Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 67 Arrangement
Zhang Zhaodi stayed to settle Zhang Pandi and her daughter and Zhang Yingdi and her husband, while Su Yaoguang and Jiang Jing went next door to count the flowers.

Aunt Li saw Su Yaoguang looking at it so carefully and asked nervously, "Yaoguang girl, is this okay?"

Su Yaoguang looked at a few baskets and said with a smile, "Auntie, of course, does a great job. Are these all there are? Are there any more?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Fang said from the side, "My mother is worried that it won't meet your requirements, so she insisted on showing it to you before accepting it. If you say it's okay, we'll go and call them, and they'll send the rest over right away."

"Then you guys collect them first. We'll go back and clean up and make room for these petals."

Su Yaoguang and Jiang Jing went home and talked about the number of petals. Then they looked at the narrow space in their own home and found that it was already crowded with people. Now only the kitchen and toilet were empty, and there was no place to put the petals.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work," Zhang Zhaodi said. "Our house is too small. We can barely squeeze in to live in it, but it's too crowded for work. We have some extra money now, so why don't we go to the village chief and ask to rent that old house by the river for a month? It's a little shabby, but it can be used after some tidying up. We can come back here for food and shelter, and use the house for tinkering."

"Is there a room for sleeping in the house?" asked Mr. Wang.

"The house originally housed a family of seven, and it had three rooms. Later, when the family became wealthy, they left the house vacant. There are still rooms, but the furniture inside is completely broken and unusable."

"It doesn't matter. We're only staying for twenty days, so it won't be long. As long as we have a place to stay, it's fine. My wife and I will go there. There are two advantages: one, you won't have to crowd in, and two, there'll be someone watching over us to prevent anyone from snooping." Mr. Wang finished his long speech and began coughing again. "It's close to a water source, so it's convenient for washing. Besides, even if it's only for twenty days, it's still not a good idea for so many of us to live together. Since we're renting a place, let's make the best use of it and avoid waste."

"My third brother-in-law is really smart," Zhang Zhaodi said. "I only thought of renting the house for business, but I didn't think of living here. That way we won't have to squeeze in. My daughter, I'll go find the village chief later. You go find a few people in the village to help clean up. We have to clean up the place as quickly as possible. There's no time to waste."

"Jing'er, go find Doctor Lin and ask him how the arrangements for the medicinal herbs are going. If he says he's already made the arrangements, give him the list of herbs you need and ask him to help buy them. Once he has purchased the herbs we need, give him a hard work fee. That way, someone will be responsible for the herbs, and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

"What about us? What do we need to do?" Zhang Pandi asked.

"Prepare the ingredients first. We'll have a reunion dinner tonight and have some fun." Zhang Zhaodi said, "Little sister, take your man to rest."

Zhang Pandi and her daughter, and Zhang Yingdi and her husband felt a little uncomfortable when they found they could not help.

Su Yaoguang noticed their expressions and said, "Second aunt, little aunt, and uncle, cherish your free time now. You'll be busy starting tomorrow."

After hearing what she said, several people laughed.

Zhang Zhaodi went to the village chief to rent a house, and the village chief was very generous and only asked her for fifty cents.

After leaving the village chief, Zhang Zhaodi went back to see Carpenter Li. She asked him to first build four sturdy beds, a large bathtub, a large table, and several stools. Then, three cabinets were ordered. The three cabinets were given to her, Su Yaoguang, Jiang Jing, and Zhou Wangshu respectively.

Seeing that Zhang Zhaodi had finished her work, Su Yaoguang immediately invited several hardworking women from the village to clean the old house and found a few strong villagers to build a high wall there. Zhang Zhaodi asked, "My daughter, building a wall will cost money. We are only staying here for a month, so there is no need to spend so much money. We can make a bed, but we can move it, but we can't move the wall."

"My uncle's words reminded me," Su Yaoguang said. "We have to rush the work for twenty days. Will the villagers not ask about it? Instead of wasting time dealing with them, it's better to spend some money to build a high wall to keep them out and isolate them from their prying eyes. It's okay. Compared with the big order coming up, this little money is nothing."

Ten people were hired to build the wall, and they couldn't finish the work today, so they had to finish it the next day. Su Yaoguang agreed to pay them after the wall was finished, 15 cents per person.

There were five people cleaning the place, each earning ten cents, and they were paid the same day. The women were delighted and told Su Yaoguang to hire them when there was work. Living in the village, they had no chance to earn money except by selling eggs. Now they could earn money cleaning the place, which was a real novelty.

There was no way they could deliver the goods today. Just preparing for the event had exhausted them. They worked non-stop from morning till night, yet their progress was zero.

Of course, preparing the flowers and herbs in advance would ensure smooth progress later on. In addition, they also had to retrieve the porcelain vase they had ordered earlier.

At night, several families gathered together, with eight dishes and a soup on the table. These meals were all prepared by Zhang Pandi and Jia Chunni.

"I don't know if it suits your taste. You can try it. If it's not cooked well, I will improve it next time." Zhang Pandi said cautiously.

"What's there to improve? It's good enough that we have something to eat. I'll beat up anyone who dares to provoke me." Zhang Zhaodi waved her fist and threatened Su Yaoguang.

Su Yaoguang knew that this was done for others to see, and it was also to show his attitude, so that Zhang Pandi could relax and not be so tense.

Su Yaoguang quickly begged for mercy: "I dare not! Cooking is so tiring. Second Aunt and cousin have prepared the meal, and we are eating it ready. I can't express my gratitude enough!"

Zhang Yingdi also said: "I am the worst at cooking, my second sister is much better than me."

Zhang Pandi's eyes were red, and she smiled and said, "I'm glad you don't mind."

Jia Chunni also breathed a sigh of relief.

Although she was at her aunt's house, and her aunt and cousin were so kind, unlike her grandmother and her second uncle and aunt at home who would beat or scold them, she was still worried about being disliked. If she was disliked and sent back to that family, she and her mother would have to continue to live a life of slavery.

It's so good here. There is meat to eat, money to earn, and all she eats is either refined flour or white rice. She has never seen such a life since she was born.

Zhang Pandi's cooking skills are very good, and it's obvious that she has been cooking for a long time. Everyone ate for a while and then started talking about what they would do tomorrow.

"That wicked mother-in-law told the second son that she would pay the second sister and Chunni 20 wen per day, but she was actually deliberately lying to them. You will each get 50 wen per day," Zhang Zhaodi said. "Do you think it's appropriate? If not, we can talk about it later."