BXBX NOVEL Chapter 295: The Whistleblower Arrives
The next day, Qiao Changshun got up, and the villagers started to trickle in.
Even though there was no wheat left, things like millet, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and sesame still had to be grown. They couldn’t just ignore the other fields because of yesterday’s financial hit.
Qiao Changshun and Qiao Dami went out to the fields, while Qiao Xiaomai locked up the courtyard and headed to town.
The tax collector from the County Town would be visiting in the next few days, so she needed to buy wheat and hemp cloth.
She did some heavy shopping in town, paid the delivery fee, and had the grain store deliver the wheat back home.
In the afternoon, she started cooking. This time she went to Ji Wei Ju and bought some ingredients she had never tried before: shrimp, crab, sea cucumber, dried abalone, dried scallops, and so on, planning to indulge herself under the pretext of practicing new recipes.
When Qiao Changshun and Qiao Dami came back in the evening, they were both stunned.
The Qiao family had never eaten these things before.
“Come on, eat more, your mood will improve if you eat plenty.” Qiao Xiaomai urged the two of them to wash their hands quickly.
Qiao Changshun sighed mournfully. After losing so much money, and now eating such expensive food, it only added to his distress.
However, understanding the good intentions of Qiao Xiaomai, he didn’t say anything. After washing his hands, he sat at the table and tucked in heartily.
After dinner, Qiao Changshun and Qiao Dami strolled around the courtyard to aid digestion, totally stuffed.
“By the way, Xiaomai, I ran into Brother Ma today.”
“Brother Ma?”
“Ma Dongshu.”
“When did you guys become so close?”
“We chatted all afternoon today and became quite close.”
“What did you talk about?”
“He asked me if our village had any legends or stories. He said that when studying feng shui, all aspects have to be considered.”
Qiao Xiaomai raised an eyebrow, “And what did you say?”
“Of course, I said no. Anping Village didn’t exist until after the founding of Daqi. At that time, everyone was displaced because of the war, so we settled down and founded the village here. How can there be any legends in a village that’s only been around for a few decades?”
“He asked me in detail about the founding of the village, which 1 couldn’t answer.”
He wasn’t even born when Anping Village was established.
Qiao Xiaomai laughed, “Exactly, that’s a question for Grandpa Tong.”
“He also complimented your cooking skills. He’s willing to pay for meals and extra for your hard work, offering to have three meals a day at our house. He asked if you’re willing.”
“I’m not interested. I don’t need the extra money.” Qiao Xiaomai flatly refused.
Having been roaming the mountain for several days, Ma Dongshu was now trying to get closer to her.
Did he find something, or was he choosing her as a breakthrough point because he hadn’t found anything at all?
With such a big troublemaker as Yang Ye coming along, not to mention potential trouble from Prince Duan, if she couldn’t protect herself when things hit the fan, she would be in deep trouble.
“Isn’t that bad? After all, he is one of Prince Wei’s men.” Qiao Changshun said.
“What’s so special about Prince Wei? Even Prince Wei can’t eat my cooking every day, let alone him.”
Qiao Changshun
Her words sounded unreasonable but also made a lot of sense.
“Alright, Dad, don’t worry about it, go back to your room and sleep.” Qiao Xiaomai said.
Qiao Changshun nodded, “Are you sure everything’s fine?”
“Absolutely fine.” Qiao Xiaomai assured him confidently.
“Then alright, you handle it.” Qiao Changshun sighed and led Qiao Dami back to their room.
Qiao Xiaomai also got up and retreated to her room. She lit the oil lamp, took out a carving knife and paper from her space, and prepared to cut a 3D paper carving to give to Tong Sanlang.
Crafting was her small hobby aside from gourmet food.
At midnight, Tong Sanlang arrived right on time.
Her paper carving was already done. It was a 3D vase with a bouquet of roses inside.
This exquisite item amazed Tong Sanlang, he held it in his hands, turning it over repeatedly to examine.
“It’s a gift for you, a rose.” His reaction delighted Qiao Xiaomai.
“A rose? Shouldn’t I be the one giving this to you?” After Qiao Xiaomai explained, he understood that roses symbolize love and are usually given by men to the women they love.
“It’s all the same.” Qiao Xiaomai chuckled lightly.
Tong Sanlang raised an eyebrow, “So you…”
Suddenly, his voice stopped abruptly, his index finger raised in a shushing gesture, whispered, “Someone is coming..”