Chapter 228 - 256 Lovable
Listening to Chunxi’s words, Zhao Lingxiang’s face grew even darker. She had initially thought it would be easy to dismiss a poor country woman, but unexpectedly, she had encountered a tough one who dared to knock on her bamboo pole. All she needed was the item in the poor woman’s possession, which forced her to be at the mercy of her schemes—a most begrudging thought. If Zhao Lingxiang had known that Chunxi’s original asking price was fifty taels of silver, who knows how she would have felt.
"Fine! Five taels of silver it is, but your recipe must be flawless. If my master finds out you dared to deceive me, he will definitely make your whole family suffer," Zhao Lingxiang said hatefully. Although five taels of silver was more than she had anticipated, it wasn’t beyond her means. For the recipe in Chunxi’s hands, she still accepted the deal.
Having received the five taels of silver, Chunxi told Zhao Lingxiang how to sprout beans and the method for making zongzi. These were things Chunxi had paid close attention to when she was working at Zhao Erhu’s home. Now that Lin Yue had more to do, she didn’t make a particular effort to keep the bean sprouting process a secret. As for the zongzi, Chunxi did not know how Lin Yue mixed the ingredients. She only recalled the filling and described it based on her thoughts. Naturally, the taste wouldn’t be the same. Still, it was enough to deceive Zhao Lingxiang for the time being. Zhao Lingxiang rarely cooked when she was at her family’s home, and even less so after marrying into the Wei Family. And, since Chunxi’s ingredients were all correct—merely the method of making them was different—Zhao Lingxiang wouldn’t notice.
After taking the silver, Chunxi felt no guilt at all. In her view, the recipe for sprouting beans alone was worth the five taels of silver. As for the zongzi, no one would bother making them when it wasn’t the Dragon Boat Festival. If Zhao Lingxiang found out they were wrong and came looking for her, Chunxi had ways to exonerate herself. Moreover, she might not even be in the Zhao Family village by then, making it uncertain whether Zhao Lingxiang could find her at all.
While spending five taels of silver did pain Zhao Lingxiang, being able to report back to the master was a relief. Perhaps the master would be pleased enough to give her a little something extra, which would compensate for her loss. Therefore, after a brief stay in the old Zhao family home, she hurriedly rushed back to the city.
The Wei Family master’s reaction was even more delighted than Zhao Lingxiang had anticipated. To her, bean sprouts were nothing more than cheap goods, not worth much, and she had been worried about whether the Wei Family master would be satisfied. Seeing his reaction, she felt relieved, content that her five taels of silver hadn’t been wasted. After all, her monthly allowance was only two taels of silver, and she scrimped and saved just to accumulate a little private money.
"Master, my sister-in-law is a shrewd and tough character. I’ve tried every trick in the book and could only get these two recipes from her. She wouldn’t say more. We’ll have to think of other ways in the future."