Inside the Zhu Familyâs house, the Old Lady of Zhu family scolded Zhu Nengwen, âYouâve read too many books, have you gone stupid? There are so many people passing by our front door. If you want to get Su Qingyue, you canât do it in such a crowded place.â
âBut Iâve been wandering around the Xiao Familyâs place for quite a long time these daysâ¦â Zhu Nengwen said somewhat dejectedly, âSu Qingyue hardly ever goes out, and when she does, sheâs with Xiao Yuchuan. I canât find any opportunitiesâ¦â
The old lady of Zhu family felt like she was about to vomit blood from her pent-up frustration, âThe Xiao Family moves too fast! They bought ten acres of paddy fields and a plot of land. I heard that Xiao Yuchuan spent a lot of money on medicine to treat his frail body. Now theyâre building a house⦠I think their money must be running outâ¦â
Zhu Nengwen was also very annoyed, âItâs all because you insisted on selling her!â
âIf she hadnât climbed onto your bed and you didnât sleep with her, would I have had to sell her?â
âShe just said she was afraid youâd hit her, thatâs why she did itâ¦â
âI canât even hit a slave I bought?â the Old Lady of Zhu family said disdainfully, âXiao Familyâs money is almost used up. You better not provoke Su Qingyue, that cheap whore. According to Er Gouziâs family, the money used to buy the paddy fields and the land came from Xiao Yishan. It means Su Qingyueâs earnings are all with Xiao Yishan. We sold her and ended up only eating a loss. Your future as a Scholar is more important. With our familyâs assets, once you become a Scholar, it wonât be a problem for you to marry a small familyâs daughter.â
Zhu Nengwen didnât speak.
How could he be content? The Xiao Family used to be the poorest household in the village, but his Zhu family had eight acres of land and their life was passable. Who would have thought that the cheap woman Su Qingyue would make so much money and suddenly make the Xiao Family richer than his own!
The Zhu Family, due to their lack of judgment, became the laughingstock of the entire village. Even if he couldnât get Su Qingyueâs money, he had to at least make her his!
âAre you listening to me?â the old lady was afraid her young and impulsive son would do something foolish, âThe Xiao Familyâs money is all used up. You canât make any profit and will just bring trouble. I still want you to pass the examination and become an officialâ¦â
âFine, fine, donât say anymore, I understand.â He wouldnât be stupid like today, openly coming here.
â¦
Su Qingyue arrived at Aunt Zhangâs house, but Aunt Zhang wasnât around. Instead, Old Zhang was there.
âOh, Qingyue is here.â Old Zhang greeted her politely, âCome in.â
âIs Aunt Zhang not at home?â She entered the yard.
âSheâs gone to the field.â
Qingyue said, âOld Zhang, my family is building a new house. We need a lot of vegetables for more than one month. Iâd like to buy them all from your family. How much extra vegetables do you have?â
âWe have flat beans and vegetables. Those two items, enough for a dozen people to eat for half a monthâs share,â said Old Zhang. âWe have a lot of land, and your aunt is a hard worker. We originally planted these to sell in the town. If your family could buy them, it would really save us a lot of trouble. But itâs not enough for a whole monthâs share.â
âThatâs fine, half a month is enough.â Su Qingyue said, âEating the same vegetables every day can get boring. Right now, weâre still clearing the foundation, and there are four people eating at home, plus seven people for lunch. Let me calculate how much we need every day. All of them are strong laborers, we canât afford to have meat dishes every day, so more vegetarian dishes will complement the meat. Starting today, weâll buy ten jin of flat beans from your family every day, and ten jin of vegetables the next day, and then flat beans again the following day⦠Weâll buy them in alternating order like this. After a few days, when the foundation is cleared and the new house construction begins, there will be more people eating. If itâs not enough, Iâll buy more.â