Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 113: Chapter 114 Seduction_1 Chapter 113: Chapter 114 Seduction_1 “Mother, why are you so impatient?” Qiao Lianhua chided gently. “Have you forgotten why we came here? If you make a scene today, Muniang will just shut the door and set the dogs on us next time, without giving it a second thought. Servants always take their cues from their masters. Right now, we don’t need to punish that girl; we just need to wait until our relationship with Muniang has improved. Isn’t it just a matter of dealing with a servant then? Would Muniang still stop us?”

Her words brought Mrs. Ji back to her senses, who inwardly cursed her own impulsiveness and laughed, praising her daughter’s intelligence.

Qiao Lianhua smiled proudly. Indeed, who would she be if not so?

When Muniang and the other came back, Hong Luo reported the visit from Mrs. Ji and Qiao Lianhua. Muniang frowned. Why couldn’t these people just leave her be?

“In the future, when you see them, you don’t need to bother much. Just send them away to avoid any annoyance,” Muniang instructed.

“Understood.”

However, the incident made Muniang realize that it might be wise to hire a few family guards. If someone like Mrs. Ji kept coming over, how could Hong Luo stop them by herself? Today, Mrs. Ji had unusually let things go easily, but there was no telling about tomorrow. Muniang truly did not want to continue entangling with such people.

The Embroidery House that Muniang had recently opened could be said to be mainly managed by Madam Liu. From the layout and design of the shop to the renovation, Madam Liu had taken care of everything. For the role of Second Boss, Madam Liu truly deserved the title.

The Embroidery House had finally come together after days of hard work. The supply was ample, and the shop was small but elegantly decorated. It may not have been grand, but Madam Liu had arranged everything with such heart that it had its own distinctive charm.

Muniang chose an auspicious day and grandly opened the Embroidery House with the crackle of firecrackers. The signboard bore the name she had personally chosen: Yuyang Embroidery House.

Because it was the grand opening, Muniang adopted a modern marketing strategy: half-price for the opening day. Outside, Madam Liu’s embroidered depiction of the honest and simple Zhu Bajie was displayed next to the signboard to attract customers. The exquisite craftsmanship was beyond question, but more importantly, the new and adorable designs caught the eye of many passersby who couldn’t help but step inside to have a look.

Thus, on this first day of business, Muniang tasted sweet success as the business boomed incredibly.

By the end of the day, they had earned dozens of Silver. It was just the beginning, and Muniang was already quite content.

Seeing the success of the Embroidery House, Madam Liu was overjoyed and encouraged the local embroiderers to work diligently. The price of the embroidery increased by five, a tactic taught by Muniang to give a slight raise and inspire everyone’s enthusiasm.

Now that the Embroidery House was thriving, Madam Liu busied herself. Muniang suggested she oversee the village embroiderers while they hired a Shopkeeper for the store. After all, constantly running between the town and village was too exhausting, wasn’t it?

In recent days, Muniang had asked Shopkeeper Zhang from Dongxing Building to hire three boys and two maids for her. The Wu Mansion had grown; it needed more hands for upkeep, and more so, she thought of Mrs. Ji and the likes—should they come to cause trouble again, they should have someone to handle them and show them out.

In the courtyard, Hong Luo was instructing the newcomers on the rules: “Once you are here, keep this firmly in mind: be well-behaved, diligent, and don’t even think about slacking off. Put away any crooked thoughts, for I have piercing eyes—Lady can see right through your little schemes. If you ever truly upset Lady, I won’t even mention how dismal your fate would be. Don’t assume the Lady is an easy target just because she seems kind. If she decides to show you a thing or two, you won’t have anywhere left to cry!”

The speech frightened them into compliance as they quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, we will be obedient and follow the master’s orders dutifully.”

Only then did Hong Luo speak contentedly, “Do your work well, and if Lady comes to like you, there will be plenty of rewards. Don’t look down upon this place just because it’s a village. Lady can easily afford to give you a generous bonus.”

With a collective sigh of relief, everyone began to laugh with joy. “Ah!”

This tactic of slapping them and then offering candy was indeed very effective, having won over the newcomers in no time at all. Muniang glanced at them and chuckled to herself, considering herself lucky to have found such a treasure. Hong Luo, indeed worthy of being a head maid from a grand household, was exceptionally capable in handling matters.

With so many guarding Muniang’s gate, Mrs. Ji and Qiao Lianhua couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Muniang, let alone step over the threshold. The young servants, following Hong Luo’s orders, promptly turned the two away whenever they appeared, leaving no face for Mrs. Ji.

Over time, Qiao Lianhua became anxious and burst into tears while scolding Mrs. Ji, venting all her frustration on her: “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t made such a scene at their house the other day, would she be guarding against us like this? Look at what you’ve done now, my lifetime of happiness is ruined because of you!”

Mrs. Ji felt wronged as she replied, “Ow, what are you saying? How can you talk to your mother like this? That Qiao Muniang has no respect for her elders, and I can’t even scold her a bit? Now you’re putting all the blame on me!”

Qiao Lianhua wiped her tears, thinking bitterly to herself: so much for you, Qiao Muniang, to look down on me, Qiao Lianhua, as if you’re something special. Surely, it’s because you’re afraid that Mr. Wu will take a fancy to me, and I’ll have a better life than yours someday. Marry a fool yourself and yet begrudge others their happiness, huh? I must show you—I’ll capture Mr. Wu’s heart without Qiao Muniang, and then, heh, I’ll make you green with envy!

With a “huff,” Qiao Lianhua stood up and rushed out of the room.

Mrs. Ji hadn’t even reacted yet: “Hey, where are you going?”

Qiao Lianhua didn’t answer her, still seething, and quickly ran off.

Mrs. Ji cursed under her breath: “This damned child, really!”

Hmph, even without Qiao Muniang, the Wu Mansion is still here, after all. She’d just linger around this place every day, not believing she couldn’t bump into him!

Qiao Lianhua, fuming, stubbornly staked out near the Wu Mansion for a good while, just waiting for Wu Haoli to appear.

And unexpectedly, she really did wait until he appeared.

Wu Haoli had just returned to the residence. As soon as he stepped out of the carriage, he saw Qiao Lianhua “accidentally” bump into their carriage, spilling the contents of the basket she was carrying all over the ground.

Wu Haoli frowned at his servant: “How did you drive the carriage?”

Liu Fu hurriedly replied, “It was my negligence, please punish me, my lord.”

Wu Haoli waved his hand dismissively: “Just don’t let it happen again.” With that, he jumped down from the carriage and headed into the mansion.

Qiao Lianhua couldn’t believe she was being so blatantly ignored. Furious, she wasn’t about to waste such an opportunity, and she whimpered softly, “Ouch.”

(Sorry for the unexpected delay in updating at seven today, keeping you all waiting until now. There will be two updates today as compensation, and future updates will still be at seven in the morning ╭(╯3╰)╮)