Madam Yao poured a cup of tea for Shen Shihua and smiled, "Husband, drink some tea first, then sit down and listen to me."
Shen Shihua downed the tea in one gulp. The weather was hot, and he had worked up a sweat earlier at Xiao Wan’s place. Although Xiao Wan had served him plenty of tea afterward, he had been thirsty ever since the walk back.
Madam Yao turned to Shen Mingzhu and said, "Mingzhu, go see if your grandmother is feeling any better."
"Yes, Mother." Shen Mingzhu left the east room tactfully.
Only then did Madam Yao explain the matter in detail. "...If we can help the guest at the Yingbin Restaurant recover their lost property, the restaurant will owe us a favor. With this connection, would it still be difficult to get our winery's wine sold at the Yingbin Restaurant?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Shihua took Madam Yao’s hand and laughed, "Haha, my wife is indeed clever! If we can cooperate with the Yingbin Restaurant this time, our winery will surely become the largest in the Chu Kingdom."
He squeezed Madam Yao’s hand.
Although Madam Yao was well-preserved, her figure had inevitably lost its shape after giving birth to two children, and she was getting on in years. The feel of her hand simply couldn't compare to that of Miss Xiao Wan.
However, she made up for it by being clever and capable, and he still held his first wife in high regard.
Years ago, the steward who had come to pick them up had given Madam Gu one hundred taels, but that night, someone had stolen it and given it to their family, asking them to help keep an eye on the Gu family. That was how they had obtained the capital to expand their winery.
With the capital and Madam Yao’s skillful hands—having learned all of Shen Chongshan’s brewing techniques—the winery had grown larger and larger.
A shy blush appeared on Madam Yao’s face, but unfortunately, there was still serious business to attend to. "Husband, who do you think is the most appropriate person to report this to the authorities tomorrow? I originally wanted to send Xiao Xi, but she is Mingzhu’s maid. If I send her, others might think Mingzhu was the one who sent her to report it, and I’m worried about affecting Mingzhu’s reputation. After all, the preliminary selections start after the New Year, and now is the time to build a good reputation."
Shen Shihua pondered for a moment. "You’re right. I’ll go discuss it with Father."
With that, he stood up and strode away.
~
That night, Madam Gu tossed and turned, unable to sleep, worried that the men in black would come knocking.
Xing Nong had always been alert while sleeping. With Madam Gu like this, she couldn't sleep at all, so she asked, "Grandmother, what are you afraid of?"
In the darkness, Madam Gu froze for a moment. She denied it flatly, "What would Grandmother be afraid of? Did I disturb your sleep? Go to sleep now! Grandmother’s feet were just hurting a little, that’s why I couldn't sleep. It’s much better now, it doesn't hurt."
"Grandmother, why are you afraid of us earning money?"
"I'm not! Why would I be afraid of you earning money? Don't let your imagination run wild, child." Madam Gu denied it loudly, only lowering her voice halfway through when she realized she had been too agitated.
Xing Nong asked, "Is it because of Little Aunt and Little Uncle in the capital?"
Aside from that, Xing Nong truly couldn't think of any other reason.
Madam Gu hadn't expected Xing Nong to be so sensitive and clever.
She fell silent for a moment, thinking it over, and decided it would be best to tell the girl so she would be afraid and stop trying to earn money.
After weighing her words, she said, "Well, after your Little Aunt went to the capital, she offended someone very powerful. That person has a very noble status and wants to deal with us. They want to make our lives miserable to take revenge on your Little Aunt."
"Do you remember how Grandmother’s feet were injured?"
The original owner had been too young to remember, but Xing Nong had heard about it later, so she said, "Did you fall and break them by accident?"
"No. In the past, Grandmother’s large embroidery pieces could earn over ten taels. But whenever I earned a little money, I would encounter thieves or robbers. My feet were broken by robbers during a robbery."
Xing Nong’s gaze turned cold.
"So, you must not earn money anymore, do you hear me? Otherwise, you will be the one who gets hurt. You must promise Grandmother this, or else you should move to that house yourself, and we won't go there to live, so as not to implicate you."
