Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 99 - 99 100 Protecting the Daughter-in-law_1

?Chapter 99: Chapter 100 Protecting the Daughter-in-law_1 Chapter 99: Chapter 100 Protecting the Daughter-in-law_1 Madam Liu felt a wave of exhaustion inside. Although the situation was what she had expected, it still irritated her when faced with the reality.

She simply sent the children back to their room and took Qiao Yuanming to their parents’ main house to explain.

Mrs. Ji began ranting at Madam Zhao and Qiao Dazhi as soon as they entered, “Dad, Mom, look at this, this family clearly doesn’t take your words seriously. They even had the audacity to brazenly visit Qiao Muniang’s house as guests, feasting on exotic delicacies. I even caught the scent of it, beef and lamb and all that, not even considering taking you with them. Do they have any respect for their elders anymore?”

This struck a particularly painful chord with Madam Zhao and Qiao Dazhi. Living as peasants made it tough, and having meat once in a while was a luxury, let alone the exquisite food that the Liu Family indulged in at Qiao Muniang’s place—flavors they had never sampled in their lives. Their faces turned even grimmer.

“Strictly speaking, since we’ve already divided the family, we shouldn’t be so concerned with what you do. But since the division has just been made, to completely disregard your parents right away, is this really what a son should be doing?” Qiao Dazhi said in a stern voice.

Those words were obviously meant for Qiao Yuanming, who looked embarrassed, with his head nearly buried in the ground. Ashamed, he thought, how could he enjoy such things when his parents hadn’t?

Madam Liu gave him a secret glare, then said with difficulty, “Dad, it was Muniang who invited us. My daughter-in-law has been helping manage the Embroidery House. That’s why she invited us. Our relationship with her isn’t great either, and it didn’t seem appropriate to bring you along.”

Mrs. Ji was sarcastic, “Oh, don’t make it sound so nice. If you really cared about your parents, you should’ve at least brought some good things back for them.”

Madam Liu’s face darkened, “When someone invites you home for a meal, it’s out of courtesy. Are you supposed to take away leftovers or what?”

Mrs. Ji was indeed somewhat afraid of Madam Liu who wasn’t easy to handle. She shrank back and, turning to Madam Zhao and Qiao Dazhi, she started to stir things up again, “Dad, Mom, you don’t know. Just now, as I passed by Qiao Muniang’s house, I smelled meat and wanted to go in and see what was there, to bring something nice back for you. But who knew, Qiao Muniang didn’t say a word and kicked me out. This sister-in-law is someone who only recognizes money, not people. She just stood there, watching me get kicked out, without uttering a sound. I was thinking, if you, Mom and Dad, were the ones getting beaten, she might also just stand by and watch!”

“Nonsense!” Qiao Dazhi shouted sternly, “Mrs. Ji is after all your sister-in-law; you should’ve helped her when she was being attacked, yet you stood by indifferently? Truly heartless! Cozying up to anyone with money, you disregard even your own family. How did our Qiao family end up with a wicked daughter-in-law like you?!”

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yuanming was taken aback to learn there was such an incident, but he also knew in his heart that Mrs. Ji wasn’t a good person. There must’ve been a reason why his wife didn’t help, so he still defended Madam Liu, “Dad, Cuiliu isn’t that kind of person. There must be another reason.”

“Oh, look at how protective this little brother is of his wife, always ready to speak well of her,” Mrs. Ji said mockingly, clearly suggesting that Qiao Yuanming favoured his wife over his family.

Qiao Yuanming was no match for Mrs. Ji, his face turned red, but he was at a loss for words.

It was Madam Liu who spoke up, “The elder sister-in-law knows well the embarrassing things she has done, if it wasn’t for angering Qiao Muniang, would she have hit you like this?”

Mrs. Ji was momentarily at a loss for words, “I, I, I am her elder, what’s wrong with disciplining a few servants for her? She’s the one who doesn’t appreciate it!”

Qiao Dazhi frowned, “You caused a scene at her place again?!” This was Qiao Dazhi’s sore spot; Qiao Yuanzhen was about to prepare for the imperial examination. Any further disturbance was unacceptable, especially since Mrs. Ji had caused enough embarrassment for their family. Qiao Dazhi was really displeased with her.

Mrs. Ji started to stutter, “I, I, I didn’t, it was all their—”
Madam Liu looked at Mrs. Ji with contempt and then turned to address Qiao Dazhi, “Father, do you realize that it’s a huge favor for Muniang to manage the Embroidery House for us? The third brother said that when we earn Silver Coin from it, won’t it be used to honor you elders? But with the elder sister-in-law causing such a fuss right now, it makes it difficult for me to handle things. If we really annoy Muniang, it’s not a big deal to let others take over the Embroidery House, and then our family won’t be able to get a cut of the profits at all.”

This comment gave Qiao Dazhi a shock; he finally understood the gravity of the situation. The family was in such dire financial straits for Qiao Yuanzhen’s sake that they were practically scraping the pot. Although he had no particular fondness for Muniang, getting closer to her for some benefits was certainly a good thing. If Madam Liu indeed lost this opportunity, they would really have no source of Silver income.

Thinking of this, Qiao Dazhi became angry with Mrs. Ji for not knowing the severity of the matter. Just as he was about to scold her, Madam Zhao cut in ahead of him, “You troublemaker! You never focus on proper matters, only knowing how to cause scenes everywhere. Wasn’t the disgrace you brought on our family the other day enough? Have you even been quiet for a few days? Today, you better roll back to your own house and stop coming to ours. You’ve already built a big house for yourself, yet you still come here to annoy us.”

Madam Liu’s smirk was barely perceptible; she knew that manipulating these two old folks with this tactic was the only way. For now, she would just delay things. Once they truly made money, would she really let Muniang sacrifice all her hard-earned Silver to sustain these two leeches? Dream on!

Mrs. Ji’s face turned pale; she couldn’t believe how Madam Liu twisted the situation in just a few words. She felt a deep hatred, yet still pleaded bitterly with Madam Zhao, “Mother, you’re sending our family away like this; it’s practically cutting off our lifeline. All the Silver has been taken by that damned person to provide for the little demon, where else can we find Silver coins? Our family can’t even boil a pot! If we really have to fend for ourselves, people will die!”

Qiao Dazhi pondered for a moment. After all, Qiao Yuanshan was his eldest son, and he did have a soft spot for him; he couldn’t let them fend entirely for themselves. He had to concede, “Take five taels of Silver later. Be thrifty with it. That should cover most of the expenses for the next half a year. After the autumn harvest, your family will be able to get by.”

“What? Five taels?” shrieked Mrs. Ji, “Father, our family is missing dozens of taels! How can five taels last us half a year? Are we supposed to live on wild vegetable soup every day? Moreover, I have to arrange a wedding for the eldest son!”

Qiao Dazhi glared at her, “You still dare complain it’s too little now? I haven’t even settled the account with you about the dozens of taels of Silver that mysteriously appeared in your home! Besides, the eldest son is still young, I said to wait a year so we will wait a year. Has my word become deaf to you now?!”

Frightened, Mrs. Ji trembled. She knew that the Silver and the jade bracelet that Qiao Yuanshan had stolen were actually all her personal savings, hidden from her parents. If her parents started to calculate this with her, it would be over for her. Hurriedly seeing the way the wind blew, she repeatedly nodded, “Yes, yes, five taels it’s five taels, we’ll take the Silver and leave immediately, not bothering you old folks anymore.”