After Ah Da drove the cart home, Yan Qingqing instructed Yuan Huiniang to open the storeroom and take out the potatoes and sweet potatoes to dry in the sun, as they planned to start seedling cultivation in the next few days.
Yuan Huiniang knew this was a major family event and dared not delay, so she quickly opened the warehouse and led the servants to move the items out of the warehouse.
That evening, in a small alley in Chengyang County, a drunk middle-aged man was walking along, cursing and swearing, when suddenly several masked men covered his head with a sack and beat him severely.
All you could hear were the people inside the sack crying and begging for mercy, but they showed no mercy in beating others, and they didn't utter a single sound except for the beating.
After they finished beating the group, they looked at each other and then turned and left.
The group arrived at another alley and saw a middle-aged man of about thirty standing there. It was Chen Liu, whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
The burly man at the head of the group smiled and said to Chen Liu, "Sixth Master, the matter you asked us to handle has been completed. I guarantee he'll be bedridden for ten days or half a month."
Chen Liu nodded, then took out a piece of silver and tossed it to him, saying, "Brothers, you've worked hard. Take this silver and buy some wine."
The burly man refused to accept the money and returned it to Chen Liu, saying, "Sixth Master, are you looking down on us brothers for such a small matter?"
Chen Liu laughed and said, "Take it if you want. Give him another beating once he can get out of bed in a while."
The burly man was stunned. He silently prayed for the man who had just been beaten. What kind of hatred was this? One beating wasn't enough; he had to do it again.
After giving them his instructions, Chen Liu turned and left. He remembered that Yan Qingqing had sent someone to deliver a message to him earlier that day, asking him to help beat someone up, the kind where you put a sack over someone's neck. She had also given him the person's detailed address and name, and told him to continue beating the person after he recovered, until he was too afraid to leave the house.
Chen Liu thought that this person must have offended his older sister terribly, otherwise his older sister wouldn't have beaten him so badly that he dared not go out.
Yan Qingqing slept soundly through the night. When she got up the next morning, Yuan Huiniang told her that Li Xiangping had taken Ada and the others to the manor. Yan Qingqing was a little helpless. Although she was anxious, there was no need for such a rush.
Yuan Huiniang saw through Yan Qingqing's thoughts and explained with a smile, "My husband said that the estate is a bit far from our home. Even if we take an oxcart, it will take two hours to go there and back. If they go earlier, they can get more work done."
"Don't worry, Mom. I had the kitchen prepare breakfast for them early this morning. They ate breakfast before leaving, and they also brought plenty of food for lunch."
Yuan Huiniang had already made such proper arrangements, so what could Yan Qingqing say? She quickly got up, washed, and ate.
After finishing her meal, Yan Qingqing began to feel a bit bored. As long as the embroidery workshop didn't produce any new products, she didn't need to worry about it. Li Sanniu and Wei Laosan were looking after the orchard, so she didn't need to take care of it either. Li Xiang'an was in charge of the shop, so she didn't need to do anything. After thinking it over, Yan Qingqing realized that she had indeed become a free person.
So she started thinking about whether to start some new businesses. She still had several thousand taels of silver on hand, and she had to find a way to get them to have little silver babies.
Just as Ruyi picked up her pen and before she could even make a plan, she came in to report that Aunt Wang from next door had arrived.
Yan Qingqing put down her pen and said, "Please invite her in quickly." Aunt Wang was different from Li Kaishan and the others; they were men and it wasn't appropriate for them to come to Yan Qingqing's courtyard. Therefore, Yan Qingqing always received them in the front hall, but she didn't have these formalities with Aunt Wang.
Soon, Ruyi led Aunt Wang into Yan Qingqing's room, her face beaming with joy. Before Yan Qingqing could even speak, Aunt Wang teased, "Oh my, look how grand you are now! It's not easy for me to even see you. Luckily, Ada and the others weren't at the door, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get in."
Yan Qingqing laughed and replied to Aunt Wang's teasing, "Auntie, you should be ashamed of yourself. Even though I have servants, they have never stopped you from coming."
And do you think I don't know that you've been bringing food to Ah Da and the others every now and then?
Aunt Wang burst into laughter upon hearing this, and then said, "I'm just bribing them, so they won't be unable to enter your grand mansion one day."
The two chatted for a while longer. Yan Qingqing never thought she could become best friends with Aunt Wang, but there was nothing she could do; they really got along exceptionally well.
After the two had a pleasant chat, Aunt Wang explained her purpose for coming: "Actually, I came here today to thank you. If it weren't for you, my silly boy would still be so stubborn."
Yan Qingqing asked with a smile, "Has Wu Gang come to terms with it?"
Aunt Wang curled her lip and said, "Hmph, if he still can't think straight after all this, I'll disown him."
After saying that, Aunt Wang told Yan Qingqing the reason. It turned out that the girl in Wangjia Village had a brother and sister, but her parents favored boys over girls and spoiled their son, who was good at everything from eating and drinking to gambling and whoring.
The Wang family originally had some wealth, but it was all squandered by her good-for-nothing brother.
Moreover, her brother was getting older. The Wang family asked someone to arrange a marriage for him. The woman was from Dayang Village, but she wanted a dowry of five taels of silver before she would marry him.
They've set their sights on their daughter, which is why they're demanding such a high price. Besides, her brother has a mountain of gambling debts. Marrying her would be a bottomless pit.
Aunt Wang spoke with indignation, while Yan Qingqing listened and echoed her sentiments.
After Aunt Wang finished speaking, Yan Qingqing glanced at her and said, "Anything else? If these things alone are enough to make you so happy..."
Aunt Wang laughed heartily and said, "You know me so well. Wu Gang's marriage is settled, and I've come today to invite you to our wedding feast."
Upon hearing this, Yan Qingqing quickly said, "Oh, congratulations, Aunt Wang! You've finally achieved your wish."
Aunt Wang covered her mouth and laughed, "Aren't you curious about which family's girl Wu Gang chose?"
Yan Qingqing said nonchalantly, "Which family is she from? It can't be the one that Wang's brother is dating, can it..."
Aunt Wang: ......
Yan Qingqing looked at Aunt Wang in disbelief. Could it really be true?
Seeing Aunt Wang nod, Yan Qingqing just wanted to cover her face. How could it be such a coincidence? Anyone who didn't know better would think that this family was deliberately taking revenge.
Aunt Wang didn't hide anything and said, "Actually, this girl from the Yang family is really a good person. It's just that her father died early and she has a younger brother. She was thinking of asking for more dowry to leave a way for her mother and brother to survive."
After Wu Gang found out about the Wang family's situation, he was so angry that he went to the Yang family and told the girl about the Wang family's situation. Before long, the two girls somehow fell in love.
The Yang family girl said she didn't need a betrothal gift, as long as Wu Gang could take better care of her mother and younger brother after the marriage.
"This child is so filial, how could we refuse? I've given three taels of silver as betrothal gifts, and the wedding date is already set—the eighth day of the second lunar month. You must come to the wedding banquet!"
Yan Qingqing's forehead twitched as she listened; this was truly both melodramatic and legendary. But she had to admit that Wang Wugang had handled things brilliantly, digging a hole in the wall perfectly.
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