Is anyone home?
Yang Cui was tidying up the house when she suddenly heard someone calling outside the door. She went out and saw a strange woman standing outside the door, carrying a basket with a few green beans and some eggs in it.
Luo Yanfen sized up Yang Cui. After not seeing her for a while, Yang Cui had become even more charming. Luo Yanfen felt extremely jealous. How could a woman who had been abandoned by a man be living a better and better life? How could she be getting more and more beautiful?
If Cen Xiao were to meet her, would he be deceived by her outward appearance? Even if Cen Xiao wouldn't, if she were to learn of Cen Xiao's noble status, she would definitely stick to him like glue. Then, taking advantage of her vixen-like appearance and her kindness to Yuan Qiu, she might very well offer herself to Cen Xiao!
No, she absolutely cannot allow such a thing to happen!
Luo Yanfen imagined all sorts of things, her heart filled with insane jealousy, but she didn't show it on her face, still wearing a smile: "Oh! So it's Miss Yang, you live here!"
"Who are you……"
“When the county magistrate was handling your case with the Lin family, I was watching from outside the courtroom, so I know you but you don’t know me.”
"Oh, is there something you need?"
"I was passing by and I was thirsty, so I wanted to ask for a glass of water."
"Qiuqiu, go get this lady a glass of water."
"Oh." Yuan Qiu ran into the house and poured Luo Yanfen a glass of water.
"Thank you, little one, you're so thoughtful." Luo Yanfen smiled slightly. "Come here, Auntie will give you some candy."
Luo Yanfen took out a handful of rock candy from her pocket and gave it to Yuan Qiu.
"Thank you, but you can keep it for yourself. I have some at home." Yuan Qiu refused without even thinking.
Luo Yanfen was taken aback, not expecting that Yuan Qiu would resist the temptation of candy!
At this moment, Yuan Qiu said again, "Auntie, you look like a child trafficker!"
Luo Yanfen: "..."
"Qiuqiu, don't be rude! Go inside and practice your calligraphy." Yang Cui apologized to Luo Yanfen, "I'm sorry, the child is ignorant and spoke rudely. Please don't be offended. It's just a glass of water, you don't need to be so polite. The candy is such a precious thing, you should keep it for yourself."
"Hey! It's just a little rock sugar. This kid is really cautious, as if he's afraid I'm a kidnapper."
“There are many child traffickers, but our children are not easily abducted. They won’t accept anything from strangers unless I give them my consent.” In this day and age, if a child is abducted, there is basically no chance of finding them again. Therefore, Yang Cui usually educates her children to cultivate their awareness of preventing abduction and fraud.
Upon hearing this, Luo Yanfen smiled, but in her heart she had already cursed Yang Cui's ancestors dozens of times. As a result, under Yang Cui's influence, Yuan Qiu became more vigilant, making it much more difficult to abduct him.
"Miss Yang is really good at raising children. It's not easy for a woman to raise three children alone, and you've managed to raise them so well. You're really amazing! You treat even children who aren't your own the same, and you even let them learn to read and write. You're truly kind."
Just then, An Youfu and An Ping arrived with firewood. Seeing that Yang Cui was about to get busy, Luo Yanfen said goodbye: "Miss Yang, I'll be going now. I won't bother you any longer. Thank you for the water."
"Xiao Cui, who is that?" An Youfu asked, watching Luo Yanfen's departing figure.
"He was passing by and asking for water."
——
Stargazing Tower.
"Manager, you don't seem to be in good spirits lately!" Chef Pang Zheng brought a pot of tea and sat down opposite the manager. It was the restaurant's break time, so they finally had a chance to rest.
"What's wrong with me?"
"Nothing? Who are you kidding?" Pang Zheng grinned slyly. "Are you thinking about Miss Yang?"
"How do you know?" Manager Yu blurted out, then immediately cautioned, "Don't talk nonsense, it will damage their reputation later."
"Oh my! This isn't even one of your Yu family members, and you're already protecting him!" Pang Zheng teased.
"You old rascal, you can't keep your mouth shut. Tell me the truth! How did you know?"
"These past two days you've been asking An Xiaojiang and An Xiaohe what Miss Yang is doing at home, and you even said you wanted to be her matchmaker, asking her what her requirements were. I guessed it was you, Yu Datou, who would be a matchmaker?" Pang Zheng said as if he knew him well, then added, "With your qualifications, you're more than a match for her. Why are you hesitating? Just find a matchmaker to go to her door!"
“An Xiaojiang said she wants to find a husband,” Shopkeeper Yu said.
Pang Zheng was taken aback; this was something he hadn't expected.
"Miss Yang is a bit different from other women." Manager Yu's eyes were full of smiles when he spoke of Yang Cui.
Pang Zheng rolled his eyes at him: "Look at how lovesick you are. She's talking about finding a husband now, but if you give her a dowry of fifty or sixty taels of silver and arrange everything perfectly for her adopted son and daughter, do you think she'd be happy to marry you? If fifty or sixty taels isn't enough, then a hundred or eighty taels. With money, why worry about a woman not wanting you? No matter how capable she is, she's still a village girl who hasn't seen much silver. With such a large sum of money, how could she not be tempted? And you're offering her the position of the principal wife. Once she marries you, the Lin family probably won't dare to cause her any more trouble."
Manager Yu may be inferior to Lin Shikang, a proper official, but Manager Yu has the Su family behind him! Even a seventh-rank official has to stand in front of the prime minister's door, so how could the Lin family dare to keep Manager Yu at bay? Moreover, things have escalated to this point, and Lin Shikang himself is in trouble.
After listening to Pang Zheng's suggestion, Manager Yu decided to show his sincerity first. However, the restaurant would be busy again soon, and he didn't have time. So he instructed Xiao Si: "Go back and tell the old lady to prepare sixty taels of silver, ten pearls, a pair of gold and silver bracelets, and two gold and two silver hairpins for me as soon as possible. The patterns should be a bit youthful. I need them tomorrow morning. Do you understand?"
"I've got it."
Xiao Si immediately ran back and told Grandma Yu everything exactly as she said.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Yu was shocked and pressed Xiao Si for an answer: "Did he say what he was going to do with all this?"
"The master didn't say."
"You've been serving him, how could you not know? Speak up now!"
Xiao Si lowered his head and remained silent.
Grandma Yu was furious: "You're so obedient! Get out, get out, get out!"
"This humble servant takes his leave."
Xiao Si is Manager Yu's man, and he will not reveal his master's information to anyone without Manager Yu's permission.
"Ah Qing, do you think Da Tou has someone he likes? Otherwise, why would he prepare all these things?" Grandma Yu said with a beaming smile. Her daughter-in-law had passed away several years ago, and her son hadn't remarried. The house couldn't function without a mistress.
Hua Yuqing's face was rather unpleasant, and she forced a weak smile: "When my cousin comes back tonight, Aunt, you can just ask him. But I don't think this thing is meant for my future sister-in-law."
"Why?"
"If we are to propose marriage, shouldn't we first go through you, Aunt? Our horoscopes haven't been matched, so it's probably not what you think, Aunt."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Yu was extremely disappointed.
Although Hua Yuqing said this to the old lady, she actually had the same suspicion in her heart. The Yu family was not a wealthy family, but they suddenly took out so much money, and it was for women's jewelry, and they even emphasized that it was geared towards a younger age. Hua Yuqing had to be more careful, after all, she was going to be the mistress of the Yu family!
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