Chapter 233 - Chapter 233: How Do I Prove It?
Chapter 233: How Do I Prove It?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation | Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
However, he had a family now, and his wife was already five months pregnant. After the last ordeal, he lost hope for Qiao Mai.
However, if Ling’er was indeed his daughter, he could still make use of her. The most important thing now was to prove that she was his daughter.
As long as Qiao Mai was willing to admit it, it would not be up to her then.
Tian Sanzhuang returned home and chatted with his wife for a while before pretending to be tired and lying down.
How could he prove it? He had asked around as much as he could. Not to mention the village, he had secretly investigated all the townsfolk and Lucky Garden.
He had even checked Qiao Mai’s original residence and neighbors. There was no trace of a flaw.
Especially the blood test at the end, proving that this child was not fated to be with him.
He scratched his head in frustration. How good would it be if they had a relationship? With the child, he and Qiao Mai would be involved. He could legitimately use the child to squeeze money out of her.
As long as she wanted that child, she had to pay the price!
His monthly salary was only a few dozen taels a year. How long would it take for him to live the life he wanted?
Although the military camp paid a lot, it was tough. He could lose his life at any time. He was afraid, so no matter how much his superior thought of him, he didn’t want to stay there.
After all, he had been in the army before, so his temperament was more ruthless than others. Not to mention Yuan Jiaqi, a county governor, even the forces around Qiao Mai were not people the commoners could afford to provoke.
He was the only one who dared to have designs on her. He wanted to get money from her and the promotion he wanted.
He had seen through Qiao Mai’s backer, which was why he dared to scheme on her. Otherwise, he could only be a minor official for the rest of his life.
No matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn’t think of a solution. This matter could only be resolved if Qiao Mai admitted it personally.
Tian Sanzhuang could not help but clench his teeth. His parents had gone overboard. It would be strange if Qiao Mai did not hate his entire family. She would never admit it even if she died. He could only think of another way.
The children played until the fifth day of the new year before class started. Nanny Jin was strict and loving to Ling’er.
There was no conflict between the two. She was strict in class and loving after class. She did not want the child to be afraid of her from a young age. That would not be good.
As a qualified teacher, she must let knowledge enter the hearts of her students and let herself in as well.
Lucky Garden was a peaceful place. The night before Yuan Jiaqi returned to County She, he handed over the title deed to the 10,000 acres of wasteland he had bought to Qiao Mai.
Her name was written on it. He said he would buy land, plant trees after the new year, and wait for her name.
Qiao Mai was worried. This silly boy had put the land under her name. Wasn’t it obvious she had no choice but to get involved? The family had enough to make a living. He had given her so much land.
What was the use of not paying taxes for ten years? If she didn’t have her methods, it would be good enough for those trees to grow in that place.
Once it was fully grown, 10,000 acres of land and 100 catties of grain tax per acre of land would be over a million catties of grain a year.
Who could take it? It was so annoying!
Qiao Mai had to use the resources on hand to make these trees mature as soon as possible. Only then could it start to produce benefits.
Qiao Mai looked it up on the Internet. Pine needles, pine pollen, pine bark, turpentine, and pine oil could all be used as medicine. It had to be said that pine trees were treasures.
The medicinal value was high. She even went to the medical center to ask around. They also accepted this, but the price was not high.
There were many pine trees in the surrounding mountains. When there were no valuable medicinal herbs to pick, some herb collectors would sell them.
Therefore, there was no shortage of pines. The price would not go up.
However, it didn’t matter. It would only be sold along the way. There was also pine oil and pine resin that could be extracted. The most important thing was pine nuts. The pine forest of tens of thousands of acres would bear pine cones in five years.
A pine tree could produce about a few hundred catties of pine nuts a year. After being processed by humans, they would become delicious pine nuts.
When the time came, Qiao’s Small Eatery would sell them at a high price. She was not afraid that she could not sell so many pine nuts. At most, she would sell them wholesale.
Besides, pine oil and turpentine had great uses. Pinewood could also be used to make furniture. It tasted good and was pursued by many people.
In short, she would make the best use of the pine forest. Five years?
She thought for a moment. No, it didn’t need five years. Two or three years would be enough. She would let them all become pine cones.
There was one more thing she had to prepare for – The marriage between Lu Sanniang and Mayor Qian.
Although she didn’t need to get involved, she still had to give gifts to both sides. That old money-grubber, Mayor Qian, had given her so much silver. He always wanted to use this wedding to get it back.
She still hadn’t thought of what to give him. It was too vulgar to give him notes, but Mayor Qian had specifically asked for rare items.
She sighed and searched the platform.
Jade was better than anything else. In the past, she still had some jade. Later, she changed her cultivation technique and pills. The shelves were then all empty.
Qiao Mai could only buy it online. Fortunately, the platform here did not sell fakes. She could buy it with ease.
She did not look at the ancient gemstones because they were not rare. She looked at dozens of modern versions of jade jewelry and chose a set of emerald gems with bright colors.
Coupled with the sparkling diamonds, the bright green gemstones were even more vibrant.
This set consisted of a necklace, a ring, earrings, hair accessories, a bracelet, a jade pendant, and a safety buckle. The entire set cost her 20,000 gold taels.
This set of jewelry was worth this price even here. It was equivalent to returning the silver Mayor Qian had given her.
No wonder they said that one should not owe a favor easily. Once they owed it, they would never be able to repay it.
Lu Sanniang had done her a favor. Not only had Qiao Mai taught her two daughters double-sided embroidery, but she had also given each of her daughters a generous dowry to repay her kindness.
As for Mayor Qian, she had prepared a set of pills for him and Lu Sanniang to have a baby in the future. The man had already told her about it a long time ago.
Since she had agreed, she would prepare it.
Two exquisite boxes, one big and one small, were placed by the bed.
Although she had many things to do, she did not delay her cultivation. Her current cultivation was already at the eighth level of the Foundation
Establishment Realm. She could prepare to form her core with one more level.
She didn’t have a master. She only had cultivation technique books and instruction manuals. She had fumbled through everything.
There was nothing written in other books about how the time inside the space was many times faster than outside.
The time outside was the same as the time inside.
A cultivator like her could already be considered a genius.
As for being a monster, she was still a little lacking. After all, she had only started cultivating halfway. She had to deal with matters outside during the day and only returned to the space at night.
As the days passed, the weather gradually warmed up. The bone-chilling cold of winter had passed.
In the farmland, the diligent farmers were loosening the soil.
The betrothal gifts that Mayor Qian had prepared for Lu Sanniang had been done many years ago. There were a total of 60 carts.
Lu Sanniang had also prepared thirty carts for herself. On March 8th, Mayor Qian invited a matchmaker to propose marriage. The engagement and
betrothal gifts were all done together.
The wedding was set for March 28th. Three days later, the invitation card was sent to Lucky Garden.
Qiao Mai didn’t go to the engagement ceremony, and they didn’t invite her either. She wasn’t too excited when she received the post.
Instead, she calmly brought the two gift boxes to Lu Sanniang’s place.
“Congratulations!”
Lu Sanniang smiled shyly. “It was a rush, so we didn’t invite anyone. Please don’t mind.”
“I don’t like crowds. You know that. Isn’t this what I want?”
Lu Sanniang knew she was in the wrong and did not know what to say. Qiao Mai placed the gift box in her hand.
“This is a set of jewelry. My friend brought it back from overseas. I saw it was beautiful, so I kept it for you..”