18 Blood is Thicker Than Water

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll call Xin'er over tomorrow. If it doesn't work, I'll let her stay here."

"No, she's a girl. She should go back to your house."

"Tsk, you don't even want a girl to order around."

"Is this what a mother should say?"

"Haha, what's wrong? She's your disciple. What's wrong with ordering her to serve you? I don't feel sorry for her, but you do."

Qiao Mai smiled and said, "I think you should hire two workers to help in the shop. In the future, Ruxin and Ruyi won't be able to do the chores in the shop anymore. How much time will they waste?"

Lu Sanniang thought about it and agreed. "Sister, what you said makes sense. Let's buy two. They won't have second thoughts."

Qiao Mai glanced at her and smiled without making a sound. Lu Sanniang couldn't sit here for long, so she left after a while.

After two days, she bought two girls. They were both fifteen or sixteen years old.

They were not very good-looking, but they looked smart. Lu Sanniang knew very well what kind of girl was suitable for her.

This way, Ruxin and Ruyi were free to concentrate on embroidery. The two worked with Qiao Mai every day and took the time to clean up her house and cook for her before going back.

These two children really regarded her as their master.

Therefore, she was not stingy as a master and taught them all the embroidery skills she knew.

Little Ling'er was already two months old in her space. Qiao Mai had raised her until she was fair and chubby. Although she was a premature baby, she looked healthy.

She had grown fast in the past two months. It was also because of the high-grade milk powder. It was produced by the world's top manufacturers and was not inferior to breast milk.

As the child grew up, her eyes opened.

Qiao Mai would go in every two hours to feed her, change her diapers, pick her up, pat her back, and play with her for a while.

After Qiao Shicheng and his wife took the ten taels of silver, they didn't buy any food. Instead, they went straight home as if they were afraid others would snatch their money.

Qiao Jiang and Qiao He had been waiting at home. They were too embarrassed to follow their parents. Their family was in trouble, but it was not desperate times.

When they first heard their sister was being tortured by her in-laws, the two men did not think to support her in the Tian family.

It was mainly because they had taken the 100 catties of grain from the Tian family and did not even have a dowry for their sister. This made them unable to straighten their backs forever. Moreover, they did not dote on their sister.

After a while, there was news of their sister being kicked by her mother-in-law, causing a miscarriage. Their hearts were so sad.

It wasn't that they felt guilty towards Qiao Mai, but no matter where they went, people would secretly point at them.

The two brothers stayed at home when their sister was being bullied. They knew what happened but pretended not to know. Their honor had been stepped on by others.

Later on, when they found out their sister had been saved by the embroidery shopkeeper, they finally heaved a sigh of relief.

However, they received another wave of disdain from the villagers. Even an outsider could save their sister, but they, the older brothers, did not help. This time, they fell into the gossip train again.

In the past two days, their wives hinted at Qiao Shicheng and his wife, saying that Qiao Mai was doing well now and should help her family.

At first, the two elders were embarrassed to go, but they could not stand the nagging of their daughters-in-law. They gritted their teeth and went.

The outcome was unexpected. They thought they could get some money from their daughter. Who would have thought that their daughter would not only sell herself to the embroidery shop but also owed them twenty taels of silver?

The two were roasted under the ridicule of the people. Qiao Shicheng honestly felt he couldn't erase his pride, so he said those words. The result was something he didn't expect.

However, they were still overjoyed to get ten taels of silver. A catty of wheat with shells was four coins. How much would ten taels buy?

With Qiao Mai's appearance and current status, even if she moved into another household, she would be treated as a mistress. The Qiao family would not get much either. It was fine if they cut off their ties.

However, Qiao Shicheng didn't take the disownment seriously. He felt that when the matter was over and no one talked about it anymore, they would still be Qiao Mai's parents. After all, blood was thicker than water.

When the time came, he would look for the girl and say a few soft words. Qiao Mai might forgive them.

When she did well in the embroidery workshop in the future, she could continue to provide for the family. Anyway, she sold herself and would not marry again. In the future, her money would belong to the Qiao family.

After Qiao Shicheng and his wife took the silver back home, they locked it up and looked at it several times a day, afraid it would be gone. They had never seen ten taels of silver in their entire lives.

The two daughters-in-law were also extremely happy. They went to their mother-in-law's room every day to coax her.

In the end, the silver was divided up. The eldest branch got two taels, the second branch got two taels, and they bought a knife of meat and some food. As for the remaining four taels, Madam Qiao Lu never took them out again.

The Qiao family had spent the money from the disownment on a few good meals, and the two sisters-in-law each had a silver hairpin on their heads.

In the end, they were not utterly shameless. They did not dare to let others know they were eating and drinking well, and they did not dare to wear the silver hairpin on their head. They only enjoyed themselves at home.

After Old Tian and his wife returned home, they were also holding their breaths.

"That b*tch. We agreed not to tell anyone. Now, everyone in town knows about it. She even made the mayor have a bad impression of our family."

"Yeah, no matter what, I have to vent my anger. Otherwise, I'll suffocate to death."

"Don't worry. There's still a long way to go. Her good days won't last long."

A few days later, Tian Yaozu returned from town. As soon as he got home, he lost his temper and smashed everything on the desk.

The Tian family members stood in the courtyard, looking nervous.

They were not afraid of him, but they thought he would be successful in the future, so they let him have his way.

"Grandpa, Grandma, didn't we say that you would go to town to coax her? Why did you alarm the mayor?"

"She hated our family and scolded me the moment she opened her mouth. I'm already so old. How could I stand this? So I quarreled with her."

Madam Tian Li was unconvinced and started spouting nonsense. In fact, it was all her fault.

"This is great. Even the teacher came to me to ask about this matter. My classmates laughed at me and said that although my family was farmers, we did such an unsightly act."

"Anyway, we did our best. If you have the ability, go ahead and talk to her yourself. She spread the rumors in town."

Tian Yaozu roared angrily, "Enough. I've already found out what happened back then. You don't have to say anything. I'll go and see Third Aunt later. Third Uncle went to serve in the military and contribute to the imperial court. How can she separate from him? She had to hurry back and wait for Third Uncle to come home."

The daughters-in-law of the Tian family's first and second sons hid at the side and whispered.

"It's all Mother's fault. What harm would it do to give her some food? Third Brother's wife is so capable. Why does Mother look down on her? If it weren't for the kick that killed her heart, it wouldn't have ended like this."

"That's right. I've been exhausted these days. If Mother wants to torture me like how she tortured Madam Qiao, I'll take my child back to my parent's home."

"Me too. Let that old fart do all the chores at home."

The two women didn't feel guilty saying this. They did not make any less effort when they bullied Qiao Mai.

On this day, Qiao Mai was drawing in the courtyard. Ruxin and Ruyi were already able to embroider.

Halfway through the drawing, Lu Sanniang arrived.

"Sister, that scholar from the Tian family is here. He keeps saying he wants to see you and even calls you Third Aunt. It's not good for me to chase him away."

Qiao Mai narrowed her eyes. "He really knows how to put on an act. When we were at home, he watched coldly as that old fart bullied me. I was the one who poured his chamber pot and filled his bathing water. How dare he call me Third Aunt?"

"He stood at the door for a long time. Are you going or not? If you don't want to, I'll think of a way to get rid of him."

"I'll go. I want to see how long that scholar will act at such a young age."