Chapter 61

"That's more like it. Remember to come find me next time you have something."

"Understood."

Just as the Town Chief left, an old couple came to her stall. Qiao Mai sat in her chair and watched them calmly.

It turned out to be Yuan Jiaqi's parents. She thought to herself, they're here to cause trouble again.

"You are Jiaqi's wife?"

"That's right, I am!"

"I remember you; you were in the crowd watching last time."

"Yes, I watched the excitement for a while. So what?"

Qiao Mai just looked at them calmly like that.

"He's at home; he didn't come along today."

"Send another ten boxes to Shopkeeper Lu. Tell her not to eat too much at once; everything should be consumed in moderation."

"Let me tell you, there's no way you're leaving the Yuan family that easily!"

Once she was busy, no one would bother her.

"Oh, a rare guest."

"Did you encourage Jiaqi to do this?"

"It's truly surprising, but knowing Sister Qiao's temper, I suppose she could do it."

This way, there was no need to set up charcoal stoves to boil peanuts or anything else; they could just boil them in the large pot on the stove.

"There have been some things at home recently, so I haven't come over. Please forgive me, Sister Qiao."

To keep everyone warm in winter, they built another stove in both the east and west wing rooms specifically for heating the kang.

In the afternoon, after the children ate and took a nap, they would play for a while, while he had to copy books and read; he also had plenty to do.

The persimmons, as big as millstones, were sun-dried and pressed by her into round cakes, covered with a layer of white frost.

"Hmm, delicious, and it has a bit of chewiness. With few fruits and vegetables in winter, eating this is better than eating candied fruit; that stuff is too sweet, this is just right."

Just as she was diligently doing her embroidery, a carriage stopped in front of her stall, and Miss Wang, whom she hadn't seen for a long time, appeared.

These three families would likely keep coming to cause trouble in the future. For a small farming household without backing, it really added some fun to her life.

"I happen to have something I need your help with, is that okay?"

"Your house is so warm."

"My man?"

Being busy like this, it was already mid-tenth lunar month, and the persimmon cakes at home were almost dried.

"Send another ten boxes to the Town Chief, and I'll take the rest to sell. We'll keep twenty boxes at home for ourselves."

"Sister Qiao, who is that?"

Seeing the weather getting colder by the day, Yuan Jiaqi built a shed on one side of the house. After discussing it with Qiao Mai, they stockpiled three cartloads of good charcoal at ten taels of silver per cart, and thirty loads of firewood at ten wen per load.

"Okay."

He ate two in one go; if it weren't for Yuan Jiaqi's warning, he could have eaten at least five.

"You are the head of the household; you make the decisions."

Why did these two come looking for them? Naturally, they had heard the rumors and verified them. If they had known that their youngest son's wife was the Lady Qiao that everyone in the small town was jealous of, they wouldn't have severed ties for anything.

They heard that this Lady Qiao could earn a lot of silver a month, much more than that hundred taels. Their guts were green with regret!

"We are Jiaqi's parents."

With the space, she wasn't afraid of spoilage, nor was she afraid of buying too much.

"Then take Fengyun with you; let him deliver it, and you just watch from the side."

The north wind howled, making people's faces ache with pain. Qiao Mai still opened her stall; the movable shed she had ordered from the carpenter's shop was long ready.

The weather was turning cold, and all kinds of supplies needed to be stockpiled.

After receiving them, the Town Chief held the persimmons for a long time and tried taking a bite.

Qiao Mai didn't even look at them directly. The couple glanced at the goods on her stall, swallowed their saliva, flicked their sleeves, and left.

"I am a man; it's not appropriate for me to deliver to a single woman."

"I think it was you who instigated it."

"Okay."

Every month, she handed ten taels of silver to Yuan Jiaqi on time. She rarely asked about household matters, giving the children freedom and giving Yuan Jiaqi space; this was what the children and he liked most.

"Just you wait!"

She didn't want to stay at home; when she was idle, she felt uncomfortable. In the morning, the children studied with him, and she couldn't help much.

She would also buy fresh lotus seeds when she saw them. Guarding the main road, merchants coming and going had to pass in front of her. When she saw good ones, she would hurriedly call them to stop. As long as they weren't expensive, she would buy some; if they were expensive, she would haggle before buying.

