Chapter 117: Black‑Hearted Rotten‑Lunged Things

"What is there to look for? When we cut off family ties, my family and I had nothing; this house is what I earned over the past year, and even if they sue, I have a case."

"Ugh, they're as disgusting as flies."

"How's Xin'er over there?"

"Pretty good. Her grandparents treat her very well, and they haven't probed her dowry; mainly it's that Momo by her side handling things. As for the shop, we just finished renovating it, bought a few people who are practicing recipes, and it'll officially open in a few days."

"That's good. After the New Year, Ruyi also wants to talk about marriage, right?"

"After the New Year the coming‑of‑age ceremony isn't until September, no rush; we'll talk after that."

Qiao Mai's eyes flickered; she wanted to bring up the Lu family's children's education issue, but decided against it.

Shopkeeper Lu has no patience for her own family, let alone for an outsider like her; if she were to speak out and reveal her feelings, it could create a rift, which would be bad.

"Is Liu Ye doing okay following Xiuhong and the others?"

"She gets angry at us like this, what can we do?"

"When we cut ties, she had nothing; suing her wouldn't hold up, at most we could claim the pension she received was insufficient and ask the County Magistrate to re‑judge, hoping the severance could be nullified."

The other three nodded together, "I think it's fine; as long as we are sincere to Fifth Brother, he won't be ungrateful."

Tian Li Shi is truly scared; she's afraid of provoking the Qiao Shi again. If her descendants cause trouble again, even without evidence, the Qiao Shi is the most likely to deal with the Tian Family.

"That scoundrel actually knows Double‑sided Embroidery; she used that small trade and her Double‑sided Embroidery skill to buy such a huge house?"

Tian Laotou of the Tian Family was so angry he almost smashed his rice bowl; his face was twisted, iron‑blue.

"Mm, she's your partner, not some guest of the Qiao Family."

This was a persistent urging of Tian Laotou, but alas, he lost a money‑tree; how could a greedy Tian Laohan be content?

When she arrived, she learned that the town's beggars couldn't be housed; she wanted to ask if her vacant shop could spare a room so they could sleep there temporarily, with the town mayor providing clothing and two meals a day.

The two stayed awake all night, and the next day ran to several Dizi's homes to tell them about it.

"Where there's no wind, there's no wave; you don't know a thing."

"Will we still go to the town?"

"Fifth Brother isn't a cold‑hearted person; if it weren't for our parents' unreasonable actions, he wouldn't have grown distant. But after all, we're blood brothers, and after dividing the family we can still live decently. How about the family chips in some silver, buys something decent to visit them, without worrying about any patronage—let's take this first step and see, what do you think?"

"Ah, if only my Third Son were here."

"Understood, understood."

However, Qiao Mai's reputation has risen considerably after this incident.

Their son is a son‑in‑law in another family; knowing that the house belongs to Qiao Niang, the two wish they could sprout wings and fly into Jixiang Yuan, to pick the best mansion to live in.

Then the meat is placed into a large jar, soaked in soy sauce, left for three to five days, taken out, threaded on a rope, and hung under the eaves outside to air‑dry naturally.

She inspected those two pork heads; the butcher handled them very cleanly, so she felt quite reassured.

Qiao Shicheng gritted his teeth, "Not only that, Cuihua's son also went to Jingtai Restaurant as a helper."

"That's her—what can you do? Getting angry harms the body; shall we eat?"

Unwittingly, the news spread to the Qiao Family, the Tian Family, and the Yuan Family.

"Those black‑hearted, rotten‑lunged things, their whole family won't die a good death."

"I've already told Xiuhong, we won't treat them differently; you can rest assured."

These days, the town talks most about Qiao Niang's matter.

After the two elders are sent away, the four brothers sit together to discuss.

So the southernmost shop of the Qiao Family was cleaned out; in the two side rooms of the backyard, the town mayor sent people to buy mats and bedding for them, providing two meals of steamed buns daily.

She assists the town mayor in charitable deeds; everyone says she has accumulated great virtue, and the shop's business improves day by day, and the family fortune grows daily.

