Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

When it was almost 9:00 pm, the cloth deliverymen arrived. Because of their arrival, Liujia Village was in an uproar.

The cloth and cotton bought by the two families filled four carts.

The carriage stopped directly in front of the new house, and many villagers gathered behind it.

"Tsk tsk, it seems that Miss Xu has made a lot of money. These cotton and cloth must be worth dozens of taels, right?"

"Do you think Mrs. Zhang will come over to make trouble?"

"Why are you still making a fuss after we've split up? To be honest, Xu-ya-tou is a capable person. Not only does she make money on her own, she also brings us along..."

"Have your mushrooms grown yet? I'll be able to pick the first batch in two days."

"My house will be ready soon..."

Uncle He heard the knock on the door and came out. He knew what was going on at a glance and asked He Lei to go next door and tell them.

"Excuse me, everyone. Is this the Jixiang Cloth Shop in the county?" Aunt Lin had already told him about the goods being delivered by the cloth shop.

"It's no trouble, no trouble. May I know who you are?" The person asking the question was a young man, who seemed to be the leader of the team.

"I am the official of this house, my surname is He! You have worked hard, please go into the house and have a drink of water and rest. I will go and ask someone to unload the things."

"Thank you, Butler He. We won't go in as we have to rush back to the county town later." The man replied politely.

Uncle He didn't say anything more, and Liu Xu happened to hear the noise and came out.

"Miss, the cloth and cotton have arrived!" He Yi said respectfully.

"Qiao Yun, go find your father and ask him to bring two people out to move things." Liu Xu nodded, then turned sideways and instructed Qiao Yun.

"Yes, miss!" and then ran away.

The villagers who were watching around were all stunned when they heard what they said.

"Hiss... Oh my God, is Miss Xu using servants?"

"Yes, yes, I heard it. That person calls herself the housekeeper and is called Miss Xu Yatou?"

"See? There are two maids beside Miss Xu!"

"It's incredible!"

The crowd was talking, and Liu Xu heard it, but he didn't care. The house was built, the people were bought, and it couldn't be hidden.

Soon, Liu Ming came out with Zheng Li and Zhou Qiang. The three of them called out "Miss" and went straight to move the things.

One hundred and sixty kilograms of cotton, more than forty rolls of cloth, and rags. Although not heavy, it took up quite a lot of space. It took several people two trips to move it all.

Seeing this, the leader said goodbye and left.

After the carriage left, some brave villagers gathered around.

"Xu girl, how much did you sell the mushrooms for? You bought people and cloth?" The voice told me that it was the most gossipy old lady Zhou in the village.

"It's Grandma Zhou! We did sell some silver, but we only bought cloth. These people were sent by Young Master Chang because he saw that we were few in number and was afraid that it would affect the mushroom production." Liu Xu naturally understood the principle of not showing off one's wealth. If the villagers knew how much money they spent, who knows how much news would spread, so she directly pushed the blame onto Chang Yifei.

"Oh, this Young Master Chang is so kind? Could it be between you two?" The meaning of his words was self-evident, and the other villagers also pricked up their ears.

"Grandma, you can eat anything you want but you can't say anything you want. I'm just a little girl, so I won't say anything to tarnish the young master's reputation. You also grow mushrooms at home. If he hears this, you say the mushrooms in your home..." Liu Xu said seriously.

"Oh, look at the old woman's foul mouth!" Old woman Zhou understood what she meant and slapped herself in the face. "Xu girl, don't tell the young master, the old woman is just talking nonsense, nonsense..." As she said this, she ran away in two steps as if she was afraid that Liu Xu would call her back.

Liu Xu rolled his eyes and then said to the villagers around him:

"Everyone, stop crowding around and take good care of your mushrooms. The young master said he will come to harvest them in a few days."

"Ah, it will take a few more days, Xu girl. My family can pick them tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The weather has been very cloudy these past two days. What if they don't dry out and go bad?"

"Yes, yes, mine can be picked, too!"

"Well, if it's not dried, it will definitely go bad." Liu Xu paused, and seeing everyone's anxious faces, he said:

"How about this, if you are worried about them going bad, you can send them to my house. I have a drying room at home, so you don't have to worry about them going bad. It's just that the drying room has costs, and mushrooms lose a lot of energy when dried. It takes ten kilograms of mushrooms to produce one kilogram of dried mushrooms, so I can only charge twenty-five cents per kilogram for fresh mushrooms to break even."

"Ah, then...then one pound must be a loss of three cents?" a young woman muttered. Some of the others nodded, while others seemed to be waiting for Liu Xu's answer.

"One pound of dried mushrooms costs 260 wen, and ten pounds of fresh mushrooms can produce one pound of dried mushrooms. Not to mention how much money my drying room cost, the drying process consumes a lot of firewood. Sister-in-law, according to what you mean, I will not only have to pay for the mushrooms, but also for the firewood. Why would you do this? Twenty-five wen per pound is just enough to break even. If I wasn't worried that everyone's mushrooms would rot, why would I do this thankless task?"

