A Good Country Wife
Chapter 278 - 272 Enough for You to Endure_1

Chapter 278: Chapter 272 Enough for You to Endure_1

After coming back from seeing the Wei master, Zhao Lingxiang thought it over and decided to immediately return to the Zhao family village to see how Chunxi’s progress was going. The master was no longer satisfied with just growing bean sprouts, having heard that Zhao Erhu was selling not only bean sprouts but also tofu skins, dried beancurd sticks, and various braised dishes at the market. If she could get her hands on the recipes for making these, she could definitely make a fortune. Therefore, she wouldn’t hesitate to spend silver to buy those recipes.

Now that the Wei master had tasted the sweetness of selling bean sprouts, he became much more generous with his spending than before. Holding the two hundred taels of silver notes given by the master, Zhao Lingxiang felt much more confident. She would first ask Chunxi if she had gotten any new recipes, and if not, she would have no choice but to go to Zhao Erhu’s house. Now she wasn’t just asking for their family recipes for nothing; she was ready to buy them with money. She refused to believe that Zhao Erhu and his wife could resist the lure of silver.

Zhao Lingxiang had underestimated the importance of that recipe. Zhao Erhu’s household was now a big operation; they had hired people, and Zhao Erhu was making more money in just one month in Xin’an City than the two hundred taels of silver. Besides, was Wei master the kind of person who would let others take advantage of him? If he was willing to spend silver to buy the recipe, it surely meant that the recipe could make him a lot of silver. The two hundred taels were nothing compared to the amount he could earn, a mere drop in the ocean. Although Wei master had rewarded Zhao Lingxiang for the recipe, he would not reveal to her how much silver he had made with it, so she remained blissfully ignorant and self-satisfied.

Zhao Lingxiang only found out about Chunxi selling the recipe when she arrived at the Zhao family’s old house. Nonetheless, Zhao Lingxiang still held onto a glimmer of hope and sent Xiaocui to call Chunxi over.

"Yes, Auntie, I will go right now," replied Xiaocui, who had become much more clever than before. When Zhao Lingxiang instructed her, she did not do so with reluctance anymore.

As Zhao Lingxiang was currently in favor, Xiaocui, as her personal maid, naturally rose with the tide. She strutted around the estate with her head held high. Everyone knew she followed a ’good’ master, but no one knew how her current arrogance would lead to her down fall in the future. It seemed that everyone in the estate did not have a high opinion of Zhao Lingxiang and thought her favor was only temporary.

The reason Zhao Lingxiang still wanted to find Chunxi was mainly to save some silver. Naturally, she wouldn’t return the two hundred taels to the Wei master. The less she spent on the recipes, the more she kept in her pocket, becoming her private savings, which would make her future spending less restricted.

Although she had a monthly allowance in the past, there were days when she was not favored in the estate, and everything required spending money for proper attention. Even for a full meal, she needed to tip the chef in the main kitchen; otherwise, she might end up with leftovers gone bad from others’ tables. Even the maids who served close to the Madam needed to be tipped, or they might speak ill of her in front of the Madam and make her life difficult. There were endless such matters to recount.

Zhao Lingxiang’s monthly allowance was divided here and there until it was almost gone, leaving not much to save. Over these years, she had saved only a little over twenty taels of silver. Last time, she spent five taels in one go to buy the recipe from Chunxi, which hurt her deeply. Fortunately, the business was successful, and the master had rewarded her quite a bit recently; golden hairpins and silver bracelets when exchanged for silver totaled a few hundred taels. So lately, she had started to be more generous, occasionally tipping Xiaocui a dozen or twenty copper coins.

Xiaocui put on a happy face as she took the money, but inwardly she disdained Zhao Lingxiang for being too stingy. Despite being favored, the master had given Zhao Lingxiang quite a few gifts, and this amount of money seemed inadequate. She felt embarrassed for Zhao Lingxiang who boasted about being favored. Once, to curry favor with the Madam’s head maid and secure a good position, Xiaocui had spent half a tael of silver at one time. Luckily, Zhao Lingxiang was presently in favor, and there were not a few in the estate trying to ingratiate themselves with her, allowing Xiaocui to earn a decent amount of silver on the side.

You Family, after finding five taels of silver at Chunxi’s place last time, didn’t hesitate to let Xiaocui visit this time, not even requiring Xiaocui to offer extra silver coins as a bribe. If Chunxi could get more silver from Auntie Zhao, it would be much more beneficial than this little advantage. Moreover, their family had tried growing bean sprouts, taking them to the market to sell each time there was a fair. Over these days, they had made a little more than a tael of silver. Thinking about the silver, You Family didn’t find Chunxi so detestable anymore.

Chunxi wasn’t at all surprised to see Xiaocui coming for her; so many days had passed already, and these last couple of days, she had been wondering when Auntie Zhao would come looking for her. But because of last time’s incident, Zhao Jingui and You Family were keeping a close eye on her, and she had no chance to go out and run errands for Auntie Zhao. If she informed Zhao Jingui and You Family, given the allure of silver, they might let her out. However, if the silver didn’t end up in her hands, what was the point? It would be a complete waste of effort, a free service for that adulterous pair—she wasn’t that foolish. She would rather throw the silver into the water to watch it float away than to let that adulterous couple benefit from it.

"Chunxi, Auntie Zhao has sent someone for you, asking you to come over. Hurry up, don’t keep Auntie Zhao waiting," You Family urged, seeing Chunxi’s unhurried demeanour.

"Alright, I know, I’m coming right away." Under normal circumstances, Chunxi would never dare to defy You Family—this woman was too cruel and vicious, capable of instigating Zhao Jingui to beat her half to death with just a few words.

As soon as Zhao Lingxiang arrived at the Zhao family’s old house, it was impossible for Li Xiaomei not to know; even though the Wei Family and Zhao Lingxiang resented Li Xiaomei for being a double-agent, they were helpless against her. Li Xiaomei was a shameless type, with a sharp tongue, unwilling to suffer any loss. Whatever secrets the Wei Family and Zhao Lingxiang had, they had to be even more careful with their words to make sure Li Xiaomei didn’t overhear them.

Li Xiaomei, although frustrated for being unable to eavesdrop because of the vigilance of the Wei Family and Zhao Lingxiang, soon thought of a strategy. There’s a saying, "For every Zhuge Liang’s wit, there’s a Sima Yi’s ladder"; inspired by her son, she bribed the children born to Zhao Quan and the Jin Family, promising them benefits if they helped with the eavesdropping. If they overheard anything useful, she would reward them with candy.

Although Li Xiaomei and the Jin Family didn’t get along, what did the children know? The Wei Family had always been frugal and never bought snacks for the kids, who didn’t get to eat anything good on normal days, so upon hearing about the candy, they readily agreed.

The Wei Family and Zhao Lingxiang both thought children were ignorant of adult matters, and if they did overhear anything, they wouldn’t understand it. Besides, these were Zhao Quan’s and the Jin Family’s children—they weren’t very guarded against them. Little did they know, though these kids didn’t understand the adults’ conversations, they diligently memorized the words for the sake of the candy, and as soon as they left, they would mimic it all for Li Xiaomei.

Li Xiaomei first bribed a few kids to help her keep watch. The moment Xiaocui stepped out the door, she followed right after, heading to Zhao Erhu’s house to inform Lin Yue.

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