Border Cook

Leading the group was a young woman who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, had exquisite make-up and her head was covered with dense hair ornaments, either gold or silver, which shone brightly in the sunlight and were very dazzling.

The woman said her surname was Liu and she was from the Zou family.

"Zou family?" Xia Mingyue was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered something, but her face was full of confusion, "I am not familiar with Madam Liu, and I have never had any dealings with the Zou family. I don't know why Madam Liu suddenly came to my house?"

When Liu saw Xia Mingyue's answer, she was immediately displeased.

Before coming, she had already found out that the sisters Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu had been working at Xia's for a long time. She also heard from others that the two sisters were brought back to Jinqiu County by Xia Mingyue.

But now he says that he has never had any dealings with the Zou family. Isn't this just lying with open eyes?
Liu narrowed her narrow eyes slightly, trying her best to suppress the anger in her heart, and tried to maintain a decent smile on her face, "But I heard that there are two young girls working in Xia Ji, which is run by Madam Xia, and both of them are named Zou."

"That's true." Xia Mingyue nodded, pretending to be confused, "But what do these two sisters have to do with your Zou family?"

Liu's expression visibly darkened, "Madam Xia probably doesn't know that Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu are my daughters."

"Are these two sisters your daughters?" Xia Mingyue was surprised. After looking Liu up and down for a long time, her eyes were full of doubts. "Their ages don't seem to match."

"Also, Madam Liu's attire is very elegant, so I guess she comes from a wealthy family. But when I hired the Zou sisters to work in the workshop, they were wearing shabby clothes and had nothing. They didn't look like they came from the same family as Madam Liu."

"As for the third one..." Xia Mingyue smiled, "Excuse me, Madam Liu and the Zou sisters don't look alike."

Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu have always been honest and conscientious people. They have no experience of going out. Once they get out and someone takes them in, they will definitely be grateful and tell the person everything about their situation.

Why is it that Xia Mingyue seems to have no idea about their situation at all?

Are the two sisters deliberately concealing the truth, or is this Xia just making trouble and telling lies with her eyes open?
After thinking for a moment, Liu felt that the latter was more likely.

After all, after she arrived in Jinqiu County and asked around, she got almost nothing but good things about Xia Mingyue.

Many people sang her praises and commended her good deeds, and their words were full of excitement and exaggeration, as if even if she drank one more sip of tea today, she would be praised for a lot of good things.

Liu sneered at this and felt that Xia Mingyue was definitely not a good person.

It shows how powerful a businessman is if he can manage his reputation so well that others can be bewitched by him to such an extent.

This trip was probably much more difficult than she had imagined.

But now that we are here...

Liu pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and forced a smile, "Excuse me, Madam Xia, but I am my master's successor, so Shiyun and Shiliu are not my children, and therefore they do not look alike."

"As for the two sisters' ordinary clothes..." Liu smiled and said, "They are both unmarried girls. They usually stay at home all day, so they naturally dress as comfortably as possible. If they go out to meet guests, they will naturally wear different clothes and jewelry."

"Furthermore, my master attaches great importance to the upbringing of his children. He believes that both children need to be well educated and should not be vain, extravagant, or just seek enjoyment. Therefore, we usually live very simply at home."

"The reason why I'm dressed up today is because I'm going out, and I don't want to lose face for the Zou family and my master..."

"I understand." Xia Mingyue nodded as if she had suddenly realized something. She then said, "Shiyun and Shiliu are like this because of their stepmother."

Liu: "..."

It felt like Xia Mingyue seemed to have something else in her words, but it also seemed like she didn't say anything.

Liu's face darkened. "Since ancient times, being a stepmother has been difficult, and I am no exception. Since I came to the Zou family, Shiyun and Shiliu have looked at me coldly, and the servants are also eager to instigate trouble just to make trouble."

