Chapter 114 - Chapter 114: Your Family Owns This?
Chapter 114: Your Family Owns This?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
She regarded Ling’er like a granddaughter, not only treating Ling’er well but also Feng’er, Yun’er, and Chuan’er.
Outside, the snow fell gently while Qiao Mai worked tirelessly in her space.
The two thousand acres of land had already expanded to four thousand last night, and there was no sign of any activity within the space.
The trading platform still only allowed selling and buying virtual items.
After her space reached the third level, the spiritual energy had reached twenty percent. Qiao Mai used spirit stones and the space’s spiritual energy to advance her cultivation speed.
Since she started cultivating, she has reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement Realm, just two levels away from being able to build her foundation.
Her internal energy had also been cultivated due to the blessing of her spiritual energy.
She had her eye on many things on the platform, but unfortunately, she could only look. It was making her envious.
Everything, from food and drink to daily necessities and clothing, was top-quality.
Qiao Mai thought about the items on the platform while farming and couldn’t help but gulp.
Tonight, she planned to reorganize the land. It wouldn’t be just for planting medicinal herbs; her previous stock was almost depleted.
Constantly planting and selling medicinal herbs had reduced the number of people buying them.
After all, her space was too heaven-defying. Once she planted a piece of land, she could harvest infinitely. What dimension could resist such a supply and demand?
So, she categorized the seeds. First, she planted fruits, ten acres each, doubling to twenty acres.
She currently has over sixty varieties of fruit seeds. She planted tree fruits first, then saplings, and finally vegetables.
Each type of vegetable was planted in ten-acre plots, with over fifty varieties, including sapling and vine vegetables, each doubling to twenty acres.
Finally, she planted trees. The rubber trees from before were still there, with twenty acres left. Qiao Mai had cut down all the others and piled them in a corner.
There were quite a few varieties of trees; she only planted valuable ones or those that were useful to her.
For example, camphor wood, nanmu, sandalwood, redwood, and agarwood. She planted all these precious trees in ten-acre plots.
She didn’t need to be too greedy; as long as they were planted, they would be inexhaustible and useful.
After planting all these seeds, she had quite a few left.
Looking at the remaining one hundred acres of land and seeing that the sky outside was getting brighter, she had a thought and planted wheat in the remaining land.
Grains were the most essential. It was good to stock up when there was nothing else to do. You never knew when there might be a drought or flood.
Her space would come in handy at that time. She didn’t care if she was considered a saint, but at least in emergencies, it could prevent some people from starving.
What made her a bit regretful was that the space didn’t have a river or well. Up until now, she had been using bottled mineral water to irrigate.
Nearly five thousand acres of land were now planted with seeds.
Qiao Mai calculated with her fingers and felt that the space could be upgraded again after the land doubled in the next round.
Upgrading became more challenging as it progressed and was a prolonged battle. If she wanted to buy physical items from the platform, she had to pay a price.
After leaving the space, the sky was already bright. In fact, it was the same time it usually got bright, but the snow made it appear exceptionally radiant.
Linger was still asleep In me Inner room, ana mere was no movement from the rooms of Yue Hong and Yue Xia.
Taking care of the children was truly exhausting, so she never asked Yue Hong and Yue Xia to wake up early.
After leaving the house and seeing the thick snow on the ground, she quickly headed to the back. At this time, Yuan Jiaqi was already up, clearing the accumulated snow from the greenhouse with brooms.
The sky was still snowing, showing no signs of stopping.
The maids had added coal to the stoves in the middle of the night, and the poultry house and greenhouse were well taken care of.
It was rare for Old Mister and Mistress Wang to wake up early. When they came to the back, everyone gathered while chatting and laughing.
Lu Sanniang and Ruyi didn’t rush to the store so early. The two also came over to join the fun.
Breakfast was served in the main house where Qiao Mai lived. The kitchen sent over a hot lamb soup paired with soft pastries, warming everyone’s hearts in this harsh winter.
