BXBX NOVEL Chapter 323 - 323 Purchase Them
Qiao Changkang and his wife, Wu Yinfeng, left.
Zhao Shufen collapsed by the front door, crying loudly, her wailing sounding sharp and grating.
Qiao Zhaodi and Qiao Yindi knelt down, bowing their heads repeatedly towards Qiao Xiaomai.
Qiao Xiaomai closed the courtyard door, blocking everything out.
She pulled Qiao Dami into the kitchen to cook dinner. With a worried expression, Qiao Dami asked, “Sister, do you think they’ll really throw themselves at our door and die?”
“Wiry would you ask that?”
“Grandma used to do the same,” Qiao Dami told her as she sat in front of the stove, tilting her small face up.
In the past, if the Sun Family couldn’t get what they wanted, they would roll on the ground screaming about Changsun’s unfilial behavior and threatening to kill themselves. This had left a deep impression on Qiao Dami.
Qiao Xiaomai laughed softly and shook her head. “No, they won’t.”
The first thing Zhao Shufen thought of was to sell off Qiao Zhaodi and Qiao Yindi. She had no intention to die.
With Qiao Xiaobao still around, how could Zhao Shufen bear to end her life?
Qiao Dami simply let out an understanding “Oh,” before asking, “Sister, is Aunt Zhao really going to sell Zhaodi and Yindi?”
“Who knows,” Qiao Xiaomai sighed.
If she truly intended to sell them, those girls would end up in one place: the brothel.
What should she do?
Although she knew it was karmic retribution, she couldn’t bear to force her cousins, Zhaodi and Yindi, into the brothel…
She could always ask Tong Sanlang for advice.
At the appointed hour, Tong Sanlang came.
She sat in the courtyard, and when she saw him come in, she beckoned him over.
This time, Tong Sanlang didn’t sit opposite her as usual. Instead, he moved his stool next to her.
He held her little hand and said softly in her ear, “I’ve heard from Grandpa about this. Are you hesitant?”
Qiao Xiaomai looked towards him, with a melancholic expression on her face.
Tong Sanlang chuckled, and gently tapped her forehead with his other hand, “You really are too kind-hearted.”
Qiao Xiaomai cast him a reproachful look, “Perhaps because I am not the original master, I didn’t experience Changsun’s self-inflicted, broken-leg days up until last month’s quiet period. I don’t feel the pain of the Qiao family personally.”
When confronted with the tragic situation of the Qiao family, she felt mostly anger.
As for the pain, there wasn’t much of it.
Had she been the original mistress, she might not hesitate at this point.
Tong Sanlang stretched out two fingers to smooth out her furrowed brow and suggested, “Either you don’t take that fifty tael fine, or you buy Qiao Zhaodi and Qiao Yindi. Your family works hard, with them around, it will save you a lot.”
“However, your reputation will definitely be ruined in doing so, after all, they are your cousins.”
“Otherwise, you can let Zhao Shufen pay the debt in installments, paying a little bit each year.”
Qiao Xiaomai was silent….
She was very tempted by the second suggestion.
Her family was shorthanded, and they needed help, especially with all the miscellaneous tasks. If she had Zhaodi and Yindi, they could lighten the load on her and Dami.
Noting her thoughts, Tong Sanlang added, “Or how about this, let them work off the debt. Every day they come to your place to work, and until the debt is fully repaid, they can’t marry.”
“Based on your personality, as long as they are well-behaved, you won’t let them suffer.”
Qiao Xiaomai blinked, “So, you suggest that they should come to my house every day to work like they are a usual routine?”
“Yes.”
“No, that won’t work. With Zhao Shufen around, I am worried she will sabotage.”
Zhao Shufen must hate her to her core by now. If Zhaodi and Yindi started working at her house, Zhao Shufen might just poison them in secret.
No, that’s unacceptable.
She could never be too cautious around people.
“So, what do you suggest?” asked Tong Sanlang.