??Chapter 85: Chapter 086 Making Money_1
Chapter 85: Chapter 086 Making Money_1
Yuqin’s eyes lit up as she took the hairpin and examined it over and over, then playfully slapped Huyi, chiding, “How annoying, hiding such a treasure, why only bring it out now?”
“The master just rewarded
with it, and I thought of giving it to you right away,” Huyi replied with a smile, his hand already becoming restless, wandering all over.
Having benefited from the situation, Yuqin naturally let him do as he wished, and the two of them flirted a bit before imdiately rolling off together.
Yuqin, although a maidservant of the Wu Family, was only a third-class servant responsible for the most nial tasks. When she had been sold into service, she had signed a contract for life, aning she had to spend her whole life with the Wu Family. She had once hoped to climb the social ladder by getting into the young master’s bed, but her looks were nothing special, and though the young master was not dedicated to serious pursuits, he wasn’t one to consort with maidservants either, so she never got the chance. Moreover, her monthly wages were a re ten coins.
She was tasked with the hardest work but received the least pay, which left her far from satisfied. Eventually, unable to bear the loneliness, she began to fool around with the male servants, receiving perks afterward and feeling like she hit two birds with one stone. Most of the male servants in the Wu Family knew that to sleep with Yuqin, all they needed was to bring silver.
Recently, she had encountered Qiao Yuanshan, and he too was keeping her with silver, wasn’t he?
Because they had prepared two als for both the start and end of the fish pond project last ti, they now had so experience. She had invited so of the village daughters-in-law and sisters-in-law to help without any fuss.
After the workers had their al marking the start of construction, they began building the new house. Muniang didn’t know much about this line of work, but seeing that the foreman, Zeng Gang, was a good man, she felt reassured. Moreover, Mrs. Du had introduced him, so he certainly wouldn’t be a disappointnt. She left the construction in Zeng Gang’s hands, only needing to review and verify the material purchase ledgers herself.
It was already late afternoon. Although it wasn’t sumr yet, the craftsn had been working hard all day and were dripping with sweat. Muniang specifically boiled a large pot of hawthorn water, which she then cooled down in fresh cold water before delivering it to them.
“You’ve all worked hard today, have sothing to drink to quench your thirst,” Muniang called out.
Hearing this, the craftsn, indeed thirsty, set down their work to drink. They expected nothing more than plain cold water, so they were surprised to find it was actually sour and sweet. Delighted, they exclaid, “What’s this? It’s cool and sour, really thirst-quenching!”
Muniang smiled, “It’s nothing special, just hawthorn water made from wild hawthorns picked from the mountain. It’s the best drink for sumr, quenches thirst, and reduces heat. If you like it, I can bring this to you every day.”
“So hawthorn can be used like this? I heard recently that Dongxing Building in the town serves candied haw on a stick, which is made from hawthorn. I didn’t expect hawthorn could make such good stuff.”
Listening to them discuss candied haw, Muniang just smiled and didn’t say much, instead urging everyone to drink more.
Zeng Gang joked, “You really spoil us too much. Wherever we work, just so cold water is enough, but you go out of your way to boil such a big pot of hawthorn water, and even the al at the start of work was so rich. You’re practically compelling us to work our hardest, aren’t you?”
“Isn’t that right? I feed and drink you all well, so you’d better build
a good house. Otherwise, for the al at the end of work, I might just serve anything I can find,” Muniang said with a laugh.
The craftsn quickly responded, “No way, Lady. When the ti cos, we’ll definitely make the house beautiful. The al at the end of the project surely must be lavish!”
“Off you go, back to work. You haven’t finished the job and you’re already thinking about the end-of-work al!” Zeng Gang playfully booted one of the craftsn. The kick was gentle, obviously a common jest between them.
The craftsman finished his bowl of hawthorn water with a grin and went to Muniang to ask for another.
Everyone was chatting and laughing when Li Qinghe arrived, her smile bright and cheerful, “Why is it so lively here?”
“Why are you here?” Muniang said with a smile.
“I actually ca to look for you. I didn’t see you at ho, and Mrs. Fang said you had co here, so I followed,” she explained.
“I just finished up what I was doing here, let’s go back together,” Muniang said, her hawthorn drink having been snatched up by everyone else, she was now ready to leave.
After saying a word to the craftsn, Muniang directly took hold of Qinghe’s hand and walked away.
Zeng Gang stared blankly at Li Qinghe’s retreating figure, appearing sowhat dazed, until one of the craftsn who had been joking with Zeng Gang earlier teased, “What are you staring at? She’s already gone! Have you taken a fancy to her?”
Zeng Gang snapped back to reality, cursed the man jokingly, but his eyes couldn’t help returning to that figure a few more tis.
“I heard from my third sister-in-law that you’ve been busy learning embroidery lately, let
see how your work is coming along?” Qinghe said with a smile.
Muniang replied with playful annoyance, “Don’t make fun of . My skills are hardly presentable. It’s only because Erliang insisted that I made it for him.”
At these words, Qinghe’s expression turned a shade darker, envy clear in her eyes as she looked at Muniang, “You and Erliang have such a good relationship, your days must be filled with joy.”
Sensing that sothing was amiss with Qinghe’s mood, Muniang quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Is Qiao Yuanzhen not treating you well?”
Qinghe forced a smile, “Nothing’s wrong. We just live our days together uneventfully. It’s just that his attitude towards
isn’t any warr than towards others. In his heart, my worth is probably just my dowry of a hundred Silver.”
“Qinghe, when you chose this path, you should have anticipated this situation. I’ve told you before, if you can’t bear it anymore, you always have soone to turn to. Your brother cares for you deeply,” Muniang said earnestly.
Yet Qinghe shook her head, “I’m just venting to you because you understand . To be by his side is enough for . One shouldn’t be too greedy, right? Besides, when I’m bored, I can co and find you.”
Muniang sighed. Qinghe’s stubbornness was sothing she wasn’t sure was good or bad.
Before long, a month had passed. The construction of Muniang’s house was still underway while Qiao Yuanshan’s had already been completed. Mrs. Ji was in high spirits, moving in on the sa day, radiantly happy, and even planning to hold a housewarming celebration the next day. Naturally, this had nothing to do with Muniang; Mrs. Ji didn’t feel generous enough to invite Muniang to the al.
Nevertheless, Muniang watched the festivities at the main house with an indifferent eye, surmising that Qiao Yuanshan’s secrets hadn’t been revealed yet. But as they say, the truth can’t be covered up forever. She didn’t bother to ddle—she would watch the drama unfold when the ti ca.
On this day, Madam Liu arrived in high spirits, and upon seeing Muniang, she exclaid excitedly, “Muniang, those patterns you drew for
last ti are really wonderful!”
Seeing Madam Liu, usually so composed, showing such delight, Muniang guessed that she must have made a tidy sum and laughed, “Slow down, Auntie, did you make so money?”
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