The banknotes didn't fall to the ground; they were caught by a large hand.

Zhao Honghui straightened up, his cold gaze fixed on Accountant Li: "What are you doing?"

"She couldn't catch the money herself, so she asked me what I was doing." Accountant Li bluffed, not daring to look Zhao Honghui in the eye.

Zhao Honghui was furious: "Whether Yao Yao failed to catch it or you deliberately let go, I saw it all clearly."

He was helping out at the meat distribution area, and as a rescue worker, he received a wild rabbit. Seeing that it was almost Yao Yao's turn, he took the rabbit and walked over, witnessing Accountant Li's actions firsthand.

"What's going on? What's all this commotion!" The captain came over when he heard the noise. He saw Accountant Li and Xie Yuyao and cursed Accountant Li inwardly for being petty.

It's just that Xie Wazi didn't respond when he was discussing dried fruit with the educated youth team, which made him lose face. Is it really worth holding a grudge about now?

What he didn't expect was that the main reason for Li's actions was that Zhao Honghui had come to propose marriage, and the marriage between him and Xie Yuyao was basically settled. His youngest daughter, Zhao Huixiu, was crying every day, which made him, as a father, even more disgusted with Xie Yuyao.

When Accountant Li saw the team leader, she preemptively accused Xie Yuyao of being too slow to catch the money.

Zhao Honghui said he saw with his own eyes that Yao Yao let go of the banknotes before she even touched them.

"This money is the result of my labor. What kind of behavior is it to act so high and mighty and give it away like this? Is this how a brigade cadre serves the people?" Xie Yuyao asked sharply, her face cold.

She had heard all about it. In previous years, when the educated youth team received grain, meat, and other necessities, they would be made difficult by Accountant Li. She wasn't going to tolerate that person.

Accountant Li was so angry after hearing her words that his face turned red and his neck bulged: "It's clearly your own fault for being slow and uncooperative, yet you dare to question my work!"

"No matter how slow Yao Yao is, you still have to personally hand over her money." Zhao Honghui handed the money to Accountant Li and said sternly, "If you can't even do this most basic job well, Qingshantun has plenty of accountant successors!"

Accountant Li panicked; Zhao Honghui was not someone to be trifled with.

He was also flexible and adaptable. He took the banknotes from Zhao Honghui and handed them to Xie Yuyao, saying, "This was just an accident."

The team leader seized the opportunity to mediate: "Accountant Li is getting old, and sometimes her hands shake. Xie kid, is the money correct?"

"Yes." Xie Yuyao took the money and nodded, her expression improving slightly.

The captain nodded: "That's fine then. With such a long queue, hurry up, who's next?"

Yang Shumei, who couldn't get a word in edgewise, said, "It's me!"

"Alright, Brother Li, hurry up and calculate it for Yang Zhiqing."

Since the captain had intervened, Zhao Honghui and Xie Yuyao didn't pursue the matter further and stood aside to wait for Yang Shumei.

After receiving the money, Yang Shumei saw that Zhao Honghui was carrying a wild rabbit, so she said to Xie Yuyao, "I'll go buy a pheasant too."

So the three of them went to the place where the meat was divided, and Yang Shumei picked a wild pheasant.

This time, the game was hunted and sold for 50 cents a pound, regardless of the species.

In a few days, two pigs raised collectively will be slaughtered, and the meat will be exchanged for money at seven cents per pound.

Actually, the brigade collectively raised six pigs, but four of them had to be handed over, leaving only two.

The cheapest pork at the supply and marketing cooperative cost seven or eight mao (0.7 or 0.8 yuan), while good quality pork cost one yuan, and you needed meat coupons to buy it.

Therefore, the brigade did not require tickets to slaughter pigs and sell meat; only members of the brigade could buy it, which could be considered a kind of welfare.

After Xie Yuyao and her group had walked away, the community members who had witnessed the scene started gossiping amongst themselves.

Some say Zhao Honghui is bewitched by Xie Zhiqing, others say Xie Zhiqing is too pretentious, and still others say Xie Zhiqing's good days are numbered; once she gets married, with her arrogant demeanor, Yang Chunhua will teach her a lesson.

As for Accountant Li, they'd seen this kind of behavior from him before and were used to it.

When these words reached Yang Chunhua's ears, she felt bitter. To discipline someone? She had no ability whatsoever!

Regardless of what she thought, Yao Yao would soon become family, and Yang Chunhua would not tolerate outsiders slandering her.

The busybody who relayed the message to her was immediately berated by her: "What's wrong with Yao Yao? You're either blind or just jealous that my eldest son got such a beautiful wife! I love Yao Yao and will treat her like my own daughter!"

Someone then relayed her words to Wen Xiumei and Huang Qiufen, hoping to see them have a good time. But to their disappointment, Wen Xiumei and Huang Qiufen didn't take it seriously.

The two women were in unison: "Hmph! The mother-in-law's words are all talk; she says one thing to people and another behind their backs. When we were arranging the marriage, she said the same things to us, that she would treat us like her own daughter. But what happened? As soon as we got married, she made us take over all the housework and serve the whole family."

They deliberately didn't go to work because they still had a lot of housework to do after returning from work.

Over time, even when they occasionally wanted to work to earn some extra money, they couldn't bear the hardship of working in the fields anymore.

Knowing their mother-in-law's temperament well, they could never have imagined that with Zhao Honghui in the middle, their mother-in-law's hand could no longer reach Xie Yuyao.

It must be said that the key figure in determining the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is the man caught in the middle.

Comfortable days always pass quickly, and soon they're almost over.

That morning, when Zhao Dayong came to pick up the goods, he looked dejected and gloomy.

Xie Yuyao told him to sit down and rest for a while, poured him a cup of tea, and brought it to him. "Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Zhao Dayong took a sip and sighed, "Our large batch of fruits and vegetables was seized halfway through the journey. Not only were the goods confiscated, but one of our brothers was also arrested. This incident has resulted in heavy losses; we've worked for nothing all year."

"So how did your boss handle it?" Xie Yuyao didn't expect Qi Tai to encounter such a thing. Doing business these days is really not easy.

"What can we do but grit our teeth and bear it?" Zhao Dayong said. "What's most worrying now is that we can't deliver the fruit and vegetable orders from our regular customers. Those people have power and money, and if we don't handle this well, it could have a huge impact."

In the dead of winter, you won't find a single green vegetable on the dinner table of an ordinary family, let alone fruit.

Only well-off families can afford to spend a lot of money to enjoy these things. The demand is high during the Lunar New Year, and they placed their orders well in advance. It's truly difficult to explain this situation at the last minute.

This was a huge problem for Qi Tai, but for Xie Yuyao it was a piece of cake.

Given that the two parties already had a cooperative relationship, she said directly, "Don't rush, perhaps Honghui and I can find a way. You go and tell your boss to write down a list of the fruits and vegetables we need for me."

"Really?" Zhao Dayong was both surprised and delighted, and asked, "Did you know someone who shipped it from the south?"

The goods involved in Qi Tai's accident were shipped from the south.

Xie Yuyao smiled and said, "I can't say for sure right now. You should have Qi Tai give me the list first. We need to contact each other before we can confirm."

Actually, she wanted to discuss this matter with Zhao Honghui to determine what name to use as the source of the goods.