Chapter 119: Who Dares to Provoke a Woman Like This?

Qiao Mai didn't step forward to greet; she ate the cold noodles by herself.

Madam Feng looked around the shop, perhaps there were too many people, and didn't recognize Qiao Mai; seeing the business so good, her smile never faded.

Qiao Mai finished eating, wiped her mouth with her hand, then greeted the woman and turned to leave.

She didn't go to the Feng Family, filled the cart with the fruit from the storage, then hurried the carriage back, and unloaded the goods at Qiao Ji Snack Puzi before nightfall.

She silently delivered the winter dates to the horse stable, returned to her room, took off her clothes, and quietly went up onto the kang.

Yuehong brought Ling'er over to find her; seeing Master looking pale, she took Ling'er to another room to play.

Yuexia brought a pot of tea and set it before her, "Master, you don't look well."

"It's nothing, put it down and go out."

"Yes, Master."

Not to the point of taking the prescription, business is so good, not even a hum?

This County Town isn't far from Tianshui Town; could she be pregnant?

She is going to make sausages; although there is storage, it's New Year, she must send New Year goods to the town mayor, bring some back for the old gentleman of the Wang Family, and also some rare items, so the storage's stock appears a bit low.

The livestock market actually has many people; many have money by year‑end and want to add a beast to the family, either for pulling carts or for plowing.

"Master, this sausage is delicious, truly delicious, worthy of being called sausage."

There are many people at home, it's New Year, so not only Master can eat the good stuff; the New Year goods must be stocked sufficiently. Fortunately it gets very cold here in winter; some meat can be stored for a month without spoiling, acting as a natural big freezer.

After discarding the thoughts in her mind, her mood improved considerably, and she spent a while playing with Ling'er.

Vendors setting up stalls on both sides and passing pedestrians, upon seeing her, all looked on with awe; look at her attire—she is a Master who commands slaves and maids, not someone ordinary folk dare to provoke.

Someone in the kitchen was pounding, removing the especially fatty parts, stripping the skin, using the storage's meat grinder to turn the marbled meat into minced meat, slicing a portion of pork into thin strips, then chopping a few random cuts, and dividing them into several large basins.

Placed it while still warm, and carried it over on a plate.

These two are also grateful, and they are even more attentive to Ling'er.

Celebrating New Year here, that's all there is—just a small town, nothing rare.

"Mother, eat!"

Qiao Mai led three old women; one old woman drove the cart, the other two followed behind her.

She carried the pork into the small kitchen; the two servant girls wanted to help, but she didn't allow it, just told them to watch over Ling'er.

Yuehong and Yuexia swallowed saliva, each taking a piece to eat.

The twentieth day of the twelfth month is the big market in Tianshui Town; now the household still has no Steward, so she must decide everything.

The Qiao Family is a major client; no trader in Tianshui Town doesn't know them.

Besides some dried goods, there's really nothing else.

Forget it, better not think about it; overthinking leads to mischief, just observe and let things change.

Of course, she didn't do it on purpose; nowadays Xinghua Village, Lihua Village, and Taohua Village are all paying close attention to Qiao Mai's movements.

Ling'er, after seeing it in the house, pointed at those items and giggled, her little teeth showing—how cute.

Those items were all piled up: freshly slaughtered white‑striped chickens, cleaned thoroughly, twenty of them; ducks, twenty; fish, fifty.

"Eat! Eat!"

But after leaving this home, it's like throwing a meat bun at a dog—no more hum.

Regardless of the type of sausage, it needs to be air‑dried. Cured sausage requires about half a month of wind‑drying, red sausage a day, then steaming and smoking; garlic‑scented sausage also needs drying—once the casing skin is sufficiently dry, it is steamed over fire. There are many sausage‑making methods; for now she will stick to these few.

Using this time, she removed all the casings, cleaned them, took out a pre‑made funnel, and filled the casings with meat.

The pig, once it entered the house, was taken by an old woman into her courtyard.

"It will be ready to eat by the New Year; one kind needs at least ten days of drying, the others need processing after drying, and will be edible in a few days."

She taught her Double‑sided Embroidery; if idle, it can bring a hundred‑plus taels a month, and with this shop, a few hundred taels in income.

At the slightest wind or rustle, they all know about it.

Seeing some casings left, she made some fish sausages.

Around the long corridor in her courtyard, ropes were tied up, and hanging on them were sausages, segment by segment.

She isn't being petty about her belongings; it's just that she feels this disciple, after marrying, has truly changed.

"Hmm, really delicious."

At the market, Qiao Mai truly stole the spotlight.

"Hehe, meat! Eat!"

Qiao Mai, with several old women, drove the cart around the market to purchase New Year goods.

Back then they pitied her so much; now they envy her.

Who dares to offend a woman like this? Which servant dares to act up?

After buying the New Year goods, she had an old woman deliver the items home, then personally went to the butcher shop, ordered a freshly slaughtered pig from the owner, and had him send it to the Qiao Family.

Don't underestimate the two servant girls because they're young; since they started looking after Ling'er, they've treated her as their own child, especially diligent and responsible. Whatever tasty food Qiao Mai has, as long as there's a portion for the children, there's a portion for them.

She only has two shops; if this shop were managed by an old woman, she would be quite idle.

According to the recipe's ingredient ratios, add the seasonings, mix thoroughly, and let it marinate for a while.

They are very respectful to Master, not only because Master treats them well, but also because Master truly has skill.

"This is made for the children; adults eating pork sausage find it even more fragrant."

Saying that, she took a small piece and handed it to Ling'er, who lifted the sausage and offered it to her.

Qiao Mai kissed her forehead, then bit a piece with her little hand.

It was once thought that the Qiao Shi would die after leaving the Tian family, but now they are flourishing, with a scholarly Xianggong and three sons and a daughter; the couple respect each other, and life grows ever more prosperous.

Since Ruxin married, it has been two months; before she married, she would personally deliver two sets of clothing for each season.

She poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and warmed her body.

"This is already very tasty; if it were pork sausage, wouldn't that be?"

Thinking of the children, she went back to the storage, cut off each chicken's breast, ground them into a paste, mixed it, and made some chicken sausages for the children.

Even the villagers of Taohua Village, where Qiao Mai once lived, lowered their heads when they saw her and dared not look at her any longer.

After Qiao Mai tasted a bite, she let the two watch the children, then returned to the Xiaochufang, lit a fire directly, and rendered all that fatty meat.

She had long wanted to try making some sausages; she had already found the recipes online and memorized them.

"Come, you're lucky; this is my first time making sausages, try them all."

As a woman, not only can she earn money, but she also possesses a body of Yishu.

She teased Yuehong and Yuexia, saying, "Mother is making meat for Miss right now, don't be impatient; once it's done, you can eat it."

Not only did she become friendly with the Town Mayor, she also got to know the wealthy families of Fucheng; her backing is quite strong now, and she is no longer someone they can casually discuss and mock.

Qiao Mai, seeing this, pulled down a rack of fish meat sausages that had been sun‑dried for only half an hour, and steamed a few sticks for her first.

The big bones and pig heads were cleaned, all simmered in a pot, the Chufang was tidied up; she either doesn't work at all, or when she does, she does it briskly and cleanly.

The old gentleman had told her that on the twenty‑eighth day of the twelfth month they would return to Fucheng, so before they left she must have everything ready.

To be honest, if Wang Zongsheng hadn't sent someone to ask, the old couple wouldn't have wanted to go back.

How wonderful the Qiao Family is—warmer than Fucheng, better food than Fucheng, better living than Fucheng, happier than Fucheng; what would they go back to see those so many eyesore people doing?

(End of chapter)