Chapter 18 Another Unexpected Event

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  "Alright, put it here!"

  Mrs. Zhao hurriedly returned from the village market, with two short-term workers following behind her, carrying poles with four large baskets, filled to the brim with vegetables, fresh meat, eggs, wheat flour and some jars, which should contain oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.

  "Oh, thank you, Grandma!"

  After receiving over ten cents, the two sturdy men smiled and bowed to thank her. One of them, who was more clever, saw that they had brought a lot of things and Zhao's wife might not be able to carry them back by herself, so he said warmly: "Why don't I help you carry them in, ma'am?"

  "It's okay, we have people to move it, just put things in order and you can leave!"

  Mrs. Zhao refused very bluntly, in the small courtyard there were only her and Qiuniang, and no other rough servants, Qiuniang was weak and of high status, she definitely couldn't do rough work, the one who actually carried things in was herself.

  Even so, she would never allow two rough country people to enter the inner courtyard. No one could serve and tolerate it. The house was not a three-entry deep courtyard, but it could be tolerated. The only thing that maintained Qiuniang's dignity was her last bottom line in her heart.

  "Okay, okay!"

  Alas, I don't even know what kind of household this is. Buying so many things at once, if they often have such business, they won't need to wait for odd jobs anymore. That clever young fellow, after being rebuffed, didn't give up. He quickly and neatly unloaded the goods onto the steps by the door, then pointed to a thatched hut on the west side of the farm and said with a smile: "Granny, I'm Chen Ergou, from Chen Family Village on the west side of Qingyuan Mountain Farm. I often do odd jobs at the village market, and my family grows a lot of grain and fresh vegetables. If you need any moving or carrying done in the future, just give me a shout; or if you want to buy some vegetables, meat, or other things, just yell from your door, and I'll deliver them to you right away!"

  "Chen Ergou? Hmm, not bad, you're quite clever. Here's another ten cents to buy some wine!"

  After listening to Chen Ergou's enthusiastic invitation, Zhao Aiguo was taken aback at first. She didn't expect that in this remote and desolate place, there would be such a clever young man. Well, let's consider him a talent for now, give him some sweet treats first, who knows if he'll have a bigger use later!

  "Oh, thank you, Grandma!"

  Chen Ergou, amidst the envious glances of his companions, happily accepted Zhao's reward and became even more courteous, "If you need anything, just call me. When I'm not busy with the fair, I do carpentry work at the village entrance."

  "Alright, you've all worked hard today, off you go!"

  Aunt Zhao saw Feng Tiezhu carrying two fish walking over with the corner of her eye, waved her hand and sent the two porters away.

  "Hey, Manager Feng! Long time no see! You've become prosperous!"

  Old Lady Zhao still remembered that this rascal refused to let her family's daughter see a doctor, so she spoke with a few more sharp words.

  "Hello, Aunt Zhao!"

  These two days were busy with spring plowing, and Feng Tiezhu returned late yesterday. He hadn't had a chance to have an in-depth conversation with Zhao Nian's wife before she drove him out. Speaking of Zhao Nian's wife, he had also heard people mention her before - she was the most loyal person to the second mistress. Although he didn't know the second young mistress, he had seen the nanny Zhao who was by her side a few times from afar.

  It's a pity that the two treacherous women who brought Erniang didn't inform her of her identity, and instead made her follow the principle of "it's better to have one less thing than one more thing", and they also failed to fulfill their due responsibilities towards Erniang.

  Now Zhao's wife has followed him, and even if the couple didn't kick them while they were down, just standing by with their arms crossed would be enough to earn them the resentment of this henpecked old woman.

  Alas, I thought this time the second wife's chance of turning over was not great, he didn't think that the second helping hand would come so quickly, making them a couple who hadn't done anything bad, yet also became villains. What's the point of coming?!

