"By the way, didn't I tell you to remind Chef Li not to taste the dishes?"

Chen Yuancheng originally planned to lure Xiao Yunying out when the dishes were served so that she would notice something was wrong with the food.

If Yunying didn't recognize the poisonous mushrooms, she would personally point out the strange color of the mushrooms and use the excuse that the chef was untrustworthy to get her to cook.

Afterwards, they used the excuse of "investigating thoroughly" to prove that Chef Li was not involved in the matter.

Unexpectedly, Chef Li was taken away after tasting the chicken soup made with poisonous mushrooms during the cooking process, disrupting his plans.

Fortunately, the result was as he wished.

Ling Qi replied, "I did remind him, I practically said outright that dishes with mushrooms are poisonous and shouldn't be eaten. I thought Chef Li understood, but it seems he's too naive and doesn't understand what I meant at all."

Chef Li is a conscientious and responsible worker. Once he starts cooking, he stays by the stove as long as possible, so the apprentice never has a chance to add poisonous mushrooms.

He deliberately called Chef Li out, giving the apprentice an opportunity to cause trouble.

The real reason she was telling Chef Li to cook well was that her young master was kind-hearted and didn't want to harm innocent people, so she subtly reminded him not to taste the food.

Unfortunately, Chef Li completely missed the hidden meaning in his words. He genuinely thought that he was telling him to cook well, and instead became even more attentive, insisting on tasting the dishes himself.

Chen Yuancheng said, "Alright, take one hundred taels of silver to Chef Li tomorrow and let him rest and recuperate."

"yes."

Thinking that he had successfully signed the contract with Xiao Yunying, Chen Yuancheng felt better: "Let's go back to the manor."

Meanwhile, the carriage returned to the village near dusk.

The villagers who had not yet returned home gathered together, speculating about who was in the carriage. Seeing that it was heading east, they remembered seeing the carriage at the banquet in the warm house.

The women, carrying bundles of straw home together, huddled together and said, "Mu Lianrong's daughter's luck is getting better and better."

"That's right. First it was snow fungus, then tiger, and now it's even involved with a rich young master."

An older woman winked at the person next to her and said, "Do you think Xiao Yunying might remarry?"

"Her husband ran away, not died. Why would she remarry? Besides, she has four children with her."

"What's wrong with bringing your child? Maybe they'll be willing to pick up the child too."

Although they didn't want to admit it, they had to admit that Xiao Yunying was really good-looking, especially now that she had lost a lot of weight and was even more beautiful.

A young woman nearby scoffed sourly, "Whether she can get married or not is another matter. Even if she does, she'll only be someone's concubine."

"Being a concubine is fine too. Concubines in wealthy families wear gold and silver and have no worries about food and clothing. They have carriages when they go out and maids to serve them every day. How wonderful!"

Another older woman nudged her: "What, are you saying you want to be someone's concubine?"

When the older women in the village gathered together to chat, they were uninhibited about anything, even occasionally telling a dirty joke. This woman, without any fear, accepted the joke:

"It's just that I'm too old for anyone to want me anymore. If I were younger and someone wanted me, I would have been happy to be their concubine."

"Come on, when you were young you were even darker than your man is now, almost as dark as charcoal. You couldn't even see him walking at night without a light. What blind man would be interested in you?"

Hahahahaha.

Her words drew laughter from everyone, and the woman became even more excited: "What are you laughing at? Can't I think about it myself? Do you dare to say that you didn't dream of marrying into a wealthy family when you were young?"

If I were Xiao Yunying, I would abandon my children and follow this young master. You haven't seen him, but I saw him once at a banquet held in her family's warm house. He's incredibly handsome..."

Fang Rou, who was carrying a bundle of grass as she walked home, couldn't stand it anymore and stopped to say:

"Aunties and ladies, I heard that Yunying is going to hire people to till the soil and plant vegetables next spring. Do you think she will hire your family members if she hears about the gossip you've been saying about her behind her back?"

The women immediately stopped laughing.

Everyone in the village knew that Xiao Yunying paid people well for building houses and greenhouses. She also provided meat with every meal, and those who did a good job received extra bonuses. Everyone wanted to work for her.

Everyone knows that she used the money from selling the tiger worms to buy fifty acres of land; the village chief said it himself, it's not fake news.

Turning the soil and planting vegetables is not tiring work, and it doesn't have to be done by men; women can do it too.

Even if things don't go well, two or three teenagers in the family can take over as one. The men can work on their own land while the women bring their children to earn Xiao Yunying's wages. How wonderful would that be?

Thinking of this, the woman who was the first to say that Xiao Yunying wanted to remarry said, "Fang Rou, I was just joking, I didn't mean any harm. It was my fault, you can't tell Yunying."

The others chimed in, "It's just a joke we're telling together. There are no outsiders around, so it won't get out and won't ruin Yunying's reputation."

"Fang Rou, you can't take this seriously."

Fang Rou has always been straightforward; she says what she thinks.

"No outsiders, so it won't get out? Auntie, do you even believe that yourself? You two just blurt out whatever comes to mind, and you don't even know how to keep your voices down. Anyone passing by can hear you. How could it not get out?"

"I'm not serious, but what about others? These kinds of lies always get more and more exaggerated the more they're spread. You guys are joking, but who knows what will happen if this gets out? What will other people think of Yunying?"

Most of the women were older than Fang Rou, and they were embarrassed by what she said.

Because he was preoccupied with the work at Xiao Yunying's house, he didn't dare to talk back and remained silent with an embarrassed expression.

The woman who had said she also wanted to be a concubine slapped herself in the face: "Fang Rou, your aunt misspoke. I was joking without thinking. Please don't take it to heart. We promise we won't say such things again. Don't you agree?"

The women nodded in agreement, as it would be a huge loss to lose Xiao Yunying's job because of a few words.

Fang Rou said, "It's good that you aunties and grandmas know. Some jokes are okay to say, but some jokes are absolutely not. It's getting late, I'll go back and cook now."

After Fang Rou finished speaking, she left first. The women lost their interest in chatting and were all thinking about what Fang Rou had said about Xiao Yunying hiring people to clear wasteland and plant vegetables after spring. They dispersed on the road and went home to discuss with their families how to get along with her.