Chapter 186: Taking Her In
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The younger toddler Ling’s eyes widened in shock as she watched Su Ying stuff the rice cakes into her mouth one gulp at a time. With a loud cry, she pounced over and hugged Su Ying’s leg. “Mother, I’ll go. Stop eating. Don’t eat anymore. 1’11 go to school. I want to go to school with my big brother.”
Su Ying licked her lips as if she still wanted more. “Why don’t we not go to school?” She picked up another piece of rice cake.
Ling was so anxious that tears were coming out. “Go, go, go. 1 will go. Mother, stop eating!”
Su Ying stopped somewhat regretfully. “Alright, I’ll pack the rest for you to take to school.”
The older toddler Ji, who was standing at the side, was building up his emotions and had yet to cry. His little face stiffened as he looked at his sister with extreme disdain. A plate of rice cakes was enough to make her compromise. Last night, she even vowed to him that she would definitely not go to school today!
The three kids obediently followed Chu Yun to school.
After they left, Su Ying asked Tian Mu to look for the charcoal expert who taught them earlier, and then they headed to the North District.
As soon as Su Ying left, Qiao Yang brought his men to the entrance of the courtyard. They were here to load charcoal. As they had added a few new pits, their efficiency in producing charcoal was much higher than before. Su Ying had told Tiger Might that the charcoal needed to be sold in batches. Otherwise, if the stocks built up, they would need a bigger convoy to transport them all at once. They did not have that many carriages to transport them anyway.
The accumulated charcoal filled up 10 big carriages. After Qiao Yang’s men packed the charcoal, they pulled the carriages back to the Tiger Base.
Tiger Might checked the quality of the charcoal carefully. After confirming that there were no problems, he said, “Let Meng Zi from the North District go with you tomorrow.”
Qiao Yang was a little baffled. “Why? The North District doesn’t have any share of this charcoal. Why does he have to come along?”
Tiger Might glared at him. “If I ask you to invite someone along, just do it. Why are you talking so much nonsense?”
Qiao Yang cowered when Tiger Might roared at him. “Okay, okay! But they won’t be jealous, will they? What if…”
“No, they won’t. Madam Su saved his son’s life. He is a person who knows gratitude and will not do stupid things. What good does it do him to covet this little bit of profit?”
Qiao Yang pursed his lips. “Got it. I’ll go and ask him later.”
“Bring two jars of wine.”
“Okay.”
Meanwhile, Su Ying had also brought her men to the North District.
Unlike the earlier visit, Zhou Xing was already waiting outside the North District’s entrance this time. When he saw Su Ying’s horse carriage approaching, he quickly went up to welcome her.
“Madam Su, you are here.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Uncle Meng and the others are waiting. Madam Su, please come with me.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Xing hopped onto the horse carriage and sat in the driver’s seat. He then quickly brought Su Ying to Meng Zi’s courtyard.
“Uncle Meng, Madam Su is here.”
The people in the courtyard heard the noise and quickly opened the gate and walked out.
“Madam Su, you are here. Come in and sit for a while,” Tian Niu greeted her warmly.
Su Ying shook her head. “It’s fine, Aunt Tian. Let’s go and take a look at the location as soon as possible. It’s getting colder and colder now. It’s better to make the charcoal as soon as possible.”
Meng Zi and a few middle-aged men also walked out of the courtyard.
“Madam Su is right. It’s better to settle this matter as soon as possible. Let’s go. I’ll take you to see that place.”
“Alright.”
In order to save time, Meng Zi also drove the ox cart out and led a few managers to the front to lead the way for Su Ying.
Tian Niu watched them until they had gone far away before she returned to the courtyard and closed the gate. Just as she turned around, she saw a head quickly shrinking back behind a window of the side room.
Tian Niu frowned, but she still walked toward the room.
When Wang Furong heard the footsteps, she shrank back and looked timidly in the direction of the door.
When Tian Niu entered the room, she saw how scared she was and couldn’t help but be curious. “Little girl, you’re finally awake. Don’t be afraid. We won’t harm you. Yesterday, we saw you lying unconscious on the ground, so we brought you back. Are you okay now? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Wang Furong lowered her head and whispered, “I… I’m so hungry…”
Tian Niu laughed when she heard that. “You should have said so earlier. I knew you fainted from hunger. I even poured a big bowl of sugar water into your mouth this morning. You wait here. There are still some cornmeal pancakes in the pot. I’ll go get some for you.”
As Tian Niu spoke, she bustled out of the room.
As soon as she left, Wang Furong stuck out her head and looked outside. When she saw Tian Niu rushing back, she quickly acted like a timid person and did not dare to make a sound.
“Here you go. This pancake is still warm. Hurry up and eat it. You’ll have more strength after you’re full.”
Wang Furong looked at the yellow-golden cornmeal pancake and gulped a few times vehemently. Eventually, she couldn’t care less anymore. She grabbed the pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, taking big bites from it.
When she saw her like this, Tian Niu pitied her even more. “Gosh! Eat slowly. If you’re not full, there’s more in the pot. I will bring it for you.”
Wang Furong wolfed down her food and did not pay any heed to Tian Niu’s words at all.
“Oof, oof!”
When Wang Furong began choking, Tian Niu quickly went to pour her a cup of water and helped her drink it. “Be careful. Eating coarse food can make you choke. You have to eat slowly.”
After stuffing a few cornmeal pancakes into her stomach, Wang Furong rolled down from the bed and crawled to Tian Niu’s feet. She hugged her with red-rimmed eyes and said, “Aunt, please take me in. I’m all alone and really have nowhere to go. I can do any kind of work. All I ask is that you give me a bite to eat.”
Tian Niu was not a hard-hearted person. When she saw that the girl was so pitiful, it would be a lie to say that she did not feel any sympathy. However, in this place, even her own family members might not be able to fill their tummies, so how could she take in another mouth to feed?
Wang Furong seemed to realize Tian Niu’s hesitation, so she continued to plead, “Aunt, I beg you. I only need to eat one meal a day. Ah, no. Two days. I only need to eat one meal every two days…”
“Alright, my child. Don’t be anxious. Tell me about your family members.”
Wang Furong lowered her eyes to hide the strange look in her eyes. “I… 1 don’t have a family anymore…”
Tian Niu assumed that her family members were already dead and felt even more sorry. “Never mind. You can stay for now. It’s not too late to leave after you find a good place.” There was a lot of work to do at home, and her son’s leg needed to be taken care of. She might as well let her stay and be a helper.
After Wang Furong saw that Tian Niu had agreed, a relieved smile appeared on her face.
Meanwhile, Su Ying followed Meng Zi and the others to the hillock behind the North District.
Although it was a half-slope, the slope was not steep. There was vegetation all around. Even though there was no open space on the slope, it should not be a problem to make charcoal here.
Su Ying immediately decided on a location with Meng Zi and got them to gather people to start digging pits. She then asked her men to teach them the process of making charcoal step by step.
Meng Zi left the technical issues to the managers. After confirming that there were no problems, he went back with Su Ying.
The two of them had just returned to the courtyard when they saw Qiao Yang galloping up to them on his horse..