??Chapter 370: Chapter 371 Brush the Bottom Line_1
Chapter 370: Chapter 371 Brush the Bottom Line_1
But Muniang continued, “It’s my fault as well. Initially, when I saw the rice scattered all over the ground, I thought it was just ordinary rice, so I didn’t think much of it and let the coachman drive over it. Only now do I realize how precious this rice actually is.”
“Hmph! Good that you know!” boasted Madam Zhao, her head nearly reaching the sky.
A sly glint flashed in Muniang’s eyes as she said, “If there’s any bla, it’s on
for not knowing the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. In our household, from top to bottom, we eat this kind of rice every day. I even feared that we wouldn’t be able to finish it all, so I deliberately sent several bags to Grandpa Xue and Chengzi’s family. It seems I truly lack experience to not know how valuable this rice is.”
After saying this, Muniang’s eyes brimd with intense mockery. Dongxing Building, the largest restaurant in the entire country, was at her disposal. This kind of japonica rice was sent to her at will by Dongxing Building. Only Qiao Yuanzhen, who had never seen much of the world, would treat such a thing as a treasure, really thinking that having a few silver coins was a great deal. How could he ever keep pace with her, Qiao Muniang!
Madam Zhao almost choked on her saliva to death, and Qiao Yuanzhen’s complexion turned dark in an instant, “Pretending to be rich now? Who are you deceiving? This kind of excellent japonica rice is only occasionally eaten even in wealthy families. Where do you get the confidence to say you eat it every al and even casually give it away?”
Then, a woman in the crowd said, “Why not? My husband just had dinner at Old Man Xue’s house yesterday, and he ate this kind of rice. He said it was quite tasty, so he asked a few questions. Old Man Xue said it was sent over by Muniang, who gave three bags all at once.”
Qiao Yuanzhen’s face instantly turned the color of a pig’s liver, and he was so choked up that he couldn’t speak.
Muniang sighed, “Husband, the food we usually eat is so precious, no wonder others jump with rage over just a few grains of rice crushed by our cartwheels. Not everyone can live the life we do. That person finally got a bag of good rice, and we mustn’t bully those less fortunate, right?”
Yu Ze played along, curling his lips, “My wife is right. Although our family has beco wealthy, we can’t bully the poor in the village. Since we have so much rice in our house that we can’t finish it, let’s send a new bag over.”
The onlookers witnessed this couple sing in harmony, slapping Qiao Yuanzhen’s face resoundingly. He had wanted to show off his wealth in front of others, but instead, they stepped back and crushed his face thoroughly.
Madam Zhao was terribly frustrated. What did it an to not stoop to the level of the poor? She clearly wanted to show off her son’s success! Their Qiao family was no ordinary one!
“What’s the big fuss about? Even with more money, at the end of the day, you’re still just a rchant. Among scholars, farrs, artisans, and rchants, rchants are the lowest! You have no status at all. Our Yuanzhen is the Mr. Scholar, the only Mr. Scholar in Tupo Village!” Madam Zhao’s voice rose as she shouted.
Muniang sneered, “There is no Mr. Scholar in Tupo Village; the Mr. Scholar was driven out long ago. What was the cri he was charged with? Oh~ collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country. Hey, Uncle Four, how exactly did you restore your title? I just so happen to be quite familiar with the County Chief. Maybe I should ask—”
“No need!” Qiao Yuanzhen ground his teeth almost to the point of breaking, wishing he could tear the woman’s mouth apart.
Sure enough, with Muniang’s words, everyone looked at Qiao Yuanzhen differently, with a mix of contempt and intriguing complexity.
After all, he was soone who had been driven out of Tupo Village. What was there to be pompous about?
Muniang gave Qiao Yuanzhen a provocative glance before turning to board the carriage, and then she left.
Watching Muniang leave, the villagers, after such a fuss, suddenly lost their envy of Qiao Yuanzhen and dispersed in twos and threes.
Qiao Yuanzhen trembled with rage; he had returned to the village today specifically to show everyone that he had made sothing of himself, to make the villagers envious of him and regret how they had treated him. But in the end, he had achieved absolutely nothing!
Knowing that Qiao Yuanzhen was really angry, Madam Zhao didn’t dare provoke him, but she truly felt pained over the wasted rice. So, she hurriedly called so servants to pick up the scattered japonica rice from the ground; after all, such fine stuff should not go to waste.
But Qiao Yuanzhen, his eyes red with fury, bellowed, “Who dares to touch that stuff?! Worthless things, let them be scattered; what do we want them for?”
How could he value what Muniang did not?
With that roar from Qiao Yuanzhen, the nearby villagers who had not yet walked far shuddered in fear, feeling even more contemptuous of him. He clearly wasn’t cut out for wealth, yet he insisted on pretending to be sothing he’s not!
Madam Zhao didn’t dare make a move, either. Offending her son was like offending the emperor, so she could only watch regretfully as the good rice went to waste, not daring to clean it up.
In the end, Qiao Yuanzhen didn’t stay long in Tupo Village. He found the run-down house so unliveable that he couldn’t bear to stay for a mont. And after such an insult, where did he have the face to stay? He left in a huff, taking the carriage without so much as a goodbye.
“That Qiao Yuanzhen is really despicable. Pretending to have money when he doesn’t, even trying to mock the Lady, he deserved slapping his own face. Still has the nerve to say he’s an educated man when I’ve never seen such a stupid Scholar before,” Qingya said vehently.
“Let him be. Didn’t he co back this ti just to seek so recognition? Just ignore him and let him suffocate on his own frustration.” Muniang was too busy with the matters in i Garden to bother arguing with him.
But Qingya said, “Doesn’t the Lady wonder how Qiao Yuanzhen suddenly turned his luck around? He got rich out of nowhere, and even brought back a reputation—it’s really strange.”
Thinking of the noble sons Qiao Yuanzhen used to mix with, Muniang chuckled dismissively, “He must have clung to the leg of so noble young master, playing the lackey. They took pity on him and took him in; otherwise, do you think soone like him, with hands too weak to lift and shoulders unfit to carry, who can’t make anything of his studies, could actually achieve anything noteworthy?”
Nangong Qian had spoken to her before about Qiao Yuanzhen’s lackey behavior in his presence, which Muniang had not believed at the ti. It was hard to imagine the haughty and proud Qiao Yuanzhen acting that way; it was indeed an eye-opener for her.
“That’s true, but Qiao Yuanzhen has always thought so highly of himself, and yet he stoops to flattering others.” Qingya comnted.
“Hmph, who cares,” Muniang snorted disdainfully, not wanting to give a thought to whose favor Qiao Yuanzhen had curried. She felt irritated at the re sight of such a person.
Muniang’s guess this ti was half true and half false, but once she found out about Qiao Yuanzhen becoming soone’s male favorite, it would probably lower her opinion of him even further.
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