"Old man, don't be angry; it might not be hers. If it were hers, why wouldn't the sign at the door say Qiao Family? It's just rumors spread by the townsfolk."

"Hum, that Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl is stubborn; I have no hope for her."

I have to say, these people are really trying to find ways to make themselves uncomfortable.

Oh dear, the regretful ones all want to run into walls.

The unintended action again provoked a big dispute with those families.

Mayor Qian's speech offered good food and drink; they were already accustomed to laziness, and once they got used to it, they'd do nothing.

"Tomorrow, you split up and go to the town: one to look for her daughter, the other to look for her son."

Back then, Fifth Son wanted to become a son‑in‑law because it suited him; why all the fuss? No need to sever ties and cause trouble—if we did it now, we could bask in the glory.

"I said that, and what the heck am I supposed to go for?"

"What's his point, anyway?"

"I'm just afraid of this, so I've kept postponing; let's talk after the New Year."

The Qiao Shicheng family's hearts felt as sore as being clawed by a cat: "That damned servant girl, with such a big matter, she actually kept it hidden, fearing we'd be tainted by her fame?"

"I heard after you drove your sister out, you went to the town to look for her, and even arranged her family's daughter to Xiu Zhuang?"

No one voiced an opinion; they just said let them go home and stop dwelling on this matter all day.

The four front legs were placed in a small jar to marinate, the four hindquarters were separated, stewed in a big pot and given to the two dogs at home.

The rest was put into the Ice Kiln for use when stir‑frying.

This meat turned out far tastier than cured meat.

They all thought Qiao Mai was provoking them, preferring to let beggars stay in her house rather than them, and choosing to aid the beggars over helping their own relatives.

"Mayor Qian, as long as they don't make a mess inside, it's fine; I'm a clean‑freak."

"Mm, don't tell father and mother, lest they can't curb their insatiable greed and further damage the bond of our brotherhood."

Regardless of how Tianshui Town spreads the rumors, the Qiao Mai family lives as they will, as if outside affairs have nothing to do with them.

She dares not let her family provoke her again; if Yaohui causes any more trouble, the Tian Family will have no chance to come out on top.

The household's servant girls and old women, at their beck and call, have all the gold, silver, and jewels under their control.

The Yuan Family, not to mention, is even more unbearable than the Tian Family.

"Shall we go to the Yamen to report her?"

"I'll handle it properly."

"Let's not mess up and get beaten again."

That day, Town Mayor Qian sent guards to ask her to come over.

"Back then she was devoted to San'er; otherwise, would she have been willing to let you grind for such a long time?"

Qiao Mai agreed, thinking that after the New Year, it's better to find these beggars some work within their ability, which is still better than just idling and waiting for death.

"That's not good; you've already cut ties with her. Moreover, if we cause trouble that affects their business, the Shopkeeper won't care whether we're relatives. And if you stir up a scene, that damned Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl will hate us even more. How can we smooth things over?"

She didn't care about those empty words; these past few days she's been busy in the Chufang.

She was handling the two pigs, cutting the pork into strips, processing the soy sauce, and soaking the meat in the soy sauce to make it evenly saturated.

The whole family gnawed their molars, as if they could swallow Qiao Mai whole, skin and all.

"She already has a man, and that man is good-looking and educated; we shouldn't think about it. Let's just support Yaohui's studies."

"Fine, let's do it that way."

She divided the work between two stoves, brining in two Large Pots for a full two hours. After cooling, the meat separated from the bones; she taught the Kitchen Maid how to season pig ears and mix pork head meat. That night everyone tasted it and unanimously said it was delicious.

The butcher shop owner had already delivered several batches of Pig Trotters and pork intestines.

Qiao Mai saw it still wasn't enough, and she kept delaying the brining. She told people to hold the pork intestines, and she planned to use those intestines as casings to make a batch of sausages before the New Year—she wouldn't sell them, just eat them herself.

Before she knew it, it was the twelfth month, and the vegetables in the five‑mu backyard plot were thriving.

(End of chapter)