Qiu Xu raised his eyebrows and looked at Su Yanke. Su Yanke paused for a moment and then looked up at him.
A look of "I knew it" flashed across Qiu Xu's eyes. No one could remain indifferent under his gaze, and she was no exception.
However, Su Yanke's next words left him speechless.
"Can we add some more dishes? I'm still hungry!"
Qiu Xu looked at Su Yanke with a strange look in his eyes. Over the years, countless people had been terrified when they saw his dark green eyes. But this woman had only looked a bit surprised when she first saw them, and had remained calm ever since. He wondered if her calmness was genuine or just an act.
Qiu Xu asked the waiter outside to add a few more dishes that Su Yanke had eaten the most.
Su Yanke's look of approval for Qiu Xu grew stronger.
After Su Yanke had eaten to her heart's content, her attitude towards Qiu Xu was no longer as aggressive as before. Mainly because she was in a better mood now.
"Boss Qiu, we won't take this shop for free. How about we split the profits 70 - 30?"
"You get 70% and I get 30%?" Qiu Xu asked with a smile on his lips.
"Boss Qiu is really good at joking. Such a deal would be too unfair, wouldn't it?" Su Yanke's attitude remained calm, making it hard to tell what she was really thinking.
After Su Yanke finished speaking, she reached out and took another piece of date cake and took a bite. Her red lips parted slightly, revealing her red tongue. Qiu Xu's gaze was involuntarily drawn to her.
It was very inconvenient for Su Yanke to eat with the veil on, but she endured it for the sake of the food. Every time she ate, she had to lift a corner of the veil with her hand. Fortunately, Qiu Xu was sitting in a position that blocked the side where the veil was lifted.
However, a sudden gust of wind blew in from outside the window. Su Yanke was just lifting the veil to take a bite when the wind gently blew the veil away, revealing her entire face. But it was only for a moment, and in that brief moment, Qiu Xu saw it all.
Qiu Xu's breath caught in his throat for a moment. A strange light flashed in his eyes, and his look at Su Yanke became more playful.
"Okay, I'll make this deal!"
Qiu Xu's quick agreement surprised Su Yanke a little. She had thought they would have to haggle some more, but unexpectedly, this Boss Qiu was very straightforward.
Next, Su Yanke and Qiu Xu discussed some specific details of the deal.
Finally, Qiu Xu stood up and reached out his hand to Su Yanke. "Miss Su, happy cooperation!"
Su Yanke was a bit surprised to see the outstretched hand. Was there a handshake custom here?
Out of politeness, Su Yanke reached out and shook his hand. His hand was ice - cold, and her fingertips felt a chill. This Qiu Xu had such a low body temperature!
Qiu Xu was also "burned" by the warmth of Su Yanke's hand.
After Su Yanke left, Qiu Xu unconsciously rubbed the warmth on his hand. The first impression of Su Yanke's hand was warm, delicate, and soft.
A farmer would never have such a hand. Su Yanke was definitely not the farmer that Chen Yonggui had described. So who was she? What was her purpose? Was she the same as him?
That whole aura about her was definitely not that of an ordinary person.
Qiu Xu's dark green eyes became even more unfathomable.
After leaving the tavern, Su Yanke led Uncle Lao Ji and the others to a secluded corner. She distributed the deposit that Qiu Xu had given to them according to their shares, and then said to them, "Everyone, buy some daily necessities. After you're done, meet at the city gate. I've rented a carriage, and we'll go back together!"
After interacting with Qiu Xu, Uncle Lao Ji and Chen Yonggui were very impressed by Su Yanke's calm negotiation. When they first entered and saw Qiu Xu's eyes, they felt uncomfortable all over.
How could someone have such strange eyes? It was really creepy, and they couldn't help but feel afraid of Qiu Xu. They just wanted to leave that room immediately.
Fortunately, Su Yanke was there. Su Yanke's communication with Qiu Xu throughout the process made Uncle Lao Ji and the others breathe a sigh of relief. But when Qiu Xu's eyes glanced at them, their hairs stood on end, and cold sweat kept breaking out on their backs. Fortunately, Su Yanke was there, and Qiu Xu's attention was drawn back to her.
So when they heard Su Yanke's arrangement, they were very obedient and didn't say a single word of inquiry or refusal.
Su Yanke was also very satisfied with Uncle Lao Ji and the others' attitude. They dispersed to buy the items they needed.
Su Yanke came to a candy store. A sweet smell wafted towards her. Before, Uncle Lao Ji had brought back a bag of maltose made from broken raw sugar for Xiaobao. The taste was actually just so - so, and there was even a bitter aftertaste in the end. But at that time, it was the best snack Uncle Lao Ji could bring back.
Seeing how much Xiaobao treasured that candy at that time, Su Yanke wanted Xiaobao to taste what real candy should be like.
Looking at the琳琅满目的 candies, Su Yanke picked out a few that caught her eye.
