Chapter 421: Investigation
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"Isn't it normal that he stays overnight at Southern Garden with the First Old Master and the First Madame? Who spread the rumor? I will definitely find out who released the rumor!"
"How dare those servants gossip about what happened to their masters? They have startled you, Madame!"
Having heard what Ms. Jin said, Madame Yuezheng nodded. "That is true, you need to find out who started the rumor and gossiped about the master!"
And that person was even jinxing her son!
Even though she preferred Ms. Mi Junior over her eldest son's wife, it was still her son they were gossiping about! She still did not want to hear anything bad about him!
"Find the culprit, and punish that person seriously! Beat that servant and sell him or her out! We must not keep someone horrible like this at home!" "You are right, Madame Yuezheng. I will bear your instructions in mind!" Ms. Mi Junior clenched her teeth and cursed Ms. Jin inwardly.
Since Madame Yuezheng approved of the investigation, she had no way to counter Madame Yuezheng, who might get annoyed hearing any contradictory words.
But she still wanted to add fuel to the fire.
"But after all, Xiao was still too impolite not to have informed us about this.
Otherwise there would not have been any problem like this."
Ms. Jin smiled. "Second Aunt-in-law, I don't agree with you. Third Brother goes to Southern Garden so many times in a month, must he tell his servants every time he goes there? He is the master, and servants are those who work for him. They are not in a position to gossip and guess about their master's life. "
"There is nothing more we can do about it now, let's wait until news from Southern Garden arrives. Madame Yuezheng, don't worry. I will arrange the investigation right away, what do you think?"
Niaaame Yuezneng 100Kea at tne two or tnem. "Stop tne argument. sort out tne matter first. You can go now!"
Madame Yuezheng was very satisfied with Ms. Jin, who always knew what she should do when faced with an emergency.
Ms. Jin accepted the order and retired.
Ms. Jin did not care if Ms. Mi Junior was going to instigate Madame Yuezheng to do something else.
Ms. Mi Junior was in control of her own words, and that was beyond her reach.
She only needed to focus on what she was entrusted to do.
She had to find out the source of gossip!
Her Second Aunt-in-law went way over the top this time!
She started to create rumors about her father-in-law!
She was going to counter her, else she would not have any idea how to explain that to her mother-in-law and husband!
One night passed at Southern Garden. Yuezheng Xiao and his mother, including Auntie Hua and Yue An were all very nervous, fearing that Old Master would return to where he had been before.
But the Old Master turned out to be very lively when he woke up, saying that the night before was the best and most steady night he had experienced during the past few years, and that he felt nothing strange about himself.
He even had some sensation on his legs, and he could feel Yue An's massage.
If all went well, he might even be able to take a walk with people's help after a few days, and maybe after some more time of therapy, he would recover totally!
Yuezheng Xiao and his mother were reassured and cheered happily.
"You have to thank Xuan!" First Madame smiled. "Xiao, find a good present for her. I have something for her too. Oh yes, what about inviting Young Master
Shao and Xuan and the family over for food? We have to treat them properly!"
Yuezheng Xiao nodded with a smile. "What about tomorrow noon? Today is the last day of the gathering!"
They were talking about therapy and invitation, when Ms. Jin's devoted maid arrived there..
Chapter 422: Elder Sister-in-law
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The maid narrated all that Ms. Jin told her to, and First Madame's face sank slowly. "How dare she spread rumors like this? Does she really think that there is nothing I can do about her?"
She, in First Madame's mouth, was Ms. Mi Junior.
The more she thought about this, the more angry First Madame became. "Is Ms. Mi Junior crazy? I don't interfere with what is happening at the mansion, so she thinks that she can do whatever she wants? Good, I will talk to her about this soon!"
Someone must have spread the rumor about the Old Master and that's why the servants dare to gossip about their masters.
First Madame could figure out the culprit instantly.
Yuezheng Xiao was disgusted too. But he stopped First Madame. "Don't get angry, just ignore her. Dad is getting better now. Let's see how annoyed she becomes when she realizes what actually happened here! Anyways, I am going home now!"
First Madame breathed in forcefully and nodded. "Don't tell anyone about your father's recovery, except for your Elder Sister-in-law! And tell her to stay tight-lipped as well!"
"Okay, Mom!"
He was going to make it public when his father recovered completely.
And his father was definitely going home for the New Year!
Yuezheng Xiao returned to the mansion and went to Madame Yuezheng directly.
Madame Yuezheng asked him about the situation.
Yuezheng Xiao was surprised. "Dad is still under treatment, and he is fine. Who spread such a rumor? Mom urged me to go there because she said that dad was missing me! So I hurried over and spent the night there. Who is so bold as to spread rumors about their masters? Grandma, you have to defend my father. Doctor Tang says that he is getting better these days, and if he hears such rumors, he might be really depressed!"
Hearing that her son was not getting worse, Madame Yuezheng let out a sigh of relief.
Then she became furious. "True! Find out who is behind this! Don't worry, your Elder Sister-in-law is already at it!"
Yuezheng Xiao nodded and said, "I will go and visit my Elder Sister-in-law and tell her about this, so she can be assured too."
Madame Yuezheng nodded. "Okay, do that."
Yuezheng Xiao told Ms. Jin about how his father was recovering and would most likely come to the mansion for the New Year. He told her to stay quiet about the matter.
Overjoyed, Ms. Jin pressed down her excitement and asked a few more questions out of concern.
Yuezheng Xiao told her everything.
Ms. Jin smiled. "Thank God for helping us, this is great news!"
Yuezheng Ting and her mother were annoying and kept causing her trouble. Even though her mother-in-law left some helpers for her, Ms. Jin was still very tired.
After all, Ms. Mi Junior was one generation older than her, and Yuezheng Ting was her Sister-in-law, so she could not do much to counter them.
She was burdened by some family affairs whilst dealing with those annoying mother and daughter. At the same time, she had to take care of her two sons…
she wished so much that her in-laws could return to the mansion as soon as possible.
She could only be truly relaxed when her mother-in-law was home.
Every time she went back to her mother's home, her sisters and friends all felt so jealous of her for not having a pressing mother-in-law. But she could not explain how miserable that feeling was.
Yuezheng Xiao said. "Parents should be home soon, so Elder Sister-in-law, just spare no efforts to carry out your investigation!"
Ms. Jin's eyes sparkled.
"Really?" "Of course!"
"Okay, I got it!"
Ms. Jin suddenly felt motivated. She looked lethal and inspired, ready to get on with the investigation.
She was definitely going to reveal Ms. Mi Junior this time!
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan could not turn down Yuezheng Xiao's invitation for lunch..
Chapter 423: Visit To The Southern Garden
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
To be honest, Qiao Xuan did not want to turn the invite down. Atter all, he had been thinking about the precious trees!
The next morning, Qiao Xuan, Shao Yunduan, Taotao and Shao Xiaoqi headed to Southern Garden with Yuezheng Xiao for a visit.
First Madame, who was immensely grateful to Qiao Xuan, felt even closer to her after knowing about her story.
Old Master had recovered quite quickly, basically improving every day. This was actually not surprising. Qiao Xuan's superpower represented vitality. She had used her superpower to completely restore his body. All that was left was to recuperate and replenish qi and blood. As long as he ate well and rested well, and did some exercise, every day would bring new surprises.
The Old Master was very particular with food, which was beneficial for replenishing the body, so he recovered even faster.
