Wanting to Poach

Li Qingyin was surprised, “Teaching you accounting, is your eldest cousin-in- law planning to train you as an accountant?”

“I don’t know,” Xu Songnian said. “Besides learning accounting, she also taught me bookkeeping, cash settlement, inventory checks, and many other things. But I haven’t mastered them yet; I don’t really understand.”

Li Qingyin didn’t fully comprehend but could feel the importance placed on him, “You must study hard and repay your cousins in the future.”

Xu Songnian, mature beyond his years, responded, “I know. Without my cousins, my sister and I would have been sold by our father, and our mother would still be suffering. We wouldn’t have the good life we have now.”

Li Qingyin nodded in agreement, “It’s good that you understand.”

Patting his chest, Xu Songnian assured, “Don’t worry, mom, I’ll remember everything.”

Li Qingyin smiled, “I believe in you.”

At that moment, a timid voice came from outside the courtyard, “Songnian, Wenlin…”

The three inside immediately perked up their ears, on alert.

Xiao Ye ran outside.

Xu Songnian stood up, showing the demeanor of a little man, and whispered, “Mom, sister, I’ll go check.”

Li Qingyin stopped him, “Let mom take a look.” With that, she went out.

Xu Songnian, worried, followed her.

They soon discovered the source of the voice…

A drenched little girl was curled up in the shadows, with Xiao Ye pressing a paw on her head, and she dared not move.

Xu Songnian hurried forward to rescue the girl, pulling her out of the shadows, “Why is it you?”

Taking a moment to recover, Tian Xiaqiu knelt down before Li Qingyin, pleading through tears, “Fourth Aunt, I have nowhere to go. Can you shelter me for one night?”

Li Qingyin pulled Tian Xiaqiu up, “Let’s talk inside.”

Seeing Tian Xiaqiu soaked, Li Qingyin asked Xu Wenlin to bring a set of her clothes for Tian Xiaqiu to change into after cleaning up, and then they would talk.

For once, Tian Xiaqiu felt warmth, deeply grateful to Li Qingyin.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, Tian Xiaqiu, huddling, came to the main room, “Auntie, thankyou.”

Li Qingyin asked Tian Xiaqiu to sit down, “Tell us what happened. We’ll help you if we can, okay?”

Tian Xiaoqiu nodded and told him the whole story with tears streaming down her face.

Xu Songnian was indignant, “That’s inhumane!”

Li Qingyin cautioned, “Don’t speak ill of elders. Just keep it in mind.”

“Understood, mom.”

Hearing Tian Xiaqiu hadn’t eaten yet, Xu Wenlin cooked a bowl of noodles for her, “Try my cooking and see if it’s good.”

The bowl of noodles in front of her made Tian Xiaqiu feel the world warm up again. Tears fell non-stop as she was moved, “Wenlin, thankyou.”

“No need to be formal, eat up. After finishing homework, you’ll sleep with me. Let’s be best sisters, okay?”

Tian Xiaqiu smiled through her tears, “Ok.”

Xu Songnian and Xu Wenlin lent a helping hand to Tian Xiaqiu, fixing her brush and providing her with new paper for her homework.

As Tian Xiaqiu picked up the brush to write again, she couldn’t help thinking, thankfully she hadn’t died earlier; otherwise, she wouldn’t have seen this turn for the better. She resolved to cherish this new chance.

In theChu Village.

Chu Qingshuang mysteriously brought a box to Chu Qingzhi’s room, “Fifth sister, guess what’s inside this box?”

Chu Qingzhi knew what it was with a sweep of her divine sense, but in order to satisfy her sister’s mystery, she guessed cooperatively, “You’re good at making porcelain. The things you gave people must be porcelain too. Thinking about how you came back with the medicine bottle today, I guessed that the gift you gave me was related to the medicine bottle.”

Chu Qingshuang smiled and placed the box in front of Chu Qingzhi, “Open it and see.”

“Alright, let’s have a look.” Chu Qingzhi opened the box to find a set of zodiac animal figurines, each colorfully painted, round and cute, very realistic, “You must have put a lot of effort into this.”

“No effort is too much when it comes to this,” Chu Qingshuang earnestly replied. She had spent a month making this set of zodiac figurines. While the molds were easy, coloring was challenging, requiring several attempts to get each one right.

Chu Qingzhi lined up the figurines in front of her desk, each the size of a baby’s fist, truly beautiful.

“Qingshuang, I really love it.”

“I’ll make you something fun again next time.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, Fifth Sister, I have something important to tell you,” Chu Qingshuang changed the subject. “The bottles for the soybean sauce will be ready tomorrow, and they’re very nice, with low production costs.”

Chu Qingzhi expressed her trust, “I’m relieved to leave things in your hands.”

Encouraged, Chu Qingshuang promised, “I’ll devote myself fully to the tasks you assign.”

In Tongzi County, at Yunhui Restaurant.

Facing the sunrise, Chu Xuhua entered the restaurant with three jars of wine.

At this time, the restaurant had no customers yet, with chairs still upturned on tables and several workers cleaning the main hall.

Chu Xuhua stopped at the entrance of the restaurant, announcing, “Brother, I’ve brought something good for you.”

Chu Yehui walked out of the inner room and saw the wine jar with the words “Chu’s Easy Trade” reflected on it at a glance. The advertisement was deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Now, everyone in the nearby county cities knew about the Chu’s Easy Trade.

” What good stuff have you brought today?”

Chu Xuhua patted the wine jar, “Something to make your wealth flow in.”

Chu Yehui eyed the three jars, “The rice wine from your place?” He remembered Chu Xuhua mentioning it before.

Chu Xuhua nodded, “Wanna try?”

“Of course.”

Workers fetched some bowls from the kitchen.

Chu Xuhua opened a jar, poured out a bowl of wine, and handed it to Chu Yehui.

Inhaling the aroma, Chu Yehui appeared entranced.

The workers gathered around, eager with anticipation, intrigued by the fragrance.

“Give it a try.”

After a sip, Chu Yehui was impressed, finding it better than any wine he had ever tasted, “Xuhua, your brewmaster is exceptional. Can I poach him?”

Chu Xuhua confidently said, “If you can manage that, feel free.”

“Forget it, look at you showing off,” Chu Yehui waved off, “So, how do we sell this wine?”

If the price was right, he’d buy the entire stock, having never encountered better wine.

“The best wine on the market sells for three taels per pound in bulk. Given our relationship, I’ll charge you two taels and nine per pound. How’s that?”

This price was a bargain for wine better than the best available, “How much do you have?”

“Not much, just five to six hundred pounds.”

“I’ll take it all. Bring it over right away, and I’ll start selling it by noon.”

“Brother, I can only sell four hundred pounds to you; I need the rest,” Chu Xuhua explained, needing to keep some wine for his family.

Chu Yehui agreed. “400 pounds is fine too. Hurry and bring it over, or it’ll be too late.”

Alright, I’m on my way.