Qiu Yumei had a headache. As soon as she saw Qiu Yan, she quickly pulled her into the kitchen to keep her from showing herself.
"Xiaoyan, Butcher Lai is here again."
Qiu Yan glanced outside and asked, "Here we go again to cause trouble?"
“He came today, claiming he wanted to see you. He won’t leave until he sees you, which has delayed many of our guests.”
"I'll go take a look," Qiu Yan said, about to leave, but Qiu Yumei grabbed her arm.
“You can’t go out. That butcher Lai is ruthless.” Even a smooth business has its ups and downs, and offending Butcher Lai always makes Qiu Yumei uneasy.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Qiu Yan gave her aunt a reassuring look and walked into the shop in front.
Hearing the commotion, the two children ran out. Surprised, Qiu Yumei quickly pulled the two children to her left and right, afraid that Gu Xiaoran would get lost.
"Why are you here too? Ling'er, Xiao Ran, don't run around."
Qiu Ling'er and Gu Xiaoran nodded obediently, their little heads constantly looking outside.
Tian Xiu was curious about the two children who had suddenly appeared in the shop, but now she was more worried about Qiu Yan.
Lai the butcher had often made unwanted advances towards her.
Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming followed closely behind Qiu Yan. They couldn't afford to lose the jobs they had just found; if necessary, they would have to help Qiu Yan.
Lai the butcher stared wide-eyed at the beautiful woman walking towards him in the distance, licked his lips, and said, "Miss Qiu, you've kept me waiting for so long. I've come today..."
"Are you full?" Qiu Yan interrupted Lai the butcher directly, not even glancing at him.
Lai the butcher patted his round belly and let out a burp, "I'm full."
Qiu Yan stood there, disgusted, refusing to move forward. "If you're full, get lost and don't get in our way!"
Lai the butcher's expression changed. "Young lady, don't speak so rudely. I've been waiting for ages, how can you send me away with just a few words?"
Qiu Yan felt nauseous when she saw Lai the butcher's lewd eyes.
She looked at Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming, "Get them out!"
Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming no longer had any scruples. They each grabbed one of Lai the butcher's arms and dragged him out of the shop.
Qiu Yumei held onto the two curious children tightly, preventing them from going out.
Lai the butcher struggled to break free, but couldn't. He glared threateningly at the two people beside him, but Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming were not afraid of trouble.
They had been involved in many fights and brawls with Qiu Dayu, so they were quite strong.
Thump... Lai the butcher was thrown to the ground like livestock, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The passersby guessed that Butcher Lai had come to cause trouble, and they pointed and whispered about him.
"Haha..." Gu Xiaoran laughed out loud, broke free from Qiu Yumei's arm and ran to Qiu Yan's side.
Qiu Yan picked up Gu Xiaoran in her arms.
Seeing Lai the butcher thrown on the ground, Qiu Yumei and Qiu Ling'er also came out.
Lai the butcher's eyes hardened, and he glanced at the brat with displeasure.
Thinking of the purpose of his visit today, his face changed to a smile again.
"As long as you agree to marry me, I am willing to divorce my wife and marry someone else..." Originally, he wanted Qiu Yan to be his concubine, but recently he has become more and more dissatisfied with his wife.
He felt that Qiu Yan, a country girl, was already incredibly lucky to marry him. He had a house in the county town, so there was no reason for him to refuse.
Qiu Yumei's face was full of anger.
Qiu Yan suppressed her anger and said coldly, "You seem to have forgotten the lesson from that day and want to be beaten again!"
Thinking of what happened that day, Butcher Lai's face fell. "If you don't agree, I'll make sure your shop goes out of business. With me here, let's see who dares to eat here!"
"Dare to utter another word, and I'll break your legs!"
With a whoosh, Qiu Yan flicked her hand slightly, and a black-skinned peanut was flicked into Lai Tu Hu's mouth, directly into his throat, where he swallowed it with a gulp, causing him to cough violently.
Qiu Yumei's anger turned to joy; Xiao Yan's current temperament was quite similar to her second brother's.
Lai the butcher's face changed drastically: "Cough cough...you...what did you feed me?"
Qiu Yan raised her lips, leaned closer to Butcher Lai, and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Poison, get home and prepare for your funeral!"
"You..." Lai the butcher collapsed to the ground, gagging repeatedly, trying to spit out the foreign object in his throat, but it was too late.
Gao Yuan, Zhang Ming, and Tian Xiu were filled with admiration for Qiu Yan's composure in the face of danger.
At this moment, a pair of mistress and servant, Jiang Liu and Cui Zhu, slowly approached from near and far.
Jiang Liu came looking for Qiu Yan. Hearing the commotion from afar, she quickened her pace and arrived in front of Qiu Yan.
"What's wrong?"
Qiu Yan: "I encountered a toad."
As soon as she finished speaking, the onlookers burst into laughter. Butcher Lai recognized the wealthy woman standing next to Qiu Yan. No wonder these people were so arrogant; it turned out they had the magistrate's wife backing them up.
His cousin was utterly insignificant in front of the magistrate's wife.
He knelt down in front of Qiu Yan with a thud. "Miss Qiu, I don't have much of a grudge against you, why did you poison me? Please, give me the antidote..."
Qiu Yan: "There is no cure for this medicine."
Jiang Liu and the others were completely confused.
Although Gao Yuan and Zhang Ming did not know what Qiu Yan had given Lai the butcher, they did not ask.
The two men exchanged a glance, nodded to each other, and prepared to drag Lai the butcher away.
Qiu Yan remembered something, "Has the money been settled?"
Gao Yuan chuckled, "Leave it to us."
As he spoke, he and Zhang Ming dragged Lai the butcher a long way away, demanded copper coins, and threw them on the side of the road.
The poor butcher, thinking he was about to die, lost all interest in selling meat and stumbled away amidst a chorus of mocking laughter.
He may have the desire to steal, but he doesn't have the guts.
After the matter was settled, Qiu Yan led Jiang Liu and her servant to the backyard.
Jiang Liu smiled as she looked at the two children. "These are your younger brother and sister-in-law?"
Qiu Yan replied, "My sister is, but Xiao Ran is not."
Jiang Liu pointed at Gu Xiaoran: "Then whose child is this?"
Gu Xiaoran looked at Qiu Yan with her big, watery eyes and said, "You said I'm your child."
Qiu Yan... She said this once, and the child remembered it completely.
Gu Xiaoran's adorable expression made Jiang Liu laugh.
She felt a pang of pain when she recalled a child she had lost, but quickly recovered.
"Qiu Yan, I've found a shop I like on South Street. Could you take a look and see if it's feasible?" Jiang Liu didn't know much about business and wanted to ask Qiu Yan for help.
Qiu Yan readily agreed and took the two children and Jiang Liu and her servant to the south street ahead.
South Street was bustling with traffic, and as soon as Gu Xiaoran and Qiu Ling'er entered the street, their eyes couldn't take it all in.
Jiang Liu found the two children very endearing and bought them a lot of food, but Qiu Yan stopped her in the end.
They walked on and finally stopped in front of an empty shop.
This used to be a cloth shop, but everything inside has long been moved out.
The shop was in a good location. Jiang Liu pushed open the door and entered, followed by Qiu Yan with her two children.
"Qiu Yan, what do you think of this shop?" Jiang Liu asked.
Qiu Yan carefully looked around. The shop was divided into two floors, not too big or too small, which was just right for Jiang Liu, a novice.
"Yes, I think it's great."
With Qiu Yan's approval, Jiang Liu made the decision to buy the shop.
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