Therefore, the Old Master received Qiao Xuan and the family as well. He looked lively and happy. He did not seem to be tired at all.
Shao Yunduan was very well-mannered and talked about various interesting topics, making the Old Master feel very happy. He felt that his son was good at making friends.
Qiao Xuan asked for a visit in the garden last time, but this time, First Madame volunteered to show Qiao Xuan and Taotao around.
There were countless flowers and trees in the garden. Although the Old Master did not have the opportunity to appreciate them often, First Madame still ordered people to take care of each flower and tree carefully, so that her husband would be able to appreciate the scenery in the garden whenever he wanted to and never feel sad.
It was a time when chrysanthemums were blooming.
First Madame took the two ladies in the garden for chrysanthemum viewing.
First Madame had a wide knowledge about it, so she presented the categories to Qiao Xuan and Taotao, who were pleasantly surprised.
Qiao Xuan had seen many kinds of chrysanthemums, but many had disappeared in the later generations, which were now lively here in the garden.
Taotao was shocked too, and said, "We have so many wild chrysanthemums in the mountains and by the riverside. I thought that I had seen all kinds of them. But there are so many different kinds of them here. So beautiful and big, I like them all!"
That made First Madame and Auntie Hua laugh.
First Madame said instantly, "If you like them, I will get Xiao to deliver some to you. Is there anything else you want? Just tell me and I will give them to you, these are not expensive for us.
Taotao was so surprised, and her eyes were sparkling.
Instead, she turned to Qiao Xuan.
This was a chance delivered to their doorstep!
Qiao Xuan was just wondering how to lead them to the topic, when they mentioned the matter themselves.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Thank you for the offer, Aunt. We are building a new house, and we will plant some in our garden!"
First Madame smiled. "Okay Auntie Hua, do bear this in mind, In addition to chrysanthemums, get some good Mountain peonies, Chinese peonies, French hydrangea, laurel, and magnolias later as well. Anything else you want?"
Auntie Hua smiled. "Okay, Madame!"
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Oh yes, Aunt, I find that you have some fragrant rosewood, and red sandalwoods in the garden. Can I have some of those interesting plants too
Both First Madame and Auntie Hua were startled..
Chapter 424: Prediction
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Small tree buds are fine, or even some twigs are alright."
First Madame smiled. "Xuan, you do have good judgment. You like nothing except these expensive ones!"
Auntie Hua laughed. "Very true!"
First Madame said, "Your uncle has been interested in those trees for a long time. He has bred many of these just to make wonderful furniture. He was worried that they would not be enough, so 30 years ago, he planted many tree buds in the Southern Garden, as well as in other gardens of ours!"
"Some of the tree buds grew up, some failed to live, but those in Southern Garden grew best!"
"I will fetch some suitable ones from the other two abbeys, and give them to you. Or I can just get Xiao to buy some back. Twigs are useless, not that I am too stingy to share some with you!"
First Madame would not turn down what Qiao Xuan asked for, though what she had asked for seemed quite unexpected.
Her husband loved those things, and would not be stingy as to not share any with Qiao Xuan. He could just buy some more buds and breed some more.
Qiao Xuan simply could not wait tor the tree buds, but smiled. , "Aunt, you don't have to make such a fuss. I am very good at planting trees and flowers. You can just give the twigs, I can definitely breed them well. Tree buds are not needed." First Madame.
Although Qiao Xuan tried to conceal her anxiety, First Madame still sensed how anxious she was about it.
Alright then, she could get her some twigs.
Anyways, she was going to get the tree buds as well, so Xiao could deliver those to her place later.
First Madame did not believe that twigs were useful.
But she pretended that she believed her. "Okay, that sounds good. Auntie Hua, just get some twigs and tie them up for her."
"Okay, First Madame!"
"Thank you, Aunt!"
"No worries." First Madame smiled. "Oh, what kind of twigs do you want, tell
Auntie Hua about it."
Qiao Xuan thought for a while and smiled. "They don't have to be too big or long, also, no withered twigs."
She made a gesture. "This size will do!"
Auntie Hua nodded. "I have remembered it all!"
The turn of events pleased Qiao Xuan a great deal.
Done!
She had a feeling that after this, the space would definitely give her a lot of surprise.
After walking for a while, First Madame took them back to the house for tea, snacks and a casual conversation.
At lunch, Yuezheng Xiao stayed with Shao Yunduan and Qi whilst the First Madame was accompanying Qiao Xuan and Taotao.
First Madame had made a lot of efforts for this lunch. She transferred the chef from the mansion and started to make preparations the night before. The dishes were made with a lot of effort, and they were, of course, exquisite and delicious.
Almost every noble family had their private dishes and special pastries. So did the Yuezheng Family.
The Yuezheng Family's famous dishes were clear soup cubilose and abalone knuckles.
The clear soup was extracted from chicken, duck, elbow, scallops, ham, and the soup was clear as water. The cubilose was smooth and soft but did not break when eaten. The freshness in the mouth was just indescribably wonderful.
The abalone knuckles were flavored with a special broth, and the sauce was thick and bright, as oil and fat were removed, so the whole dish was soft and delicious..
Chapter 425: Lucky
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
These two dishes could not be eaten anywhere outside their family.
First Madame introduced the specialities to the two ladies, and Qiao Xuan and Taotao, after eating such delicious food, praised the dishes generously.
It was always nice to see that the guests liked what the host had prepared for them, especially for First Madame, who had been taking care of her husband all this time and never got a chance to relax. She had not treated people over a meal in a long time.
That was also the first banquet she arranged for people, which was significant for her too.
Seeing that Qiao Xuan and the family loved what she had arranged, she felt really happy.
"Xuan, you are not in a hurry to go home right? What about staying at Southern Garden for a few days? The chef is very good at making food, you can eat many delicious dishes here."
But Qiao Xuan could not stay overnight.
She smiled. "I should not turn down your invitation, but we have been away from home for too many days, and it is time for us to go back. We are building a new house and we can't be outside for too long. Also, Uncle is still recovering, and needs to be taken care of. We can't keep you busy at the moment!"
"We will come to visit you on our next trip!"
First Madame smiled. "It is a deal then. You definitely have to come to visit me often. When spring comes, just remember to come and see the flowers. There are many beautiful sites in the province which I have not visited for many years. We can go there together next time!"
Qiao Xuan felt warm inside her heart, so she nodded and said, "Okay, I will definitely be here!"
The Old Master still needed to rest, so after lunch, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan, as well as their family, left.
First Madame told Yuezheng Xiao numerous times that he should treat them well and should give them the wagon to go home.
Yuezheng Xiao nodded in agreement.
The following day, Xie Jingrong treated them to a meal. At the banquet, he was surprised to hear about the Old Master's recovery and congratulated Yuezheng Xiao sincerely.
Later, Shao Yunduan went shopping with Qiao Xuan, Qi and Taotao for a day and bought some stuff. They decided to go home the next day.
Yuezheng Xiao had two wagons prepared for them, one for them to ride, and the other for the products and presents which the Yuezheng Family gave to them.
These included the twigs and some small tree buds which they had found.
Yuezheng Xiao said that when the new house was built and the spring came, he was going to visit them and bring the plants to them personally.
He also said that the brocade boxes were presents given by his mother to Qiao
Xuan.
It was still Qu Shan who drove them home.
