Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 182: Change Leads to Speculation

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Change Leads to Speculation

Wufu picked out a piece of mutton fat jade stone of exceptionally good quality from the treasure vault of the Hundred Treasures Silver Building to carve. In her words, carving inferior pieces just didn’t have the same feeling, let alone motivation or challenge. So, if she was to carve anything, it must be the best, otherwise, it was a waste of her time.

Shopkeeper Lin listened with cringing teeth, her tone was consistently lofty, but considering that she truly had the skills, he didn’t dare to question it.

"Miss Wufu, once this piece is completed, your reputation will spread," Shopkeeper Lin rubbed his hands together and chuckled slyly, looking every bit the crafty merchant.

His implication was for her to speed up the carving so that it could be sold quickly. This way, people would become aware of Wufu’s presence, which would also benefit her.

After all, once word got out, there would likely be no shortage of people wanting her carving services.

Wufu gave him a smirking glance, "I’ll do my best."

Having left the Hundred Treasures Silver Building, Wufu then went to a bookstore to buy some brushes, ink, and paper. She needed to sketch her designs and prepare, and at home, she had Liu Jin and Hongyu who could also put them to use for writing and drawing.

If Liu Jin and others knew of Wufu’s thoughts, they would probably be overjoyed. They had food, shelter, and even the chance to study. They were not so much servants but rather almost like family.

As for doing various chores—what farm child didn’t use their hands to work?

Moreover, Wufu provided them with meat. In the past, without a holiday or festival, they couldn’t even dream of seeing meat.

Liu Jin cherished his current life greatly and saw Wufu as his lifesaver; without her, with the way he was, he probably would’ve been devoured and left without a trace long ago.

Villages harbor no secrets. From the appearance of a Hongyu to a Liu Jin, everyone knew that significant changes were happening at the small cottage at the foot of the mountain where the mother and daughter lived.

Even though the cottage was secluded, it couldn’t hide the fact that Wufu had been seen coming in and out of the village before, often giving candies to the children. This lured many of them to play near the cottage, hoping to encounter Wufu and receive some candy, and often around mealtime, they would naturally smell the aroma of meat.

Previously during the drought, every household scrimped and saved, thankful just to not go hungry; meat was out of the question. But at that cottage, where only widows and orphans lived, not only did they have enough to eat but also meat?

Children couldn’t keep secrets; once they mentioned it at home, the news spread from ten to a hundred and speculation proliferated about how the Wufu family had made a fortune—otherwise, how could they bring home one child after another to raise?

Setting aside bringing two unknown children home as servants, even Madam Zhou, upon glancing at her usual attire and the hairpin that she actually wore now, appeared much younger.

Furthermore, during the ceremony where the Old Zhou family’s youngest son acknowledged his relatives, Madam Zhou was very generous.

So without claiming that they had made a fortune, nobody would believe it; without money, where could such a display come from?

There were plenty of people who loved to gossip, speculating in private about what secrets Madam Zhou’s little cottage might be hiding.

Indeed, there were reasons for Madam Zhou to look younger: firstly, her life was better now, with no lack of food or drink, and with meat, not having to worry about meals. How could her heart not be at ease?

As the saying goes, "with a contented heart comes a plump body," without the worry, she naturally looked younger.

Unfortunately, no one would turn their suspicions in that direction; they would only speculate whether they had engaged in some scheme to get rich or ponder if Madam Zhou’s man had come back.

Indeed, someone couldn’t resist probing and asked.

Thud.

The hand that was about to receive the tofu relaxed, and the tofu fell to the ground, crumbling into pieces. Madam Zhou, however, frowned and looked at the Tofu Beauty before her, "What do you mean by that, young lady?"