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墨書 Inktalez
In the warm room, Hua Heng sat together with Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua, listening to the couple discuss how the Gao Family had asked Ruyi for a recipe. He said, "Are you suspecting that someone around me leaked this matter? Don't worry, I will investigate. Please don't be angry, Brother Shun and Sister-in-law."
Hua Heng and Xie Youshun were now considered partners. He respected the couple's character and valued the recipes that Xiao Lihua had provided. After several interactions, their relationship had grown much closer.
Hua Heng felt that interacting with this couple was much more relaxed than with those he had known before. Especially after getting to know them, his life had become significantly smoother. When he went to the temple to seek a fortune, the master told him that he had noble people assisting him, and he naturally believed that these noble people were Xie Youshun and his wife.
Xie Youshun said, "We are not angry; this is something unavoidable. However, if we have any future partnership opportunities, please let us know if it’s a recipe we sold to you long ago."
After hearing their reasons for rejecting Ruyi, Hua Heng felt even more at ease and nodded quickly. He thought that the couple indeed had other recipes and seemed to intend to partner with him continuously. This meant he would have more avenues for wealth in the future. The profits from Tea Eggs and Pickled Eggs had already brought him considerable income; if he acquired a few more recipes like these, he could imagine that not only would the Gao Family soon be unable to compete with him, but also those he intended to deal with would become his defeated foes!
"With Brother Shun and Sister-in-law's assurance, I will definitely keep this secret."
"This matter ends here; let's talk about business. We are here today regarding Cured Meat. This is our Cured Meat; take a look. If you think it's good, we can partner up."
Xie Youshun took out some Cured Meat from a bamboo basket beside him for Hua Heng to see.
Hua Heng's eyes lit up as he looked at the Cured Meat and reached out to touch it, feeling quite curious. He asked Xiao Lihua how this meat was made and what made it special.
Xiao Lihua explained in detail the benefits of Cured Meat and then suggested making a dish using it.
"Then I’ll trouble you, Sister-in-law."
Hua Heng said with a smile and personally accompanied them to the kitchen, shooing everyone else out. He then watched Xiao Lihua cook. After looking at the available ingredients in the kitchen, Xiao Lihua prepared a dish of stir-fried garlic sprouts with Cured Meat and a stew of cabbage with Cured Meat. Once finished, she covered the dishes and brought them back to the room where they had been earlier.
Hua Heng instructed someone to serve three bowls of rice that had been prepared earlier and invited them to eat together.
Xie Youshun and his wife were not polite; they had eaten breakfast early in the morning but felt particularly hungry now due to the cold weather. With steaming hot dishes full of enticing aromas in front of them, they picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.
The three of them ate quickly, and before long, they had devoured the two dishes, leaving only the soup. They all contentedly set down their bowls, feeling warm all over.
"This Cured Meat is delicious; it has a unique flavor that makes me want to eat more even after finishing. Sister-in-law really has great culinary skills."
Hua Heng was not exaggerating. He had eaten various types of meat, fried and grilled, but he had never tasted Cured Meat that felt particularly invigorating. The peculiar flavor lingered in his mouth, making him want to chew on a few more pieces even after he was full. Most importantly, he heard Xiao Lihua say that this type of meat could be preserved for a long time without spoiling, which was much better than other meats. If they transported it for sale later, it would be very convenient. He was not worried about it going unsold and spoiling. Of course, he believed that this type of meat would definitely sell well and there would be no issue with it not selling.
Xiao Lihua smiled and said, "You're too kind. Brother Hua, are you satisfied with the Cured Meat?"
Hua Heng nodded and said, "Very satisfied. I wonder what plans you and Brother Shun have for partnering with me?"
Xiao Lihua looked at Xie Youshun, who then spoke up: "Last time we sold the sauce, we gave you the recipe for five hundred taels of Silver and split the profits fifty-fifty. This time we only need three hundred taels of Silver, and we will also split the profits fifty-fifty. However, we have one condition: we need to collect a significant number of pigs for making Cured Meat. If the Cured Meat sells well, we will naturally need to gather many pigs, and we hope to collect them in our Xiaqiao Village."
Xiao Lihua added, "We don't care about the price you pay for pigs from other places; as long as they are from our village, we hope you can offer a good price. Ideally, this price should never decrease and always be higher than prices from other villages. Even if our villagers buy pigs from other villages to sell to you, it should be the same."
Hua Heng laughed upon hearing this and said, "You and Sister-in-law are truly planning to help the villagers earn money; that's very kind-hearted of you. I can agree to this. This Cured Meat is so delicious that I plan to make a big effort this year. I will definitely need many pigs collected by then. Before that, I will have someone inform you so that you can let your well-connected people know to hurry and gather pigs; I will definitely buy them at a high price so they can have a good year."
"Thank you!"
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua were both very pleased to hear this; they thought it was considerate of Hua Heng to say these things before they even mentioned them.
Next, the three signed a contract. Hua Heng gave them three hundred taels of Silver in banknotes. Xiao Lihua wrote down the process for making Cured Meat for him and demonstrated the initial steps. After placing the semi-finished Cured Meat properly, they took their leave while Hua Heng immediately decided to start gathering pigs.
As Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua were preparing to leave, they ran into Zhao Linting.
Zhao Linting wore a gray-blue silk cloak with an unknown fur lining; his boots were also furry. Dressed in a long green robe, he stood tall and elegant. His slender peach blossom eyes sparkled in the winter sunlight, attracting the attention of many young women around him.
Xiao Lihua thought, no wonder Ruyi was interested in him; he was quite handsome, exactly the type that women who traveled through time loved. However, she still preferred her own man, the type who was loyal, reliable, and wouldn’t cause trouble.
“Xie Fourth Brother, Sister Xie, are you leaving? What a coincidence! I just arrived and you’re leaving. Stay a little longer; I have something to discuss with you.”
Zhao Linting smiled, and that smile made him even more handsome.
Xie Youshun looked at Xiao Lihua, letting her take the lead on this matter.
Xiao Lihua said, “If you have something to say, just say it quickly. We need to go home to see the kids. You know, the place where you live is quite close to ours; there’s no need to rush to say it here.”
Zhao Linting’s estate was nearly completed. Having money made things easier; he hired many people, so the construction went quickly. Xie Youshun and the others had visited once and were quite envious, thinking that when they had more money, they would build a similar estate—though not as large; half would suffice.
Zhao Linting said, “I just thought of this too. Now that I see you, I want to tell you first. You are Xiao Girl’s sister and brother-in-law; even if you can’t make decisions for her, you can at least give her a heads-up.”
Xiao Lihua frowned and glanced around, realizing this was not a suitable place for conversation. She called him back into Huaheng’s living room.
“What’s going on? Is it related to my sister?”
Xiao Lihua was very concerned about Meihua. After hearing that news from Auspicious, she had sent Xie Youshun to inform their family not to be fooled. Xie Youshun said they almost missed it but thankfully didn’t agree to anything. After Xiao Dashu learned the truth, he almost wanted to beat up the Matchmaker because he didn’t want Meihua’s reputation ruined again. In the end, he quietly dealt with that Matchmaker.
Now that Zhao Linting mentioned Meihua again, Xiao Lihua couldn’t help but worry.
Zhao Linting said, “Let’s get straight to the point: I want to marry your sister.”
As soon as those words were spoken, both Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua were stunned; even Huaheng was taken aback. Why would Zhao Linting want to marry Meihua? Xiao Lihua had several prescriptions and was a good person, but Meihua was just an ordinary village girl—not exceptionally beautiful and without the means to make money like Xiao Lihua did. Zhao Linting wanted wealth and beauty; why would he suddenly want to marry a village girl?
Xiao Lihua said with a stern face, "Zhao Gongzi, why do you say that? A woman's reputation is very important. If you don't mean it, you shouldn't be joking. If you're joking, I won't let you off!"
"I'm not joking. I really want to marry Xiao Girl as my wife. You're a good sister and wouldn't think she's unworthy of me. Am I joking? I'm not joking at all."
Zhao Linting said, "I want to marry Xiao Girl for a reason. Sister Xie, you know that Meihua helped me at Dabai Temple. If it weren't for her, I might have ended up marrying an unashamed woman. I'm very grateful to Xiao Girl, and I quite like her. She truly is like her name, a pure and beautiful plum blossom. Now she has to face the danger of being harmed because she helped me, and I can't bear that in my heart. So I've decided to marry her and keep her by my side; that way, no one can harm her."
"Someone wants to harm her? Who?"
Xiao Lihua focused entirely on Zhao Linting's last sentence after hearing so much from him. She recalled the previous incident where someone almost deceived the Xiao Family into a marriage. Could this also be orchestrated by someone?
Zhao Linting glanced at Xie Youshun and said, "I don't know the details; I only know it's a woman from the Gao Family. Whether it's from the Su Family or your good sister, I'm not sure. I heard it by chance. As far as I know, the Su Family has enmity with you all. If Ruyi finds out that Xiao Girl helped me back then, she would definitely hate her."
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua exchanged glances but remained silent.
Hua Heng said, "Linting, is this the reason you want to marry Xiao Girl? If you really want to protect her, just arrange for two clever and skilled maidservants to be by her side. Is marrying her really necessary? You actually have this intention, right? If you truly have this intention, just say it directly; otherwise, my sister-in-law here won't agree."
Xiao Lihua thought so too. Although Zhao Linting was an excellent match, nowadays women don't necessarily marry someone they are deeply in love with before marriage; Meihua is just looking for a good family to marry into. Zhao Linting could be considered a top choice, but because his conditions are too good, she felt it was somewhat unrealistic for Meihua to marry him. Xiao Lihua would rather her sister marry a loyal man like Xie Youshun than someone who might end up hurting her heart like Gao Zhengping.
Zhao Linting immediately said, "Sister Xie, I am truly sincere about Meihua. I've seen many kinds of women in this world, but Meihua is the first girl I want to marry as my wife. I hope Sister Xie can support this."
The author has something to say: Marrying Meihua is possible even though Zhao Linting is wealthy and Meihua is a village girl with somewhat mismatched status; I don't want to add more characters, so it's just him~~~
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