A Good Country Wife

After coming back from seeing the Wei master, Zhao Lingxiang thought it over and decided to immediately return to the Zhao family village to see how Chunxi’s progress was going. The master was no longer satisfied with just growing bean sprouts, having heard that Zhao Erhu was selling not only bean sprouts but also tofu skins, dried beancurd sticks, and various braised dishes at the market. If she could get her hands on the recipes for making these, she could definitely make a fortune. Therefore, she wouldn’t hesitate to spend silver to buy those recipes.

Now that the Wei master had tasted the sweetness of selling bean sprouts, he became much more generous with his spending than before. Holding the two hundred taels of silver notes given by the master, Zhao Lingxiang felt much more confident. She would first ask Chunxi if she had gotten any new recipes, and if not, she would have no choice but to go to Zhao Erhu’s house. Now she wasn’t just asking for their family recipes for nothing; she was ready to buy them with money. She refused to believe that Zhao Erhu and his wife could resist the lure of silver.

Zhao Lingxiang had underestimated the importance of that recipe. Zhao Erhu’s household was now a big operation; they had hired people, and Zhao Erhu was making more money in just one month in Xin’an City than the two hundred taels of silver. Besides, was Wei master the kind of person who would let others take advantage of him? If he was willing to spend silver to buy the recipe, it surely meant that the recipe could make him a lot of silver. The two hundred taels were nothing compared to the amount he could earn, a mere drop in the ocean. Although Wei master had rewarded Zhao Lingxiang for the recipe, he would not reveal to her how much silver he had made with it, so she remained blissfully ignorant and self-satisfied.

Zhao Lingxiang only found out about Chunxi selling the recipe when she arrived at the Zhao family’s old house. Nonetheless, Zhao Lingxiang still held onto a glimmer of hope and sent Xiaocui to call Chunxi over.

"Yes, Auntie, I will go right now," replied Xiaocui, who had become much more clever than before. When Zhao Lingxiang instructed her, she did not do so with reluctance anymore.

As Zhao Lingxiang was currently in favor, Xiaocui, as her personal maid, naturally rose with the tide. She strutted around the estate with her head held high. Everyone knew she followed a ’good’ master, but no one knew how her current arrogance would lead to her down fall in the future. It seemed that everyone in the estate did not have a high opinion of Zhao Lingxiang and thought her favor was only temporary.

The reason Zhao Lingxiang still wanted to find Chunxi was mainly to save some silver. Naturally, she wouldn’t return the two hundred taels to the Wei master. The less she spent on the recipes, the more she kept in her pocket, becoming her private savings, which would make her future spending less restricted.

Although she had a monthly allowance in the past, there were days when she was not favored in the estate, and everything required spending money for proper attention. Even for a full meal, she needed to tip the chef in the main kitchen; otherwise, she might end up with leftovers gone bad from others’ tables. Even the maids who served close to the Madam needed to be tipped, or they might speak ill of her in front of the Madam and make her life difficult. There were endless such matters to recount.