The woman that Liu Xu confronted blushed with embarrassment.

"We can't do this. If it weren't for Xu girl, we wouldn't have the chance to make this money. Let alone twenty-five cents, I think twenty cents is already a high price. Yong Wazi's family, you're not satisfied with getting something for nothing?"

It turned out that the woman was Liu Yong's new wife, Xiao Wang. Liu Yong was Liu Xu's cousin within five generations. Xiao Wang's face turned redder when she heard this. She wanted to leave but also wanted to see if they would say anything.

When Liu Xu heard the voice, she knew it was her second grandmother. She couldn't help but look towards the direction where the voice came from with curved eyebrows.

"Second grandma, why are you here too?"

"I saw a lot of people surrounding the new house, and I was worried that you were going to be bullied again." Meng walked closer, took Liu Xu's hand, and said kindly.

"No, Second Grandma, there are only some finishing touches left for the new house. We went to the county town yesterday to buy some things, and the young master sent some people, so everyone came to see the fun. Second Grandma, come with me to see my new house, what do you think?"

"That's great, it's such a big house, but I don't even know what it's like inside!"

"Yeah." Then he turned to look at the villagers.

"My dear grandpas, grandmas, uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters-in-law, I charge 25 cents per pound for fresh mushrooms. If you trust Xu'er, please send them to me. If you don't, you can find a way to deal with them yourself."

"I believe in you, Miss Xu. My family will be able to pick them tomorrow. I'll send them over after I'm done picking them, okay?"

"Yes, just send it here, and Uncle He will settle the money for you later. However, I suggest that if you have extra money, you can build a fire wall and a fire bed first, so that you can produce more mushrooms and dry them yourself."

"Okay!" the man said happily.

"Everyone, if you have nothing else to do, please go home!" After saying that, he took Meng's hand and led her to the yard. Huanxi looked at her and went forward to hold Meng's other hand, while Qiaoyun followed behind Liuxu.

Uncle He closed the door before walking into the yard with them.

"Oh my, she is just an old country woman, no need to support her, she looks like the old lady in the opera."

Meng was supported by Huanxi, her face was full of smiles, but she was very honest in her words even though she was disgusted with her body, and she didn't even say to take her hand back.

"Hey, Second Grandma, aren't you just an old lady in our family? When my uncles and aunts make money, they will buy you a maid or something, and you and Second Grandpa can just enjoy your life at home."

Liu Xu said with a smile.

"Hahahaha, okay, okay, then I'll wait for their display of filial piety." Mrs. Meng laughed heartily. Xu Ruolan and the others heard the voice and hurried out to greet her.

"Second Aunt is here, come and sit in the inner room."

"Donglai, are you all right? Bring my two nephews and grandchildren over here so I can take a look at them."

"Thank you for your concern, Auntie. Everything is fine." She took Meng from Huanxi's hand and led her to the living room. Auntie Lin and Yue Niang held Xu'er and Hao'er respectively and bowed to Meng.

"Meet the Second Old Lady!"

"Oh, okay, okay, let's take a look at these two treasures!" Meng said happily.

The two little ones have woken up now. They are almost three months old and are much stronger. Their little faces are getting more round and cute, their eyes are more lively, and they are full of curiosity about everything around them. Xu Ge'er looked at Meng with dark eyes, showing her a toothless smile, and drooling. Hao Ge'er jumped in Yue Niang's arms with all his strength, but unfortunately he was wearing thick clothes now, so he couldn't move freely and could only make noises.

"Oh, look at these two boys. They are raised so well. Which one is the eldest and which one is the second?" Meng reached out to tease one and then touch the other.

"The quieter one is the eldest, Xu'er; Hao'er has been impatient since he was young." Liu Xu took Xu'er from Aunt Lin's arms and motioned her to prepare meals.

Liu Xu thought about it and followed him out.

"Aunt Lin, let Brother He Lei and Brother He Feng come with me to the old house to get some things! We came back in a hurry yesterday, and we didn't prepare any dishes here."

"Okay, miss!" Aunt Lin nodded, turned and left.

Liu Xu went back to the main room, "Mother, Second Grandma, you guys chat first, I'll be back soon."

Xu Ruolan understood and agreed. She chatted with Meng.

Liu Xu asked Qiao Yun to stay here to help, and she left happily.

At the door, He Lei and He Feng were already waiting. Without saying much, they went towards the old house.

After opening the door and entering, Liu Xu found a backpack and asked Huanxi to fill it with most of the meat and vegetables from the kitchen. She also asked He Lei to catch two chickens, and He Feng followed her into the room where the grain was stored.

"Brother He Feng, can the two bags be moved away?" Liu Xu asked, pointing at two sacks of rice.

"No problem." He Feng said little, picked up a bag in one hand and walked out. Liu Xu was stunned behind him. Maybe, perhaps she underestimated He Feng.

Then they took a basket and went to the mushroom house to pick some fresh mushrooms. They added some firewood to the brazier in the house, closed the door and returned to the new house.