After laughing enough, Yang Cui began to question him about his secret stash of money: "How much did you spend sending ten beauties to Manager Yu? You actually have a secret stash of money to squander!!"
"Actually, it didn't cost much..."
“Even the cheapest servant costs three to five taels of silver. You want to buy ten beautiful women? Can you really buy them for three to five taels of silver? Confess now.”
"There's a discount for buying more, so it's only three hundred taels..."
"Three hundred taels! And you call that 'just'? General Cen, you're quite something! Three hundred taels just went down the drain like that, you spendthrift! Do you think making money is easy? Hmm?"
Cen Xiao quickly pulled her into his arms and began to coax his wife: "Isn't that because I care about you? Who told you to praise him? Of course I had to do everything I could to ruin his image. Honey, I promise I won't waste money in the future. This is a one-time thing, and I won't do it again."
"You spendthrift! People say women are a waste of money, but I think you are the real problem."
"Yes, yes, I'm a spendthrift, I'm a money-loser, whatever my wife says is right."
Yang Cui couldn't bring herself to get angry; on the contrary, she couldn't help but laugh.
I really can't understand how a general could have such a thought process.
After dinner, the two went to meet by chance, but Dao Ba was probably trying to hide and had already disappeared.
Hiding? Did he think he could get away with it? This guy already had a bad impression of him.
Xi Hongmei's facial injuries had been treated, and she arrived at the accidental encounter with her younger sister, Xi Xiaomei, kneeling before Yang Cui.
"Miss Xi, I'll ask you one last time, are you sure you want to sell yourself to me?"
"It's confirmed. Xi Hongmei is willing to sell herself to you, only asking for your protection, Madam. From now on, she will be loyal to you alone, serving you like a slave without any complaints!"
"Alright, but you must remember what you said today. If you betray your master in the future, none of you sisters will escape." As soon as Yang Cui finished speaking, Su Yutang handed the indenture to Xi Hongmei, who pressed her fingerprint on it without hesitation.
Yang Cui then said, "Then you will serve me from now on, and your sister will become an apprentice at my pastry factory. The factory provides room and board, so you can rest assured."
Only Xi Hongmei was sold into servitude, but Xi Xiaomei also signed a ten-year long-term contract.
Xi Hongmei felt that she was already a broken woman, but she had sold herself into slavery and met a good master who could protect her younger sister and give her a good future. She felt that this deal was worthwhile.
Xi Hongmei was wholeheartedly planning for her younger sister, and Yang Cui admired her for this. She only hoped that her sister would be a good person and remember her kindness in the future.
“Go back and get ready. Come find me tomorrow morning and we’ll go back to the village together,” Yang Cui said.
"Thank you, Madam." The Xi sisters kowtowed deeply to Yang Cui in gratitude.
Yang Cui doesn't plan to go back tonight. She'll stay at her house in the county town. It's been a while since she's seen Qiuqiu, so she can cook him a nice meal tonight. The boy said he missed her cooking last time.
Yang Cui went to Washi to buy groceries with Cen Xiao. In this era, it was rare for a man to accompany a woman shopping, so the two of them attracted a lot of attention.
Yang Cui chose a four-pound black carp to make sauerkraut fish. Seeing the white and tender tofu, and knowing that the children all liked fried tofu, Yang Cui bought two more pounds. She also brought chicken and cured meat with her. She planned to stir-fry some spicy chicken and make a stew of cured meat, bones, and radish. There weren't many dishes, but the portions were generous, which should be enough.
The staple food is rice. Now the children can eat a lot. They eat three bowls of rice per meal, and the youngest, Sanya, eats two bowls.
"Madam Cen, Master Cen." When they arrived at their doorstep, Yang Cui and her husband unexpectedly ran into Manager Song's wife and daughter.
"Mrs. Song, Miss Song, what a coincidence!"
Upon seeing Song Jiarong, Yang Cui suddenly remembered Luo Yanfen's words about Song Jiarong encountering a notorious womanizer. It might not be wise to directly warn her about this, so it seemed she would have to arrange a chance encounter to help her catch the womanizer and rid the people of this scourge.
"You've moved here?" Madam Song asked with a smile. "I live right across from you, so we can visit each other more often."
“That’s quite a coincidence. My nephew and niece are studying here, and I sometimes stay overnight to cook them a meal.”
"Madam Cen's cooking skills are excellent. Even my Jia Rong, who has tried it twice, praised it highly. It's getting late, so I won't disturb you any longer. Please invite the two Miss Yangs to come to our house tomorrow."
After they all returned home, Yang Cui told them about Song Jiarong's encounter with the flower thief and the earth dragon's resurrection in Jinjiang.
Song Jiarong's troubles are actually easy to solve; just create a chance encounter. But the earth dragon turning over is a natural disaster. How do we solve that?
Evacuating grain, property, and people in advance is possible, but it's a massive undertaking. The key is how to gain the people's trust and cooperation. After the earthquake, how do you answer when people ask how you knew about it?
"Leave this to me. You have so many things to do, don't worry about this. I'll definitely handle it properly." Cen Xiao was also worried about involving Luo Yanfen and Yang Cui, so he was sure he would handle it properly.
*
Madam Song took a liking to Er Ya, but had not yet expressed her feelings to Yang Cui. Coincidentally, there were loquats sent by Yang Cui's family, so she sent her son, Song Jiaming, with a basket of loquats to deliver to Yang Cui's family.
She wanted Yang Cui to meet her son first and make a good impression.
Eleven-year-old Song Jiaming couldn't possibly have imagined all that. Just as he arrived at Yang Cui's door, he bumped into Yuan Qiu and An Xiaohu, who were happily returning home. After introducing himself, Song Jiaming gave the loquats to Yuan Qiu and then went home.
Madam Song was furious, thinking her son was too foolish! It seemed she would have to find another opportunity.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com