Chapter 61 - Chapter 61: Get Lost If You Can’t Do It
Chapter 61: Get Lost If You Can’t Do It
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“That’s more like it. Remember to look for me next time.’
“Got it.”
When the mayor left, an old couple came to her stall. Qiao Mai sat on a chair and watched them calmly.
It turned out to be Yuan Jiaqi’s parents. They were here to cause trouble again.
“You’re Jiaqi’s daughter-in-law?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“I remember you. You were in the crowd last time.” “Yeah, I watched the fun for a while. What do you want?”
Qiao Mai looked at them calmly.
Why did these two come? Naturally, they had heard the rumors and even investigated. If they had known earlier that their youngest son’s wife was Madam Qiao, whom everyone in the small town was jealous of, they would not have cut ties no matter what.
Rumors said that Madam Qiao could earn a lot of silver in a month, much more than the hundred taels. Their faces are turning green with regret!
“We are Jiaqi’s parents.”
“Not anymore.”
“Did you ask Jiaqi to do this?”
“Bah, you sold your son and mistreated him since he was young. He wanted to leave a long time ago.” “I think you instigated it.”
“Whatever you say. Get lost.”
“Let me tell you, there’s no way you can leave the Yuan family so easily!”
“Get lost if you’re all talk. If you don’t have the ability, scram. Stop talking so much nonsense here. I’m not your son. I’m sure you’ve already inquired before coming here. You’ve also heard what kind of person I, Madam Qiao, am.”
“Just wait for it!”
“If you want to become broke, come and me.”
Qiao Mai didn’t even look at them. The couple glanced at the goods in her stall, swallowed, and left with a flick of their sleeves.
They were not fools, which was much stronger than the Qiao and Tian family.
These three families would probably keep coming over to look for trouble in the future. She was a farmer and had no backing. They added some fun to her life.
Qiao Mai did not take them seriously at all. They could cause trouble or make a scene, but they could not touch her people!
She must settle down first. She can’t be too anxious.
October was the harvest season for farmers.
If she were busy, no one would remember her.
It also let her focus on her work. In the market, Qiao Mai would buy chestnuts when she saw someone selling them and fry them for the children as snacks.
When Qiao Mai saw fresh lotus seeds, she would also buy them. She guarded the official road, so peddlers from the south and north had to pass by her. When she saw good ones, she would hurriedly ask them to stop. As long as they were not expensive, she would buy some. If they were expensive, she would buy them at a lower price.
With her space, she was not afraid of spoilage, nor was she afraid of buying too much.
The weather was getting cold, so she had to stock up on supplies.
Every month, she would hand over ten taels of silver to the Yuan family on time. She rarely asked about the family’s affairs. She gave the child freedom and space to the Yuan family. This was what the child and he liked the most.
With her busy work, mid-October soon arrived. The rice cakes at her home were almost dried out.
The temperature outside had also dropped to around 15 degrees. Everyone wore thin coats, and the wooden box Qiao Mai had ordered from the carpenter shop had also been delivered.
She placed the rice cakes into the wooden box. She put twenty in a box, accumulating to over two hundred boxes. It could be seen that she had collected a lot of rice cakes.
“Brother Yuan, can you help me send two boxes to Sister Chen next door?”
Yuan Jiaqi hesitated for a moment and felt that it was necessary to say it. “I’m a man. It’s inappropriate for me to give something to a single woman.”
“Then take Fengyun with you. Let him deliver it while you watch from the side.”
“Sure.”
“Give Shopkeeper Lu another ten boxes. Tell her not to eat too much at a time and to eat everything appropriately.”
“Alright.”
“Send another ten boxes to the mayor. I’ll sell the rest. We’ll keep twenty boxes for ourselves.
“You’re the head of the family. You can make the decisions.”
Qiao Mai glanced at him and smiled.” Okay.”
The rice cakes were round and had a layer of frost on them.
“It’s sweet and sticky, like eating glutinous rice balls. Not bad. Old people would probably love to eat it.”
After the mayor received it, he looked at it for a long time and tried a bite.
