They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 168 Dedicated to Madam Lu

Xu Zhichun really wanted the watermelon, and in order to get through this as soon as possible, he gritted his teeth and insisted that it belonged to him.

Imagine sitting in a deck chair in the shade of the porch on a hot day, holding half a watermelon and eating it with a spoon—what a wonderful thing that would be!

If I have the chance to grow watermelons, I'd still like to give it a try.

Granny Ji laughed, "Of course, Madam Xu, please take it with you. Madam Xu is so thoughtful."

“Farmers are used to it; they can’t take their eyes off any seeds they don’t have,” Xu Zhichun said with a smile. “If I hadn’t said this today, I don’t know how much I would have regretted it when I got back.”

Granny Ji was amused by her and burst into laughter.

Xu Zhichun laughed again, "I'm not bragging to you, but I'm really good at growing things. Everything I grow grows very well. If the field produces big watermelons next year, I'll pick out a few of the best ones to give to Madam and you, Granny."

Granny Ji chuckled again and nodded, "Good, good, good, I'll be waiting for your good news. Our lady also loves watermelon."

Granny Ji didn't take it seriously. Watermelons aren't so easy to grow. Some people's watermelons don't grow big, some people's watermelons spoil before they ripen, and some people's watermelons just aren't sweet.

It's not easy to enjoy a sweet and delicious watermelon.

That's why it's so expensive. Twenty coins a pound, that's almost the price of chicken or duck.

The money you spend on a big watermelon is enough to buy a fat chicken and still have some left over.

Xu Zhichun wasn't joking. "Yes, yes, I'll definitely bring them then. Oh, by the way, I brought some tomatoes that I accidentally obtained from seeds today. I'm giving them to Madam, and also to Granny to try."

As she spoke, she uncovered the white cotton gauze covering the basket, carefully took out the small cloth bag and white ceramic jar, placed them on the table, and showed the tomatoes to Granny Ji.

"Grandma, look, this is a tomato. It's delicious raw, and even more so with a little sugar. You can cut it into small pieces and use it in soup, or fry an egg first and then stir-fry it together—tomato and egg is also very tasty. It can also be used to braise tofu, stew meat, or stir-fry vegetables; it's all good. You can try this first, and if you like it, I'll bring some more next time."

Granny Ji had never seen tomatoes before. She liked them quite a bit, seeing how red and round they were, and said with a smile, "These fruits called tomatoes look really good, so festive. Alright, I'll have the kitchen make some for you to try today."

As she spoke, she looked at Xu Zhichun and said, "Madam Xu, is there something you need? Please speak frankly."

After all, Xu Zhichun had saved her young lady, and her brother-in-law had a promising future, which the adults praised highly. Neither he nor his sister-in-law were the kind of people who would become arrogant and conceited.

Xu Zhichun would never have come to their door unless something truly insurmountable had happened.

As soon as Xu Zhichun entered the room, she began to secretly brew sadness in her heart. When Granny Ji spoke, she could no longer suppress it. Her eyes reddened, and two tears fell. She quickly raised her hand to wipe them away.

“Granny, I do have something to ask of Madam. You must know about the ice jelly at Lotus Restaurant, right? To be honest, I made that ice jelly myself.”

Granny Ji let out a soft "Ah," clearly quite surprised.

"Madam Xu is truly skillful. The master, mistress, and young lady all love the ice jelly. Nowadays, in this heat, they buy two bowls every day and season it with honey and fresh or dried fruit. Adding mint makes it even more refreshing and cooling."

"It's this ice jelly that caused the trouble." Xu Zhichun smiled bitterly. "I knew we were outnumbered and weak, and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to keep the ice jelly. Plus, Manager Tang was kind; he wanted to sell it exclusively, so I agreed and kept it a secret from outsiders. I didn't expect that people would find out eventually. Yesterday, the manager of Sifang Restaurant called me in for a talk."

There's no need to embellish; Manager Fang's words alone are enough to make one furious.

As expected, Granny Ji showed a look of disgust and sneered, "There's no law anymore! They're just blatantly bullying people because they have a little money. Don't worry, you can just focus on doing your business in peace."

Granny Ji meant that she was going to protect her.

Since she dared to say that, she must know Madam Lu.

"Thank you, Granny," Xu Zhichun said, her anxiety greatly relieved. She hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. "Granny, I've already copied down the recipe for this ice jelly and brought it with me. I originally intended to present it to Madam today, so please accept it."

As Xu Zhichun spoke, he stood up, took out a piece of paper that had already been written on and folded into a square from his bosom, and handed it to Granny Ji with both hands.

Granny Ji hurriedly got up and pushed it back: "No, no, this is your livelihood, Madam will never accept it."

"Please accept it, Granny," Xu Zhichun said with a smile. "I have an idea that I'd like your advice on. Firstly, since Madam likes it, having this recipe will make it more convenient for her to eat it whenever she wants, which won't affect me. Secondly, if anyone asks for or buys this recipe in the future, I'll just say that I've already given it to Madam. Let's see who has the nerve to try and take it from me then. Granny, what do you think?"

Even the most ruthless thugs and hooligans wouldn't dare to openly oppose Madam Lu, would they?
Granny Ji was stunned; she hadn't expected her to have such an idea.

Not bad.

“I cannot make the decision for you, Madam. You wait here while I go and inform you.”

"Okay, thank you for your trouble, Granny."

Granny Ji went to see Madam Lu and reported everything to her in detail.

Madam Lu frowned: "Under the master's rule, there is no one picking up lost items on the road and everything is peaceful. I never expected that there would be such dirty things behind the scenes."

Granny Ji smiled and said, "Madam, please calm down. Such things will never be allowed to happen again. It's the same everywhere. It's already considered good under the master's rule."

Madam Lu nodded gently and smiled, "This Miss Xu is quite interesting. She's a clever young lady. Since she's so willing and has some connection with our family, how can I not protect her? Let's do as she says. You can say a few words to Master Shao and have him tell the patrolling constables to keep an eye on things as well."

"Yes, ma'am."

Having received Madam Lu's message, Granny Ji hurriedly went to tell Xu Zhichun.

Xu Zhichun felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Granny!"

"This is something that should be regulated in the first place; how can it be treated like this without any regard for the law?"

"In short, I am extremely grateful and will always remember the kindness of Madam and Nanny. If Madam and Nanny like the tomatoes, I will send them over next time. As for the ice jelly, if there were any problems when making it, I will discuss them with you next time I come."

Granny Ji smiled and nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "How about this, come back in three days."

"it is good."

With the matter settled, Xu Zhichun returned to his stall feeling relaxed.

Everything went well today.

Tomatoes won't be delivered tomorrow, but we'll start delivering 70 jin of ice jelly.

This means that they can earn three and a half taels of silver a day just from selling ice jelly. Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er can each get seven hundred coins from this alone, and everyone is very excited.

Manager Tang is really kind.

"By the way, Sister-in-law Zhichun, are you able to handle all this? There's quite a lot. How about we take turns helping out? Even just lending a hand would be helpful."

My darlings, please vote for me!



(End of this chapter)