150 Separating the household (1/2)
”Who's crying?” Xiang Qing asked.
I shook my head to express that I didn't know anything.
He frowned. He took the oil lamp and walked in the direction of the pigpen.
I quickly confessed, ”Today, Yin Zi and I brought back a girl who had fainted on the side of a road. We said she could stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, she will leave. She absolutely won't cause any trouble for anyone.”
Xiang Qing's footsteps didn't stop. Xiao Mao had also followed him out of curiosity. And so, the three people walked to the pigpen to look.
Xiao Cha suddenly realized there were people coming. She jumped up. She shrunk into a ball and picked up a nearby stick.
Trembling, she asked, ”Who... who's there?”
Xiang Qing put down the oil lamp. He didn't walk closer.
Instead, from a distance, he said, ”Are you the girl that Miao Miao brought home today? Why did you faint by the roadside?”
Xiao Cha looked at me for a moment and calmed down. She quickly walked closer to us and repeated the words she had said to Yin Zi and me. Then, she miserably said that she was homeless and requested that we temporarily let her stay here.
I quickly pulled on Xiang Qing's clothes and whispered, ”Yin Zi said she's a person of unknown origins. It would be best to not keep her and we don't have a place for her to stay.”
”She doesn't seem like a bad person.” Xiang Qing was somewhat hesitant and said, ”Also, why does she look similar to you? Could she be your sister? But she doesn't have a demon's aura.”
”I don't have any sisters.” I quickly denied any relations with this girl, but when I looked at Xiao Cha's appearance, my heart softened a bit. And so, I asked Xiang Qing, ”What do you think we should do?”
By our side, Xiao Mao licked his lips and nefariously interrupted, ”Dress her with sauce and eat her.”
”You're not allowed to cause trouble.” Xiang Qing firmly knocked Xiao Mao's head. Then, he asked Xiao Cha where her relatives or parents lived. But, she replied that she wasn't sure for either.
He pulled Xiao Mao and me outside to discuss. He said we couldn't send her to Mao Mountain. This girl looked like she didn't have any money. Shifu has been troubled and vexed over the numerous buildings that were damaged. He definitely won't be willing to offer her shelter. We don't have any empty rooms here. She doesn't look like she knows how to do any farm work, so we would just be feeding her for free. But if we drive her out, with her limited knowledge of the world and skills, within a few days, she would either be killed or sold off somewhere by bandits.
It wouldn't be kind to send someone off to die. After discussing back and forth, Xiang Qing decided that he would bring us to buy a house soon. For now, we would clean up the room used to store firewood so that Xiao Cha would have a place to stay. We would wait until after Mu Yun Lan and Seventh Senior Brother's wedding to ask if their residence needed any servant girls. Then send Xiao Cha over and be done with this.
After Xiang Qing decided, I immediately went to support his decision with both hands and feet and without any additional words.
Xiao Mao said some veiled words of criticism. He thought this person's origins were too strange.
After I thought about this again, even if there would be future problems and she was strange, she was still an ordinary mortal. Even if she dared to cause trouble, I could secretly give her to a tiger to eat after chopping her up. It would be okay, as long Xiang Qing didn't see.
After Xiao Cha heard that we would let her stay, her eyes finally stopped crying. With all of her energy, she guaranteed that she would work hard to earn money for everyone.
She also quietly asked me, ”What about elder sister Yin Zi? She won't be happy.”
”I don't know.” I haven't even established a good relationship with my mother-in-law. Where would I have the time to worry about their relationship? And so, just like that, I left.
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On the next day's morning, Yin Zi heard the news. He wasn't particularly unhappy.
He only lightly said, ”Got it.”
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Elder brother Huang was Xiang Qing's fellow villager. The price that he gave for the residence was very favorable. But, he kept nagging Xiang Qing for being recklessly extravagant (T/N: for not saving money by continuing to live at home) and causing Xiang family to lose face.
Xiang Qing didn't refute. He quickly finished the paperwork for buying the residence. Then he brought us to see the new residence
The residence was pretty good. There were orange trees planted in the small courtyard and morning glories climbing on the walls. The courtyard patio was paved with limestone. The small house had black tiles on the roof. There were also straw and farming tools that elder brother Huang had said he left behind for us to use. At the back, there was a small kitchen.
Everything was nicely arranged. The only inconvenience was that the residence was located outside the village, so the well and river were both far. But other than Xiao Cha, everyone's strength was good, so this wouldn't be a big problem.
This translation belongs to FuyuNeko. Meow.
On the north side, there was the main room. This was the place I would live with Xiang Qing in the future. Before we formally married, I would live with Xiao Mao. On the west and east side, there was one small room on each side. One would be for Yin Zi and other one would be for Xiao Mao.
Xiao Cha really wanted to live with Yin Zi, but Yin Zi said he didn't like living with other people, so he requested that she leave his room. Fortunately, there was a smaller room next to Yin Zi's. It seemed as if it was used to store various junk items. After we cleaned up that room for Xiao Cha to stay, she agreeably accepted this arrangement without any complaints.
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