Li Xinyue did not know that Peng Wang's evaluation of him was so high. He concentrated on roasting the fish.
He thought those officials would cause trouble because of this, and Li Xinyue was already prepared to deal with it.
There was a reason why she did this.
They had just departed from Beijing and still had a long way to go before reaching the northwest.
If she began flattering and pleasing these officials from the start, making them feel it was all a matter of course, wouldn't they make unreasonable demands in the future?
In addition, Li Xinyue also wanted to test these officials' bottom lines, which would allow her to handle things appropriately in the future.
These officials were quite reasonable, judging from the current distribution of roasted fish.
Li Xinyue also had a preliminary understanding of them.
The second batch of carp was roasted, but there were still ten fish.
Li Xinyue took two fish and gave them to Peng Wang and Qin Yichen first.
Although Qin Yichen was injured and could not eat fish, there was no other way during this special period. He could not just watch others eat and salivate.
Moreover, Qin Yichen's injuries were all under Li Xinyue's control. Eating one fish would not hurt him.
Peng Wang took a bite of the roasted fish, and his eyes lit up instantly.
This was the most delicious roasted fish he had eaten.
"Qin Yichen, didn't I say your wife is capable? Even her roasting fish skills are so good. You are fortunate."
"Well, the taste is indeed not bad."
Qin Yichen casually responded with a word, but his mind was even more intricate.
None of Li Xinyue's actions should have been something a young lady from a good family could have done.
However, precisely, her uniqueness allowed the Qin family to suffer little since departing from Beijing.
Qin Yichen's mind was complicated. He felt useless for causing his family to be exiled. Now, he had to rely on a woman to resolve various matters.
Li Xinyue needed to learn Qin Yichen's thoughts. After distributing the roasted fish, four officials did not get any.
Her attitude this time was good. After giving out the food, she naturally could not offend others again.
"My lords, I will go roast the next batch. Everyone will get a share."
Seeing their brothers eat with great appetite, the remaining four officials felt upset.
However, looking at Li Xinyue's busy appearance, not resting momentarily, they still suppressed their anger and waited patiently.
After about ten minutes, the four officials got the roasted fish contentedly.
The others had finished their roasted fish long ago. Looking at the four of them eating, they still could not help but swallow saliva.
The four suddenly felt a sense of superiority. They slowly ate the roasted fish, extremely satisfied in their hearts.
Li Xinyue left a roasted fish for herself and gave the other three to her second sister-in-law.
"Second sister-in-law, please take these three fish to Uncle Xie and the others to try."
The second sister-in-law looked incredulous.
"Sister-in-law, are you serious?"
Li Xinyue smiled and replied, "I'm serious. Uncle Xie and Auntie are getting older and have not eaten enough these two days. Eating some roasted fish will nourish them. Xie Lin also needs nourishing food during her weakness."
The second sister-in-law was so moved that tears almost came out.
"Okay, okay, I'll take them over right away. Thank you, sister-in-law."
Watching the second sister-in-law's quickly disappearing figure, Li Xinyue found a shady place to sit, rest and eat roasted fish.
This move once again attracted countless resentful eyes.
After noticing those eyes, Li Xinyue did not choose to ignore them.
Instead, she met them one by one.
She wanted to see how much these people hated the Qin family.
The first was the Li family, led by the two strong labourers pushing the carts. They all stared at Li Xinyue.
Their mouths kept opening and closing. It was apparent they were scolding her.
Perhaps because they feared those officials, they did not dare to speak loudly.
So Li Xinyue could not hear their voices from her position.
The Li family was no less hostile than the Li family. All their men, women, young and old, were glaring at Li Xinyue.
Especially He Rou'er. If looks could kill, Li Xinyue would have died countless times from her gaze.
She raised the roasted fish towards He Rou'er's direction and took another bite, an action that could drive one mad with anger.
Although the Fang family was also looking at Li Xinyue, their eyes did not contain endless hatred like those of the Li and Lin families.
After careful observation, Li Xinyue found that their eyes seemed to contain pleading and unwillingness.
The Xie family. Li Xinyue had saved Xie Lin's life before. Now, she let the second sister-in-law deliver three roasted fish to them. As a result, their hostility towards the Qin family lessened even more.
Like the Xie family, the Fang family also harboured hatred that could be slowly resolved.
Of course, it would be most appropriate for Qin Yichen to be involved.
After all, only confronting the parties concerned could explain things more clearly.
Li Xinyue now had a good grasp of the situation. She would find time later to discuss it with Qin Yichen.
Just as she finished eating the roasted fish, Peng Wang called her over.
"Miss He, your fishing skills are good. Take this opportunity while we rest to go catch some more fish."
Li Xinyue smiled sarcastically, "Lord Peng, you still haven't eaten enough?"
Embarrassed for having his thoughts seen through, Peng Wang's old face flushed red.
"Uh... yes, let's just say so!"
Even if Peng Wang didn't say it, Li Xinyue also planned to do so.
However, she wanted to take advantage of every opportunity to gain favour.
"Lord Peng, I'm just a young lady. If not for the sake of my family eating something, I wouldn't have waded barefoot into the river to catch fish in front of everyone.
Now that everyone has eaten fish, please don't make things difficult for me."
Rejected, Peng Wang suddenly looked upset.
But thinking of the delicious roasted fish, he still endured.
"This time, you don't need to catch too many, just ten, ten fish."
Li Xinyue pretended to bow her head in thought, acting undecided.
Peng Wang became anxious.
"How about this - you just need to catch ten more fish, and I promise you a condition within my capabilities."
"Since Lord Peng has said it to this point, it would be pretentious if I don't go. Alright, wait for me."
Having achieved her goal, Li Xinyue said nothing more. She removed her shoes and socks and entered the river again.
There were plenty of fish in the river. Catching ten was like playing a game for Li Xinyue.
Soon, she flung ten fish onto the shore.
The sisters-in-law also did not hesitate. They took the fish, squatted by the river to clean them, then strung them on branches.
Li Xinyue thought that since she was already in the river, she might as well catch more fish to keep for supper.
So after catching ten fish, she did not hurry out of the water but continued busying herself there.
At this time, Mrs. Zhao, wife of Fang Chuanzhou, came to Old Lady Mo.
She behaved with utmost humility.
"Old Lady Mo, we were wrong to insult Lord Qin yesterday. Please do not hold it against us."
Old Lady Qin looked at her, not knowing what she was scheming.
"Mrs. Fang, Qin Yichen is no longer a lord now. Just call him by name directly to avoid others seizing the handle to make trouble."