CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 342: STRIKING IT RICH

Although it appeared to be just cooking porridge, Yu Xiaolian wasn’t willing to compromise on taste. Wasn’t she afraid the aroma would give her away? So, she prepared everything inside her space kitchen and then brought it out.

In the kitchen space, Yu Xiaolian used the double-yolk eggs she had earlier to make two omelets, boiled a plate of frozen dumplings and some boiled shrimp. Before leaving the space, she also grabbed two packs of spicy pickled vegetables.

When Su Jingchen walked into the inner room with the steaming porridge, he was stunned.

On the pink simple folding table on the wooden bed, there was a large plate of steaming dumplings, a plate of large shrimp, two servings of omelet, and a small dish of pickled vegetables on a white plate beside them.

Su Jingchen placed the porridge on the shabby plank next to the bed since there was no room left on the table.

To avoid any surprise visitors, during the day Yu Xiaolian would put the quilts inside her space, so there were no quilts on the bed, just two fluffy cushions—one for each of them.

"So lavish?" Su Jingchen was truly realizing now, Yu Xiaolian’s space was indeed amazing.

No matter the environment, as long as he was with Yu Xiaolian, he could always eat well and live well.

Ah, how blissful.

Did this mean that if they went to a bitterly cold place like Snow Mountain, it wouldn’t be as harsh?

While others might struggle with the cold, facing hunger and scant clothing, they weren’t the same. They had a cheat device.

At this time, Yu Xiaolian had just peeled a shrimp and fed the shrimp meat to Su Jingchen. Tasting the fresh, sweet shrimp, Su Jingchen felt his life was complete.

"These dumplings are beef and onion, not sure if you’re used to them? Have a taste." In fact, Yu Xiaolian wasn’t a huge fan of frozen dumplings, but given the circumstances, she was grateful to have them.

Su Jingchen nodded, eagerly picked up a dumpling, and popped it into his mouth, smiling as he ate, "Delicious!"

"Then eat more, there’s plenty!"

...

Since Yu Xiaolian left, Yu Changhe and Sun Shi became even busier, so much so that Sun Shi had to take Yu Ziqian and Yu Zixuan to stay in Xiangyang Lane.

One day, just as Yu Changhe returned from visiting his wife and children in the city back to Taohua Village, he was stopped at the doorstep by someone before he could enter the courtyard.

Yu Changhe didn’t recognize who it was at first.

Not until Wang Zhanming put down the large half-bag of cornmeal he was carrying and started speaking to Yu Changhe did he realize it was Wang Zhanming who had stopped him.

"Old Yu, this is the grain I borrowed from your family last year and the year before. Now that I’ve made it big, I’m here to repay you," Wang Zhanming said, standing straight with a proud tone.

Yu Changhe furrowed his brow slightly, quickly calling Sun Mancang behind him to take the grain. Sun Mancang reached out, hoisting the half-bag of coarse grain onto his shoulder.

Yu Changhe gestured for Sun Mancang to go inside first.

The Wang Zhanming family was known for taking advantage of others, even now that they were better off they had never shown the intention to repay borrowed grain willingly.

Yu Changhe looked over Wang Zhanming’s attire, noticing his royal blue silk tunic and new shoes.

It seemed Wang Zhanming really had made it big.

No wonder he addressed him as Old Brother Yu instead of Master Yu, that explained it.

Curious, Yu Changhe smiled and asked, "Seeing Brother Wang doing so well, I wonder what kind of work you’re doing to make such money?"

Was it possible that Wang Zhanming had learned to gamble from Qi Shanhe and found a job rolling dice at the casino?

Thinking of Qi Shanhe abandoning literature for gambling these days made people sigh at the unpredictability of life; who would’ve thought someone who studied the classics for over twenty years would end up shaking dice in a gambling den!

There’s some truth to the saying, everyone has their fate.

Wang Zhanming had already prepared an excuse for his sudden windfall, "Last winter, my elder sister passed away, I went to Mang Mountain to arrange her funeral. On my way back, I saved a young lord from a wealthy family. The young lord promised to repay me in the future, and sure enough, a few days ago he sent someone to deliver money to me.

A stack of silver notes, this thick."

Wang Zhanming’s face was filled with pride.

Yu Changhe, seeing Wang Zhanming’s exaggerated gesture, held back a laugh. Going by his measure, those silver notes must be worth tens of thousands of taels—could it be that he saved the Emperor?

Yu Changhe exchanged pleasantries with Wang Zhanming, commenting on how generous the family was to give such a thick stack of silver notes, and then headed home.

Upon entering the house, he found Jiang Haiqiu waiting for him in the hall.

"Haiqiu, do you have something for Uncle?" Yu Changhe asked.

Ever since Yu Xiaolian and Su Jingchen got engaged, it was the first time Jiang Haiqiu had come to the Yu Family. Coming uninvited, it was certain he had something important in mind.

Jiang Haiqiu indeed had something important, albeit difficult to bring up.

However, having come with determination, Jiang Haiqiu had already made up his mind after much deliberation at home. He thought it was necessary to inform Yu Changhe about the matter.

"Uncle Yu, I... I have taken a liking to Sun Manxi’s granddaughter, Sun Manxi, and I wish to make her my wife..." Jiang Haiqiu almost blurted it out with his eyes closed.

Why eyes closed? Because it was really hard to say.

Even though he liked Yu Xiaolian, he was self-aware; after a few interactions with Yu Xiaolian, he understood she didn’t have feelings for him.

Last winter, when Sun Manxi was on holiday at home, they met while shoveling snow, and after several conversations, they found themselves mutually attracted. However, once Sun Manxia found out, she disapproved of their relationship.

While Sun Manxia didn’t say why, Sun Manxi believed her sister wouldn’t harm her, and their relationship had always been good since childhood. Because Sun Manxia disapproved, Sun Manxi ignored Jiang Haiqiu.

Jiang Haiqiu had promised Sun Manxia not to tell anyone about her private visit, so he kept his word and didn’t tell anyone, not even Sun Manxi.

He just didn’t expect Sun Manxia to be so petty.

Even if he had liked Sun Manxia, he wouldn’t have stolen Qi Shanbao’s fiancéé! It’s not like all the women in the world are gone.

"This is a good thing, why are you acting shy? What, embarrassed?" Yu Changhe laughed heartily, "A young man, what’s there to be shy about?"

Yu Changhe was fond of Jiang Haiqiu; he was decent with a good head on his shoulders.

Yu Changhe patted his chest, "I’ll handle this; I’m willing to act as the go-between for you."

Jiang Haiqiu beamed, "I’m just worried Sun Manxi wouldn’t be willing!"

If Uncle Yu spoke on his behalf and Sun Manxi still rejected him, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He couldn’t really reveal what Sun Manxia did behind the scenes, could he?

No, absolutely not. If he did, Sun Manxia would be too ashamed to show her face, and Qi Shanbao would come looking for trouble.