Chapter 26 Having Face
The alleyways are most lively in the early morning, with people shouting from one house to the other, children calling for their mothers from another, and the aroma of savory food brought back from the morning market for the whole family.
The commotion caused by the Li family attracted the attention and curiosity of everyone in the alley.
After the goods were moved, the coachman said goodbye, saying he would come to pick up the passengers in the evening.
The rest of the people were responsible for guarding, each performing their own duties.
As soon as the courtyard gate closed, Li's mother and Li Rong didn't even bother to offer tea before starting to look through the things Li Qu had brought.
"Wow, this fabric is beautiful, it suits Mom perfectly!"
"Wow, there are so many pastries! This one is delicious, and this one is delicious too. Ah Rong, you should try some."
"Wow……"
Li Qu was not surprised by this; he took matters into his own hands and became self-sufficient.
"Since there are no extra teapots at home, give some silver to the guards outside the courtyard so they can drink tea as they please. Don't be stingy."
Granny Xu quickly took out her purse: "It's already prepared."
She went out to give the guards some money as a tip, and when she returned, she saw that Li's mother and Li Rong were each holding a piece of cloth and comparing it to themselves, and she couldn't help but laugh.
She thought it was good that her aunt had such a shallow family member; they were easier to control.
After drinking half a cup of tea, Li Rong and her mother finally pulled themselves away from the pile of gifts.
When Li's mother saw Li Qu sitting in the main hall, and then looked at Xu Mama standing behind Li Qu, she smiled awkwardly: "Please excuse me, please excuse me. Oh dear, have you had breakfast yet? Arong, hurry up and get ready, so you can show off your skills to Mama at noon."
Then he actively went forward to greet Granny Xu.
While Xu Mama and Li's mother were talking, Li Rong pulled Li Qu to the kitchen and asked their father to keep an eye on Xu Mama to prevent her from eavesdropping.
Nowadays, people eat steamed rice, cooking vegetables in one pot while steaming rice on the other.
Li Rong is an excellent cook and is the head chef of the Li Family Restaurant in Yandi.
She deftly gutted the fish, removing its scales and innards: "What's the situation now? Is the fake household registration issue over?"
"Um."
Li Qu sat down by the stove, preparing to start a fire.
"So, how far have things progressed between you and Master Zhou?"
"There has been some progress."
“My mother said that if we’re going to leave, we should leave after giving birth, because she’s afraid of giving birth on the road.”
"How is Mother's pregnancy going?"
"I feel the baby move. My mother says it must be a boy."
"My older sister said she said the same thing with every pregnancy."
Li Rong sighed, "The family still needs male members. We had only rented the place in Jishui Lane for a few days when neighbors came to visit."
"These are all trivial matters; you can barely take care of yourself, so I didn't mention them when I saw you before."
Li Qu frowned: "Which one?"
Li Rong washed the fish and prepared the spices, while Li Qu had already lit the fire on the stove.
“They’re all minor issues. It’s not that the branches in the yard have grown into her yard, but that Dad is chopping wood all day long and making too much noise.”
“An old woman came to the door asking all sorts of questions, trying to find out if I was a daughter or a daughter-in-law. She had no good intentions.”
"On the night you came back, your father was extorted for one or two taels of silver."
"Later I told them that my sister was a favorite maid in the Zhou family, and that's why the people in the alley were more well-behaved."
Hot oil sizzles with spices, releasing their aroma. The spices are then used to fry the fish, allowing the flavor to penetrate to the bone.
"They only dare to extort us because we have no men in our family, our father is mute, and we are small in number. We can't beat them in a fight or out-argue them."
“If I were a real man, do you think they would still dare to come to our door and extort money from us?”
"The world is the same everywhere. So... have you finished your contraceptive pills?"
Li Qu glanced at Li Rong: "If you have a spirit of sacrifice and feel that sacrificing yourself can protect the safety of your whole family, then I can help you fulfill your wish to be with a young master and flatter him for the rest of your life."
"Here we go again." Li Rong put in the spices and seasonings, put the lid on the pot, put her hands on her hips and looked at Li Qu. "Alright, what's the matter with coming back this time?"
"Hire someone to go north to the capital."
Li Rong's mind went blank, and she couldn't quite process what she was saying: "Beijing? The capital city?"
