"A Jiu, where did you get that confession?"
After leaving Li Daniu's house, the atmosphere turned rather solemn.
Ruan Jiu had been walking with her head down, saying nothing.
Helplessly, Xie Yanchuan had to find a topic to break the silence.
"It's fake," Ruan Jiu replied indifferently.
"Ah? Then how did you know that Hu San didn't drown?"
This was not only what Xie Yanchuan wanted to ask, but also what Chun Tao was curious about.
The three of them had been together all day today. How did she figure it out?
"Yu Niang was abused by Hu San since she was a child. Any ordinary person would have hated him to the core. How could she sell herself to bury her father? Moreover, if she was really going to sell herself, why would she choose a family like Li Daniu's? There's only one possibility: they knew each other before."
Seeing that Xie Yanchuan still looked confused, she continued to explain, "After Yu Niang married Li Daniu, their life wasn't easy. When we went to Hu San's house today, although the things there were broken, it was not hard to tell that Yu Niang didn't take anything with her. So there must be a hidden story behind Hu San's death."
After hearing this, Xie Yanchuan's eyes sparkled.
So that's how it was!
"You're amazing, A Jiu!" How come he never knew she was this smart before?
Amazing?
Ruan Jiu's eyes dimmed.
She had just ripped open Yu Niang's wound to take a look.
"But why didn't you take the opportunity to blackmail Li Daniu just now?" Xie Yanchuan was a bit puzzled.
Yes, she could have blackmailed Li Daniu just now, and then the problem of the cloth - making workshop would have been solved.
But she just couldn't bring herself to say a single word.
Forget it. She would think of another way to solve the problem of the cloth - making workshop.
Early the next morning, Ruan Jiu sat in her room, looking extremely worried. Her pretty little face was all scrunched up.
She propped her head up, her mind full of how to solve the problem of mulberry leaves.
It was almost October. They mustn't miss the last silk - spinning of the autumn silkworms this year.
Moreover, she had promised Xie Jingchu that she would definitely solve the problem.
Just then, Chun Tao rushed in noisily.
"Miss Biao, Li Daniu and Yu Niang said they want to see you. They're outside now."
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu's eyes lit up.
This was good news.
"Quickly invite them in!"
Li Daniu led Yu Niang in. Maybe because of what happened yesterday, the two of them were visibly nervous.
Ruan Jiu quickly greeted them to sit down and have some tea.
After hesitating for a long time, Yu Niang finally spoke, "Miss Biao, you're a good person."
A good person?
Ruan Jiu gave an embarrassed smile. It was really a bit embarrassing to be called that.
Yu Niang continued, "Last night, Daniu and I discussed it. We can't have a guilty conscience."
"What do you mean?"
"We'll deliver the mulberry leaves to you on time and in full. Please don't blame Daniu."
After Yu Niang finished speaking, she glanced at Li Daniu. Although Li Daniu didn't say anything, he agreed with what Yu Niang said.
After all, he was a grown man. It was a bit hard for him to apologize to a little girl.
After Ruan Jiu and the others left last night, Yu Niang told him that Ruan Jiu had already caught their把柄 but not only didn't blackmail them but also left them some silver notes. She must be a good person.
She didn't want that ill - gotten money. She wanted to have a clear conscience.
Ruan Jiu said happily, "Yu Niang, what are you saying? We're grateful that you're willing to do this. How could we blame you?"
"No, Miss Biao," Li Daniu couldn't help but speak up, "I did take someone else's money, so I deliberately made things difficult for you."
Afraid that Ruan Jiu would blame them, Yu Niang immediately explained, "Miss Biao, it's all my fault that I'm in poor health. Daniu did it to buy medicine for me."
Ruan Jiu squinted her eyes slightly. Sure enough, she was right. Li Daniu was being instigated by someone.
"Brother Li, do you know who that person is?"
Li Daniu shook his head. "I've never seen him."
It seemed that this person was hiding quite deep.
"And the villagers in Xin'an Village. Actually, they're not bad people. It's just that Xin'an Village is too poor, so everyone..." Li Daniu continued to explain.
