Chapter 176 Aqi's Scheme
Hearing that Su Rongrong and the Earl of Enping were going to get married before the end of the year, Madam Min Qiao didn't say much, only asked Aqi to bring out the dowry list she had prepared beforehand.
Previously, Madam Min Qiao reluctantly accepted Su Rongrong as her adopted granddaughter, and to express her gratitude, the Earl of Enping gave her a gift of about ten thousand taels of silver.
Min Qiao kept them all and added them to Su Rongrong's dowry without alteration.
In addition, because she borrowed the name of the Earl of Enping in Jiangnan, she also found many good things in her own storeroom and added them to Su Rongrong's dowry.
All things considered, the current dowry is worth nearly 20,000 taels of silver.
Madam Min looked through the existing dowry, which included jewelry, screens, ornaments, fields, shops, and antique bottles, but lacked calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books.
So she ordered people to retrieve several paintings and calligraphy works, as well as several ancient books, from her own storeroom and add them to her dowry.
Although none of the Qiao family members had taken the imperial examinations, they were never short of such things, despite being from wealthy merchant families in the Jiangnan region.
It should be said that no prominent family in Jiangnan lacked these things.
Therefore, when Min Qiaoshi got married, her dowry included many paintings and ancient books.
In this way, Su Rongrong's dowry will be very beautiful.
The 20,000 taels of silver sent by the Earl of Enping were given to Weijia by Min Qiaoshi, who was to use them for purchases.
The next day, as Wei Jia had suggested, Ayi took Min Qiao out for a picnic in a place near the mountains and water.
Also accompanying them were Madam Zhou and Granny Fang.
Su Rongrong was too shy to go out. Qiao Yuanyao had her own things to do and didn't come either.
Doctor Mu, however, arrived with his son and a group of children.
At first, the children were a little reserved.
But as their natural instincts were unleashed, and with the familiar Dr. Mu by their side, the children gradually became more lively.
Min Qiaoshi, along with Granny Fang, Madam Zhou, and Doctor Mu, sat under the shade of a tree playing cards.
Ayi and Aqi served nearby. They truly remained hidden silently behind the tree, protecting Min Qiao's safety.
A Shuang and A Si, along with several little girls, were digging a pit and burying a stove in preparation for cooking.
Ajiu and Wenxiu led the group of children to collect firewood, catch fish, and catch shrimp.
Min Qiaoshi had just finished a game of cards when she looked up and saw several children standing by the stream not far away, throwing stones.
He smiled and was about to look away when he saw several children running into the water.
"Come back quickly! Don't go into the water!"
She was startled and quickly got up and walked towards the stream.
Even though the stream is shallow, it can still be unpredictable! What if there are hidden currents or deep pits?
Ayi and the others were also startled and quickly caught up to help her.
Granny Fang and the others followed after them.
However, when the group reached the water's edge, they discovered that the children were holding palm-sized fish and looking at them with fear in their eyes.
"What are you doing..." Madam Min looked at the bewildered children with a puzzled expression, then at the fish in their hands.
One of the slightly bolder children took a fish ashore and handed it to Madam Min Qiao with both hands, saying, "Reporting to Madam, we are fishing."
"We saw fish in the stream, so we thought we'd catch some to eat at noon."
Madam Min Qiao was taken aback and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by 'fishing'? Shouldn't fish be caught by fishing or catching them?"
Seeing that Madam Min was speaking kindly, the child raised his voice a little.
"Madam, we'll call and show it to you."
As she spoke, she urged the children who were still standing in the water to hurry ashore. Then, each of them found some small stones and searched upstream along the stream. When they saw fish in the water, the children pointed them out to Min Qiao.
"Madam, look, there are fish in the water."
Min Qiao took a closer look and indeed it was fish. In a small puddle, about ten palm-sized crucian carp were playing together.
In the blink of an eye, the children exchanged glances, raised their hands, and threw small stones at the school of fish.
Several whooshing sounds rang out, water splashed everywhere, and several crucian carp simultaneously turned belly up.
Then the children happily ran off to the water to catch fish.
