Chapter 82: Who Do You Choose?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
As a chef, it was disrespectful to eat forcefully when one wasn’t hungry, but it was disrespectful to money if they waste food. Xiaoxiao’s expression was serious and firm.
Rong Yan’s first reaction was to reject her, but when he looked up and saw her “anticipating” gaze, he couldn’t bear to reject her.
Forget it. Girls were thin-skinned. It would embarrass her if he rejected her in public.
Seeing him put the egg into his bowl, Xiaoxiao, who was planning to continue persuading him, smiled and lowered her head to eat the noodles.
The soup made by the noodle stall owner tasted average, but it was not bad due to the craftsmanship that he had accumulated over the years. The noodles were kneaded vigorously and snapped when he gritted his teeth, but they were not sticky and soft.
Yun Yi realized that the noodles today tasted quite ordinary. His master had finished them all, including the eggs.
Naturally, they would not continue setting up the stall in the afternoon. The few of them returned together. When they were about to reach home, the three siblings bade farewell to their neighbors. They looked at each other, looked up at the sky, and began to adjust their emotions.
Hence, when they reached home, Ning Fengnian and his wife saw three angry faces of varying degrees. The two of them were stunned. “What’s going on?”
Xiaoxiao quickly finished explaining the matter, and Ning Fengnian’s face darkened. “How could Second Brother do such a thing!”
After saying that, he put down the half-finished bamboo basket and planned to go to the old residence to settle scores with Second Uncle Ning. However, he was stopped by his daughter just as he was about to leave.
“Father, don’t go. It’s useless even if you go. Second Uncle already said that Grandmother made those bamboo shoots herself. It has nothing to do with us. If we rashly go to their door, not only will it not be good, but he might also pursue the matter of us ‘stealing knowledge’.”
What twisted logic! They had watched Xiaoxiao make the sour bamboo shoots herself. Besides, who in the family didn’t know their daughter’s talent in cooking?
Xiaoxiao sighed. “No matter how the old residence makes sour bamboo shoots, Grandpa and Grandma must have tacitly agreed to Second Uncle selling bamboo shoots now.”
Ning Fengnian paused, and his expression gradually darkened. “Father is useless…”
Xiaoxiao had heard this countless times, but when she looked at the bamboo braids piled up in the courtyard that were much more exquisite than others’, she thought of the well-ordered seedlings in the fields at home and could not help but shake her head and sigh. “Father, I don’t care if the old residence takes advantage of me.”
“But I want to ask you a question. Let’s say that one day, you have to choose between the old residence and our family. Who do you choose?”
Ning Fengnian was stunned on the spot, but from that day onwards, he didn’t care about the old residence’s fields anymore.
The old residence naturally had something to say about this, especially Old Madam Ning. After cursing “My oldest son is ungrateful” as usual, she finally remembered what she had done and shut up reluctantly.
The more she looked at her younger son, the more satisfied she became. “My son is still the best at business. He took on 10 big deals at once. This is an income of more than a thousand copper coins. If we can earn money like this every month, won’t our family become rich very soon?”
Second Uncle Ning looked down on his mother’s inexperienced appearance. It was only a tael of silver, but she was already so happy. She was so useless. He rubbed his aching waist and scolded Second Aunt Ning, “You stupid woman, be gentle. It hurts!”
Old Madam Ning also scolded, “That’s right. You’re so clumsy. What else do you know except to eat, drink, and sh*t all day long? That woman from the first branch can even show off her lousy embroidery skills. What about you?”
Second Aunt Ning felt aggrieved. She didn’t know what bad luck she had after returning from the county. She fell all the way and twisted her waist. Her mother-in-law asked her to rub it with medicinal wine. Didn’t she have to use all her strength to rub the medicinal oil?!
However, she had also remembered what her mother-in-law had said just now. She also knew that her sister-in-law sold embroidery work. It was shouted out by the old woman in the village who specialized in collecting small embroidery items. She said that the daughter-in-law of the Ning Family’s eldest branch had the ability to find a big client, but she also hid something that she was unwilling to share with her sisters who usually did embroidery work with her. It was obvious that she was petty.
Everyone knew that the old woman was envious of the copper coins that she could not earn, but they were indeed envious. They heard that Sister-in-law’s embroidery could be sold for 20 copper coins per piece!
After a few twists and turns in her heart, Second Aunt Ning casually wiped the medicinal oil off her clothes and secretly went to the main house..
