Miao Chu

Chapter 17 Help
Carrying a bamboo basket full of things, Song Miao returned home. Before she could even unpack her things, she heard someone knocking on the door.

Upon opening the door, they found it was Zhu, the wife of Sun, the village head.

Song Miao quickly greeted the other person and ushered them inside.

Madam Zhu shook her head and stood at the doorway, saying, "I have things to do at home, so I won't stay any longer."

As she spoke, she handed over the food box she was carrying and said with a smile, "I was worried you weren't home—the other day a relative who went to Guangnan to do business gave me two baskets of mountain products, saying they were top-quality Rongxian yams and Lipu taro. You know, there are only a few people in my family, how could we possibly finish them all? So I brought some over for you."

Song Miao reached out to take it, and sure enough, the box was heavy, weighing at least seven or eight pounds. She quickly thanked him.

Madam Zhu then said, "Don't thank me yet, I have a favor to ask of you."

She quickly explained her purpose: an elder in her family was about to celebrate a birthday, and she planned to send some pastries as a gift. She had tasted the "Fu" (福, meaning good fortune) cake that Song Miao had given her before and thought it tasted very good and had a good meaning. She wanted to ask Song Miao to make some cakes with the characters "Fu," "Shou" (寿, meaning longevity), and "Ji" (吉, meaning good fortune). She asked if Song Miao could make them and also inquired about the price.

Song Miao readily agreed, laughing, "It's not worth much money, it's just a bit troublesome to make. But this stuff won't be fresh if it's left out for too long. Auntie, see which auspicious day you'd like to have it, and I'll make it and deliver it to your home early that morning."

He then raised the food box again and said, "Besides, yams and taro are so rare right now that even money can't buy them. I've already gotten a great deal, so how can I possibly accept money?"

She wasn't just being polite.

Rong County and Lipu are both located in Guangnan West Road, thousands of miles away from the capital. The area is surrounded by towering mountains and is very remote, making it inconvenient to preserve and transport yams and taro. Moreover, it is already springtime, so they are not exactly in season, and the price is even more expensive.

Besides, Sun Lizheng had helped her a lot, so there was no reason for her to charge money for making a few pastries.

Zhu replied, "Let's keep things separate. If you act like this, how can I possibly ask you for help again next time?"

He added, "If you don't take the money, I won't let you do it."

He kept urging Song Miao to give him a quote.

Seeing that she was very insistent, Song Miao calculated the cost based on the ingredients.

Zhu said, "Fine, I'll take advantage of you today—but in my opinion, you sell breakfast near the Imperial Academy all day long. Although your business is not bad, you don't make much money. You might as well sell pastries instead."

She praised the taste of the cake again and again that day, and then said, "Old Sun ate most of it as soon as he got home. I put the rest on a small plate and served it to the guests. Everyone who ate it praised its exquisite craftsmanship and delicious taste!"

Song Miaoxuan set up a stall at the entrance of the Imperial Academy, naturally with her own intentions.

Moreover, those "Fu" character cakes are very time-consuming to make. If you set the price too high, they won't sell well; if you set it too low, it won't be profitable.

But since Zhu was making the suggestion out of kindness, she naturally wouldn't refuse her good intentions, and simply smiled and agreed.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Madam Zhu asked again, "Did you come to see Old Sun last time? He's been too busy lately and hasn't had the time. Since I'm here, I thought I'd ask him."

Although they had only interacted twice, Song Miao could already tell that the person in front of her was at least half the head of Sun Village, so she readily told him her request.

When Zhu learned that Song Miao wanted to repay the creditors on a monthly basis, and that she had originally planned to ask her husband to mediate when she visited Song Miao's home last time, she was truly surprised.

She didn't agree immediately, but she didn't refuse either. She just couldn't help but say, "I'll go back and tell him—you really can't judge a book by its cover, you're really tough and determined!" As she spoke, she asked Song Miao for the contracts that had been written for the creditors.

As she was about to leave, Madam Zhu suddenly asked, "Do you have any relatives or friends who can help you?"

Song Miao was taken aback.

Madam Zhu said, “You are so beautiful and upright, but your family is too small, making you an easy target. It’s fine during the day, but if someone knocks on the door at night and you are home alone, you should not answer it easily.”

“Your family has been in the capital for quite some time. If you go through all the connections, you might just find out someone with real abilities.”

As she said this, her tone became meaningful, and she added, "At this point, we shouldn't worry about saving face. We should ask for your help. My husband is just the village head, and his words don't carry much weight. Even if he's willing to step forward, if someone else is strong enough, they can easily suppress him."

Song Miao naturally understood what she meant, and quickly thanked her without mentioning it.

Madam Zhu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I remember you have another marriage, with the surname Lin, right? If that family is loyal, don't be too conflicted..."

“There aren’t any left,” Song Miao replied.

Zhu was about to offer some advice, but upon hearing Song Miao's words, she was so surprised that she was speechless.

Arriving at the in-laws' house to break off the engagement while their bodies were still in state is an act that would make anyone frown. The Lin family prides itself on its scholarly tradition and always values ​​its reputation, so naturally they wouldn't make a fuss about it.

As for the original Song Miao, she hanged herself, so where can we go to talk about her?
Now that Song Miao has woken up, she is busy making money to pay off her debts and thinking about how to save her family's house. If it weren't for Madam Zhu mentioning it, she would have almost forgotten that she had such a marriage. So the matter of breaking off the engagement is still unknown to most people.

However, many neighbors have been talking privately lately, saying that the marriage arranged by the Song family is not a good deal.

The family's surname was Lin. They had only been in the capital for a few years and didn't have much wealth. Moreover, living in the capital was not easy, and they had to stay in a temple for a long time when they first arrived, which caused them a lot of hardship.

Losing things and being met with cold words from the temple staff were secondary issues. The family had a daughter and a son. The eldest daughter was about to come of age and was quite pretty. In a temple with many people and eyes, it was inconvenient for her to even go to the toilet, let alone wash up.

Fortunately, his son Lin Yiwen had some talent in his studies, and with his father's strict guidance, he was soon admitted to Nanlu Academy.

Song Miao's elder brother studied in the same dormitory as him. He felt that his classmate was talented in literature and diligent. He also sympathized with his family's poverty. Since the Song family's restaurant was right next to the academy, he often took him home for meals.

After a while, Song's mother also felt that the young man was good-looking and eloquent, so she decided to arrange a marriage between them.

The Song family was well-off and did not intend to use their daughter to climb the social ladder. They were optimistic about Lin Yiwen's future and did not mind that the Lin family was poor.

The Lin family was poor and new to the area, so they were very willing to have a local family help them. Besides, although the Song family was just a merchant family at the time, Song Miaona's elder brother was very well-educated and might have a chance to make a future.

The two sides hit it off immediately, exchanged visits for a while, and then got engaged.

After the marriage, Song's mother found a suitable place for her in-laws to live and helped Master Lin recommend them everywhere. Finally, they recruited enough students and opened a private school. Life gradually improved.

Many thanks to the Scorpio Palace for sending me two peace charms =3=
I'm considering whether to adjust the update time to around 11 AM.
I might update extra today, but I don't know when I'll finish writing. Hope you guys check back around noon!

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(End of this chapter)