Chapter 458: Separation
Editor: Atlas Studios
The moment Qi Haoran returned, he heard that Shu Shuniang and Madam Shu-Fang had shown up at the Qi Residence earlier. He asked Mu Yangling, “Do you plan to acknowledge the Shu family?”
Mu Yangling looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Do I look stupid to you? Why would I offer to let them torture me?”
Seeing that Mu Yangling only hated the Shu family and had no feelings for them, Qi Haoran instantly relaxed.
He thought for a moment and said, “Bring Sister-in-law to the farmstead to stay for a period of time. Bring the imperial physicians and physicians along. Considering there have been many things going on in the residence recently, I’m afraid you guys won’t be able to rest well here.”
Mu Yangling knew that this matter was probably coming to a conclusion soon. She thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The imperial physician had already received the Emperor’s instructions, so he could only return to the palace after the results were out. Hence, he naturally had to follow Madam Li and the child wherever they went.
Physician Sun, who was left behind, had long been hired by Qi Haoran as a family doctor. He was paid a high monthly salary, so he naturally did whatever the master instructed him to do.
Therefore, early the next morning, while the Shu family was still thinking of ways to persuade the Zhou family to abandon Shu Qingniang and her daughter, Zhou Tinglan, Mu Yangling and Li Jinghua had already brought Little Treasure to the farmstead.
Qi Feng and Madam Wu couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. During this period of time, the Zhang and Shu families had given them a lot of pressure and temptation. There were a few times when they almost succumbed.
However, as long as they remembered that this matter was not up to them to decide, it was useless no matter how tempted they were. It was good that they were gone now. They could suffer less.
Qi Haoran did not send them there, but he arranged for more than half of the guards to accompany them.
Zhu Liang was waiting outside the farmstead. When he saw the carriage, he immediately went forward to pay his respects and personally walked to the side. Clearly, he was also worried about his young master’s safety.
Carrying the tightly wrapped Little Treasure, Mu Yangling let go of the small blanket the moment she entered the house. She touched his back and heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that it was still dry. She spread the baby out on the brick bed and saw him looking around curiously. She couldn’t help but tease him with a few colorful threads.
Wen Cui and Wen Mian helped Madam Li change her clothes, laid out the brick bed, and helped her lie down. Li Jinghua exhaled comfortably and said with a smile, “It’s indeed more comfortable staying in the farmstead. It’s a pity that I’m still in confinement. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be bad to go walk around in the riverside depression.”
Smiling, Mu Yangling said, “When the child is 40 days old, I’ll get someone to build a shed on the mountain. At that time, we’ll move the recliner up and sit there to enjoy the wind. How about that?”
Sitting on the mountain and enjoying the July breeze was the best.
Just as Madam Li was about to agree, Mama Wang immediately said, “That won’t do. Eldest Madam and Young Master can’t be exposed to the wind. Fourth Madam, don’t egg Eldest Madam on to do bad things.”
Mu Yangling stuck out her tongue and remained silent.
At this moment, all the grains in the farmstead had been harvested and were drying. The servants and long-term workers sat under the trees in the farmstead in twos and threes and chatted. Zhu Liang beat the gong and drum to get everyone to gather.
“Everyone has been resting for a few days. From tomorrow onwards, no one is allowed to slack off. The women and children will go up the mountain to pick up chicken eggs. The men will split into two teams. One team will even pick up duck eggs, and the other team will follow me to cast the net.”
The picking up of chicken eggs, duck eggs, and vegetables were all done daily, so everyone was already familiar with these chores. When they heard that they were going to cast the net, the eyes of the people below lit up. “Steward Zhu, is the fish ready for harvest?”
“I got someone to catch a few yesterday and weigh them. They can be harvested. But you guys have to be careful when you cast the net tomorrow. Throw the small ones back into the water. I’ve already discussed it with the restaurants and eateries. You’re not allowed to play dumb with me. If the small fish are thrown into the bucket too, I’ll deduct whatever loss our boss makes from your salary.”