The feeling of having her legs broken by force was too terrifying. At the time, she hadn't known why she was always being robbed, and even when she reported it to the authorities, they never found anything. It was only later that Village Chief Gu, who was familiar with a constable at the yamen, learned something and warned her.
Xing Nong frowned. Offended someone with a very noble status?
She needed to test just how noble. "Grandmother, only by being stronger than the other party can one avoid being bullied."
Madam Gu was stunned by these words; Shen Chongshan had said something similar.
She thought of the scene today where she had grabbed Shen Mingzhu and thrown her out.
This child’s temperament was truly becoming more and more like her father’s, and she had also inherited his immense strength.
But, stronger than the other party?
"That’s impossible. That is the Empre—" Realizing she had almost let it slip, Madam Gu hurriedly shut her mouth and changed her words stiffly, "It’s too late! Go to sleep! You girl, don't be so ambitious; living a stable life is better than anything."
The Empress? Could it be the Empress Dowager?
Why would Shen Ruolan offend the Empress Dowager?
Xing Nong made a quick connection: "!!!!"
Could it be that the so-called uncle had married a princess after going to the capital and become a consort?
Aside from this reason, Xing Nong really couldn't figure out why Shen Ruolan would offend the Empress Dowager.
After all, given the Empress Dowager’s status, who would dare to offend her?
Xing Nong turned on her side and muttered in a low voice, "It should be that way. Storybooks all say that even the Emperor doesn't dare to easily move those high-ranking, powerful, and highly respected ministers."
Someone who is determined to bully you won't stop just because you are submissive; on the contrary, they will become even more unscrupulous because of your cowardice.
Just like how some people like to tease a turtle that hides in its shell—it’s precisely because it retracts its head the moment you touch it.
If you were a tiger, let’s see if they would dare.
Madam Gu shuddered at these words.
After a long while, she sighed, "Sleep!"
Make themselves stronger?
How could they, a widow and an orphan, become stronger?
How could they become high-ranking, powerful, and highly respected?
Xing Nong knew it wouldn't be easy to change Madam Gu’s mind, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, no one wanted to struggle in a life of misery.
Even if Wen Ruiqing had married a princess, was that Shen Ruolan’s fault? The Empress Dowager’s harassment of them had no standing!
She just wondered how Shen Ruolan was doing in the capital.
~
The next day, at the first crow of the rooster, the whole family got up.
After falling asleep last night, Xing Nong had spent the whole night dreaming, all about the original owner’s memories.
Her head felt a bit swollen, but she climbed out of bed anyway.
Because of the heat, she had boiled the large bones into soup and stewed the meat the night before.
Xing Nong used the bone broth to make a bowl of noodles.
The wheat, grown without pollution, fertilizers, or pesticides, made noodles with a particularly rich wheat aroma. Even in a clear broth, the noodles carried a natural, subtle sweetness.
It was truly delicious!
The whole family, except for Madam Gu who felt like she was eating silver and felt a heartache, all ate happily.
After finishing the noodles, Madam Gu hurried off to work in town.
Xing Hui went to Peach Blossom Village; the repairs on the house were starting today, and he went to help. Xing Nong had him take twenty catties of rice to boil porridge.
The milk candy from last night had hardened, so Xing Nong cut it into pieces. There happened to be half a sheet of clean oil paper in the kitchen, so she cut it up and wrapped the candies one by one.
Finished, she said to Xing Qing, "I have something to do and need to go into town."
Xing Qing and Xing Hui were indeed twins; they even helped Xing Nong come up with an excuse: "Is Big Sister going to the restaurant to sell a recipe? Come back early!"
Xing Nong: "."
~
After entering the city, Xing Nong headed straight for the bookstore. "Manager He."
When Manager He saw Xing Nong, his eyes lit up as if he were looking at the God of Wealth!
He stood up immediately: "Miss Shen is here! Let’s go to the backyard to talk."
There were quite a few people in the bookstore, and they all looked at this scene in surprise.
They wondered, who was that girl?
But no one guessed Xing Nong’s identity.
Some even interpreted the manager’s excitement as nervousness, guessing that Xing Nong was a relative of the manager’s, here to beg for favors.