Chapter 381: Almost
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The children left cheerfully after they ate, but those who did not manage to get the buns refused to move. Aunt Zhou, Ms. Zhou's mother, coaxed them away and asked them to come back earlier next time.
Some women could not help but complain. "But we have so many left, let's just give them one!"
Aunt Zhou said, "The owner is too kind-hearted but we can't just indulge ourselves. They make money with hard work too. 40 steamed buns for free every day… that is so generous of our owner! How about we not offer any starting from tomorrow, so we all save trouble?"
The woman said with a smile, "No, no, you are right. Our owner is already generous enough and I should not have said such a thing…
If the 40 free steamed buns and rolls were gone because of what she said, many people would blame her for being nosy.
Her intention was to show her generosity through others' generosity, but she did not want to ruin what existed right now.
The woman regretted so much as not to say such a thing.
The Land Officer's wife could not help but add. "Aunt Zhou is right. We need to stick to the rules. Our owner is so generous and kind like no other, we can't just get carried away and offer free food for our children too. We need to be reasonable, since we are being paid well!"
The others nodded in agreement.
Not everyone was able to eat steamed buns throughout the year. But for the owner's agreement, Aunt Zhou would not have done so.
If they offered more than they should, they might offend people and get complained about.
Maybe all children from the village would hear about it and come to fetch the free steamed buns. What should they do then?
Moreover, who would pay for the extra steamed buns?
A few days after this happened, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan came to check on the situation, and Aunt Zhou told them about this.
Feeling grateful, Qiao Xuan gave Aunt Zhou and the Land Officer's wife two red packets, each of which contained 20 wen.
Surprising fortune would always cheer people up. The Land Officer's wife had understood one thing – if they worked hard, they would always get some bonus.
She would have gained nothing extra, if she did not interfere, whilst others would take advantage of it.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were quite assured in heart, seeing the field clearing project went well.
Small problems and some fees could be ignored.
They decided not to split hairs on those who worked for them and had everything sorted out smoothly.
They could even stop giving the children steamed buns and rolls or drive them away, but that would cause a lot of conflict and dissatisfaction in the near future.
If some accident happened, the villagers might offer a helping hand or just stand around watching the show, depending upon their treatment of the villagers.
They could not keep asking for help without giving anything in return, which would make them look miserly and wicked.
Proper kindness and generosity would make people feel grateful and cherish what they got now.
Being kind without asking anything in return often caused trouble.
Seeing that everything went well, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan were totally assured and they came to check things every fifth or sixth day..
Chapter 382: Shao Liulang's Guest
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When they got some time to spare, Qiao Xuan checked around in the yard and floral field, planning the dessert stores. Taotao and Qi offered their help as well.
Whether or not the results turned out to be successful, the family did not complain. Instead, they ate up all the failed dishes. Yang Xiaoni was especially glad. She was so happy to be able to eat different desserts every day.
Qiao Xuan was thinking about asking Yuezheng Xiao to pay attention to a few ingredients, such as sagos, cassavas, and sweet potatoes.
The Yuezheng Family was involved in vast businesses and they had more information and other resources than she did.
Sagos were very useful for desserts. Cassavas could be made into powder for the small balls put in milk tea.
Sweet potatoes could be made into many things.
Qiao Xuan tried to use flour to free up some starch, and made taro balls with steamed, mashed taro puree and pumpkin puree. They looked good, but did not have good texture.
seasoned with honey, sweet sugar juice, Qiao Xuan was not very satisfied with it.
They definitely needed cassavas powder.
So she was going to suggest Yuezheng Xiao to raise some cows to produce milk.
But it was not very easy to obtain cows, which might not be able to produce so much milk anyway.
There were many small things to deal with if such a store was opened, but the profits would be magnificent as well.
Seeing that there were not so many fish remaining in the tank, Qiao Xuan decided to go to the river to fetch some fish in the afternoon with Qi, Taotao Yang Xiaoni and Shao Sanlang.
It was already very cold, and they could not possibly go into the water, but they had a fish net that could be used to get some.
But by lunchtime, Shao Liulang suddenly arrived with a strange-looking young master.
Yang Xiaoni went to open the door and she was very startled seeing the two
young men.
Shao Liulang looked quite proud. "Fifth Cousin, are you here? My friend and I are here for a visit!"
The young man next to Shao Liulang was wearing a sapphire blue satin gown with a cross collar, and his hair was tied high. He was about 22 or 23 years old. He was tall and thin, with fair skin, but his face was a bit long, and his eyes were cloudy, giving people a rather frivolous and indecent feeling.
He was very arrogant. He did not like this place, nor did he like Shao Liulang.
But Shao Liulang seemed to suck up to him constantly these days and invited him to his home multiple times. He turned the guy down enough times, but he was feeling bored at the moment, so he nodded and agreed to come.
The moment the door was opened and the young master saw Yang Xiaoni, his eyes started sparkling. He straightened his back, trying to look as if he were a real gentleman who behaved gracefully.
However, a pretentious man who had a terrible appearance just looked ridiculous when he tried to act like a gentleman.
Yuezheng Xiao had met real young masters like Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng
Xiao, so when she saw someone like this in front of her, she laughed.
The way he looked at her made Yang Xiaoni feel quite disgusted.
Yang Xiaoni was a very sensitive woman and figured out that this was not a good man at all.
But this seemingly elegant man smiled at Yang Xiaoni who got startled and took a few steps backwards.
The young master laughed even more proudly seeing her behavior.
He thought that Yang Xiaoni was just feeling shy.
Yang Xiaoni turned around and left directly, ignoring Shao Liulang completely..
Chapter 383: Proud
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The young master smiled even more proudly when he saw Yang Xiaoni's retreating figure.
Shao Liulang frowned but then smiled at the young master. "She is just a countryside woman who doesn't know how to behave, don't get angry, okay?"
Young Master Zhao was not mad. Instead, he looked sleazy and laughed. "Who is that?"
Shao Liulang had always been trying to suck up to Young Master Zhao who never spoke to him of his own accord.
Hearing his question, Shao Liulang said, "My cousin's wife."
He could not help but complain. "She is from the Yang Family. Her brother and sister-in-law are such horrible people. Our family should not have married someone like this, but my cousin fell for her so he insisted on marrying her, no matter what."
Shao Liulang shook his head and said disdainfully, "My cousin is so simple-minded, he just likes her look, not anything else about her, so stupid!' Young Master Zhao laughed as he thought of Yang Xiaoni's looks. He smiled.
This girl did look very pretty, and it was quite normal that she could fascinate some men. But what a pity that she married a countryside man. It was like putting a beautiful flower upon cow dung.
Hearing Shao Liulang coming in, Ms. Fang came out of the room and frowned at him. "What are you doing here, and who is this man?
Ms. Fang glanced at Young Master Zhao and felt disgusted inwardly. This man looked so pretentious.
She was experienced enough to understand immediately what Young Master Zhao was like.
Shao Liulang looked very proud. 'Young Master Zhao is the Second Young Master of Master Zhao in the city, my fellow classmate at the college. He is here visiting me, and we came over to talk to my fifth cousin."
Shao Liulang looked so proud as if he were showing off.
Look how generous he was to have brought his friend with him. He was sharing his friend network with Shao Yunduan!
Ms. Fang did not get what Shao Liulang meant. She did not like this Young Master Zhao, but they were here after all, so she could not drive them away. She asked Qi to fetch Shao Yunduan.
She was thinking about speaking with Yundan not to talk with this man too much because he looked absolutely ill-mannered.