Min Qiao was dumbfounded. So these children were using pebbles as hidden weapons?
The others were also dumbfounded.
The children who had returned with the fish were filled with fear when they saw that neither Min Qiaoshi nor the others spoke.
Especially the boldest kid in the lead, who was too scared to speak at this moment.
Doctor Mu told them that they were able to eat and dress warmly, have a place to live, and didn't have to train every day, risk getting injured at any time, or accidentally losing their lives one day, all because of the kindness of the Dowager Lady, who was willing to take care of them without asking for anything in return.
They must be well-behaved and obedient in front of the Grand Madam, and not displease her.
But now, neither the Grand Madam nor the other old ladies are speaking. Are they angry with them?
“Grandma,” the lead child said, mustering his courage, “If you don’t like us fishing, we won’t fish anymore. Please don’t be angry.”
Only then did Madam Min realize that these children were too sensitive, and that she had frightened them.
So he quickly waved his hand with a smile and said, "I'm not angry, I'm just so surprised. I didn't expect you guys to have this skill. Now that's great, we can have fish soup for lunch."
He patted the child's head affectionately, saying, "The crucian carp in this stream are the most delicious. Thanks to you, we are in for a treat today."
The child's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Madam likes to eat fish, so let's catch some more fish."
“Okay,” Madam Min Qiao agreed with a smile. “However, be careful. Don’t go into places where the water is too deep. You all should also be careful.”
As he spoke, he also looked at the other children.
"Mmm-hmm," the children responded loudly, bowed happily, and followed the lead child to find fish again.
Watching the group of children walk away, Min Qiao led a group of people back to the tree.
However, Aqi's eyes had been darting around since earlier, glancing at the children every now and then.
Madam Min smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, if you want to go see, then go ahead. We don't need anyone to wait on us while we play cards here."
Aqi glanced at Ayi, and seeing Ayi nod, he quickly bowed with a smile and ran to the group of children.
“He’s still just a child.” Min Qiao smiled and then said to Ayi, “If you want to go, you can come along and play. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Ayi quickly shook her head, "Grandma, I don't want to go. I just want to stay by your side."
What a joke! The Grand Madam only kept her and Aqi to serve her. Aqi has already run away, and now she's all alone. How could she possibly leave?
On the other side, Aqi chased after several children, searching for, catching, and collecting fish with them, having a great time.
Soon, Aqi became familiar with the children.
There was no way around it; every time she saw a few children catch a fish, she would exclaim, "Wow! You guys are so good!" "Wow! You caught another one!" "Wow! So amazing!" "Wow! Teach me!"...
These kids had never heard genuine praise before, and in no time they came to regard Aqi as one of their own.
They not only taught her what kind of pebbles to pick up, but also how to apply force and how to aim...
Yes, the teaching is very good, and the children are learning quite well. It's just a pity that these children's skills are not something that Aqi can learn in a short time.
But this did not dampen Aqi's enthusiasm for fishing.
It wasn't until Aqi fully realized that she truly lacked the skill to fish that she revealed her true purpose in approaching the children.
"Winter Melon, how many fish can you catch in a day? If you catch a lot, we can take the fish to the market and sell them for money!"
The boy who was leading the group was named Donggua. He was eleven years old, two years younger than Aqi.
He couldn't remember his name because once, after being injured, he ate a piece of candied winter melon at Doctor Mu's. He thought it was the most delicious thing in the world. So, he named himself Winter Melon.
Of course, Donggua told Aqi all of this after they had become familiar with each other.
Hearing Aqi's words, Donggua shook his head blankly. "I don't know. The fish in this stream are a bit small. Will anyone buy them?"
“It is a bit small.” Aqi nodded, looking at the children and began to ponder.
If selling fish isn't an option, what other ways do they have to make money?
We can't let the old lady spend money to support them for nothing, can we?
The old lady already has enough of these freeloaders; to support so many more... she was really worried about the old lady's money box.
Hmm, I'll have to remind Sister Weijia later that she should send over the Madam's monthly allowance.
The money box in her hand was almost empty!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com