Chapter 66 - 66 Chapter 66: Causing Trouble
66 Chapter 66: Causing Trouble
“From now on, we’ll harvest the vegetables the night before and send them off the next day. As for the unit price, one copper coin for two catties. Moreover, we only collect a hundred catties every two days. More than that, we will not accept.”
“Yes,” Madam Liu replied.
A hundred catties could only earn them 50 copper coins, but it was not a small amount nonetheless.
“We’ve just started, so let’s follow this arrangement and take it slow,” Madam Liu said as she patted Qin Xiaoyao’s arm.
The corners of Qin Xiaoyao’s lips curled up in a smile.
“Alright. We’ll do as Mother says!” She said in a petulant manner.
Her mother-in-law was just a little soft-hearted and kind, but she was actually quite thoughtful and thorough.
She could even read and do math. In this ancient era, she could be considered a talent.
Thus, Qin Xiaoyao and Madam Liu began to discuss the specific details of the operation.
“There’s no need to go to each house to inform them either. I’ll bring some things to the village chief’s house after dinner.”
“Then, I’ll ask your Aunt Li to help spread the news in the village, and everyone will know about this.”
Previously, her daughter-in-law had asked the village chief’s wife to help promote the straw sandals, and the effect was very good.
It had only been a few days, but almost the entire village now knew that they sold straw sandals.
Moreover, there were many people who came to buy the straw sandals.
Once again, Qin Xiaoyao admired her mother-in-law’s wisdom.
“Alright! Then I’ll have to trouble Mother for this!”
“What trouble? It’s all for the good of the family.” As Madam Liu spoke, she looked at her daughter-in-law with heartache.
“But it has been hard on you, though.”
“Even though we have a handcart now, you still have to take it easy when transporting things. Take care not to injure yourself.”
In the whole family, her daughter-in-law was indeed the one who had it the hardest.
Whether it was going into the mountains or going to town, she hardly had any leisure time. And it was all physically demanding work.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I know how to take care of myself!” Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile.
She then went to the stove to start the fire.
Time passed by in a hurry.
With Aunt Li’s promotion, within two days, the entire Brook Falls Village knew that the Song family was selling straw sandals and collaborating with Fortune Mansion.
Eldest Son Song’s wife had even bought a sturdy handcart and would deliver goods to Fortune Mansion every two days. Now, they had even started to purchase goods in the village.
After hearing the news, some of the villagers in Brook Falls Village were envious, while others were jealous.
However, no matter what, this was a good thing for the villagers.
They could sell the vegetables from the fields they couldn’t finish eating for some money now.
Those who wanted to sell things but didn’t want to go to town or couldn’t bear to pay the entrance fee could also negotiate with the Song family and sell their stuff to them at a lower price.
As long as they could reach an agreement, both sides would benefit.
As a result, to the surprise of the Song family, they not only started a business of buying mountain products and vegetables but also got involved with some poultry and hunted prey.
After a period of time, there were even people who came up to them, asking the Song family to help them buy stuff. They said that they were willing to pay them to buy things from town on their behalf.
Of course, they weren’t small items, but rather some of the heavier ones.
Madam Liu did not agree to all of these.
Instead, she took into consideration her daughter-in-law’s situation and only agreed to some of their requests when feasible.
For this reason, while Madam Liu gained the favor of most of the villagers, she also offended some people.
Take for example, Aunt Wang from next door.
Ever since Aunt Wang quarreled with Qin Xiaoyao the other day and was forced to return the rice, noodle flour and money, she had hated the Song family.
During this period of time, she witnessed the Song family’s situation getting better and better. Not only did the fragrant smell of meat waft out from time to time, but they also bought a handcart. She was jealous and full of hate.
Even so, she only dared to scold the Song family behind closed doors. She didn’t dare to go up against Qin Xiaoyao.
The villagers were talking about the Song family more and more frequently, and many people even sent things to the Song family to sell and earn money.
On this day, Aunt Wang finally couldn’t sit still anymore.
After harvesting about 50 catties of vegetables in the field, she went to the Song family.
To her surprise, Madam Liu actually refused to accept her vegetables.
“Didn’t you guys say to collect vegetables the day before you enter the town? I only went to the field to harvest them in order to sell them to your family. And I harvested so much!”
“Yet, now I can’t sell them to you just because you said you don’t want them?” Aunt Wang roared at Madam Liu.
Madam Liu got a little scared and subconsciously took a step back.
During the days when she was accepting vegetables, she had come across some difficult people too, but everything was resolved amicably after some reasoning.
Only this Aunt Wang made her a bit fearful.
“Mrs. Wang, it’s not like that… Because our Sanya only sends 100 catties of farm vegetables to Fortune Mansion every time. If you want to sell vegetables, you have to come to my place one day in advance to register.”
“This is the only way to ensure that we don’t exceed the amount. The quantity we’re collecting today is already full, so your…” she explained.
“What’s full? I think you just don’t like me and won’t accept my vegetables!”
“Your Song family has risen by latching onto Fortune Mansion, and now you’re arrogant, right?” Aunt Wang’s loud, sharp voice rose to the sky and was so loud that many people nearby heard it.
Hence, Madam Liu lowered her voice and tried to persuade her. “We’ve indeed collected enough vegetables for tomorrow. How about this? You clean up these vegetables and remove the withered leaves. We’ll take half of them. Beyond that, we really can’t take any more.”
“What? I still have to remove the withered leaves? And you are only accepting half?”
“Your Song family is a blood-sucking clan! You suck the blood of our fellow villagers to fatten yourself up!” Unfortunately, Aunt Wang not only refused to accept Madam Liu’s goodwill gesture, but she also yelled even louder.
At this point, though Madam Liu was a mild-tempered person, she became infuriated as well.
Just as she was about to refute, she heard her daughter-in-law’s furious voice coming from outside the courtyard.
“Suck your mother’s blood! Even if I, Qin Sanya, wanted to suck blood, I would look down on yours, you old bitch!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Liu saw her daughter-in-law charge in from outside the courtyard like a grizzly bear.
Then, she walked briskly to the front of Aunt Wang and yanked her up with one hand.
“Ah! Qin Sanya, what are you doing? Murder! Help me! The Song family is going to kill me!” Aunt Wang cried out in alarm and screamed loudly.
Her screaming made Qin Xiaoyao really annoyed.
She tried her best to suppress the rage in her heart. “Shut up!” she warned.
“Help! Ah… help!” Auntie Wang was already scared out of her wits, so how could she shut up? Instead, she screamed even louder.
Qin Xiaoyao felt even more irritated. Without paying any attention to her mother-in-law’s attempt to stop her, she grabbed Aunt Wang and stomped out of the courtyard.
Then, she threw her out of the courtyard like trash.
Aunt Wang fell to the ground and instantly felt a sharp pain in her butt.
She finally came back to her senses and looked at the Song family’s courtyard in fear.
Eventually, she saw a villager nearby come over and realized that other people had seen her in this miserable state.
The fear in her heart was instantly drowned out by her resentment.
Aunt Wang had just calmed down and was ready to cry and make a scene so that the villagers would stand up for her. At the same time, she could extort a sum of money for her medical expenses.
Qin Xiaoyao reappeared at the entrance with an ominous look, carrying Aunt Wang’s bamboo basket backpack of vegetables.
“From now on, our Song family will not accept anything from the Wang family! Take your things and get lost!” With that, Qin Xiaoyao tossed out the backpack as well.