Chapter 73 The Zhou family actually pulled this stunt!
Rewind two hours.
Uncle Zhao and the workers were busy firing bricks when they suddenly heard a scream. When they ran over, they saw an old woman being pounced on and mauled by a wild wolf, with a wolf cub lying next to her covered in blood and its intestines exposed.
It's obvious that the old woman stole someone else's cub and killed it, which angered the mother wolf and brought about her revenge!
The wolf clan is extremely vengeful, and with the wolf cub already dead, they probably won't rest until they tear the murderer to pieces.
Now that everyone has seen it, there's no reason to just stand by and watch the old woman be killed by wolves.
Uncle Zhao and the others, relying on their numbers, knocked and beat the wolf until they finally drove it away. After capturing Doctor Li, they discovered that the old woman was none other than Aunt Zhou.
That is, Zhou Mujiao and Xiao Wu's grandmother.
Aunt Zhou was seriously injured. After examining her, Doctor Li said that her injuries were too severe and it was unknown whether she could be saved. If she could survive these three days, her chances of survival would be better. After Doctor Li notified the Zhou family to carry her back, he also gave her a ginseng slice to put under her tongue to keep her alive.
Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao discussed it and sent fifty taels of silver to the Zhou family in Zhou Mujiao's name.
Uncle Zhao was a little embarrassed: "Although the Zhou family is inhumane, if you don't do anything in this situation, everyone will just criticize you. You and Xiao Wu are still young, and you have decades of life ahead of you. You can't live with this kind of infamy."
Although Zhou Mujiao would rather throw money into the water than give it to the Zhou family, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao's intentions were all for her and Xiao Wu's sake, so she accepted their kindness.
Zhou Mujiao nodded: "Just as Uncle and Aunt said, Xiao Wu and I are still young, and sometimes we speak and act entirely on our feelings without considering so much. Please give us more guidance in the future."
Aunt Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Zhou Mujiao was a girl with her own opinions. She was really worried that their decision to send money to the Zhou family on their own would make her uncomfortable. If she became estranged from Yun Jing because of this, then the couple would have done something wrong.
Aunt Zhao said, "Since you're willing to listen to us, let's postpone the engagement for a couple more days. If Aunt Zhou is out of danger, then we can get engaged. If she doesn't make it, then you can arrange the marriage during the mourning period. But I don't think that's appropriate; it's too rushed..."
The haste is secondary; the two most important points are: first, Zhou Mujiao is still young and there is no need to rush into an engagement; second, the Zhao family is poor and Zhao Yunjing has only just started his studies and has not yet achieved official rank. If they get engaged now, Zhao Yunjing will be accused of being a gold digger, and Zhou Mujiao will be ridiculed for being a kept man.
The two children have such a good relationship; they shouldn't have to suffer from those rumors.
Zhou Mujiao and Zhao Yunjing did not make the engagement hastily; they had considered many factors beforehand.
The first reason, of course, is that the two people's relationship has reached that point, and Zhou Mujiao is already living in the Zhao family. The engagement is to allow her to enter and leave the Zhao family legitimately, without having to be pointed at and gossiped about by others.
Secondly, they also considered that Young Master Chen was a clingy person, and his endurance and psychological resilience far exceeded their imagination. In addition, Boss Tang's reminder implied that Magistrate Chen would use his power to force her or Zhao Yunjing to comply for Young Master Chen's sake.
Not only is the young master of the Chen family stubborn, but when it comes to their thought processes, the young lady of the Chen family is just as stubborn.
They just didn't expect that the Zhou family would pull this stunt, even though they had planned everything out perfectly.
Zhou Mujiao understood how effective her 'blessing' had been. If Aunt Zhou hadn't impulsively killed the family's child, this unexpected disaster wouldn't have happened today. The Zhou family would have become increasingly poor, but their lives wouldn't have been in danger in the short term.
