Farm Tough Girl
Chapter 623 - 623 624 Bypass Them_1

Chapter 623: Chapter 624: Bypass Them_1 Chapter 623: Chapter 624: Bypass Them_1 “Ah, there was no other way, Mother was so ill, we had to find a way to save her life, no matter what. Now that her life has been saved, her body is still so weak, I really feel guilty,” Qiao Yuanshan sighed.

Qiao Yuanming thought for a moment, then said, “Big brother, don’t worry, I still have some money left. I will definitely buy more things to replenish Mother’s health, and I won’t let her suffer.”

Qiao Yuanshan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly responded, “Don’t bother running around yourself, it’s so troublesome, isn’t it? Let me buy it instead. Qinghua City is quite far from here, and it’s inconvenient for you to keep traveling back and forth.”

Qiao Yuanming paused before saying, “But I didn’t bring much money with me this time, just thirty taels…”

As Qiao Yuanming spoke, he had already taken out his purse, which Qiao Yuanshan immediately snatched, “With this money, even if we can’t buy ginseng, we can buy something else.”

Qiao Yuanming wanted to say more, but Qiao Yuanshan changed the subject, “By the way, third brother, you and Muniang have been in Qinghua City for so long, how is everything going? If life gets tough, you can come back, our family won’t miss a meal without you, will it?”

Qiao Yuanshan’s words were clearly insincere; he knew very well how well Qiao Yuanming was doing in Qinghua City. It was only someone as naive as Qiao Yuanming who would believe it and even be moved by it.

“Rest assured, big brother. We’re doing quite well and are not likely to come back. You all take care of yourselves. Now that the second sister-in-law has remarried, you don’t have to worry about anything,” he replied.

Qiao Yuanshan had meant to probe Qiao Yuanming’s words, to find out who this “big brother” Muniang had mentioned was, but he did not expect to hear such news!

“What? Mrs. Lin has remarried? How come we haven’t heard anything about it?” Qiao Yuanshan exclaimed.

Qiao Yuanming was momentarily stunned, then said, “She and her daughter have been struck off the Qiao family genealogy, so naturally, there’s not much to talk about.”

Qiao Yuanshan snorted coldly, “A woman who doesn’t observe women’s virtues dares to remarry! She simply doesn’t consider our Qiao family at all!”

Qiao Yuanming quickly said, “Don’t say that, big brother. The second sister-in-law is doing very well now. If the second brother knows from the underworld, he would certainly be happy.”

Qiao Yuanshan cursed Qiao Yuanming for being dumb as a donkey in his heart, but he didn’t lash out and instead said, “Which family is it? If it’s not a good one, it could make the second sister-in-law’s life miserable. She has suffered all her life; she deserves some good days now.”

Qiao Yuanming genuinely thought Qiao Yuanshan was concerned about Mrs. Lin and smiled, “Don’t worry, big brother. That family is quite good to second sister-in-law. He even came to the village before. They own a fruit and general store, and had previously done business with Muniang, coming up to her mountain to transport goods.”

As soon as Qiao Yuanming said this, Qiao Yuanshan immediately remembered, because the mountain and the Tianzhuang estate belonging to Muniang in the village were exceptionally rare, with all sorts of big and sweet fruits. He had coveted them for a long time, but the vigilant guards thwarted him; he hadn’t managed to get any advantage. He remembered last time a middle-aged man came up the mountain to transport goods, taking so much and even inquiring about Muniang and Mrs. Lin’s affairs.

Seeing how much better that man’s clothing was compared to his own, Qiao Yuanshan guessed the man must be wealthy! Qiao Yuanming thought carefully and then remembered that the man seemed to have mentioned his shop in Qinghua City, Zhao’s Fruit Shop!

“Oh, I remember now, there was such a person. His shop is called Zhao’s Fruit Shop, right?” Qiao Yuanshan immediately sought confirmation from Qiao Yuanming.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Qiao Yuanshan, having gathered the information he needed, naturally couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Qiao Yuanming anymore, and perfunctorily said, “I have to go on an urgent matter.” He then immediately scurried away.

Qiao Yuanming, still confused, sheepishly went inside to take care of Madam Zhao.

Muniang had delegated the task of finding a bride for Zhao Jianghe to Madam Liu, and thus she didn’t interfere further. Although she had spent a considerable amount of time in Qinghua City, her previous pregnancy meant she hadn’t been involved in business affairs and had stayed at home, truly lacking connections. The few delicate ladies she did know certainly weren’t suitable, and she felt more reassured letting Madam Liu handle it.

Qiao Yuanshan’s family, upon receiving the news from Qiao Yuanming’s place, was quite excited.

“It turns out to be the stepson of Qiao Muniang’s stepfather! I’ve heard that the man is quite wealthy in Qinghua City, owning two shops which both do considerable business. And Zhao Jianghe has both a good temperament and looks. But the key point is, his younger brother is a Scholar at just sixteen and has already gone to the capital to take the official exams. He might even return this year with a title, and then our Lianhua will be marrying into an official’s family!”

Qiao Yuanshan grew more and more excited as he spoke, as if Qiao Lianhua had already married into the family.

However, Qiao Lianhua was still somewhat worried and said, “But since he is Qiao Muniang’s stepfather, if I marry into the family, wouldn’t she try to trip me up?”

Mrs. Ji snorted coldly, “You silly child, don’t you understand what a stepfather means? Who is more important, someone’s own daughter-in-law or that drag-along child from outside? It seems more likely for you to trip her up than the other way around!”

Only then did Qiao Lianhua feel relieved and became cheerful, “Then let’s go to the city tomorrow. At that time, let Aunt San introduce me! Did Qiao Muniang not say that she entrusted Aunt San to find a bride for Zhao Jianghe? We can just let Aunt San and Uncle San set up a connection for me. It’s such a simple matter!”

Qiao Lianhua didn’t dare mention going to Qiao Muniang, as she somewhat knew her own limitations. A shrewd woman like Qiao Muniang—who would she allow to do as she pleased? And with Qiao Muniang detesting her so much, she’d probably prefer her to never get married. She wouldn’t want to facilitate a connection for her.

Yet Mrs. Ji glared at her, “Have Aunt San introduce you? She’s in league with Qiao Muniang. Do you think she would help you?! Dream on. Now that their families are close, Aunt San wants to curry favor with Qiao Muniang. Do you think she would go out of her way for your marriage? You’d better use your head!”

A hurt Qiao Lianhua said, “Then what you’re saying is, how am I supposed to get married? This way won’t do, that way won’t do, so what should I do!”

Mrs. Ji huffed lightly, “As if we can’t live without them! Why must we depend on Qiao Muniang or Madam Liu to make connections? We can completely bypass them!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to the city myself, and we’ll go straight to the Zhao family!”

The next morning, Mrs. Lin had already gotten up to prepare breakfast for the father and son of the Zhao family. Mr. Zhao could actually cook, but his culinary skills were frankly unspeakable, so even though he didn’t want to overwork Mrs. Lin, he really couldn’t stomach his own disastrous cooking.

But truth be told, during the three-year vigil they had held after the death, the three Zhao men ate vegetarian meals they made themselves, and no matter how unpalatable, they probably got used to it. But they couldn’t let Mrs. Lin endure that hardship.