After hearing this, Ruan Jiu fell into deep thought.
She had learned about Xin'an Village. Because the land there was barren, the local villagers couldn't grow their own vegetables.
They lived by hunting in the mountains or digging wild vegetables from far away.
Those with stronger abilities could exchange the extra game they caught for some silver in the market.
Those with weaker abilities often had one full meal and then went hungry for three days.
Thinking of this, an idea suddenly popped into Ruan Jiu's mind.
"Yu Niang, Brother Li, the cloth - making workshop has just been established and will expand in the future. How about this? You can ask if anyone is willing to raise silkworms and then sell the silk to us. They can also work in the cloth - making workshop to earn some money."
This way, it would not only solve the livelihood problem of the villagers in Xin'an Village but also save the cloth - making workshop the trouble of buying mulberry leaves and then raising silkworms.
It was better to teach a man to fish than to give him fish.
As soon as she said this, Yu Niang and Brother Li looked at each other, extremely surprised.
"Really?"
Ruan Jiu nodded with a smile.
"That's great!" Yu Niang was so happy that she cried.
Now Li Daniu didn't have to get up early and come back late to hunt in the mountains every day, and she could also help share the family expenses by raising silkworms.
After that, Yu Niang and the others immediately got up to say goodbye.
They wanted to tell the good news to the villagers in the village right away.
Chun Tao looked at Ruan Jiu with admiration.
The problem that had been causing so much trouble a few days ago was now solved by a few words from Miss Biao.
"Go and tell Fourth Master to get ready to go to Xin'an Village to pick up the goods."
Ruan Jiu raised her eyebrows proudly.
If she had a tail, it would surely be wagging up to the sky at this moment.
-
The problem of mulberry leaves was solved, which meant that the problem of the cloth - making workshop was also solved.
Before they knew it, they had been in Huaizhou for almost three months.
Although Su Wan was extremely reluctant to part with her, Ruan Jiu still had to return to Qinzhou.
After all, she was the manager of the silk shop.
As soon as she returned to Qinzhou, Old Master Xie organized a family dinner.
During the Mid - Autumn Festival before, Xie Jingchu and the other two had been in Huaizhou, so it had been a bit dull.
Today, except for Xie Wen of the second branch, who was serving in the capital and couldn't come back, everyone else was present.
Old Master Xie was also in an unusually good mood and even drank a few more glasses of wine.
"Fourth, you did a good job on the matter of the clothing workshop this time."
"It's all thanks to A Jiu."
Hearing this, Xie Jing couldn't sit still. "You can't say that. Yan'er has also been busy running around and spent a lot of effort."
Old Master Xie snorted. "If it weren't for A Jiu, whether he could sit here intact is still a question."
At that time, when he heard that Ruan Jiu was injured, he was really scared.
Although she wasn't a member of the Xie family, after raising her for so many years, he had long regarded her as his own granddaughter.
"Yes, yes, it's all thanks to A Jiu," Xie Yanchuan immediately echoed, "And it was also A Jiu who solved the problem of the villagers in Xin'an Village causing trouble."
Through these days of getting along, Xie Yanchuan found that she was a bit different.
She knew how to handle things properly, was kind - hearted, brave, and extremely intelligent...
Suddenly, he found that her advantages were too numerous to count on two hands.
But Xie Jing secretly blamed his stupid son. He had finally accomplished something, but he gave all the credit to others.
Xie Jingchu carefully observed Xie Jing's reaction when Old Master Xie mentioned Ruan Jiu's injury. It seemed that Xie Jing wasn't the one who instigated the incident in Xin'an Village.
Then who was it?
"Since Yan'er and Miss Biao are both back, why don't we discuss their marriage today?"
Xie Jing's words pulled Xie Jingchu back from his thoughts.
After hearing this, Xie Yanchuan lowered his head to eat and didn't object.
On closer inspection, his face was even blushing.
Ruan Jiu thought something was wrong.
Could it be that this guy really regarded her as his savior and wanted to marry her to repay the kindness?