The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 889 - 195: Repaying Kindness with Power_2

Chapter 889: Chapter 195: Repaying Kindness with Power_2

Pei Qin agreed and had Old Chang from the Silly Melon Seeds Shop hurry the workers to make a batch of Drunkard’s Peanuts to compensate them.

Once the business was taken care of, Pei Qian began to lead people with the contract to seek compensation from the vegetable farmers—they had signed a contract, to deliver the goods on time, and upon delivery, payment was to be made. The contract was beneficial for both parties, but also binding. The farmers could not sell their cabbages to anyone else, and Pei Qian could not refuse to accept their cabbages. Therefore, this year’s breach of contract called for compensation.

Many cried and begged, unwilling to compensate. They claimed they were illiterate, tricked into thinking it was Sun Quanliang’s son, since they all knew Sun Quanliang, the long-term steward at the Pei Qian family workshop. Moreover, they argued that since the spicy cabbage recipe was made public, its price would surely drop in the future, and they, as farmers, would not make much money from it!

"You all have learned the spicy cabbage recipe as well, so you can make and sell it yourselves in the future and still earn money! But the matter of compensation stated in the contract must be fulfilled!" Pei Qian had no sympathy. Every year, it was Sun Quanliang and Zhang Dacheng who came to collect the cabbage. Even if the person who came instead resembled them, there would’ve been doubts and mistrust. But they sold their cabbage carelessly for a higher price, so now they had to compensate her! Those Drunkard’s Peanuts were given away for free, costing her quite a bit of silver!

After a commotion, quite a few of the vegetable farmers compensated according to the contract, and those who made trouble, afraid of seeing officials and getting beaten, reluctantly forked over the compensation.

Pei Qian then used the silver to fill the gaps in the nut shop’s finances.

Fang Hui and Feng Shouxing also made a fuss with Boss Wu. Until now, they still hadn’t received that other three hundred taels of silver!

The business of the noodle shop had declined drastically and was quickly running into deficit. All because of the trouble caused by those wretched girls of Pei Qin’s! Now they couldn’t even make spicy cabbage, so they had to get those three hundred taels of silver!

But Boss Wu seemed to have forgotten about the matter, avoiding Fang Hui and Feng Shouxing altogether. Since their agreement was only verbal, without any written proof, he was even more certain that Fang Hui and Feng Shouxing would not dare to make a fuss. Otherwise, Pei Qin would deal with them even more brazenly!

By November, everyone’s spicy cabbage was out of the pickling jars. Although the recipe was the same, the taste varied because different people made it, adding to the richness of flavors.

Since Boss Wu’s spicy cabbage was sold in large quantities and quickly, he managed not to lose money.

However, the people of Yuanyang County were all craning their necks, waiting to see how Pei Qin would deal with Boss Wu, daring to offend her as he did.

In silence, Pei Yuan rented two shops across from Qian Wanxiu’s silk shop, both upstairs and downstairs, renovated them, and placed the hurriedly made wedding clothes and various ready-to-wear garments for New Year’s socializing and going out in the shop.

Qian Wanxiu quickly noticed something was amiss, seeing that she had also opened a shop right across hers, clearly competing for business, and was immediately furious.

Soon, Pei Wendong, Chang Yonglin, and Xiao Yong, who had gone out to travel, returned. With them was Fang Fu, bringing back a batch of silks and brocades from the south, as well as various ethnic minority patterns and brocades, and even some of their "exotic costumes." They also brought back several embroiderers with distinctive accents.

After being on the road for half a year, the three "Radishes" had all grown taller and darker, and seemed more mature. But once back home and reunited with their sister, they reverted to their true selves, chattering non-stop, talking about everything under the sun.

With snow floating outside, Pei Qin had a whole sheep slaughtered and stewed in a soup. Everyone sat around the stove indoors, roasting and eating mutton.

Jiujiu wasn’t shy at all, sitting in her uncle’s lap, her little mouth stuffed with meat, and cheekily directing Pei Wendong to grill things for her to eat.

"I was worried that Jiujiu wouldn’t recognize me!" Pei Wendong said happily, and soon he had fed Jiujiu to her satisfaction.

Xixi was completely unfamiliar but was smiley with everyone, allowing anyone to hold her. They passed her around for a while, playing with her using toys.

Pei Qian was also worried that Xiao Yong and Xiao Yi, the cousins, might reveal their identities to one another after meeting.

As it turned out, neither recognized the other!

Xiao Yong knew of Xiao Yi, but Xiao Yi simply thought he was like Chang Yonglin, studying with Mo Heng and on good terms with Pei Wendong, always staying in Liu’er Alley without giving it much thought. Because Xiao Yong had been weak since childhood and rarely appeared in public, Xiao Yi did not recognize him at all.

Zhang Gengshan, Cao Li, Liu Feng, and a few others who knew the identities of both did not show any unusual reactions to the oddly harmonious and lively atmosphere at home.

Excellent! Very harmonious!

The next day, Pei Wendong once again packed up the things he had brought back and went to Qinghe Town. Pei Yuan was thrilled with happiness, and as an uncle returning home, he naturally had to visit and compensate for his absence.

Pei Yuan kept them for the night, and the siblings had a good conversation before returning home.

The family was preparing for a wedding, and in half a month, it would be Pei Qian’s day to get married. Fang Liuming had already sent several letters, saying he was preparing to return and would arrive a few days early, coinciding with the one-month celebration of Fang Fang’s child.

Additionally, with the opening of the ready-to-wear shop and the approach of the New Year, the siblings were all busy with daily hustle and bustle.

Once the shop was ready, Pei Yuan picked an auspicious day and officially opened for business.

For the three days before the opening, the shop offered various promotions, including discounts on custom-made clothes, and full reductions on purchases.

There were also various colors and patterns of fabrics, with lower to mid-range downstairs, and mid to high-range upstairs.

As the shop was directly opposite Qian Wanxiu’s silk shop, the two were now head-to-head, piquing everyone’s curiosity, and people flocked to see the commotion.

This immediately boosted business, and Pei Qin, Pei Yuan, Pei Qian, and others all changed into the shop’s signature outfits, serving as live advertisements. On the opening day, the business was booming.

Fang Hui looked at the deserted state of her noodle shop from afar and came over to watch. Seeing Qian Wanxiu’s silk shop equally deserted and the crowd outside their ready-to-wear shop, she glared bitterly, gritting her teeth. That little wench! With Fang Liuming’s return, Fang Li would surely come back too, and she wouldn’t let Pei Qian get her way and become an officer’s wife!

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