Shao Yunduan was reading in the room, and Qiao Xuan, Taotao were in the yard, working.
Hearing the sound of door knocking, Shao Yunduan walked and was surprised to see Young Master Zhao.
He knew this man, for sure, the younger son of Master Zhao, and Zhao Ming's brother.
Zhao Guanghua was studying at a college in the province and did not come back until the beginning of the year.
News spread that he came back home because he had a fight at a brothel with someone and he got so humiliated that he just could not face anyone there any more. He was expelled from the college and was forced to return home. So here he was.
He was a very arrogant man. Just because he studied at a college in the province, and had no one with the same background in this place, he believed that he was the best and the only worthy one around..
Chapter 384: Evil Plan
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Zhao Family was one of the richest families in the local area, and many people were always trying to suck up to them.
But Shao Yunduan was not one of those.
In his opinion, Zhao Guanghua's appearance surprised him but did not please him.
On the other hand, Shao Liulang was feeling quite proud. "Brother Zhao is here to visit me, so I am showing around."
Shao Yunduan said inside his heart, 'Thank you very much… damn!'
He did not intend to receive Zhao Guanghua at his home. He was not a well-mannered man, considering he had a fight with someone else for some woman at the brothel.
Most importantly, he did not want him to see Qiao Xuan and Taotao.
Shao Yunduan greeted politely and said, "We have many people at home, Sixth
Cousin. We can have a chat at your home."
"I would like to have a chat at your place, Brother Shao!" Zhao Guanghua still dreamt of meeting Yang Xiaoni again. If he could stay, he might see her again.
He did not intend to do anything else right now, but he was always attracted to beautiful women. As he thought about how favorable he might look compared to the farmer she married, he believed that Yang Xiaoni was definitely going to love him deeply, and regret having gotten married so early.
In this way, he would feel really satisfied and proud.
If he could at least speak with Young Xiaoni, then he would be content and feel a little smug.
Shao Liulang also intended to go home, but hearing what Zhao said, he replied. "We can definitely sit at your home to chat. Cousin, you would be very happy, right?"
Shao Yunduan frowned. "We have no good tea to serve Young Master Zhao. So, please, Young Master Zhao, this way!'
Shao Yunduan held his cousin's arm and walked outside
When he and Shao Liulang both left, that man should not stay as well, right?
"Hey, you…"
Shao Liulang, who had intended to protest, got startled seeing Shao Yunduan's cold look.
He was dragged away wordlessly.
As they walked out of the yard, Shao Yunduan glanced back at Zhao Guanghua and said, "Please, hurry up, Young Master Zhao!" He did not even wait for him to join him.
Zhao Guanghua had no choice but to follow.
He felt quite annoyed not to have been able to flirt with the beautiful girl he had drooled at. For now, he had no choice but to leave.
He just did not have the reason to stay here, when the owner was gone.
Zhao Guanghua glanced at Shao Yunduan and asked ironically. "Yunduan, you are not trying to drive me away from your house, right?"
"Of course not." Shao Yunduan raised his eyebrows and said peacefully, "My home is quite small, and we have no good tea. I just don't want Young Master Zhao to suffer from the inconvenience, thus turning you away."
"Is that so?
Zhao Guanghua could not believe that.
"Of course yes." Shao Liulang was cursing Shao Yunduan inwardly but had to defend him. "Brother Zhao, honored guests like you always light up someone's home, and my cousin wishes that you could be here, but he is quite stubborn, so just drop the idea."
Zhao Guanghua thought for a while. He did not think that there would be anyone who would refuse to hang out with him, given his background.
He might have overthought about this…
He smiled. "Oh, okay, my bad.. It is okay without tea, I am not that particular, we can do that next time, okay?"
Chapter 385: Not To His home
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shao Liulang kept saying yes, but sneaked a look at Shao Yunduan.
He felt quite sour inwardly.
He had tried his best to get Young Master Zhao to his home, but the esteemed guest became more interested in Shao Yunduan instead. That was really annoying…
Shao Yunduan could not help but feel a bit worried.
He could not understand Zhao Guanghua's purpose of trying to befriend him and wanting to visit his home.
Then he thought of how his sister Zhao Ming was hanging out with Qiao Wei) and he suspected that he might be here digging around seeing what happened to Qiao Wei.
The Elder Miss Qiao was so annoying!
The more Shao Yunduan thought about this, the more he believed that it was the truth. Shao Yunduan did not trust him that he was here to visit his cousin.
So, he was not going to let him get close to his own home.
He had accompanied Qiao Xuan to the Qiao Mansion, and he knew that Qiao Xuan pretended to be very obedient and quiet, honest in front of the family. She didn't even get mad even when she was laughed at.
If Zhao Guanghua saw how bright and stunning she looked) he might leak that news.
So, Shao Yunduan sped up.
At the third section of the family, Ms. Ma had just killed a chicken and was getting ready to cook.
Seeing Shao Yunduan coming over, she got very displeased, but she did not dare to say anything and just glanced at him.
Shao Yunduan had not noticed this since he was thinking about Qiao Xuan all the time.
Shao I,inlang tried his best to suck un to Zhao Guanghna who did not bother to
respond that often while Shao Yunduan was mostly silent.
The three of them were killing time in this way.
Shao Yunduan had intended to leave before lunch, but he was worried that Zhao Guanghua would move to his home with an excuse of saying goodbye, so he stayed.
Ms. Ma could not stand it any more and forced a false smile. "Yunduan, aren't you going back for lunch?"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "Sorry that I have to trouble you today."
Ms. Ma.
Shao Liulang did eat at the first section of the family's home the other day, and he still remembered the amazing food. Also, he just could not drive away Shao Yunduan at this point.
So, he stopped Ms. Ma directly.
Ms. Ma had always adored this precious son of hers, so she said nothing more even though she was annoyed. She just left with a twisted face.
Soon the dishes were served.
Ms. Ma was quite terrible at cooking.
The chicken was so roughly made, okay-looking but was the only properly-prepared dish. The other two vegetable dishes did not have any oil.
Shao Yunduan stopped after moving the chopsticks symbolically.
He could not eat anything like this after trying the dishes made by Qiao Xuan.
Zhao Guanghua was the same too. He frowned after trying one bite, and could not stand the taste any more.
He was Young Master Zhao, and he did not care about this badly cooked chicken!
Only Shao Liulang kept eating happily. He even told Zhao Guanghua to feel at home, without noticing that Zhao Guanghua already dropped the chopsticks.
Zhao Guanghua glanced at him, twisted his lip corners and felt disdainful.
No one would come to this person's home for a visit if he had not been bored. He did not deserve his visit!
Zhao Guanghua was more interested in Shao Yunduan, and waited for him to speak with him.
Shao Yunduan was, however, silent all the time, and Zhao Guanghua could not help but initiate the conversation.
Shao Yunduan nodded and replied briefly without saying anything more..
Chapter 386: Jealous
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Zhao Guanghua felt even more bored. These two cousins were quite funny one was overly passionate to flatter him, the other was completely silent. He never would have believed that Shao Yunduan was trying to ignore him.
He was Young Master Zhao!
Feeling bored, Zhao Guanghua left the place after the meal.
He was out for fun, and if he could not find it, there was no point in being here any longer.
He could not find anything interesting here at all!
Shao Liulang just could not keep him.
Zhao Guanghua decided not to speak with Shao Liulang any more, but he thought of Yang Xiaoni and intended to have some conversation with her in the future.
