Chapter 37, with an extra chapter containing 5,000 units of nutrient solution, gives me a glimmer of hope! ...

Qiao Mianmian's braised pork is sweet, tender, and delicious; the broth is perfect for mixing with rice, and it sells very well every day.

Whenever she comes to set up her stall, she will stew a pot of braised pork in advance, add some eggs, and sell out every day.

As soon as the lid of the small iron pot was opened, the rich aroma of braised pork wafted out instantly, with a hint of sweetness in the soy sauce. Before Qiao Mianmian could even ask the customer a question, the others had already ordered a bowl.

"Add two eggs, and give me extra broth. My son loves to eat your braised pork broth mixed with rice."

"Okay, I'll serve you right away." Qiao Mianmian packed up the braised pork for the guest. "Please hold it carefully and don't shake it, there's broth inside."

She packed braised pork for other customers, and one customer ordered twice-cooked pork, so she quickly started stir-frying it.

When Lin saw the guests arrive, she quickly stood up to greet them, "Please sit here. You want two bowls of pork bone noodle soup? I'll go make you some noodles."

Midday is the busiest time of day, and the mother and daughter are so busy they barely have time to breathe.

Just as there was only a little bit of braised pork left, Qingjiu came running up, panting, "Give it all...give it all to us!"

"Then I'll give you all the broth. What brings you here to have lunch at the market today?" Qiao Mianmian asked as she served the meat.

Qingjiu said he happened to be passing by. "I was originally with a few colleagues, but they insisted on going to a restaurant. I told them that the food here was better, but they didn't believe me. They said that the street stalls were all just roadside stalls and couldn't possibly be better than a tavern. So my husband and I parted ways with them. A few days ago, we got a reward for catching a kidnapper, so today I'm going to eat a few more bowls of rice!"

"I knew it, I don't usually see you at noon." Qiao Mianmian served rice to Lu Zhao and the other person, and poured the braised pork broth over the rice.

Lu Zhao took the bowl and chopsticks, "We can carry them ourselves."

"You sit at the table at the very back. I'll make you some egg drop soup; you'll get tired of eating just this." Qiao Mianmian said, taking two eggs, which were complimentary.

Qingjiu smiled and said he wouldn't get tired of it, "I never get tired of your cooking." He'd been cooking dinner for himself for the past few days, and it had been a complete disaster, showing no improvement whatsoever. Now, looking at the fragrant braised pork, he'd barely sat down before taking a big bite.

They arrived a little late, and by the time the egg drop soup was served, there was only one other table of guests left.

After Qiao Mianmian and Lin Shi finished cleaning up the table, Qiao Mianmian told Lin Shi to go back first. "By the way, Mother, please tell Aunt Wu that we are raising money and ask them not to go to the real estate agent."

Lin had money on her, and wanted to get back quickly. "Leave it here for now, don't pack it. I'll call your older brother to help. I'll be right back."

Lu Zhao overheard the mother and daughter's conversation. After finishing his meal, Lu Zhao still paid for the egg drop soup.

"No need to be so polite. You've been so kind to me these past few days. I can write a lot of characters now." Qiao Mianmian insisted on not accepting the money.

“Your family needs money, right? If he comes to your stall to eat, he should pay. It’s not the same as going to his house.” Lu Zhao turned to look at Qingjiu, who was still eating. “Besides, look at Qingjiu’s appetite. He can eat the amount of two people, and you only charge him for one bowl of rice.”

Qingjiu, who was being teased for being gluttonous, didn't notice Lu Zhao and Qiao Mianmian talking. He was eating rice with the soup at the bottom of the bowl, wishing he could lick the bowl clean.

"Okay, then I'll accept it," Qiao Mianmian said with a smile.

"Is that enough?" Lu Zhao walked over, grabbed Qingjiu by the collar, and said, "Eating like this outside, you really have no shame."

He just saw Qingjiu lick his chopsticks several times. Luckily, there weren't many people around, or he would have been incredibly embarrassed.

"Goodbye, Miss Qiao. I'll definitely come back to patronize you again when I get my reward money... hiccup..." Before he could finish speaking, Qingjiu hiccuped. He was very full, and his stomach was bulging.

Qiao Mianmian thought Qingjiu was quite cute and a very genuine person. She waved to Qingjiu, "Okay, I hope you can come and visit every day from now on!"

After seeing off Lu Zhao and his servant, the other table of guests also left. Before Qiao Mianmian could clear the dishes, her eldest brother and fourth sister arrived first, so she went to Chunxi Restaurant to get the money.

It was Manager Sun who met with Qiao Mianmian. "The boss asked me to handle it. He said we shouldn't take advantage of her situation. After all, it's a long-term business, so we should just stick to the original price."

Paying them a discount meant they benefited, so the favor wasn't significant. But the owner and he both felt that the Qiao family's life would get better and better, and they didn't want to lose the braised meat business, so they figured they might as well give a bigger favor.