She bought three kinds of candies at different prices. The cheapest hard candies could be used by Aunt Li to entertain guests. The medium - priced fruit - flavored refined candies could be used for cooking and as snacks. The most expensive soft candies, the milk candies that children liked the most, were also bought by Su Yanke.
Because Su Yanke bought a lot, the store owner thought she was a rich young lady and wanted to make a good impression on her, so he gave Su Yanke a few small pastries.
The store owner thought that if he could make this rich young lady have a good impression of his store, there was a high chance that she would think of their store when she wanted to eat more candy or when the candy ran out.
Although Su Yanke's clothes were very simple, her aura and figure were so outstanding that the clothes on her immediately looked more refined, making people completely ignore the simplicity of her clothes. Just looking at Su Yanke's aura, one would assume she was a rich young lady.
After buying the food, Su Yanke went to look at clothes. The clothes were not as expensive as the food. After all, the harvest this year was not good, so the prices of clothes had dropped, while the prices of food had risen a lot.
Su Yanke had categorized the money in her hand. She knew exactly which part was for what. After buying a few sets of change - of - clothes, she still had some money left. When she saw a few small pieces of waterproof fabric, an idea suddenly flashed through her mind, so she bought the fabric as well.
Women always took a long time to buy clothes. Uncle Lao Ji and Chen Yonggui finished shopping and waited at the door for a while before Su Yanke slowly came over.
"Sorry, Uncle Lao Ji, Uncle Chen. I'm late!" Su Yanke said to them a bit embarrassedly.
Uncle Lao Ji stared at the big and small bags behind Su Yanke in disbelief. "You've bought too much!"
"No, no. These are all necessities. Don't worry, Uncle Lao Ji. With me around, we'll earn all this money back in the future!"
Uncle Lao Ji had been poor for most of his life. Even when he suddenly had some money, he didn't spend it extravagantly. He just bought some meat and livestock to raise, and didn't buy any snacks.
Chen Yonggui was more normal. He didn't buy as much as Su Yanke, nor as little as Uncle Lao Ji. He bought a complete set of food and daily necessities.
On the carriage, Uncle Lao Ji looked at Su Yanke several times on the way, wanting to say something but holding back. In the end, he didn't ask.
But Su Yanke asked first, "Uncle Lao Ji, I want to send Xiaobao to school this year. What do you think?"
Uncle Lao Ji was stunned for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Su Yanke to bring this up at this time. He nodded, indicating his agreement. Now that they had some extra money, it was time to make some plans for Xiaobao's future.
Before, they couldn't even afford to eat. All they could think about every day was whether they could get enough to eat. Now that they didn't have to worry about food, they had to think about the future.
Su Yanke then looked at Chen Yonggui and asked, "Uncle Chen, isn't Yongshun also going to school? If so, let them go together as companions."
Chen Yonggui did have this intention. Since he had attended a private school in the clan before, he understood the importance and necessity of reading better.
Firstly, reading could make people wise and broaden their horizons.
Secondly, in this world, if one didn't read, they would never be able to hold their heads up high. This world was too unfriendly to those who hadn't received an education.
Some stores would give priority to hiring those who had read books. Even for servants and maids, those who could read were preferred. Those who hadn't received an education could only rely on physical labor to support their families.
But selling physical labor could only barely provide for daily food and clothing. As long as they didn't starve to death, it was already good. How could they have extra money to send their children to school?
This created a vicious cycle. The rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. The class gap between people was thus widened.
When Su Yanke heard about this, she had already decided that she must send Xiaobao to school. His talent must not be wasted like this. During the time when Su Yanke was teaching Xiaobao martial arts, she also found that Xiaobao was really very smart. He could almost understand complex and brain - racking problems as soon as they were explained.
Since Chen Yonggui had also read books before, he must have taught Chen Yongshun a lot. If Xiaobao and Chen Yongshun went to school together and helped each other, it should be more effective than studying alone.
When they arrived at the village, it was already getting late. Su Yanke said goodbye to Chen Yonggui. Since Uncle Lao Ji's home was closer, they got off the carriage first.
Xiaobao had been waiting at the door for Su Yanke's return. As soon as he saw Su Yanke, his eyes lit up, and he immediately threw himself into Su Yanke's arms.
Su Yanke lovingly stroked Xiaobao's little head. Xiaobao clung to her for a while before letting go. Uncle Lao Ji sighed beside them.
"Alas, I've raised this son for nothing. Daddy's back too. Why doesn't Xiaobao come and hug Daddy?"
Xiaobao made a teasing face at Uncle Lao Ji and said, "Daddy is shy. Daddy is a man. He doesn't need Xiaobao's hugs!"
Uncle Lao Ji scratched his head and smiled without saying a word. His ears turned red.
Su Yanke squatted down and stroked Xiaobao's little face gently. "That's not right! Adults also get tired, hurt, and need to be cared for. Adults are just enduring. They're just busy with adult things. They're just being overwhelmed by life, hiding their vulnerable hearts. Adults also hurt. So can Xiaobao give Uncle Lao Ji, who has been protecting our warm little home, a loving hug?"