"She is good at embroidery. Our embroidery shop can't always do ordinary jobs. We can't earn much money from it."
"You want to befriend her?"
"Yes, just buying those things today cost nearly ten taels of silver. This is not counting the house that Mother rented to her."
"Mother, be careful that she's an ingrate."
"No, Mother is accurate in judging people. If she were bad, she would not use this method to get Mother to help her."
"Are you still going later?"
"I'm not going. I'll go tomorrow. Hurry up and pack up. We'll close the shop and go home for dinner."
Lu Ruxin said, "Mother, why don't you let me cook for her tomorrow? Since your daughter likes peace and quiet, why don't you let me draw flowers and do some embroidery there?"
"Alright, come over for lunch. After closing the shop in the afternoon, your sister and I will pick you up and bring you home."
"Alright, Mother!"
In Peach Blossom Village, when the Tian family was having dinner, the two tables in the house were unusually quiet.
The departure of one person did not affect his family. Qiao Mai had stayed in the firewood shed for three days, and his family survived. They didn't die of exhaustion, just that some people had to work harder.
It was just that he had suffered too much at Qiao Mai's hands today, and he could not vent the anger in his heart.
Old Tian pulled a long face and picked up his bowl to take a sip of porridge. Only then did the others dare to eat.
"Whose maiden family is in Lihua Village?"
" Old Zhou's eldest daughter-in-law," said Madam Tian Li.
"That blabbermouth?"
"Yeah."
"When you are free, tell her to inform the Qiao family when she returns to her family. Although we don't interact, the Qiao family is poor. If they know their daughter has divorced, they will definitely think of something to do with her. If she dares to divorce Sanzhuang, let her family sell her again. Even if they can't sell her, they will at least make things difficult for her."
Madam Tian Li knew her husband couldn't swallow this anger and wanted to punish Qiao Mai. She pursed her lips.
"I don't even know if she can survive outside like that."
"If I tell you to go, then go."
"Got it!"
Although Qiao Mai slept soundly in the space, she had always been vigilant. It was a habit of being an agent for many years. She woke up when the baby cried and fed her before going to sleep. She did not eat anything the entire night.
Once the sky was bright, she left her space and put on a thick coat, cotton pants, and cotton shoes. Then, she went to the kitchen with a bowl and sugar water.
Seeing the neatly arranged pots and pans in the kitchen, she took a deep breath. She would definitely repay this favor.
In movies and on TV, she had seen ancient people burning stoves. She knew how to make a fire in the wilderness.
She opened the lid and saw the millet porridge inside. Qiao Mai added a handful of wheat straws in the kitchen and beat them with a flint before adding some firewood.
Then, she went to the kitchen outside the bedroom and used the same method to burn the stove.
Just as she returned to the kitchen and was about to dig in, the courtyard door rang. Qiao Mai looked outside and saw a girl who was a little older than Ruyi.
"You are?"
"I'm Shopkeeper Lu's eldest daughter, Lu Ruxin. My mother is busy in the shop and sent me to take care of you."
"Look, I can move. You don't have to take care of me."
"No, my mother said I have to guard you for ten days. Also, you can't catch a cold."
"I'm sorry. I can do it myself."
"It's okay. I'm used to doing this at home."
As she spoke, Miss Ruxin entered the kitchen. "Go back to your room. I'll heat some porridge for you."
"I'll eat here. It's the same if I go back after eating."
"Alright, sit down. I'll do it."
Ruxin put down the table and went to the courtyard to get a stool for her. She peeled the eggs and put them into the pot. She also added a few spoonfuls of brown sugar.
Qiao Mai wanted to eat like this as well. She sat there obediently while Ruxin waited for the pot to boil. She felt that the eggs were already warm before scooping up a large bowl and placing it on the table for her.
"Eat it while it's hot."
"Have you eaten breakfast?"
"I only came after eating. I'll go to the shop to eat with my mother and sister at noon."