They set about before dawn so when they arrived at the county, it was still quite early.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan booked two rooms at the hotel, telling Qu Shan to stay there for one night as well.
There was no good place for him to stay at their current home.
They had just booked the hotel and were about to get onto the wagon, and they heard a sound of "hey" behind their backs. Startled, Qiao Xuan knew that it was Qiao Kou who was there.
She and Shao Yunduan exchanged a look. They waved and blinked at Qu Shan and the coachman in the wagon, thinking that they were lucky that they had not yet gotten into the wagon.
Good!
If Qiao Kou and Qiao Wei saw them going into the wagon, they would have had difficulty in explaining what was going on.
Qiao Xuan turned around and saw Qiao Kou lifting the drapery, smiling at her and Shao Yunduan.
Next to her was Qiao Wei..
Chapter 426: Slap On Face
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qiao Xuan held in her anger and walked up to Shao Yunduan. "What a coincidence, Sisters!.'
Qiao Kou sneered. "What are you doing here?"
Shao Yunduan smiled. "I am going to college and my wife is keeping me company."
Qiao Wei snorted. "Minghua College does not follow rules now? Anyone and everyone is allowed to go inside?"
Qiao Xuan said, "I will be waiting for my husband outside."
Qiao Kou chuckled. "It seems that you and Cultivated Talent Shao are getting on well with each other. When you were about to get married a while ago, you cried loudly, begging not to get married. But it seems that you were pretending, right? Good that my mother knows to whom you should marry.
Look at how well you are living now."
Having heard what Qiao Kou said, Qiao Wei and the maids around them laughed.
Qiao Xuan got so angry that she wanted to hit this person.
This bitch was so annoying. How could she say such words in front of Shao Yunduan?
Shao Yunduan moved his feet and guarded Qiao Xuan behind his back, glancing at Qiao Kou plainly. "I admire Second Miss and she is a kind-hearted woman.
She has adjusted well to the marriage and we are living a good life now."
Qiao Xuan had not expected that he would say so. Feeling sweetness inside her heart, she looked up at him and could not help but blush.
She felt a bit embarrassed when hearing such passionate words in front of others. She should hear them in private!
Qiao Kou got stuck with words and could not help but feel jealous.
What did Shao Yunduan mean? So he knew that Qiao Xuan disliked him earlier but he still kept flattering her, so she was finally moved by his actions?
What kind of woman was Qiao Xuan, that she was so cherished by someone?
She deserved to shed tears and get disdained by everyone around her!
Qiao Kou sneered. "Stop being so full of yourself! Do you admire Qiao Xuan or are you trying to suck up to my father? Everyone knows the truth!
Shao Yunduan was silent.
He wanted to suck up to County Magistrate? He had never been to the Qiao
Family's home except for the two times when he had to. Moreover, he had
What was he sucking up to him for?
But he did not need to defend himself because everyone including Qiao Wei understood clearly that Qiao Kou was just being stupid.
That made Qiao Kou feel slapped on the face.
She glared at Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan said calmly, "It is getting late, what are you still doing here? If you want, we can find a place and sit down, and can have a good chat with each other."
Qiao Wei sneered. "No need!"
Then she told the coachman to drive on and left.
They were on the street, and she did not want to have any conflicts with Qiao Xuan here. It was never a good idea to start a fight on the street.
The more she thought about this, the more angry Qiao Kou became. She could not help but complain. "Sister, Second Sister and that Cultivated Talent are so annoying. They look harmless, but they are actually full of terrible tricks! Cultivated Talent Shao is just a Cultivated Talent at the moment, but he dares to treat us in this way. What if he becomes a Recommended Man? What more would he do to us?"
"Well, I don't think that he can become a Recommended Man, but maybe he will try other ways? I wish that he was not a Cultivated Talent at all!"
How could such a poor Cultivated Talent behave like this? He did not deserve to even speak with her!
Qiao Wei's eyes sparkled. She snorted and said nothing. But she could not help but think about what Qiao Kou said..
Chapter 427: Back Home
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
That was true. Cultivated Talent Shao had never sucked up to their parents and even treated Qiao Xuan so well. He should not be a Cultivated Talent. He should just be Qiao Xuan's pageboy.
Back at home, she sent Qiao Kou away and went to her mother, telling her what happened.
Madame Qiao did not care much and said disdainfully, "Sill girl, he is not sucking up to your father because he knows what he is capable of. He knows that even if he tries to suck up to your father, your father will never want to speak with him."
"You think it is easy to make it to a Recommended Man? Those knowledgeable people need years to make it to that level. Shao Yunduan just won't be able to do so."
"Also, didn't he say that he won't attempt it next year? Just stop thinking about this."
Qiao Wei still felt a bit annoyed. "But you never know if he will change his mind! I think that we should remove his title as the Cultivated Talent too!" In that case, he would not be able to do anything at all!
Qiao Kou felt annoyed, and Qiao Wei was annoyed too. She didn't expect that Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan would not bend down in front of them.
"No, that won't work." Madame Qiao looked serious. "Cultivated Talent Shao is your father's son-in-law after all, and if his title is removed, your father will be humiliated! He definitely won't make it to the Recommended Man, so why bother to make a fuss! You will regret it deeply if your father gets angry."
Qiao Wei was startled and hesitated.
Her mother was right…
The Cultivated Talent Show was too poor to become a Recommended Man.
Also, it was not very easy to remove his title as the Cultivated Talent either.
What if she caused trouble and her father lost face, she would suffer deeply, and that would only mean a favor done to Qiao Kou and Concubine Du!
As she thought about this, she remembered that it was Qiao Kou who instigated her to do so, and Qiao Wei became even more annoyed.
She was not someone who tolerated her anger. So she told Madame Qiao about everything.
Angry, Madame Qiao shouted. "What a bitch! How dare they try to use us! Wei, be careful not to be used by that bitch!"
Madame Qiao felt so angry that she snapped at Concubine Du and Qiao Kou when they greeted her the next day.
Concubine Du was ordered to stand still for one day and her legs were shivering by the end of it. Qiao Kou was too scared to argue or protest.
When Qiao Kou and Qiao Wei's wagon went far, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan climbed onto the wagon.
Qiao Xuan felt quite anxious. Although she knew that Shao Yunduan was not a superficial person, she was still quite worried that he would be affected by what her sister said.
She wanted to ask him and give some explanation, but with Qi and Taotao around, she could not find a way to start the conversation.
She was feeling quite heavy in her mind.
Suddenly, she felt a touch of warmth on her wrist. Qiao Xuan looked up and saw Shao Yunduan's eyes on her.
Shao Yunduan pinched her wrist and released it, talking in a soft voice. "Let's go home."
Startled, Qiao Xuan no longer felt anxious. She smiled and nodded with her eyes sparkling. "Okay!'
When he said "let's go home", they were heading towards their home, so he was still treating her as his family and it meant that no one would be able to separate them.
Shao Yunduan smiled back at her, and both of them felt relieved in their hearts.
Back at home, the sun was setting in the west.
The whole family was happy to see them back and helped to carry the gifts into the house, chatting happily..
Chapter 428: Stupid Cousins
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Qu Shan and the coachman left from there when it was getting late.
Qiao Xuan put most of the stuff back into the room, and shared some with Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu. She asked Qi and Taotao to carry the tree buds into the garden. She was going to deal with them tomorrow.
Then, she shared the snacks with the entire family.
