Chapter 59: That is my father

Qiao Mai received attention from all sides after setting up the stall, but this didn't delay her doing business. The small business was even more booming.

Business was constant all day, and she wasn't idle at all.

At noon, Yuan Jiaqi cooked at home and even let Fengyun send a trip.

White rice, with stir-fried dishes, she finished it all.

When closing the stall, Yuan Jiaqi came personally, let her walk, and he pushed the cart, looking like a good husband.

He wasn't acting; it was sincere, thanking Qiao Mai for helping him, thanking Qiao Mai for her sacrifice.

He chose Qiao Mai, having his own selfishness. The good things about Qiao Mai he said before were all superficial.

He was good-looking, diligent, and cared for the family, had no bad habits, and was a good man in the eyes of young girls and young wives.

There were always women throwing autumn waves at him, which really made him annoyed.

But Qiao Mai looked at him as if looking at an ordinary person, having no such thoughts about him at all. Plus Qiao Mai's character, and the urgency of his family forcing him, this was why he sought help from Qiao Mai.

Didn't expect she just thought about it, asked a few questions, and extended a helping hand, not caring at all.

And he observed Qiao Mai; she didn't agree because she had feelings for him, but sincerely helped him.

So, he also had to treat her sincerely and repay her grace of rescue.

Seeing Yuan Jiaqi come to close the stall with Qiao Mai, Shopkeeper Lu felt relieved. She knew this man was a good one.

Not a good one would have thrown the child at home long ago and gone out to be carefree.

"Brother-in-law, treat my sister well?"

Yuan Jiaqi nodded to Shopkeeper Lu. "Yuan will definitely treat my wife well."

Returning home, the meal was also cooked, and Qiao Mai felt incomparably relaxed.

"Really thank you!"

"You're welcome, we live together, let's help each other."

"Alright, since everyone is here, I'll say something."

"Please say."

"There are many people, we can't be like before. Without rules, there is no circle. From now on, I will give you ten taels of silver every month to manage the housework, okay?"

"This can be done. I'm idle at home anyway, just teaching and copying books."

"Mm, this ten taels of silver includes buying vegetables and eating, as well as children's clothes and brush and ink. If it's not enough, you can tell me, you don't have to pay out of your own pocket."

"I'll buy mine and Chuan'er's myself."

"No need. You do housework, which can be considered helping me reduce the burden, so I can concentrate on earning money outside."

Yuan Jiaqi thought about it and wasn't pretentious. "Good."

"In the future, when Fengyun and I get up to exercise, you and Chuan'er must also get up to exercise. Only with a strong physique can you not fear wind, rain, disaster, and disease."

Yuan Jiaqi's face straightened. "This is even more doable."

"Finally, whatever I do, if you want to support, help me. If you don't want to support, stand on the side. Don't interfere. I decide my own affairs, you decide your own affairs. If both sides need to cooperate, discuss it in advance."

"No problem!"

On the spot, Qiao Mai took out ten taels of broken silver, put it in a cloth bag, and handed it to Yuan Jiaqi.

"Keep accounts one by one, human feelings don't count."

"Alright."

"Then start eating. In the future, when I'm not at home, you and the children cook. When I'm at home, I'll improve your life."

She was the head of the family now. Only after she moved her chopsticks could others move theirs.

Little Chuan'er looked at Qiao Mai, his eyes smiling.

"Mother, today Big Brother and Second Brother didn't call Father teacher, they called him father."

"Then you called me mother, what's wrong? Only allowed you to call me mother, not allowed them to call him father?"

"That is my father?"

"Then I am still their mother. Or, you call me aunt in the future, then they can call him teacher."

Chuan'er frowned, unwillingly saying.

"Alright, for Mother's sake, I allow them to call him father."

"Haha!"

The small courtyard was full of laughter even when eating. Chen Shi listened next door and felt very uncomfortable. She really regretted not confessing to Yuan Jiaqi earlier.

At night, Qiao Mai still slept in the space. She had been lazy for two days, and tonight she made up for that piece of empty land.

She planted four fen of land with potatoes. The weather was getting colder, and vegetables would be less and less. In a few days, she would plant cabbage, white radish, red radish, and other vegetables.

Some yellow ginger, garlic, green onions, etc., also had to be planted. Tree seeds would be planted later.

The fruits from the fruit trees were almost all in her refrigerator. Nuts were not available for the time being. Cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn, etc., were prepared quite a lot on the shelf, and could be copied after use, so she wasn't in a hurry.

She had thought about it. If there were candied hawthorns sold in town in winter, she wouldn't sell them. If not, she would add candied hawthorns.

Sell roasted sweet potatoes, boiled corn, five-spice peanuts, five-spice quail eggs, these five kinds were enough.

Shopkeeper Lu had advised her to open a shop, but there were no empty ones in town, all occupied by others. She wasn't short of money, so just make do.

She felt setting up a stall was more interesting than opening a shop. In the cold winter, merchants coming and going would come to her stall. Without getting off the horse, they could eat hot sweet potatoes, boiled corn, peanuts, quail eggs. How good was that?

Entering September, fewer people bought watermelons, but there were still some.

Some agricultural products were gradually hitting the market, and there were also fresh peanuts and sweet potatoes, but none sold as well as hers.

Many mountain goods also appeared on the market one after another.

Sometimes seeing fresh ones, she would buy some, but most had wormholes, which made her very unhappy.

Recently, a kind of persimmon appeared in Tianshui Town, as big as a millstone, looking appetizing.

She didn't have this in the space. Persimmons were good things, belonging to alkaline food, and eating them often was good for the body.

So she would buy them when she saw them, and it was a big buy. She agreed with the persimmon seller, as long as the persimmons were good, she would buy them all.

So the persimmon seller sent them to her one trip after another.

She didn't refuse anyone and accepted them all.

Bought a few large vats, put in warm water, soaked the hard persimmons in a few vats and sealed them, and handed the rest to Yuan Jiaqi and the children.

She had him make a few shelves, peeled the outer skin of the persimmons, then threaded them with thread, hung them outside to air-dry naturally, intending to make them all into persimmon cakes.

Strings of yellow-orange, like small lanterns, were particularly good-looking.

She had noticed that in the Great Ming Dynasty, there was no such thing, which was a business opportunity.

A small courtyard, as long as there was a place, was full of this.

Chuan'er was gluttonous. Although Qiao Mai had warned him that this was very astringent, he didn't believe it. When Qiao Mai wasn't there, he stole a bite, spat it out at the time, and almost cried, which made Yuan Jiaqi cry and laugh.

Six days later, the sealed vat was opened by Qiao Mai. She took one out, washed it clean, peeled it, cut it into pieces, pinched a piece and tasted it.

Mm, crispy, sweet, the taste was quite good.

Then she washed a few more, peeled and cut them into pieces, and called everyone over to taste them.

"The taste is not bad, compared to other fruits, it has a different flavor, fragrant and slightly sweet."

"These were bought at two wen a catty, how about selling them at five wen a catty after soaking?"

"Will anyone buy?"

Qiao Mai gave a hee-hee smile. "Old customers, everyone has to give some face. Eating this is good for the body, they should buy it."

"I'm not good at business."

Qiao Mai found a large basin, picked out some persimmons and cleaned them, and asked her son to bring two baskets, using a towel to wipe the persimmons clean one by one.

"Fengyun, you go and send a basket to Shopkeeper Lu."

"Yes, Mother."

"Yunfeng, go and send a basket to your Aunt Chen, tell them how to eat it, you two go together, come back together."

"I'm going too." Chuan'er hurriedly followed them, and Yuan Jiaqi also hurriedly stood up and followed.

"I'm not at ease, I'll follow them."

"Alright!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 60 =====