Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 136 - 136 137 Good Relationship_1

?Chapter 136: Chapter 137: Good Relationship?_1 Chapter 136: Chapter 137: Good Relationship?_1 Muniang said in surprise, “Qiao Lianhua is giving up her own marriage prospect to Xia Bing?”

When had Qiao Lianhua ever been so generous? Muniang knew her nature well: a person who wouldn’t spare much love even for her own siblings. How could she suddenly be so kind to someone she had a mere handkerchief friendship with? Besides, their relationship wasn’t even close to that extent, was it?

Madam Liu sneered, “They say it’s for Xia Bing, but who doesn’t know that Qiao Lianhua’s reputation is in ruins? Tofu Zhang would definitely not want her now. Plus, Qiao Lianhua has always set her sights high. She certainly isn’t willing to just marry a tofu seller—she’d rather be the young mistress in a prominent family.”

Yet Muniang retorted, “Even if she can’t have it, why would she be so kind-hearted as to set Xia Bing up? I don’t think their relationship is that good.” Muniang was always someone with a keen mind. The embroidery room had been ruined not too long ago, and now Qiao Lianhua was suddenly this deeply involved with Xia Bing. She always felt suspicious.

Besides, she had never really cared about how Qiao Lianhua conducted herself, but who had it been that let slip about Qiao Lianhua’s failed seduction of Wu Haoli? It couldn’t have been Qiao Lianhua, and it wasn’t her, which meant there had been a third person present at the time—a cunning bitch who not only ruined Qiao Lianhua’s reputation but also managed to shift the blame onto her without anyone noticing.

If one wanted to figure out who this person was, it wasn’t that difficult. Whoever ultimately benefited from this chaos was very likely the culprit.

With this thought, Muniang’s aura grew sharper. If it were only a matter directed at Qiao Lianhua, she wouldn’t bother herself with it—but to sink so low as to make her take the fall and to indirectly be the hand behind the destruction of her embroidery room, Muniang really didn’t want to watch that person flaunt their success any longer.

Madam Liu said, “I’ve heard a bit about this matter. Ever since Qiao Lianhua’s reputation was destroyed, she’s faced isolation. Every time she steps out, she’s pointed at and ridiculed. The villagers are barely willing to deal with her. But Xia Bing doesn’t care about her foul reputation and, remembering their sisterhood, often keeps her company. Even when Qiao Lianhua said she was beaten by thugs and couldn’t be seen in public, Xia Bing still took care of her daily.”

She then clicked her tongue and said, “This Xia Bing is truly commendable. The villagers are now praising this girl for her kindness. Even Qiao Lianhua, cold-hearted as she is, was moved by her. Look at that, now they are so close as sisters that Qiao Lianhua could even give away a good marriage prospect that came to her.”

However, a trace of frost appeared in Muniang’s eyes. Xia Bing?

“Enough of that, I just can’t keep my mouth shut when it comes to village gossip,” Madam Liu laughed, nearly forgetting her main point. “Take a look, this is this month’s earnings for the Embroidery House, a total of 1,800 taels of silver. In the beginning, we barely earned thirty or forty a day, but now the business is booming. I thought that after losing that big order for the screen, our Embroidery House would be in decline, but our momentum is growing stronger by the day,” said Madam Liu, as she handed the account book over to Muniang to see.

Muniang smiled and said, “This is thanks to Auntie’s capabilities. Auntie is managing the Embroidery House so well, I can’t bear the thought of changing managers now. No, you must continue to stand by me.”

Seeing the Embroidery House revived under her management, Madam Liu was also delighted. The confidence she had lost was mostly regained. Now that Muniang had said as much, she naturally found it hard to refuse and said with a teasing smile, “You, child, it seems you never planned on finding anyone new from the start.”

Muniang feigned surprise and blinked, “Auntie saw through me.”

Madam Liu laughed, “Well then, look, here are 1,000 taels of silver, your share of this month’s profits.”

But Muniang pushed the silver back, “Has Auntie already purchased next month’s fabric and silk threads?”

Madam Liu nodded, “We have enough stock to last half a month, and I’ll go to procure new supplies in a few days.”

“Aunt, this time when buying new materials, we should not keep purchasing the same medium and low-grade materials as before. We need to buy a large quantity of top-quality silk threads and fabrics, and especially a few pieces of those rare and precious fabrics. We want our Embroidery House to grow big; we can’t always be satisfied with the money from less wealthy patrons. Although the noble families love our new patterns, they look down on our silk threads and fabrics. We should only stock up on high-quality ones; our Embroidery House must grow step by step.”

Upon hearing Muniang’s words, Madam Liu’s eyes lit up. Indeed, she lacked the grand vision that Muniang had; her own sights were far too short. Although the Embroidery House was currently doing well, the truly wealthy families did not hold it in high regard—primarily because of the quality of the embroidery itself. To catch the eye of the wealthy, they had to strive for perfection.

“I understand!” Madam Liu nodded vigorously, but then she immediately asked, “But if you invest all your money here, will you have any left? Don’t you still owe someone?”

Muniang laughed, “Aunt, you’ve forgotten that I have a Tianzhuang and a hill. These days I’ve been busy dealing with those fruits and vegetables, so money will naturally not be a problem soon.”

Madam Liu was filled with admiration. In the face of her young niece, she truly felt ashamed.

“Ah, right, I have some newly grown watermelons here. Aunt, take some back for the children to try,” she said, and motioned to Qingya to get a sack. Qingya promptly fetched three large yellow watermelons and ten melon radishes, bulging in a heavy bag.

Madam Liu hastily waved her hands, “How could I accept this? Outside, a kilogram of watermelons sells for several hundred coins, and one could cost several silver coins. You should keep these to sell for money.”

Muniang smiled, “I have heaps of watermelons in my field; where could I possibly sell them all? I have already kept a large pile for myself to eat. If you don’t help me out, I fear they might just go bad.”

Hearing about such waste, Madam Liu immediately agreed. Muniang secretly smiled to herself, knowing that sometimes you need to use such methods to get through to people.

“However, Aunt, you know about my watermelons. They are not the ordinary kind sold outside. They’re new varieties developed by careful processing, yellow watermelons, and melon radishes. Don’t get startled when you see them, just cut them open and eat,” Muniang advised.

Madam Liu nodded blankly. Although she didn’t understand what Muniang meant by yellow watermelons and melon radishes, she decided to go along with it as long as she was told they were edible.

“But Aunt, this time the Embroidery House’s income should have made over seven hundred silver coins. Do not use it all to purchase materials. Buy something tasty and some nice clothes for the children, improving your life is what’s important.”

Madam Liu felt a surge of emotion, “Muniang, if it were not for you, our family probably could never have turned our fortunes around. I really owe you my thanks.”

“Aunt, you’re being too formal again. This silver coin is all earned by you. I merely gave you an opportunity. If you hadn’t done well, the Embroidery House wouldn’t be improving as it is. If you keep talking like this, I, as the manager who leaves everything to others, would be the one blushing.”

Madam Liu and Muniang bickered back and forth for a few more words before she left, and Muniang specially sent a servant boy to help her carry the bag of watermelons.

When they arrived at the gate, the servant boy set down the bag and left. Just as Madam Liu was thinking about hurrying back to let the children eat the watermelon, she ran into Madam Zhao, who was just about to leave the house.