Since it implicated their own benefits, everyone agreed loudly. Only then did Zhu Liang say, “Fourth Madam said that Eldest Madam and Young Master’s health has improved. This is a joyous occasion, so when we cast the net tomorrow, each family will be given a fish. So you’d better be meticulous. If anyone finds it troublesome and doesn’t choose well, I’ll choose all the small ones and distribute them to you later.”
When everyone heard this, they instantly retracted their laziness and guaranteed that every fish in the net would be a big fish tomorrow.
Only then did Zhu Liang leave in satisfaction.
Early the next morning, Mu Yangling left Li Jinghua and Little Treasure behind and ran to the meadow to watch everyone looking for duck eggs and net fish.
After raising the ducks for more than five months, one-fifth of them had already started laying eggs. Due to the large quantity of ducks, there were also a lot of duck eggs. Mu Yangling grabbed one and twirled it in her hand. She asked Zhu Liang, “How’s the sales of these duck eggs?”
“Basically all sold. We’re only supplying them to restaurants and eateries. If we can get in touch with the big families in the city, all the more we won’t have to worry about sales.”
In ancient times, there were almost no people who specialized in breeding animals. Most of the chicken eggs and duck eggs came from small individual farmers. Almost every farmer raised chickens and ducks, and very few people could bear to eat them. Most of them were sold, but mostly in small quantities. It was obviously impossible to supply the entire city’s consumption based on individual farmers’ efforts alone.
However, if these things weren’t necessities and could easily be substituted with something else. Therefore, there wouldn’t be a situation where the price soared. The large number of the farmstead’s chicken eggs and duck eggs flooding the market didn’t cause the price to fluctuate.
Zhu Liang and Steward Qian unanimously felt that the supply could be higher. Not to mention anything else, a medium-class family would consume about five eggs per day if they had access to a supply.
There were so many people in Lin’an City. Although they raised a lot of chickens and ducks, demand would still exceed supply.
Mu Yangling thought for a moment and said, “Let’s see if we can open a shop in the city that specializes in selling chickens and ducks. When the time comes, if other families want to buy such things, they can come to our shop and look for them. Our business can expand faster, too.”
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Liang’s eyes lit up and he nodded in agreement.
Mu Yangling pointed out the general direction, then left the matter to Zhu Liang. She stepped onto a small bamboo raft and staggered to a relatively deep depression in the water in front. When she saw the fish jumping in the water, she couldn’t help but smile. In another month, the Emperor would probably believe that they had really bought this farmstead for profits, right?
Just as Mu Yangling was happily calculating her farmstead’s harvest, Old Madam Shu was clutching her chest as an old nanny helped her into the carriage. Behind her was Shu Qingniang, who had a strange expression.
After watching them leave in a daze, Madam Wu turned around and asked her eldest daughter-in-law in confusion, “Did I say something wrong? Why is Old Madam Shu like this?”
Little Madam Wu pursed her lips and said, “Mother, if she can’t see Fourth Sister-in-law, her family’s matters can’t be resolved. Naturally, she looks like she’s about to die. However, you’re Eldest Sister-in-law’s mother-in-law after all. Logically speaking, you can make the decision on this matter. Why do they insist on seeing Fourth Sister-in-law?”
Madam Wu glared at her and said, “Don’t spout nonsense. This is Old Master’s idea. You’d better behave yourself for the time being.”
Although Madam Wu kept targeting Qi Xiuyuan and Qi Haoran in private, the good thing about her was that she listened to Qi Feng. As long as Qi Feng gave a clear order, no matter how unwilling she was, she would carry it out as told.
However, Madam Xu said thoughtfully, “Mother, have you forgotten that Old Madam Shu said that she and Fourth Sister-in-law’s mother are distant relatives? I remember that Fourth Sister-in-law’s mother is indeed from the Shu family, and the Shu family moved over from Jingzhao Prefecture. Perhaps they’re really related.”