Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 110: Chapter 111: Let Your Dad Connect You_1 Chapter 110: Chapter 111: Let Your Dad Connect You_1 Tomato beef brisket, cold cucumber salad, stir-fried pork, braised eggplant, and marinated tofu were all signature dishes of Muniang. Despite expecting Wu Haoli’s astonished reaction, Muniang couldn’t help but show off a bit.

Wu Haoli didn’t stay long either, knowing that Muniang was busy with her heated room and the wine. After the meal, he took his leave, and Muniang escorted him out.

Qiao Lianhua happened to be strolling toward Muniang’s house, not intending to go inside. As an unmarried maiden, she would damage her reputation if she got into a quarrel with Muniang, which could affect her marriage prospects. Qiao Lianhua held herself in high regard, considering the quarrels among the village women crass.

This time, she came by partly because she heard from the villagers about how beautiful Muniang’s place was and was curious to see for herself, and partly because she really had nowhere else to go.

She had just had a big fight with Mrs. Ji and Qiao Yuanshan about her marriage. Mrs. Ji had stolen all the silver from Qiao Yuanshan—this time, it was only five taels taken from the public fund. According to Qiao Dazhi, this could last them half a year, but Mrs. Ji wasn’t content with just getting by.

She had hoped to live comfortably after splitting the family assets. To stretch five taels of silver over half a year would make life harder than before they split! Yet, there was no quick way to make money, which led her to focus on her daughter’s marriage. They had considered several suitors with decent backgrounds, and in the end, Mrs. Ji settled on a tofu seller. Although not rich, his family was more well-off than their rural counterparts, offering a dowry of twenty taels of silver.

But Qiao Lianhua balked at the idea of marrying a tofu seller. She wanted to marry a wealthy man, perhaps even a young master of some sort. A tofu seller was beneath her. Their disagreement escalated into an argument, and Qiao Yuanshan ended up slapping Lianhua, who ran out in a rush.

Initially, she was just curious about the beauty of Muniang’s house as others had mentioned, but upon arrival, she spotted a grand carriage parked outside and felt envious. When would she ever have the fortune to live such a good life as the Qiao family? She watched in fascination and hid behind a big tree to avoid being seen.

It turned out to be Muniang seeing off Wu Haoli. Lianhua was stunned upon seeing him; his attire and composure suggested he was the son of a wealthy family. Above all, he was incredibly handsome—Lianhua had never seen such an attractive man before. Could Qiao Muniang really be acquainted with such an affluent and noble young master?

“Muniang, your cooking really is beyond praise. Will you cook for me again next time?” Wu Haoli said, grinning sheepishly.

Muniang laughed, “Bring enough gifts and I’ll cook for you.”

Wu Haoli’s corners of his mouth twitched at the woman who seemed fixated on money.

“Well, this meal was certainly expensive enough.”

Muniang, with a smile that crinkled her eyes, replied, “Take care on your way out, no need to be escorted.” Thinking of the carriage full of items, she felt a surge of joy. They were various decorations and ornaments, and she had to admit, Wu Haoli had taste. She sneaked a peek when possible and liked what she saw—perfect for her home. Especially since the price tags indicated they weren’t cheap, saving her a substantial amount on decoration expenses.

Wu Haoli, feeling slightly helpless yet amused, shook his head and stepped into the carriage. The servant had prepared a step stool in advance and once Wu Haoli was aboard, snapped the whip and the carriage set off.

Lianhua finally realized that the carriage belonged to the handsome gentleman, and her heart was utterly captivated. Who cared about the tofu seller? He wasn’t even fit to carry this man’s shoes!

Just as Muniang was about to head inside, Lianhua couldn’t contain herself any longer and dashed out, grabbing Muniang and smiling cordially, “Muniang, so many people are coming to your heated room for a drink, huh?”

Muniang got startled and even more astonished when she saw it was Qiao Lianhua. When had they ever been so close?

Muniang forcibly withdrew her arm, “What?” Her tone was not nice. Her mother was no good, and neither was this girl. When Qiao Muniang still lived in the Qiao family, Qiao Lianhua had never ceased to bully her.

Qiao Lianhua said with a smile, “I was just passing by and decided to check out your house. Who knew I’d see you sending off a guest? When did your family start mingling with such wealthy and noble families?”

Muniang looked at her quizzically, “What’s it to you who we associate with?”

“What kind of question is that? We are cousins after all, aren’t we? We have the Qiao family blood in our veins. How can you be so distant?”

Muniang laughed, “Oh, so we are cousins now, are we? Then what do you mean by calling me by my name so disrespectfully? Tianniu and Hongsheng’s kids even know to call me ‘Sister.’ And now you have the cheek to say we’re cousins?”

Qiao Lianhua’s face turned pale. She had never called Qiao Muniang ‘Sister.’ Even though Muniang was indeed a year older, in her eyes, Muniang was simply beneath her, and such an easy target—why on earth would she call her ‘Sister’?

Seeing that Qiao Lianhua was at a loss for words, Muniang didn’t feel like saying much more. This girl clearly had too high an opinion of herself. She coldly said, “Go back to wherever you came from. Don’t cause any trouble. I don’t mind my reputation getting ruined, but you, as an unmarried girl, surely haven’t reached the shamelessness of your mother, have you?”

After speaking, she turned to go inside, but Qiao Lianhua grabbed her, “Sister, we are still siblings after all. You can’t just push me away like this.”

Muniang’s eyes almost popped out in surprise. Was this haughty and proud Qiao Lianhua really lowering her voice and calling her sister now? Had she been traumatized or kicked by a donkey?

“What do you really want?”

After hesitating awkwardly for a while, Qiao Lianhua finally said, “That gentleman just now… which family does he belong to?”

Muniang found it funny, was this girl bitten by the love bug? They’d only met once, right? This love at first sight thing was happening a bit too fast.

“He’s from the big landlord family at the east end of our village. Satisfied?”

Qiao Lianhua immediately became frustrated. So Tupo Village had such an outstanding gentleman, and she had never noticed him before?

In fact, it wasn’t strange that Qiao Lianhua hadn’t noticed him since the people in Tupo Village hardly ever saw Wu Haoli. The main issue was that he rarely stayed in the Wu Mansion, being busy with numerous matters over the years and also not particularly willing to stay there. Would a wealthy man have just one residence?

“Are you close to him? When will he come again?” Qiao Lianhua asked eagerly.

“How would I know? You’re not thinking of setting your sights on him, are you? The scandal your father had with the slave woman from the Wu Family made quite the fuss back in the day. Mr. Wu dealt with it personally. He probably recognizes your father. Why don’t you have him help you make a connection? It might just work out.”