Qiao Mianmian understood what Manager Sun meant, but still politely said, "We can't accept this. It's our family that's troubling you."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Your braised food sells well, and even without this incident, we would continue to cooperate with you. Let me also be honest with you: the contract we signed isn't permanent. When it expires, you can cooperate with whomever you want. But given this goodwill, you should at least consider us first, right?"

This is true. Manager Sun knows that Qiao Mianmian is smart. Instead of saying clichés, sincerity is more likely to move people.

"Then I thank you on behalf of my family," Qiao Mianmian said, indicating that the contract could be signed.

"Should we take it back and have someone take a look at it first?" Manager Sun asked.

Qiao Mianmian said no need, "My neighbor across the hall is a literate man. I make breakfast for him, and he teaches us to read. Please feel free to write, I know how to read."

In just one or two months, Manager Sun was even more surprised to learn that Qiao Mianmian could read. He wrote out a contract, listened to Qiao Mianmian read it aloud, and after confirming that she could really read, he praised her, "There aren't many people who can read these days, you're very impressive."

"We were just lucky," Qiao Mianmian said with a smile, then put away the silver notes. There were a total of 350 taels of silver, plus 300 taels from home, and the money borrowed from her second uncle and Manager Sun, totaling 730 taels, leaving only 170 taels.

Compared to the initial six hundred taels, Qiao Mianmian felt she saw hope.

With so many silver notes in her hand, her heart was pounding, and she ran all the way back.

Meanwhile, Lin, accompanied by Zhang, arrived at the Wu family's residence.

Aunt Wu sat at the head of the table. She had just poured tea for Zhang and her daughter-in-law. Seeing Lin's tightly clenched hands, she thought she would feel relieved, but she didn't. Instead, she felt a little uncomfortable.

“Er Mao is such a good boy, to have thought of my family.” Zhang praised, “My family has already raised most of the money, and after finding a few more relatives, we will soon have enough. Our two families have lived next to each other for so many years, and we are really reluctant to see you move away.”

"Auntie, that's a complete lie. Your daughter-in-law hates me to death."

After saying this, Aunt Wu's tears instantly rolled down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away and looked at Lin with teary eyes, "I'm sorry about Xia... Xia He. But later I spent money to bribe the matchmaker, and this time Er Mao said he could inform you in advance, so I had no objection. But from now on, I won't owe your family anything."

After all, they had been neighbors for over ten years. Aunt Wu was raising two children on her own, and the Qiao family would occasionally help her out.

Now that she's moving away, Aunt Wu often thinks of the kindness of the people in the alley. Even Widow Wang next door—someone who used to fight for her husbands after someone said she was a jinx.

Tears still flowed uncontrollably; besides some grievances, this time it was mostly reluctance to part.

People can't be one-dimensional. Aunt Wu knew she hadn't done a good job with Xia He, but having lived to this age, she understood many things and couldn't bring herself to apologize.

Zhang nudged her daughter-in-law's arm, signaling Lin to say a few words. She then walked over and patted Aunt Wu's arm, saying, "You lost your composure because you were worried about Er Mao. It was all for your own children. Fortunately, both children are doing well, and you will have even more good fortune in the future."

Lin opened her mouth. Since it was her family who came to beg for help, she was prepared to speak softly. But seeing Aunt Wu crying now, she felt bad too.

Why.

The deed was already done, and it was impossible to go back to the natural interactions of the past. However, Aunt Wu tried to make amends, saying, "Mother is right, you'll be blessed from now on."

Her tone was still stiff, but at this point, it was already quite remarkable that Lin could say those words.

“My daughter married far away, and I only see her once a year. I can’t rely on her at all. I only have one son, Er Mao, and I’ll have to rely on him for the rest of my life. I don’t care if you call me materialistic or scold me for marrying into a wealthy family. I just want to make it clear that I want Er Mao to be happy, and that’s not wrong. He’s worked so hard to get where he is today, and as his mother, I can only think more about him.” Aunt Wu talked about the hardships she had endured over the years.

Lin and Zhang mostly listened, occasionally chiming in with a few words. Fortunately, when Qiao Mianmian returned home, she made a point of looking at the Wu family's door, thus freeing them from Aunt Wu's incessant nagging.

"Phew." Lin took a long breath. Only after entering her own courtyard did she dare to mutter under her breath, "I never realized before, she cries so much!"

“In the end, they’re just reluctant to leave. It’s the place they’ve lived in for most of their lives. They say they’re exchanging it for a bigger house, but I guess they’re not comfortable living there and don’t want to hear people gossiping anymore.” Zhang sat down and sighed. “To be honest, she’s not a really bad person. But they’re moving out soon, so whether it’s good or bad is none of our business.”

Qiao Youfu snorted after hearing this, "Actually, it's nothing. We can still continue to associate with each other. Er Mao is a centurion now, and he might become a chiliarch in the future."

"Even if he were a marquis, it would have nothing to do with our family." Zhang glanced at her old man and called him to mend the fishing net.

For Qiao Youfu, since there was no negative impact, he didn't need to dwell on the past.

