The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits
Chapter 442 - 446: Shang Family’s Daughter (Part 7)

Chapter 442: Chapter 446: Shang Family’s Daughter (Part 7)

Seeing that Su Li wouldn’t even give face to the Old Mrs.Yuan, stabbing back opponent after opponent in retreat, Zhang Qiaoqiao quickly discarded her petty thoughts.

"Big, big sister-in-law, I, I still have chores unfinished, I need to hurry and get to work."

Su Li, with a picky look in her eyes, mockingly replied, "Go ahead, since there are chores, hurry and do them. I wouldn’t want you to later say that I was trifling with you, doing nothing, and delaying your work."

Will this ever end...

With her head down, Zhang Qiaoqiao swiftly took her daughter and left as well.

"Little one, trying to fight me? I won’t live up to my reputation for being stingy and power-hungry unless I make it absolutely clear, otherwise, it’d be unfair to the gossipmongers."

Su Li, with her head held high and looking like a victorious rooster, indeed appeared a bit like a petty person who had just won big.

Everyone had left, Su Li took her clay pot back to her own room.

Once inside her house, she jiggled the half a tael of broken silver in her hand, snickered, and tossed it in a parabolic arc into the basket that held her private savings box.

The original owner used to be quite generous for the sake of her children and husband.

In this household, everyone has seen some benefit from the original owner’s leaks, yet they act so entitled after taking advantage.

Su Li felt that she wasn’t exactly good-natured.

She was stingy, she was power-hungry, she was unsympathetic.

If they wanted to gain any benefits from her, they should be prepared to grovel before her.

Making money in this world isn’t easy, even for the wealthy Su Family, it came from her father humbling himself, being cautious, accumulating little by little.

Su Li brought the clay pot to the small kitchen, and also took a bag of dried goods and medicinal herbs from a locked cabinet, preparing to cook some sweet soup.

The original owner actually didn’t want to be so petty, locking away every little bit of food with a padlock.

From the moment she entered the door, those from the Yuan Family kept their eyes fixed on the contents of her pocket.

After being overly generous a few times, the original owner was no longer willing to play the sucker.

Eat this, then they’ll want that.

Once done feeding the parents-in-law, even the younger brother-in-law couldn’t be ignored, followed by the second sister-in-law and several nieces...

If giving up something spared her trouble, the original owner would hold her nose and accept it.

But the Yuan Family, they were insatiable and gratuitously vexed the original owner for a time.

Everything was written in black and white, clear and unmistakable, with witnesses’ thumbprints, but in the end...

It was either the east wind prevailing over the west wind or the west wind over the east.

Fortunately, the original owner was not meek; by keeping a firm grip on her husband’s vital point, the Yuan Family couldn’t play their tricks.

In Su Li’s opinion, the original owner’s approach wasn’t bad, just a bit too soft-hearted.

Sweet words from others made her relax her determination, while on the other hand, it was also her motherly compassion.

For the sake of her twin sons and daughters, she was willing to extend care to the other members of the Yuan Family.

However, had it been another callous and ruthless woman, the outcome would have been quite different.

For example, Su Li had just extracted half a tael of silver from the hands of the so-called honest folk.

Enough, they always ask why she doesn’t work when all the chores are hoarded by Zhang Qiaoqiao and Wan Xixi.

Why? Because she has money, of course, to employ two maids to do the work.

If they are unwilling to do the work, then simply hire someone with money. What a simple solution! That way, there should be no reason for any disputes, right?

Just thinking about the other members of the Yuan Family’s faces when she would buy two maids made Su Li cheerfully eat an extra bowl of sweet soup.

The sweet soup, which had been simmering for more than an hour, tasted extremely good.

The fresh and fragrant scent had filled the entire small courtyard of the Yuan Family from the moment it began to cook.

Yuan Jiaming and Yuan Xiaoxiao, who were at odds with Su Li, were sitting in the main hall with a few girls from the second branch of the family. Aunt Zhang Qiaoqiao was also present.

Da Niu and Erniu were engrossed in knitting fishnets, while Niuniu, more skilled with her hands, was embroidering a pouch.

These items would bring a decent income to the second branch.

Apart from Old Mrs. Yuan who would take away eighty percent, the remaining twenty percent of the profits would no longer be confiscated and could become the private funds of the second branch.

As the aroma from the main branch drifted into the hall, the younger ones started to grow restless.

Because of their regular dining habits, Yuan Jiaming and Yuan Xiaoxiao were not particularly craving for food.

But Da Niu, Erniu, and Niuniu, upon smelling the scent, couldn’t help but salivate uncontrollably.

Even Zhang Qiaoqiao couldn’t resist a gulp in her throat.

Zhang Qiaoqiao, while continuing to work on her fishnet, gently and softly said, "Jiaming, Xiao Xiao, your mother cooked sweet soup again. You should head back and eat."

Jiaming and Xiao Xiao, who were very fond of their kind-hearted aunt, straightened up upon addressing her question and gravely said, "We’ll wait. If Mother doesn’t bring the sweet soup over for us, Xiao Xiao and I won’t drink it, and we’ll give our portions to the three Niuniu sisters."

Hearing this, the eldest, Da Niu, couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

Zhang Qiaoqiao laughed, "You don’t need to do that. The sweet soup is specially made for you by your mother. There’s no portion for them."

Yuan Xiaoxiao wrinkled her little nose and pouted, "Mother is so stingy, we’re all family, yet she couldn’t make a bit more."

"I’ve decided. If Mother won’t let the Niuniu sisters drink, I won’t drink either. I’ll give my share to the three sisters."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiaoqiao just smiled and didn’t try to dissuade her, immediately saying, "If you do that, your mother will be angry."

Yuan Jiaming replied, "She won’t be. Even if Mother is angry with us, she won’t stay angry for long."

Yuan Xiaoxiao also nodded fervently, "Mother loves us the most. She definitely can’t bear to be angry with us for too long."

The siblings were very sure of their mother’s doting love for them.

Seeing how confidently the twin siblings spoke and considering their own mother did not object, Da Niu, Erniu, and Niuniu inevitably started to look forward to the sweet soup that would come later.

That taste...

Niuniu had once secretly tasted a sip from Xiao Xiao’s bowl, and it was sweet enough to warm her heart.

But as the tantalizing scent grew thicker before their noses, and despite waiting left and right, Mother never came to bring the sweet soup, the twin siblings started to grow impatient.

Recalling the bold promises they had made earlier, their faces flushed with embarrassment, and they began to resent their mother for making them break their word.

Only recently had the siblings quarreled with their mother. It was always she who would relent first and come to coax them. Now, they were reluctant to have to give in to her over a bowl of sweet soup.

Yet, facing three hopeful and eager faces, along with the encouraging eyes of their second aunt, Yuan Jiaming and Yuan Xiaoxiao could only set off towards their own room with cold faces.

The closer they walked towards the main branch, the richer and more intoxicating the fragrance became.

Approaching the small kitchen, they saw their mother holding a bowl of sweet soup as she lazily walked inside the house.

Yuan Jiaming’s little face was tightly drawn as he said stiffly, "Mother, the sweet soup is ready, so give it to me."

With that, Yuan Jiaming reached out to take the small bowl from Su Li’s hands.

Su Li stepped aside, deftly avoiding him and leaving Yuan Jiaming’s hand grasping at air.