Shao Yunduan let out a sigh of relief, when that man was gone. He hoped that this man would never come back.
Shao Liulang felt quite angry. "Fifth Cousin, you have behaved terribly! Brother Zhao doesn't come to us often, and I let you eat with him, why did you show him a cold face?
Shao Liulang believed that it was Shao Yunduan who gave Zhao Guanghua the cold shoulder because of which he left so quickly.
Shao Yunduan was not bothered to talk about this. He reminded him. "I believe that you know why Zhao Guanghua came back home from the province's college? He is so frivolous and arrogant) not a very good person to befriend) you better stay away from him."
Shao Liulang was not bothered to hear these words of his.
"That is just a rumor, why do you choose to believe it?"
"I like Brother Zhao. He is friendly, warm and not at all arrogant. You must be jealous of me, right? That is your problem. You aren't the only person who can hang out with rich young masters! I can too!"
Shao Yunduan. '
Shao Yunduan did not like to teach anyone. He was not Shao Liulang's father and he already told him what he should hear. But now he was being accused of being jealous… then what was the point of continuing?
There was no need to say anything more!
"Whatever you like."
Shao Yunduan left from there directly.
Seeing his retreating figure, Shao Liulang just did not know what to do.
"How dare he…
He must be jealous of me! Yes!
As he thought about this, Shao Liulang could not help but feel happy that he finally befriended a rich person.
The plan of building a new house at the first section of the family was finally going to be realized.
They wanted to build a house soon so they could move in before the New Year.
Eldest Uncle suggested adding two new rooms next to what they had now. But the family believed that they should demolish the present structure and build a new one.
Feeling alone, Elder Uncle got very angry. "We don't have the money!'
Qiao Xuan smiled and said proudly, "Dad, money is not the issue!"
That made the Eldest Uncle feel even worse.
"That is your money, not the family's money!'
Qiao Xuan felt quite surprised. Her father-in-law was not greedy at all. She was offering to share her money with the family, and everyone else should be glad about it.
In fact other people might be worried that she would regret that.
Qiao Xuan felt a bit complicated at heart, not knowing what to say about him.
"Dad, it is the same thing. What matters is to live a happy and cozy life, right?
Also, my husband will take care when he becomes a promising man. 1 am Jusc aolng trus aneaa 01 time ror you. or… my nusDana can give cne money back to me later."
The others nodded in agreement.
Anyways, everyone except for him knew that it was Ms. Fang who was putting in the money for the new house, not Qiao Xuan..
Chapter 387: Speechless
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
But they decided not to say anything about it.
After all, they wanted to live a peaceful life, rather than get bothered by unnecessary trouble that ruined their mood.
Eldest Uncle was speechless.
"Whatever you like!"
Ms. Fang struck the table resolutely. "Done!"
However, when the old house was demolished and a new plan was made, they needed to find a place to live temporarily.
Well, they could have borrowed some empty place from the second and the third section of the family, but they would never let it happen. They did not want to be taken advantage of by their relatives.
Apart from Eldest Uncle, no one from the first section of the family would be interested in sharing a place with the second and third section of the family.
In the end, Ms. Fang went to speak with the Land Officer and the clan tribe, so the whole family decided to have a temporary place in the empty house next to the ancestral hall.
They could carry all the stuff and luggage there.
A temporary hut could be built as the kitchen.
Hearing that the first section wanted to build a new house, the whole village was shocked.
"The first section of the family has really flourished. They are building a new house!"
"Yeah, where did they get that money from?
"But they have more and more people moving in, and they need to have new places for those upcoming grandchildren!"
"It is more than building two extra rooms. They are building a completely new one!"
"And they even bought a lot of land around the house! How big will that house be?"
"That is not your concern. They have got a very rich daughter-in-law!"
"26 sets of dowry must have had a lot of gold and silver, enough for the new house!"
"…"
They were talking, full of envy and yearning.
The second and third section of the family never expected that the first section of the family would start to build a new house! They could not help but come to their door, trying to tell them that the old house was still practical to live in, and only two extra rooms were enough, and that there was no need to demolish all and build a new one.
Obviously, Ms. Fang ignored their suggestion.
When they learned that the first section of the family even bought two mu of land around the house in addition, they could not stand it any more.
Second Uncle said, "Eldest Brother, and Eldest Sister-in-law, how big will your house be? Why did you buy the land around the house? Do you have this much money?
Ms. Niu felt so sour. "If you can make money, please let us know about it too!
We need a new house as well!"
Ms. Fang smiled and ignored them.
They were in no position to tell her family what they should do.
Eldest Uncle could not reach his hand into Qiao Xuan's money, and he could not make any decision regarding house building. So when his brothers came and asked him about it, he had no choice but to say that it was because the old house was too small for them to live in, and that they were doing this for their grandchildren's sake.
When the second and third section of the family asked about how they made money, he stopped himself from saying anything further.
He did not dare to tell them that Qiao Xuan was paying half of the amount and the other half was earned through selling valuable things.
He did not want his brothers to blame him.
But the Second Uncle found his silence even more suspicious. They believed that he must be hiding something, so they were not very happy when leaving the house.
However, the house to be built by the first section of the family not only included more than two mu of land, but also covered the yard of the neighbor's house, a small vegetable garden and a small piece of open space around the neighbors place, which came up to a total of more than four mu..
Chapter 388: Shocked
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
That would make it 8 mu in total, including the new house to be built.
Then, including the 12 mu of Qiao Xuan's garden, there would be 20 mu in total.
That was 20 mu of land in total! The first section of the family would become the most wealthy family in the whole village.
Well, the reason why the first section of the family was able to build this big house was originally because of the second and third section of the family.
When the second and third section of the family divided the old house of the Shao Family, they added some small houses to it.
In this way, the first section of the family did not have any place to live. Hence, Eldest Uncle found an empty place at the boundary of the village, very remote and leaving a lot of empty space for what they could have now.
The whole village was really shocked and they all got so excited.
Honestly, when the neighbors were moving, they looked so happy. So, the first section of the family must have given them a high price.
Otherwise, who would be willing to sell the old house to outsiders and find an empty place outside the village to build new houses?
However, the family was tight-lipped. They did not spill out a thing.
They did utter a figure when forced, but no one believed that.
Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma felt so annoyed and hurt.
They believed that the first section of the family was bullying them.
Everyone was talking about the first section of the family building a new house, and wondered how much money it would cost for them to build!
Some irritable people instigated them again and again, asking Ms. Niu and Ms. Ma. "Your houses are very small too. Why don't you think about building a new one too?"
"Yeah, your Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law have been taking care of you all this time, and they should share some of what they have got, right? They are so rich, and they should help you!'
Both their faces turned red.
Ms. Fang was not going to help them with money, not at all!
The most annoying person was Ms. Qiao who kept taking Ms. Fang's side because of which Ms. Fang started to ignore them.
But with little hope in their hearts, the second and third section of the family all rushed to the first section of the family.
'Eldest Brother, Silang is getting married in the New Year and we don't have a new house for him. We need to build one room. What about sharing some of what you have left behind with us?"
"Yeah, Eldest Brother, Silang is your nephew, the child of the Shao Family.
Getting married is a huge thing and you must help us!'
Ms. Niu said this and glanced at Ms. Fang, who seemed to hear nothing and kept working on the sole of her shoes.
Ms. Fang ignored them. They could say whatever they wanted.
She was not interested in anything they had to suggest.
Dalang did not know what to say, so he left.
Shao Sanlang and Shao Yunduan, Qiao Xuan and Ms. Xu were all there. They wanted to watch the show, and also did not want Ms. Fang to be bullied.
Third Uncle also joined in and tried to convince the Eldest Uncle.
Third Uncle thought that if his eldest brother helped the second section of the family, he would help the third section of the family as well.
Yang Xiaoni was shocked. No wonder Yang Liang and Ms. Tian could not cause any trouble here, her mother-in-law knew exactly how to deal with the situation.
Sweat ran alongside Eldest Uncle's forehead, as he staggered. "Ms. Fang, I don't think that building one more room would cost that much, what about…" "If it doesn't cost that much, they can build it themselves." Ms. Fang sneered..
Chapter 389: Shockingly Thick-Cheeked
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"You are old enough to have so many grandchildren and you still forced your old brother to pay you for your new house? How shameless you are!"
Second Uncle and Third Uncle felt their cheeks burning. The words spoken by Ms. Fang were true and heart-wrenching.
The children of the first section of the family glanced at them, making them feel embarrassed.
But that was nothing compared to their jealousy and resentment.
So what? Their Eldest Brother had been taking care of them for so many years, and there was no point in leaving them behind when they were living a happy life.
"Eldest Sister-in-law, you are wrong. Eldest Brother is capable now and he should take care of us brothers. We were born by the same parents, and we should all live a happy life together, right?"
The children were all speechless.
Sure, but they needed to create a happy life themselves!
They were seeking advantage of them but still trying to make themselves sound as if they were being reasonable and righteous.
Ms. Fang smiled. "What about you taking your Eldest Brother to your home, so he can work for you and all the money he earns can be yours. All you need to do is to find him a place to live and feed him three meals a day, how does that sound?"
Second Uncle and the others from the family were all stuck with words.
Eldest Uncle got so embarrassed as well. "What are you talking about?!"
"I am speaking the truth. Look, in this way, you can take care of your brothers so they can live a good life too, how does that sound?"
Second Uncle and his people got furious.
They did not want Eldest Uncle. They needed Qiao Xuan's dowry.
They stubbornly believed that the first section of the family was spending Qiao Xuan's dowry rather than assume that the first section of the family was earning their own money.
Before they could respond, Ms. Fang smiled at Eldest Uncle. "Look, your brothers dislike you. They don't want you to be there!"
Eldest Uncle, '
Third Uncle said, "Elder sister-in-law, stop joking around. We will be laughed at if that happens for real!"
"You are afraid of being laughed at? How surprising!'
"…"
That was the end of the conversation.
Shao Sanlang suddenly said, "What about us building a house together, we have so much land, right? When the house is built, we can all live together and get to know each other better."
Ms. Ma's eyes sparkled as she nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great."
"Eldest Brother, we are all a family!'
"Yeah we have a lot of space, right?"
The children of the first section were all shocked.
These people were so shameless!
So, they wanted to wait until the house was done before moving in with them?
The second and third section of the family got so glad that they all started to discuss when to move in.
Eldest Uncle was stuck with words.
But Ms. Fang could not stand that any more. She put down her soles and pushed Ms. Niu out. "Just get out of this place! What are you dreaming about?
You move in when we build a new house? You are so shameless!"
Then she cursed at Shao Liulang. "You can stop going to school! Your head is full of shit! All you can do is to take advantage of people but can come up with nothing new yourself. Just come back to be a farmer instead, you will have nothing to live on in the future!"
Ms. Ma got very annoyed as she screamed. "My son is definitely going to become an officer soon, what are you talking about?"
Ms. Fang said coldly, "Oh, then you can wait until he becomes one, get out of here!"
Qiao Xuan and Yang Xiaoni were keeping Ms. Fang company, as they watched the opponents getting thrashed.
They could not do anything about the elders directly, but if the elders gave Ms. Fang a push, they were definitely going to teach them a lesson..
Chapter 390: Tore Off
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Xu hesitated but then backed her up as well.
When Ms. Fang drove them out, Ms. Ma said angrily, "You angry bitch, so unbelievable!"
Ms. Fang smiled. "If I am so unbelievable, you can stop talking with us and not come to my home!"
Third Uncle.
"Eldest Brother, why didn't you talk?"
Eldest Uncle felt dizzy, his head was buzzing. He felt rather messed up.
He was very sad about how such a family could become like this. He really wanted the whole family to live in harmony, but it never was in harmony! Ms. Fang argued with him fiercely, and the whole family disliked him.
Now even his brothers disliked him.
He had never been treated well!
Shao Liulang was very angry by what Ms. Fang said as well.
Or that was because he had been shamed by Ms. Fang.
He could lie to himself or others, people like Ms. Ma and Third Uncle who trusted him blindly. He could even be stuck inside his fantasy. Yet he knew pretty well what he was like at the college.
During the examination, he couldn't answer any of those topics, and he just wished that he could have some luck to pass the examination.
He waited one year after another, hoping that he could answer some of the topics on paper next year.
But Ms. Fang tore off the fantasy ruthlessly and he felt seen through.
"You should not look down upon me. Fifth Cousin is nothing more than a
Cultivated Talent, and you never know what is going to happen in the future!"
Ms. Fang replied. "Alright then, you can make a fortune and be an officer if you want, don't worry about what we are doing in our family!"
Shao Liulang.
After driving them out, Ms. Fang said to her children, "Have you spoken with the workers? When do we start?"
Shao Yunduan responded quickly. "We will tear down the house the day after tomorrow!"
'Good!" Ms. Fang smiled. "Just hurry up and remove what we need to remove. We are not living here any more."
She glanced at this familiar-looking yard and house, sighing emotionally. "I have lived here for so long and I don't feel like leaving!'
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Mom, when we move into the new house, you will definitely love it! We are going to use the best materials and the house should be intact even in a dozen years."
Ms. Fang smiled. "That is great!"
They spent the next two days moving stuff to the ancestral hall, and it was very messy at home.
They needed to hurry up with moving, since the demolition started the day after tomorrow.
They all went down to doing their own tasks.
Ms. Fang glanced at Eldest Uncle. "Don't blame me for pushing them. They are just so annoying! Must we feed them all? Liuliang is so stupid as to suggest that idea. He has read nothing in all these years!"
Eldest Uncle was speechless.
He was generous towards his brothers, but he could not counter his wife about what he had just heard.
"But Siliang is getting married…"
"So what?" Ms. Fang sneered. "He has his own parents. We never turned to them for help when our sons got married."
Eldest Uncle, '
Soon, the process of tearing down the house, and building the foundation of the new house of the first section of the family started.
They did not lack any money, so they started to hire people and buy material quickly. All was going forward smoothly.
That was a huge land and the whole family had already made an elaborate plan.
There was a front yard, main house and backyard. The main house was a big place with five bays and two entrances. It was two stories high. The upper floor was going to be used to stack things, and store grain and other harvested crops..
Chapter 391: Work Started
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The east and west wing rooms were all built to be spacious, with a three-bay pattern. Behind the two wing rooms, there were two small courtyards. Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan would live there. Shao Yunduan needed to study, so he chose a quieter place.
Shao Dalang, Shao Sanlang and Shao Xiaoqi had rooms of their own, whilst Shao Taotao and Ms. Fang shared the main room.
According to the blueprint given by the first section of the family, the construction team was in full swing on the day of construction, and more than half of the villagers came to watch the excitement.
But no one from the second or the third section of the family showed up. Obviously, they were still very annoyed.
Ms. Fang did not care. She pretended as if her mood was not at all affected.
