Chapter 143 Mistaken Identity
Aunt Zhou followed Aunt Wang up the mountain.
The weather has been getting hotter lately, and not only are the flowers blooming beautifully on the mountain, but the fruits are also growing well.
"Sister Zhou, look at all those jasmine flowers halfway up the mountain." Aunt Wang helped Aunt Zhou point to the mountainside.
When Aunt Zhou looked closely, she saw that the snow-covered hillside was actually full of blooming jasmine flowers.
A gust of wind blew in, carrying the fragrance of jasmine.
"Wow! So many flowers! Enough to make a lot of perfume!" Aunt Zhou exclaimed as she ran over.
Besides the incense balls, Zhou Family Incense Shop is also selling very well, and their incense balm is also in high demand.
The small balm, when applied to the wrist, can leave a fragrance for three whole days, making it a favorite among women in Cheng'an County.
Aunt Zhou hurriedly picked some jasmine flowers with her basket, saying, "I just told Wanchun yesterday that we were almost out of jasmine flowers for making perfume, and I didn't expect to find such a large patch of them today!"
Aunt Wang smiled, her eyes narrowing into slits. She used a sickle to cut the weeds, picking flower petals as she said, "Yes, it's just in time! Madam Zhou, your Wanchun is such a lucky star! Ever since she came to our village, she's been good at everything!"
Aunt Wang spoke the absolute truth.
Aunt Zhou nodded repeatedly, "Wanchun is not only our family's lucky star, she is the apple of our eye."
Aunt Wang laughed and said, "Speaking of which, it's fortunate that Wanchun didn't marry into the Li family. Look at the state of the Li family now. The eldest son of the Li family was actually born to Madam Li and the steward. It's truly shameful."
Upon hearing the name of the Li family, Aunt Zhou immediately thought of the day the Sun family came to buy the shop. "Master Sun came to our house yesterday."
Aunt Wang was taken aback. "What's he doing at your house?"
Aunt Zhou's smile faded, replaced by a slightly worried expression. "He said he wanted to use two thousand taels of silver to buy our two incense shops in Cheng'an County, as well as our incense workshop."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang immediately dropped the flower petals she was picking and said angrily, "This Master Sun really knows how to make a wishful thinking. He actually wants to buy your shop for two thousand taels! Now that your shop is doing so well, are you worried about not making two thousand taels in the future?"
Aunt Zhou nodded emphatically, "That's right, we said we wouldn't sell, but he doesn't seem to want to let it go."
Aunt Wang's face darkened, and she took Zhou Da Niang's hand, saying, "I heard that Master Sun is ruthless. Look at that Lady Liu's shop, he burned it down without warning."
Aunt Zhou was startled. "He wouldn't come to burn down our shop, would he?"
After pondering for a moment, Aunt Wang shook her head. "Probably not. He wants to buy your shop to make money. He probably wouldn't be willing to burn your shop down."
Aunt Zhou thought it made some sense, and she looked around.
Apart from a road leading to a neighboring county, the mountains were deserted, and a sense of unease immediately welled up in her heart.
She quickly pulled Aunt Wang aside and said, "Let's hurry up and pick them so we can go home as soon as we're done."
Aunt Wang nodded, then pointed to a path behind the flower bushes. "There's a path there, it's a bit further home, but outsiders don't usually know about it. I heard from the villagers that when bandits used to roam the village, they would all go home this way."
Aunt Zhou looked in the direction she was pointing and said, "Okay, let's be careful and take the back path later."
"Then let's pick them quickly." Aunt Wang rolled up her sleeves and began picking flowers rapidly.
The two of them worked at twice their usual pace and soon had picked two large baskets.
Aunt Zhou wasn't greedy. "That's enough. Let's go."
Aunt Wang packed the petals away. "Okay, it's still early. We can wash these petals when we get back."
Aunt Zhou, carrying a basket of flowers, followed her along the path.
They were just about to leave.
Three or four masked men carrying knives secretly arrived at the path leading to Changliu Village in the neighboring county.
"Brother, is this the place?" a short man asked the tall leader.
The tall man looked around and said, "That's right, this is the place. I've found out everything. That woman from the Zhou family usually takes this path back when she goes up the mountain to pick flowers."
There aren't many roads in the mountains, and this one is considered a main road, but it looks rather remote because there are few people around.
“Okay, brother.” After hearing this, the short man stared intently at the road, then asked doubtfully, “Brother, do you know what that Zhou family woman looks like?”
The tall man said, "I heard she's a pretty farm girl. Look here, the one holding flowers, the beautiful farm woman, that's her."
The short man, with his sharp eyes, spotted Aunt Zhou walking down the path and quickly pointed towards the tall man, saying, "Brother, isn't that her?"
The tall man looked up and saw the gleaming gold hairpin on Granny Zhou's head. He frowned and scolded, "What is this? Where have you ever seen a peasant woman wear a gold hairpin!"
"No, she's holding flowers!" The short man quickly looked at Aunt Zhou again.
However, Aunt Zhou and Aunt Wang had already walked into the path and were blocked by rows of trees, so they could no longer see them.
"Hey, where did this person go?" the short man asked, puzzled.
The tall man slapped him on the head. "Shut up, someone's coming!"
Not far ahead, Sister-in-law Sun was carrying a basket of flowers she had just picked by the roadside, walking along complaining all the way, "You know, things are fine, but either they get rained on or the carriage breaks down! Now I have to walk to the county. I should never have come to this Cheng'an County!"
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