The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 200 Malicious Intent (9)_1

Chapter 200: Chapter 200 Malicious Intent (9)_1

The siblings returned home and immediately started preparing for their street stall. Since they didn’t have space at home, the stove and the tables and benches remained at Sun Tiezhu’s house. Now that they were living in the town, they no longer had to get up early.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it was market day in Taiping Town. The siblings got up early to knead dough and fry toppings, getting everything ready.

Over there, Sun Tiezhu had already brought out the stove and the tables, benches, and bowls, helping them to set everything up.

No sooner had they set up the noodle stall than people started showing up, not just to eat noodles but also to inquire about Lady Fang being driven to death by Old Pei’s House.

Pei Qin spoke only of her future plans, saying that as long as she and her siblings could grow up safely and live a good life, that would be enough.

Upon looking at them again, the crowd viewed them with more sympathy and kindness. Before Lady Fang died, there was at least an adult in the household, but now the sight of these children running a stall just stirred pity.

With many customers coming to eat noodles, even leading to a queue forming, the people’s complaints lessened.

Next to the noodle stall was a small container, within which were sugar-fried peanuts wrapped in parchment paper. Each pack cost ten copper coins; those who wished to buy simply dropped their money and took a pack.

Members of Old Pei’s House also came to the market, as Pei Houli was a carpenter who usually took on jobs within nearby villages, so many people recognized him. During the holidays, there were quite a few who pointed fingers and murmured among themselves.

Thus, the ones who came to the market were still Lady Zhu and Lady Chen, accompanied by Pei Wenbo and Pei Wenli, with Maid Shuhua looking after Wenli.

Seeing that Sister Peiqin and her siblings had come out to run their stall again, Lady Zhu silently gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath.

Pei Qin was too busy to even look up, so she didn’t notice them.

Grandma Pei and her daughter-in-law, Meng’s, also came to the market and stood not far from the noodle stall, observing. "With so many people lining up, it looks like their He La noodles really are delicious!"

"If we also sold rice noodles, would we attract so many customers?" asked Meng’s somewhat eagerly.

"I heard rice noodles are quite troublesome to make, which is why they came to us about setting up the workshop. Otherwise, they would have made and sold them themselves!" Grandma Pei said, then added, "But if we did make rice noodles, we could also supply them to noodle shops or even to the county. That should bring in a good amount of money."

Meng’s pursed her lips silently, finding the troublesome tasks relegated to them and not earning much money. She preferred the idea of running a stall like Pei Qin did, earning a decent amount every day and being more relaxed than managing a workshop.

But easy money-making opportunities were not so readily available. Moreover, Pei Li Zheng was the village official and got very busy every summer and autumn with the harvest. Having a small workshop that didn’t require daily stall setup was actually quite suitable.

As the market crowd thinned out, and the people at Pei Qin’s noodle stall dispersed, Grandma Pei led Meng’s over to greet Pei Qin.

"The noodles just sold out. Take a pack of these as a snack for your child," Pei Qin said, handing a pack of sugar-fried peanuts to Grandma Pei.

Grandma Pei initially declined but then accepted it, smiling as she explained the purpose of her visit: they were willing to set up the rice noodle workshop and wanted Pei Qin to teach them how to do it.

"Next market day, we’ll get done early and head over," Pei Qin replied without immediately heading there. She informed them about buying rice and preparing the necessary tools, and before her visit, to soak the rice for several hours in advance, making sure they understood the instructions.

Having received a firm promise, Grandma Pei went home to tell Pei Li Zheng to get ready.

Pei Yuan was thrilled, "Big sister! Pei Li Zheng will now be on our side!"

"Even if he were on our side, he wouldn’t dare confront Old Pei’s House directly," Pei Qian snorted softly.

"At least he won’t stand with them against us," Pei Yuan optimistically said, trusting that everything her big sister had said was coming true. Now it was a matter of seeing how Old Pei’s House would react to Pei Li Zheng’s Family starting the rice noodle workshop, and what would happen with Wenli’s academic exams.

After packing up the stall, Pei Qin went to help at Sun Tiezhu’s house.

Today was the full moon celebration for Sun Tiezhu’s son, Xingwang.

The Zou family came early, and Grandma Sun had brought in a chef to cook, with neighbors coming over to help serve and clean up.

Pei Qin took note of which family brought what gifts, to reciprocate properly in the future.

After busying herself, Pei Qin pulled aside Madam Sun and her daughter-in-law, discussing the construction of their new house. She entrusted the work to Sun Dashun and his sons, who were experienced in this area and had over ten workers under their leadership. Most houses in town were built by them.

Hearing Pei Qin needed a new house built, Madam Sun immediately agreed, "Tie Zhu had already mentioned it, I’ll tell them when I get home to prioritize building yours!"

Pei Qin thanked her with a smile, and later that evening, carrying two pounds of wine and a pack of sugar-fried peanuts, she joined Sun Tiezhu on a visit to Sun Dashun.

Sun Dashun, not very tall with a thin, elongated face, looked younger than his forty-plus years. He agreed cheerfully to start ordering bricks, tiles, wood, and stones right away, ensuring that the building materials would be ready so the construction wouldn’t be delayed.

Pei Qin handed over five taels of silver, and Sun Dashun wrote her a receipt, mentioning that they could start on the second of the second month, which was an auspicious day to begin construction.

On her way back, Sun Tiezhu said to Pei Qin, "How short are you on silver for building the house? I’ve set aside a sum for you. If it’s not enough, don’t be shy—just come over and take it!"

"Right now, it seems we have almost enough, but if it’s not, I’ll come to you!" Pei Qin said, then reminded him, "In a few days, I’ll go with you to the county. The Wang family’s skateboards are almost done, and it would be best to renew the contract with them to keep earning money. We can’t always make one-off deals!"

"Sure!" Sun Tiezhu agreed, warning her to be careful on her way home. They parted at the alley entrance.

Pei Qin walked along Liu’er Alley towards home. Just as she turned the corner, a gust of wind blew, and a dagger pressed against her throat, "Don’t move, or I’ll kill you!"