A Good Country Wife
Chapter 341 - 335_1

Chapter 341: Chapter 335_1

Lin Yue, though she had her suspicions, had no evidence to speak of; after all, the nuances of business were complex, and since her family provided goods to several prominent households in Xin’an City, it was possible to run afoul of certain people, any of whom could have been responsible.

"I’ve managed to find out a little about what’s going on, and I have arranged a meeting with a manager from the Li Residence tomorrow. Then we’ll know for sure who’s been undermining us." Zhao Erhu had his suspicions but, like Lin Yue, he wanted concrete confirmation.

When Lin Yue heard that Zhao Erhu had everything under control, she did not inquire further. Instead, she rubbed her empty stomach. She hadn’t eaten much at noon due to feeling unwell, and now she was feeling extremely hungry, expecting that by this hour, Erhu should have prepared dinner.

"Erhu, have you made dinner? I’m hungry." Lin Yue batted her eyelashes, looking pitifully at Zhao Erhu, moving him with her vulnerability.

"I’ve made dinner already, and the kids have eaten. I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t wake you. I kept the food warm in the pot and also made you some pig trotter soup—it’s perfect for nourishing your health."

"Why did you make pig trotter soup again? I’ve told you I don’t like it." Lin Yue frowned upon hearing it was pig trotter soup. She had said several times that she didn’t care for it, yet Zhao Erhu kept buying it to make soup for her, having heard somewhere that it was beneficial for women, though she could never get him to listen.

"This pig trotter soup is good for your health; it’s the best. I even added peanuts to stew with it—it’s really fragrant. You’ll know once you try it." Zhao Erhu coaxed his young wife; Niuniu was too picky about food, clearly disliking many good things. He wondered why he couldn’t get her to gain weight, no matter what he tried. Zhao Erhu wanted to correct his young wife’s fussy eating habits, but sadly, she always managed to distract and beguile him out of it.

"Just stay in bed; don’t come down. I’ll bring the dinner to you from the kitchen." Considering how severely Lin Yue’s stomach had hurt earlier and the coldness of the weather, Zhao Erhu thought it best for her to stay warm under the covers instead of getting out of bed and catching a chill, which could lead to another bout of stomach pain.

Under normal circumstances, Lin Yue would refuse to eat in bed as she wasn’t accustomed to it. But this time, she really didn’t feel like moving, so she lazily nodded and watched as Zhao Erhu went to the kitchen.

After being served dinner in bed by Zhao Erhu, the two chatted for a while, mostly about business matters and ideas. Thinking about Zhao Erhu’s early trip to the city tomorrow, Lin Yue suggested he sleep early. She nestled into Erhu’s embrace and stared at the ceiling, idly wondering if she would have trouble falling asleep after her long nap during the day. To her surprise, she fell asleep not long after.

"Brother Erhu, weren’t you supposed to meet with the Li Residence’s manager in the city today? Why are you still at home?" When Lin Yue woke up in the morning, the sun was already out, and it seemed to be well into the day, yet Zhao Erhu had not left.

"It’s alright; we’re meeting at the restaurant around noon. I wanted to watch you eat breakfast before I go." Zhao Erhu placed the breakfast he’d prepared on the table, including a bowl of yesterday’s pig trotter soup.

When it came to Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu couldn’t help but worry, even over the smallest things. He understood his young wife all too well—she was attentive to him and the children, yet negligent toward her own needs, rarely taking care of herself. Now that the children were attending Scholar Zhang’s classes and wouldn’t be home for meals during the day, Zhao Erhu knew Lin Yue wouldn’t bother to cook just for herself; she would just get by with something casual. So before heading out, he made sure to prepare all her meals and reminded Lin Yue to finish her food.

"I get it, Zhao Erhu, stop nagging already. You sound like an old woman. I’m not a child anymore; you don’t need to tell me all this. Just rest assured," Lin Yue watched as Zhao Erhu went on and on without leaving, then touched her forehead and said helplessly. Old men are indeed old men—so talkative!

If Zhao Erhu knew what Lin Yue was thinking at that moment, he would probably be so angry he’d spit blood, cursing Lin Yue as ’heartless little wretch!’

This time, the invitation to the Manager of the Li Residence was extended by Zhao Xinglin, who acted as the host. Upon arriving in the city, Zhao Erhu first went to wait for Zhao Xinglin at the entrance of the Government Office, and then they headed to the restaurant together.

Although the Manager of the Li Residence had put on airs in front of Zhao Erhu before, he was still just a minor manager. Now that Zhao Xinglin had become an arrest officer at the Government Office, even their master had to ingratiate himself with him. Therefore, with Zhao Xinglin hosting, Manager Li didn’t dare to act important and arrived at the restaurant ahead of them to wait.

"Officer Zhao, Brother Erhu, you’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting for a long time," he said.

"Manager Li, sorry to have kept you waiting. I have already booked a private room upstairs, please!" Now that Zhao Xinglin had been promoted to arrest officer, the number of people trying to curry favor with him had increased, as had the number of social dinners. Seeing Manager Li’s attitude wasn’t surprising to him. He was just anxious to help Erhu sort things out and find out exactly who was stealing his brother’s business.

With fine food and good wine, Manager Li got a bit tipsy—just the right time for prying information. Moreover, Manager Li had agreed to this meeting and hadn’t intended to hide anything from Zhao Erhu. So, as soon as Zhao Erhu asked, he spilled everything he knew like bamboo tubes pouring out beans, and none of the truths he revealed were a surprise to Zhao Erhu.

Lin Yue had warmed up the meal Zhao Erhu had prepared and eaten it at noon, and was just thinking about visiting the workshop when Zhao Erhu unexpectedly came back early. Zhao Erhu, too, was anxious about Lin Yue being alone at home, which is why he had hurried back after quickly dispensing with Manager Li.

"How come you’re back so soon? Did you find out everything? What did Manager Li say?" Seeing Zhao Erhu return, Lin Yue was also eager to know the outcome and asked before Zhao Erhu could even sit down.

"I found out everything. It’s the Wei Residence behind all this. I didn’t expect that old Master Wei to be so capable; it seems he’s had his eye on our family’s business for a while." As Zhao Erhu spoke, he also relayed all the information he had learned from Manager Li to Lin Yue.

"It’s indeed that old Master Wei. It seems we guessed right. But I didn’t expect him to make such a big move this time. Not only did he steal our business, but in his greed, he also sought to ruin our family."

Turns out, the Wei Residence’s people had approached various residences that Zhao Erhu’s family delivered goods to, claiming they had ingredients just like those from Zhao Erhu’s family, but at a third of the price, and thus managed to take their business away. As for the Government Office, since it was the Magistrate himself who originally designated their family for the provision, there was no replacement. However, there were also people bad-mouthing them before the Magistrate, who simply chose not to act on it.

The Su Residence was the other family still sourcing ingredients from Zhao Erhu’s family. The head of the Su Residence had a good relationship with the Magistrate, and it was actually the latter’s recommendation that originally led them to Zhao Erhu’s family. Having found their supplies indeed satisfactory, the Su Residence was the only other residence besides the Government Office that hadn’t terminated their contract with them.

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