They did not even care what the Eldest Uncle was thinking at the moment.
Qiao Xuan and her team went into the mountains again, when everyone was so busy.
Qiao Xuan was thinking about the golden sprouts and lavender tea leaves. She had many tea seeds at home last time, but they were not enough. Many seeds were not mature enough and they needed to revisit that place.
They went into the mountains for five days in a row. On the first day, they picked tea seeds, and then they started to seek and pick the creeping figs as well as mushrooms.
The courtyard they were going to live in henceforth was large enough to sun dry those things.
When seeds were taken from the creeping figs, they were sun dried in the sun and were put in the large bamboo pan.
In the meanwhile, they dug more than 20 to 25 kgs of lillies and dates.
There were still many persimmons and wild chestnuts in the mountains, but they had not yet reached the ripe season, and they had to wait for a while before they turned delicious.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan worked for a few days and soon after, visited the Zhang Village again.
The project of opening the land at the Zhang Village was almost done. The couple was very satisfied by the effect.
This was for planting tea trees, not crops, as long as the large and small tree stumps were dug up, it would not matter if the weeds were not cleared.
They needed to make a lot of effort in removing the weeds in the first two days. Then it will slowly fall in place.
By the time the house was built, the opening of the land project would almost come to an end. At that time, they could start to build the side yards.
Building a house was quick. It was much faster and more convenient to lay the foundation and start laying bricks than earth ramming. Building a house would take about four days.
Ms. Fang saw with her own eyes that a tall, magnificent, and spacious main house was built, she felt extremely happy.
The main room was larger, and when that was done, the other rooms would be constructed even faster.
After all the rooms were done, they could build the entire large yard, then the small yards would be divided, along with the utility rooms. They would build sheds for raising chickens and ducks, lay floor tiles, repair drinking pools…
In this way, they would be able to finish the work within one month or so.
Then they would install doors and windows and have the requisite furniture made.
They were definitely going to move in before the New Year.
The other sections of the family were so jealous and furious. After they were driven out the other day, they were secretly paying attention to how fast the new house was built.
Ms. Niu felt very sour inside her heart, seeing the house getting ready little by little.
She turned to look at Second Uncle. "We can build a new house too. Silang needs some space to get married. We need it to look good for him!"
Second Uncle felt quite annoyed too, as he said, "Yes, we will build one on our empty space, not with their help! We are going to get a new house too!"
"True!"
Only then did Ms. Niu feel slightly better.
She was getting a new house too!
Chapter 392: Suspicion
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The second section of the family also started to hire people to build the house.
Originally, they were thinking of borrowing some materials such as bricks, stones, and gravel from the first section of the family, but Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan had long been on guard against them. The purchase of these things was contracted to the foreman who built the house, and the foreman was responsible for the purchase.
All Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan did was to examine the quality and sign, confirming the source of the material on each paper.
The foreman would gain some profits from it too.
Most people in this era were quite practical. They took money and worked hard. Also, they barely had a chance to fabricate anything.
For example, the number of black bricks bought could not be fabricated.
They used solid woods, not composite lumber.
With the foreman who was in charge, the first section of the family saved themselves a lot of trouble. What they needed was to get everything examined well but not get worried about anything else.
But Ms. Niu and Second Uncle did not know about this. They tried to carry the black bricks away and said resolutely, "This is my Eldest Brother's home, and I can borrow a few as his brother! I can repay them later. You are an outsider and this matter has nothing to do with you, you are just a laborer! What are you stopping me for?"
But the foreman lectured them and explained the details with a cold face, driving them away.
He had bought everything with his money, and if Ms. Niu carried them away, he would need to make the compensation himself!
They had not expected that the first section of the family had done the preparation in this way, thus getting even more annoyed.
"The first section of the family has spent so much money in hiring people, how much is it? They haven't lent us anything, but they can waste the money on this!"
Ms. Zhang was most furious.
The second section of the family did not offer to build a new house for her when she got married. But now Silang was getting married and he would get a new house.
She was not worse than anyone else as a daughter-in-law, why was she so badly treated?
She did not dare to complain about iat in front of Ms. Niu but cried badly in front of Shao Erlang behind their backs.
Shao Erlang had not felt that anything was wrong with it because he felt happy that his family was getting a new house. But hearing her tearful complaints, he could not help but feel annoyed and displeased.
He could not help but mention this to Second Uncle that he needed one more room too because his children were growing up and they would have no place to live in later on.
Second Uncle and Ms. Niu, who were still annoyed by not being able to get anything from the first section of the family, lectured Shao Erlang on hearing what he said.
One room was already so difficult for them, how could they afford two?
They would talk about building new ones in the future!
Ms. Niu was sure that it was Ms. Zhang who would have mentioned it. So she lectured her and gave her a hard time for a few days in a row.
Ms. Zhang felt so upset that she cribbed about Ms. Niu and Second Uncle as well as the first section of the family.
But for the stingy first section of the family, nothing like this would have happened.
On the other hand, the first section of the family had no idea what was going on with the second section of the family.
Despite shifting to a new room, Shao Yunduan was still reading, memorizing books most of the time, whilst Qiao Xuan took a break and went into the mountains again.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni kept her company on some occasions.
Qiao Xuan and her team did not go into the deep section of mountains every time. There were many mushrooms in the forests as well. They could see the creeping figs every now and then, and she was able to find them easily.
There were many wild fruits in the mountains too, ripe with a sweet and sour taste.
There were a lot of fun things in the mountains..
Chapter 393: Updated Space
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan was thinking that Yuezheng Xiao might send his men to fetch the last batch of lip balms, and he sure did.
It was Qu Shan who came over.
Qu Shan greeted her and gave her a present, as well as a letter written by Yuezheng Xiao.
What surprised Qiao Xuan was that the present Yuezheng Xiao sent for her was a pot with five ginseng!
Yuezheng Xiao had just written to his Elder Brother who was called Yuezheng Hong, who believed that the whole thing was very troublesome. But his younger brother rarely asked him for anything, so he could not help but feel like helping him, so he did that in the end.
Ginsengs without being processed would get rotten after a long while. So, Yuezheng Hong made a lot of efforts after getting five of them, put them in two pots and finally transplanted them into one pot.
When the pot arrived, the ginseng was dying.
Yuezheng Xiao was worried that it would be gone within a few days, so he asked Qu Shan to have it delivered to Qiao Xuan as soon as possible.
Qiao Xuan thanked him sincerely and carried the pot into the garden with Shao Taotao.
They could not just disappear in her space. They needed to be planted in the yard!
After a while, she could tell others in a seemingly casual way that the five pieces of ginseng were dead or gone, then her work would be done.
It was her stuff and Ms. Fang would not say anything about it, let alone others.
She was the only one who had the key to the garden, and she could easily conceal her secret if she wanted to.
She drove away Taotao and put the five ginseng into her space.
The ginseng, which were on the verge of dying, started turning better when moved to space. Qiao Xuan felt that with her heart.
When the five ginseng were planted in the soil, the space became even more lively and vital…
It was autumn, and everything naturally withered. Many plants had stopped growing, and some had become bare. Qiao Xuan's superpower was affected by the seasons, and it was not as active as in spring and summer.
But the space had not been so lively for a long while.
She felt much more energetic when the ginseng were in the soil.
Qiao Xuan came out when she felt better, after feeling what was inside her head.
She believed that if she planted some more precious plants in her space, the space would turn tremendously different.
That was to say, the accumulation of quantitative changes to a certain extent would lead to qualitative changes.
