TSWPF – Chapter 39 Questioning

Li Qingling followed Aunt Huang to her house and was surprised to see that she had collected two full baskets of eggs.

She hadn’t expected Aunt Huang to be capable of gathering so many eggs at once.

Aunt Huang glanced at Li Qingling and rubbed her hands together. “Xiaoling, you’ll take all of them, right?”

If Li Qingling refused to take all the eggs, thinking she had collected too many, Aunt Huang would end up losing money.

Li Qingling smiled and nodded, giving Aunt Huang reassurance.

Seeing Li Qingling nod, Aunt Huang immediately exhaled in relief, grinning from ear to ear.

“Are you going to check them first, or just take them straight to your house?”

Aunt Huang had already checked the eggs while collecting them. She had left out the smaller ones and only kept eggs of average size.

But it was Li Qingling who had the final say—whether to inspect them or not depended on her.

Li Qingling smiled. “Aunt Huang, I trust your character, so there’s no need to check.” She believed in people she chose to work with. Since she had asked Aunt Huang to collect the eggs, she trusted that she wouldn’t do anything harmful for selfish gain. “How many eggs are there in these two baskets?”

She estimated that the two baskets together contained five or six hundred eggs. Although the number sounded intimidating, at her rate of selling fifty egg pancakes a day, these two baskets would last about ten days—not an overwhelming amount.

Aunt Huang swallowed nervously and chuckled, showing one hand.

She had only hinted in the village that she was collecting eggs. She hadn’t expected every household to have so many saved up and to sell them all to her at once. It made her a little flustered.

Li Qingling nodded at her estimate and immediately gave Aunt Huang five hundred wen.

It was the first time Aunt Huang had received such a large sum. Her hands trembled as she took the money.

Seeing this, Li Qingling pursed her lips and smiled slightly, making sure she counted it correctly. Was it really five hundred wen?

Aunt Huang wasn’t oblivious. Li Qingling trusted her so much that she didn’t even count the eggs, simply handing over the money. If she had counted the money in front of Li Qingling, it would imply she didn’t trust her—a foolish thing to do.

“No need to count, I trust you,” Aunt Huang said cheerfully. “Wait a moment, I’ll deliver the eggs to your house.” With that, she hurried into her room and carefully hid the five hundred wen she had just received. Once she felt it was safely hidden, she stepped out with relief.

Aunt Huang grabbed a carrying pole, tied the basket ropes to it, and squatted to lift the two baskets of eggs.

“Aunt, shall I help you carry them?” Li Qingling’s heart skipped a beat. She was worried Aunt Huang might stumble and break the eggs.

If these eggs were ruined, what would she use for making pancakes tomorrow?

Aunt Huang looked Li Qingling up and down, seeing her small frame, and shook her head. “No need, this isn’t heavy. I can manage.”

The baskets’ ropes alone were taller than Li Qingling’s small frame—how could she possibly carry them? Aunt Huang could manage alone, and it would be safer…

“All right then, be careful!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure these eggs get to your house safely!” Aunt Huang smiled again. Thankfully, she had layered straw between each layer of eggs. Otherwise, carrying them like this could have easily broken some.

Li Qingling nodded, letting Aunt Huang go ahead while she followed behind.

Aunt Huang’s egg collecting had stirred the entire village.

People were gossiping in private: Why is Aunt Huang collecting so many eggs?

Everyone wanted to see what she was up to.

As she carried the large baskets out of her house, with Li Qingling trailing behind, the villagers grew even more curious.

“Aunt Huang, where are you taking the eggs?” a village woman asked, glancing at both Aunt Huang and Li Qingling.

She was wondering if Aunt Huang had collected all those eggs just to sell them to Li Qingling.

Aunt Huang glanced at Li Qingling. Without her approval, she dared not reveal the truth.

Li Qingling knew this couldn’t stay a secret, so she lightly nodded at Aunt Huang.

Taking a quiet breath, Li Qingling didn’t mind. Aunt Huang, smiling, answered the woman, “These eggs were collected at Xiaoling’s request. I’m just helping deliver them to her house.” Her words left no room for doubt.

Others would think the eggs were collected on Li Qingling’s behalf, not bought from Aunt Huang.