"If you have the ability, use it; if not, get lost. Stop talking so much nonsense here. I am not your son. I assume you inquired before coming. You've heard what kind of person I, Lady Qiao, am. Continuing to talk will only be to your detriment."

"Hey, Sister Qiao?"

Yuan Jiaqi hesitated for a moment, feeling it was necessary to say something.

"Hmm, come in, let me show you something."

"If you want to lose money, just wait and see. Who's afraid of whom? Hmph!"

This Qiao Shi was truly sensible; whenever she had something delicious, she sent it to him. She was worth his support.

Entering Qiao Mai's room, "Get on the kang and sit?"

Since they were fake husband and wife, there was no need to be clingy; it was better to keep some distance.

She wasn't a fool, after all; she was much better than the Qiao and Tian families.

"Brother Yuan, can you help me deliver two boxes to Sister Chen next door?"

They needed to heat the kang at home and keep the little quails warm; they couldn't be without firewood and charcoal for a moment.

It made many women envy Qiao Shi; they praised him whenever they met, and Qiao Mai just smiled.

Many merchants wouldn't come out in this kind of weather, but only she still persisted.

"Wow, you got married in just over two months?"

Sitting in the shed, guarding four charcoal stoves, she wasn't cold at all. With few customers, she did her embroidery inside, and she felt quite content being alone.

She didn't take them seriously at all. Causing trouble was fine, and making a scene was fine, but touching her people was not allowed!

Let's settle down for a while first; one shouldn't be too anxious about anything.

Qiao Mai thought for a moment. Just stockpiling these wasn't enough, so she had Yuan Jiaqi stockpile a hundred catties of rice, a hundred catties of white flour, and various oils and grains, almost filling their home.

"Sweet and glutinous, like eating tangyuan. Not bad, not bad. The elderly will probably love it the most."

"Pah! You sold your son and mistreated him since he was small. He wanted to break ties with you long ago."

"Yes, and it's not a first marriage. It was mutual consent, and we moved the household registration and got together."

The temperature outside dropped to about fifteen degrees, and people put on thin padded jackets. The wooden boxes Qiao Mai ordered from the carpenter's shop were also delivered to her home.

In this kind of weather, one should stay at home, boil a pot of hot water, brew some tea, get a plate of melon seeds, and have the whole family sit together.

Shopkeeper Lu and Qiao Mai had been waiting for this day. They knocked on the door, and Yuan Jiaqi came out to open it. Seeing outsiders, he opened the door, waited for them to enter, then bolted the door again and went straight back to his room.

Yuan Jiaqi helped her set up the shed at the stall every day and arranged the tables, only returning home after everything was done.

Now there were four stoves in the house, each with a large pot on top.

Golden October is the harvest season for farmers.

She arranged the persimmon cakes into wooden boxes, twenty per box, totaling over two hundred boxes. It was evident she had collected quite a lot of persimmons.

"Not anymore."

Qiao Mai glanced at him and smiled, "Okay."

Fengyun and Yunfeng had moved from the upper room to the west wing room; the place they originally lived in became a warehouse.

Four upper rooms, one warehouse, one bedroom, one living room, and one kitchen.

"Of course, what kind of relationship do we have? Don't you think? As long as I can help, I will definitely not shirk."

At the end of the tenth lunar month, the weather turned sharply cold, and finally, the heavens changed their face.

After receiving it, Shopkeeper Lu couldn't put it down, eating it and feeling intoxicated for a long time.

"Is this your house?"

It also allowed her to focus on her work. At the market, she would collect some chestnuts when she saw them being sold, roasting them for the children as snacks.

"Believe what you want, just get lost quickly."

So Qiao Mai called Xiuhong to watch the stall, went to the embroidery manor to call Shopkeeper Lu, led the carriage in front, and arrived at the Qiao residence.

Miss Wang and her maid got off the carriage, and she affectionately took Shopkeeper Lu's arm with one hand and Qiao Mai's with the other.

"Where is your brother?"

"There's a charcoal brazier burning in the room, and the kang is heated, so naturally, it's warm."

"Your house is so clean and well-organized."

"This is Sister Lu's house; seeing how pitiful I was, she let me live here."

I made a typo when typing too fast, I fixed the typo. I looked for that typo in chapter fifty-four for a long time but couldn't find it; I'll go look for it again in a while.

(End of chapter)