"Yes, the Zhou family and the royal family have a rift. Leaving Hezhou, the capital is the safest place."
Li Rong expressed her shock: "Where are my eldest sister and brother-in-law?"
"Help my brother-in-law get transferred back to Beijing."
"You make it sound so easy!" Li Rong was about to retort, but then she suddenly remembered something and calmed down. "Get Zhou Sanye's help?"
Li Qu used a stick to sweep the soot from the bottom of the pot in the stove: "We'll have to do it ourselves."
Li Rong rolled her eyes: "You have a way?"
"There is one, but we have to wait for news from Yan."
"What news?"
"Xianbaozhai".
"What big waves can a shop cause!"
"It's not just one shop; it's spread across the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun."
"What's the use!"
"We should be able to get news by the end of the year. Before that, we need to have a safe way to communicate with our eldest sister without letting the Zhou family find out."
"So, hiring someone to go to the capital was a roundabout way to contact your eldest sister?"
"Yes, Second Sister, I don't care if you buy people or use any other method, you need to pave a completely safe route for communicating with Eldest Sister before the news spreads from Yan at the end of the year."
Li Rong pointed at herself, utterly incredulous at Li Qu's arrangement: "To build an absolutely safe route for sending messages, from Hezhou to the capital and then to Wanxian, do you think I'm that capable?!"
"Why don't you go by yourself?"
Li Rong angrily pointed at the spider on the spiderweb by the window: "Li Qu, it's not a person, you're a real dog!"
The aroma of fresh fish wafted from the pot, tempting everyone's mouth.
"Your only ostensibly purpose for going to the capital is to find Zheng Changxing's house and curse him at his doorstep."
Li Rong was speechless: "And who is Zheng Changxing?"
Li Qu then explained Zheng Changxing's situation again.
"Aren't you afraid I'll get beaten to death by the Zheng family's tigress?"
"So I suggest you find a way to get someone else to go."
Li Rong: "..."
Wait a minute, Li Rong thought of a reason to refuse.
"Where is the passage?"
Li Qu had a sudden inspiration: "That's right, Zhou Jin gave me two shops, so we have someone to use them!"
Li Rong's eyes widened: "You've already got your private assets to rely on so quickly?"
"I'll give you the food stall. You can run it for a while, win people over, and then hold onto their indentures. You won't have to worry about finding employees."
"How did you manage to get Master Zhou to loosen his grip so quickly?"
"At that time, you can just make up any excuse, say you're going to open a shop in the capital, and take people north. It'll all be a natural progression, brilliant!"
"How did you do that?!"
"Second sister, smell it, is the fish burnt?"
Li Rong screamed, "My fish..."
In the kitchen, Li Rong and Li Qu made some initial arrangements. In the main house, Li's mother, having learned from Granny Xu that Li Qu was favored by the Third Master, began to have her own plans.
After lunch, the family gathered together to arrange where the fabric should go.
Xu Mama was given two hours' leave by Li Qu to go home and visit her family.
Knowing that Li Qu and the Li family wanted to have a private conversation, and with people protecting the house, Xu Mama wisely withdrew.
With no outsiders present, Li's mother no longer concealed herself.
As she skillfully cut the fabric, she said, "A-Qu, the fact that Master Zhou has given you his private property shows that he cares about you."
“The Zhou family is powerful and has no fear of the Prince of Yan’s heir. With the backing of Master Zhou, you don’t need to fear the Prince of Yan’s heir’s revenge against you.”
"From now on, we should settle down and live a good life with Master Zhou."
Li Qu was tidying up the swaddling clothes for her younger brother, checking each piece, smoothing it out, and folding it neatly.
"Don't be greedy. Our birth has determined our fate. No matter how much you fight, you can't possibly fight against destiny!"
Li Rong stood to the side, neatly arranging the fabric that her mother had cut, and secretly glancing at Li Qu, not daring to interrupt.
"Besides, once you leave Master Zhou, do you think you can find a better man than Master Zhou?"
Seeing that Li Qu did not respond, Li's mother slapped Li Qu on the back with a ruler: "I'm talking to you! Stop pretending to be mute!"
Li Qu placed the folded clothes into the trunk: "No."
Li's mother slammed the ruler on the table with a bang: "Have you no shame! You've already had your body defiled, what delusions are you still having!"
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