She felt slightly nervous but trusted Li Qingling wouldn’t expose her.

Li Qingling smiled at Aunt Huang, calming her anxious heart. She knew as long as Li Qingling didn’t reveal her, she could continue this business.

“Oh… so Xiaoling asked you to collect them?” The woman was truly surprised. She looked at Li Qingling and probed, “Xiaoling, why are you buying so many eggs? Are they for eating?” She only had a few kids at home—how many eggs could they eat?

And these eggs must cost hundreds of wen. Li Qingling must have made a fortune; otherwise, she couldn’t afford so many.

Li Qingling smiled faintly at the woman. “Not for ourselves; they’re for others.” She kept her answer vague. “Sister-in-law, my family is waiting for me, so I’ll go first!”

She signaled to Aunt Huang and ignored the woman, striding ahead.

Aunt Huang smiled and followed quickly, keeping her head down to avoid further questions.

This time, Li Qingling didn’t let Aunt Huang carry the eggs to her own house but directed her straight to the Liu household. Aunt Huang carefully squatted and placed the baskets on the ground.

She removed the carrying pole and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Xiaoling, just leave the baskets here for now. When you’ve used up the eggs, you can return them.” She hesitated slightly, then glanced at Li Qingling. “Xiaoling, should I keep collecting eggs?” She had tasted the profit and didn’t want the business to stop.

Li Qingling pondered for a moment. “Eggs don’t last long. When we’ve used most of these, I’ll let you know.” Too many eggs would spoil, wasting money.

In this world, money was hard to come by; she couldn’t be careless.

Hearing this, Aunt Huang was a little disappointed but nodded with a smile, repeatedly reminding Li Qingling to tell her when the eggs were finished.

Once she saw Li Qingling nod in agreement, she finally left the Liu household with ease.

“So many eggs…” Liu Zhirou waddled up to Li Qingling, eyes wide as she stared at the two baskets, amazed.

Li Qingling bent down and picked her up, kissing her little face. “Come, sister will make you some steamed egg custard.” Now that the family had resources, the children would have a bowl of goat milk daily and one egg each day.

With better nutrition, the kids were growing taller and plumper.

Seeing this gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

Liu Zhirou nodded happily. She loved the egg custard her sister made—it was delicious.

“You little foodie!” Li Qingling laughed, tapping Liu Zhirou’s tiny nose as she carried her into the kitchen.

She had no idea that her plan to have Aunt Huang collect eggs had become the talk of the entire village.

No wonder, the village’s nosy and jealous Yan Sanniu, returning from picking vegetables, saw Madam Liu in the garden. Her eyes flicked, and she loudly called out to her.

“Chunhua, did you hear? Those eggs Aunt Huang collected were for your granddaughter Xiaoling! That’s hundreds of eggs!” Yan Sanniu, carrying her vegetable basket, smiled slyly. “Looks like your granddaughter’s hunting business really paid off. Otherwise, how could she buy so many eggs? She’s your legitimate granddaughter, isn’t she going to show you some filial respect?”

Madam Liu’s face turned red and pale in succession. She hadn’t realized the eggs Aunt Huang collected were on Li Qingling’s behalf—she had even sold her own fifty eggs to her.

Seeing Madam Liu silent, Yan Sanniu continued, “Chunhua, what does your granddaughter need so many eggs for? She says they’re for others, but she doesn’t have relatives—who would she give them to? You know?” A family that had once been on the brink of starvation now seemed the wealthiest in the village. “Ah, Chunhua, you really lost out. If there hadn’t been a division of property, all of that would’ve been yours!”

Madam Liu’s eyes darkened; Yan Sanniu’s words left her flustered. She didn’t want to appear foolish in front of her. “Does it matter to you? Even if she’s rich, she’s my granddaughter. She still needs to show me respect.” Saying that, she spat lightly toward Yan Sanniu and took her vegetables home.

Yan Sanniu snorted, scornfully spat toward Madam Liu, and walked home with her basket.

Back at home, Madam Liu grew increasingly upset. That brat Li Qingling, so rich, didn’t even show her grandmother any respect. Did she even care about her?

No, she had to ask—she wouldn’t feel satisfied otherwise.

Madam Liu suddenly stood up and strode out of her house toward Li Qingling’s home.