Chapter 167 - 167: Borrowing Money

Translator: 549690339

Tomb-Sweeping Festival, a day to pay homage to ancestors.

On Qiao Family’s side, Qiao Qinghe and Sun Family are still in good health, but on Zhuang Luhe’s maternal side, both of her parents are deceased, leaving only a stepmother and a half-brother, who is also Qiao Xiaomai’s uncle.

Neither family interacts much outside of holidays, but with the approach of Tomb-Sweeping Festival and according to Zhuang Luhe’s past routine, she would always return to her maternal home to pay respects to her biological parents.

But now that she has run off and Qiao Changshun’s leg is crippled, Qiao Xiaomai has decided not to return to her grandmother’s home this Tomb-Sweeping Festival.

Her step-grandmother, just like the Sun Family, is one of a kind too. Though her cheap uncle is pretty decent, it’s better to keep Zhuang Luhe’s disappearance a secret for as long as they can.

After deciding, Qiao Xiaomai packed the tofu skins she made in these days into a hemp bag, loaded it onto the Donkey Cart, and then went to town with Qiao Changshun and Qiao Dami.

Her menstruation had ended, and she was as lively and energetic as she used to be. On the way, seeing the edible fruits of elms on the roadside trees, she planned to pick some on her way back.

Once she reached the town, she headed straight for the Zuixian Building.

The shopkeeper Zhou saw her and asked with much concern. Qiao Xiaomai hadn’t been there to collect chicken feet for several days, and he was worried if something had happened.

“Everything’s okay,” Qiao Xiaomai shook her head, then dragged forward the bag behind her to change the topic. “These are the tofu skins 1 made recently, thirty-six jin in total. You can weigh it.”

“No need, I trust you,” the shopkeeper Zhou picked up the bag.

As a shopkeeper, his hand was the weighing scale. Whether it was ounces or dozens of jin, he could tell the weight just by feeling.

Handing the bag to a waiter behind him, he said with a smile, “There are sprouts in that basket, right?”

“Yes.”

“How much is there?”

“One hundred jin.” She had grown quite a bit of sprouts these last few days.

Thus, when she left Zuixian Building, Qiao Xiaomai received thirty-six taels of silver and two hundred copper coins, along with the chicken feet she had saved these days, which totalled over a thousand and nearly filled up the Donkey Cart.

Besides, they delivered one hundred jin of sprouts to the Extreme Flavor Inn, then finally bought some pork and pastries. It was nearly noon when the family of three returned home.

Without stopping, they took things to the Qiao Family’s old yard. As it was the Tomb-Sweeping Festival, they needed to buy some stuff to show respect to Qiao Qinghe and Sun Family.

When they arrived, the people in the old yard had just finished lunch. Zhu Cuiying was washing her hands beside the wooden basin at the door. Seeing the three of them, Zhu Cuiying instinctively wanted to put on a cold face but then thought of something. The gloom on her pockmarked face disappeared, replaced with a great big smile.

“Oh, Xiaomai, you’re here. Come in quickly. We just finished making rice. Let’s eat together.”

Qiao Xiaomai and her company were taken aback.

Zhu Cuiying had already enthusiastically reached out to pull Qiao Xiaomai’s arm, “What are you standing there for? Come in.”

Qiao Xiaomai regained her senses and quickly stepped aside.

“No need.” She replied rather coldly.

At this point, Qiao Qinghe heard the voices and came out of the hall. She looked at Qiao Qinghe and raised the meat and pastries in her hand, “Grandpa!”

Qiao Qinghe walked over quickly, “You’re here. Haven’t eaten yet? Put things down and go home to cook.”

He didn’t offer them to stay for a meal but instead wanted to drive them away.

Qiao Xiaomai was surprised, but his words suited her just fine. So, she cooperatively said, “Alright.”

She shoved the pork and pastries into Zhu Cuiying’s arms, took Qiao Dami by the hand, and turned to leave.

Are they just leaving like this?

Zhu Cuiying was taken aback, regardless of the pastries and meat in her hands, she hurriedly said, “Xiaomai, your cousin is talking about getting married, but he doesn’t have the silver to build a new house, can you lend some silver?”