“Yes, it’s delicious and a little chewy. There are few fruits and vegetables in winter. Eating this is better than preserved fruits.”
He ate two in one go. If not for Yuan Jiaqi’s instructions, he would have eaten at least five.
Madam Qiao was really smart. Whenever there was delicious food, she would send it to him. She was worthy of his help.
Seeing that the weather was getting colder by the day, the Yuan family set up a shed at the side of the house. After discussing with Qiao Mai, they decided to stock up three carts of charcoal for ten taels of silver per cart and thirty catties of firewood for ten taels of silver per catty.
They had to burn the brick bed at home and warm the little quails. They could not do without firewood and charcoal for a while.
Qiao Mai thought and decided it was not enough to only stock up on these. She also asked Yuan Jiaqi to purchase a hundred catties of rice, white flour, and other groceries. The house was almost full.
Fengyun and Yunfeng had already moved to the west wing, and their original room had become a warehouse.
There were four upper rooms, one warehouse, one bedroom, one living room, and one kitchen.
To keep everyone warm in the winter, the east and west wings each had a stove hall dedicated to burning the charcoal.
There were four stoves in the house now, and each of them had a big pot on top.
This way, there was no need for a charcoal stove. They could cook the peanuts directly in the big pot.
At the end of October, the weather turned cold. Finally, the weather changed.
The north wind howled, causing people’s faces to hurt. Qiao Mai continued to set up her stall. The portable house she had ordered at the carpenter shop was already ready.
Yuan Jiaqi helped her set up the wooden house at the stall every day, prepare the table, and only went home after everything was done.
Many women envied Qiao Mai and praised Yuan Jiaqi the moment they met. Qiao Mai only smiled.
Sitting in the wooden house and guarding the four charcoal stoves, she was not cold at all. There were not many customers, so she was doing embroidery inside. She felt peaceful alone.
Many peddlers didn’t come out in such weather, but she was still holding on.
In such weather, they should be at home, boiling a pot of hot water, making tea, enjoying a plate of melon seeds, and sitting together as a family.
She didn’t want to stay at home. She felt uncomfortable when she was free. She couldn’t help her child with his studies in the morning.
In the afternoon, after the child had eaten, she would nap and play for a while. He had to copy and read books, which meant he was busy.
Since their relationship was fake, it was not necessary to be intimate together.
It was good to keep some distance.
Just as Qiao Mai was embroidering, a carriage stopped in front of her stall. Miss Wang, whom she had not seen for a long time, appeared.
“Hey, Sister Qiao?”
“Oh, what a rare guest.”
“Recently, something happened at home, so I didn’t come over. Please forgive me.”
“Where’s your brother?”
“He’s at home. He didn’t come with me today.”
“I just happen to have something to ask you for help. Can you do it?”
“Of course. What’s our relationship? As long as I can help, I’ll definitely do it.”
Hence, Qiao Mai called Xiu Hong over to look after the stall. She went to the embroidery shop and called Shopkeeper Lu, then led the carriage in front and arrived at the Qiao family’s house.
Miss Wang and the servant girl got out of the carriage. She held Shopkeeper Lu’s arm affectionately with one hand and Qiao Mai’s with the other.
“Is this your house?”
” Yes, go in. I’ll take you to see something.”
Shopkeeper Lu and Qiao Mai had been waiting for this day for a long time. They knocked on the door, and Yuan Jiaqi came out to open it. Seeing the outsiders, he opened the door and waited for them to enter. Then, he locked the door and went straight back to his room. “Sister Qiao, who is that?”
“My man?”
“Wow, I haven’t seen you for over a month, and you’re already married?”
“Yeah, it’s not my first marriage. We’re both willing to be together, so we moved our household registration.”
“This is too surprising. However, with your temper, I’m not quite surprised.”
She entered Qiao Mai’s room. “Shall we sit by the fire?”
“Your house is so warm.”
“There’s a charcoal brazier in the room, and the brick bed is also burning, so it’s naturally warm.”
“Your house is clean and tidy.”
“This is Sister Lu’s house. She saw that I was pitiful and let me stay..”