Seeing her like this, Madam Cui quickly changed the subject and asked about other trivial matters in the manor.
They were eating and chatting happily, but things weren't so lively at the Jiao family's estate next door.
When they married their daughter into the Marquis's family, the Jiao family specially bought a house next to the Marquis's estate at a high price so that it would be convenient for them to visit each other in the future.
Now that Madam Cui has demanded that the Marquis's estate be returned, the Jiao family finds it extremely displeasing.
Especially in the last few days, as things were being moved around and registered at Cui Family Manor, the people left behind by the Marquis's mansion would sneak over to deliver messages from time to time.
Thinking of the grain stored in the warehouse, Jiao felt so angry that her whole body ached.
Right now, she's sitting in the yard, listening to her mother scold her.
“You’re too easy to bully. She’s just a divorced wife. What are you afraid of her for? She gave away her dowry, but in the end, her estate was taken away. We didn’t have enough food at home, and we were even hoping to get some from you. Now, it’s all over.”
Jiao gritted her teeth in anger and argued with her mother in a low voice, "Is it my fault that the family is short of food? Who told you to sell all the stored grain? The emperor has moved the capital, and people are gathering here. Grain is very precious. Don't you know that?"
“Of course I knew, that’s why I sold it!” Madam Jiao replied matter-of-factly. “I was originally counting on you, but I never expected you to be so useless.”
Jiao was so angry that she got up to leave, thinking that she shouldn't have come back to her parents' home.
Originally, the Marquis's manor had stopped supplying her with the estate, so she wanted to go back to her parents' home to get some supplies. However, she couldn't get the items and was instead furious with her mother.
Just then, an old woman suddenly ran in to report.
"Madam, great news! That divorced woman from the neighboring village has actually brought a child back from outside, and she's standing at the door chatting and laughing with that patriarch of the Liu family."
"What?" Before Jiao could even rejoice, Madam Jiao stood up in surprise. "This child might be her bastard child born outside! No wonder she made a scene about divorcing the Marquis when she arrived in Jiangnan; it turns out she had someone else outside."
Jiao was overjoyed, but she knew she had to be careful. She quickly changed into a set of ordinary old woman's coarse cloth dress and then secretly went to the neighboring village to check.
Jiayin had no idea that her outing had caused trouble for Madam Cui. Now, having eaten and drunk her fill, she was hugging Madam Cui's neck as they walked out.
Liu Zhiheng had a basket of eggs, two boxes of soft and easy-to-eat pastries, and two pieces of soft cotton cloth prepared and put them in the carriage, instructing his sworn sister on them.
"This is for the little girl, it's not yours!"
Madam Cui laughed upon hearing this, "I understand. Since my sworn brother likes daughters so much, he and his wife should hurry up and have another one."
Liu Zhiheng glared at her, "Isn't it all your fault? You've given me a whole bunch of work to do, and I haven't seen your sister-in-law for three days."
Madam Cui quickly apologized, "I will return from the gravel beach tomorrow. Please leave this place to me. My sworn brother, please go back and keep your sister-in-law company."
"Forget it, if I hand the estate over to you, I'm afraid it will be ruined in no time. Let me sort things out first, and then I'll find you two reliable managers."
Liu Zhiheng waved his hand, his disdain for his sworn sister clearly written all over his face.
Finally, he squeezed Jiayin's chubby little hand and shook it, "Fu Niu, come play again next time, Uncle will prepare some delicious food for you."
"Thank you, Uncle!" Jiayin nodded with a smile, her cute little face making Liu Zhiheng adore her once again.
Soon, the small caravan set off. In the lead carriage, Madam Cui held Jiayin, followed by a horse-drawn carriage and a mule cart, each carrying an old fruit farmer, one cart of coarse grains and the other of high-quality seeds.
Before Jiayin came out, I was looking forward to her coming out, but after only half a day, I started to miss my parents and grandma and was eagerly looking forward to getting home.
Madam Cui didn't restrain her and let her play as she pleased. Jiayin, however, got tired of playing and fell asleep in her arms.
Madam Cui gently patted the chubby baby in her arms, and suddenly felt a little greedy. If she were to remarry and have a daughter or son like this, wouldn't she be very happy?
Thinking this, she also felt sleepy and slowly fell asleep while holding Jiayin in her arms.
They had no idea that someone, having realized they had been given leverage over something, was nearly going insane with glee...
On the other side of the gravel beach, the Li family members were also unconsciously looking forward, and no matter what they were busy with, they couldn't help but stare at the intersection.
When Jiayin is at home, everyone usually carries her on their backs or in their arms; they've gotten used to it.
Suddenly, with the child no longer around, everyone felt empty and couldn't eat lunch, feeling like something was missing.
After much anticipation, the Li family, young and old, rushed to greet Madam Cui's carriage.
The old lady ignored her aching shoulder and scooped up her sleepy granddaughter, exclaiming, "Oh, my dear granddaughter, you're finally back!"
Tao Hongying quickly touched her daughter's arms and legs, which made Madam Cui both laugh and cry. "Fu Niu is doing well. She can eat and drink well and is having a lot of fun."
The Li family felt embarrassed. "It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that this child has been by our side the whole time, and when he suddenly went out for a while, the whole family was completely disoriented."
Jiayin felt incredibly warm inside, but worried that her grandmother might aggravate her shoulder injury, so she gave her a big kiss and then ran to her mother's arms.
When her brothers came over, she pouted and kissed each of them, which made Jia'an and Jiaxi want to play with their little sister.
Tao Hongying put her daughter on Jiaxi's back and instructed, "We're nearby, don't go too far."
Jiayin quickly reached into the car, "Snacks, my snacks!"
Madam Cui smiled, took a box, and handed it to Jia'an to hold.
The three siblings then happily ran off, clearly to find a place to share.
Everyone laughed, and just then the village chief arrived with his men, and they began to discuss the important matter.
The fruit farmer Liu Zhiheng helped find was surnamed Han. He was an old man over fifty years old. Just by looking at his dark complexion and calloused hands, you could tell he was an expert who had been working for many years.
The village chief was extremely satisfied. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he had someone take Old Han up the mountain.
The villagers had already sent the fruit seedlings up the mountain, but they were hesitant to plant them, fearing they might do something wrong and urgently needed guidance.
Madam Cui then pointed out the superior seeds to everyone, saying, "These are superior seeds from my sworn brother's estate. You can plant them with confidence. In addition, I also had someone pack a thousand catties of coarse grains. Uncle Village Chief, please don't mind them; keep them for everyone's rations."
"No problem, no problem at all. This is a real lifesaver, a huge help!" The village chief was overjoyed and called Li Lao Er forward.
"Second brother, be sure to remember this. In the fall, we will return double the amount of high-quality seeds and increase the amount of coarse grains by 20%."
Li Lao Er agreed and immediately took out a charcoal pencil, making two notes in his small notebook.
Madam Cui wanted to stop her, because she hadn't brought too much coarse grain in case the villagers were too polite.
Old Mrs. Li tugged at her hand, saying, "The village chief's arrangement is correct. No one's grain comes from thin air. If you borrow and repay, it won't be difficult to borrow again."
“Yes,” the village chief nodded with a smile, “There are many people in the village, so it’s not good to develop the habit of asking for everything we need. Even though Young Master Ye gave us saplings, it’s all recorded in the books, and we’ll have to pay for them in the future. Now that everyone has mountains and land, as long as we put in the effort, we’ll definitely be able to live a good life.”
Madam Cui then stopped insisting, but she felt even more admiration for everyone.
Who wouldn't like such hardworking and self-reliant people?
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