104 Ms. Xu’s Anticipation
Ms. Xu snapped at him. “Don’t be silly. Dad and Mom must have had a row. As their juniors, we should not get involved in the matter.”
Shao Dalang was startled. “A row? That can’t be possible! They were fine last night…”
Ms. Xu snorted. “Who knows! But just listen to what Mom says! If you ever dare say anything more, she will teach you a lesson!”
Shao Dalang thought for a while and nodded with a small answer, saying nothing more.
After breakfast, Qiao Xuan asked them to help dig the gastrodia elatas.
“Qi, Third Brother and I found a large patch of it, and they are very valuable. Brother, and Sister-in-law, help us in bringing it back. I will pay you 5 liang a day. It will take just a couple of days.”
She had asked Ms. Fang about the payment, and Ms. Fang agreed with it. Only Qiao Xuan recognized gastrodia elata and it was she who found this valuable plant, so Ms. Fang even believed that 5 liang for the couple would be a little too much.
If Qiao Xuan was a stingy person, she could have kept it as a secret and sell it on her own.
She could have earned all the money by herself.
But she exposed this to the family because she treated them well. Also, half of her earnings would need to be handed out to the shared savings.
Shao Dalang and his wife, as well as Shao Sanlang were shocked.
“Fifth Sister-in-law…” Ms. Xu’s voice was shivering. “Are you saying that we can earn 5 liang a day? Five liang?”
Shao Dalang found that Ms. Xu’s reaction was a little bit improper, but he could not help but turn to Ms. Xu who was gasping. He looked at Qiao Xuan and said, “Fifth Sister-in-law, have you made a mistake?”
Shao Sanlang gasped and had not become normal yet.
“Brother.” Qiao Xuan smiled. “I have not made a mistake. Five liang for one person per day, ten liang for two days, but… please keep it a secret.”
“I will, I will absolutely keep it a secret. Fifth Sister-in-law, let’s go now!” Ms. Xu almost jumped in excitement.
Ten liang for two days! They would earn 20 liang for two days together! In a couple of years, they would be able to afford to send Junyan to school, even after handing out the money to the shared savings.
Ms. Fang could not help but throw Ms. Xu a disdainful look. This narrow-minded woman, she acted as if she had never seen any money before!
But then she realized that she had really never seen much money before. So she decided to drop any disciplining talks with her.
“Just listen carefully!” Ms. Fang snorted. “You should tell this to no one else, including your father! If you meet your mother’s family, you should keep it a secret from them as well! Never mention this to anyone ever, understand?”
Ms. Xu was startled and nodded constantly.
So did Shao Dalang and the others.
Soon they set out to do the work.
Shao Yunduan tagged along as well.
He was trying to take a walk in his spare time, to balance his time devoted to his studies.
They worked fast, and it took them just half a day to finish the work.
Compared to the digging, transporting was an even more difficult task.
It was a long way to go…
They were all good at physical labor work, but it took some effort to carry everything out.
Shao Xiaoqi rented a bullock cart and they all gathered at the entrance of the village. Shao Yunduan decided to keep Qiao Xuan company in the town, whilst Shao Xiaoqi and Shao Taotao followed along.
Ms. Xu was very excited. She was nervous too, and did not follow along out of hesitation.
“Do you think that Fifth Sister-in-law will give us the money?”
Ms. Xu did not believe that it was a reliable thing.
That plant looked like cheap stuff. Were they worth a penny?