After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 207 Uncle Qi's Daughter

Because of the tenant farmers' heartfelt gratitude, Shen Yi and his wife felt that they had done a great deed and were overjoyed, making this New Year particularly meaningful.

After the lively Spring Festival, it's spring plowing season again. With the experience of making money last year, everyone knows what to do this year without Su Tai's reminder, and they are especially attentive to the work in the fields.

With Huang Xinghua around Shenjiazhuang, Shen Yi and Su Tai don't need to worry too much. However, they do need to keep an eye on the estate itself.

When Shen Yi took some time to inspect the area, he found that Fang Wei had already organized the tenant farmers to turn over the land and spread some wood ash. They had just started cultivating seedlings, and once the fields were almost ready, they would be ready to sow the seeds.

Shen Yi was truly impressed by their speed in getting things done, and completely reassured.

During spring planting, the days seem to fly by, and they're gone in the blink of an eye.

When Madam Xu excitedly came to propose marriage to Shen Wen, Su Tai suddenly realized that she should start preparing her summer clothes.

She hurried back into the house to get some summer cotton cloth for Xu Shi, and casually asked, "Second Aunt, which village is Awen talking about? When are they getting married?"

Madam Xu smiled, eager for Su Tai to ask.

"It's a dyer named Qi from the dye house in Dahe Town. Their youngest daughter is named Qi Yan, and she's a pretty and intelligent girl."

"Uncle Qi?" Su Tai was slightly surprised, never expecting that Shen Wen's wife was actually from their family.

Madam Xu nodded hurriedly, "It's him. It's just that my husband and two sons helped your family deliver guokui (a type of flatbread) in the dead of winter. They often went to Dahe Town, and that's how they got to know Master Qi. They also met Miss Qi a few times."

After Da Gou got married last year, I discussed with A Wen about finding him a wife, and that's when he took the initiative to suggest Qi Jia's daughter.

The Qi family were residents of Dahe Town. Master Qi was skilled, and his three sons worked with him in the dye shop. The four of them could earn a little over two taels a month. If there were any materials left to be processed in the dye shop, they could also buy them and sell them, making a little extra money.

Miss Qi and her mother farmed at home. They didn't have much land, but the income from the land was enough to feed the whole family. Their life was much better than that of ordinary families. In the past, I would never have dared to dream of marrying into such a family. But my good-for-nothing youngest son was tempted and dared to think and act on it!
I practically swallowed my pride for him, making up all sorts of lame excuses to visit him several times, making him think I had ulterior motives!

"Pfft!" Su Tai couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Second Aunt, you're really funny! So you were quite satisfied with that girl from the Qi family after you saw her?"

"Absolutely!" Madam Xu said proudly, "Looks are secondary. The most important thing is that she knows how to manage a household. That girl's father and brothers are all beneficiaries. They are more shrewd than us. They manage the household and the outside world very well. I heard that she has saved a lot of money by buying fabrics herself. She is also generous to her family. She takes what she should take and doesn't covet what she shouldn't take. All the old ladies and aunties in the neighborhood praise her!"

Hearing this, Su Tai felt more at ease and nodded, asking, "Has the engagement ceremony been completed?"

Madam Xu nodded quickly, "All the proper etiquette has been observed. When A-Liang got married, the dowry was twenty taels, and this time it will be the same: twenty taels. Dahe Town is separated from us by a river, so they don't know much about our situation. When they heard that the dowry was twenty taels, the neighbors were all alarmed and thought we were some kind of nouveau riche!"
Miss Qi's mother truly loves her daughter. Seeing the large dowry we gave, she guessed our family was well-off and was quite satisfied with the marriage. We've agreed that they will get married after the autumn harvest.

"Oh! Da Ya was about to give birth back then, wasn't she?" Su Tai blinked hard.

Madam Xu was overjoyed. "That's right! To make things easier later, I came to find you now so we can arrange everything we need in advance, and avoid any chaos later."

Su Tai immediately sat down and took notes seriously. Summer arrived in the blink of an eye, and little Shen Congrong was already over a year old. She had only just learned to walk and wanted to run around in the yard all day long, and they couldn't keep her inside, just like her older sister when she was little.

Back then, Su Tai was exhausted from taking care of the child all by herself. Now, with Shen Yuezhang, the young lady, taking care of her younger brother, and three good dogs watching over them, Su Tai has been spared a lot of trouble.

The village was having a bumper harvest of fruit, and some merchants had come to the village early to wait for it, so she didn't have time to keep an eye on the children.

Just as everyone was busy harvesting strawberries, merchants who came into the village started bargaining with the villagers. "Can you make the strawberries cheaper this year? The rich man Ma in town also grew fruit this year. They are big and sweet, and they only sell for five coins a pound. Now that there are more and more fruits, your strawberries will only become less and less valuable."

The villagers felt a chill in their hearts, and their faces changed.

The merchants were secretly pleased, thinking they were about to achieve their goal, but to their surprise, the villagers all ran in one direction from the village.

"What's going on?" Boss Ji from Moshi Town was surprised and followed.

A group of villagers entered Su Tai's house, chattering about what was happening outside.

“Su Tai, they said that Master Ma also grows fruit, which costs five copper coins per pound. If we don’t lower the price of our strawberries, they won’t buy them.”

"Yes, yes, they also said that if there are more fruits in the future, our strawberries and watermelons will become worthless. Should we continue to grow fruit?"

"What?! The merchant who wanted to buy from us said five coins, and wouldn't take a penny more! What are we going to do?!"

After listening for a while, Su Tai finally understood what was going on. She calmly smiled at the villagers and reassured them, "Don't worry, everyone. I want to ask, what kind of fruit did Master Ma grow?"

"This..." The villagers looked at each other, none of them able to answer.

Finally, everyone's attention turned to Boss Ji, who had just entered the room.

Boss Ji was a little hesitant, but still went in. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not just me who's negotiating prices with you! All the merchants in Moshi Town are thinking the same thing. Master Ma has planted a hundred acres of orchards and said he'd sell the fruit for five coins a pound."

Su Tai stood up, nodded slightly to Boss Ji, invited him to sit down, and served him tea. "I understand what you said. May I ask what kind of fruit Master Ma grows? And how is it grown?"

Boss Ji originally didn't want to talk about it, but seeing Su Tai's smiling face and her kind and polite attitude, he answered her question, "She said it's a kind of fruit called 'Linqin,' which was brought from a small vassal state of Xuanyuan Kingdom. Apart from the Ma family, all the families that are on good terms with the Ma family have planted Linqin. By the way, many families in Liu Family Village next door have also started planting it."

If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourselves.

Quite a few villagers actually stepped out the door.

Su Tai listened silently, a calm smile always on her lips. When faced with Boss Shang Ji's probing gaze, she simply smiled and said, "Have some tea."