First Madame had given them two boxes of pastries, which were made by their special chef at the mansion. They were sweet and crispy and everyone loved how they tasted.
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan felt assured hearing that everything was going well at home.
When they talked about how bustling the province was, Ms. Fang could not help but look forward to visiting there, let alone Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni.
They had never thought about this earlier, but things were different now.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "When it becomes warm next year, we will all go there for a trip, okay?"
"That sounds great!"
"I want to go too!"
Shao Sanlang and his wife were the most motivated when hearing the proposal.
Ms. Fang looked at the couple, hesitating. "But can we all really go there?"
Qiao Xuan smiled. Yeah, Mom, we can rent a wagon and will arrive within one day! Our whole family will go together. Anyways, we have enough money with us. We don't have to be worried about anything!'
Ms. Fang laughed. "Okay! We will all go there!"
"Okay!"
The whole family laughed and talked, when suddenly Shao Liulang rushed in.
"Fifth Cousin!"
Everyone was startled.
Ms. Fang frowned and asked Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni to go make dinner.
Shao Yunduan was confused. "What is it?"
Shao Liulang looked so angry when he said, "Why didn't you tell me about going to Brother Yue's home for a visit?"
Shao Liulang had been suffering terribly ever since he got to know about it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He just could not help but imagine how Shao Yunduan stood out among all those excellent people, and he was so annoyed by this imaginary picture.
He was counting the days for Shao Yunduan to return, and the longer he waited, the angrier he felt. Hearing that Shao Yunduan was back, he could not wait even for a single moment to come over and accuse him.
"Fifth Cousin, your behavior is way over the top. Brother Yue and I are good friends too. So, how could you leave me behind? You are just jealous of me speaking vividly with him and fear that he will like me better than you!'
Qiao Xuan, "…"
She could not help but look at Shao Yunduan with sympathy.
She and her husband were indeed a perfect match.
She had annoying sisters and her husband had stupid cousins.
Shao Yunduan looked at Shao Liulang coldly. "Are you mental? You should go and find your own friends!"
Yuezheng was not a very common surname, and Shao Liulang ignored the 'zheng' part of the surname when talking about it. This stupid cousin of his did not even know what his friend was called and he still insisted that they were friends.
Shao Liulang's eyes were widened. "How can you say that? Eldest Uncle…"
"Stop it!" Shao Yunduan's eyes sank slowly. "Shao Liulang, there is no use calling me my father. He can't make Brother Yue turn into your friend either. I suggest you study more and read more rather than befriend people. My friends are unrelated to you, and I don't care about your friends either.."
Chapter 429: Pretending People
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shao Liulang said, "You must have messed around later, I…"
Extremely annoyed, Shao Yunduan replied without hesitation. "If you had not sucked up to him, how would Brother Yue know who you are? You said that you had a nice chat with him, but what did you speak with him about anyway? Why didn't he send you any invitation?
Qiao Xuan chuckled and smiled. "Darling, maybe you are wrong. Maybe you have hidden the invitation which was meant for your cousin?
Shao Liulang followed up. "Yeah!"
Shao Yunduan. "…"
Qiao Xuan added again with a smile. "That is called – you can never wake up those who pretend to be asleep! For example, it is daytime, but that person would always say that it is night because he has his eyes closed. It is dark, because it is night as per him!"
Shao Yunduan almost burst into laughter, despite the anger he held in his mind.
Shao Liulang. "What are you talking about?"
"This is what I mean." Qiao Xuan said coldly, "My husband has already put it forward clearly that he and you are not on the same level, so stop messing around with his friends!"
Hearing her blunt words annoyed Shao Liulang even more.
Eldest Uncle felt that Qiao Xuan was not being nice. He immediately said, "Ms. Qiao, watch your words!"
Ignoring him, Qiao Xuan continued. "You are well aware whether or not you had a nice chat with my husband's friends, right? Actually, even if you had a good conversation with them, so what?" Shao Liulang was stuck in words.
True, so what?
He was very confused. What was he thinking about anyway?
Shao Yunduan asked him coldly. "Is there anything else? Just leave if you have nothing else to say."
Shao Liulang stomped his feet, snorted and left.
Eldest Uncle felt so sad. "Yunduan, you are studying together, and you should stay close to each other, how can you…"
Elder Uncle was very confused why Shao Yunduan called Young Master
Yuezheng as Young Master Yue instead when he was talking with Shao Liulang, but he did not think that was important. He said, "You can go out together and take care of each other."
"Dad, you are wrong." Shao Yunduan replied straightforwardly. "He is selfish and overly confident. I don't get on well with him. So please, stop trying to get us together in the future. I don't want to get involved with him in any way!'
"Let me tell you the truth, no teacher in the college has ever said that he is intelligent or good with studies. He is just lying to you all. He is very bad at homework as well. He has been punished many times for not being able to recite any articles! Dad, why do you think such a person would help me when I need it?"
Eldest Uncle was shocked. "Is that true?
"I did not say anything in the past because I didn't want to cause trouble. But I am not lying to you. You can ask around It you don't Deneve me!"
Eldest Uncle felt bitterness arising inside his heart. "Then why don't you give him some tips?
Ms. Fang became displeased. "Just look at how he behaves with us! You think
Yunduan's words can get through to him?"
Shao Yunduan said as well, "You can instruct and guide him if you want to,
Dad."
Eldest Uncle sighed and felt grevious.. "But if what you say is true… but…"
Chapter 430: Jealousy
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Fang sneered and was eager to watch a good show.
She said to herself – just speak with him and see if he wants to listen to you.
Shao Liulang still believed firmly that Yuezheng Xiao and Xie Jingrong had treated him as a friend and that Shao Yunduan must have stopped him from joining them for the visit. But he did not know how to counter him, and he had no place to vent his anger.
The next day, Eldest Uncle could not stand it any more. But when he tried to guide him to the right path, Shao Liulang snapped at him and complained about Shao Yunduan, saying that Eldest Uncle should discipline Shao Yunduan so he would not dare to treat him like this in the future.
The Eldest Uncle finally got the chance to tell him what he had been prepared to tell him after a long while.
The moment Shao Liulang heard him, he interrogated Eldest Uncle about where he heard such a rumor. He shouted and asked who was trying to humiliate him!
"It must be Shao Yunduan who said that, right? He is lying, he is just jealous of me!"
Shao Liulang kept accusing Shao Yunduan aggressively but he did not dare to
confront Shao Yunduan about it. In the end, he ignored Eldest Uncle and left from there angrily.
Eldest Uncle was confused. He did not think that his son would lie to him but his nephew was also a literati who did not seem to be lying either…
After breakfast, Qiao Xuan sorted out the presents and gave a portion to each member of the family.
Qiao Xuan finally unpacked the gifts which the First Madame gave her.
She had been prepared that the First Madame must have given her many expensive presents, but what she saw was far more than she had anticipated.
Just the whole set of forty pieces of gold head and face jewelry inlaid with gold and jade were already dazzling her eyes.
The hairpins, the crown, the earrings… Everything was exquisite in workmanship and beautifully-made.
Qiao Xuan could not wear them outside right now, but each piece was so beautiful to look at. It made her feel happy.
First Madame apparently knew that this was for her to appreciate and collect, so she gave her twenty more pieces of jewelry which were well made and proper to be worn in daily life, beautiful but not too outstanding.
