Chapter 273 - Almost Broke
Xie Niushan felt his heart ache.
He did not think that raising a child would be so troublesome. After all... His two sons and that girl Xie Xi were happy with just a little bit of food. How would they dare to ask for this and that?
"Aren"t deer meat and pork the same? What"s the difference?" Xie Niushan coughed.
"Of course they"re different. The deer was born in the mountains and tasted all kinds of precious herbs. Can it be the same as a pig that feeds on hay?" Xie Qiao said frankly.
Deer were so cute, how could she not eat deer?!
If it was her previous life, she promised to only eat domesticated deer.
It was different in this life. It was already a problem to live, so it was better to nourish her body as much as possible. Moreover, hunting was one of the ways to make a living these days. It was unknown how many people had been fed by the saying of relying on the mountain to live.
Xie Niushan had to admit that what Xie Qiao said made sense.
"The dishes are so complicated. Do any maidservants know how to cook them?" Xie Niushan asked again.
Xie Qiao looked at him stubbornly.
"Chun Er and Granny Wan know how to cook them. Don"t worry, Father," Xie Qiao said calmly.
Xie Niushan scratched his nose, "Wine? Why do I see wine here? What"s this four season fine wine?"
"Even if it"s wine made from flowers, plants, fruits, or ginseng herbs, you don"t need to buy it at the store. You just need to buy some ingredients. I"ll get Granny Wan and Chun Er to make it and bury in the yard. I can drink it whenever I need," Xie Qiao explained patiently.
Xie Niushan frowned.
Fruits and plants?
Would it be sweet or spicy?
Xie Niushan"s expression was solemn.
After a while, he called the new steward over.
The new steward had been working in the Xie family for five to six years. Although he was not an old man from the previous mountain stronghold, he was a very sensible and loyal person. Previously, he had been oppressed by Yuan Rong, but now, he was considered to have made a name for himself.
Xie Niushan asked the steward to bring over the account book.
He flipped it through over and over. The food was already cold, but he could not eat a single bite.
There was... no money left in the account.
On a closer look, that Ms. Lu had bought quite many things before she and him were divorced. He guessed that they were all for Pei Wanyue.
If he were to ask for the money back now, he would not look like a man at all.
He was really poor!
When Xie Qiao went to the academy earlier, he still had 10,000 taels of silver left, but Pei Wanyue had spent 2,000 taels of silver to go to the academy!
In addition, he had to spend another 1,000 taels of silver this month.
After deducting the 5,000 taels of silver he had given to Ms. Lu... and the money that Ms. Lu had spent…
Xie Niushan was almost broke.
Such a big family, yet they only had 1,200 taels of silver on the account book?!
So many servants to feed, the carriage fees, and the money he had to spend on drinks and socialization... That was simply not enough!
Xie Niushan"s expression was especially embarra.s.sed. Xie Qiao seemed to be confused. She even asked the steward to make another trip to her courtyard and have Chun Er bring over her bird"s nest porridge.
Xie Qiao drank it gently in front of Xie Niushan.
One mouthful after another, it was really delicious.
Xie Niushan subconsciously gulped.
Looking at his daughter eating the porridge so obediently, how could he say that he did not have the money to feed her?
As a bandit leader, he had never said such embarra.s.sing words!
"Ms. Lu didn"t give you any silver before this. How did you buy anything?" Xie Niushan asked.
"She did. I used that painting to enrol in the academy, but I got the 5,000 taels from the account anyway. However, I bought a small shop with that 5,000 taels... I spent it all. The money to buy the supplement was given by my Master from the Taoist temple," Xie Qiao said honestly.
"Shop? Do you make money at all?" Xie Niushan asked by instinct.