Around noon, A-Da had already brought back the first truckload of flowers with his men, while Li Xiangping and Old Man Zhang were still digging up the remaining flowers.
Ah Da said to Yan Qingqing, "Young Master and Old Man Zhang are still digging up the remaining flowers. Old Man Zhang instructed that this cartload of flowers is what he has carefully cultivated over the years and is handing it over to Madam for disposal."
Yan Qingqing carefully examined the roses and peonies and found them to be precious varieties. She then instructed the servants to carefully move them and place them all in her courtyard.
With just this simple arrangement, the entire courtyard suddenly felt radiant.
Yan Qingqing thought to herself, "No wonder rich people like these rare varieties. They do look much prettier than ordinary flowers and plants."
Yan Qingqing was busy arranging these precious flowers at home, and the villagers spread the word as soon as they heard that Yan Qingqing's family was hiring again.
Old Li's family is hiring again. Hurry up and check it out, lest people from other villages take advantage again.
What? The Li family is hiring again? Good heavens, what is the Li family doing? They're building workshop after workshop.
My husband said he wanted to rest for a couple of days, so are we still building the workshop this time?
No, I heard it's about planting flowers this time.
What? Planting flowers? You can't eat or drink those things, what's the point of planting them?
Is the Li family just burning money?
Don't talk nonsense. When has the Li family ever made a losing deal?
That's true. I need to hurry home and talk to my husband so he can sign up.
The news that the Li family was recruiting workers spread throughout Canghe Village in no time.
Old Mrs. Li sat in the room with a gloomy face, while Old Mr. Li idly puffed on his pipe.
Old Mrs. Li finally couldn't help but speak up: "Old man, Yan is such a spendthrift, don't you do anything about it? I heard she's trying to learn from rich people how to grow flowers and is even recruiting workers in the village."
"Does she feel uncomfortable if she doesn't squander all the money she earns?"
Old Master Li glanced at her but didn't say anything, continuing to smoke his cigarette.
Seeing that Mr. Li remained silent, Old Mrs. Li continued to probe, "And San Niu also followed Yan Shi's reckless ways."
Yan gave him a little benefit and he forgot who he was.
I asked him to help Xiang Jin and Xiang Yin, but he refused.
I kindly introduced him to a young, unmarried woman, and he actually appreciated it. She looked like a woman who could easily bear children. Much better than that barren Xu woman.
But that unfilial son, San Niu, actually said he would sever our mother-son relationship if I interfered any further.
Grandma Li was having a good time talking, but she didn't see Grandpa Li's increasingly gloomy expression.
Just as Old Mrs. Li was getting excited, Old Mr. Li snapped his pipe down and asked, "Which virgin? What does she look like?"
Grandma Li was startled at first, but when she heard the men ask her that, she quickly smiled and said, "She's from Xie Family Village. She's eighteen this year. She missed the best time to get married because she was observing mourning for her mother. She's very beautiful and just the right age to have children."
Grandpa Li nodded and replied, "That's right."
Grandma Li was overjoyed and said, "Right, old man? You think it's good too, right?"
Old Master Li stood up and said, "Make me two new outfits another day, and then bring the person back."
After saying that, Mr. Li stood up to leave. Mrs. Li was initially pleased, thinking that even the old man agreed with her decision, but then she realized something was wrong.
Then he shouted at Old Master Li, "Old man, where are you going? Why are you making new clothes for San Niu to take a concubine?"
Old Master Li glanced at him indifferently and replied, "Who said it was for San Niu to take a concubine? Didn't he refuse?"
"I've never taken a concubine in my life, so it's not his turn."
Grandma Li stared wide-eyed in disbelief and asked, "Old man, what do you mean?"
Old Master Li replied, "San Niu said that I am his father, and he would never dare to take a concubine if I didn't take one."
He even said that if he paid for the concubine's expenses, it would be considered a tribute to me, his father.
I'll go ask around to see if there are any additional ceremonies required for taking a concubine. Sigh, no one in the entire Canghe Village has ever taken a concubine, and I don't know who to ask.
My second son's wife is very knowledgeable and knows a lot of people; I'll ask her.
After saying that, Old Master Li left without looking back.
Grandma Li was stunned for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before she realized what Grandpa Li meant. She immediately lay down on the ground and burst into tears.
When Old Master Li came out of the room, his face was flushed with embarrassment. He was a man who was practically half-buried in the ground, yet he had acted recklessly today.
Fortunately, there were no outsiders present, otherwise he would have completely lost face.
Thinking of Li Sanniu, the old man felt a surge of resentment. What kind of idea did that bastard give him? He couldn't handle his mother, so he resorted to using his father.
He wouldn't have helped him if it weren't for those two jars of good wine.
Thinking of this, Old Master Li sighed again. Marrying an unvirtuous wife has brought misfortune to three generations.
After crying for a while, Grandma Li saw that Grandpa Li had already gone far away, so she quickly got up from the ground.
She needed to find a way to stop this immediately; if that little slut got into the house, she would feel even worse than if she had been divorced by Old Master Li.
Grandma Li went to look for Li Sanniu first, but Li Sanniu was so busy that she couldn't find him at all.
She also wanted to go find Yan Qingqing, but she was afraid of Yan Qingqing, which made Old Mrs. Li very anxious.
As Yan Qingqing directed the servants to arrange the flowers, another cartload was brought back.
These were just ordinary flowers, and Yan Qingqing had them transported directly to her family's wasteland.
Li Sanniu was already there with several men, waiting.
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing, Li Sanniu quickly smiled and said, "Second Sister-in-law, time is tight, so I've found a few hardworking people from the village to help out first."
We'll carefully screen those people before putting them to work.
Not to mention that everyone is from the same village and knows each other well, Li Sanniu knows very well who did the work and what the job was like after Yan Qingqing's family has recruited so many workers.
However, Yan Qingqing said that in order to ensure fairness, the recruitment process still needs to be followed.
Yan Qingqing nodded and replied, "Third brother did a great job. Once you've recruited enough people, you should hurry up and build the flowerbed according to the plan I gave you."
I've invested too much lately, I need to hurry up and recoup my losses.
Although Li Sanniu didn't know how Yan Qingqing planned to recoup her losses, he didn't dare to delay her and quickly agreed.
After finishing their business, Li Sanniu pulled Yan Qingqing aside and told her about how he and Old Master Li had teamed up to mess with Old Madam Li, and advised her to cooperate when she encountered Old Madam Li.
Yan Qingqing laughed so hard she could barely stand up straight. After calming down for a while, she said, "Third brother, who came up with this idea? It's a bit unethical, but it works!"
Not only does it work, but more importantly, it's cathartic.
Seeing Yan Qingqing's smug expression, Li Sanniu snorted twice and said, "Isn't this all your second son's idea?"
Li Xiang'an is so busy every day, yet he still has time to nag Li San Niu, which is quite unexpected for Yan Qingqing.
The truth is this: Ever since Xu learned that Old Madam Li wanted to take a concubine for Li San Niu, she had been feeling uneasy.
When Li Xiangbao returned from the shop and saw that his mother was unhappy, he naturally asked her why. Xu Shi then told him what had happened.
When Li Xiangbao found out, he didn't have any good ideas, so he went to ask Li Xiang'an for advice. Li Xiang'an gave him this bad suggestion.
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