Apart from jewelry, she had received some exquisite garments, fragrance, cubilose, Donkey-hide gelatin and some other jadeware as well as some porcelain for flowers.
First Madame did not really take her as goddaughter for real, yet she seemed to treat her like one.
Qiao Xuan felt very moved. She had saved the Old Master's life for sure, but First Madame also treated her with full sincerity.
After she put the precious things away, Qiao Xuan went to the garden to plant trees.
She needed to put her plan into practice quickly, and asked Qi and Taotao for help.
She planted those buds in a corner of the garden, but did not work on the twigs. She dug a hole and had it half-covered with the soil, and waited for the right plants for transplantation.
Transplantation did not actually work, but she needed an excuse to put these things into her space so she did the whole charade.
When the trees were planted, they checked the mushrooms inside the shed.
Snow fungus were all out and the fruits were growing, but they were not ripe enough to be picked yet. The mushrooms and wooden ears could be harvested though.
"Let's just pick the mushrooms, wooden ears and snow fungus for sun drying today!'
Qi and Taotao nodded in agreement..
Chapter 431: Updated Space
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
"I will fetch the basket and the bucket, and also get the Elder Sister-in-law and Third Sister-in-law!"
With that, Qi dashed off.
Soon Ms. Xu, and Yang Xiaoni came over with baskets and buckets in their hands.
Yang Xiaoni smiled. "I just told my Elder Sister-in-law the day before that we should be ready to harvest mushrooms and wooden ears. Now that you are home, we can pick them!"
Ms. Xu pursed her lips. 'You remember things related to food the most!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Qiao Xuan smiled. "Fresh mushrooms and wooden ears are very tasty, but we have no meat at home, or we can make ground meat with mushrooms, and that would be fresh and delicious! We will make a portion next time we buy meat. I will make some deserts for you with snow fungus, dates and lotus seeds!"
They were all very excited when it came to food.
They were fast in their actions and soon collected all the mushrooms, wooden ears and snow fungus in their buckets and baskets.
Qiao Xuan weighed them and believed that there were 15 kgs of snow fungus.
Approximately 500 grams of dried snow fungus could be produced from 3-5 to 4 kgs of snow fungus. Then, with this harvest, they would get around 2.5 kgs
of it.
She had looked around in the market in the province. 500 grams of excellent snow fungus could be sold at 50 liang, and even ordinary ones could be sold at 20 to 30 liang.
Snow fungus produced by her were large, with appropriate thickness, and pure in color without any flaws. As long as there was nothing wrong during the sun drying process, they could be sold at the highest price.
Hence, this small basket of snow fungus was worth more than 200 liang.
Qiao Xuan asked Taotao, and Ms. Xu to carry the harvested fruits back into the house, whilst she remained there.
They thought that she was just checking the mushroom shed, so they left accordingly.
Qiao Xuan shut the gate, let out a sigh of relief and could not wait to rush towards the buds.
She put the twenty twigs of trees into the space. No one would notice the strangeness happening in the garden since no one was around. When someone walked in and saw them missing, she could just say that the twigs had all gone rotten.
What a perfect lie!
When the twenty twigs went into space, they were deeply-rooted directly.
Qiao Xuan could even feel them starting to grow the roots right after they got grounded in the soil.
The magical energy inside the space grew vividly and made a huge stir.
Motivated, Qiao Xuan sensed instantly that her superpower had improved as well. She could even sense the moisture in the air and make an even longer day of weather forecast.
The house which had been covered with mist was now getting very clear. But… it was not enough.
Qiao Xuan pulled bud after bud and put five of them into space. Instantly, the magic became even stronger.
She could not help but walk into the room.
This time, she was not stopped.
The room was right in front of her, empty. The wall opposite the gate was a storage shelf with layers.
There was something in there that looked very much like an ATM at a bank.
She walked forward and put her hands upon the misty screen, and soon, she was greeted with a lot of information. It told her what she should do with that ATM.
Qiao Xuan smiled brightly.
This device was not only going to help her distinguish every plant in her space, but was also going to offer all kinds of answers related to plants..
Chapter 432: Trash Space Into Treasure
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
As her superpower grew stronger, she would get richer and get more answers from this machine.
For example, if she got some precious and good things but had no idea what they were, she could come to the machine and try to figure out the significance of it through the machine and find the answer.
For another example, if she wanted to know how to process some kind of tea leaves, she could turn to the machine and get the instructions here.
When it was upgraded to another degree, she would have no problem improving the current technological problems, rakes, or the farming tools.
The grids and boxes leaning against the wall were all for storage.
She could put everything that was not alive inside. Each grid had a volume of 100 cubic meters, which would be enough for her for however long it was.
They could be categorized neatly, very handy!
Not all the grids were activated, but the very bottom row was already enough for her.
That pleased Qiao Xuan a great deal.
The trash space had already been updated to turn into a place of treasure!
She just could not help but give it a try, so she picked two leaves of golden
sprout, put them on the screen of the machine and read inside her heart.
Soon, there appeared a line that displayed the name, features, and fragrance along with the processing methods for the golden sprout clearly.
What was more magical was that due to the special connection between her conscience and the things in the space, she only read it once and remembered it all.
That was wonderful! As long as the processor was skilled and good at processing the tea leaves, it would not matter if he did not know how to process golden sprouts and lavender.
She had not done it before, but she had a lot of knowledge with her.
After this, Qiao Xuan put some leaves of fruit trees, and gastrodia so as to find out some instructions about them. For example, how should gastrodia be planted and taken care of, and how it should be used, what could lemons be used for and how to make the best plum wine and dried fruits, etc.
She was having great fun with it.
She did not leave the place until a long while later.
Back to where she lived, Qiao Xuan put her money, land contracts as well as the excellent garments and jewelries along with the extracted oil from flowers into the space. She finally felt much more assured. In this way, she would never worry about thieves.
This place was completely safe!
How wonderful!
Shao Yunduan was very surprised to see that she was walking proudly and cheerfully. He couldn't help asking her. "Mind sharing the good news with me?"
Qiao Xuan looked delighted, but she could not reveal too much, so she smiled brightly hearing her husband's question. "I am just very happy, look at my mushrooms, they are so well harvested, and our new house is almost done, everything is great!"
Shao Yunduan nodded and laughed. "Yeah, everything is great, we should be happy!"
"Yeah!"
They smiled at each other.
The following day, Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan went to the Zhang Village again..
Chapter 433: All Well
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ding Erzhu and his wife, as well as Madame Zhou, Land Officer and his wife were all helping them out, so everything went well there.
Ding Erzhu and Ms. Zhou were down-to-earth people and the Land Officer and his wife might try and do some tricks on them. But Madame Zhou was smart, and she was older than everyone else. So, if she said something as an elderly woman and was reasonable enough, no one would dare counter her.
The Land Officer and his wife were both people who understood what was best for them. They were not able to trick the couple and simply decided to work hard and devotedly instead.
Therefore, everything went on smoothly.
When Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan went over, it would take three more days before the land was settled.
Shao Yunduan expressed his gratitude and appreciation towards the Land Officer with a smile. "You are very reliable. We will probably need you to hire some more people to help us with the tea tree planting, also for weeding, trimming, picking and so on."
The Land Officers eyes sparkled, and he said with a smile, "Okay, okay, Young Master Shao! Don't worry, as long as you entrust us to do the work, we will definitely make sure all is done well, and you will be satisfied."
