Chapter 30 Buy with Money
A cold glint flashed in Xia Qianqian's eyes as she stared directly at her mother without fear: "Aunt Xia, what I owed you back then was settled the moment I agreed to marry Lu Zheng. Losing my daughter was never my fault. If anyone is at fault, it's yours!"
"You ungrateful wretch! I've wasted my time raising you!" Xia's mother finally couldn't hold back and uttered the most hurtful words.
"Aunt Xia, so that's what you think too." Xia Qianqian's eyes were now filled with indifference.
Although she had long since stopped considering Xia's mother as her own, hearing such heartless words still made her heart ache.
After all, this is the person I've called "Mom" for so many years!
"Heh, what exactly do you want me to do?" Xia Qianqian's lips curled into a sorrowful smile. "Giving up my status as the eldest daughter of the Xia family, giving my fiancé to Xia Wenwen, and even going back to the countryside to marry someone in her place—isn't all that enough for me? And you, after slapping me, won't even give me a sweet treat, yet you expect me to offer my other cheek for you to slap?"
"How dare you! Who gave you permission to speak to Madam like that!" The driver quickly stepped in to help, seeing that Madam Xia's face had turned pale with anger.
Xia Qianqian glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes: "What a watchdog! If you were really that tough, you shouldn't have told me you got into college."
These words instantly calmed Xia's mother down from her rage. Yes, she had come today to persuade Xia Qianqian to give up her spot to Wenwen so that she could marry Qin Yan smoothly, not to argue with this brat.
Suppressing her anger, she snapped at the driver, "I'm talking to Miss, how dare you interrupt? Get out of here!"
Then, she said softly, "Qianqian, Mom knows you're feeling wronged."
She took Xia Qianqian's hand, as if trying to warm Xia Qianqian's frozen heart with the warmth of her palm.
Xia Qianqian pulled her hand away from her mother's grasp and said in a businesslike tone, "Aunt Xia, since you want this teaching position, then show me the sincerity you would when discussing business, and stop with these insincere words."
Seeing that she showed no affection and even started making a fuss, Xia's mother felt a tightness in her chest, but she didn't want to miss this opportunity, so she asked, "What do you want? As long as it's not too much, Mom can give it to you."
Upon hearing Xia's mother say this, Xia Qianqian didn't stand on ceremony with her. She said, "Previously, Miss Sun wanted to buy this spot, but she couldn't reach an agreement despite offering a considerable sum. I think your offer can't be less than hers, right? If it's less than what Miss Sun offered, then I'll go talk to Miss Sun. I think she'll definitely be happy to take it on."
Xia's mother was displeased upon hearing this: "You're comparing your sister to Miss Sun?"
Everyone in the city knows that Miss Sun is a good-for-nothing. She's eighteen years old, but no one in her family has even proposed marriage. She's not even as good as Wenwen's little finger.
Xia Qianqian glanced at her sideways, her meaning clear: Xia's mother no longer wanted to argue with her. She knew that if she got into a fight with Xia Qianqian, it would damage her own reputation.
So, she said angrily, "Miss Sun is willing to pay a thousand yuan, so I'll give you that amount too. Is that alright now?"
Xia Qianqian readily agreed, "Okay, Aunt Xia, you can pay three hundred yuan as a deposit first. We'll go to the Education Bureau together to complete the formalities later, and then you can give me the rest of the money?"
Looking at her smiling face, Xia's mother felt utterly disgusted. She opened her wallet and gave all the money inside to Xia Qianqian: "See you at the Education Bureau the day after tomorrow."
Seeing that she was about to leave, Xia Qianqian stopped her and said, "Wait, let me count the money."
"You don't believe me?" Xia's mother couldn't hold back her temper any longer.
"Hehe, even close brothers keep clear accounts, let alone us? Aunt Xia, surely you won't mind waiting a few more minutes, will you?"
"Fine, fine, fine!" Xia's mother was so angry that her chest heaved violently. She cursed Xia Qianqian in her heart, but on the surface she had to give in.
Xia Qianqian counted the money slowly and deliberately. After she finished, she looked up at her mother with a sweet smile on her face, but said something that made her mother even angrier.
"Aunt Xia, there's a total of 268 yuan here. Never mind, I won't ask you for the few yuan short. You can pay the difference on the day of the transfer. No need to thank me."
After saying that, she tossed her cascading, wavy hair and walked towards the meeting point. Her figure swayed gracefully, and every step seemed to touch Xia's mother's heart.
Watching her retreating figure, Xia's mother cursed, "You just wait!"
Xia Qianqian chuckled and raised the money in her hand: "Next time, Aunt Xia, please don't bring too little money, otherwise things will get complicated."
"Madam, Madam!" came the driver's voice from behind, but Xia Qianqian didn't even bother to turn her head.
She glanced at her watch; it was still early before the meeting time, so she decided to use the money she had just received to do some more shopping.
She went to the market and bought some cotton and fabric, as well as shoes and other daily necessities. Then she went to the grocery store and did a lot of shopping, spending all the money her mother had given her before returning to the meeting point.
After finishing her shopping, Xia Qianqian had a sudden thought, and she put most of the items into Peach Blossom Spring. She only kept a small bundle in her hand, containing only a few balls of yarn.
When she returned to the meeting point, the villagers all looked at the small bundle in her hand. Seeing that it contained several balls of yarn, they thought to themselves: "This city lady doesn't know how to manage her money. She even buys pure wool yarn. What a waste."
Back in the village, Xia Qianqian stepped into her house, only to find it deserted. She frowned slightly, thinking: "Mother-in-law must have taken the children to work in the fields." She'd been getting everything done for her these past few days; perhaps she should let her show off today.
Despite being the daughter of the Xia family, Xia Qianqian is not a lazy, idle parasite. The Xia family went to great lengths to ensure her smooth marriage into the Qin family and to meet their requirements for a virtuous wife and mother.
In the past two years, she has learned a lot of cooking skills from the cook, and has also learned to make several exquisite side dishes.
The village has limited ingredients, so this isn't really suitable. Besides, I bought a lot of meat buns today, so Xia Qianqian decided to cook some millet porridge for everyone and make one or two side dishes to go with it.
Upon reaching the kitchen, she saw that the family used a traditional earthen stove, which posed a challenge for her, as she had never cooked on one before. However, there's always a solution, so Xia Qianqian rolled up her sleeves and gave it a try...
Half an hour later, Er Ya came back to get water bottles for her sister and grandmother. As soon as she entered the yard, she saw thick smoke billowing out of the house.
"Fire!"
When Er Ya saw that Xia Qianqian's things were still on the table, she was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. Then she screamed and ran outside.
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