and two birds for dinner. The remaining animals would be put in Qiao Xuan's yard.
Roosters were never that big, and the amount was enough for the large family.
As the two birds were stewed with yams, one rooster had the breast meat sliced, marinated and battered, then stir-fried with fresh mushrooms.
The rest was cut into dices and added with only ginger, garlic and scallions for braise.
A plate of stir-fried wax gourd, a bowl of dry-stir-fried beans, and a
wolfberry sprout soup were served during dinner.
Ms. Fang would not have minded to share some animals with the second and third section of the family in the past…
But due to what Ms. Ma and Third Uncle did a while ago, and the ridiculous request they put forward as well as the annoying look of Ms. Niu, Ms. Fang was really disgusted with them.
So Ms. Fang was not going to share anything with them at all.
Eldest Uncle had not yet said a thing when Ms. Fang snapped at him, so he fell silent.
No one cared if he was happy about it or not. Anyways, they were already used to ignoring his feelings.
He could not influence anyone around.
After walking into the mountain for three days, they had found enough grapes. If they wanted to eat them in the future, they could bring them back in small quantities. But it was really not necessary because Qiao Xuan's garden had them, and the fruits were particularly large, even bigger than the authentic wild ones.
They even got many mushrooms, some of which were fresh and some were sundried.
They discovered a small patch of date forest, which had seven or eight trees, thick in trunk with a diameter of 30 cm.
The dates were already ripe, crispy and sweet.
They paid a visit to the mountain two times and got all the red, ripe ones down.
They carried them home to dry. These would be made into dried dates, added to the stewed soup, added to the tea, to the porridge or eaten as snacks. They could also be used to make date cakes or date paste fillings.
In addition, there were other wild fruits that could not be named, which were weird in shape and different in colors.
Qiao Xuan could use her superpower to determine whether the fruits were poisonous or not. Actually, those wild children growing in the mountains could always tell that as well.
Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao got a few and presented them to Qiao Xuan.
After taking a break for two days at home, they decided to go into the mountains to find the creeping figs when Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong arrived there unexpectedly.
Only now did Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan remember that they were here to hunt with them.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were afraid of drawing the County Magistrate's attention, so they changed into ordinary dresses and came with ordinary wagons, without showing anything about their real identities.
The effort was totally worth the while.
They spent one night at the hotel as they arrived at the county, and the following morning, they headed towards the village.
But they again ran into Widow Sun the moment they came to the village..
Chapter 357: Widow Sun Again
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qu Shan, who was sitting on the wagon, exchanged a cold look with Widow Sun, snorted and looked away.
It was this woman who tried to set up his young master and Young Master Xie because of which he ended up being scolded.
Qu Shan disliked this woman deeply.
Widow Sun had not recognized Qu Shan at the beginning. She just found him a bit familiar.
But wagons were rarely seen in the village, so she suddenly remembered who they were. "It's them! So they are visiting Shao Yunduan again? How can that man get to know so many rich people…"
Widow Sun could not help but feel curious, wondering who was in the wagon.
But she knew clearly that she could not visit them, otherwise Ms. Fang would blast her off.
But Widow Sun was too curious to restrain herself. She could not help but wonder what on earth was going on there. So Widow Sun went to Ms. Niu again.
"Hey, remember what I told you about the guests of the first section of the family? They are two rich young masters in the wagon!'
Widow Sun winked. "Your Meiling is still unmarried, right? This is a great opportunity, and you can't miss it! If Taotao steals the show and becomes the wife of some rich people, your Meiling will have a lot of difficulty in finding a better suitor."
Ms. Niu did not want to speak with Widow Sun because Shao Yunduan turned her down last time when she asked.
But when she heard the last sentence, she could not help but feel motivated. So, Shao Yunduan and Ms. Fang refused to introduce the two young masters to her because they expected Taotao to marry one of them?
That was not going to work!
Ms. Niu made up her mind and pursed her lips. "Just forget about it, Shao Yunduan is nothing more than a Cultivated Talent. How rich can his friends be? But I can have a look at them.'
Ms. Niu got up and started walking. Widow Sun followed up, smiling. "It depends on who you are comparing them to. The two men are in a wagon and they have servants. I believe that they are definitely richer than us, right?" Ms. Niu snorted, and admitted that Widow Sun's words made sense.
She thought the same thing as Widow Sun. Those who could befriend Shao Yunduan must be rich but not as rich as those big shots.
If the two women knew how much wealth the Yuezheng Family and the Xie Family had, they would not think about having a marital relationship with them.
Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao's sudden visit surprised Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan.
The family met them for the second time and was already used to their arrival.
They greeted each other, and Ms. Fang put away the gifts they had with them.
She asked Yang Xiaoni to boil water and prepare the tea whilst instructing Taotao to fetch the keys from Qiao Xuan and pick some fresh grapes and dates from the garden to serve the guests.
