??Chapter 97: Chapter 098 Bitter All Life_1
Chapter 97: Chapter 098 Bitter All Life_1
Mrs. Fang blinked blankly, clearly not quite understanding.
Hong Luo sighed and had to explain, “If you can’t get your head around this, then forget it, just rember one thing, as long as you have a clear conscience and do everything exactly as Lady has instructed you, not doing more or less, there will be no trouble at all. Lady has her own calculations in her mind, there’s no need for you to be worried sick. If you let your imagination run wild, you’re more likely to stir up trouble. When that happens, Lady will not be kind to you.”
Only then did Mrs. Fang understand. The last sentence made her heart tremble even more. Although Lady usually treated them generously and was kind-hearted, and had never been harsh to them—in fact, they, who were indentured, lived better than the ordinary families in the village—she never dared to underestimate her own master’s capabilities for this reason. Towards Mu, no matter what emotions she harbored, there was a deep-seated respect in her heart. Today’s incident had taught her a severe lesson.
Mrs. Fang nodded again and again, “I will certainly not be so muddled in the future.”
Seeing Mrs. Fang’s scared appearance, Hong Luo couldn’t help but laugh, “There’s no need for you to be so nervous. Lady did what she did to you today simply to teach you a lesson. People only stop making the sa mistake after they’ve truly fallen hard once. With a master like Lady, you’d be hard-pressed to find another even with a lantern. She’s not a heartless person; as long as you discipline yourself, there are plenty of benefits.”
Mrs. Fang, recalling the two taels of Silver that Hong Luo had received today, couldn’t help but feel envious, “Indeed, you got slapped and then received two taels of Silver. We don’t make that much in a year’s wages. If I had known, I would have thought it worth getting slapped ten tis.”
Hong Luo laughed out loud. Since Mrs. Fang could joke with her like this, it seed like the knot in her heart had been untied. So she didn’t say more, and they each went back to their tasks.
Mrs. Fang had just gone to the field to et Qiao Yuanming, naturally missing this fine drama.
Tianniu was playing on the kang with several little ones, and there were various snacks on the table, lon seeds, almonds, mung bean cakes, and a dish of bright red apples, which the little ones were enjoying imnsely. As soon as they saw Qiao Yuanming co in, they all shouted together, “Dad, co and sit down.”
Qiao Yuanming imdiately noticed the goodies on the table and widened his eyes in astonishnt. These were not things a peasant family could afford! Even the slightly wealthier families in the village would only buy a little for their children during the New Year. The fact that the Mu family could bring out so much just to greet a guest showed they were truly wealthy.
“Dad, try this. It’s sweet and crunchy, really delicious,” Tianniu said, holding out a bright red apple to Qiao Yuanming.
Qiao Yuanming smiled ingenuously and took it, “Don’t eat until you’re too full to eat dinner later.”
Hearing this, the little ones really did stop eating, “Mu said she’s going to make beef brisket, if we’re too full we won’t be able to eat it later.”
Qiao Yuanming, hearing this, was taken aback and couldn’t help feeling intense envy for Mu’s household, but even more so, he felt self-reproach. His own niece, barely fifteen, could live such a good life through her own abilities, while he, a man nearly thirty, had achieved nothing.
After Mu and Madam Liu had finished their work, they brought out the food, braised lamb, tomato beef brisket, roasted eggplant, stir-fried corn, egg-drop soup, and at pies that Mu had specially made.
Seeing the table full of dishes, the children couldn’t help but salivate. Qiao Yuanming felt a bit embarrassed, “We’re just here for a al, why go to all this trouble? All these delicacies must have cost a lot.”
Mrs. Lin patted Tianniu’s shoulder and smiled, “The kids are young, and they need to eat well to nourish their bodies. When they eat well, their health improves. Mu has a real knack for food. She even nursed my poor health back to almost full recovery.”
Madam Liu nodded her head, “It’s all thanks to Muniang’s ability to make money so well; otherwise, families like ours, even if we wanted to supplent, wouldn’t have the silver to buy anything.”
Muniang served the children so dishes, laughing as she said, “Auntie is now the Second Boss of our Embroidery House, so why worry about not having silver in the future? When the ti cos, you’ve got to take good care of these little gluttons.”
Madam Liu naturally had high hopes, and her face was tinted with anticipation. Only with money could the children live well, but the thought of her foolishly filial husband using her hard-earned silver coin to support his bloodsucking parents made her insides churn with disgust.
Qiao Yuanming seed to sense Madam Liu’s displeasure. She hadn’t paid much attention to him lately, and he wanted to use this opportunity to improve their relationship, so he served her a piece of braised beef brisket, smiling foolishly, “Eat more, you’ve been busy and haven’t had much good food.”
However, Madam Liu was still cold, directly transferring the beef from her bowl into Tianniu’s, “Let the children have it. What does my suffering matter? I’ve been suffering all my life.”
Her words were clearly pointed, and although Qiao Yuanming was a bit slow, he could tell his wife was dissatisfied with him, which made him feel awkward.
Muniang exchanged glances with Mrs. Lin, obviously sensing the tension. They both kept their heads down and ate without speaking, pretending not to hear anything to save Qiao Yuanming any embarrassnt.
But the children, with their simple minds, only cared about the feast before them. The youngest, Hongsheng, was just four years old, with short arms; he struggled to reach the plate of yellow braised lamb across the table with his chopsticks and pleaded with his older brother, “Second Brother, I want to eat the lamb.” His sticky-sweet voice was especially endearing.
Honghai, who was already seven and taller, naturally had an advantage but teased him on purpose, “Go ahead and eat. It’s not like anyone is competing with you for this big table full of dishes.”
Hongsheng pouted, “Second Brother always bullies ; you know I can’t reach.”
Honghai feigned surprise, batting his eyes, “So it’s because you can’t reach.”
Hongsheng imdiately got upset and turned to Tianniu to complain, “Sister, look at Second Brother; he always bullies !”
“Honghai! Behave yourself and stop picking on your brother,” Tianniu scolded him like a little adult, glaring at Honghai before extending her chopsticks into his bowl and picking out the biggest piece of lamb for Hongsheng, “Here, your sister will serve you.”
With that, Hongsheng grinned triumphantly at Honghai, flashing two large dimples, as if to say, “I’ve got my sister looking out for .”
Honghai wasn’t annoyed and playfully scolded before serving several pieces of lamb to Hongsheng as well.
The entire table’s atmosphere beca joyful because of the children, and watching the four siblings get along so harmoniously ward Muniang’s heart. She found this kind of simple affection to be the most enviable of all.
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