Chapter 194: The One and Only

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Not only did the Qiao family’s kitchen maids exchange curses from afar, but even the parents of students and the townspeople joined in.

Mr. Lin was lying on the brick bed when he heard the curses. He spat out a mouthful of old blood, frightening the Lin family into calling for a doctor.

His illness was almost healed, but it had become severe again.

Serves him right for his actions.

Despite the good weather, the crop yields weren’t decent due to the previous rainy season.

Qiao Mai didn’t care about other families. She exempted the rent for her two tenant families. Those two families were ecstatic and didn’t know how to thank Qiao Mai. They brought their whole families to the front of Lucky Garden, kowtowed three times, and left.

This incident quickly made waves throughout the town. Among the families that leased land outside, who would be like Qiao Mai, daring to exempt the rent for tenant farmers generously? It was sixty acres of land!

She stood alone, without peers.

Even Mayor Qian had to admit that this was true generosity. The Qian family might have money, but they couldn’t compare to Madam Qiao in terms of generosity.

Qiao Mai wasn’t worried about food. She had plenty of space; there was rice and corn when needed, let alone wheat. Even millet, soybeans, green beans, and various grains were readily available.

She would harvest a batch every once in a while, store some in her space, and keep some at home for occasional needs. She did not need to argue with tenant farmers over a bit of grain.

Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but this year, they only planted for one season. The yield wasn’t high, so she spared them.

With the harvest done, the land plowed, and the seeds sown, the weather remained good. People finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Qiao Mai looked at the vast blue sky and felt a bit worried. They had just survived a flood; she hoped there wouldn’t be a drought. If the sun kept shining, this winter would certainly not be too cold.

It turned out she guessed correctly. It was already November, yet the weather remained warm.

People wore light clothing, basking in the sun, and chatting with each other. Occasionally, Qiao Mai would also go out.

She would visit Liu Hail s shop and order a bowl of hot and sour noodles while observing his business.

Cold skin noodles could be stir-fried and eaten even in winter. The fragrant garlic and chili oil aroma became even more pronounced.

For some reason, many gourmets believed that the cold skin noodles in

Tianshui Town were even more delicious than in the county or other places.

Those who had tasted cold-skinned noodles from the Liu family would come here for a bowl. The sour and spicy hot noodles and mixed noodles were popular among customers.

His business was booming every day.

Just two months in, he had already made dozens of taels of silver. Madam Liu Qiao couldn’t stop praising her niece to everyone she met.

She was happy, but not everyone was.

Guess who? It was Lu Sanniang’s eldest daughter, Lu Ruxin.

For a while, she had been busy running shops outside, teaching her employees the technique of making cold skin. She was busy all day.

In several counties within the city, she had started her cold skin business and even opened a shop in the prefecture city. Her business was decent. Making three or four thousand taels of silver net profit monthly was not a problem.

She had also shifted her focus back from love to making money.

When she returned home, she saw the cold-skinned noodle shop by the road.

She frowned. She came back in a hurry and asked Lu Sanniang.

“Mom, whose cold skin shop is this in our town?” “It’s Qiao Mai’s aunt’s shop. What’s the matter?”

“She gave the recipe to someone else?”

Lu Sanniang looked at her, somewhat annoyed. “What, are you the only one who can use it?”

“Mom, I also want to open a shop in town.” “Then go open it somewhere else. This town is not for you.”

“Mom, there are many people in our town.”

“If you want to make money, you can go to other prefecture cities, or the counties they govern, or in other towns. You can forget about Tianshui Town.” “Mom, why are you taking her side? This recipe was given to me. Isn’t it mine?”

“You…”

Lu Sanniang looked at Lu Ruxin, somewhat in disbelief.

“Daughter, you’ve changed.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“You’re trying to compete with your master’s relatives for business?”

“What’s wrong with that? Are her relatives the only ones allowed to open businesses here, and I can’t?”

Lu Sanniang stood up in anger, shaking her finger at her.

“Are you really going to become this ungrateful?”

“Mom, what do you mean by that? I’m just dealing with things objectively. She gave me the recipe but also gave it to her relatives. Isn’t that trying to compete with me for business?”

“She only let her relatives run a small business to make a living. They have no intention of opening shops outside.”

“Right now, that may be the case, but who knows what might happen in the future?”

Lu Sanniang looked at her coldly. “You better think it through. She is your master.”

“She doesn’t even acknowledge me anymore.”

“But you’re still using her recipe to make money. If you have any ambition, stop using her recipe. It seems like you’re getting lost in the pursuit of wealth.” “She did it willingly. I never forced her to give me the recipe.”

“Fine. Let me ask you this. She has given you the recipe, but have you signed any formal agreement with her?”

“Well…”

“You have never signed anything. Her recipe is given to anyone she wants. Even if she gave it to anyone for free, what can you do to her?”

“Madam Qiao has a sense of propriety in everything she does. I hope you will, too. Don’t offend her. She might scatter the recipe, attracting more competitors. I wonder how you will deal with it.”

As soon as Lu Ruxin heard this, her face immediately changed.

“Mom, thank you for reminding me. Will you go to the Qiao family now and buy the cold skin recipe?”

“Uh, go yourself. I don’t have the face to go.”

“Mom, please?”

“Back then, I only spent ten taels of silver, but I made tens of thousands of silver from her. It allowed you and Ruyi to get married in glory. My matter has been resolved. I don’t want to owe more. Don’t be too greedy.”

“Mom, how can you say that? Are you even my mother?”

“If you make me do something I don’t want to, are you still my daughter?” The mother and daughter argued over this issue. Coincidentally, Liu Ye arrived.

“Boss, someone is looking for you at the shop.”

Lu Ruxin was still sulking, so she scolded Liuye loudly.

“Why did you come to my house? Your cousin only knows how to do this. She arranged for a stranger in my family to let you eat and drink for free, and we even had to pay you. Get out of here! Get out of my Lu family!”

Liu Ye couldn’t believe that Lu Ruxin would say such words and looked at Shopkeeper Lu in surprise.

Lu Sanniang was stunned. She hadn’t expected her daughter to say such things, and she slapped her across the face.

“How dare you speak to my people like that! If you have the guts, scold me!

How can you treat my crew like that?”

“Mom, how can you slap me? She’s just an employee of our shop. She’s the same as a servant!”

“Y-you have gone on the wrong path.”

Lu Ruxin covered her face, crying, and ran back to her room. The maidservants followed closely.

Liu Ye felt wronged and didn’t return to the shop. Instead, she went to find Qiao Mai.

“Cousin

Seeing her with red eyes, Qiao Mai could tell she had just been crying.

“Is something wrong with the Lu family?”

“I went to the Lu family to call on Shopkeeper Lu, and I saw her and Lu Ruxin arguing. I somehow got scolded by Sister Ruxin.”

“Tell me what she said.”

“She said you put me there to let them raise me for you, eating and drinking for free and taking money from their family. I don’t understand it fully, but she even said I’m a servant in her family.”

Qiao Mai took a deep breath. It seemed that the Lu family had no intention of being on good terms with her.

“Go to the Lu family, pack your belongings, and move to your parent’s place. Your embroidery skills have improved quite a bit now. If you don’t know something, I’ll teach you. You can handle embroidery work on your own.” “Got it, Cousin. But what should I tell Shopkeeper Lu if she asks?”

“Tell her to talk to me.”

“Okay, Cousin!”

Liu Ye wiped her tears and left. She returned to the Lu household, packed her belongings, and went to the shop. She waited until Shopkeeper Lu had finished talking with the customers before making a sound..

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