Chapter 357 - Chapter 357: Really a Little Nervous
Chapter 357: Really a Little Nervous
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Not only that, my mother has plenty of ideas to make money. She’s just lazy.
The snack shop makes hundreds of thousands of taels annually, and County She earns close to a million. My sister’s shop also generates two to three hundred thousand taels of income annually. The valuable things my mother has, such as these three carriages we’re using, can’t be bought with money.” Eleven nodded, “These carriages are nice.”
“Of course. Many people inquire about them, but my mother refuses to sell them. So what if they have money? Do they dare to snatch them? Haha!”
Talking about Qiao Mai always brought a hint of pride to Haichuan. After all, she was his mother, one of a kind.
“You make an easy two million taels a year?”
“If you mistreat my sister, you won’t pass my mother’s test.”
“I’ve agreed to the conditions Father mentioned. I won’t let Ling’er down in the future.’
“I hope so. Otherwise, you’ll have a hard time.”
The maids had already prepared the meal. It was simple but cleaner and tastier than the food in town.
After they left, Qiao Mai secluded herself. She was going to break through to the Incarnation Realm. Before closing herself off, she arranged everything at home. She instructed Yuan Jiaqi to celebrate the New Year without waiting for her if she didn’t come out by then.
Seeing his wife looking grim before seclusion, Yuan Jiaqi felt worried.
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not dangerous. It’s just challenging to break through a major realm. If there’s an emergency, you can shout three times at my door.”
“Alright.”
Meanwhile, Ling’er and the others, having left the capital for five days, were about to reach Tianshui Town.
That evening, they stayed at an inn in a small town.
The merchant group following them was still there, maintaining a constant distance. They entered establishments in the town right after Ling’er.
Eleven ordered the guards to rest at night without guarding the door. This ensured their safety because if anything happened at night, they would be the first to be targeted.
Ling’er and the others slept boldly, relying on the protection of the sheep.
Moreover, they all had protective amulets given by Qiao Mai.
With multiple layers of security, they felt more confident.
That night, the group trailing them finally couldn’t resist taking action. At that time, Blackie was sleeping on top of the carriage behind the inn.
Its eyes gleamed in the dark, staring intently at the second floor of the inn, especially at the room of his master’s daughter.
Several shadows carefully moved on the rooftop, trying to enter through the window without alarming anyone.
Blackie transformed into a teacup-sized dog and leaped from the carriage to the roof.
With a kick of its hind leg, a figure in black soared into the air, creating a parabola and disappearing into the distance.
Moving stealthily to another person, Blackie repeated the process, creating another airborne silhouette.
Blackie dealt with the five people on the rooftop instantly. It lay down, rolled its eyes, and left the rest to the sheep.
Indeed, there was no more movement on the roof. These people thought about going in through the front door. However, the sheep stood at the entrance like a solid white wall.
Anyone who tried to force through was met with powerful resistance. The angles and strength used by these “wall-like” sheep resulted in them crashing into the wall and flying out.
After dealing with these intruders, the sheep closed the door using their horns and turned back to check on the young masters, who were still asleep.
They let out satisfied cries. Blackie, on the roof, finally lay down and closed its eyes to sleep.
Only Eleven saw the sheep’s capabilities that night. The sheep instantly grew large, a scene that kept him awake the entire night.
How powerful was Madam Qiao if her sheep could do this?
Eleven shook his head and blinked. The next day, they saw a large hole in the wall opposite their room when they woke up. Through the hole, they could see the shop across the street.
The group remained silent, packed their belongings, and went outside for breakfast.
“It seems those people took action last night.”
“Yes, we were all sound asleep. The sheep protected us.”
“Thanks to Mother’s foresight. Otherwise, we might have been in trouble.”
Eleven looked deeply at Ling’er. He thought that since Ling’er had a mother like this, he wouldn’t have the courage to betray her even if he wanted to.
No wonder she insisted on him not taking concubines, only having Ling’er as a wife for a lifetime. With such strength and ability, she was qualified to ask so.
The Ming Dynasty was truly fortunate to have Qiao Mai. With a mother-in-law like that, who would Eleven be afraid of?
His future looks bright. Luckily, he came along this time, and Qiao Mai didn’t hide anything from him. It was eye-opening.
They only saw a hole, not dead bodies. Impressive!
On the eighth day, they arrived at Tianshui Town, where Eleven saw three more sheep at Lucky Garden, making it six. Envious, he immediately wanted to return to the capital and ask his mother-in-law for one.
However, he and Ling’er were only verbally engaged by their elders, not officially. He was still just a prince, not yet the crown prince.
When the emperor appointed him the crown prince and issued a marriage decree, he could ask his mother-in-law.
Uncertain whether his mother-in-law would agree, he felt a bit uneasy.
Once in Tianshui Town, they prepared New Year’s gifts and visited each household. Last time, it was a county princess, and this time a prince. It was surprising and delightful.
The more prestigious the identities of the people they brought, the better the Qiao family was doing in the capital.
After the visits, the four began to examine accounts and collect debts. For things they didn’t understand, they consulted the shopkeeper and steward. For example, the welfare of workers in previous years. This time, they brought a formula and handed it to the chief steward of County She.
It was for high-end shampoo and laundry detergent, targeting the wealthy. The goal was to make money from them.
Other items, which became popular in the autumn in the capital, were sold well.
Large pinecones were sold to the wealthy, and small ones were turned into pine nuts and sold to restaurants. Pine nut corn dishes were well-loved by the elderly, women, and children.
During the New Year, pinecones appeared as treasures on the tables of wealthy households.
The Qiao family naturally had them, and Qiao’s Small Eatery became a major seller of pine nuts. Ordinary shampoo and laundry detergent also brought substantial profits to the embroidery shop.
As for lacquer, it had spread to various woodworking shops and general stores throughout the Ming Dynasty. Some foreign merchants would occasionally buy some to take back to their countries.
In one year, the workshops in County She and the number of workers had doubled in size. Almost all the able-bodied men were working there.
Originally a poor county, County She became prosperous because of Qiao Mai’s workshops.
Walking on the bustling streets, Ling’er introduced them like a master.
“When we came with Mother before, there weren’t many people. Look, everyone here comes to purchase goods. Although this place used to be poor, it was rich in fur. When they come to buy our goods, they also buy other things here.”
Eleven looked at Ling’er with admiration. Fortunately, they had a good number of guards with them; otherwise, Ling’er and Jiamei would have caused trouble with their attractive appearances.
Don’t think the world is peaceful just because things seem fine in one place. Troublemakers and rascals are everywhere.
There are the diligent, and there are the lazy. Many seek to gain without labor, and those who bully the weak are plentiful, to say the least.
Now, trouble arrived.
“Oh, those two girls look beautiful.” A few men on the street pointed fingers and discussed as they approached.
“One is married, and the other isn’t. Is the ones following them their men?” “Looks like he’s a wealthy one.”
“So what? Don’t forget that County She is our turf. Even if a dragon comes, it has to coil for us.
“Exactly. Those two girls look tender. If we let them go, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep for the rest of my life.”
“Haha, let’s go and take a look.”
A few ignorant rascals swaggered over to get a closer look. Ling’er and Jiamei stopped while Haichuan and Eleven immediately shielded them.
The two sheep didn’t transform during broad daylight and stayed by their side while one sheep was at the back.
“Wow, they’re already protected before anything happens..”