What are you doing here?
Madam Qian snorted coldly, her face full of displeasure at having her sweet dream ruined.
Ever since she saw Su Hua's set of jade ornaments, her heart was completely captivated by them. Even though Su Hua didn't need them now, she preferred to keep them rather than lend them to her to wear, and wouldn't even let her touch them, making her feel as if a million ants were gnawing at her heart.
Such exquisite jade ornaments are simply a waste to keep.
Now, I finally have a dream, and I'm about to put the hairpin on my head.
But someone ruined their good time, so how could they possibly be in a good mood?
Meng Yun'er glanced at the reeds in the distance, then walked over and sat down next to Qian Shi, her smile deepening. "Yun'er had nothing to do at home, so I came out for a walk and happened to run into Second Sister-in-law. I wanted to see if there was anything Second Sister-in-law could help me with?"
"Help?" Qian Yueniang looked the girl up and down, then curled her lip in disdain. "What kind of help can you offer? Are you going to help collect snails?"
The young woman waved her hand and sighed softly, "My second sister-in-law is so beautiful, yet she spends all day under the sun picking snails. Her hands and face have become rough. When I first saw her, I thought she was some noble lady from a wealthy family, but now..."
"What's wrong now?" Madam Qian subconsciously looked at her hands.
His hands were covered in rough skin, and his fingernails were filled with black dirt.
Look at it, it's like the bark of that old sycamore tree at the village entrance, pitch black and without any luster.
Seeing this, Meng Yun'er took out a small box from her sleeve and handed it to Qian Shi. "A woman, it's okay if her husband doesn't care about her, but she must take care of herself. This is a balm that Yun'er bought in the county. Apply it to your skin every morning and evening, and after a few days, your hands will become white and tender."
Madam Qian held the perfume box, stroking its smooth surface with both hands.
The next instant, he stuffed it into his chest.
"Let me tell you, this balm is mine now that you've given it to me, and I won't give it back."
"Heh—" Meng Yun'er's lips curled slightly, a hint of disdain flashing almost imperceptibly in her watery eyes, "It's just a box of perfume. Everyone in Qingshui Village knows that my Meng family is powerful and wealthy. Second Aunt can have as much perfume as she wants!"
"What do you mean by this?" Mrs. Qian clutched her chest.
His gaze toward the girl was somewhat gloomy.
If one were to describe one's mother-in-law as a greedy creature that only takes in but never gives out.
Meng Yun'er's father, Meng Yongfu, was the kind of person who would pluck a dog's hair if it passed by.
She didn't believe in such a windfall as receiving perfume for no reason!
"Second sister-in-law is indeed a smart woman!" Meng Yun'er dusted off her sleeves, took out a bulging money bag from her cuff and tossed it up and down lightly. "I want to do a business deal with second sister-in-law. If it goes well, not only will the balm be yours, but all the money in this bag will be yours!"
"What kind of business?" Qian asked, staring at the silver glint peeking out of the bag.
His phoenix eyes lit up instantly.
This bag of silver is probably more than the box of silver coins my sister-in-law received today.
Meng Yun'er approached Madam Qian, tiptoeing slightly, "Second sister-in-law, come closer..."
***
Entrance to Shanghe Village.
Su Hua was picking mushrooms with a small basket on her back.
Just now, Su Bai drank a cup of tea with 'added ingredients' given to her by Su Hua. The amount of filth that she expelled from her body was several times more than that of Su Hua before. After taking a bath, she sat in front of the mirror, staring at the mirror and laughing and jumping around.
That look almost sent the person away.
Su Hua decided to escape and planned to pick some mushrooms to take back with her.
This morning, she sat on the oxcart and saw a lot of plump wood ear mushrooms growing under the sycamore tree at the entrance of the village. After all, it was an old tree with countless fallen branches. Wood ear mushrooms would easily grow when the climate was humid, but the people of Shanghe Village did not have the habit of eating mushrooms.
Now it's a good deal for her.
There's still a lot of wild boar meat left at home.
We'll stir-fry some wild boar meat with wood ear mushrooms then.
Mountain delicacies and wild game.
That completes the set.
Although there seemed to be a lot of dead branches on the ground, even after plucking all the wood ear mushrooms off them, they only weighed about half the weight of the basket. Su Hua looked at the dead branches on the ground, her eyes flickered slightly, and she picked up four or five large branches and put them into the basket.
In her modern life, she once saw on the news that wood ear mushrooms could be artificially cultivated.
The simplest method is to collect the sycamore branches that once nurtured wood ear mushrooms, place them in a shady spot, and water them every morning and evening.
In just ten days to half a month, a new batch of wood ear mushrooms will grow.
Before she could get up, a mocking voice suddenly came from afar.
"Oh, so Hua knows her business isn't doing well, so she's started cutting back on spending and eating poisonous mushrooms?"
Su Hua turned around and saw Widow Liu carrying a pair of large wooden buckets back from the village entrance.
Behind the woman was a burly man.
She looked to be around twenty years old.
All black.
He's practically another black bear spirit from Shanghe Village.
"Oh, Aunt Liu, are you going to town to sell snails?" The girl's nose twitched slightly, and she glanced at the wooden bucket with a smile, her hands still busy. "Look at how happy Aunt Liu looks, it seems business is doing very well. Is she buying meat again today?"
That gentle, smiling face instantly extinguished the woman's initial desire to show off.
How could she still laugh when she heard that her snail business was not doing well?
Could it be that this girl has gone mad again?
After putting away the dead branches, Su Hua clapped her hands and stood up. "Where are the poisonous mushrooms that Aunt Liu mentioned?"
"Huh? Poisonous mushrooms?" Widow Liu was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously pointed to the other side, "It's over there."
The girl tightened the basket on her back and looked in the direction the woman pointed. She saw several willow trees hanging down on the riverbank and her heart was instantly filled with joy.
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