Chapter 42: Lies will be exposed one day

The morning was very quiet, with no one coming to buy her goods, which happened to be a moment of peace.

There were beggars in the small town, but they rarely came to her stall to beg because there wasn't anything that could fill their stomachs.

But today, two children came. Their faces were full of dirt, and they were so thin that only a big head remained.

The two children were about the same height and looked the same; they should be twins, looking about five or six years old.

They stood beside Qiao Mai, stretching out their hands, tears streaming down.

"Auntie, have pity on us. We haven't had a bite to eat for several days."

Qiao Mai looked at them, thinking of her own past. It could be said that both she and the original host had very bleak backgrounds.

"Where is your family?"

"Gone."

"Don't you have any relatives?"

"Yes, but they don't care about us and even occupied the family property left by our parents."

Qiao Mai's heart stirred. Looking at their thin and small appearance, she had the heart to take an ear of corn, but at this time, eating this would be bad for their stomachs.

So she turned around and shouted toward the shop, "Xiuhong, Xiuyu, come here."

"Coming!"

The two walked over. Looking at this scene, Qiao Mai instructed.

"Xiuyu, go get a basin of water and wash their hands and faces."

"Xiuhong, go to the restaurant over there and ask for two small bowls of noodles. Tell them to boil the noodles until they are soft."

"Okay!" The two left.

"Don't worry, you'll be able to eat in a while."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

"How old are you?"

"Seven years old."

Xiuyu washed their hands and faces clean. After her earnest questioning, she confirmed that these two children were orphans, and she decided to adopt them.

Watching the two children wolf down the noodles, "Would you like to follow Auntie from now on?"

"Yes. Whatever Auntie tells us to do, we will do, as long as we can be full."

She had Xiuhong watch the stall for her, packed two watermelons in a back basket, and put a little of everything from the small stall inside. Carrying the back basket, she led the two little ones to find the Town Chief.

This was her first time coming to the Town Chief's house. She stood at the door and stabilized her emotions. She knew the guards on both sides.

"Something to see the Official?"

"Something."

"Please wait a moment, Qiao Niangzi."

After the guard went in, he came out after a while. "The Official invites you in."

Entering inside, the Town Chief was sitting and drinking tea. Seeing Qiao Mai bringing the children, "What is this?"

"Town Chief, these two children were begging on the roadside. Look at their appearance; if you don't save them, they will starve to death."

"Are you wanting to buy them and come to me to handle the procedures?"

"No, it's adoption, letting them be my sons."

"How old are you to be raising sons this big?"

"Town Chief, there is one thing I would like to ask you for help with."

"Speak."

"It's my household registration."

"You need a residence to handle household registration. Aren't you living in Lu Niangzi's house now?"

"Then is there any vacant house in our town? I'll buy it first and register the household there."

"You can, but why don't you look for the Village Head of Taohua Village?"

"There's a grudge."

With one sentence, the Town Chief understood. He raised an eyebrow.

"I am friends with Lu Sanniang, so I'll speak plainly. Although I can talk to the people in the government office, I have to use silver to clear the path everywhere. To move household registration without the Village Head, I have to ask the government runners to make a trip to the countryside personally. Without silver, they won't move."

"How much? I'll borrow some from Sister Lu first and pay her back later."

"At least fifty taels!"

"Okay!"

"Then come over tomorrow, bring the separation document, and the names of these two little ones written on paper, and bring them to me together."

"Okay, Town Chief."

"Handle the residence as soon as possible."

"No need, just register it at that residence of mine first."

As soon as the words fell, Qiao Mai knew who had come. Lu Sanniang walked in and curled her lips.

"Heart is truly soft. Can't bear to see children suffer, adopting two at once. You just earned a bit of money and now you have to raise children."

Lu Sanniang took the deed of the residence from the pouch she carried and stuffed it to Qiao Mai.

"These house deeds and land deeds are all white deeds; there's no need to change the name, which is troublesome. You have the heart to save them, and I, as a big sister, cannot fail to contribute. Register the household first."

