The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 196 Malicious Intent (5)_1

Chapter 196: Chapter 196 Malicious Intent (5)_1

After dinner, everyone was sitting inside talking when Old Scholar Fang brought up the matter of building a new house come spring.

"There’s no rush right now, let’s first find someone to inquire about what can be built and how much silver it will take, wait until we have the specifics, then make a plan," Pei Qin hadn’t yet decided what kind of house to build, and she was a bit short on silver coins at the moment.

"Let’s take it step by step," Old Scholar Fang nodded.

Fang Li immediately made a promise, "The matter of Qinqin and her siblings building a house can be left to me! They are just kids and don’t understand these things, I, as their Uncle, will watch over it for them. When the time comes, I will find skilled workers who are good and guarantee both a fair price and quality work!"

Feng Shouxing also said he could help, mentioning that there were several good workers in Feng Family Estate who could assist when the time came, all of whom he knew personally and who wouldn’t dare to overcharge.

Pei Qin smiled without responding and by almost late afternoon, she said it was time to leave.

Fang Li solicitously went to harness the ox cart to take them home.

"I ate a bit too much, it will be good to walk it off, plus it’s not that far!" Pei Qin declined his offer.

Feng Bo said, "We’re heading the same way for a bit, why don’t you ride in our donkey cart, Cousin!"

Only two miles conformed with their route, and Pei Qin, with a smile, accepted, catching a ride with their convenient transportation.

Feng Shouxing then told Fang Li not to bother harnessing the cart, as he would take Pei Qin and her siblings home himself.

When Fang Li saw that Pei Qin agreed to Feng Bo’s invitation and noticed Feng Shouxing’s gaze, his mood soured. In a comparison, Feng Bo only had the advantage of being taller than his own Liuming, but how could he compare to Liuming’s good looks and scholarly pursuits?

Lady Yu carried out a basket that should have been offered as a reciprocating gift, but it was fuller now than when they arrived.

Fang Fang clung to the basket, insisting on seeing what was given in return, to check if her favorite pastries had been sent back.

Lady Yu, helplessly slapped her hand away, then handed the basket over to Pei Qin.

They accompanied them all the way to the outskirts of the village, with Grandma Fang and others only turning back after saying they would come over again on the fifteenth.

Once they had left Fang Family Village, Feng Chun began sniffling, lifted the lid of the basket, and with a silly smile said, "Grandma sent back a box of pastries and another box of fruit." He then told Pei Qin, "You must’ve had things sent back as well!" After that, he covered the basket again, clearly quite delighted.

Pei Qin simply smiled.

Fang Hui struck up a conversation with Pei Qin, asking about her future plans.

"First, I need to raise the three of them until they grow up!" This was Pei Qin’s only goal for now. As for any side tasks that popped up along the way, she would deal with them as they came.

Fang Hui sighed deeply, "It’s really hard on you, still just a kid! Seeing how sensible you are, I almost wish you were my own daughter and could come back with me to the Feng family!"

When Pei Qin reached the part of the road that was no longer convenient for the cart, she called it to a halt, hopped off the donkey cart, "This is as far as Auntie needs to go! The rest of the way doesn’t lead to our home!"

"What are you doing getting off for? We agreed to take you home!" Fang Hui got up, calling for her to get back on the cart.

"They are all too frail, they need more exercise, walking can only do them good!" said Pei Qin, as Pei Yuan, Pei Qian, and Pei Wendong also got off the cart one after another.

Fang Hui also got down, and despite her continued persuasion, she watched helplessly as they turned the corner and walked toward the road leading to Taiping Town.

Once they had gone quite a distance, Pei Qian couldn’t hold back and said, "None of them have good intentions! They all want to take advantage of us!"

"I’m not acting with good intentions either, you don’t have to follow me if you don’t want to," Pei Qin shot her a glance and continued to walk ahead with the basket in hand.

Pei Qian pouted, not accepting it. They really didn’t have good intentions! They ignored them before and now they’re being all attentive, if it wasn’t for the benefits they saw in being involved with them, would they care about them, treat them nicely?

When they arrived home, Pei Qian eagerly opened the basket, large bread buns had been left and returned as jujube flower buns, the fruit had been exchanged for a box of crispy fruit and a box of plum bean pod fruit along with two other boxes of pastries, and at the bottom of the basket were four large goose eggs.