That made Qiao Xuan very excited.
She also kept telling herself not to get overly worried about it.
The environment she lived in was still too remote and closed, and precious and rare plants were not easy to come by. Sometimes it was all about chances. Yuezheng Xiao was quite reliable and he could be entrusted to find something good.
Also, they were building a new house and she was going to need some more plants. She was definitely going to ask Yuezheng Xiao to find those new, precious plants for her.
She only needed the rare varieties, such as orchids like ghost orchids, crane tops, and lotus petals, peonies such as Yaohuangweizi, plum blossoms such as green plums, dead branch plums, camellias such as Eighteen Bachelors, Hentiangao, Chidan, etc.
She wanted to get them with the thought that if the space accepted other flowers and trees, as long as they were rare enough, the space would accept them all.
She was thinking about how to get these rare plants..
Chapter 394: Into Province
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
These precious flowers and trees could only be obtained by famous and wealthy families. There were very few transactions of these kinds in the flower and tree market. After all, ordinary people could not afford these things. Only rich and powerful families could spend a lot of money to buy them and carefully cultivate them.
Money was not the initial condition.
It was just a method to get through.
The atmosphere seemed a bit strange as she went home.
Qiao Xuan turned to look at Shao Yunduan.
Shao Yunduan smiled. "I was just about to fetch you. Brother Yuezheng has invited us to have a gathering of literature in the province after three days. Do you want to join us?
Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled – of course!
She could hopefully find precious flowers, shrubs and trees there! She would be too stupid to refuse the invitation.
"Of course." Qiao Xuan nodded as she smiled. "Young Master Yuezheng mentioned that the gathering should be of great importance. You should not miss it!"
Shao Yunduan nodded. "That is exactly what I think."
Ms. Fang and the others in the family nodded in agreement.
Qiao Xuan was going to keep him company.
Qu Shan smiled. "Then, please get your luggage ready tonight, so we can leave tomorrow morning."
Shao Yunduan nodded happily.
This way, Qu Shan and the coachman spent their first night at the first section of the family. They slept on the floor of Shao Xiaoqi's room.
Ms. Fang asked Shao Xiaoqi and Taotao to follow them to the province since there was nothing much going on in the family.
Shao Yunduan was hesitant about this.
Living as a large family next to the ancestral hall was not as convenient as living at home. There was still farm work to do every day, and the house was being built. Somebody had to go see it a few times.
If half of the family was gone, they were running out of helping hands in the family.
What if the other sections of the family caused trouble at the time. He was worried that his mother would run into a problem when he and Qiao Xuan were absent.
Ms. Fang seemed to have seen through his concern, and she smiled. "Don't worry, just do what you need to do. I am not bullied easily, and I have Sanlang and Ms. Yang with me here."
Dalang was too honest to fight back, especially when Ms. Fang and Eldest Uncle were in an argument. But if Ms. Fang was bullied, he would definitely step forward.
Ms. Xu was not a good helper, but if she forced her to help her as a mother-in-law, she would not refuse to do so.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni were with her and they always took her side. So, even if Shao Yunduan and the others were away for a while, it would be fine.
Shao Yunduan agreed and nodded at the proposal.
Early the next day, Qiao Xuan, Shao Yunduan, Qi and Taotao left with Qu Shan and the coachman.
After breakfast, Ms. Xu, Yang Xiaoni were doing housework, whilst Ms. Fang was taking care of her grandchildren as Shao Dalang and his brother went to check around the new house before heading to the mountains for wood chopping.
It was getting cold soon and they needed to store as much wood as possible, enough for the winter and the spring.
Wood was not easily obtained when it rained too much in spring.
Ms. Fang looked and saw Shao Liulang in front of him.
"Oh? What are you doing here?"
Ms. Fang sounded calm but she looked very cold.
This man had the audacity to suggest moving the whole family together after their new house was built.
Ms. Fang looked down at him to an extreme degree..
Chapter 395: Regretful
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shao Liulang did not sense her displeasure though.
He had always thought highly of himself, and he said with a smile, "Eldest
Aunt!"
He asked in a pretentiously casual way. "You had guests last night, right? They seemed to be Young Master Yue's servants, right? Have they left already?"
Many people had seen Qu Shan coming to the village the day before, and Shao Liulang saw that too.
But he lost interest in the visit, since Qu Shan was here alone. So he did not come to them the day before.
But he got quite curious as he came to them in the morning.
Unfortunately, the wagon was gone, so was the man.
Ms. Fang let out a cry of surprise.
Shao Liulang smiled. "I need to talk with my cousin!"
Ms. Fang stopped him. "Your cousin has left with Qu Shan!"
"What?" Shao Liulang's face changed. "So Qu Shan was here to take him away as a guest to their place?
Ms. Fang looked at him with confusion, wondering what made him so excited at the moment. She nodded. 'Yeah?"
Shao Liulang suddenly felt regretful!
"But… I had a nice chat with Young Master Yue last time as well. Why didn't my cousin ask me to join them?"
He should have come to them the night before and asked about the visit!
He had just missed the great opportunity!
Ms. Fang was speechless. Young Master Yuezheng and Young Master Xie were getting on well with her son, not with Liulang!
She said, "But Qu Shan didn't say that Young Master Yue invited you!'
Shao Liulang got stuck with words, and turned pale.
"But we are cousins and we are together, right?"
Ms. Fang found it hard to counter him about this… so she let out a small "okay." and said nothing more.
Shao Liulang had no idea what else to say.
What could he do since the wagon was long gone?
He could try to chase the wagon. But he would not be able to catch up at all!
He wanted to lecture Eldest Aunt but he did not dare to.
Shao Liulang thought of an idea and said, "Where does Young Master Yue live?"
Ms. Fang understood clearly what he wanted to do, and replied with a smile. "1 have no idea."
Shao Liulang.
Shao Liulang felt that Ms. Fang was lying, but he could not prove that.
"You really have no idea?"
"No."
Shao Liulang got so annoyed as he said, "Can you swear on that?"
Ms. Fang threw a look at him. "What is wrong with you? I would be mental to swear on this. Just leave me alone! Honestly, you can't do any labor work and just read and write. So, you should just stay in the room and read on your own.
What will you do if you don't pass any examinations?
That was so heart-breaking for him to hear.
Shao Liulang.
He felt even more annoyed!
Shao Liulang felt regretful as he came back home in distress. Ms. Ma asked him about it in concern.
Shao Liulang did not want to mention it but he could not help and complained to Ms. Ma.
Ms. Ma did not feel any sympathy but snapped angrily. "They are just showing off. They have rich friends, but so do you! Just ignore them! If you feel bored, go and visit Young Master Zhao again."
Shao Liulang was startled.
In fact, he understood clearly that his relationship with Zhao Guanghua was totally different from Shao Yunduan's relationship with those two young masters. But he did not want to admit that..
Chapter 396: Favored By Beauty
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
That was why he tried hard to suck up to the two young masters. He somehow believed that if the two young masters befriended him, he would have a lot of wonderful things coming to him in the future.
Zhao Guanghua was different from them.
But he could not just say that out loud. His mother would not understand.
Bothered and flustered, Shao Liulang could not stay at home and went to the Zhao Family for real.
Zhao Guanghua was feeling very bored at home, when he heard that Shao Liulang had come over, he laughed and ordered him to come in.
Now he had someone whom he could tease for fun!
However, Shao Liulang ran into Zhao Ming when he was at Zhao Guanghua's place.
Shao Liulang was shocked by her looks.
