Chapter 59: That’s My Father

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After Qiao Mai opened her stall, she received attention from all sides. However, this did not hinder her business. Instead, her small business became even more prosperous.

Business continued throughout the day, and she did not idle.

At noon, Yuan Jiaqi cooked at home and even asked Fengyun to send it to her.

She had finished the white rice and stir-fried vegetables.

When it was time to close the stall, Yuan Jiaqi came over personally. He pushed the cart, acting like a good husband.

He was not acting as he was grateful to Qiao Mai for helping him. He was grateful for Qiao Mai’s sacrifice.

He chose Qiao Mai out of his own selfishness. The good things that he had said about Qiao Mai were all superficial.

He was good-looking, diligent, and caring for his family. He had no bad hobbies and was a good man in the eyes of the young ladies.

There were always women throwing flirtatious glances at him, which really annoyed him.

However, Qiao Mai looked at him as if he was an ordinary person. She did not have any feelings for him at all. Coupled with Qiao Mai’s character and the urgency of being forced by his family, he asked Qiao Mai for help.

He did not expect that she would just ask him a few questions before reaching out to save him. She did not care at all.

Moreover, he had observed that she did not agree to help him because she was interested in him, but because she was sincere in helping him.

Therefore, he had to treat her sincerely and repay her for saving him.

Seeing Yuan Jiaqi come to close the stall with Qiao Mai, Shopkeeper Lu felt gratified. She knew that this man was a good man.

If not, he would have left the children at home and gone out to have fun.

“Brother-in-law, you have to treat my sister well.”

Yuan Jiaqi nodded at Shopkeeper Lu. “I will definitely treat my wife well.”

Qiao Mai felt extremely relaxed when he returned home and the food was ready.

“Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome. Let’s live together and help each other.” “Alright, since everyone is here, I’ll say something.”

“Please speak.’

“We have more people now, so it can’t be like before. Without rules, it will not be fair. In the future, I will pay ten taels of silver to you every month so that you can take care of the family matters.”

“I can do that. I have nothing to do at home anyway. I just teach and copy books.”

“Yes, these ten taels of silver include the food, clothes, and ink for the children.

If it’s not enough, you can tell me. You don’t have to pay for it yourself.” “I’ll buy mine and Chuan ‘er’s.”

“No need. You can help me reduce my burden by doing the housework. I can focus on earning money outside.”

Yuan Jiaqi thought about it and did not act pretentious. “Okay.”

“In the future, when Fengyun, Yunfeng, and I are jogging and training, you and Chuan’er should also get up and train. Only with a strong physique can you not be afraid of wind, rain, disasters, and diseases.’

Yuan Jiaqi’s expression changed. “That’s even better.”

“Lastly, whatever I do, if you want to support me, then help me. If you don’t want to support me, then stand aside and don’t get involved. I have the final say in my own matters, and you have the final say in your own matters.”

“No problem!”

On the spot, Qiao Mai took out ten taels of silver and placed them in a cloth bag before handing it over to Yuan Jiaqi.

“I’ll write all the spending down one by one.”

“Alright.”

“Then let’s eat. In the future, when I’m not at home, you and the child will cook. When I’m at home, I’ll do it.”

She was now the head of the family. When she moved her chopsticks, only the others could.

Lil’ Chuan’er looked at Qiao Mai with a smile in his eyes.

“Mother, Big Brother, and Second Brother don’t call my father as ‘Teacher’ any more. They called with ‘Father’!”

“Well, you’re calling me ‘Mother’ too, right? Why? Are you the only one allowed to call me ‘Mother’, but they’re not allowed to call him ‘Father!?”

“Isn’t he my father?”

“I’m still their mother too. Why don’t you call me ‘Aunt’ in the future? Then they can call him ‘Teacher’.”

Chuan ‘er frowned and said unwillingly.

“Alright, for Mother’s sake, I’ll allow them to call him ‘Father’.”

“Haha!”

The small courtyard was filled with laughter as they ate. Madam Chen, who was next door, felt very upset when she heard that. She really regretted not confessing to Yuan Jiaqi earlier.

At night, Qiao Mai was still sleeping in the space. She had been slacking off for the past two days, so tonight, she filled up the empty space.

Some turnips, garlic, onions, etc. had to be planted, and the tree species had to be planted later.

She had almost all the fruits from the fruit trees in her freezer. She could not eat nuts for the time being, but she had plenty of spices on the shelves. She could still make copies of them when she used them, so she was not in a hurry.

She had thought about it. If there were people selling candied haws in winter, she would not sell them. If there weren’t, she would add candied haws.

Roasted sweet potatoes, boiled corn, spiced peanuts, and spiced quail eggs. These five were good.

Shopkeeper Lu did persuade her to buy a shop, but there was no empty space in the town. It was all occupied. She did not lack money, so she made do with it for now.

She felt that setting up a stall was more interesting than opening a shop. On a cold day, merchants from the South and North could come to her stall and eat hot sweet potatoes, boiled corn, peanuts, and quail eggs without getting off their horses. How good was this?

As September arrived, there were fewer people buying watermelons, but there were still some.

Some agricultural products gradually appeared on the market. There were also fresh peanuts and sweet potatoes, but they were not selling as well as her.

Many mountain products also appeared in the market.

Sometimes, when she saw fresh ones, she would buy some, but most of them had bug holes, which made her very unhappy.

Recently, a kind of persimmon appeared in Tianshui Town. It was as big as a millstone and looked appetizing.

She did not have this in her space. Persimmons were a good thing. They were an alkali-based food and were good for the body.

Therefore, she would buy them whenever she saw them. Moreover, she would buy them in large quantities. She had already agreed with the seller that as long as they were good, she would buy them all. Therefore, the seller sent them to her one by one.

She accepted all of them.

She bought a few large jars and filled them with warm water. She then soaked the hard seeds in a few jars and sealed them up. She handed the rest to Yuan Jiaqi and the children.

She asked him to help make a few shelves, cut off the outer skin of the persimmons, and then strung them up with thread. Hanging them outside to dry naturally, she planned to make them all into dried persimmons.

The strings of persimmons were like small lanterns, looking especially beautiful.

She had noticed that there was no such thing in the Great Ming Dynasty. This was a business opportunity.

In a small courtyard, as long as there was a place, it would be hung everywhere.

Chuan ‘er was greedy. Even though Qiao Mai had told him that this was very astringent, he did not believe it. When Qiao Mai was not around, he secretly took a bite. When he spat it out, he almost cried. Yuan Jiaqi did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Six days later, Qiao Mai opened the sealed jar. She took one out and washed it. She peeled it and cut it into pieces. She took a piece and tasted it.

It was crispy, sweet, and delicious.

Then, she washed a few more, cut them into pieces, and called everyone over to taste them.

“The taste is not bad. Compared to other fruits, it has a different taste.”

“I bought these for two copper coins per catty. How about selling them for five copper per catty?”

“Is anyone buying it?”

Qiao Mai chuckled. “Which of the old customers wouldn’t give me some face? Eating this is good for their health. They should buy it.”

“I’m not good at business.”

Qiao Mai found a large basin and picked up some of the persimmons to clean them. She then asked her son to bring two baskets and wipe the rice husks one by one with a towel.

“Fengyun, go and deliver a basket to Shopkeeper Lu.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Yunfeng, go and send a basket to Aunt Chen and tell them how to eat it. You two go together and come back together.”

“I’ll go too.” Chuan ‘er hurriedly followed them. Yuan Jiaqi also hurriedly got up and followed.

“I’m worried, so let’s go over together. Human traffickers are rampant these days, and the three children are not old.”

“Good!”

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