"Take the incident of the two sisters secretly running away from home this time. Originally, I wanted to strengthen the relationship between relatives, and my nephew is really outstanding, so I wanted to betroth Shiyun to my nephew. As a result, those black-hearted people with sores on their tongues came to Shiyun for no reason and said a lot of bad things about my nephew from my mother's side. Shiyun thought I was the kind of evil person who was determined to push her into the fire pit. From then on, she hated me and ran away from home secretly with her sister."

"After this happened, I was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. I kept sending people to look for the two sisters, comforting the master, and calming down all kinds of rumors. I was really busy."

"It was not until a while ago that I got the news that the two sisters were here, so I hurried over to take them home."

"So that's how it is." Xia Mingyue suddenly realized again, "But these two sisters have been working for me for quite some time, and Madam Liu has never been able to find them. How come there is news about them all of a sudden?"

"After the two sisters settled down here, they wrote a letter to their maternal grandparents. Their maternal grandparents thought that the two of them were very foolish, and that they believed in other people's nonsense and did such a shameful thing as running away from marriage, so they wrote a letter to inform their family."

Liu replied, "When the master learned about this, he was very angry, so he asked me to go and pick them up and teach them a lesson."

"So that's how it is." Xia Mingyue nodded again, her eyes unconsciously sank.

She knew that Zou Shiyun and her sister had written a letter to their grandparents' home asking for help. At that time, there was no response for a long time after the letter was sent. Xia Mingyue thought that their grandparents might have moved away and the letter could not be delivered.

I never thought that something like this would happen.

The maternal grandparents obviously wanted to stand idly by and watch this matter, but as the current mistress of the Zou family and the stepmother of Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu, Liu had the right to take the two sisters back.

Now the only one who can help the two sisters is Xia Mingyue.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Mingyue sighed, "I understand the whole thing. It was indeed wrong for Shiyun and Shiliu to run away without telling their families. Now that you have come to my house, I should persuade them to go back with you."

"only……"

Xia Mingyue paused, "Shiyun and Shiliu are working for my Xiaji. The contract stipulates that they will work for ten years. If they leave in less than a year..." "Don't worry about this, Madam Xia." Liu said hurriedly, "We, the Zou family, will pay all the liquidated damages to Madam Xia."

"Really?" Xia Mingyue was a little uncertain, "But if that's the case..."

"Of course it's true." Liu said, "Shiyun and Shiliu were able to settle down here thanks to Madam Xia. This money can be regarded as a small token of gratitude from our Zou family."

As long as we can quickly bring the two dead girls back home, spending a few more taels of silver won’t be a problem.

What's more, it's just a job here, and it's not much no matter how you calculate it.

Liu was a little impatient, "Madam Xia, please do the math and tell me the number."

"Since Madam Liu said so, this is easy to handle." Xia Mingyue smiled. "When Madam Liu first entered the yard, I noticed that the Zou family is well-off and Madam Liu is also a cheerful person. This matter is also easy to handle. One hand pays the money and the other hand releases the person. There will be no other disputes."

"But three thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. How do you plan to pay it, Madam Liu? Silver notes or cash? As for silver notes, three thousand taels are not enough because they have to be exchanged for silver. You need to add another two hundred taels..."

Xia Mingyue was counting on her fingers, but Liu's eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

"How much silver do you think it is?"

Liu didn't quite believe her ears.

"Three thousand taels." Madam Xia was a little surprised. "Is there any problem?"

Of course there are problems, and they are huge!

Liu was confused and anxious, her voice was raised a lot, "Three thousand taels? These two damn girls are just working here, why do they need three thousand taels of silver as compensation?"

Dead girl?
This title suddenly made all the high-sounding words that Liu had said before become untenable, like a piece of paper that had been through too much wind and rain, which shattered into pieces with the slightest touch.

Then this matter will be easier to handle.

Xia Mingyue raised the smile on her lips and said meaningfully, "Madam Liu, you don't believe what I said? Then let me settle the account for you."

"The combined monthly wages of Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu are 1 tael and 5 qian of silver, which is 18 taels of silver per year, and 180 taels of silver in 10 years. With the increase every year, let's just calculate it as 200 taels of silver. This is the first."