Zhao Ming saw him as well. She felt flattered to have fascinated a dumb man like him. She smiled at him purposefully and left.
Zhao Ming's smile made Shao Liulang's head buzz. He was totally distracted, and after a few moments, he became really happy! The Elder Miss of the Zhao Family smiled at him!
Did she fall for him? That must be it!
Shao Liulang couldn't stand the excitement arising inside his head. He almost burst out in laughter.
Since Zhao Guanghua did not witness what happened, he wondered what was wrong with this man…
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan, as well as their family, arrived in the province before the day turned dark.
It was an early winter day, and they eventually managed to go through the gate before it closed.
Qu Shan drove them to the hotel where they had lived last time. Yuezheng Xiao had already booked the room for them. They thanked Qu Shan and checked in.
It was a quiet night.
Early the next morning, Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong came to visit them together.
They had a chat in a very bustling, lively atmosphere.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong thanked them for the presents which they brought along.
Those included some sun dried mushrooms and creeping figs.
They did not have any bergamots any more since Yuezheng Xiao already took everything away last time he was at their place.
All kinds of dried mushrooms were fine, and jelly was still a new product. As expected, Yuezheng Xiao liked it very much.
Last time when he brought some fresh ones back, Yuezheng Xiao specially gave them to his mother and sister-in-law. Xie Jingrong also ordered someone to make jelly, added various chopped nuts or fresh fruits, and a little crushed ice. The ladies in the family loved it, asking him when he would be able to bring some more back.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan had a few with them this time.
The gathering took place after two days and it would last for three days in a row. Xie Jingrong told Shao Yunduan about some important figures as well as the whole process and the regulations.
Yuezheng Xiao was not interested in what was happening between scholars, so he started to talk about lipsticks and dessert stores with Qiao Xuan instead.
They had no flowers for lipsticks right now, so Yuezheng Xiao decided to release the lipsticks which they had in stock regularly so they could stretch it out until the new ones arrived.
Qiao Xuan gave him 500 lip balms to fill the shortage of lipsticks.
Yuezheng Xiao planned to customize some crystal, jade, gold, and silver lipstick tubes inlaid with gemstones. Rare things were more expensive, and he would try to sell them at high prices. He wondered if Qiao Xuan would agree to that.
Qiao Xuan was shocked.
The Yuezheng Family was indeed a wealthy business family with not only a huge background, but also ideas and abilities.
Some very wealthy ladies would expect their things to stand out from the ordinary ones..
Chapter 397: Limited Version
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The crystal and jade lipstick tubes would not cost a lot more than the current cost, but the price could definitely increase by more than a hundred times.
Also, they did not need to have many tubes like this, more than a dozen sets would be enough.
"That sounds great! In this way we can make more money and satisfy what the noble ladies and madams like. That is like killing two birds with one stone!" Qiao Xuan nodded in agreement.
Yuezheng Xiao struck his thigh and smiled. "That is true! Exactly what I think!"
Qiao Xuan thought for a while and said, "How about this, next year there will be a set of twelve beauties limited edition lipsticks, the twelve beauties each correspond to a kind of flower for twelve months. The lipstick tubes will represent spring, summer, autumn and winter which will be made of emerald, carnelian, gold, and crystal respectively. The tube will be carved with patterns of beauties and flowers, inlaid with various pearls and gemstones."
"Three pieces will be released in one season, and the whole set can be collected in one year. Three packs can be sold at one go, and more effort should be made on the packaging. We can draw patterns and ask famous artists to sell them. You must make sure that it is exquisitely made! As for the price, I'm not an expert on it, so it's fine for you to decide."
Yuezheng Xiao's eyes sparkled when he heard the idea. He patted the table in delight. "That is a great thought! We are definitely going to do this! Let's release a set of Twelve Beauties, limited edition first, then I'll find someone to figure out a more elaborate idea later. After that, we can launch some other series, ah, think about it slowly. This way we're going to earn a lot of money! At that time, after deducting the cost, we will share the profit equally."
Yuezheng Xiao already had an idea about the pricing. He decided to sell the lipsticks with cost included at more than 3000 liang for one lipstick.
Since it was a limited version, he would at most produce 10 sets so they could look rare.
He was sure that they would be very well received. They did not need to worry about not being able to sell them.
Ten sets for the 12 beauty series with 12 lipsticks for one set would earn them so much.
The two money lovers started to discuss the plan in detail.
They did not stop until it was time for lunch.
Xie Jingrong had already booked the restaurant, and they all headed there.
Inside the elegant room, Shao Yunduan was shocked hearing what Yuezheng Xiao said about the limited version of lipsticks. Xie Jingrong spoke highly of the idea when he heard about it.
Twelve beauties and twelve famous flowers would be drawn by famous artists, and the outer tubes would be made by famous craftsmen. The gold, jade and crystals corresponded to the four seasons. They were luxurious and elegant enough, and will work perfectly as limited versions.
Rare things were always more expensive, and they would definitely be sold.
A few thousand liang was nothing in rich people's eyes. After all, real rich people had so much money to spend that it simply could not finish.
Hearing that it was Qiao Xuan's idea, Xie Jingrong could not help but look at this girl with admiration.
The County Magistrate was totally blind to alienate and dislike this daughter of his. If he had treated her well and taken her as an advisor, he would have been promoted and made a fortune, and fame long ago instead of trying to stick up to powerful and rich people in this humiliating way.
Shao Yunduan was a learned man, but he just could not believe that someone would spend this much money upon buying one lipstick like that. It sounded ridiculous.
But Shao Yunduan could not help but feel emotional, when he saw how confident Xie Jingrong and Yuezheng Xiao were when they talked about selling these lipsticks.
He simply could not understand what was up with rich people..
Chapter 398: Dessert Store
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Eating mutton in winter was the most warming and nourishing feeling.
Today's several big dishes were all mutton, including roasted leg of lamb, braised lamb chops, braised mutton with radish, steamed mutton with powder, and mutton in a dry pot. They were all served straight out of the pot. The chefs at the restaurants were pretty good at cooking.
Yuezheng Xiao could not help but talk about the dessert stores during lunchtime.
Qiao Xuan told him that they already bought the land for opening and they could plant the creeping figs in spring and harvest them in autumn.
There were many creeping figs this year, and the sun dried ones should weigh over 50kg.
But those were not enough to open a dessert store.
They needed to have at least three or five stores in the province so that they could acquire the market as soon as possible and earn money. One store would earn too little profit.
They could not just sell jelly and needed to offer something more as well.
This ice powder jelly could not be copied by others. Other things such as sugar taro seedlings, mung bean paste, lily lotus seed and almond soup, bean curd and bean brain, were easy to learn as long as others saw them.
So, they needed to take over the market right at the beginning, so all the tastes could be showcased well, and could stand firmly and for a long duration.
They did not need to open the store as of this moment but they could start the preparations until all was set and ready to go.
Qiao Xuan also mentioned raising cows, and she wondered if the cows could be bred because milk could lead to making many other interesting dishes as well.
Taking advantage of the trend, she also mentioned sago, cassava, and papaya available in the south. If they could find those, the whole thing would get much better.
Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong were both shocked.
This was far more than jelly! They were even thinking about raising cows?
What was sago rice? Cassava? They never heard about these things. They had heard of papaya, but never saw it before…
Yuezheng Xiao gave Qiao Xuan an admiring look as he sighed. "You have such vast knowledge! Everything sounds so good. Draw me some pictures, so I can try this with my Elder Brother. As long as we have them on this land, we will definitely find them!"
