Chapter 114: The Wang Family Farce

Chapter 114: The Wang Family Farce

Fortunately, although the three of them were a bit tipsy, none of them were drunk.

Qin Xiaoyao instructed Qin Dahu and Qin Erhu to take care of Qin Dazhuang before returning to the courtyard, intending to help wash dishes in the kitchen with Lady Liu and Song Yun.

When she arrived at the kitchen, Lady Liu didn't let her near the stove.

"Go out and keep Daniu company. I'll handle the kitchen work with Yun'er." Lady Liu directly ushered Qin Xiaoyao out of the kitchen.

"If you feel sleepy, go back to your room and rest for a while. Be careful not to get a sudden bout of dizziness later." Smelling the alcohol on Qin Xiaoyao, Lady Liu added with concern.

"Ha, Mom, I'm fine. How much did I even drink?" Qin Xiaoyao responded with a smile.

Seeing Lady Liu's worried expression, she continued, "Alright, Mom, I understand. I'll go talk to Daniu."

"Go ahead." Lady Liu finally smiled.

She then turned around and continued washing dishes.

Qin Xiaoyao had no choice but to leave the kitchen.

She then went to the stone table in the courtyard, where Li Daniu was sitting.

Li Daniu was enjoying the breeze on the stone bench and smiled when she saw Qin Xiaoyao approaching.

"Sanya Jie," she called out.

Qin Xiaoyao acknowledged and sat down next to Li Daniu on the stone bench.

"Feeling full and coming out here to enjoy the breeze is truly comfortable..." Li Daniu said contentedly, closing her eyes in enjoyment as the gentle wind blew.

Today's weather was the coolest it had been in recent days, with dark clouds in the sky, suggesting an impending rain.

Qin Xiaoyao also closed her eyes slightly, savoring this moment of tranquility.

After a while, Li Daniu said, "What should we do? Sanya Jie, I'm getting more and more eager to move here and be your neighbor."

Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

"Sure. Work hard and save up, and when the time comes, come live in town with Danni."

Li Daniu's expression turned somewhat dejected.

"Forget it. Erniu hasn't gotten married yet. Even if Danni and I work hard, we probably won't be able to afford a courtyard anytime soon." She glanced around the courtyard again.

Noticing the large empty space nearby, she added, "Such a big area, it's a shame it's just left empty."

Qin Xiaoyao chuckled.

"It's a pity. I was planning to clear it for some vegetables and fruit trees."

Li Daniu nodded.

"Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to you about the toonasinensis tree," Qin Xiaoyao continued.

Li Daniu looked puzzled.

The season for selling toonasinensis sprouts has passed; could the tree still be useful?

"I want to take some branches for cuttings. If there are suitable seedlings, we can transplant them directly."

Seeing Li Daniu's surprise, Qin Xiaoyao added, "Although the location of the toonasinensis tree is on the outskirts of the deep mountains and close to the front mountain, it’s still dangerous."

"Even if we can sell the sprouts next year, I don’t want you to go into the mountains again."

This time, she would make sure Li Daniu never enters the deep mountains again.

As for yam, it will be at least the year after next before there are more in the mountains.

By then, she’ll instruct Danni to keep an eye on people or go into the mountains with Li Daniu.

"Transplanting the toonasinensis tree means, first, you won't have to enter the mountains anymore, making it safer. Second, planting it in our own land ensures no one else can claim it."

Li Daniu thought for a moment and nodded.

"Alright! I'll mention this to the family and have them allocate some land for the toonasinensis." Although the sprouts can only be sold for less than two months a year, they are expensive.

If enough toonasinensis is planted, it would be more profitable than growing grains.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

"There’s no need to allocate specific land. Toonasinensis trees are hardy; we can just plant some around the house."

"The restaurants pay a high price because only we can provide it. If there were too many, the price advantage would diminish."

"Also, we have an agreement with Manager Fang. We can’t sell the sprouts to anyone else." Therefore, planting a large area wouldn’t be very meaningful.

After all, offending their patron for the sake of the toonasinensis business would be unwise.

Li Daniu nodded.

"Then let’s do as Sister Sanya says!" she agreed.

In any case, she would follow instructions.

Qin Xiaoyao smiled and patted Li Daniu’s shoulder.

"Once we get back to Xiashui Village, we’ll start working on it."

She set aside a piece of land in the courtyard to grow toona sinensis and planted some vegetables and fruits—enough for their needs.

"Good!"

The two chatted for a while longer.

When Lady Liu and Song Yun finished their work and came out of the kitchen, they brought up returning to Xiashui Village.

Lady Liu was determined to go back and collect goods.

Even though it was the last day for collecting, she didn't want to miss the chance to make money.

Qin Xiaoyao had no choice but to agree.

Thus, the group set off for Xiashui Village.

Upon returning to Xiashui Village, Qin Xiaoyao went into the mountains with Li Danni to dig up toona sinensis trees.

They dug up the smaller trees directly and cut branches from the larger ones to take back for propagation.

Meanwhile, Lady Liu, amidst collecting goods, began organizing the items they needed to bring for the move.

She packed everything and set it aside, waiting for the moving day in two days.

At this moment, at the Wang family's residence near the Song family.

The Wang family was truly bustling with activity.

Zhang Mazi had come today to fetch Wang Xiaomei, intending to bring his future daughter-in-law home early to marry his foolish son. (Ancient weddings took place at dusk.)

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaomei's brother, Wang Dashan, had returned.

Wang Dashan, who had been working in town and hadn't been home for a while, finally learned about this somehow and rushed back from town.

Unlike his parents, Wang Dashan genuinely cared for his sister.

Upon learning that his parents had betrothed his sister to a fool to arrange his own marriage, he was furious.

After returning, he confronted the Zhang family.

Seeing this, the Zhang family was stunned.

Only then did they realize that Wang Dashan had been unaware of the arrangement.

However, they had already paid the silver and received Wang Xiaomei's indenture, so they were unwilling to let her go.

Both sides stood their ground, neither willing to yield.

Before long, news of this spread throughout Xiashui Village.

Neighbors gathered to watch the commotion, and someone went to fetch the village head.

The Zhang family, seeing the crowd, remained undaunted and glared angrily at the Wang family.

"Don't think you can bully us just because there are more of you. We paid ten taels of silver as a dowry and have Wang Xiaomei's indenture. Even if we go to court, Wang Xiaomei is still our Zhang family's!"

"Nonsense! My little sister is only twelve and hasn't even reached adulthood. How can she be married?"

"As long as I, Wang Dashan, am alive, you won't take my little sister away! Otherwise—"

"Otherwise, I'll charge into your Shang Shui Village with a kitchen knife and kill your foolish son, bringing my sister back!" Wang Dashan, driven to desperation, shouted angrily at Zhang Mazi.

"You—" Zhang Mazi nearly fainted from anger.

He merely wanted to buy a wife for his foolish son and hadn't forced the matter; it was the Wang family who approached him first.

How did it end up like this?

If he had known Wang Dashan was unaware or such a hotheaded person, he wouldn't have proposed the marriage to the Wang family.