The face of the Princess Consort Luling darkened, "Sending a milking goat to Guoguo is indeed a great kindness, it’s equivalent to saving Guoguo’s life. Sending servants to till the fields is tantamount to saving our entire family, letting us no longer have to dig for wild vegetables everywhere, begging people for food. Such great kindness, how can it be enough for only Yu Zhu to express gratitude? Xue Family, don’t you think this is too perfunctory?"
The Xue Family had merely spoken their mind, not expecting such displeasure from the Princess Consort Luling, so she fell silent, perfunctorily saying, "Yes."
The Second Princess, upon Li Yuzhu’s reminder, was no longer dejected.
In the afternoon, she placed the newly made pastries from the morning into a jar on the cart and, together with the Second Young Master Li, headed towards Taohua River Village.
Just as Li Yuzhu had speculated, after the Second Princess toured Taohua River Village, even the shadow of Aunt Liu Da Niu did not appear.
Conversely, the pastries she made today were well received by a crowd of little kids.
Those who had eaten them praised the pastries made by the Second Princess, saying they were better than those of the Imperial Chef.
Those who hadn’t eaten them were clamoring for their parents to buy some.
Suddenly, the reputation of the Second Princess spread throughout Taohua River Village.
"Are there any left?" A woman, pulling along three kids, ran over to ask.
One of the kids had snatched the pastries from the other two earlier, and the Second Young Master Li had pulled that kid away.
Unexpectedly, they had gone to get their parents.
"There are a few left, but they don’t look too good. If you want to eat, I’ll give them to you at half price." The Second Princess glanced at her jar of pastries and said.
There were six pastries left in the jar.
Three coins each, the six would only bring in nine coins, making money truly is not easy.
For the pastries she made later, the process was very complicated. Li Yuzhu suggested she sell them for more, two or three coins each.
At first, she didn’t dare to price them so high; it was only when someone asked the price that she gained confidence.
She held firm on the price, and buyers did not haggle much, so business was made.
Once she got her first sale, things went more smoothly afterwards.
"I’ll take them all." The woman quickly gathered her money.
On the way back, several people asked the Second Princess if she would make the pastries again tomorrow.
The Second Princess shyly smiled and said, "If I’m free tomorrow, I surely will."
"Alright then, I will wait for you to come to the village." Two women left happily.
"Second Sister, Third Sister’s method is really good, you should make more tomorrow," the Second Young Master Li praised her.
"I’m afraid I can’t." The Second Princess trembled in fear, her face changing.
The Second Young Master Li’s face darkened, "Why not again? The pastries you sold today made more money than before."
"It’s not about making money... Look, who is that?" The Second Princess pointed anxiously at a woman walking ahead.
The woman looked worried and walked hurriedly.
The Second Young Master Li recognized her, "So you’re afraid of her? Don’t worry, I’m here. If she dares bully you again, I won’t hesitate to fight back today."
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves.
But they thought Aunt Liu would come and cause trouble, but Aunt Liu didn’t even glance at the Second Princess and the Second Young Master Li, just casually looked at them and hurried away.
"Huh? She didn’t trouble us? She seemed quite anxious," said the Second Princess, puzzled.
The Second Young Master Li also looked puzzled, rubbing his chin, "Did she just run away in a panic upon seeing me? Hmm, that’s possible. So, Second Sister, with me protecting you, nothing will happen."
The Second Princess breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes, with Second Brother by my side, I’m not afraid."
Aunt Liu Da Niu had seen from afar the Second Princess and the Second Young Master Li selling pastries, and learned that the girl’s pastries were quite popular among the village’s children, selling at a high price yet still having buyers.
She was consumed with jealousy.
But right now, she had no mind to care about the affairs of this little refugee girl.
She urgently needed to deal with the child in her belly, that was the main thing.
Her lover Chen Yao no longer cared for her, but she couldn’t ignore herself.
If she delayed any longer, there would be no place to hide the child.
That shameless dog Chen Yao, who didn’t acknowledge her after getting what he wanted, wasn’t giving her money, so she had to suffer the loss herself.
So, upon seeing the Second Princess selling pastries, she just glared coldly and hurried away.
She walked to the main road in front of the village and spent fifty coins to take a mule cart to the county town.
The villages of Qingshui River and Taohua were quite far from the county town.
It was fifty miles away, walking there was impractical, and there weren’t many families with oxen, mules, donkeys, or horse carriages.