Making A Fortune Through Hunting To Support My Wife - Chapter 32

The Kang Dynasty practiced light corvee and low taxes, collecting one-thirtieth of the produce.

Meihua Town was not a county seat, so it naturally lacked a county yamen, but it did have a Town Administration Office managed by the Mayor.

When ordinary folks paid their taxes, they generally hauled the grain to the entrance of the Town Administration Office. There, tax clerks would conduct spot checks and weigh the grain before it was officially handed over.

Xu Jing drove the donkey cart, bringing Song Yu along. Early in the morning, after handing over their tax grain, they turned toward the bustling marketplace.

This trip was a “test of the waters.” Xu Jing’s priority was mid-sized embroidery workshops, the top-tier shops might look down on this kind of business and drive prices down aggressively, while the lower-tier shops didn’t cater to their target clientele.

The two arrived at the embroidery building where they had previously purchased needles, thread, and fabric. The auntie serving the shop seemed to remember them and greeted them warmly.

“Oh, the workshop has recently brought in many exquisite patterns from the Jiangnan region. Is the young lady interested?”

The auntie immediately locked onto the true customer, Song Yu, smiling as she ushered her inside.

Song Yu wasn’t used to such enthusiasm from others. She pursed her lips slightly, appearing a bit restrained.

“I’ll take a look later. Does your shop accept embroidery pieces?”

The greeting auntie had long since noticed the cloth basket in her hand and nodded with a smile. “Of course we do. However, it depends on the craftsmanship. We have common pieces for a hundred or so wen, while the top-quality ones can go for several taels, or even dozens.”

Song Yu was about to nod when her gaze suddenly froze, landing on someone nearby.

That person wore a matron’s bun adorned with pearls and emeralds, dressed in a lake green water patterned pleated skirt. Her figure was graceful and her face pretty, the image of a young madam from a wealthy family. She was whispering to a small maid beside her, a few traces of a smile floating in her charming eyes as she reached a particularly moving point in their conversation.

As if sensing Song Yu’s gaze, the young woman turned her head and her eyes met Song Yu’s directly.

Song Yu instinctively knit her brows slightly. A flash of surprise crossed the young woman’s eyes, followed by a gentle and elegant smile. She gripped her handkerchief and stepped forward.

“Sanniang, why are you here? Have you come to sell embroidery to supplement your household income?”

Song Yu didn’t want to reply. She even felt the urge to turn around and leave. She and Song Lian’er had practically torn faces before, seeing Song Lian’er acting as if nothing had happened with this fake intimacy was, as always, nauseating.

Acting as if she hadn’t heard a word, Song Yu withdrew her gaze and said to the auntie in the shop, “Then I must trouble you, ma’am, to take a look at these pieces of mine.”

The greeting auntie had naturally mastered the art of observing facial expressions. Seeing that this customer was unwilling to speak to the other and was even intentionally giving her the cold shoulder, she didn’t want to get involved. She acted as if she hadn’t seen anything and smilingly led Song Yu to the area where embroidery was received.

Xu Jing also sensed the undercurrents between the two women. She had never seen Song Yu like this. Though curious, she didn’t ask directly and followed silently.

Seeing the three of them ignore her mistress entirely, the personal maid beside Song Lian’er flashed a look of resentment.

“She is taking you far too lightly! Should I…”

Song Lian’er took a vivid, exquisite silk flower and gracefully pinned it into her hair. She admired her beauty in the bronze mirror and smiled at her maid.

“Sanniang’s marriage isn’t going well, and she has to show her face to earn money through embroidery. Life is hard, she doesn’t even have a few decent ornaments on her. As her older cousin, I naturally feel for her.”

“Help me pick out some nice silk flowers for her later. Since we’ve run into each other, I can’t simply act as if I don’t know her.”

“Alas, Young Madam, you are simply too kind-hearted.”

The maid sighed and followed the instructions to pick out silk flowers to gift to Song Yu.

Song Lian’er glanced at the figure standing in the embroidery reception area, then at the young man dressed as a villager standing beside her. A hint of disdain flashed in her eyes, followed by a faint sense of pleasure as she couldn’t help but curl her lips slightly.

