She Became A Downfall Noble Lady-Chapter 72 - Give an Explanation
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Give an Explanation
Chapter 72 -72: Give an Explanation
The matter of the eldest branch was settled, and the next day at Mao Hour, Qi Cheng and Lady Li left the house together, heading toward the Second Branch family’s courtyard.
During the summer weather, it was already dimly lit at Mao Hour, and the three adults in the courtyard of the Second Branch family had started their work by the light of dawn.
Qi Cheng approached and knocked on the courtyard door, calling out, “Second Uncle, open up, it’s Chengzi.”
Nanny Jin hurriedly put down what she was doing and came to open the door, saying while doing so, “Ah, Chengzi, you’re here already. We didn’t know when you would come over today; from now on, we’ll leave the door unlocked for you two early birds.”
Qi Cheng, who usually came over to deliver firewood and draw water, was familiar with Nanny Jin; he smiled and said, “Nanny, there’s no need to be so formal. It’s still not fully light outside; we should keep the door closed. We’re just here to call out, no hassle involved.”
With Qi Cheng and his wife present, the preparations for the morning food stall became much easier, and Nanny Jin, while baking the triangular pastries, said with a smile, “Now that Chengzi is here to work, it looks like we’ll need to build a bigger oven.”
Ye Xinyan, who was boiling rice milk, laughed and said, “Nanny speaks so honestly, not afraid that big brother and sister-in-law would take it to heart.”
Lady Li, who was helping Ye Xinyan, quickly said, “When speaking among family, it’s better to be straightforward. Why would we take it to heart? We’re here to work; if our presence doesn’t increase productivity, wouldn’t that mean we’re just here for a free meal?”
While chatting, they finished preparing everything, loaded, and secured the items onto the cart, finishing a good half-hour earlier than usual.
Qi Younian looked at the cart and very apologetically said to Qi Cheng and his wife, “This donkey cart is truly too small. You two will have to walk alongside Ye Zi today. We’ve already found a place, and we will put all our stuff there today, so we can all ride together starting tomorrow.”
Qi Cheng waved his hand, “We are young; what’s there to fear from a bit more walking?”
Ye Xinyan thought to herself that they needed to get the rented room in order today, and after closing the stall tomorrow, they would go to the horse and carriage market to buy a horse and acquire a new flatbed cart. Although she intended to permanently conduct business in town, considering that her grandfather had only recently returned, it seemed they would continue to commute for a while, so acquiring a faster horse-drawn carriage was essential.
…
The morning stall’s business hadn’t increased, but with two additional people working, they conducted their sales with ease. Qi Cheng and Lady Li were quick to learn and had a keen eye for detail; they worked appropriately without necessitating excessive direction.
Once the rice tofu was sold out, they closed the stall early, delivered the gear to the rented house, cleaned and tidied everything up, then hurried back to the village.
Even though there was space in the donkey cart, a single donkey still has its limits in strength. Qi Cheng, not wanting to overwork the donkey, insisted on walking and let Ye Xinyan and Lady Li ride in the cart.
When they reached the village, Qi Cheng and his wife refused to stay for lunch, insisting on going home to eat. Qi Younian had no choice but to divide a few leftover pastries and pancake flours for them to take home.
Ye Xinyan firmly told them not to refuse, assuring them that their meal expenses would be included in their wages.
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
No sooner had Qi Cheng and his wife left than Qi Yourong arrived with Madam Song, following behind Lady Zhang, his eldest daughter-in-law.
Fortunately, Qi Cheng and his wife had not eaten at the Second Branch family’s, otherwise, it really would have been an awkward situation.
As soon as Qi Yourong and her party entered, the expression of Qi Jia changed dramatically. His small face turned pale, and a shiver appeared in his eyes. Clinging to Nanny Jin’s skirt, he kept trying to hide behind her.
Madam Song caught a glimpse of Qi Jia’s reaction and felt displeased in her heart. Regardless of everything, it was the Qi Family Third Branch who had raised him. This ungrateful child, upon seeing the people who raised and saved his life, actually behaved this way? Initially, she wanted to scold him, but remembering the purpose of her visit, she had to suppress her irritation, walked into the house with an indifferent face, and stopped looking at that annoying child.
Ye Xinyan knew exactly why Qi Yourong was here and quickly went forward to invite the three people into the house. She then stepped back and whispered to Nanny Jin, “After you greet them, come out. Just manage the cooking with Qi Jia in the yard. I’ll go in and help Grandfather deal with them.”
Madam Song, who was always thoughtful, didn’t say much upon entering. She merely called out “Second Brother” to Qi Younian, gave a wooden greeting to Ye Xinyan and Nanny Jin, and sat down quietly to the side.
Lady Zhang followed beside Madam Song, her face calm and composed, genuinely appearing to be a mild-mannered and indifferent woman.
But Qi Yourong was different, her face full of anger. She plopped herself onto the clay bed in the outer room as she entered and immediately demanded of Qi Younian, “Second Brother, is the Chengzi from Big Brother’s family working at your place now?”
Qi Younian had expected such a scene, so his response was very calm, “Yes.”
Qi Yourong angrily said, “Second Brother, this is where you are wrong. You always say you treat me the same as Big Brother, but I’ve yet to see even a trace of similarity. In the past, you were closer to Big Brother, and I said nothing. Now that you need workers for your business, you offer good wages, yet you sneakily employ Chengzi from Big Brother’s family without any notice? You’re employing two people at once; at the very least, you should have offered one position per household to be fair, shouldn’t you?”
As she spoke, she assumed an indignant demeanor and pressed further, “You owe me an explanation for this.”
Ye Xinyan, observing Qi Yourong’s attitude, really wanted to beat him with a large stick and throw him out. The Second Branch family and her grandfather owed Qi Yourong nothing. It was solely the Great Uncle who had one-sidedly taken care of the young and old in the Second Branch family.
Indeed, the Great Aunt Lady Wang behaved neutrally towards the Second Branch family, but she acted acceptably in day-to-day matters. Not to mention anything else, but the firewood and water from the water vat were mostly delivered by Qi Cheng, which was enough to reciprocate. Such deeds may seem trivial, done once or twice, but few could provide unconditional support year after year.
Where were the people from the Third Branch family when it was time to exert effort? There were no shadows to be seen during hard labor, but as soon as there was a benefit, they wanted their family to be the first in line – how could that be right?
Moreover, our family is in the food business. Considering your family’s conduct, we genuinely cannot compliment you, and working with someone like you is a great pressure on us, all right?
However, these thoughts were something Ye Xinyan really couldn’t just blurt out irresponsibly. After all, the Third Branch family was closely related to Qi Younian, and given everyone had to see each other daily, to spoil the relationships would not only look bad but also sadden Qi Younian.
Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes invisibly in the air.
They knew our family wouldn’t say anything too excessive, so that’s why they are so brazenly coming here to confront us, huh?
And you want an explanation? How is it so amusing? What does my family owe you that requires giving you an explanation?
At this moment, Qi Yourong was furiously glaring at Qi Younian, waiting for a perfect explanation from him, and thus failing to notice Ye Xinyan’s expression.
Since they entered and exchanged greetings, Madam Song and Lady Zhang had been glancing occasionally at this restless young woman. While Ye Xinyan’s every move didn’t catch every detail in the eyes of the two women, it was enough to get a general impression.
Indeed, when Ye Xinyan’s eyes rolled, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Third Branch family caught sight of it.
