The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 75 Saving the country through curves
"You are truly my dearest child!"

Mrs. Zhao sighed when she learned that Zhao Minghua had secured a large project for her.

If this were someone else's business, she would have rejected it outright.

However, the thing they asked her to do was Chunnuan's family's business.

Chunnuan has already been quietly categorized as a "daughter-in-law". If the daughter-in-law has something to do, the mother-in-law has to step up no matter how difficult it is. What's the point of having a mother-in-law if she can't be used at the critical moment?
“Mother, Master Zhou is your cousin, he will definitely give you face.”

"Stop flattering me," Mrs. Zhao said, her head throbbing. "You know what kind of person Zhou Qi is, don't you?"

No way, he even has designs on his cousin, so my mother doesn't dare to go?
"Five years ago, I completely offended him." Mrs. Zhao sighed, "Do you still remember Bai Shao, who served me back then?"

"Sister Bai Shao, I remember, didn't she go back to her hometown to recuperate later?"

Could this matter be related to Zhou Qi?
"That was the Zhou family patriarch's seventieth birthday. I took Bai Shao and Bai Ju back to the Zhou family home." Speaking of the past, Mrs. Zhao still felt lingering fear: "Bai Shao went to the bathroom because she needed to use the restroom and didn't come back for quite a while. I was afraid she had wandered off, so I sent a Zhou family servant to check on her, but..."

Mrs. Zhao was too embarrassed to talk about these things, fearing it would taint her son's eyes and soul.

However, when he thought about how his son had also chosen a pretty girl, he understood the situation.

“The old woman was frightened and ran to call me. I arrived in time, and he failed. He immediately asked me for Bai Shao’s indenture, saying he wanted to make her his concubine. I asked Bai Shao for her opinion, and she was unwilling, so I refused Zhou Qi on the spot.”

On the occasion of the eldest patriarch of the Zhou family's seventieth birthday, the house was filled with guests, and all the Zhou family members were present. However, Mother decisively refused Zhou Qi's request. And Zhou Qi, being a vindictive person, was unlikely to let it go so easily; he probably held a deep grudge against Mother.

Zhao Minghua thought: My mother is really good. She even respects Bai Shao's wishes. If it were any other mistress of the house, she would have immediately offered the maid's indenture and said something like, "It's your good fortune to be chosen by Seventh Master."

However, his own mother, Mrs. Zhao, did not do that.

That's great, fantastic!

“I know Zhou Qi will be uneasy if he doesn’t get the person he wants, so I had Bai Shao sent away that day. Zhou Qi couldn’t get over this hurdle. He’s always cold and sarcastic to me whenever we meet. We’ve long since lost our cousinly affection. Now you’re asking me to go and beg him? Aren’t you just making things difficult for me?”

"It was indeed the son who was wrong."

Zhao Minghua instantly wanted to slap himself. He had made a promise to Chunnuan without asking his mother first. Now he was in trouble. What should he do?

"Never mind, I'll go to Changzhou tomorrow."

Mrs. Zhao said, "Remember, I'm not doing this for your sake, but because of Chunnuan's filial piety. Also, whether it can be done or not depends on the outcome. Have you told her what the outcome was?"

"I've said it, I'll do my best."

Sigh, a real man shouldn't be so easily swayed by his words. Zhao Minghua felt that he would feel inferior to Chunnuan from now on.

"Okay, you go to Changzhou tomorrow."

"Then your son will wait for your good news."

"You wait for my good news, but when will I get your good news?"

"What? I have some good news?"

Mrs. Zhao...get lost! This son is completely clueless; he doesn't know what his mother wants.

Mrs. Zhao was going all out for the sake of warmer spring weather.

"Granny Zhong, go and prepare some gifts. Take that jade Guanyin statue from the storeroom with you."

"Is Madam preparing to ask the Third Old Madam for help?"

The Third Old Madam is Zhou Qiye's biological mother. "I can only take a roundabout approach. Otherwise, no matter how much I plead, Zhou Qiye won't give me any face. My face is worthless in his eyes."

"Madam, you've really gone all out."

You should know that the jade Guanyin is quite valuable.

"It's alright, I'll just bleed a little for the sake of spring warmth," Mrs. Zhao said. "I don't know what happened, how could the Third Madam, a devout Buddhist, give birth to a son like Zhou Qi?"

“For her son’s sake, the Third Madam will have to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures even more.” Granny Zhong shook her head: “A mother always hopes that the good fortune she has accumulated can be returned to her children and grandchildren.”

“That makes sense,” Mrs. Zhao said. “Alright, let’s get ready. We’ll go to Changzhou first thing tomorrow morning.”

When Mrs. Zhao arrived at the Zhou family's house, the servants told her that the old lady was worshipping Buddha and asked her to wait a moment.

"Okay, no rush. I'll wait here until the old lady finishes her prayers. It's alright."

In truth, she was inwardly groaning: everyone in the Zhou family knew that the Third Old Madam would be inside worshipping Buddha for one or two hours at a time, and she was destined to sit on the sidelines for one or two hours.

For the sake of spring warmth, for the sake of spring warmth, I will endure, I will endure!
Mrs. Zhao was never one to sit still, but at this moment she could only suppress her emotions.

If she dared to stand up even once, the servants beside her would say: Please wait!
Since we're already here, there has to be a result.

Sure enough, an hour and a half later, the old lady with a full head of white hair was helped out by the servants.

"Is it Aunt Six?"

Mrs. Zhao was the sixth daughter in her family, so the Third Old Lady also called her Sixth Aunt, just like the other children.

"My niece greets the old lady."

"Okay, okay, you're so thoughtful."

"Knowing that the old lady is a Buddhist, my niece got a jade Guanyin statue, which is most suitable for the old lady."

Granny Zhong quickly presented the jade Guanyin with both hands.

"This..." The third old lady was very impressed, but in the end she shook her head: "It's too precious, I can't accept it."

“Grandma, this jade Guanyin is most suitable for you to worship. We younger generations can’t even eat clean vegetarian food, let alone be worthy to worship the Bodhisattva.”

"So, what do you need to see Zhou Qi about?"

Mrs. Zhao... really, the old lady isn't old at all, look, she's not confused at all.

“Since the old lady has asked, I will not hide it. The matter is like this…” Zhou Qi was not easily fooled, and he naturally had to explain clearly whose goods he was: “The old lady knows that I offended Master Qi a few years ago due to my reckless behavior, so I was naturally embarrassed to ask him for help.”

Most importantly, even begging him won't help.

Zhou Qi may not be good at anything else, but there is one thing he is truly good at: he is filial to his mother, who was widowed at a young age, and he always means what he says and never argues with her.

"The Xiao family of the Northern Desert? The same Xiao family that was implicated in the crimes committed by Imperial Physician Xiao in the capital?"

"Exactly."

"You've come all this way to me in such a desperate manner, what's your relationship with the Xiao family?"

(End of this chapter)