Chapter 74: There is Room For the Poor Daughter
.png)
Chapter 74: The Daohua Xuan (Rice Blossom Pavilion)
"Mother, I heard you're planning to buy a small estate for Daohua? That’s great! Wenjie, Yihuan, and the others are also your grandchildren, so you can't favor one over the other!"
That evening, while the Yan family was staying at an inn and having dinner, Sun Shi, the second daughter-in-law, smiled and brought up the matter of buying the estate for Daohua.
Immediately, everyone looked toward Old Madam Yan.
The people from the first house looked shocked, the second house wore dark expressions, and the third house seemed indifferent.
Daohua furrowed her brows, setting down her bowl. She had only mentioned the idea of buying an estate to her mother and grandmother in the carriage, and had never made a decision. How did Aunt Sun find out? There had only been the three of them in the carriage, and her mother and grandmother would never gossip. It must have been the coachman.
Daohua's thoughts stirred. She hadn’t expected that such a small family like the Yan family would have internal factions.
Old Madam Yan shot a cold glance at Sun Shi. She had never liked her second daughter-in-law since her marriage. It wasn’t for any specific reason, just that she was too shrewd and calculating, much like her own parents.
"What, does an old woman like me need to report everything I do to you?" Old Madam Yan's voice turned cold.
Yan Zhiyuan, seeing that his mother was getting upset, hurriedly pulled Sun Shi aside to signal her to stop talking.
Sun Shi felt a bit intimidated by the old lady, but was still unsatisfied in her heart.
The Yan family hadn’t split yet, and things in the house should be shared by all. Why should Daohua be the only one to receive an estate? What about her own three children?
"Mother, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just asking casually to see if there was anything I could help with."
Old Madam Yan snorted coldly: "I know exactly what you’re thinking. After all these years, you haven’t changed a bit. But since you’ve asked, let me make things clear here so you won’t say I’m favoring anyone behind my back."
Then, Old Madam Yan turned to Yan Zhiqiang and said, "Third son, tell everyone how much money Daohua has earned over the years."
Yan Zhiqiang nodded and looked at Yan Zhigao and Madam Li: "Eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law, I’m not exaggerating, but Daohua is really skilled at farming. The crops she grows always do better than others."
"Our family’s output has been higher than others’ these years because we’ve been using the seeds Daohua plants. Every day, the income from the fields brings in quite a bit of silver."
Sun Shi muttered, "That’s still family property."
Old Madam Yan shot a glance at Sun Shi: "Third son, keep going."
Yan Zhiqiang continued: "This girl Daohua heard somewhere that medicinal herbs could be profitable, so she started growing things like honeysuckle, wolfberries, indigo, and dandelion on the barren mountain behind the village, with the help of the children in the clan."
"At first, no one thought much of it, but the next year, those herbs grew well, and she was able to sell them for a good price. The clan leader found out and immediately organized the clan members to plant herbs on the entire mountain, turning it into public property."
"Since the herbs Daohua and Wentao planted earlier weren’t harvested, they were rewarded with them as personal property. Wentao has big hands, and when planting, he planted a bit wider, about twenty or so mu of land. These years, both he and Daohua have earned a considerable amount of silver just from selling the herbs. They’re even richer than me, their father."
Everyone in the Yan family was stunned, and Yan Wentao shyly smiled.
Sun Shi seemed doubtful: "Those things really make money?"
Yan Zhiqiang corrected her: "Second sister-in-law, those are medicinal herbs, not cheap at all. Plus, Daohua also grows flowers. A few years ago, a traveling merchant passed through our village, saw a potted Narcissus Daohua grew, and bought it for fifty taels of silver."
Everyone believed this without question. They had all witnessed Daohua’s skill at growing potted plants—she could grow one pot perfectly every time.
Sun Shi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she wasn’t doubting Yan Zhiqiang; she just thought that no matter how much Daohua earned, it was still family money.
Old Madam Yan, while not completely understanding her second daughter-in-law, could still read her well enough. She snorted coldly: "The yield from the barren mountain is public property, and I never asked Daohua or Wentao for a single cent. The family hasn’t split yet, but that doesn’t mean the money they earned belongs to the whole family."
"If Daohua wants to buy an estate, it’s with her own money. If you want to buy one too, no one is stopping you. Just use your own silver."
Yan Zhiyuan immediately laughed: "Yes, yes, mother is right. Sun Shi has a big mouth; don’t mind her."
Old Madam Yan gave a glance at her second son and snorted: "It’s good to have things out in the open. Otherwise, who knows how you all would badmouth me behind my back?"
Yan Zhiyuan laughed awkwardly: "How could we dare, you’re just thinking too much."
Old Madam Yan continued, "Since we’re being clear, let me add one more thing: in the future, if Wenxiu and the other younger ones are capable, the money they earn should be theirs, and the adults shouldn’t interfere too much." She glanced at Yan Zhigao and Madam Li.
Yan Zhigao and Madam Li exchanged looks and quickly nodded in agreement.
Clearly, the old lady was giving them a hint. They hadn’t realized that their daughter was such a little money-maker.
Not only did she earn her own silver, but she also helped out the clan.
Daohua remained quiet, a faint smile on her face as she watched Old Madam Yan speak up for her and secure her interests. As soon as the old lady finished speaking, Daohua, eager to please, quickly placed a chicken leg into her grandmother's bowl and sweetly said, "Grandmother, eat quickly before the food gets cold."
Seeing her granddaughter’s eager attentiveness, Old Madam Yan felt much more at ease and snorted before picking up the chicken leg to eat.
The two of them, enjoying their meat, sat in front of the others, who could only have porridge and vegetables, their mouths dripping with oil and faces full of satisfaction.
Yan Wenkai sighed: "Grandmother really has a good appetite!"
After several days of traveling, by the end of February, the Yan family finally arrived in Xingzhou prefecture.
The state prefecture building was much larger than the county office, and as expected, the courtyard was much more expansive. Not to mention, there were more rooms in the yard.
Madam Li, following the division of rooms in the county office, assigned rooms to each branch of the family so everyone could settle in first. Other matters would be dealt with later.
"Mother, can I have my own courtyard?" Daohua immediately asked for her own space after touring the back yard of the state office.
She didn’t want to share a courtyard anymore; it was too inconvenient.
....
This novel is translated by the Eternal Novel Hits translators. Please read it at https://eternalnovelhits.blogspot.com
....
Madam Li pretended to be upset: "What, you really don’t want to live with me?"
Daohua quickly acted coquettishly: "No, no, I’ll visit you every day if I live elsewhere! Mother, please let me have my own courtyard!"
"You!"
Madam Li enjoyed her daughter’s affection and kept smiling: "Have you found a courtyard you like?"
Even if Daohua didn’t ask, Madam Li had already planned to let her have her own courtyard. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to live with her daughter, but since Daohua was already nine years old, having her own courtyard would help her learn to manage servants.
Daohua’s eyes brightened and she immediately picked out a courtyard with a wide view.
Madam Li followed her to have a look. The courtyard wasn’t far from the main house and was also near the old lady’s, so she nodded in agreement: "Do you want to give your courtyard a name?"
Daohua immediately tilted her head in thought. She wasn’t good at naming things, and after a long while, still had no good ideas: "Mother, you help me name it."
Madam Li smiled and tapped Daohua’s forehead: "You lazy girl." After a moment’s consideration,
she said, "How about calling it Daohua Xuan?"
Daohua quickly nodded: "That’s a good name! It’s obvious it’s my place!"
(End of Chapter)
►►CLICK HERE FOR ADVANCE CHAPTERS◄◄
Comments
Post a Comment