Empress of Fortune: A Farm Girl's Rise

Thankfully the lie was spun earlier, now whether Zhuang Qingning or Zhuang Qingsui filed a complaint, he would be able to return them unfazed.

Zhuang Ruman really thought himself quite cunning.

"However, not a single complaint has been lodged..." added Zhuang Jingye.

"Then..." Zhuang Ruman looked puzzled: "Why did they come?"

"They came seeking to establish themselves as separate households," Zhuang Jingye solemnly responded.

What?

Zhuang Ruman stood there as if stupefied, thunderstruck into stillness.

---

On this side, sisters Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui were solely focusing on making tofu.

Once the beans were sorted, the tofu workshop had also been tidied up properly.

All the tools necessary for grinding tofu were washed clean, a stark difference from the layers of dust that had accumulated earlier.

After cleaning up, the first step of tofu-making began— soaking the beans.

They started adding water to the barrel of beans.

The beans needed to be soaked until they were completely saturated and soft all the way through. The time needed for soaking depended on the ambient temperature. Since it was the peak of springtime, it would roughly take ten hours to soak through the soybeans. By that calculation, it would be almost pitch dark in the night.

After the beans were soaked, and some other tasks completed, it was almost time for lunch. The two sisters' stomachs rumbled with hunger.

At this time, Mrs. Wen had already started eating her lunch.

It was soup made from flour, with spinach and garlic added in, and the aroma was enticing.

"There's no meal prepared for you. If you're hungry, go home and cook," Mrs. Wen slurped down her noodles, casting a disdainful glance at Zhuang Qingning.

"Aunt Wen, now that we've soaked the beans, it should take us well into the evening to finish. We'll leave for now and come back later in the night,"

Smiled Zhuang Qingning.

"If you want to leave, leave. What's with the long explanation? It's annoying. Are you implying that this old lady doesn't know how long it takes for these beans to soak?"

Mrs. Wen curled her lips, impatiently retorting, "Just leave quickly."

"We'll take our leave then."

Knowing about Mrs. Wen's temperament through the original host's memories, Zhuang Qingning didn't say much. She merely took Zhuang Qingsui's hand and walked out of Mrs. Wen's home.

Stepping out of the threshold, Zhuang Qingsui recollected her breath, "Aunt Wen is indeed very fierce, she's intimidating."

"Fiercer than our grand-aunt?" Zhuang Qingning responded with a smile.

"Hmm, she's more intimidating." Zhuang Qingsui nodded, an earnest look on her small face: "Grand-aunt is scary, but it's more because we fear the stick in her hand, that she won't feed us, but with Aunt Wen..."

Just sitting there, without uttering a single offensive word, she managed to intimidate people. Even though you know she won't lift a hand to hit you or verbally abuse you, she makes you particular about not offending her, lest you face her wrath. After all, there won't be any good results.

Zhuang Qingsui understood this principle but was unable to articulate it due to her young age. She merely stated, "Anyway, just looking at her makes me afraid, and I dare not provoke her."

"I actually think Aunt Wen has a good temperament," Zhuang Qingning said as she smiled, mussing Zhuang Qingsui's hair.

"What?" Zhuang Qingsui's jaw almost dropped to the floor.

She was so fierce and even slightly derogatory, but more importantly, she was intimidating. Zhuang Qingsui didn't even dare to glance at her while she was working just now.

How could Aunt Wen, as fierce as she was, have a good temperament?

Seeing that Zhuang Qingsui obviously misunderstood her, Zhuang Qingning laughed, "When I say Aunt Wen has a good temperament, I don't mean that it's good for others. I mean that it's good for her, especially so."

"What do you mean, sister, I don't understand," Zhuang Qingsui replied with confusion all over her face.

"How should I explain this to you..."

Zhuang Qingning thought for a moment, then said: "Let's say there's a flower that's very fragrant, very beautiful, and edible, and can be used medicinally. Would you like to pluck it and bring it home?"

"Of course."

Such a useful flower, of course, she would want to bring it home.

"But what if this flower were very fragrant and very beautiful, but full of thorns, and its fragrance possibly poisonous. Would you dare to pluck it then?"

"I wouldn't dare... wouldn't dare..." Zhuang Qingsui shook her head vigorously.

"Wouldn't you walk around it when you see it?"

"Of course I would walk around it."

"That's it. Aunt Wen is like this, fierce and prickly. If you provoke her, you'll get stung all over, and possibly even get poisoned. This being the case time and again, naturally, everyone knows not to take her lightly or provoke her."

Zhuang Qingning further elaborated: "Since they don't dare to provoke her, they naturally wouldn't dare to bully her either, thereby freeing her from many troubles and letting her lead a peaceful life."

It was especially suitable for someone like Mrs. Wen, a widow in her middle age, raising a few children on her own. If she were weak and timid, outsiders would not take her seriously. Just like how Zhuang Shengxing's brothers would constantly pick on her over trivial matters, not to mention those outside who disregarded the plights of widows and orphans.

Mrs. Le Wen was brutal and scary, so everyone was afraid to provoke her. Thus, she was free from many troubles and outsiders were unlikely to bully her or take advantage of her.

This kind of temperament was indeed best suited for Mrs. Wen. Perhaps, she thought the same way, which was why she acted so harshly and kept others at a distance.

"I think I understand what you mean, sister. We can't show any weakness going forward or else others may feel that we're easy to bully." Zhuang Qingsui said earnestly: "We must be like a hedgehog, with quills spanning the whole body so others dare not touch us lightly."

"That's what I mean," Zhuang Qingning laughed: "Are you hungry?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a sharp rumbling noise emerged from Zhuang Qingsui's stomach.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, she covered her ears: "I am hungry."

"How about we also have noodles for lunch?" Zhuang Qingning suggested with a smile. "We can mix in some cornmeal with the white flour and make hand-pulled noodles."

"Sure." Zhuang Qingsui nodded her head vigorously.

It was time for lunch and they decided to have noodles. As the sun was almost directly overhead, they needed to hurry back and make the noodles.

They had gotten enough salt and oil from Little Five to season the noodles. Zhuang Qingning led Zhuang Qingsui to the nearby fields where they picked a bit of shepherd's purse, wild garlic, and other herbs as accompaniments for their noodles.

Zhuang Qingsui was lucky enough to spot a quail nest in a nearby bush, and managed to collect a few quail eggs.

Resultantly, two bowls of hot and fragrant shepherd's purse and wild garlic with a few quail eggs mixed into the noodles made of cornmeal and white flour, were ready.

Everyone had a large bowl filled to the brim. The quantity was plentiful and the taste, delightful, making it a great meal.