Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 313 The Calm Lake (53)

Zhang Qiao'er still looked frail. After the commotion just now, her complexion was not good, and her forehead was covered with sweat.

Zhang's mother and sister-in-law treated her with the utmost care, as if she were a goddess, afraid that she might bump into or hurt herself.

Xu Chaoyan was too lazy to watch anymore, wondering what this family was up to this time. Several people had already gathered outside, watching and pointing.

She felt a pang of regret; it seemed she would earn less today because of this commotion. Still somewhat annoyed, she mentally cursed Meng Jiuhe once more.

Zhang Qiao'er sat there like an ancestor, being served by her mother and the others. Her eyes scanned the shop quickly, almost greedily.

She used to frequently visit this shop to see Zhang Yueniang, intentionally or unintentionally trying to find out things. Although the shop was run by two families, judging by the daily income alone, it should be making quite a bit of money.

And Meng Jiuhe has become so successful, passing the imperial examination at a young age. My future is definitely bright. She unconsciously placed her hand gently on her abdomen. She couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. Fortunately, she had taken a gamble. If she bet correctly, her later life would be secure, and if she became even more successful, she could become an official's wife.

A few days ago, she consulted a fortune teller who said her benefactor had appeared and that she was destined for great wealth and prosperity. However, she needed to seize the opportunity herself, otherwise, villains would ruin her luck. Her gaze towards Xu Chaoyan held a hint of disgust and loathing.

Ever since meeting Meng Jiuhe, she knew her fate would be rewritten at this moment. She didn't want to spend the lonely night alone until dawn. She wanted to fight for it herself, which led to what happened next.

After she learned that Meng Jiuhe had married an ugly wife, she became even more confident in her desire to oust him and take his place.

About 15 minutes later, there was still no word from the county school.

Xu Chaoyan was getting a little impatient, so she took out the ledger and started calculating the month's income, expenses, and profits.

Mr. Zhang and his son stood at the door like two guardian deities, scaring away any guests who wanted to come and eat.

Old Zhang wiped the sweat rolling down his face with his sleeve and said irritably, "Dad, why isn't this kid here yet? Could it be that the girl went to warn him to hide? That won't do. Otherwise, let's go to the school and spread the word about this. Let's see if he can still be a coward then."

Mr. Zhang licked his dry lips and wiped his sweat frequently with his sleeve. He was older and more composed, though his voice was full of impatience.

"Wait here, and they might be in class and won't be out for a while. It's only been a quarter of an hour. You need to have some patience. You're more likely to ruin things than get things done. Learn to be more composed. If you mess things up, how do you expect to make any money?"

Old Zhang gave a vague reply and then paced back and forth at the door.

Xu Chaoyan was unaffected by their presence. After sorting through all the ledgers, she lowered her head, intending to take a short nap. She was enjoying a rare moment of free time, and as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of holding a gold ingot and about to bite off a corner to check its authenticity, suddenly, a loud "bang" startled her so much that she jumped up.

Zhang's mother slammed her hand on the table, her palm turning red, and her old face contorted with pain. Seeing Xu Chaoyan's sleepy and half-asleep appearance, she was furious.

"Didn't you sleep last night and steal cattle again? Didn't you see we're still hungry? You've eaten and drunk your fill, though. How could that Meng boy have ever fallen for someone like this? You must have been shamelessly clinging to him."

Xu Chaoyan yawned, stretched, and looked at her: "I went to cheat on you, is that any of your business? Mind your own business first, okay? This is my shop, I can do whatever I want with it."

Zhang's mother was so angry at her arrogant attitude that she wanted to slap her. Just as the slap was about to fall, her hand was suddenly grabbed. Xu Chaoyan didn't take her seriously and was planning to either take the hit or pretend to be innocent and extort money from them. She didn't know why her eyelids kept twitching today.

"What do you think you're doing in broad daylight, you old hag?"

Zhang Rongrong grabbed her mother's hand and met her fierce gaze without any fear.

"What, you're not happy about it? Want to hit me? I've seen plenty of shrewish old women like you. What's wrong with you causing trouble in someone else's shop? You're really bad luck."

Zhang's mother's face contorted in pain. Like someone had stepped on her bag, she yelled, "You shrew, let go of my hand! You're breaking my bones! Where did this shrew come from?" She had barely finished speaking when Zhang Rongrong tightened her grip.

"That old woman has such a foul mouth, today I'll show you what I'm capable of." Zhang Rongrong usually argues with her mother-in-law every three days and has a minor fight every two days, so this kind of situation is nothing compared to that.

She looked at Xu Chaoyan with concern: "Are you alright? Where did this Lai Ke bag come from? How dare it cause trouble in this shop? If they run into me today, I'll make sure they get what's coming to them."

Zhang's mother, having suffered repeated setbacks, was now pale and sweating profusely. Her eldest son and daughter-in-law rushed over, pointing sticks at Zhang Rongrong and threatening, "Where did this crazy woman come from? Let go of my mother right now, or don't blame me for being merciless with this stick." They even swung the sticks a few times as they spoke.