Old Mistress Wang ordered a hotpot for lunch, knowing that the family would be busy at this time of year.
After breakfast, everyone dispersed, and Qiao Mai went to the butcher shop.
It was the right time to make bacon. She needed to stock up as her family went through meat quickly.
As she passed Qiao’s Small Eatery, she noticed customers inside early in the morning. She smiled and didn’t stop.
The butcher had just slaughtered two pigs and was busy preparing the pork when he saw her. His smile almost stretched to his ears.
“Madam Qiao, you came to buy meat?”
“Yes, were these pigs just slaughtered?”
“Yes, very fresh.”
“Clean them up. I’ll take both of these pigs. I don’t need the innards but clean the large and small intestines for me. I’ll take those.”
“Alright.”
“After you’ve cleaned them, weigh them and deliver them to Lucky Garden. Bill it to Shopkeeper Niu.’
“Of course.’
“Oh, starting today until the end of the year, keep the pig’s trotters and small intestines after slaughtering and send them to my house every three days. Make sure they’re cleaned.”
“You can count on us.”
Qiao Mai made her instructions clear, and then she was about to leave when she heard someone calling her.
“Mai?”
The voice made her heart tremble. She turned gently and saw an elderly woman wearing a patched cotton coat tearing up as she looked at her.
“Aunt?”
“It’s been so long. I didn’t expect you to remember me.”
Qiao Mai looked at her, feeling conflicted. This woman had once been the only source of warmth for her host. “What are you doing in town?”
The woman lowered her head.
“Since your grandparents passed away, I rarely came home. After this year’s harvest, I visited Lihua Village and heard about you. So, I wanted to come to town and get some pork to take back home.”
Qiao Mai watched as the snow wetted the woman’s hair.
Then she said, “Come with me.”
She led the woman to a table outside Qiao’s Small Eatery. “Have a seat. It’s warm, and there’s a charcoal fire.’
They sat down, and one of the attendants came over to greet Qiao Mai.
“Mistress, you’re here.”
“Go pour a bowl of milk tea and bring a few tea eggs.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
The woman couldn’t believe her eyes and stammered, “Is this your place?” In no time, milk tea and tea eggs were brought over, and Qiao Mai pushed the tray towards her. “Go ahead, eat.”
“This?”
“Eat your fill first.”
With tears in her eyes, the woman peeled the tea eggs and sipped the milk tea while trying to conceal her hunger. But Qiaomai could still tell that she was starved.
This woman was Qiao Shicheng’s younger sister, Qiao Cuihua. She had married in a distant place, almost near the northern border.
In that place, there was only one season to harvest crops each year, and life was tough. Qiao Mai’s grandparents used to help her when they were alive, but after they passed away, Qiao Shicheng severed ties with his younger sister. When Qiao Mai was young, her parents favored her brothers over her, and she often didn’t have enough to eat at home. Every time her aunt came, she would secretly slip her a few pieces of bread, letting her hide them and eat slowly.
Qiao Cuihua had a hard time at home and needed help, but she could still share a portion of what her grandparents gave her with Qiao Mai, making her quite a kind person.
So the host had always remembered Qiao Cuihua’s kindness.
Qiao Mai watched as the woman finished a big bowl of milk tea and six eggs and then let out a satisfied burp.
“Are you still hungry?”
“No, I’m full now.”
“Tell me the truth. Who encouraged you to come here?”
Qiao Cuihua quickly shook her head. “No one did. Your parents kicked me out, and I heard about this in the village, so I came to see you.”
“Is it because your family is struggling to make ends meet?”
The woman lowered her head and nodded softly. “They said you were doing well, so I thought maybe I could borrow some grain from you.”
As she spoke, her confidence waned, and her voice grew quieter until it was barely audible.
Qiaomai fixed her gaze on her and said, “Why pretend then? Why buy meat? You should have come to my house directly.. Did you think that if you didn’t buy anything, I wouldn’t recognize you as my aunt?”