She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 58 - Each with Their Own Thoughts
Chapter 58: Chapter 58 Each with Their Own Thoughts
Chapter 58 -58 Each with Their Own Thoughts
Ye Xinyan heard someone scoffing and her gaze swept over coldly. Indeed, the scoffers were her closest paternal aunts.
Seeing the two aunts join others in ridiculing her, Ye Xinyan did not get angry but gave them a meaningful and radiant smile instead.
Seeking death, huh? Acting on impulse for short-term satisfaction was not Ye Xinyan’s style. She adhered to the principle that if you’re going to strike, it should be at the most critical moment, and now was clearly not the right time.
Her Second Branch family’s good days were still to come, and her aunts’ days were still long ahead. If one could gain benefits without having to be kind-hearted, wouldn’t being a good person be too disadvantageous?
She wouldn’t always run this small rice tofu stall, and the only benefit these people could see was a few cakes every day. Before long, she would venture into more profitable businesses, and this stable rice tofu stall would inevitably be handed over to someone else.
That’s when you’ll have your uncomfortable moments.
Ye Xinyan turned around indifferently, distancing herself from these idle gossipers.
At this moment, Qi Yougui heard that a distinguished person had come looking for the eldest Second Branch son and came over, worried.
On entering the courtyard, Qi Yougui saw a noisy crowd gathered in the eldest son’s yard. His daughter-in-law and niece-in-law were huddling together, whispering while gazing at the back of the Second Branch family’s granddaughter.
Qi Yougui frowned slightly and raised his voice, “Dagen’s wife, what’s the point of loitering here? Go home now, your mother is looking for you.” While he spoke to his daughter-in-law, he also gave Lady Zhang a stern look.
Hearing Qi Yougui speak, Lady Han shrank her neck, glanced at the chatty courtyard, and reluctantly left, regretting that she couldn’t continue to watch the commotion at the Second Branch family and miss out on seeing Ye Zi, the Abandoned Wife, being further criticized.
Lady Zhang, however, was oblivious to her uncle Qi Yougui. With Lady Han gone, she naturally joined another woman, still whispering. She didn’t spare Qi Yougui another look.
Ye Xinyan looked at her own tightly secured door, knowing that Nanny Jin had already taken Qi Jia inside, so she paid no more attention to the few women in the courtyard and instead went to move stools for Qi Yougui and the villagers to use at the stall.
As for those gossiping women, Ye Xinyan pretended not to see them, naturally offering no extra seats.
Women who could gossip in a noisy courtyard were hardly virtuous; they were mostly troublemakers accustomed to prying into others’ affairs and speaking ill of them. If she were to offer them stools, wouldn’t that only further encourage their tendency to make a fuss about nothing?
So, let them stand and chat, thought Ye Xinyan. The enthusiasm these people had for gossip should be enough to make them forget their physical fatigue.
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Qi Younian then explained to Qi Yougui about the young man who had just left, “There’s nothing to worry about, big brother. That person was just asking about the way to make rice tofu on behalf of his master and left after getting the information.”
After some deliberation, Qi Younian decided to reveal the pretext of the inquiry about making rice tofu. In his and Ye Zi’s opinion, Prince Yu would naturally not scheme against a small rice tofu stall; instead, a small device like a bicycle might pique Prince Yu’s curiosity more.
And for poor peasants who spent their lives struggling just for food and clothing, the excuse of inquiring about a rice tofu stall would seem more credible. Moreover, these villagers did not know that the person who came to inquire was a princely figure, akin to a banished immortal.
Indeed, Qi Younian’s explanation immediately convinced everyone in the courtyard.
It was just about the method of making rice tofu, after all. Qi Yougui breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Qi Younian’s explanation.
Ever since Qi Younian started doing business in the county, he had been worried sick that Qi Younian, being unfamiliar with the place, would offend someone powerful in the county town. They were poor peasants who had depended on farming for generations, and they felt more secure making a living on their own familiar land. Doing business was not something ordinary farmers could handle.
Not everyone was like Qi Yougui, who wholeheartedly considered the welfare of his own brothers. Just like the Qi family’s legitimate third brother, who thought differently from Qi Yougui.
Qi Yourong became anxious upon hearing Qi Younian’s explanation. He thought that the young man had already learned the method of making rice tofu and complained with a flushed, pale face, “Second Brother, did you tell him how to make rice tofu? How could you do that? That’s a profitable business, and you haven’t even taught us, your close relatives, how to do it.”
“Yes, yes. Profitable business should not be taught to just anyone,” another villager who was gossiping nodded in agreement.
Who in Clear Water Village didn’t know about the second branch of the Qi family setting up a stall in the county town? Who didn’t envy the second branch of the Qi family for selling a novel food called rice tofu?
And that rice tofu was unique, with exceptionally good business. If the method was so easily given away, wouldn’t it be better to tell these villagers so at least they would remember the second branch of the Qi family’s kindness, right?
Qi Younian, under the intense scrutiny of the crowd, naturally knew what everyone was thinking. There wasn’t only Lady Han in the village trying to find out the method of making rice tofu through insinuations.
Such a profitable method, the villagers exhausted every trick in the book to find out but couldn’t, and yet someone from the county town managed to ask for it. Anyone who was interested in making rice tofu would probably feel uncomfortable, or even angry, right?
Qi Younian smiled and said, “They are of high status, and they wouldn’t care about such a small trade. That young man came especially to ask for the method just for the convenience of his master’s eating. Look, finding the method too complicated, they have already given up.”
“Given up?” Qi Yourong looked at Qi Younian with suspicion and pressed, “Really? The nobles of the county town want to get their hands on your business, and you just say it’s troublesome and difficult to do, and they would just give up like that?” Could it be that he was afraid of being questioned about the method of making rice tofu and just said something casually to deceive him?
“Yes, the nobles of the county, they are not someone we can afford to provoke. Uncle Younian, you must be careful. It won’t do if they didn’t manage to find out the method and pretend not to care on the surface, but inside they’re resenting Uncle Younian,” said a middle-aged man, following up on Qi Yourong’s words.
“No, that’s a fine customer and wouldn’t make things difficult because of a street food. Such people act according to the rules; even if they learned our method, they would give us silver as compensation and wouldn’t just learn it for nothing.” It was just a few folded papers, and they could leave behind two taels of silver; if the Sixth Master’s Mansion really planned to learn to make rice tofu, naturally they would not skimp on silver.
“Really?” a farmer from the village muttered, feeling very regretful. If people from the county town learned how to make rice tofu, maybe the second branch of the Qi family would no longer keep the method a secret. In that case, he could also learn it himself, and even if he didn’t set up a stall in Qingyuan County, going elsewhere to make money would be good.
Now, even the straightforward Qi Yougui could see that the people’s intentions were out of the ordinary.
He stood up and said, “Second Brother, we came over just worried that you were in trouble, to see if there was anything we could help with. If there’s nothing wrong, we’ll leave now, and you can go about your own business.”
After speaking, he called out to Qi Yourong, “Third Brother, let’s go together. Everyone is busy; let’s not delay everyone’s time.”