Zhang Rongrong squeezed the bone a few more times. She was stronger than the average woman, and she was usually the one carrying things up and down in the shop.

The old woman had a sharp and mean-spirited look, just like her mother-in-law. Thinking of the grievances she had suffered over the past few days, she couldn't help but increase the force of her blows.

Xu Chaoyan was also somewhat surprised, as she hadn't seen Zhang Rongrong for a long time. Shen Siheng had told her that Zhang Rongrong had been busy with the shop lately, and that Shen Si had somehow found a lot of herbs. She basically stayed in the shop until late at night. As the saying goes, if you can't afford to offend her, can't you at least avoid her?

"I'm fine, but these people made a scene and scared away a lot of my customers, which hurts a bit."

Xu Chaoyan winked at her and shook her head. Only then did Zhang Rongrong let go of her hand.

"I'll let you off the hook for now. Don't you know that I'm the best fighter on this street? You're still lacking in skill."

Zhang's mother was also intimidated by her fierce and ruthless demeanor, after all, they were outsiders. In this county, they still knew a few people and had some influence, and she was somewhat afraid that they were bullies who preyed on the weak.

When Zhang Qiao'er saw her family members start to back down after being scolded by the woman, she panicked and thought that she had brought her brother, sister-in-law, and parents to support her. She hoped they wouldn't back down, as her future depended on this day. She beckoned her sister-in-law over and whispered something in her ear.

Zhang's mother's face also looked rather pale at this moment, her expression becoming even more distorted and ferocious due to the pain.

After overhearing her daughter-in-law's grumbling, she weighed the pros and cons, gritted her teeth, and made a firm decision. She wasn't going to waste any more time with this woman. As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. The future of this whole family depended on this one gamble.

Xu Chaoyan took a pot of tea and poured her a bowl: "Here, I happen to have some melon seeds here. Shall we chat for a bit since we haven't seen each other in a long time?"

Zhang Rongrong looked worried: "Who have you messed with? I don't know where this bunch of monsters came from. Why don't I go to my parents' house and find some men to beat them up for you? More people will make them look more intimidating."

Xu Chaoyan, however, remained calm and composed: "Who knows what kind of romantic entanglements my husband has gotten into this time? That's why people have come knocking on our door."

Seeing that she still had the mind to joke with her, Zhang Rongrong gently patted her twice, her expression becoming somewhat serious. She then glanced at Zhang Qiao'er sitting to the side and asked with some uncertainty, "Your husband hasn't gotten into any romantic entanglements, has he? That woman acted like a courtesan. I didn't expect your husband to have such unique tastes."

Xu Chaoyan covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "Your description is quite apt. Who knows what a man is really like, given how deceitful he is?"

The two chatted idly for a while. Fifteen minutes later, Meng Jiuhe came running in, panting.

Zhang's father and the others didn't stop her. Meng Jiuhe ran over and checked her over from head to toe. He was relieved to see that she was not injured.

"My wife, I'm so glad you're alright."

Xu Chaoyan didn't give him a friendly look either, pointing at those people with a look of disgust: "Get these people out of here right now. You caused this mess, so you have to deal with it yourself. Because of you, customers are afraid to come, and we've lost a lot of money. You'll have to make up for it by copying books from now on."

Meng Jiu nodded obediently, "My wife is right. I will definitely copy more books to earn money for you to spend."

"The compensation isn't for me, it's for the Zhang family. Look at this mess, everyone's been laughing at us for so long. We haven't even made a single deal."

The young couple were talking without any regard for outsiders. He listened to whatever Xu Chaoyan said and replied, "My wife is right, it was my fault."

Zhang's father couldn't bear to see his son's pathetic state any longer. Besides, they had been there for quite some time, and his patience was wearing thin.

"Meng Jiu, can't you be a little more dignified? What kind of behavior is it to be so subservient to a woman? It's shameful."

Without even turning his head, Meng Jiu retorted, "What's it to you?"

Suddenly feeling humiliated by the boy's outburst, Zhang's father and son rushed over, grabbing the man and glaring at him fiercely.

"If you don't give my Qiao'er an explanation today, I'll make sure you can't stay in this county school anymore."

Meng Jiuhe glared back defiantly: "What explanation do I have for your family? You schemed against me a few days ago, and I haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and now you've come knocking on my door."

Zhang Laoda was also intimidated by his cold and frosty appearance, and only spoke after several breaths due to his mother's pressure.

"You shameless beast! You call yourself a scholar? How could you get my sister pregnant? You must take full responsibility for this."

Zhang Rongrong looked shocked, pointing at this and then at the three men over there. She opened her mouth several times before finally saying, "He said your husband got someone pregnant."

Xu Chaoyan nodded: "I heard you, you don't need to repeat it, my ears are fine."

Zhang Rongrong hadn't yet processed what she'd just heard: "How come you're not surprised at all, not angry at all?"

Xu Chaoyan grabbed another handful of melon seeds and stuffed them into her hand: "I'm watching a good show right now. Turns out they've been making a fuss all day, waiting here. I knew they were holding back something big with such a big fuss today."

Zhang Rongrong gave her a look of exasperation: "Be serious, is this the time to watch a show?"