The Land Officer could not help but feel relieved that he did not cause any unpleasantness in this task, otherwise the long-term work work would not be entrusted to them again.
Due to this assignment, almost every household had managed to earn some money. They were able to afford a few new clothes, blankets, snacks and some other things, which were very beneficial for them.
Shao Yunduan nodded at him with a smile.
The Land Officer was definitely going to tell the Zhang Village about this.
In order to have a long collaboration, they knew clearly what they should do.
After the Land Officer left, Shao Yunduan, Qiao Xuan spoke with Ding Erzhu and Ms. Zhou about building a new house.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan already had the plan ready. They were going to build two yards and two wing yards.
The smaller wing yard was for storage of farming tools and food.
The bigger wing yard was to be used as the processing workshop and storing tea leaves. The creeping figs could be processed here, so the house needed to be built well.
Qiao Xuan even decided that when the house was constructed, they would buy two guarding dogs for Ding Erzhu to keep for patrolling and safeguarding the area.
Moreover, the front yard could be spared for Ding Erzhu's family to live in.
Outside the yard, she wanted to make a vegetable garden where a patch of fruit trees would be built, as well as a 2 mu pool for fish, lotus roots and water chestnut.
They could even raise some ducks and geese.
Some chicken as well.
They would even come over to enjoy a few leisurely days.
When the house was finished, the craftsmen could come and start the construction here. They were definitely going to finish the construction before the New Year.
Ding Erzhu and his family did not need to worry about the hut that would leak wind.
At that time, Madame Zhou could help to take care of the grandchildren and keep an eye on the workers.
Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan believed that it was a good plan.
Madame Zhou was smart and capable. She could watch the workers for them whilst teaching Ms. Zhou how to deal with the situation, so Ms. Zhou could learn these skills for future tasks..
Chapter 434: Result Of Investigation
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the way home, Qiao Xuan smiled at Shao Yunduan. "When Aunt Yuezheng heard about our business at the Zhang Village, she said that we ought to buy some servants simply because we are going to have much to deal with and we need to cultivate people for the future…"
Shao Yunduan nodded. "Yeah we should do so."
Qiao Xuan frowned. "But that is not very easy to do. It is never easy to find people who are reliable."
"Let's take it slow." Shao Yunduan smiled. "We can visit the province in spring and check it out. We can hire some reliable employees to sign a contract for 10-15 years. In this way, we will have some people working for us in the long term."
Qiao Xuan's eyes sparkled. "Yeah, true! As long as we are able to afford the laborers, we can always get good ones."
She thought for a while and smiled. "We can even ask Aunt Yuezheng to help us as the middle person. With her around, I am sure we can hire better ones."
Shao Yunduan nodded and smiled. "Yeah, there are a few tenants who seem nice. If they want, we can hire them and sign a contract with them for 10 years or more."
Qiao Xuan felt assured when this issue was solved.
Otherwise, she was really wondering what she should do in the long-term. They needed to hire the local villagers, otherwise there would be conflicts.
But if they all hired people from the Zhang Village, there would be the possibility that they ganged up together to create trouble.
If something happened, they could handle that, but the trouble was after all trouble, and it should be avoided in all probability.
So, they needed to work it out in a good way.
If they bought the employees, they could just work together with the tenants who were not from the Zhang Village. Then, they could select some good ones from the Zhang Village, so that they could maintain a balance for future development.
At the Yuezheng Family in the province.
Ms. Mi Junior was used to reading people's thoughts. She believed that the first section of the family would never cause any trouble because they always wanted to keep Old Master steady.
She was already used to that.
Therefore, she was bold enough to spread the rumor through her maid.
In her opinion, there was no point in fearing that the first section of the family would get to know about her deeds. It was always going to be forgiven anyway, wasn't it?
It was the first section of the family who wanted to stay away from trouble.
Therefore, when Ms. Jin spoke of the investigation and got support from Madame Yuezheng, Ms. Mi Junior did not really care.
She felt that Madame Yuezheng was just saying that casually and Ms. Jin was not as strong as she looked.
She would not dare to cause any trouble! She would not want the first section of the family to be disturbed. Honestly, she herself was the senior person at the mansion and it was not so easy to pick on her.
Since Ms. Mi Junior did not care, Ms. Jin had no trouble finding the clues leading to Auntie Shuixiu, who was working for Ms. Mi Junior.
Ms. Jin ordered Shuixiu and some other older maids who were close to Ms. Mi Junior to be taken to Madame Yuezheng's yard, where she told Madame Yuezheng the truth.
Madame Yuezheng was dumbfounded as well..
Chapter 435: Settlement
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Madame Yuezheng just wanted to find the servants who spread the rumor, but she had not expected that Ms. Jin caught Ms. Mi Junior's closest maid!
What surprised her was Ms. Jin's purpose. Was she trying to break up with the
second section of the family?
Ms. Jin snapped angrily. "I don't think the Second Aunt knows about this. These servants spread rumors about the master and try to turn them against each other all the time. Madame Yuezheng, we must not keep any of these people!'
Madame Yuezheng's face sank and she nodded sternly.
"You are right, they should not be kept. Speak with your Second Aunt, and get rid of them!"
"Yes, Madame Yuezheng!'"
Ms. Jin answered and ordered those servants to be taken to Ms. Mi Junior.
Hearing that the servants were taken away by Ms. Jin, Ms. Mi Junior got furious and also surprised. She rushed to Madame Yuezheng's yard and on the way there, she ran into Ms. Jin.
"How dare you, Ms. Jin!"
Ms. Mi Junior glared at Ms. Jin, looking rather furious.
She was slapping right on her face!
Everyone knew that Ms. Jin had caught her maids, and if she did not try to protect them, she would become the laughing stock of the family.
She was already very humiliated when her niece found out the truth.
"Here you are, Second Aunt. Madame Yuezheng asked me to bring those people to you and discuss with you about how to deal with them!"
Ms. Jin smiled and narrated the whole process.
Her words were quite clear. Firstly, she caught these people based on evidence, and Ms. Mi Junior could see the evidence if she wanted to. Secondly, she had already told Madame Yuezheng about this and the old lady had ordered a serious punishment.
Ms. Mi Junior's face turned green as she glared at Ms. Jin. With a sneering voice, she said, 'Good, good, Niece, you are good at catching people who are working for me! Why not speak with me first? Do you not intend to respect me as your Second Aunt? You are not a good wife!"
"Don't be mad, Second Aunt. I was on my way to tell you about this." Ms. Jin smiled. "I was just too angry about the fact that this bitchy maid works for you. How dare she spread rumors behind your back? She must be trying to turn us against each other, so that we are not able to get on well with each other. I am just worried that she will make up stories in front of you. What if you believe her again, and the relationship between us is ruined? That is why I caught her first, in case something terrible happens."
"I am not disrespecting you, Second Aunt, please, open your eyes and see!"
"You…"
"Second Aunt, this bitch is so cruel that she cursed her master and spread rumors. Due to this, the whole mansion is in a mess. She can't be kept, or things would get worse at home. That is what Madame Yuezheng said too. What do you think, Second Aunt?"
Ms. Mi Junior got so annoyed that she could not utter any words to counter that.
Shuixiu was surprised and scared, but she struggled and looked up at Ms. Mi Junior, begging her to save her.
She had obeyed her mistress' words and conducted all of these actions.
