Chapter 92: Chapter 92 Seeking Out Chapter 92: Chapter 92 Seeking Out Qiao Lianlian said these words, but her heart was growing fonder of the girl Luo Qiao.
Luo Qiao smiled and said, “It’s not troublesome at all. Once they’re washed, you can store them properly, and if you need them someday, you can just take them out and use them.”
Luo Qiao took the bowls out and handed them to Sister-in-law Gao, who was washing the dishes, and said, “Sister-in-law, these are the bowls I borrowed. Please keep them safe.”
In that short time, Auntie Gao had already put the bedding back in the room and happened to come out: “For just these two sets of bowls and chopsticks, you insist on returning them, goodness, you really are a treasure.”
Luo Qiao replied with a smile: “To borrow and return makes borrowing again easy. Besides, no one’s things are blown in by the wind. When I was in my most difficult times, auntie, you lent me a hand, and I, Luo Qiao, have kept that kindness in my heart.”
Then she handed over the bamboo tube filled with tea leaves and said, “Auntie, I don’t have a proper container to store these, it’s best to put them in an airtight jar to prevent them from getting damp.”
When Auntie Gao saw that the bamboo tube contained tea leaves, she said, “Luo Qiao, you should keep this for yourself. Knowing you have this sentiment is enough to make me happy. I can’t accept such a valuable thing.”
She didn’t raise her voice when she said this, as she didn’t want the people sitting at the entrance to hear.
Luo Qiao said, “Auntie, this was given to me by a friend from the city. I usually don’t drink this, and if it sits too long, it will go bad. It’s just right for the brigade leader to drink. Let’s not push it back and forth and avoid giving others a reason to laugh at us.”
Having no choice, Auntie Gao accepted it.
However, she took some dried mushrooms that her daughter-in-law had brought from her parents’ home a few days ago and gave some to Luo Qiao to add to her cooking.
Luo Qiao did not decline, thanked her, and put them in her basket.
Then they overheard people outside discussing the Zhao Family, wondering why it was so quiet in their courtyard after wrapping up the festive event today.
A neighbor from the Zhao Family interjected, “I heard from my mother that right before the end of the workday, the people from the Zhao Family headed out of the village together.”
“What’s going on, did Xiaotao get into a fight with her in-laws on her wedding day and now the Zhao Family is going over to take charge?”
“That doesn’t make sense either. The people who accompanied the bridegroom’s procession back didn’t mention anything, and just now I saw the young one from Second Old Master Zhao’s family playing under the big willow tree.”
“Could it be that something has happened to the Zhao Family? Why else would the whole family leave the village?”
“I don’t know, but it’s probably not a big deal, otherwise they would have hurried back to the village to ask for help.”
Luo Qiao didn’t linger any longer, exchanged a few words, and then excused herself to head home.
In Beipo Village, it was almost dark when the Zhao Family finally located the Mao Family, claiming they had made a mistake and it was not this girl. How could the Mao Family possibly let her go?
The matter was supposedly agreed upon, and soon, the neighbors from left and right were alerted, and some onlookers gathered outside the Mao Family’s yard.
Old Lady Mao said, “Today, no matter what you say, it’s impossible for you to take her away. You already took the money this morning, and it was at the place you agreed upon that we took her away.
Now you come to our doorstep and say there was a mistake, you’re trying to make fools of the Mao Family.”
Zhao Pulin said, “Auntie Mao, this is a misunderstanding; I had no idea about any of this. It was only after we couldn’t find the child that I asked my daughter-in-law, and she then told me about this confused matter.
She’s at fault too. So, I’ll give you back the money and take the person away, and we’ll pretend this never happened. Is that okay?”
Old Lady Mao said, “Definitely not. You think you can just say whatever and that’s it? We spent money and went through a lot of trouble to bring the person back. You want to take her away just by admitting a mistake, as if it’s that easy?”