Chapter 32: I Want to Eat Lard

"I'll accept the lard that Second Brother gave. I won't accept anything else you guys want to give me," Qin Xiaoyao said sternly.

"Otherwise, if you guys give me something every time I come, won't that simply confirm what Aunt said, that I'm the parasite of the Qin family?"

Seeing Qin Dazhuang's awkward expression, Qin Xiaoyao continued. "I've finally decided to turn over a new leaf and rely on myself. You guys better not spoil me anymore."

Qin Dazhuang was stunned, speechless.

He felt that his daughter's words made sense.

In reality, this was what he had hoped for.

However, for some reason, when he heard his daughter say this, his heart ached a little.

The main thing was that now that his son-in-law was injured, his daughter's family had to spend money in many areas. His daughter was really not having an easy time.

Seeing that Qin Dazhuang didn't say anything, Qin Xiaoyao was relieved.

"That's settled then. We'll do that in the future. If I want to eat meat, I'll pay for it myself."

"You can treat me as an ordinary customer and charge me as much as required. This way, Aunt will not make things difficult for you either."

Qin Dazhuang felt himself choking up.

He wanted to argue that his wife didn't dare to make trouble for him, but after thinking about it, he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.

"Alright, it's getting late. There are many things to do at home today. Father, I'll make a move first." Qin Xiaoyao said to Qin Dazhuang while looking at the market stalls, which were about to close for the day.

After speaking, she prepared to put the bamboo backpack on her back.

Qin Dazhuang quickly stepped forward to help her with the basket.

"Wait for the ox-cart at the city gate. Remember to take the ox-cart back," he reminded her.

He couldn't bear to see his daughter walk back with such a heavy load.

"No need to remind me!" Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile.

Although she agreed verbally, in her mind, she was dead set against taking an ox-cart.

It was still the same reason. As she was carrying too many things, her fare would be increased.

After saying goodbye to Qin Dazhuang, Qin Xiaoyao didn't stay in town for much longer and left quickly.

On the way back, Qin Xiaoyao walked very fast because she was worried about the situation in the mountains.

In the end, it only took her twenty minutes to return to Brook Falls Village.

It wasn't even noon, but the mother and two kids had already returned from collecting firewood on the mountain.

At this moment, they were sitting under the roof eaves, weaving straw sandals in the courtyard.

When they saw Qin Xiaoyao return with a basket full of things, the three of them were very surprised.

Of course, the happiest person was still little Song Ye, who almost threw himself into his sister-in-law's arms.

"I left in a hurry today, so I didn't buy candied hawthorn." Qin Xiaoyao was amused and caught Song Ye with a laugh.

A trace of dejection flashed across the little one's tiny face, but he quickly laughed again.

"It's okay if you didn't buy it! Ye'er doesn't need to eat candy!" he said sensibly.

Hearing this, Qin Xiaoyao was even more pleased.

"I don't have candied hawthorn, but Sister-in-law bought some sugar today."

"In the afternoon, I'll let Mother and Yun'er fry the lard and put sugar in the dregs of fat. It'll be more delicious than candied hawthorn!"

Lard scraps were her favorite when she was young.

If she added some sugar, the taste would be even better!

As she thought of this, she began to crave it greedily.

Song Ye's eyes also lit up when he heard this.

Song Yun also looked at Qin Xiaoyao in joyful surprise.

"You bought lard?" Madam Liu looked at Qin Xiaoyao's bamboo backpack. Through the holes in the basket, she could see the white-marbled texture of the lard inside.

Judging by the size, the lump of lard was quite big.

"I didn't buy it. My Second Brother gave it to me. It's a total of 20 catties," Qin Xiaoyao replied.

"I'll tell you everything after I've put the things away." With that, she went into the kitchen.

Madam Liu was no longer in the mood to make straw sandals and followed her.

Seeing Qin Xiaoyao trying to lower the bamboo backpack, she quickly went up to help her daughter-in-law take it down.

"Your… your second brother gave you so much lard, he must have spent a lot of money!" Madam Liu said with a frown.

Yesterday, the in-laws came over to lend them money and even paid for her eldest son's medical expenses.

Then, the daughter-in-law's eldest brother gave her another two taels of silver.

And today, the daughter-in-law's second brother gave her another 20 catties of lard.

Madam Liu felt that her own family was really taking advantage of the in-laws!

Seeing Madam Liu's reaction, Qin Xiaoyao was quite satisfied.

"This is the last time. I've already told my father that I won't accept anything from them in the future. We'll rely on ourselves to live our life."

Madam Liu nodded.

"That's right!" She agreed with her daughter-in-law.

At the same time, the way she looked at Qin Xiaoyao was more affectionate.

It seemed that she had really misunderstood her. Her daughter-in-law was indeed a good person…

Qin Xiaoyao smiled at Madam Liu.

"Let me tell you what happened in town today." As she spoke, she pulled Madam Liu to one side, and they sat down.

"Oh, alright." Madam Liu agreed with a smile. Seeing her daughter-in-law's bright smile, she guessed that something good had happened.

"First of all, the 100 catties of Chinese yam. Uncle Zhao bought them from me at the price of five copper coins per catty, and the total was 102 catties."

Madam Liu's eyes lit up.

"So, that's five… five hundred and ten copper coins?" She made a quick calculation.

Qin Xiaoyao nodded.

"Yes. And Uncle Zhao said that if that item sells well at their restaurant, they'll continue to buy from me."

"Good, good," Madam Liu replied with a smile.

"And then there's the matter of the straw sandals." The corners of Qin Xiaoyao's lips curled up.

Sure enough, when Madam Liu heard the phrase 'straw sandals', she immediately looked nervously at her daughter-in-law.

"I went to Sung's Grocery Store on West Street and bought two catties of lamp oil. When I saw that the store was also selling straw sandals, I asked the shop owner whether they accept mine."

Qin Xiaoyao's smile became even more radiant when she saw Madam Liu getting more and more nervous.

"In the end, the shop owner bought five pairs of straw sandals from me at the price of three copper coins a pair!"

Madam Liu's eyes instantly lit up.

"I've sent the remaining seven pairs to my father."

"Looking at the current situation, I think if we can make enough straw sandals… Selling them in the grocery stores in town might be a good idea."

There were many grocery stores in town, and if they could work with all of them, they would not be able to make enough straw sandals to sell to the stores.

"Good, good!" Madam Liu replied in the affirmative repeatedly.

"The straw sandals that Yun'er and I made are much better looking than the ones we made last night. I'll show them to you and see if there's anything that needs to be improved." With that, Madam Liu stood up.

Qin Xiaoyao didn't stop her and simply watched her mother-in-law walk out.

Then, before long, Madam Liu came in with two pairs of straw sandals, followed by Song Yun.

"Have a look..." She walked to Qin Xiaoyao's side and handed her the straw sandals in her hands.

Qin Xiaoyao reached out and took them.

She found that they were actually quite well-woven, not much inferior to those she wove herself.

After scrutinizing them thoroughly, Qin Xiaoyao gave a few suggestions and returned the straw sandals to Madam Liu.

"Just pay attention to the problem I mentioned, and it should be okay."

"Alright!" Madam Liu answered quickly.

"We're not in a hurry to make straw sandals. You guys take your time to practice. When you have become more skillful, you can find time to weave them."

The mother and daughter quickly nodded.

"There's a third matter." Qin Xiaoyao changed the topic.

Then, she took out the twelve doses of medicines from the bamboo backpack.

After sorting them out into their respective uses, she explained to Madam Liu how to administer the medicine.