She had no idea about what to prepare for lunch, and decided to wait for Qiao Xuan to figure it out.
The two young masters looked neatly-dressed and they seemed to be interested in dishes cooked by Qiao Xuan, not others.
Ms. Fang felt very honored that these two young masters had befriended her son, and she decided to treat them well.
The tea leaf was lavender whilst the fruits were newly picked.
Yuezheng Xiao was very curious about everything in their family. Those ordinary-looking dates and grapes seemed quite unique in their eyes. They had a bite of each and sure enough, they tasted extremely good..
Chapter 358: Ms. Niu's Excitement
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yuezheng Xiao said excitedly with a smile, "The bergamots that you gave us last time grew so well that I shared two with Brother Xie who gave them to his grandma. She loved it. Do you have any more of those? Please give us some more this time."
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan gave that as a gift to Yuezheng Xiao during the Mid-Autumn Day but they did not give it to Xie Jingrong.
That was because her family and the Xie Family were not in a very familiar relationship and a family like the Xie Family would not receive presents easily. They had no idea what to give to them so they gave nothing to Xie Jingrong.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Yes, I have a dozen on the trees, all growing well. We will need three and four for the New Year, you can take the rest away."
The bergamots looked really good. Qiao Xuan considered planting some more next year.
Yuezheng Xiao did not turn her down and smiled. "Okay, I will take them!" Xie Jingrong nodded with a smile to express his gratitude.
They did not need to think about what to take and give. They were just exchanging gifts. Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan laughed. They appreciated friends like Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong.
They were just chatting, when Ms. Niu and Widow Sun walked in. Ms. Niu glanced about and her eyes brightened, her heart throbbing in excitement.
These two young masters were so handsome! Look at the clothes they were wearing and the wagon and the servants!
Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao were not into showing off. They were not exquisitely-dressed for the trip to the Shao Family in the village.
That was why Ms. Niu believed that they were within her league, thus getting extremely excited.
They looked handsome and they had money. They were just right to be her son-in-law.
Yunduan and Ms. Fang were so stingy not to introduce them to her. Now that she was here, she was not going to let them stop her!
"Oh, we have guests over! I have never seen you before. Where are you from, two young masters?
"Oh yes, I am Yunduan's Second Aunt, married to his real Second Uncle!"
Ms. Niu was glancing at Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong, feeling quite confused and excited at the same time. Both of them looked so nice, which one should she pick?
Xie Jingrong frowned and stayed silent. Yuezheng Xiao smiled, feeling that this so-called Second Aunt of Shao Yunduan seemed quite rough yet she was part of Shao Yunduan's family. So he was about to answer her when Qiao Xuan stood up.
She took hold of Ms. Niu's arm and smiled. "Second Aunt, you are here to speak with my mother, right? She is in the backyard, come with me."
She then glanced at Widow Sun who was rolling her eyes. She asked her straightforwardly. "Aunt Sun, what are you doing here? Visiting my mother
Widow Sun smiled and said, "We are guests and we can, of course, see each other. But Ms. Qiao, you are a junior in the family and you should not speak with me like this in front of guests, right?"
Qiao Xuan had no interest in concealing anything in front of Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao.
After all, not everything could be concealed or ignored. For example Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma, who always tried to portray as if they were a good, united family.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong would not mind the truth about their family situation, since they were friends.
The two of them understood clearly what Ms. Niu was like the moment she showed up. It was totally reasonable when she spoke harshly..
Chapter 359: Driving Away
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Also, they both were from big, noble families, where they had seen infights all the time. So, they would not dislike them for no reason.
Qiao Xuan smiled. 'You spread a rumor about our family and had a fight with my mother. I am just curious about what you are doing here at our door?" Yuezheng Xiao burst into laughter.
Widow Sun had not expected that Qiao Xuan would humiliate her in front of everybody. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment and she got so angry that she could not utter a word.
"Ms. Qiao, how dare you!" Ms. Niu glanced at Qiao Xuan with an accusing look, then she smiled at Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao. "Oh young masters, this is what my niece-in-law is like, she has no idea what she is doing. Don't get mad at her! Oh yes, where are you from? What are your names?"
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Ms. Qiao and Brother Shao are both very nice people."
Xie Jingrong nodded. "True!"
Ignoring Ms. Niu, Qiao Xuan pulled her away when Ms. Fang and Yang Xiaoni came out of the backyard, looking dumbfounded seeing the two women. Ms. Fang took hold of Ms. Niu and dragged her away.
Widow Sun got a glare from Ms. Fang and she hurried away saying that she had something else to do at home.
Ms. Fang grabbed Ms. Niu in the backyard, saying furiously. "Stop being so embarrassing at my house!"
