Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

There were three large basins of tofu. Once the tofu was set, it was sent directly to Fourth Uncle's house. Wang Cuiying would cut it into small pieces, serve it with dipping sauce, and arrange it on a plate. This was all arranged in advance.

The braised meat was also packed into several large basins and sent directly to Fourth Uncle's house, where Wang Cuiying would then plate it. Wang Qing'er prepared enough for thirty tables, so even if everyone ate a lot, it would still be enough.

My mother-in-law came back yesterday and said that the other dishes at my fourth uncle's house were also prepared for thirty tables, so there was no need to worry about not having enough to eat.

Even if there's too much, it won't go to waste. There will be a feast in the evening, and in this kind of weather, it won't spoil even if left for an afternoon or a night.

If all else fails, just put it in the well to keep it calm. Each of my uncles' families has two wells, which can hold it.

After loading the lunch dishes onto the carriage and sending them off, Wang Qing'er cleaned up the kitchen.

Everyone in the family was busy with their own work, and she yawned as she walked towards her own yard.

I'm not tired, but I got up too early and I'm really sleepy. I'm thinking of taking a nap because I still need to prepare dinner this afternoon.

If there's still time, I'll also make some aloe vera gel.

Worried that she might oversleep in bed, she grabbed a blanket and prepared to take a nap on the deck chair in the yard.

In a daze, I felt like I was being picked up. I was so sleepy that I couldn't open my eyes at all.

She sniffed, smelling the familiar scent, and instinctively put her hands on his neck, snuggling into his arms.

"Husband, why are you back so soon?" This man really only went to deliver vegetables, why is he back so soon, without even helping out?

"Why aren't you sleeping in bed?" Mu Nan carried her into the room.

"I was worried I'd oversleep." Wang Qing'er always spoke her mind to her husband, never hiding anything.

"Qing'er, how about we suspend the braised meat business at Fuxianglou for a few days?" He really didn't want his wife to work so hard.

"No, I can handle it." Wang Qing'er was really sleepy and didn't want to open her eyes. She nestled in his arms and objected, her tone very firm. How could he possibly make her stop doing business?

Mu Nan persisted, saying, "I don't want you to be too tired."

"It's okay, it'll only be a few days. Just hang in there and it'll pass."

Wang Qing'er thought to herself, "My mother also gets up every night to make braised meat to sell. Why doesn't my husband care about his mother at all?"

She made her shut down the business after only one day; that's a bit of a double standard, and also shows a lack of filial piety.

He really is an unfilial son who forgets his mother after marrying a wife.

Mu Nan was unaware that his wife had already labeled him as unfilial, and continued, "I'll feel bad if you get too tired."

"But I also feel bad when there's no income at home."

"It'll only be a few days..." Mu Nan gently placed her on the bed, wanting to continue persuading her.

Wang Qing'er had no patience to listen to his nagging anymore, and quickly and firmly stopped him, saying, "Stop, the family business can't stop."

More than ten taels of silver a day? She was absolutely reluctant to part with it. Just thinking about the lack of income made her uneasy.

"Husband, don't worry. It just means I'll get up a little earlier. I can catch up on sleep during the day, right? And as long as you don't cause trouble at night, it's fine. I'm going to sleep now. You can go do your thing."

Wang Qing'er rolled over, wrapped herself in the quilt, and rolled into the inner part of the bed, turning her back to the outside, and fell into a deep sleep.

For some reason, Mu Nan felt as if her heart was being torn apart, and a pain came over her.

Why does my wife dislike me so much? The night before last, I didn't touch my daughter at all while she was here, and last night I didn't touch her either because I thought she would be tired from getting up early. It's been two nights already, doesn't she miss me at all? Or does she just dislike me?

He just couldn't figure it out. The only thing he couldn't understand was that his wife didn't like him that much, so why did she agree to consummate the marriage in the first place?

After thinking it over and over, I felt a pang of distress. In the end, I decided to respect my wife's wishes. If she didn't want me to touch her, then I wouldn't. As long as she wasn't angry, that was fine.

Wang Qing'er had been busy these past few days and hadn't paid any attention to her husband. She didn't know that he was holding a grudge and had even misunderstood her, thinking that she didn't like him.

Three busy days passed, and then came the day Mu Xia got married.

We got up very early to make braised meat. Today, not much braised meat was ordered for the banquet, but Fuxianglou placed an extra order for 30 catties of braised beef, 20 braised ducks, 20 braised rabbits, and 30 braised pig trotters.

Mu Xiao knew that his sister-in-law had been working too hard these past few days, so he didn't agree at first. But when he heard from Manager Li that it was for the wedding banquet of the Lin family in the county town, he decided to give it to them.

Upon hearing this, Mu Xiao realized what a coincidence; wasn't the Lin family the same family her cousin's husband's family?

When they returned and asked Wang Qing'er, she agreed without hesitation. "It's just a matter of braising a few more pots. We can just use five pots at a time."

Today, Fourth Aunt's family didn't have much, just enough to braise together with the ones sent to Fuxianglou.

She prepared tofu and cold shredded chicken and wood ear fungus salad before breakfast, took a nap, changed her clothes, and went to her fourth uncle's house.

When Wang Qing'er arrived at her fourth uncle's house, most of her relatives and friends had arrived, but she only recognized a few of them whom she had met before.

"Qing'er is here! Come sit here and have some melon seeds." Aunt He, with her sharp eyes, spotted Wang Qing'er walking into the courtyard and greeted her with a smile, inviting her to sit down beside her.

"Lotus, eat more! I can take care of my daughter-in-law myself," Wang Cuiying said to Aunt He with disdain.

He turned his head and waved to his daughter-in-law with a smile, "Qing'er, come sit here with me."

"Okay, Mother." Wang Qing'er felt a little flustered by the probing gazes of the women in the courtyard, and obediently sat down next to her mother-in-law.

Fourth Aunt also came over, took Wang Qing'er's hand, and said with a smile, "Qing'er, none of your uncles, aunts, cousins, or sisters have met you before. Your mother will introduce you to them later, so don't be nervous."

"Okay, Fourth Aunt, I'm not nervous." Anyway, the ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her parents-in-law eventually. She's been married for a few months now, so she should get to know the other members of the Mu family. After all, they're all family, and they'll inevitably have interactions in the future.

Wang Cuiying did not introduce everyone to her daughter-in-law, but only introduced her to several uncles, aunts, and brothers and sisters of the Mu family.

Wang Qing'er greeted them all with polite smiles, but her smile became somewhat stiff as she did so.

She had just greeted so many people, and when she turned around, she had already forgotten who was who.

“Qing’er, it’s all old ladies and aunts here, it’s very noisy. Let me take you to Muxia’s room to sit.” Ming Wanqing said, taking her hand.

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Wanqing." She recognized Ming Wanqing, whom she had met a few days ago.

"You silly child, we're all family, why are you being so polite with me?" Ming Wanqing pulled her towards the backyard.

"Xia'er, look who's here!" she called out as soon as she entered Mu Xia's courtyard.

"Sister-in-law, come and sit down."

Mu Xia sat upright in front of the dressing table. She had already changed into a bright red wedding dress. Her long, black hair was all combed up on top of her head, with tassel gold hairpins on both sides of her hair bun, each inlaid with two green jade stones.