"Hey, little girl, how's your cousin doing at home?" Shi Murou asked as Qiao Lian'er was about to take her leave.
"She didn't try to kill herself, did she?"
"If you think you can get Brother Shenliang to change his mind, that's impossible. No, Brother Shenliang has never loved her, so how could he change his mind?"
Qiao Lian'er shook her head: "My cousin saw it clearly that day. People should always look forward. Dwelling on impossible things will only ruin your life."
Shi Murou immediately became happy: "That's good, that's smart. I don't mean to make things difficult for your cousin. Brother Shenliang said that he doesn't like your cousin at all, and even if they get married, they won't be happy."
Qiao Lian'er laughed inwardly, "Your brother Shen Liang is thinking of making my cousin his concubine."
However, Shi Murou wouldn't believe her if she brought it up now. Once the opportunity arises, she could push things along, and who knows how badly Shen Liang's image would crumble in Shi Murou's mind.
After Qiao Lian'er left, Shi Murou slipped a box of pastries into his hand.
As she ate her snacks on her way back, she thought to herself that doing these things could be considered a way of rescuing Shi Murou from her predicament.
Shen Liang harbored deep ulterior motives. He was originally after Shi Murou's family background and wealth, and he had already wanted to take her as a concubine from the beginning. Perhaps once he had secured his position, he would do something even more outrageous.
That's almost beyond doubt.
Later, as Shi Murou's grandfather and parents grow old, or even pass away, and can no longer protect her, what will she do?
Since she had received the benefits from her, she should do her part in return.
This time, it just so happened that Grandpa Qi was delivering goods to the town and then driving the oxcart back.
Qiao Lian'er also caught up with the oxcart.
Grandpa Qi was silent for a while, then started muttering to himself again.
"Oh, Lian'er, if only I had known to identify the mushrooms with you, then Xiao Liang wouldn't have died."
During the days of searching for the bacteria, the Qi family earned several taels of silver, but this could not make up for their grief over losing Xiao Liang.
"Grandpa Qi, it's not that I don't want to tell everyone, it's just that I have too many concerns. What if someone gets killed by accident?"
"Sigh, I know, it hasn't been easy for you either, but thankfully nothing bad has happened during this time."
"It's all because Xiao Liang has a sweet tooth."
"This is his fate, the fate of a child born with a special destiny."
Qiao Lian'er had mixed feelings. If she found out that Qi Xiaoliang had brought poisonous mushrooms from the mountain, she would definitely stop him. She had just arrived in this world, and it was because of Qi Xiaoliang's incident that she had the idea of finding mushrooms to exchange for money.
The sun gradually slid down the western mountains.
Old Qiao had somehow moved a stool over and sat by the door, smoking his pipe and muttering to himself.
"It's getting dark, they should be back soon, one, two, three... I hope they'll all be well."
“Dad, Lian’er said he’ll be gone for two or three days,” Qiao Yunni said.
"Don't worry about your father, he's gone mad. Your brothers and nephews go out to work as镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), and instead of offering his blessings, he worries about this and that. It's practically a curse." Old Mrs. Qiao rolled her eyes.
“Mother, don’t blame Father. The villagers know that our family members went to work as镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), and some people are gossiping that they won’t be coming back. Father felt bad when he heard that,” said Madam Feng.
Grandma Qiao gets angry whenever the villagers are mentioned. Most people in the village are good, but there are also some who have bad intentions. When they see the men of the Qiao family going out to work as镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), they say that the men of the Qiao family will all die out there and that the family line will end. They say the most nasty things.
He couldn't help but spit on the ground: "Pah, those people know that a caravan can make a lot of money, and they're afraid that if it really happens, our Qiao family will make a fortune, so they're cursing like this, wishing they would really die out there."
"The more things are like this, the more determined we Qiao family members will be. Just wait and see."
Grandma Qiao practically shouted these words, and everyone in the neighborhood could hear them.
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