Seeing Lu Sanniang, the Town Chief gave a hehe smile. "Truly a rare guest; usually I can't invite you even if I want to."

"I'm busy."

Lu Sanniang touched the hairpin on her head and then threw a flirtatious look at the Town Chief.

She swept a glance at the things Qiao Mai brought. "Oh, Old Man, you have a fortune to enjoy. My little sister's things are all good."

"I am the Town Chief. Watching her stall, can I still lose out? My servant often goes to buy her things."

"Forget it. I was thinking of sending you a gift for the festival. This saves it; just treat it as the two of us sisters filial to you together."

"You are truly stingy."

"Who told you to be richer and more powerful than me? I have to be stingy with you to save my own."

You have this mouth, still the same as when you were young. Qiao Mai watched from the side and knew there was something between the two.

The Town Chief looked at Qiao Mai. "I have to have the land deed and house deed; the government runners won't handle it without confirming."

She hurriedly offered the house deed, land deed, and fifty taels of silver notes.

"Thank you, Town Chief. These two children are twins born in the same year, month, and day. One is called Qiao Yunfeng, the other is called Qiao Fengyun. They are seven years old. Their birthday is today, the first day of the eighth month."

"Mm, I know!"

"Thank you, Town Chief. If there is anything needed in the future, just give orders."

The Town Chief rolled his eyes at Qiao Mai. "You have a good sister; you should thank her. I don't dare to order you around."

Lu Sanniang glared at the Town Chief. "We sisters don't distinguish between each other. Thank what thank? Go, let's go home."

The two each pulled the hand of a child and left the Town Chief's residence. The Town Chief sighed helplessly and then shook his head.

Qiao Mai didn't like gossip. Even if she saw something, she didn't intend to say much.

Arriving at the clothing store, she bought two sets of clothes for the two children. Lu Sanniang followed all the way just to provide cover for her.

If outsiders asked, she would say she bought them, and the two children recognized Qiao Mai as their mother.

Although lies will be exposed one day, by that day, Qiao Mai would have already stood firm and would not fear those petty people.

Returning home, she boiled a pot of boiling water, mixed it with cold water in a large basin, gave the two children a hot bath, and changed them into new clothes.

Dressed up like this, the twin brothers were actually quite handsome.

Both had big eyes, double eyelids, and would definitely be handsome men with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes when they grew up.

The two little ones changed into clothes and were still a bit unaccustomed.

"Auntie, what do you want us to do? Please give orders."

"Two little fools, you aren't servants in the house; you are my sons."

"Then Mother, what should we do?"

"From now on, the first thing you do when you get up every morning is brush your teeth, wash your face, and wash your hands, keeping yourselves clean."

"Hehe, yes, Mother."

"On the windowsill, there is green salt. Use your fingers to dip in the green salt, apply it to your teeth, grind it back and forth several times, and then rinse your mouth. Remember not to swallow the salt water."

"Yes, Mother."

She and her two sons washed themselves clean together and then ran several laps in the courtyard.

She practiced boxing, and let them watch from the side. Once they learned it, they could learn to practice it themselves.

After three sets of boxing, she was already sweating profusely. She washed her face again before starting to burn the fire.

"Mother, I can burn the fire. I'll do it. What are we making for breakfast?"

There wasn't even a mantou in the house. Thinking for a moment, "Making noodle soup. There's no dry food in the house. I'll go buy some back this morning."

"Mother, we can steam mantou. Does the house have old yeast?"

"How old are you to know these?"

"Mother steamed mantou at home, and we would help on the side. We learned it by watching since we were small."

"I'll borrow a piece of yeast from the neighbor later. You can try steaming it again. Let's just make do this morning."

Heating the pot, she scooped a spoonful of lard, sautéed the green onion, ginger, and garlic, filled half a pot with water, and cracked six eggs inside.

Only then did she scoop half a bowl of flour and mix it into dough lumps. "Which of you two is the older one?"