Chapter 1740 Sell Things in Secret
"Thank you, Sister-in-law. I can't let you help me for nothing. Let's share ownership of the livestock at my house evenly! Take it as a gift from me," Qiao Mei said readily.
She did not care about these possessions at all, but was more concerned about the house being left vacant. She could not possibly hire a helper to look after the house. That would be too extravagant. In a tiled house like this, the brick bed needed to be heated up every few days to bring some energy into the house. Otherwise, when she returned in spring, the house would be unlivable.
"What are you doing! Those chickens and ducks are so expensive! It doesn't take much effort for me to help you take care of them! If you do this, you make it seem like I'm only after your things!" Liu Yun said unhappily.
"Sister-in-law, that's not what I mean. I'm giving you these things willingly. Otherwise, I also won't be able to finish them myself. I want you to take all the eggs too, otherwise they'll be wasted when I'm not here," Qiao Mei said.
Liu Yun thought for a moment and said, "That's doable! But you have to come back once a month to bring some eggs home to eat. These eggs are from your own chickens and ducks. They're definitely more delicious and nutritious than the ones you buy outside. Treat them as nourishment for yourself!"
"Alright, I'll do what you say," Qiao Mei said in relief.
After saying that, Qiao Mei went home to pack her luggage to move back to the capital. After a while, news spread that Qiao Mei was going to give some livestock to Liu Yun. Everyone was very envious of Liu Yun, but there was nothing they could do about it. After all, the two women were on good terms!
Qiao Mei frowned slightly and said, "It'll only take me a day or two to do it myself. I can still come back here. Sister Song Zhi, why don't you go and ask someone else?"
Song Zhi still wanted to continue speaking, but Liu Yun had come behind Song Zhi and said, "She hasn't even left yet and you already want to take advantage of her! You're too shameless!"
Liu Yun's voice was especially loud, so when she shouted, everyone opened their doors and came out to take a look. Seeing this, Song Zhi ran away embarrassedly. Qiao Mei sighed helplessly. When she first arrived, she thought that Song Zhi was a nice person. It was really true that one could not judge a book by its cover.
The other women were also jealous of Qiao Mei and Liu Yun, but the seeds which Qiao Mei gave them when she first came were indeed quite good. The harvest was much more delicious than anything they had planted before, and the volume and sizes were also better than before. Qiao Mei also gave them a lot of things from time to time, so no one was too bothered about it.
"Don't lower yourself to her level and don't be nice to her. She's such a person. Her family is facing some difficulties, so she's looking for ways to plant more crops so that she can sell them to make money," Liu Yun said to Qiao Mei.
"Sell for money? How? I don't usually see her going out," Qiao Mei said in puzzlement.
"You won't know this, but she cycles out in the wee hours of the morning every day with all kinds of things strapped down behind her. She only comes back in the afternoon. It's the same every day. I can tell at a glance that she goes out to sell things," Liu Yun said softly.
"This is not allowed in the army, right..." Qiao Mei said.
The economy was not fully opened up yet and trading was only allowed in some areas on a trial basis. Song Zhi's actions were still considered opportunistic behavior! She would be arrested and criticized! Song Zhi's husband would also be punished! This was a very serious matter.