Seeing that Widow Liu obediently agreed, Old Mrs. Xiao calmed down a bit. Looking at the large bowl of white poached eggs, she gritted her teeth in heartache and said resentfully...
"From now on, these eggs can only be boiled for the master, this lady, Yan, and the fourth son's wife. How can such precious things be eaten by the whole family!"
The eldest son and his family are all in excellent health! They don't need to eat this stuff!
Widow Liu was completely bewildered. It took her a while to realize that the master and mistress were referring to Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao. She secretly curled her lip, thinking to herself, "They really think they're something special!"
Li's face darkened upon hearing this, but she didn't say anything.
Xiao Dayong sat down to eat with a blank expression.
Old Man Xiao, still hoping to continue enslaving Xiao Dayong's family, spoke up.
"The eldest son's family has been working hard these past few days. Since we've made it, let's each have one!"
Although Old Mrs. Xiao was dissatisfied, since Old Mr. Xiao had already spoken, she didn't say anything in the end. She picked up her chopsticks and distributed eggs to everyone, but she didn't give any to Li Shi or Xiao Haitang. Instead, she gave Li Shi's egg to Xie Yujiao, saying that Xie Yujiao was pregnant with the Xiao family's grandson and needed to eat more. She gave Xiao Taohua's egg to Old Mr. Xiao, saying that Xiao Taohua was a money-losing girl and didn't deserve to eat such precious things!
Li's eyes reddened with anger. Xiao Taohua's eyes also welled up with tears, but she was afraid of Old Madam Xiao and didn't dare to cry out!
Seeing this, Xiao Dayong cut his egg in half, giving one half to Xiao Taohua and the other half to Li Shi.
"You guys eat!"
Seeing this, Song Ge and Bai Ge each gave an egg to Li Shi and Xiao Taohua, respectively.
Grandma Xiao slammed her chopsticks down again.
"You think you can protect a worthless brat like her? If you don't eat here, don't eat here at all! Are you all trying to drive me crazy?"
"Enough! Eat!"
Old Man Xiao scolded.
Grandma Xiao shut her mouth. How could Li Shi bear to part with her husband and son? She returned the eggs. Xiao Taohua also sensibly returned the eggs to her brother!
Seeing this, Old Man Xiao gave the egg that Old Madam Xiao had given her to Xiao Dayong, and said...
"Stop offering it to me, you eat this!"
Only then did Mrs. Li stop refusing and eat half an egg with her daughter.
Widow Liu ate a bowl of porridge in the kitchen, feeling frustrated, and her determination to become the mistress of the house grew stronger.
Back in the room after dinner, Old Mrs. Xiao was also full of dissatisfaction, blaming Old Mr. Xiao for giving Li Shi eggs!
Old Man Xiao gave her a disapproving look.
"Our land and the fourth brother's land all depend on the eldest brother's family to farm them. Don't let them fall out over a meal!"
"He dares!"
Old Man Xiao glanced at Old Woman Xiao indifferently.
"Anyway, let's keep things quiet for a while! Stop constantly beating and scolding that girl Peach Blossom. The only one we can count on is the eldest brother!"
Although reluctant, Old Mrs. Xiao still snorted and acquiesced.
A moment later, when Widow Liu came out of the kitchen, Old Mrs. Xiao immediately beckoned her inside to massage her shoulders and legs. She was putting on the highest possible show of authority, ordering Widow Liu around.
"You're too gentle with your hands, haven't you eaten enough?"
Widow Liu: Of course I'm not full!
"Go up a bit, are you out of your mind?! You're just going around in circles!"
Widow Liu: You old hag, just you wait until I get my revenge!
Xie Yushu didn't care whether things were chaotic or turbulent at Widow Liu's place; as long as she didn't cause her any trouble, that was fine.
With no one causing trouble, the project was completed much faster, finishing in just two days. Xiao Yi spent a day building the chicken coop and donkey shed, while Xie Yushu and Qu Xiaodie spent a day tidying up the yard, and the job was finally done.