Zhou Mujiao's expression was solemn, and Xiao Wu also lost his appetite. He hurriedly ate all the rice in his bowl and ran outside to stand.
The night sky was pitch black; there was neither moon nor stars tonight. Standing at the Zhao family's gate and looking down the mountain, all one could see were clusters of dark shadows. Even in broad daylight, from this vantage point, one could not see the Zhou family's residence.
Zhou Mujiao walked to his side and patted his shoulder: "I was wondering if it was because of our curse that something happened to the Zhou family member?"
Xiao Wu didn't answer immediately, but thought for a while before shaking her head: "It's her own fault, it has nothing to do with us. Sister, we've all been sold, we have nothing to do with the Zhou family anymore. Even if she dies, you don't need to wear mourning clothes."
He paused for a moment and then continued, "Although I don't approve of you getting engaged to Brother Zhao right now, compared to people like Young Master Chen and Young Master Liu, Brother Zhao is clearly much better. Moreover, with your earning power, if no one protects you, I'm afraid it won't be long before the whole of Peach Blossom County has your eyes on you."
“Our little fifth child has really grown up. He knows how to analyze the pros and cons now. I am very happy and comforted. When you go to the battlefield, remember to observe more, collect more information, and analyze the situation. Don’t be misled by the information in front of you and go astray.”
Zhou Mujiao spoke for a while before turning back to her own affairs with Zhao Yunjing: "I'll discuss the engagement with your brother Zhao again. You don't need to worry about it. Aren't you worried about whether you can hand in the assignments on time?"
Xiao Wu's mouth moved: "Sister, you really know how to spoil the mood!"
The young man turned around and went back into the house. Using the same excuse, he dragged Chu Liu, Chu Jiu, and the Eighteenth back to their rooms. Before going back to his room, he looked back and saw Zhao Yunjing standing next to Zhou Mujiao. He breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed Chu Jiu by the collar, and dragged him into the room.
There were stone benches and tables that Uncle Zhao had recently built at the entrance, and the two sat down facing each other.
Zhao Yunjing magically produced a cup of milk tea and a piece of pastry: "Have some of this, you didn't eat much just now."
The milk tea was iced, while the pastries were warm. Zhou Mujiao smiled and pushed the milk tea towards her with a bite of sweet pastry: "You should have a sip too."
There was no one around, no stars or moon, yet the woman under the night sky was like a star or the moon, pure and beautiful, radiant with light.
Zhao Yunjing didn't drink the milk tea, but he felt surrounded by sweetness.
“Ah Jiao,” he said, looking at her, “if Aunt Zhou doesn’t make it through, I will marry you after I pass the imperial examination with top honors. Would you be willing? Not to avoid Young Master Chen and Miss Chen, I just want the world to know you when I am at the height of my fame.”
"good."
Uncle Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. That night, he and Aunt Zhao chatted for most of the night, and only went to sleep when they heard the rooster crow.
Having reached a consensus with Zhao Yunjing and with no issues on Xiao Wu's side, Zhou Mujiao stopped worrying about Aunt Zhou's matter. One batch of autumn clothes had been produced, and the current batch was just beginning production. Her plan was to produce five batches, so she would need to design new styles for the next three batches of autumn clothes, after which the winter clothes would follow.
Previously, as the president of Shengshi Group, she only needed to set the annual plan and direction, and the rest would be executed by others. Now, that's not possible. She has too few people under her command, and the training speed is still very slow. The days when she can just sit back and collect money are still far away.
Furthermore, the laws of Daliang clearly stipulate that officials are not allowed to engage in business, and the grand competition is in two years. Counting the days, she only has two years to work hard before Zhao Yunjing passes the imperial examination. By the time she arrives in the capital and is watched by so many people, it will be inconvenient for her to do anything.
With so many things to do, why is she worried about Aunt Zhou?
Xiao Wu had similar thoughts to her, but being younger, he wasn't as steady as her. After breakfast, he quietly went down the mountain.
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