"Since they don't welcome us, let's go home now. They really are ungrateful wretches. If they weren't born of us, we couldn't raise them properly." Seeing that their group was at a disadvantage, Old Madam Fu couldn't help but sigh and pretended to stand up shakily.
"Mom, let's pack our things and go back now." The eldest and second uncles hurriedly stepped forward to help her, their faces also showing displeasure.
"Mother, if you want to go back, your son will arrange it right away. We'll visit you again another day when we have time." Mr. and Mrs. Fu were also eager for them to leave, so naturally they wouldn't say anything to make them stay.
Seeing that no one was trying to stop them, the group packed their bags, got into their carriage, and left.
Madam Fu breathed a sigh of relief, looked at Xichun beside her, and smiled: "Xichun, you did a good job today, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to deal with them."
"Yes, Xichun deserves a lot of credit for making this happen today. I originally just wanted to bring it up tentatively, and I never thought it would be successful. Fortunately, they agreed, otherwise it would have been awkward for everyone if they had made a scene when they found out."
Master Fu also breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for Xichun, this matter might not have been able to be accomplished today.
"Father and Mother, I only spoke up because I saw their tone and I thought I couldn't let Mother suffer an injustice for no reason. I'm relieved that you didn't blame me for speaking out of turn." Xi Chun dared not take credit.
In private, Mr. Fu discussed it with Mrs. Fu, saying that their family's transformation started from the moment Xichun married into the family. It was clear that they had made the right choice in marrying Xichun. Back then, Mrs. Fu and the others had openly and secretly mocked them for finding a wife from the countryside, and many business partners had also said that they had found a woman with no family background or connections to be their daughter-in-law.
Now, everyone in front of him is flattering him, praising his good taste, and so on.
"Yes, my sister-in-law even wants to marry her niece off to us. She's really dreaming. Both of our daughters-in-law are good enough. Why does she need to decide for us?"
"Oh, I never thought my long-cherished wish could finally be fulfilled. I even dreamt that my mother appeared to me in my dream, saying that the place she lived in was not good, and that she was often bullied by wandering ghosts. Now we can move my mother here."
I already consulted a feng shui master and found a good location for my mother's grave. I'll go ask him tomorrow and find an auspicious day to move it here.
"Alright, you go and take care of it. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can put your mind at ease." Madam Fu still had some impression of her mother-in-law. Back then, after her father-in-law passed away, her mother-in-law suffered from Madam Fu's torment every day. She even had to wash her clothes in the pouring rain. She caught a cold and died.
Back when she first entered the family, her mother-in-law gave her advice and made her clothes and food, treating her like her own daughter. It's a pity that such a good person was sold to Old Master Fu because of the family's debts, and she wouldn't have been tormented like that.
At this moment, Master Fu's face was also filled with sadness. He thought of how carefully his mother served Madam Fu when she was still alive, and how he would be beaten and scolded if he was not careful. His eldest and second brothers always bullied him behind his back. His aunt did not dare to argue with them and could only try to distract them so that he would be less bullied.
Master Fu acted swiftly, finding a feng shui master the very next day to calculate an auspicious day. Fu Changjin and Fu Changfeng then accompanied Master Fu to his grandmother's burial site in the prefectural city to retrieve her remains.
On the day of the relocation of the grave, after Xichun and Madam Fu paid their respects at the grave, Master Fu dismissed everyone and stayed alone on the mountain until dusk before coming down.
Under the supervision of the government, the archway for the successful candidate in the imperial examinations began to be built on the open space in front of the Fu family's house. This archway was not the first in Weinan County, but it was the first in the vicinity, so many families came to see the spectacle.
Just as the construction was in full swing, the eldest son of the eldest brother, Fu Jiurong, reached his one-month milestone. Originally, Master Fu planned to hold a grand banquet for guests, but the eldest brother and his wife stopped them and only invited close relatives and friends to the meal.
Just as Xichun finished her work, Aunt Zhang and the others came to her door.
“Xichun, a man came today. He said he came from Danzhou and had your permission to buy two thousand catties of chili sauce to take back. We don’t know much about it and were afraid of neglecting our guest, so we came to ask you to take a look.”
"Oh, I suppose they must be servants from Sister Cao's household. I'll go with you to take a look."
Xichun and Aunt Zhang went to the shop, and sure enough, it was the purchasing manager of Sister Cao's family in Danzhou. He had come to buy chili sauce on Sister Cao's orders. The manager also brought a congratulatory gift to congratulate Fu Changfeng on passing the imperial examination.
When Xichun learned that they had also hosted a banquet, she sent someone to fetch the congratulatory gifts that were originally intended to be brought by the caravan, and handed them to the steward, along with a letter.
"Madam Fu, my young lady said that we will meet in Yizhou during the imperial examination and then go to the capital together to take the exam." After the steward finished speaking, he paid off all the money he had brought before setting off.
“Okay, please give this letter to Sister Cao for me. If you need to make any more purchases in the future, just come and find Manager Zhang.” Xichun pointed to Brother Qiangzi.
Qiangzi is no longer in charge of the shop business in the prefectural city. Instead, he has handed it over to another manager. Now, he is in charge of developing and selling chili peppers. After Xichun's inspection of Yizhou, he also has some ideas, which Qiangzi will have to implement.
“Brother Qiangzi, you can set off for Yizhou Prefecture in a few days. I think the business there is no worse than ours in the prefectural city. You can open up the market first according to the method we discussed before. Let me know if there are any problems.”
"Don't worry, Xichun, I will definitely make this chili business bigger and better, and eventually become the biggest chili merchant in Jiannan Road." Brother Qiangzi has great ambitions now, and his confidence comes from his confidence in his own products.
“Take it one step at a time. By the way, about the manor you mentioned the other day, I’ve already asked around and found a place that’s just right. Take some time to go and take a look sometime. If you don’t have enough money, come to me first and I’ll lend it to you.”
"Then we won't stand on ceremony. Over the years, following Xichun, our whole family has earned money, which should be enough," Aunt Zhang said with a smile. They had followed Xichun all these years, and Xichun had truly treated them well.
So after they had saved enough money, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang followed Xi Chun's example and wanted to buy more land so that their two sons could each have a piece of land. After being farmers for half their lives, they could only feel at ease if they had land.
“That’s right, our good days are yet to come. I heard that Taozi wants to go to other counties to gain experience. He even came to me about it the other day.” Xichun learned about Taozi’s idea that day and originally wanted to ask him, but she has been too busy these days and almost forgot to ask.
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