"Secondly, the two of them work in Xia Ji's central kitchen. The various things in this central kitchen are supplied to various Xia Ji food stalls. Any food taken out is the capital for ordinary people to make a living."

"The two sisters come into contact with very important secret recipes on a daily basis. I naturally have to consider the serious consequences of leaking the secret recipes. So since Madam Liu wants to take the two sisters back, I must get the money as soon as possible to feel at ease."

"Otherwise, if you three, mother and daughter, work together and make up a pretext to take the person away, wouldn't I be at a huge loss?"

"My Xiaji Central Kitchen has only been open for about three years, and it has already earned me thousands of taels of silver. To be honest, the three thousand taels of silver I asked for is not too much. This is also because of Madam Liu's hard work. Otherwise, five thousand taels of silver would also be in line with the market price!"

Xia Mingyue's words were so powerful that Liu's expression changed again and again.

After a moment, his eyes narrowed and he looked at Xia Mingyue with hostility, "Madam Xia, I just said that being a stepmother is hard. I meant well, but Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu didn't appreciate it and misunderstood me deeply."

"The two sisters must have hated me to the core. They even said a lot of bad things about me in front of Madam Xia, crying about their misfortunes. Madam Xia is a kind person, so it's inevitable that she would be deceived by the two little girls. She wanted to stand up for them, but Madam Xia should also think about whether she should support them and whether it's worth it."

"Zou Shiyun and Zou Shiliu are surnamed Zou, and they are members of our Zou family. Let's not talk about the excellent marriage arranged by our family. Even if it is not good, it is the parents' order and the matchmaker's words. It is reasonable. Even if the government comes to them, they can't say a word of objection. If Madam Xia deliberately interferes, it is not reasonable."

"Madam Xia is now the head of Anle Township. Her husband and brother are both high-ranking military officials with high positions and are highly regarded. If Madam Xia behaves improperly, I'm afraid she will be criticized even more."

"Or is it that Madam Xia, relying on her high position, thinks she is superior to others and can bully others and interfere in other people's family affairs at will?"

"Madam Liu knows so much about this, it is obvious that she has already inquired about everything before coming to visit."

Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "In that case, Madam Liu should know the business status and actual value of my Xia Ji. As I said before, the price I offered is not high. If Madam Liu really has any questions, we can go to court and let the county magistrate make the judgment."

"Just now, Madam Liu thought that I was bullying others by taking advantage of my power. I think she would also think that the county magistrate would favor me. Why don't we go to the government office, or even the capital, to discuss this matter with the emperor and the empress, so that we can achieve fairness. What do you think?"

The corners of Liu's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Xia Mingyue is now the head of Anle Township. Her family holds a prominent position and she is a favorite of the Empress Dowager and even the Queen Mother. When she tells this matter to the Emperor and the Queen, do we need to guess the result?

By saying this, is she trying to prove the point of "taking advantage of power to bully others"?
"You are the dignified Lord of Anle Township, and I am just an ordinary citizen. Naturally, whatever you say is right, and we have no place to seek justice."

Liu no longer cared about her so-called dignity. She simply stood up and looked at Xia Mingyue fiercely. "It's just that we barefoot people are not afraid of those who wear shoes. If Madam Xia really wants to do something extreme, we also have our own way to deal with it."

"I will go to the streets now and let the people of the city judge and see how you, the Lord of Anle Village, have gone too far in bullying others and how you have been trying to extort money from others in various ways!"

As Liu spoke, she was about to go out.

Xia Mingyue took a sip of the tea in her cup slowly. "Please go ahead. At this time, the City God Temple has the most people and is the most lively. Madam Liu might as well go there. It would be better if you can find a set of gongs and drums to attract more people."

Liu: "..."

Does this mean he really doesn't take her seriously and treats her like an ant that can be crushed to death at will?
Then I will show you that even an ant can hurt you when it bites you! (End of this chapter)