But Lin's perspective was different. Xia He was a child she brought with her before marriage, and she couldn't expect the Qiao family to care much about Xia He. Therefore, she had to think of Xia He in every way, become Xia He's support, and not let Xia He feel uneasy.

Seeing her parents-in-law mending fishing nets, Lin remembered that her youngest daughter had gone to Chunxi Restaurant to get money. Upon learning that her youngest daughter had gone alone, she quickly pulled her into the house, saying, "I've noticed that you've become increasingly bold lately. With so much money, why didn't you call your older brother?"

"Brother is closing up shop. I figured Manager Sun would give me a silver note, so I can go by myself." Qiao Mianmian took out the silver note. "You'd better put it away quickly, or your eyes will pop out."

“Of course, this money is what we’ll earn over the next ten months. Hmm, why is there a bit more than expected?” Mrs. Lin counted it and realized it wasn’t calculated based on a discount.

Qiao Mianmian said, "Manager Sun said he didn't want to take advantage of us, which means he didn't want to profit from us. Our family will owe him a favor in the future, so we have to remember that."

Lin held the silver note in her hand. She didn't like owing favors, but her family urgently needed money. "This is the only way. Every little bit helps."

She locked all the banknotes into a wooden box. "I'm going to Linjia Village tomorrow. Although I'm busy at home, Xiahe misses Wangchun very much, so I have to take her with me. You don't need to go. We're short of money at home right now, so we should try to set up our stall as much as possible."

Originally, Qiao Mianmian and her sister went to visit relatives, while Lin stayed behind to watch the stall. Now that they need to borrow money, Lin has to go back to her parents' home in person.

Qiao Mianmian also wanted to go, but Lin Shi's decision couldn't be changed, and no matter how much Qiao Mianmian pleaded, it was no use. "Then I must go after Third Sister gives birth!"

"Alright, alright, I'll let you go then." Madam Lin pushed her daughter out. "Aren't you going to learn to read from Master Lu? Hurry up and go. We'll have noodles at home again today, so you don't need to come back to cook."

When the mother and daughter arrived in the yard, Qiao Jiawang and Lin Xiahe were already waiting for them.

Qiao Jiaxing had just returned, and he wanted to slack off. "Mother, how about I don't go today? I can stay home and help carry water and chop wood?"

“No, this is such a rare opportunity. Who knows how long Master Lu can teach? Don’t think I don’t know you. You’re just tired of learning and don’t want to study anymore. Your father and I can handle the chores around the house. Hurry up and go learn to read.” Madam Lin snorted and handed the bucket to Qiao Mancang. “Go fetch water.”

Faced with Lin's order, Qiao Mancang looked helplessly at his son, "Be a good boy and listen to your mother."

Helpless, Qiao Jiaxing could only follow at the very back, dejected.

The four siblings are actually progressing at very different paces. Qiao Mianmian can not only remember the words Lu Zhao teaches her every day, but she can also help Qiao Jiawang and the other two review.

Qiao Jiaxing is quite smart, but after finishing his work every day, he still has to learn to read. Over time, he inevitably gets tired and occasionally wants to slack off.

Qiao Jiawang was the worst; he could only remember no more than thirty characters, let alone write them. However, he had a good attitude. At first, he was too embarrassed to ask Lu Zhao, but after Qiao Mianmian learned how, he tirelessly asked her for help.

The four siblings went to the opposite house. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Xu Zhongyi pointing to a bamboo basket and gesturing to Lu Zhao about the contents inside.

Lu Zhao and Qing Jiu didn't understand, and they didn't understand why Xu Zhongyi would suddenly send loach over, since they didn't usually keep in touch and were just neighbors who would nod to each other when they met.

"Ah... Ah Ba..." Xu Zhongyi saw Qingjiu raise the bamboo basket and hand it to him, and he quickly shook his head, pointed to the loach, then pointed to its mouth, and ran away.

"Don't run away!" Qingjiu asked, puzzled. "Why would he suddenly think of sending loaches?"

Lu Zhao saw a small head peeking out of the door, but Da Hu was quickly carried away. He wondered if Xu Zhongyi wanted his two children to learn to read because he saw that Da Hu was teaching the Qiao family to read.

Qiao Mianmian shared the same thought as Lu Zhao: education was expensive, and most people couldn't afford it. Some people learned to read not for the imperial examinations, but to find a good job later, and could drop out after a year or two.

As the siblings learned to read from Lu Zhao, others eventually found out, so it's understandable that Xu Zhongyi had designs on them.

Qingjiu looked at the bamboo basket with a headache. He couldn't think of much. "Sir, what should we do? Should we send it back to him? I don't think his family is doing well." Besides, neither he nor his master knew how to cook loach. This was the first time he had ever seen a live one.

Qiao Mianmian didn't speak. This was a matter for Lu Zhao to make his own choice. As an outsider, she had no right to give advice.

Whether or not to accept the Xu family's mudfish is a decision Lu Zhao must make himself.