Chapter 93: A Little Blush and a Heart Skip
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Han Xiang stared at her sister.
She thought about how many times she had mocked and ridiculed her over the years, but she had never refuted her.
However, ever since she had her divorce, she had completely changed. She was more stubborn in her words, more efficient in her actions, and she could express her feelings clearly. It was as if she had suddenly thought of how to live and wouldn’t let anyone bully her.
She also knew that hunting in the mountains was dangerous and that she was risking people’s lives.
But where else could she earn ten taels of silver besides risking her husband’s life?
Han Xiang stood up, “I understand.”
She walked towards the entrance of the courtyard. After a few steps, she turned around and looked at Han Qiao, “Sister, I’m sorry.”
Han Qiao was silent.
In reality, Han Xiang didn’t feel sorry for her.
And Han Qiao didn’t want to listen to her apology either.
“You should go back.”
She had no right to say whether Han Xiang would be forgiven or not. She could only say that everyone had their own fate.
After Han Xiang left, Han Qiao let out a sigh of relief.
She turned to her three children and asked, “Where’s your father?”
“He went into the mountains with Uncle Bai Cha to cut firewood.”
It was a good thing that Heng Yi was busy.
She would cry if he stayed at home all day.
“Tonight, we’ll make braised chicken, cut some bacon and cook it, then steam a few egg custards.”
Han Qiao noticed that the sky was still bright outside, and since she didn’t have the self-awareness of a bride, so instead of staying at home, she carried a basket and went to Uncle and Aunt’s house to buy some eggs.
The only family in the village that raised ducks.
They raised forty to fifty ducks which could lay up to forty duck eggs every day.
They could be considered a wealthy family in Xishan Village.
When the Aunt noticed Han Qiao coming towards her, the woman politely greeted her.
Knowing that Han Qiao was here to buy duck eggs, she became even more polite.
“You want to buy duck eggs? How many do you want?”
“A few hundred. It’s fine if you give a little more, but the only requirement is that the duck eggs were laid within the past three days at most.” Han Qiao said.
She wanted to buy some duck eggs to marinate them so that she could cook them when her chickens did not lay eggs in winter.
When the aunt heard that Han Qiao wanted to buy so much, she became even more enthusiastic, “Of course! To be honest, my family’s duck eggs are sold once in a market. They’re usually sold out most of the time. If you want more, we don’t have any extra.”
“It’ll take you many days to get a few hundred.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble you to save some for me. Are your ducks for sale?”
“Male ducks are for sale, female ducks are not.”
Han Qiao bought two so that she wouldn’t have to kill the chickens at home.
She killed the two ducks and stewed them into soup, and stir-fried their innards.
When Han Qiao finished stewing the duck, Heng Yi and Bai Cha returned with firewood.
Heng Yi was determined. He used three or four arm-thick firewood as a pick and hung two bundles of neatly cut firewood on both ends.
It looked like it weighed at least 200 to 300 pounds.
“Why did you chop so many?” Han Qiao disagreed.
She told him and Bai Cha to quickly wash their faces and hands.
She had finished almost all the dishes, and the only thing she needed to do was to cook the two stir-fried dishes.
Grandpa and Grandma also went to take the dishes out personally.
The three children helped to set the table and light the fire. By the time Heng Yi and Bai Cha were done washing, the food was served.
“It smells so good!” Bai Cha exclaimed.
“Finish the bowl of duck soup first. This soup has been stewed for a long time and is very fresh.”
Since she was thinking of serving it to the whole family, Han Qiao killed the two ducks and stewed them in a big pot.
Grandpa and Grandma didn’t have good teeth, but the duck meat was soft and tender. They liked it very much.
Heng Yi sat next to Han Qiao and served her food several times.
He was strong and had a big appet.i.te, so he naturally ate a lot. In addition, the food was delicious, and he was in a good mood. His appet.i.te was even better.
After the meal, she persuaded her grandparents to stay.
“This is against the rules,” Grandma still disagreed.
“Grandma, rules are set by people, and I also have something to discuss with you.”
Han Qiao told her she wanted to marinate some salted duck eggs, and since they tasted good in winter, she thought she could sell them in the county town.
The other thing she wanted to discuss was about widening the road so that the carriage could reach their door.
“That’s fine.” Grandma agreed.
If the road were bigger, they wouldn’t have to park the carriage at the village entrance. Although no one dared to steal it, it was still a matter of convenience.
It would be best if it could reach their doorstep, after all.
“I want to buy some more land on the side and build two houses. Also, the three children want to find a master to teach them embroidery.”
Grandma did not expect this.
She asked Han Qiao, “What did Heng Yi say?”
“He doesn’t mind. I’ll arrange anything for him. I plan to go into the mountains with Heng Yi after my family is settled and we’re planning to move this year. We’ll stay in Xishan Village. Next year, we’ll move to the county town.”
Grandma was stunned.
After a while, she asked, “It’s not appropriate for your grandfather and me to go to the county town with you.”
“What’s there to be inappropriate about? The main point is whether you want to go or not.”
Grandma thought about it carefully.
She wanted to go. After all, she had never been to the county.
What was the county like? She didn’t even know.
“Besides, you and Grandpa won’t be bored there. You can visit the opera and have breakfast in the teahouse. It will also be convenient for you to see a doctor if you have a headache or fever there,” Han Qiao slowly persuaded Grandma.
She told her about the good things about the county town and the benefits of going there.
Grandma was tempted.
She thought about it over and over, “Then I’ll stay with you for a while.”
“Good!
That night, Heng Yi and Han Qiao consummated their marriage. Heng Yi was excited. He thought that he would go to the county town tomorrow, so he didn’t dare to be too greedy.
He gently asked for it twice, cleaned Han Qiao up, and tidied himself up before hugging Han Qiao and falling asleep.
In the middle of the night, Han Qiao was sweating profusely and pushed Heng Yi away a few times.
However, she didn’t have enough strength and thus was unsuccessful. So she had to endure the heat through the night.
By the time she woke up in the morning, Han Qiao had a headache and her waist was sore.
She also felt a little uncomfortable.
Heng Yi had enough a.s.sets, although it was enough for s.e.x, it was also a sweet burden.
She glared at Heng Yi.
“I’ll go boil some water for you to wash up. Sleep a little longer and I’ll cook a few more white eggs. Let’s eat eggs in the morning.”
Heng Yi then went to the kitchen.
When Sun Xiu and Sun Yi woke up, they saw that he had already boiled the hot water.
“Father, let us do it.”
The two sisters called him by that t.i.tle casually. They have accepted him very well.
Heng Yi was not good at cooking, so he handed the job to them.
“Cook a few more boiled eggs, some porridge, and a cuc.u.mber salad.”
He thought for a moment and said, “You two work hard for a few more days.
When we buy a maid at home, you won’t have to do this anymore.”
The two sisters knew that their parents wanted to buy people. However, they didn’t expect that they wouldn’t have to do ch.o.r.es anymore.
Heng Yi didn’t stay in the kitchen for long. He carried the hot water back to the main house, wrung a handkerchief, and handed it to Han Qiao.
Han Qiao stretched out her leg lazily. “Help me wipe!”
Heng Yi blushed as he cleaned Han Qiao.
There was still a huge difference between being able to see and not being able to see her like this.
His breathing was rapid and his face was flushed.
Han Qiao chuckled. “Alright, I’ll do it myself.”
She asked Heng Yi to help her up.
He felt shy and sweet at the same time.
Heng Yi watched Han Qiao slowly wash up and put on her clothes.
After opening the window, he took a deep breath.
He does so until he calmed himself..