Chapter 544. An Encounter at the Road (1/2)

“Royal Princess...I beg you, please give me some pointers!” Zheng Xiaocui knew that Yu Xiaocao had a smart mind. She would definitely be able to think of a plan for her to get out of this situation.

“I can offer two suggestions for you. For the first option, I can recommend some work for you. You can either work at the Zhou Family’s workshop or work as an assistant for the chefs at Zhenxiu Restaurant. After you choose a job, you will head home and tell your father everything honestly. You will tell him that all the money you earn before the age of eighteen will be handed over to him. Even after you get married, you will continue to honor him by giving him half of your wage. I think your father is smart enough to figure out whether it's better to have a reputation for selling his daughter off or earning more money in the long run!”

Yu Xiaocao paused for a moment as she silently glanced at Zheng Xiaocui’s thoughtful expression. She picked up a cup of tea and sipped gently, and continued, “The second option is for you to report this matter to the authorities, have a fallout with your family, and escape to the prefectural city to earn a living. I’m sure you know that Yu's Braised Food Shop is doing very well in the prefectural city. I can ask my oldest aunt to sell you some goods on credit. You can start selling braised food by setting up a stall in the beginning, and when you have the funds, you can rent a small shop… However, after you cut off all your ties, you will be all alone. Even if you’re bullied by other people, there will be no one there to support you anymore!”

Even though there was a slim chance that her father would protect and support her when she needed it since he always valued his son over his daughter, her parents had raised her for more than ten years. They should still have some affection for each other because they had the same blood flowing in their veins. Although Zheng Xiaocui was somewhat snobbish and had her own plans and ideas, she was still reluctant to report her father to the authorities. Even if her father’s sole purpose of raising her was to sell her off to save up money for her younger brother’s marriage.

“I choose the first option!” Zheng Xiaocui didn’t plan on choosing the second option unless she had no other choice.

Xiaocao didn’t pay much attention to what happened to Zheng Xiaocui afterward. Perhaps it was because Zheng Xiaocui’s filial piety had emotionally moved her father, or perhaps it was thanks to Yu Hai’s persuasion that Zheng Laojiu never mentioned selling his daughter to the rich old man anymore.

Before Xiaocao left Dongshan Village, Zheng Xiaocui packed up a small bundle of luggage and came to find Xiaocao. She asked Chunhua to take her appointment tablet to find Head Manager Xiaodou of Zhenxiu Restaurant and ask him to give Zheng Xiaocui a job washing dishes and picking vegetables in the back kitchen.

Sometime later, news arrived informing her that Zheng Xiaocui worked very hard in the back kitchen. Zheng Xiaocui had good eyesight, lively, and she looked pretty, so she was soon transferred to work as a server in the front hall of the restaurant. The people in charge of washing vegetables learned less than a tael of silver in a month, but servers earned nearly two taels of silver a month. Zheng Laojiu settled down after he received more than 20 taels of silver in a year.

Later, when Yu Xiaocao had already been married, she heard from her family members that Zheng Laojiu prevented her daughter from marrying until she was 20 years old because he wanted her salary. Later, Zheng Xiaocui begged Yu Hai, by then, he was already the owner of tens of thousands of acres of farm, to plead on her behalf. After she repeatedly emphasized that she will still give half of her wages to her family after getting married, Zheng Laojiu finally loosen his grasp and allowed her to get married. Zheng Xiaocui married one of the managers of the shop. Her life was plain, but she was very content. But these were all things that happened later.

After the 20th day of the twelfth month, everyone in Dongshan Village became busy. But Yu Xiaocao had nothing to do after she sent the Zhou Family, her eldest granduncle, and several families she had a good relationship within Dongshan Village, a generous and practical New Year gift. The family matters were all managed by her mother and four other maidservants. Erya was also extremely busy, but it was impossible for Xiaocao to intervene and help.

Every day, Yu Xiaocao would either chat with a few good friends or take a stroll around the mountain with two of her stronger maidservants. She hunted some wild game to add more dishes to their meals at home. She was not used to being so idle all of a sudden.

“Cao’er, your eldest granduncle will be killing a pig for New Year’s today. Let’s head to your eldest granduncle’s house at noon to have pork stew. Do you remember the time when you were a child and stuffed yourself with pork stew? You ate so much that you laid motionlessly on the bed because of a stomach ache. Your mother and I were so frightened! When I invited a doctor from town to check on your condition and he told me that you just ate too much. He prescribed a few hawthorn pills and left!” Yu Hai was talking about an incident that occurred before Xiaocao had transmigrated here. The young girl’s body was extremely weak, pork stew was a dish that was heavy on the oil. She was lucky that she only had a stomach ache from eating too much.

While the maidservants smiled at his story, Yu Xiaocao calmly said, “At that time, we didn’t have much oil at home. I would be a fool if I didn’t stuff myself full of that fragrant and savory pork stew! Speaking of which, it’s been two years since I last ate our village’s signature dish, the pork stew! Wutong and Chunhua, you should learn a little from me. Don’t eat anything in the morning, so you can stuff yourself with pork stew with an empty stomach!”

Wutong suppressed her smile and asked, “Young Miss, didn’t you say that it’s important not to have an uneven diet or overeat to maintain a healthy diet? Are you going to make an exception for today?”

“Of course, today will be an expectation! My eldest grandaunt’s hometown is from the northeast. The northeast region is most well known for its pork stew. In addition, she makes delicious simmered pig’s head, blood sausages, fatty pork with garlic sauce, and sliced pork diaphragm with garlic sauce...no, I can’t think about it, otherwise, I can’t stop drooling! You haven’t seen any of those dishes before, right? Come and gain some experience with me!” Yu Xiaocao headed back to the house and changed into some warm and more light-weight clothes. The four maids were dressed in coarse cotton-padded jackets to blind into the village as they followed their master out the door.

“Hey! Xiaocao, where are you going?” The villagers from the same village always greeted her warmly.

Xiaocao had a bright smile on her face when she replied, “My eldest granduncle had killed a pig for New Years. I’m planning to head over to have some pork stew!”

“Why are you heading over so early? Isn’t the pork stew usually prepared in the afternoon?”