Qiao Mai blew on the spoon in her mouth while Ruxin sized her up.
"You're so skinny!"
"In my in-laws' house, I have two meals a day, and every meal is rice soup. How can I not lose weight?"
Ruxin glanced at her chest. It was flat without any bumps. She looked down at her own chest and suddenly blushed.
Qiao Mai saw her expression and laughed in her heart.
"How old are you?"
"I'll be fourteen soon. I'll be of age in September, and my younger sister is twelve. There's only Mother and us in the family."
"What about your father?"
"He was gone on a business trip. My mother didn't remarry with us. Fortunately, my grandparents were great to my mother and supported her, so no one in town dared to bully us."
"Mm, you guys have a good and supportive family."
"Grandmother is also good, but she lives a little far, more than two hundred miles from here. My mother wanted to be closer to my maternal home, and coincidentally, there was no embroidery workshop in this town, so she opened this shop here."
The little girl was talkative. Her eyes were clear and bright, and her appearance was beautiful. Her fingers were slender and long. One could tell at a glance that she was a clever person without any schemes.
After breakfast, Qiao Mai went back to her room and lay down. The bed was warm underneath her. Ruxin moved the table to the fireplace and placed the things she had brought with her on the table.
"I don't know what to call you. You don't look very old, but you call my mother sister."
Qiao Mai saw her conflicted look and burst out laughing.
"You can call me by name."
"No, my mother calls you girl."
"Then you can call me Auntie Qiao?"
"I'm afraid I'll make you old."
"I don't mind. Let's just call me that."
"Alright then. I'm here to take care of you, not to spy on you. I'll draw on the table and won't disturb your sleep."
"I've slept all night. Why do I need so much sleep? Go ahead. I'll sleep if I can. If I can't, I'll lie down for a while."
"Alright."
Watching the girl focusing on drawing, Qiao Mai stretched out her hand to take a look. Indeed, it was much cleaner. Those who didn't know better would think she had taken a shower.
Unfortunately, her hands, feet, face, and neck were often exposed to the outside. The mud was too thick, so it was difficult to clean them up in a short time. However, this was already not bad.
Qiao Mai was afraid of dirtying the quilt, and her mild mysophobia returned.
She quickly looked inside the quilt and was relieved to see no dirt.
She said she had slept enough for the whole night, but once she got into the warm blanket, she felt sleepy again.
In the end, her body was too weak. Qiao Mai quickly fell asleep again.
At noon, Ruxin made her a bowl of soup with several eggs.
"Auntie Qiao, wake up. It's time to eat."
Qiao Mai opened her eyes, feeling rather embarrassed. "Thank you for your hard work!"
"Eat it while it's hot. Although it's spring, the weather is still cold. I've changed the flavor for lunch. Before I leave tonight, I'll make some porridge and cook some eggs for you. You can eat it as soon as you heat it. Put the dishes in the sink. I'll wash them later."
Ruxin picked up the drawing, rolled it up, then waved at her and left.
Qiao Mai sat up and quickly finished a bowl of hot soup on the brick table. Then, she flashed into her space.
The baby was already groaning. It was time to feed her.
After taking care of the baby, Qiao Mai got up and searched the shelves outside.
Her body was too weak, and she couldn't just eat her fill. She remembered she had collected a few ginsengs. Those ginsengs weren't bought. She got them on her missions.
She found it on the last shelf. There were six ginseng boxes neatly placed. Qiao Mai took out the box on top and opened it.
She was not good at this but knew it was not small. She heard that a few roots of aged ginseng were very useful, so she pulled a few and stuffed them into her sleeves.
She went back to check on her baby. Seeing that she had fallen asleep again, Qiao Mai flashed out of her space.
By the time she reached the kitchen, Ruxin had already cleaned the pot.
So, she boiled half a pot of water and added brown sugar. She put the ginseng root in and boiled it for a while. After drinking a bowl of red ginseng water, she was sweating all over.
Qiao Mai knew the ginseng had taken effect.