“My embroidery pieces are different from the usual, they can be considered a novelty. I reckon young ladies might like them. Could the manager have a look to see if you’ll take them?”

Song Yu introduced them softly, lifting the cloth over the basket to reveal several adorable Q-version plush dolls inside.

Manager Wu Niangzi froze for a moment upon seeing them. Her eyes lit up as she took one out to play with. This thing was similar to a child’s cloth tiger, but it added clever, whimsical ideas to the cuteness of a cloth tiger.

The girl was right, young ladies would definitely love these. After all, the items in her hand were both cute and interesting.

Manager Wu Niangzi looked delighted and was pleased by how Song Yu addressed her. “My surname is Zhuang. You can just call me Madame Zhuang. I’m hardly a ‘Manager,’ but you certainly have wonderful ideas. I like these very much.”

“How about three hundred wen each? Since they are a novelty, it’s hard to say whether the young ladies will buy them or not.”

Song Yu’s expression remained unchanged. Before coming, she and Xu Jing had agreed that these few were just to test the waters or, as Xu Jing called them, “samples.” They weren’t the core of the business they truly intended to do.

In a few days, if the market response was good, they would come back to discuss a follow-up.

Seeing Song Yu not responding, Madame Zhuang thought her price was too low. Heartaching, she raised the price slightly. “I can add twenty wen. How about three hundred and twenty wen each? Any higher, and the shop may not be able to take them.”

Song Yu nodded. “Three hundred and twenty wen will do.”

A look of joy appeared on Madame Zhuang’s face. She was about to speak when she heard Song Yu add.

“If these dolls please the young ladies of the shop, we can provide them in other designs as well,” Song Yu pointed out gently.

Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Madame Zhuang’s eyes. This girl was indeed different from other girls who sold embroidery.

As Madame Zhuang was mulling over the meaning of those words, a young girl dressed as a maid approached with a beaming smile, holding several bright silk flowers from the shop.

“Third Lady, I bring greetings on behalf of my mistress. My mistress says that meeting in the same shop today is a stroke of fate. She asked me to bring several silk flowers she personally selected, saying they would look perfect on you.”

As she spoke, she held out the flowers to Song Yu.

Song Yu obviously wouldn’t take them. She turned her body away, her voice carrying a hint of coldness. “Tell her that there is no way I will take her things. Heaven is watching what people do.”

The maid curled her lip in disdain and her expression cooled. She said harshly, “It’s only because our Young Madam is so kind. Some people just can’t see their own status. Just a mud-legger, yet when someone tries to be good to her, she takes it as a personal insult. So ungrateful… Ah!”

The maid was still mocking her when Xu Jing, standing nearby, couldn’t listen any longer. How could she let someone bully her girl? She immediately stepped forward.

The chilling killing intent from the apocalypse swept out as she barked a cold reprimand:

“Get lost!”

By now, Xu Jing had guessed who that young woman was. In Meihua Town, someone acting all “tea like,” pretending to be a wealthy young madam and ordering a maid to cause trouble, it could only be that Song Lian’er, the second daughter of the Song family who had married “up.”

The maid seemed terrified, feeling an inexplicable dread toward the young man in front of her. The color drained from her face.

Song Lian’er, who had been watching the drama from the shadows, knit her brows. Seeing that things weren’t going well, she clutched her handkerchief and walked over unhurriedly.

The maid finally seemed to snap out of it. Seeing Song Lian’er was like seeing a savior, she prepared to run over.

Song Lian’er scolded her, “I told you to give the silk flowers to the Third Lady, so why did you offend her instead? Go back and take your punishment.”

Then, she pressed her handkerchief to the corner of her mouth, a hint of apology appearing on her pretty face. She smiled at Song Yu. “The maid is ignorant. I sent her to give you flowers, but she ended up upsetting you. I apologize to Sanniang.”

Song Yu remained silent with a cold face, quietly watching her “dear” cousin’s performance.

