CH 39

Bonus chapter for Vixen, Shirayaki, and Heemi. Thank you for the kofi.

Chu Li was really fast. They had just discussed business yesterday, and today he brought the people over.

Qiao Yuan smiled and said, “Did you already anticipate that I would agree?”

Chu Li tugged at Qiao Yuan’s sleeve with a pleading look, hoping he would let him off easy.

He brought six people in total, two men and four women. It was fortunate that the shop’s kitchen was spacious enough, otherwise they would not have enough room to move around.

These people were well trained. Each one of them is obedient and well-behaved. They are very discipled that even Ming Xu and Ming Chen became nervous because of them.

The shop was particularly busy for a while.

And so, Qiao Yuan finally fully experienced what it felt like to be a hands-off boss. He barely did anything except talk for the whole morning.

He felt so relaxed and comfortable that he also wanted to rescue Yu Dameng.

Qiao Yuan tallied his current assets. He had about two hundred taels of silver, and the shop had a daily income of more than four taels. He wanted to hire another person for the iron shop, someone who could swing a big hammer.

He also added another person to Yu Qiao Ji and taught them together with the people Chu Li brought over, so that he could launch new products for the shop in the future.

With the previous experience, Qiao Yuan was familiar with the process this time, and finally chose a pair of husbands.

The man was called Xing Wu, and his husband was called Zheng Xin. They were originally ordinary farmers, but they had a relative who once had fame in the local area, but later committed a capital crime. They did not benefit from him but were implicated and stripped of their status and enslaved. They were honest and decent people.

When Qiao Yuan brought them to the iron shop, Old Man Yu and Yu Dameng were testing the new stove they had made. After the new stove was lit, the fire was strong, and the room was very warm. The smoke was all vented outside through pipes, so it did not choke people inside the room.

Old Man Yu immediately felt this was a success and happily said, “This heating is great.”

Xing Wu, who was watching from the side, also thought so. If he had money in his hand, he would also be willing to buy one. This was much better than a brazier, warming up the entire room without choking people.

Coal was expensive, so most households would only be willing to light a stove when it was extremely cold. There were still more than twenty days to prepare for that, and it would not be warm until the second month next year.

Old Man Yu had learned from the previous experience of making shredders and peelers, and immediately decided to make more of them before selling them.

Qiao Yuan had no objections and only discussed with Yu Dameng about quickly producing tools for making honeycomb coal.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner. When he returned home from work that day, he saw Lin Cuifen’s face full of joy.

Qiao Yuan wondered, “Mom, what happened that you are so happy?”

“Your elder brother sent a letter saying your brother Qiu is pregnant!”

Wang Xiucai from the neighboring village was Yu Laoda’s old classmate, and he was also studying in the prefectural city. He had something to do at home, so he returned from the city and brought a letter from Yu Laoda.

Meng Qiu and Yu Laoda had been married for more than two years, but they had not yet conceived. Although Lin Cuifen did not say it out loud, she was hoping for it in her heart. This morning, they finally received some reassuring news.

She was going to have a grandchild!

Qiao Yuan also felt happy for Meng Qiu.

Lin Cuifen continued, “Mother is just waiting for your good news.”

Qiao Yuan: “……”

Why did she have to push the responsibility onto him?

As several people were happily chatting, a woman entered the door and asked, “Is this the home of blacksmith Yu?”

Qiao Yuan looked at her festive attire, which resembled that of a matchmaker, and suddenly felt uneasy.

Lin Cuifen was puzzled. What was matchmaker Wang from Wangjiawan doing at her house? There was no one in the family who needed to be married off.

But the matchmaker Wang clapped her hands and ran straight towards Yu Dameng with a smile on her face, “Is this the young man Dameng?”

Yu Dameng widened his eyes and quickly took a few steps back.

Lin Cuifen’s face was not very good, and she asked why they had come to her door.

Matchmaker Wang glanced at Qiao Yuan, and thought that the husband of this Yu family was truly good looking. She felt nervous and a bit guilty in her heart.

“Elder sister, I have naturally come for matchmaking.” Matchmaker Wang said awkwardly, seeming to try to take Lin Cuifen’s hand eagerly, but Lin Cuifen skillfully avoided it. “We don’t have anyone who needs to be married off.”

“Elder sister, aren’t you just pretending to be confused?” Matchmaker Wang had come to Yu Dameng and Qiao Yuan’s home. It was obvious who this marriage was for.

Qiao Yuan glared at Yu Dameng fiercely.

Yu Dameng wished he could prove his innocence. He immediately held his little husband’s hand tightly and shouted at matchmaker Wang in a rough voice. “I don’t want it!”

Matchmaker Wang was startled by him. She smiled awkwardly and waved her handkerchief. “Young man, don’t be in a hurry to answer. Listen to me first. That girl is twenty-eight years old, good-looking, and has a good temper. She doesn’t ask for much, just to be your concubine wife. She will surely give you a big fat son!”

“Nonsense!” Yu Dameng was both angry and anxious. How could someone come specifically to destroy other people’s marriages? “I only want my husband!”

Qiao Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. He squeezed Yu Dameng’s hand and winked at him, pulling him behind himself. “Auntie, I don’t know the purpose of whoever asked you to come propose, but you heard my husband just now. He has no intention of taking a concubine. Please go back.”