Ms. Niu was unhappy. "Why am I embarrassing you? You just don't want us to live a better life! These two young masters look like a great match for my Meiling…"
"Stop it! Now!" Ms. Fang almost wanted to give her a kick. "Ms. Niu, They are
Yunduan's friends and they are here to visit Yunduan! Look at your Meiling,
how can she be a match for them? Don't turn her into a joke so she has no reputation left! Or else don't regret your actions later. Their marriages will be determined by their families. If you want to make your daughter into either of their wife, go and recommend her in front of them directly!"
"You…" Ms. Niu sneered, hearing Ms. Fangs harsh words. "What are you talking about? I know what you are thinking!'
Ms. Niu lowered her voice. "You are planning to match Taotao to them, right?!"
"What?" Ms. Fang was startled, not knowing what Ms. Niu meant. When she realized what Ms. Niu was trying to say, she raised her hands and almost slapped right on her face. "No one is as greedy and imaginative as you are!" Ms. Niu sneered and did not believe her.
"Anyway, you are welcome to think what you like." Ms. Fang said coldly. "They are my guests, and if you dare to do anything, I will not forgive you, ever!"
Having said that, Ms. Fang drove Ms. Niu out.
Ms. Niu did not dare to walk into the room and left in anger.
She was not giving up. She loved those two young masters and she needed to work hard for them.
She understood clearly that it was the only chance she could have.
Inside the room, Shao Yunduan smiled. "Sorry for the commotion. Please forgive them for what they have done and said."
Shao Yunduan did not want to tell them anything bad about Ms. Niu and the other woman.
But he needed to warn them.
The two women might come up with some other ideas later.
Yuezheng Xiao smiled. "Brother Shao, don't worry. Every family has its own problems. My family affairs might be even worse than yours!"
Xie Jingrong smiled. The Xie Family had many internal problems too, but not that bad, since no one dared to make a scene in front of him..
Chapter 360: New House
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Yuezheng Xiao was sincerely treating Shao Yunduan as his real friend.
Qiao Xuan made lunch.
She killed a duck and braised it with sauce. Then, she made a pot of sour soup with small miscellaneous fish, steamed mandarin fish, tomato eggs, stir-fried wolfberry, shredded lettuce, and beans
According to the custom, Shao Yunduan ate with Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao outside, and the others were eating in the kitchen.
Those from the first section of the family were quite calm compared to the last time when they met Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong. Even someone as honest as Shao Dalang came over and greeted them with a forced, embarrassed smile.
Anyway, they were just very happy that the two young masters were from a good family and were willing to visit them at home and befriend his brother.
In the afternoon, Yuezheng Xiao mentioned hunting and he had a long conversation with Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao. Yuezheng Xiao got even more interested after that.
They were here to go hunting in the mountains, so they decided to return the following morning.
They did not show any disdainful look at the Shao Family's house, but the Shao Family's house was not large enough to hold four people and one coachman. Since they had a wagon, they could head back to the town quickly.
It was almost four in the afternoon when Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong went back to the town.
Ms. Niu brought her daughter to their home, claiming that she wanted to have a chit chat with Taotao. But in fact, she was planning on something else.
Ms. Fang had already prepared for it. Before they could enter the yard, she drove them away, and even implicitly warned Shao Meiling. She told her not to behave stupidly like her mother lest she became a laughing stock.
Shao Meiling left with her cheeks burning red. Ms. Niu glared at Ms. Fang and left timidly.
Ms. Fang was speechless. She was telling the truth and was doing it for Shao Meiling's sake.
Did Ms. Niu think that everyone else was stupid? The village was too small to hold a secret.
Widow Sun for example, talked a lot and she knew about this matter.
It was shameless for Ms. Niu to get Shao Meiling to meet the two young masters, especially under a thinly disguised excuse.
If the marriage worked out well, then all was fine, otherwise who would dare to marry Shao Meiling afterwards?
Ms. Fang knew clearly that this matter would not work!
Therefore, she decided to re-modify the house, especially making the gate tighter and locked properly.
In the evening, Ms. Fang said to the whole family, "Our house is too shabby and old, small too. Qi is getting married in a few years and you will all have children, so it is not big enough to hold you all! We need to build a new house." It was a major thing to build a new house and everyone got very excited,
talking between themselves.
Qiao Xuan showed concern about it too. She could not help but look at Shao
Yunduan.
They exchanged a look which made Qiao Xuan feel quite embarrassed. She moved her gaze away from him.
Did it mean that she was not leaving Shao Yunduan, ever? She had decided not to leave a long time ago, but she had not said that out loud.
Also, Shao Yunduan had not said anything to have her stay back.
But the way she behaved seemed so obvious to Shao Yunduan, who felt quite delighted.
Eldest Uncle sighed. "We do need to build two more rooms, but do we have any money for that?"
Ms. Fang said, "Two more rooms? We need to demolish the whole house and build a brand new one, to live a cozier life! As for money, we have saved some."
Eldest Uncle. .