When someone comes to deliver a gift and injures their foot, it wouldn’t be right for the host to ignore it, regardless of the situation.
Xu Huan patted Xiang Zhen’s hand, “I’ll go see to it.”
Xiang Zhen’s beautiful almond eyes followed her husband’s figure.
Xu Ming pouted, “What a coincidence. Maybe it’s like in the city where people play tricks.”
Xiang Zhen sighed lightly, “It’s my fault.”
Xu Ming immediately got nervous, “No, sister-in-law, don’t think that way, it’s not your fault. Really, even if you had ten or eight sons, there would still be people eyeing my brother!”
Although he hit Xiang Zhen’s sore spot, his words made her laugh, “What are you saying?”
“I’m telling the truth. Come on, have some zongzi. It’s really delicious.”
Xu Huan quickly returned, and Xu Ming hurriedly asked, “What’s going on?”
“It’s fine, I had someone arrange a cart to take her back home.” Xu Huan was helpless and turned to Xiang Zhen, “In the future, if you want to socialize, I think Lady Liang is a good choice. She has a straightforward personality and it should be easy to get along with her. If you like, you can invite her over more often, and Tang Wa can play with her son.”
The implication was that the girl they just dealt with was not suitable. Xiang Zhen understood and nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Miao Duan’er was happily riding home in Xu’s luxurious carriage.
It was her first time riding in a carriage in her life. She wished everyone knew she was inside, stretching her head out as far as possible until someone finally noticed.
When the carriage stopped in front of Miao Jue’s house, a young man jumped out and quickly ran to the door, calling out loudly.
“Is this Miao Sir’s residence? Your daughter twisted her ankle at the Xu residence. Someone, come help her down!” His crisp voice quickly explained most of the situation.
Lin Xue hurried to open the door. Seeing the beautiful carriage in front of her house, she was momentarily stunned.
The young man quickly explained, “Are you Miao Ma’am? Your daughter hurt her foot, please help her. It’s not appropriate for us as she’s an unmarried girl.”
This roundabout speech confused Lin Xue, but she moved to the carriage and helped her beaming daughter down.
As Miao Duan’er got off, she looked grateful, “Please thank the Xu Young Master for me. I will definitely bring a thank-you gift next time.”
The young man smiled politely, “No need. My master specifically instructed that since it’s a busy festival day and there might be a shortage of hands, he sent the girl back. No need for any extra thanks.”
His words made things even clearer.
People usually exchange zongzi during festivals with those they are familiar with. Whether Miao’s family was familiar with the new Xu family was unknown, but it certainly wasn’t appropriate for an unmarried girl to deliver them alone. Though the village rules weren’t strict, this situation clearly sounded off.
Some curious neighbors overheard and started whispering and giggling among themselves.
Lin Xue’s face turned red. After thanking the young man, she quickly pulled her daughter inside.
Once inside, she shut the door and scolded, “You heard what he said! I told you it was improper! I told you not to go last night, and today you sneaked off! If you do something so foolish again, I’ll tell your grandfather, and see how he teaches you a lesson!”
Miao Duan’er didn’t seem to mind at all, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “But Mother, you don’t understand, the Xu residence is really big and beautiful! That house might even be grander than the wealthiest homes in town! There were many servants and maids in the yard! It’s a truly prestigious family!”
This string of admiration made Lin Xue pause, “Even maids?”
“The maids are dressed better than us, Mother! Even if people laugh at me, so what? If I can get into that family, won’t I be able to eat well and live well, with people to help with laundry, firewood, and chores? Brother’s tuition fees would also be covered, right?”
Her last words hit Lin Xue’s heart.
Indeed, Miao Yuan was currently studying at home because the private school in town no longer accepted him. The school’s sudden dismissal was likely due to the Wang family’s influence. They couldn’t fight back, and if Miao Yuan wanted to continue his studies, he’d have to go to a bigger private school in the county. But where would they get the money now that their workshop was closed?
Lin Xue hesitated, “But hasn’t the Xu family’s eldest already married? Your grandfather wouldn’t agree to you becoming a concubine. And the younger one isn’t an option.”
“Mother, just help me mention it to Grandfather from time to time. Say it’s for Brother’s sake, and I’m willing. And I’ll work on building a good relationship with the lady of the house.”
Miao Duan’er was full of confidence, already calling her “sister.”
***
While Miao Duan’er was dreaming, it was June, and the first batch of peanuts at Miao He’s place was ready for harvest. Even though the seeds from the fertile soil were good, the actual yield and whether it would cover the land tax could only be known after harvesting. Hearing the peanuts were ready, Miao He eagerly dragged Yang Dalang, carrying the babies, to the field to check the harvest.
They saw Miao Ping pull out a peanut plant with a low grunt. The plant was covered with numerous, densely packed peanuts! Each pod was large and full! All of them were a healthy light brown, with no rotten ones!