Song Lian’er didn’t mind. Her beautiful eyes darted around, and her gaze finally landed on Xu Jing beside Song Yu. “This must be Sanniang’s husband, Master Xu. I’ve seen you a few times before, but I didn’t expect to run into you at an embroidery shop. Is Old Madame Xu in good health? Please give her my regards.”

If it were an ordinary man, seeing Song Lian’er’s smiling, soft-spoken, and pretty appearance, his bones would have surely turned to jelly, and he wouldn’t have dreamed of arguing with her.

But Xu Jing was not an ordinary man. Although she appreciated beauty, she couldn’t stand Song Lian’er’s pretentious, “green tea” act, the behavior of a scorpion-hearted beauty.

She said pointedly, “It is indeed a coincidence. To think Young Madam Song still worries about us mud-leggers… it makes us quite anxious. However…”

“I have always followed the principle of ‘I will not attack unless I am attacked.’ But if someone provokes me, heh heh…”

Xu Jing didn’t finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear to anyone with eyes.

The forced smile on Song Lian’er’s face stiffened. She gripped her handkerchief to cover her mouth.

“What are you saying, Master Xu? Sanniang and I are biological cousins. We are bound by blood, how could I look down on her?”

“If you ask me, I actually envy Sanniang for having such a devoted husband. Unlike mine, who is never home because of business.”

Clearly, Song Lian’er was name dropping the Qi family backing her.

Xu Jing acted as if she couldn’t hear the subtext and nodded. “Young Madam Song needn’t be envious. Sanniang and I naturally have a good relationship. Well then, Sanniang and I have important business, so we won’t take up any more of your time.”

She took Song Yu’s hand and said softly, “Let’s go.”

Song Yu felt the warmth of Xu Jing’s fingertips on her wrist. The tips of her ears turned slightly red, and she pursed her lips, allowing herself to be led away.

The feeling of being protected by someone behind her… was actually quite nice.

The two of them settled the payment for the dolls with Madame Zhuang. They earned nearly two taels of silver, the money spent on the colored thread and fabric had already been made back.

Song Yu simply went ahead and bought some other textures of fabric, such as scraps of satin, silk, and soft gauze, they would be perfect for decorating the dolls.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to buy more, but these were high-quality fabrics that the two of them couldn’t afford quite yet.

Song Lian’er watched the two of them walk away hand in hand. Her nails dug a red mark into her palm beneath her handkerchief.

A poisonous, cold light flashed in her eyes. Just you wait. I want to see just how much of a storm a destitute household can endure.

Once they left the embroidery shop (and Song Lian’er), Xu Jing felt the air become twice as fresh.

Before, she hadn’t met the “real deal” and had no way to nip the danger in the bud. Now, she had finally seen the main culprit.

Once her powers recovered a bit, perhaps she would find time to visit the Qi Manor. There were no modern surveillance cameras here, after all.

Xu Jing felt the apocalyptic ferocity hidden within her body beginning to stir.

As if sensing Xu Jing’s abnormality, Song Yu suddenly pulled her hand away and looked up, her eyes filled with a trace of worry.

There was an indescribable chill coming from this person.

Xu Jing hadn’t expected Song Yu to be so perceptive. She suppressed the rising hostility and a smile broke across her lips. “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly looking at me? Is there something on my face?”

As she spoke, she reached up to touch her cheek.

Song Yu didn’t know how to explain it and shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just had a strange feeling. Perhaps it was just a delusion.”

Xu Jing lowered her hand and nodded. Remembering business, she spoke up: “Now that the tax grain has been paid, I reckon that in a few days, everyone in the village will be done harvesting.

“We can hire some villagers who have free time to help clear the weeds and tree roots from the plot. Once the ground is leveled, we can dig the foundation.

“I’ve also found suitable bricklayers. I’ll ask them to start work later. There will probably be ten to twenty people in total. I heard that when building a house, the host is supposed to provide a midday meal.

“Since we are in town today, let’s buy more rice, flour, and meat to take back so we don’t have to run back and forth later. Oh, and the pots and pans we’ll need…”

Listening to her rambling, Song Yu felt an inexplicable warmth. It seemed Xu Jing truly considered her a part of the family.