The house was spacious and tidy, finally taking shape. Next, they began to treat Xiao Yi's health, ensuring he ate three eggs every day. Occasionally, Xie Yushu and Qu Xiaodie would go into the mountains to collect some common herbs. Now that they had water, the animals in the mountains scattered, and the two of them even hunted pheasants twice and made pheasant and yam soup twice!
Two more heavy rains fell in between, and a lot of mushrooms appeared in the mountains. There are very few poisonous mushrooms in the north; most of them are pine mushrooms, red mushrooms, and grass mushrooms, all of which are edible. So people flocked into the mountains to pick mushrooms again. In previous years, people would just scout out spots and eat them occasionally, but this year the situation is special, so everyone is picking as many as they can to add to their cooking, which will save some food.
Xie Yushu and the others also picked some, and even picked some extra red mushrooms, planning to bring some for Xie Tianqi and the others when they went to Tai'an Prefecture next time.
Then I spent another three or four days finding the fabric I had bought before and made two sets of clothes, shoes, underwear, and socks for each member of the family.
Considering that my family members practice martial arts every day.
Two sets of white fine cotton underwear were made for Xiao Yi and Xiao Jinyu, and their outer garments were a sky-blue outfit and a black outfit, each with a matching waist belt.
Xiao Haitang wore a red outfit, a pink outfit, and a green cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
She made herself a blue and a pink pair of narrow-sleeved casual clothes to wear at home.
She then found the fine fabrics she had bought in the shop and designed and tailored them according to a modern modified version of ancient-style women's clothing. Qu Xiaodie liked martial arts and disliked dresses, so Xie Yushu designed two sets of chivalrous outfits for her.
Wearing one cherry blossom pink outfit and one turquoise pink outfit, she looked cool and stylish. With a neat high ponytail, she looked absolutely gorgeous. Qu Xiaodie exclaimed that this was the kind of outfit she should wear.
However, the material is a bit thick, making it perfect for spring and autumn, so I had to regretfully take it off and put it away.
Xiao Haitang comforted her, saying that it was almost August and she could wear it in a little over a month. She also mentioned that her two cross-collar dresses were made of the same fabric, so the two of them began to eagerly await the arrival of autumn.
Xie Yushu herself made two sets of Luoling Tang Beizi, a one-piece waist-length Ruqun, and a cross-collar Ruqun.
Two Tang-style jackets, one light pink and the other dark purple, paired with matching skirts and waist belts, and tied with a matching shimmering satin double-ringed auspicious sash; they looked very elegant in them, Qu Xiaodie joked.
"If I didn't know your true colors, I would think you were an innocent and pampered young lady raised in some official's mansion!"
It's a pity he's a wolf in sheep's clothing! He's got a lot more skills than he thinks!
Xie Yushu chuckled.
"What do you know? You should act like your age. I'm only sixteen, not even that old yet, so of course I have to be charming, lively, and cute!"
Xiao Haitang: "Second Aunt, do you want to hear what you're saying?"
Xie Yushu didn't hear Xiao Haitang's thoughts. She tried on a gradient rouge-colored cross-collar waist-length ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), which truly complemented her fair complexion, making her appear even more like a lotus flower in full bloom. Qu Xiaodie watched in amazement.
"Clothes make the man, and this rouge color makes you look precious! It's so flamboyant and eye-catching!"
"The way I'm dressed, standing in front of you, makes me look like your maid!"
"Then stay away from me!"
"No way! I just want to be close to you. I don't want to be a maid, but I'd be willing to be your head steward or something!"
"Don't worry, it's no big deal. You're my butler now!"
"Is it a deal?"
It's a deal.
Anyway, Xie Yushu's manor also needs staff. After she finishes dealing with things at home, she plans to have Qu Xiaodie go and manage the manor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
