Chapter 66: Incident at No. 66

Chapter 66: Incident at No. 66

"After that, we'll collect the vegetables the night before and send them off the next day. As for the price, two catties will be one wen. And we'll only take one hundred catties every two days; any more than that, we won't accept."

"Mm." Madam Liu agreed.

When you calculate it, fifty wens could be earned from one hundred catties, which wasn't actually a small amount.

"At first, let's proceed according to this plan, slowly," said Madam Liu as she patted Qin Xiaoyao's arm.

Qin Xiaoyao's lips curved upward.

"Alright, we'll do as Mother says!" she said in a coquettish manner.

This mother-in-law of hers was just a bit soft-hearted and kind, but she was actually quite thoughtful.

Moreover, she could read and do arithmetic, which made her a rare talent in this era.

Thus, Qin Xiaoyao proceeded to discuss the specific operational details with Madam Liu.

"There's no need to go door-to-door to inform everyone. After dinner, I'll bring some things to the village chief's house."

"And then I'll ask Aunt Li to help spread the word around the village. Everyone will know about this soon enough."

The last time her daughter-in-law asked the village chief's wife to help promote the straw shoes, the effect was excellent.

It hadn't been long, yet almost the entire village knew that their family was selling straw shoes.

Moreover, quite a number of people had come to buy the straw shoes.

Once again, Qin Xiaoyao admired her mother-in-law's wisdom.

"Alright, then I'll leave this matter to Mother! It'll be a lot of work for you!"

"What work? It's all for the good of the family," said Madam Liu as she looked at her daughter-in-law with concern.

"But you've suffered."

"Now that we have a cart, you still have to be careful when transporting goods. Be mindful not to hurt yourself."

Indeed, her daughter-in-law was the hardest working person in the family.

Whether it was going into the mountains or entering the city, she rarely had any leisure time. All the tasks she did required physical strength.

"Don't worry, Mother, I know my limits!" Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile as she went to light the fire at the stove.

Time passed swiftly amidst the hustle and bustle.

Under Aunt Li's promotion, within two days, the entire Xiashui Village knew that the Song family was now selling straw shoes and collaborating with Lai Fulu.

Song Dalang's wife had even bought a sturdy cart and would deliver goods to Lai Fulu every two days. Now, she had even started purchasing goods from the villagers.

Upon hearing this news, the villagers of Xiashui Village felt envious and jealous.

But regardless, this was a good thing for the villagers.

Vegetables that couldn't be consumed could now be sold for money.

Those who wanted to sell goods but didn't want to go to town or were unwilling to pay the entrance fee to the city could also negotiate with the Song family and sell their goods to them at a lower price.

As long as they could reach an agreement, both parties would benefit.

Unexpectedly, the Song family not only started doing business in buying mountain produce and vegetables, but they even ventured into poultry and game.

After a period of time, people even came to ask them to buy things on their behalf, saying they were willing to pay for the service.

Of course, these weren't small items, but rather heavier goods.

Regarding these requests, Madam Liu didn't agree to all of them.

Instead, considering her daughter-in-law's situation, she agreed to some requests within reason.

As a result, while she gained the favor of most of the villagers, she also offended some people.

For example, Aunt Wang from next door.

Ever since the day Aunt Wang quarreled with Qin Xiaoyao and was forced by her to return the rice, flour, and money, she harbored hatred towards the Song family.

During this period, seeing how the Song family's life improved day by day, with the occasional aroma of meat wafting out of their home and the purchase of a cart, she felt both envy and resentment.

However, despite this, she only dared to curse them behind closed doors and didn't dare to confront Qin Xiaoyao.

Seeing the villagers increasingly discussing the Song family and many people sending goods to the Song family to sell, earning money,

Aunt Wang finally couldn't sit still anymore.

After cutting about fifty catties of vegetables from the field, she headed to the Song family.

But to her surprise, Madam Liu refused to accept her vegetables.

"Weren't you the ones who said you'd collect vegetables the day before entering the city? I cut these vegetables specifically to sell to your family. And I cut so many!"

"Now you say you don't want them, you just don't want them?!" Aunt Wang raised her voice and yelled at Madam Liu.

Madam Liu was somewhat intimidated and involuntarily took a step back.

In the past few days of collecting vegetables, she had encountered difficult people, but after explaining the situation, everything was resolved amicably.

Only this Aunt Wang was genuinely intimidated by her.

"Sister-in-law, it's not like that... because my Third Girl always delivers only one hundred catties of farm vegetables to Prosperity Tower. Those who want to sell vegetables must register with me the day before."

"Only then can we ensure there isn't an oversupply. The quota for today is already full, so as for you—" she explained.

"What do you mean it's full?! I see you just don't like the sight of me and won't accept my vegetables!"

"Your Song family, now that you've climbed up to Prosperity Tower, have become arrogant, haven't you?!" Aunt Wang's shrill voice boomed, loud enough for many nearby to hear.

Thus, she lowered her voice and spoke kindly, "The vegetables for tomorrow are indeed fully accounted for. How about this: clean these vegetables, remove the old leaves, and we'll take half. We really can't take any more than that."

"What?! Remove the old leaves and only take half?!"

"Your Song family is bloodsucking, aren't you?! Sucking the blood of our fellow villagers to fatten yourselves!" Unexpectedly, Aunt Wang didn't listen to Lady Liu's kind words but instead raised her voice even louder.

At this point, even Lady Liu, with her excellent temper, finally felt her anger rise.

Just as she was about to retort, she heard her daughter-in-law's furious voice from outside the courtyard.

"Suck your mother's blood! Even if I, Qin San Ya, were to suck blood, I wouldn't look at someone as old as you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Lady Liu saw her daughter-in-law charge in from outside the courtyard like a bear.

Then she quickly walked up to Aunt Wang and lifted her up.

"Ahh—what are you doing, Qin San Ya?! Murder! Help! The Song family is going to kill someone!" Aunt Wang cried out in alarm, screaming loudly.

Qin Xiao Yao found it annoying.

She struggled to suppress her raging anger and warned, "Shut up!"

"Help! Ahh—help!" But Aunt Wang, having lost her wits from fear, didn't shut up; instead, she screamed even louder.

Qin Xiao Yao became even more irritable, ignoring her mother-in-law's attempts to stop her, and dragged Aunt Wang out of the courtyard.

Then, she tossed her aside like trash outside the courtyard.

As Aunt Wang hit the ground, she instantly felt a sharp pain in her buttocks.

Finally regaining her senses, she looked towards the Song family courtyard with a face filled with terror.

However, when she saw nearby villagers approaching and realized they had caught her in her pitiful state,

her fear was instantly replaced by indignation.

Just as she was about to stir up emotions for a good cry and a ruckus, hoping the villagers would stand up for her and extort some medicine fees for her injuries,

she saw Qin Xiao Yao reappear at the gate with a grim expression, carrying the basket of vegetables on her back.

"In the future, we, the Song family, won't accept anything from your Wang family! Take your things and get lost!" With that, Qin Xiao Yao threw the basket out as well.