  "Ah, no need to be so polite, Zhao Ayi, you're too kind. Don't call me Manager Feng, just call me Big Fool Feng and that's fine." He said this as he lifted the fresh fish in his hand, with a hint of apology: "When Second Madam arrived, neither of the two elder ladies told us who she was... Our Qingyuan Mountain Villa is far from the county town, and the only doctor is 70 or 80 miles away in the town. When I went to fetch the doctor the next day, that doctor had gone out on a trip, so we couldn't do anything about it. We just had to kill one of our laying hens at home and make soup for Second Madam to supplement her nutrition first... Alas, thanks to heaven's protection, Second Madam managed to pull through, otherwise we..."

  As he spoke, Feng Tiezhu's face was full of sorrow, and with his honest-looking face, people would believe what he said at first sight.

  Hmph, wall grass! Zhao's wife is not an ordinary person, she has lived in the Wang family's mansion for over 20 years, what kind of cunning and treacherous people hasn't she seen? Feng Tiejun's face may be able to intimidate his own daughter-in-law, but don't think he can deceive her.

  But now is not the time to settle accounts with him. Thinking of her current situation, Zhao's face suddenly broke into a smile as she took the two carp from him without ceremony. "Ah, so that's how it was! I said that Big Fool Feng has always been a loyal person, how could he do such a thing to deceive his master? It turns out those two dead women were stirring up trouble! Just wait until I and Second Young Mistress return to the estate, and see how I'll deal with these two old goods!"

  "Perhaps they've also become muddled with age, so they forgot what's important... Who was it, standing there doing nothing, why not help Zhao Ayi carry the things in!"

  Feng Tiezhu was made to feel a bit embarrassed by Zhao's words, and his eyes didn't dare to look straight ahead, instead darting around randomly. When he saw the peasant women swaying under the pagoda tree in front of the door, he waved his hand loudly to greet them.

  In an instant, several robust peasant women gathered around, some carrying and others lifting, and in the blink of an eye, they had transported all the things Zhao's wife had purchased into the small courtyard.

  Mrs. Zhao directed the servants to put things in order and sent Feng Tiezhu away, only then did she come to Wang Qifang's bedroom.

  She gently pushed open the door and saw Wang Qifang holding a piece of good gauze and lace, sewing one stitch at a time. Looking at her calm and peaceful expression, it seemed that she had already figured things out and made some kind of decision.

  "Auntie, are you back? Wang Qifang felt someone was watching her and looked up to see a kindly-faced Zhao Ayi. She smiled warmly and asked, "I heard from Feng Dajie that you went to the market. Was it lively?"

  "Hmph, in a remote mountain village, what good things can there be? It's just buying some temporary makeshift stuff. Zhao Ayi took a look at Wang Qifang and found herself, patted the dust on her body, pushed the door and walked in, first stretched out her hand to feel Wang Qifang's forehead, and then nodded satisfactorily: "En, it's good that she hasn't got a fever. Seventh Lady, from now on if you have any troubles, tell Ayi, don't bear them alone!"

  "Alright, I understand!" Wang Qifang thought for a whole morning and finally figured out the situation. She had a plan in mind and her mood relaxed a lot.

  Then, Zhao's aunt put away the things she had bought in bulk, cleaned up the long-abandoned kitchen, washed the pots, lit the fire, and busily started preparing lunch.

  At noon, Zhao Ayi carried a tray with four dishes, a bowl of rice and a bowl of milk-white crucian carp soup.

  "Grandma, you eat too!"

  Wang Qifang knew that in a wealthy family, even if the wet nurse was higher than an ordinary servant, she was still a servant and didn't have the qualifications to eat with the masters. But due to her past experiences and the residual memories of her previous life, she couldn't bear to treat Zhao Nian's devoted nanny as a lowly servant.

  "Don't worry, Seventh Sister, you eat first!"

  Mrs. Zhao knew Xiaofang's thoughts and smiled contentedly, still standing by to serve Wang Xiaofang dinner, "Come on, have a sip of soup, it's nourishing!"

  "Oh, okay!" Wang Qifang saw that the old lady was very insistent, and she didn't want to force her anymore. She obediently picked up a spoon, scooped up half a spoonful of fish soup, "Ugh~~" The fish soup hadn't even touched her lips when she vomited all over the place!