Qiao Yuan has a good-looking appearance and speaks with a gentle and polite tone. Matchmaker Wang suddenly felt embarrassed and her eloquent mouth became stuttered, “I…I have offended you, I…I will leave now!”

Seeing this, Lin Cuifen laughed and saw off the guest, intending to pry for more information.

After the person left, it was time to settle accounts.

Qiao Yuan stood there with his arms crossed, looking unwilling to indulge anyone.

Yu Dameng felt nervous and tongue-tied as he circled around Qiao Yuan. “Yuan…Yuan Ge’er, I only want you.”

Qiao Yuan snorted lightly, “Men become bad when they have money.”

“But,” Qiao Yuan paused slightly and smiled wickedly. “If you dare to find a second one, I’ll go find someone else too!”

“No way!” Yu Dameng immediately exclaimed loudly.

Qiao Yuan held back a smile and pointed at his cheek. “Then kiss me.”

“Ah?” Yu Dameng was often caught off guard by his little husband’s sudden changes.

At the entrance, their mother was still talking to the matchmaker Wang, and with just a slight turn of her face, she could see this side. Yu Dameng pursed his lips and quickly planted a kiss on Qiao Yuan’s cheek.

“Kiss kiss!”

Liu Ge’er somehow popped out from nowhere. His words caused Yu Dameng’s face to flush red.

“You are so naughty, you little rascal!” Qiao Yuan chased after Liu Ge’er and laughed and played with him, leaving Yu Dameng alone to cool down.

Lin Cuifen had also learned the truth from matchmaker Wang. She cursed Xu Xiuhua viciously for being useless and not doing anything good.

She secretly told Qiao Yuan about it. “I don’t know when Yanhe had this idea. But don’t worry, there is absolutely nothing between Dameng and her. They only talked a little when they were young. Our family has never interacted with theirs.”

Qiao Yuan nodded. This was more or less what he guessed.

These people from the Qiao family were really disgusting. He hadn’t had time to deal with them, but they kept coming to his door again and again. Especially this time, they touched Qiao Yuan’s reverse scale. Qiao Yuan thought for a while and had an idea.

Lin Cuifen saw Qiao Yuan in a daze, and worried that the couple would have a quarrel because of this. She said, “I know my son well. He is like that. He can’t even fart in front of other girls or boys. He would never do anything to betray you.”

“Mother,” Qiao Yuan laughed. “Where are your thoughts going? I know him too.”

Throughout this matter, Yu Dameng did nothing wrong. He deliberately teased Yu Dameng to add some spice to their marriage, but he didn’t really get angry.

Besides, with Yu Dameng’s personality, nothing would happen if others didn’t take the initiative!

Qiao Yuan thought of this and couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Yu Dameng who was playing with Liu Ge’er in the distance.

Yu Dameng knew that Lin Cuifen and Qiao Yuan had private words to say. Although he was far away from them, he kept paying attention to Qiao Yuan’s side. Seeing that Qiao Yuan was constantly looking at him, he couldn’t help but stand up and walk over to him, asking, “What’s wrong?”

The two of them looked at each other, one tall and one short. Although no words were spoken, there was a warmth between them.

Lin Cuifen, who was watching from the side, sighed secretly that she had thought too much. With her son and son-in-law’s sticky and sweet appearance, there was no second pair like them in the whole village!

The next day, Qiao Yuan gave Xiao Fengxian ten taels of silver. “If you succeed, I’ll give you another ten.”

Xiao Feng Xian readily agreed. This matter didn’t take much effort and was practically free money.

So, that day, Xiao Fengxian sent a letter to Qiao Guangzhi, and Qiao Guangzhi happily agreed to meet her. “Did you miss me?”

Xiao Fengxian pretended to be coquettish in his arms, “I think of you every day, but you never come!”

Qiao Guangzhi liked Xiao Fengxian’s looks and appreciated her gentle thoughtfulness. He patiently coaxed her.

When she felt that the atmosphere was right, Xiao Fengxian clung to Qiao Guangzhi. “Qiao Lang, can you take me in? I want to be with you every day.”

Qiao Guangzhi thought she was joking, and immediately agreed. “Okay, okay, I’ll accompany you every day.”

“I’m being serious,” Xiao Fengxian said earnestly. “As I get older, I want someone to rely on, and I also want to have another child so that I have someone to depend on when I’m old.”

Qiao Guangzhi realized that she was not joking, but he couldn’t possibly take such a woman as his concubine. It would be a joke if it got out. Although he thought this way, he didn’t show it on his face. “I also want to take you in and be with you every day, but my proper wife is very jealous and not easy to get along with.”

Xiao Fengxian pretended to cry on Qiao Guangzhi’s shoulder when she heard this, but she was disdainful in her heart. Who would want to be your concubine? I’m living a good life with plenty of fun!

After all the preparations, the next day Xiao Fengxian wore a golden hairpin, dressed in silk, and rode a sedan chair to Xianhe Village.

With such a grand appearance and being a stranger, the villagers couldn’t help but be curious, and many people followed along the way to watch the excitement.

They saw her arrive at Qiao’s house, and she called out to Xu Xiuhua as soon as she saw her. “Sister.”

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter.