Chapter 66: Lady Qiao is a good person

When Qiao Mai returned with a bowl of egg custard, she saw Ling'er lying on Shopkeeper Lu's shoulder, gnawing on her fingers and grinning.

It's great, she didn't cry. With so many people, she was worried she would be scared.

Sitting beside Shopkeeper Lu, she reached out to take Ling'er. "You all eat, I'll feed her."

"We're almost full. I'll hold her, you feed her."

Ling'er was born on the second day of the second lunar month, so she was over nine months old now. When she saw the bowl, she was so excited she reached out with both hands.

"Be good, the bowl is hot. Blow on it before eating."

Qiao Mai scooped a spoonful of egg custard and blew on it. Shopkeeper Lu watched her with a smile.

"Give her a name."

Qiao Mai thought for a moment. "Seeing how spirited she is, let's call her Ling'er for now. Come, Ling'er, ah, time to eat egg custard."

Yuan Jiaqi clapped his hands and took Ling'er. "I'll hold her. You see what needs to be tidied up and let the children do it."

"Hehe, thank you, Mother."

"Are Xiuhong and Xiuyu up to the task?"

Ling'er opened her little mouth, and Qiao Mai fed her a spoonful of egg custard. The three little foodies beside them kept swallowing their saliva.

So Qiao Mai asked Yuan Jiaqi to help watch the children while she wrote the child's name and birth date on paper and found the Town Chief to ask for help with the household registration.

Qiao Mai caught their expressions and knew that the Feng and Yun brothers hadn't eaten this since they were small, and Chuan'er had lost his mother the moment he was born. She didn't know if Yuan Jiaqi would know how to make this.

"It's not that, I just wanted to make the business better and have a festive atmosphere for the New Year."

"Only this copper pot needs me to handle it; the rest just needs to be washed clean."

The two chatted while they had nothing to do. Qiao Mai had the intention of teaching her a dyeing craft, but thought it wasn't the right time yet.

"Oh my, so the Town Chief is actually a great philanthropist?"

"Look, there's only a month left until the New Year. What method can I use to make my shop's business more prosperous?"

"Why are you being so polite with me?"

Seeing that she had no abnormalities, she finally felt relieved. At this time, Shopkeeper Lu also sent word that no children had been lost in town.

She carried Ling'er, put a cotton hat on her, and went out of the room straight to the living room. As soon as the children saw her enter, they immediately stopped reading.

"Lady Qiao, your household registration is done."

"Take care, Guard Brother!"

"I know, I know. Isn't Ruxin and Ruyi taking over?"

"Little sister?"

Therefore, she could only stay at home.

Clang, clang, clang, the courtyard gate rang, and Qiao Mai immediately stood up.

"I didn't put in any effort, so it's not appropriate to take your money."

"They are learning. They should be okay. After the New Year, they can take on embroidery work."

When Ling'er woke up, she would help Qiao Mai watch the child so Qiao Mai could do her embroidery work properly.

"Many thanks, Lady Qiao!"

Yuan Jiaqi quickly took over the conversation. "Then, Father will steam a bowl for each of you four every day starting tomorrow, how about that?"

Before long, Ling'er was full, and there was still half a bowl of egg custard left. Qiao Mai handed the bowl to Chuan'er.

Ling'er was very well-behaved after eating. Qiao Mai took her over to let Shopkeeper Lu eat.

"What's wrong? In a hurry for money?"

Lady Qiao is a good person. She adopted Feng and Yun, and now she wants to adopt this girl. Perhaps in her eyes, she is just like the children she adopted.

She helped Ling'er lean against the window. "Look, that outside is snow. It's snowing. Is it pretty?"

"There's no sugar or melon seeds, just this, okay?"

The sound of children reading came from the living room. Listening to this sound, the small courtyard felt particularly rich in scholarly atmosphere.

"We're going home too."

"Thank you, Guard Brother. Now I have a son and a daughter; I have both."

After eating, Shopkeeper Lu looked at Ling'er. "Looking at her like this, there shouldn't be any problems. On such a cold day, there's no need to go to the medical hall. I'll go greet the Town Chief first."

"Sigh, this Town Chief can only manage our area. I can't take care of more. The Great Ming Dynasty has tens of thousands of beggars, and our Qian family isn't just decided by me alone."

Hearing this tone, it meant they were saying goodbye and leaving. Chen Shi and her son also quickly stood up.

"Thank you, Town Chief."

"Very soon. Once it's done, I'll have a guard send it to you."

Ling'er is still young and needs someone to look after her. Yuan Jiaqi is a man; looking after boys is fine, but a girl... he still has concerns in his mind.

"Mmm, if you and your son have anything inconvenient at home, just let me know, okay?"

Qiao Mai naturally wouldn't let him make the trip for nothing. She stuffed a piece of silver into his hand and then returned to the room to fetch two boxes of persimmon cakes.

A burst of bell-like laughter from Ling'er came. Yuan Jiaqi smiled when he heard this sound.

"Sister Lu, sit down. It's probably Ling'er's household registration that's been handled."

"Okay!"

"Remember the New Year gifts."

"Okay, it's a deal!"

He took the bowl, wolfed it down, and wiped his mouth when he was finished.

"Giggle, giggle, giggle."

"Mmm?"

"The egg custard is delicious, tender and smooth, really delicious."

"Are you disgusted by your little sister's leftovers?"

The daytime temperature in Tianshui Town is around minus ten degrees, and at night it's around minus twenty degrees. It's really cold.

"Sorry to trouble you, Sister Lu."

"You can't become a big fatty in one bite. You haven't even trained the people yet, how can the business be prosperous? I'm not taking custom orders, no matter what you say, I won't take them."

Qiao Mai opened the door, and sure enough, she saw the Guard Brother.

Chuan'er smiled. "I'm not disgusted. I ate it. Mother will make new ones for little sister later."

It was as if that spoonful of egg custard was fed to them, especially Chuan'er, who looked on pitifully.

"If everyone were as sensible as you and adopted these orphans, there wouldn't be so many beggars in the Great Ming Dynasty."

"Is there anyone giving out porridge in our town?"

The Town Chief rolled his eyes at her. "Why wouldn't there be? This old man is one!"

"Not necessarily. Good beggars are all caught and sold by human traffickers. The ones left are all disabled, struggling to survive. These are the ones who should be helped more."

She ran out happily. When Yuan Jiaqi saw her come out, he retreated back into the room.

Qiao Mai looked up at her. "After I sell those clothes, I should be able to share a few thousand taels of silver with you."

After returning, Qiao Mai bundled Ling'er up again and carried her back to her bedroom.

She carried the copper pot back to her bedroom and threw it directly into the space. There was no need for her to wash it there; the space automatically cleaned it until it was as good as new.

Shopkeeper Lu's small household couldn't protect this craft, and it might even bring her disaster.

"It's okay when the weather is warm, but when it's cold, they can only stay in broken temples. If rich people are kind enough to give porridge, it's okay, but if not, it's hard to say if they can survive this winter."

Qiao Mai rolled her eyes. "Understood!"

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Ling'er had been staying in Qiao Mai's bedroom and hadn't stepped out once.

"Sister Lu, look, the household registration is done."

"Congratulations!"

Hearing this tone, she knew they hadn't eaten it before. Qiao Mai felt a pang of sadness.

She didn't expect these few types of tassels to sell so well, which made Shopkeeper Lu come over to visit her whenever she had free time.

She happily closed and bolted the courtyard gate and ran back to the room, waving the household registration in her hand.

So she said to them, "Tomorrow morning, I'll steam a big bowl for each of you."

Chen Shi and her son left first, Shopkeeper Lu took her people and left, and Feng and Yun began to clean up the table.

Hearing that Qiao Mai had picked up another child to adopt, the Town Chief was very moved.

"Father doesn't know how to do this, right?"

"Look how happy you are."

"Father can learn from your mother?"

A few days ago, she went into the space at night, searched online for how to weave tassels, found a few novel styles to learn, and then taught them to the Ruxin sisters.

In her mother's arms, she watched everyone eat, looking at this person and smiling, looking at that person and smiling.

Qiao Mai naturally understood the meaning of his words. "Town Chief, when will my daughter's household registration be done?"

Ever since Ling'er came out of the space, Qiao Mai hadn't set up her stall again, staying home every day to watch Ling'er. Whenever she slept, she would do embroidery work.

"Aha, sorry to disturb you all, I'm just so happy. Ling'er's household registration is done. From now on, she is your own little sister. Come quickly and greet your little sister."

"Little sister, little sister!"

Qiao Mai squatted down and let Feng'er, Yun'er, and Chuan'er kiss Ling'er's cheeks, and finally carried her to Yuan Jiaqi.

"Come, Ling'er, this is Father!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 67 =====