Her mistress had to save her!
Seeing their reactions, Ms. Jin smiled. "Shuixiu, are you trying to imply that you need to speak with your mistress? Take out the cloth from her mouth!"
"Hold on, save your breath!"
Chapter 436: New House
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ms. Mi Junior's vein on forehead popped, as she said coldly, "This bitch must have spread rumors for sure. Feed her a dose of the mute drug and beat her, then sell her out!"
Then she glanced at Ms. Jin, sneering meaningfully. "You are excellent, Niece. You can deal with this matter properly. But you must take care of yourself in the future because there will be a lot for you to care about. Don't be too busy!'
Ms. Jin sorted inwardly. She was threatening her, right? Alright then, she was ready for anything!
Two months… just two months, and then all bitterness would come to an end.
Her in-laws would return to the mansion and she was going to see what else she could do!
"Thanks for your reminder, Second Aunt, I definitely will!"
Ms. Mi Junior sneered and left in fury.
Ms. Jin did not soften her heart. She gathered all the servants of the mansion and punished Shuixiu and the servants in front of everyone.
Shuixiu was the main culprit, so she was hit 30 times and directly sent to the abbey.
At the abbey, she was going to be fed with mute drugs and when her wounds were cured, she would be sold out of the province.
The others were hit 20 times and got sent to the abbey to do labor work, whilst some honest and down-to-earth ones would be picked to replace them at the mansion.
The whole mansion got really shocked when they saw how First Young Madame suddenly turned so lethal.
They were all frightened, especially those who had been used to doing small tricks. Their hearts were throbbing nervously.
Hearing the news, Ms. Mi Junior got so annoyed that she smashed some teacups and decided to take revenge on Ms. Jin.
But she had no idea that soon, Old Master and First Madame would return to the mansion and by that time, she would have no position at the mansion at all.
At Shaoding Village, the first section of the family's new house was soon finished.
Many villagers came to watch the new house and pass on the congratulations.
The whole family was very happy and they had prepared some snacks for the visitors.
"The yard is so huge, oh there are small yards and gardens in the main yard!
Look at the bricks on the floor, so magnificent!"
"They are rich and willing to spend the money, so everything looks great!"
"Yeah! I wish we could have such a huge house as well!"
This joke made people laugh and someone mocked back. "Maybe in your next
The villagers took a tour around the house and felt both emotional and jealous.
They all clearly understood one thing. No matter whether they felt jealous, or other things, the first section of the family had gone one step higher this time.
They felt envious but they thought about befriending the first section of the family, so that one day, they might be able to get some benefit from the first section of the family, just like Shao Dali and his family.
Therefore, no matter what they were thinking, they could not help but utter some flattering words.
Even when it came to Fifth Grandma Ding, who felt extremely nervous inside her heart, did not say anything to offend the people around..
Chapter 437: Too Late
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The second and third section of the family came to look at the new house too.
The two extra rooms built at the second section of the family were already finished, but compared to this new house of the first section of the family, the two rooms were just nothing!
That made Second Uncle and Ms. Niu feel jealous and gloomy.
Widow Sun was among the crowd, watching the show too.
With every step that she took, she felt her heart dripping water.
She felt so regretful!
If she had known that Shao Yunduan would achieve this much and the first section of the family would get rid of the second and third section of the family, she would have surely hooked up her daughter with Shao Yunduan.
If that had happened, she would have been a part of this new house too.
She was the mother-in-law and she would have been able to move in.
But now it was too late!
It didn't look like she would be able to find someone better to marry her daughter to.
Widow Sun felt so annoyed. When she saw Ms. Niu, who seemed to feel even worse, she decided to make some noise with her again.
Ms. Niu sneered, as she heard what she was told.
The first section of the family were all horrible people!
After the new house was built, the following step was decoration.
The decorating materials were all environmentally friendly, so the quality was guaranteed. They were prepared when the new house was being built. Soon, the windows, doors and furniture were all moved in at this moment.
Qiao Xuan did not spare any money in making the window with transparent
glaze, which was definitely better than the paper window. It looked beautiful and bright, and everyone spoke highly of it except for Eldest Uncle.
As for the furniture, Qiao Xuan wasn't that particular. The tables, chairs, stools, and shelves in the living room were all made of high-quality fir. The wardrobes and couches in the room were made of high-quality fir or camphor. It was covered with tung oil all over, bright and clean, and the texture was excellent.
People in the village needed everything to be practical.
She could afford mahogany, ebony furniture, but that was not suitable.
Five days passed, and the whole house was done decorating.
The sixth day was an auspicious day to move in, and the whole family shifted in happily.
Ms. Fang and Eldest Uncle were located in the front room, and the four yards belonged to Shao Yunduan's four brothers. There was a two-store wing house at the southeast side, and Taotao moved into this place since she did not want to live in the front yard.
Qiao Xuan and Shao Yunduan got the best and broadest yard.
Shao Yunduan needed to study so the best yard was for him to live in, and Qiao Xuan came from a special family, which made it totally reasonable that she picked it.
No one countered the choice.
Instead, they were so grateful to move into such a wonderful house which was all thanks to Qiao Xuan.
Qiao Xuan liked her yard very much. The room was really broad, and there was one inner room and two wing rooms.
She could do all kinds of experiments she wanted and did not have to hide from anyone.
The patio in the yard was quite large. She had asked people to build two flower beds, and was going to plant some flowers and trees in spring, plant two magnolias and a pomegranate in the corner, and also plant some roses, rhododendrons and other low flowers and plants in the small backyard.
The original spring was well protected and remodeled during the construction of the house. After the remodeling, there were still places for drinking water in the backyard.
The backyard was twice as big as the previous ones, so they simply built a square pond with a height of half a person and about five square meters with black bricks near a courtyard wall to raise some fish..
Chapter 438: New House
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
A wooden board covered half of it, while displaying the other half. The fish was kept inside, and could be scooped out for cooking whenever they wanted. There was an exit below the sink for changing water.
The wide ground in the backyard of the patio was full of flat green bricks that were spliced seamlessly. It was very convenient to dry the recovered rice, harvested taro, corn, and beans for later use.
A shed had been built for the chicken coop, and the duck coop on the other side of the backyard. Further back, there was a one-person-high wall, as well as a spacious cowshed.
Ms. Fang had decided to raise a cow, and a donkey. She also had another cart built, so that Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan could travel into the town comfortably without having to worry.
The first section of the family's life was getting better and better!
Ms. Fang and Ms. Xu were taking a walk around, looking really happy.
When flowers and trees grew in spring, they could open some areas to grow vegetables, and the yard would flourish even more.
Ms. Xu was roaming in her new, broad room, touching the glazed window and the furniture, looking at the bricks on the ground, smiling constantly.
Now, her daughter and son had separate rooms too, and her room with her husband was enormous, with all kinds of furniture and a large space. That made her feel so happy.
More importantly, they did not spend any personal money to do any of this. All the things inside the room were bought from the shared savings, which made her feel really glad as well.
Eldest Uncle was glad too. But he found it to be incredible. 'You sold the plants
and gained this much? Are the plants so valuable these days?"
He did not spend any money nor was in charge of handling the money, but he could tell that the glass on the windows was quite expensive.
Ms. Fang did not want to discuss this topic with him. The house was built and he had moved in, what else could he say?
"Ms. Qiao offered some help. She said that the house should be well built so we could live a more comfortable life. Look at what we have got?"