His Elder Brother had befriended many wandering people as a businessman. Although they were not very close friends, they could offer some help to find the stuff they needed.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Yes, I also read some sayings in a book about foreign countries. The sago and cassava should come from the West, and most of them have to go to the south to find them."
Yuezheng Xiao nodded. "I will speak with my brother!"
He smiled as he looked at Xie Jingrong. "We do have cows. Their family happened to have a small ranch, and they raised some cows there."
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan turned to Xie Jingrong.
Xie Jingrong smiled. "My grandfather and grandmother like milk, so the family specially raised a few cows, which were easy to handle. Soon, I will take over this pasture and expand it to raise a few more cows. Twenty or thirty should be enough."
Qiao Xuan didn't know if that was enough, but how many cows could be raised on a ranch needed to be calculated by experience or in a scientific way, not as per their wish.
Qiao Xuan smiled and nodded. "Twenty and thirty should be enough, let's see how the store business goes!"
Yuezheng Xiao smiled happily. "The business should be good!"
They talked for a few minutes before leaving. It was quite late in the day..
Chapter 399: Yuezheng Ting Again
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was slightly cold in the province, and both Qiao Xuan, and Shao Yunduan did not have many clothes with them. So, they went to buy a few more warm clothes on the way, which Qi and Taotao could bring back to the hotel, whilst they went to a few book stores and returned a little later.
They had a quick dinner at the hotel and stayed there until the next day.
Shao Yunduan was getting ready to attend the gathering these days, and was reading a few poetry collections as part of the preparations. He was definitely going to be asked to make some poems at the gathering, though that was not the theme of the gathering this year.
Qiao Xuan, Qi and Taotao chose to go out and have a tour around.
Qiao Xuan was still thinking about precious plants, but she had not told Yuezheng Xiao about this idea yet. She decided to try her own luck first.
She also wanted to buy a few things for home as well.
Shao Yunduan could not keep her company, so he stressed to Shao Xiaoqi that he should take good care of his sister-in-law and sister. "After the gathering, I will go out with you to far-off places. When you are by yourself, you should only visit bustling localities, not those isolated areas, alright?"
"We don't speak the same dialect as people here, and we are outsiders who might be bullied."
Especially those outsiders who did not have any servants with them.
Shao Xiaoqi and Taotao turned serious and nodded in agreement.
Qiao Xuan's heart also skipped a beat. They were not living in the modern society with high legal security, and they should definitely be careful out there.
The three of them rented the wagon recommended by the manager of the hotel, and instructed the coachman to take them to many popular places.
They even paid extra for the security.
They visited some street-stands and bought a few things. The three of them happened to be around Yanchi Restaurant around lunchtime, which was a very famous restaurant for its southern dishes, especially Suzhou cuisine.
They had wanted to have a taste at this place last time, but they failed to eat there due to the tight schedule.
They happened to be around here at lunchtime, probably because it was destiny that took them here?
Qiao Xuan and Taotao got off the wagon, and smiled at Qi. "You can go and fetch your brother, while we will go in and place the order."
Shao Xiaoqi agreed and urged the coachman to hurry away.
Yanchi Restaurant was one of the biggest restaurants in the province, so Qiao Xuan and Taotao should be safe here.
Yanchi Restaurant was very popular, and when Qiao Xuan and Shao Taotao went to the elegant room, there was only one room left.
She booked without hesitation, as she said to Taotao, "We are lucky enough to have found one at this hour!"
Shao Taotao chuckled and nodded. "Yeah!"
At this moment, a group of people walked in. It included four beautiful and young ladies accompanied by a few maids.
They needed an elegant room.
The manager was quite embarrassed as he said with a smile, "Sorry, the last elegant room has been booked by a lady a while ago, maybe you can come back later and we will save one for you."
The lady who asked for the elegant room turned to Qiao Xuan with a smile.
"Lady, you only have two people but we have so many, can you spare the elegant room for us? I can compensate you with one liang."
Qiao Xuan,
This lady looked very arrogant. She seemed quite friendly but as a matter of fact, she was rude to her face.
Most importantly, this lady did not recognize her, but Qiao Xuan did. Even
Taotao exchanged a surprised look with Qiao Xuan. She had recognized her too.
It was Yuezheng Ting, Yuezheng Xiao's cousin.
Qiao Xuan did not care if she recognized herself.
They were just irrelevant people in her eyes, and it was not so strange that she did not recognize her..
Chapter 400: Rejection
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan did not mention that they had met, nor did she say that she knew her cousin Yuezheng Xiao well.
"I am sorry, Miss, but we are a group of more than two people. Also, we arrived here first to book the room. We live outside the province and can barely visit here. So, we really want to eat at Yanchi Restaurant. But Miss, you seem to be a local, what about coming here next time?"
Yuezheng Ting was not a mild tempered person, but she was in public and had her friends with her. Thus she had to act as if she were very generous and elegant.
She thought that she had been kind enough to offer compensation, but this lady turned her down bluntly.
Yuezheng Ting could not embarrass herself in front of others, and said with a good smile, "Lady, we also want to eat the good dishes here today. How about I offer you three liang? You can eat a sumptuous meal at some other place with these three liang, no?"
Yuezheng Ting felt so distressed. Three liang was already a huge amount, enough for her to try different sun dried fruits.
Qiao Xuan really looked down at her.
If she wanted to drive her away with money, at least ten to twenty liang should have been the starting price.
Yanchi Restaurant's elegant rooms were very expensive to book. In that light, one or three liang were so stingy as a compensation.
If she was so miserly, then she did not have to put on the show. It was so embarrassing.
Had Yuezheng Ting and Yuezheng Xiao been in a good relationship, Qiao Xuan would have definitely helped. But Yuezheng Xiao and Yuezheng Ting were not in a harmonious relationship, and Qiao Xuan would not just let this opportunity go.
"Sorry, Miss. Can you please try this offer with some other guests?"
Yuezheng Ting got so furious, which is why her maid Jiang went forward and said, "Hey, don't be so greedy. Our miss already offers you a generous offer, what more do you want?"
Qiao Xuan glanced at her and smiled with politeness. "I just want to have a quiet lunch."
"You!"
A girl in a rosy and patterned coat chuckled as she squinted at Yuezheng Ting. "Ting, you are really not generous enough. One or three liang is too little to offer, you are so rich that you can offer more."
The Yuezheng Family were rich enough to offer more, but she must be doing it on purpose because she did not want to treat them with a true heart.
Yuezheng Ting glared at the maid and then at Qiao Xuan. She spoke in a very annoyed voice with her teeth clenched. "I will give you ten liang, and you can choose another dining place."
Qiao Xuan said to the manager, "Mr. Manager, I am going upstairs. When my husband and my brother-in-law arrive, please direct them to our elegant room."
Having said that, Qiao Xuan left with Shao Taotao.
Yuezheng Ting's face flushed. She was both embarrassed and angry.
Another lady wearing a lavender dress frowned, as she said lightly, "I just thought of something. I am off, let's set another day for lunch."
Before Yuezheng Ting could say anything, the girl left and the other girls followed up soon after.
Yuezheng Ting turned pale and felt humiliated.
The girl in lavender dress was Xie Ruifang, the lineal daughter of the third section of the family of the Xie Family.
Yuezheng Ting ran into Xie Ruifang and her cousin He Zhiqing, and was trying to suck up to them. They were just talking about the dishes of Yanchi Restaurant, so she vividly offered to take them to this restaurant for the exaggeratedly praised dishes..