A visibly pregnant Chen Ping beamed with joy. “There are so many peanuts! If every plant in the field is like this, how many peanuts will we get? And with so much land planted, He Ge’er, can the teahouse really take in so many?”
Farmers worry. When there’s no harvest, they worry about bad yields. When there’s a good harvest, they worry about poor prices and not being able to sell.
Miao He quickly explained, “It’s not just for the teahouse. They also have an oil mill behind them. They said these peanuts have a good oil yield, so they dared to have so many planted.”
Miao Ping felt reassured and, with no more worries, worked even harder. “Great! Let’s harvest all the peanuts today and plant the next batch quickly!”
Though it sounded easy, harvesting peanuts was laborious. Bending down, digging, pulling up the plants, and picking the peanuts, then spreading them out to dry, turning them occasionally to let the soil dry and fall off. It couldn’t rain during this process, or the harvested peanuts would rot!
Miao He and Yang Dalang, as the landowners, felt a bit guilty seeing everyone working hard while they were relatively relaxed. They wanted to help but were sent away, even from Zhao Di’s patch. Eventually, they could only go home, make herbal tea, and carry it to the hardworking farmers who barely had time to drink.
The fruits of their labor were sweet and joyful.
When the teahouse came to buy peanuts and settle accounts, each tenant received almost two taels of silver! This was the profit after deducting two taels for the land tax! If they planted another batch and deducted the remaining one tael of tax, the annual profit from each plot of land would be three to four taels!
That’s about the net income from a year’s work on a rice field, without worrying about taxes!
Such a fruitful outcome quickly spread throughout the village.
People frequently knocked on Yang Dalang’s door, asking if there was more land to rent. Even Miao Min came, regardless of past grudges. But the most uproarious was Miao He’s mother’s family. Zhang Mian, upon hearing that renting land could indeed yield silver, demanded that her relatives rent more plots, claiming that it would be an insult to their poor relatives otherwise.
Li Zhao Di immediately stood up and retorted, saying it was Zhang Mian who didn’t want to rent more before, and she didn’t know why she now claimed their family was so poor, maybe because the second family’s expenses were a bit high, but it had nothing to do with He Ge’er. This retort made Zhang Mian furious, but there was nothing she could do. After all, He Ge’er’s mother was Li Zhao Di, not Zhang Mian.
Seeing the strong and supportive Li Zhao Di, who was confident in the peanut fields, Miao He thought it was good to have such support. Next time they expanded the land, he would definitely consult her again.
In June, besides the peanut harvest, there was another event: Miao Qiang’s wedding.
The wedding happened quickly. At first, there was news of the engagement but no date. Suddenly, he was married.
The bride was a girl from the neighboring Shijia village, the same village as Aunt Qing.
Yang Dalang didn’t attend the wedding. Aunt Qing only came to chat briefly before the wedding and didn’t invite him. This mother, who previously had a glimmer of hope for reconciliation between the two, now suspected her son had feelings for He Ge’er and couldn’t bring herself to invite them.
Regardless, seeing her son successfully married, and the bride shy and blushing the next day, Aunt Qing felt a bit guilty but mostly relieved. The guilt was towards the bride, but she believed that with time, her son would forget the person in his heart.
Seeing her son occasionally avoid her gaze, Aunt Qing could only convince herself of this.
***
In the hot July, while Miao He was enjoying an ice-cold watermelon every day to escape the heat, he heard that a cold noodle shop had opened in town.
It was opened by Min Chun, who had left the village.
Shopkeeper Jin, who brought this gossip while enjoying a piece of the cool and crisp watermelon, knew that visiting often would lead to new ingredients! The new watermelon patch in the backyard, oh my, paired with ice, could make the teahouse earn so much silver!! He immediately placed a high-price order for all of it!
Wiping his mouth, Shopkeeper Jin continued, “It’s just a small shop specializing in cold noodles. The noodles are quite unique; I’ve tried them. They’re sour, spicy, and slippery, very appetizing. I must be vigilant with all these new foods popping up. Luckily, I found your watermelon, hahaha, just in time, just in time.”
Cold noodles? Another familiar food.
Miao He couldn’t help but think of the suspected time traveler behind Miao Yuan’s family. Right, why hadn’t there been any movements from them, and nothing new from the Miao family after the tofu skin? If Min Chun was that person, the timing seemed to match?
After Shopkeeper Jin left, Miao He couldn’t help but discuss it with Yang Dalang.
“Want to meet them?” Yang Dalang asked.
Miao He hesitated, “Just a bit curious, but I’m not sure. Next time you go to town, could you buy some cold noodles for me to try?”
Yang Dalang nodded. He also wanted to see if Min Chun had a good character.
If not, then no matter what, it wouldn’t be possible.
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Why all of them are at our bubus’ place again ><
Thank You for the new chapter ?(????)