Eldest Uncle sighed and had nothing to say.
His brothers were angry about the whole episode, and they did not even greet him. He knew what they were thinking.
True, building a house was too much of a waste, and if they could save some money, he could have offered some help to his brothers too. But they did not do so.
That was why his brothers were so displeased inside the heart.
But Ms. Qiao offered the same reason after which he would have nothing to say.
Ms. Qiao did not stop repeating her words. "No nephew's wife supported the uncle's family. Ihat would turn us into a laughing stock!"
They were all glad on the moving day. Qiao Xuan prepared some food.
Shao Sanlang and Yang Xiaoni went into the town and bought some meat and tofu home.
Qiao Xuan picked some nice-looking mushrooms, chopped some meat, added some scallions and seasonings and made a dish of mushrooms with meat.
Ms. Xu ground some rice and made a dish called ribs with rice flour.
Braised pork belly, stewed pork belly with soybeans, peanuts, and lotus seeds, stir-fried pork liver with green onions, and sauerkraut and miscellaneous fish pot were cooked as well.
Finally, sugar-coated yams, scallions, tofu and garlic vegetables were all put on the spacious and clean dining room, giving out a wonderful fragrance.
Due to the move into the new house, Qiao Xuan had prepared a jar of wine as well.
It was a happy day for everyone!
Chapter 439: The Qiao Family
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
On the day when the first section of the family moved in, the second and the third section of the family came over to check out the new place. The more they looked at it, the more sour they became. So, they decided not to look at it any more.
They should at least treat them to some food when they move into a new house.
They were waiting for the first section of the family to pass on the invitation, and despite the anger, they still wanted to eat the free food.
However, the first section of the family never sent out any invitation, which made them really furious.
"What are they being so arrogant about? They do not want to accept us as family any more, right?"
"Alright then, we don't care! They should never ask us for help ever again!'
Unlike the second and third section of the family, those from the first section of the family were all sleeping well in their new house.
Everything was spacious and wide in the new house. Moreover, Shao Yunduan and Qiao Xuan could even have their separate rooms.
However, they seemed to have forgotten about this. They were still sharing the same room.
Qiao Xuan was rolling on the bed happily, feeling glad inside her heart.
This was the countryside life she had been looking forward to enjoying!
There was no shortage of food, clothing and housing. There were flower fields and gardens. The fruit trees produced endless fruits. The vegetable fields had the freshest vegetables. There were chickens, ducks and geese in the backyard, and as much fresh fish and shrimp as she wanted.
There were all kinds of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, wild fruits, and other things in the mountains, which could be harvested throughout the year.
They were also able to make enough money for life easily.
She could go out when she wanted to, or stay at home if she wanted to. On rainy days, the whole family could gather together to make dumplings, glutinous rice balls, steam rice cakes, and various other snacks…
It was all so wonderful!
However, she needed to remove the danger of the Qiao Family so that this wonderful life could last!
Qiao Xuan needed to become stronger.
The following morning, Ms. Fang asked Eldest Uncle to inform his brothers and the families to come over and eat dinner at the new house.
Ms. Fang never skipped on what she needed to do.
Eldest Uncle headed off immediately.
He had wanted to ask his brothers' families to eat the day before, but Ms. Fang said that the house was too messy to receive any guests, and that they should do it the next day.
Eldest Uncle believed that too, so he gave up on the idea.
But that was not the point. The whole family wanted to have a good first day. Why would they need the second and third section of the family to cause them trouble?
They wanted to spend a happy day alone.
As to why Ms. Fang asked Eldest Uncle to inform his brothers' families, it was not because she was afraid of the gossip.
It was reasonable that they did not hold the banquet on the previous day.
But if they did not invite them altogether, that would look intentional.
Qiao Xuan did not cook dinner.
It was Ms. Xu and Yang Xiaoni who cooked, since she already did a lot of cooking the day before.
They prepared one chicken, one duck, and they fetched some carrots, vegetables and leeks, as well as some yams, mushrooms, wooden ears which would lead up to two full tables.
They would have more people into the family in the future, so they had one large dining room built in the house.
The place could hold four tables, or even six!
Chapter 440: More Sour
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The dining room was connected to the main room at one end, protruding towards the patio, and it was perpendicular to the main room at right angles. It was rectangular, with one side facing the kitchen and was separated by a door. On the wall opposite the door was a set of cupboards and a row of chests of drawers almost as tall as a person.
In addition, there were six windows in the middle of the two opposite walls, which were inlaid with light-colored glass. During the day, the sun shone in from the windows, which was very bright.
The food was put on the table, and Ms. Fang smiled and greeted everyone from the second and third section of the family.
After the first section of the family finished cleaning things up, the other two sections of the family visited the place for the first time.
Seeing that the house was neat and tidy everywhere, the brand-new furniture was made of good wood, and beautifully made, they had already turned sour inside and out.
They felt even more jealous when they saw the dining room.
Ms. Zhang could not help but snort. "Eldest Auntie, you keep saying that your windows are made of glaze, which is not cheap at all. You are saying this because you are afraid of loaning us money, right?
The eyes of the two sections of the family sparkled. They all nodded vigorously.
Ms. Fang smiled and said calmly, "Right!'
Ms. Zhang.
Ms. Ma could not help but shout. "Eldest Sister-in-law, you are not treating us as your family."
"What can I do? I am already very scared. You have borrowed a lot of money from us, but you have not returned any. I have been fooled many times, and I need to learn something from the past lessons, right?"
Third Uncle coughed. "But we are running short of money. If we have some, we will definitely return it to you."
Ms. Fang responded. "Sure, I believe you, but you must be running out of money even in a dozen years too, right? It seems that I am not looking forward to receiving any money from you anytime soon. Also, I like to spend money in the way I want to. What can you say about it, anyway?
Qiao Xuan chuckled. "Mom, you are right! You can even throw some coins in the water and that would have nothing to do with any of us!"
Ms. Fang laughed. "That is true!"
The others felt so annoyed.
Ms. Zhang glared at Qiao Xuan, looking furious.
She was a nobly-born lady with a lot of dowry, wasn't she? But she was so-damned rude…
Yang Xiaoni looked at them, licked her lips and smiled at Ms. Fang. "Mom, the dishes would turn cold if we don't hurry. I am starving a little!"
Yang Xiaoni was very confident about her cooking skills, thinking that her cooking skills were good.
More importantly, the ingredients were good. The freshly-cooked chicken, the ducks, which were put inside the pot for frying and boiling.
She had already been drooling with the fragrance.
Eldest Uncle asked the Second Uncle and everyone else to gather around the table. "Come and sit, let's eat together!"
Everyone sat down. They were very displeased, but there was nothing they could say or do apart from feeling wronged.
The two tables were divided between men and women, and the women's side was not very friendly.
Ms. Niu and the others did not want to talk, so they just buried their heads in eating. They tried to comment in the middle. "The chicken is too thin!", "There are too few eggs!" but Ms. Fang and her daughters-in-law ignored it all.
At the men's table, Second Uncle and Third Uncle talked more. They kept saying how the family should be united and the first section of the family should help others.
They even mentioned their deceased parents, crying sourly. "Eldest Brother, you are living a life that we are all jealous of. If our parents could live to the present day, they would be so glad to enjoy such life with us.. We are so useless, but Eldest Brother, you are really capable…"