Chapter 366 - 366: Selling Rice
The servants of Lucky Garden ate this daily, so they didn’t feel anything. However, those who had never eaten this rice knew it was good.
Steward Zhang rolled his eyes. “If you want this, a bowl is ten copper coins. Eat as much as you want. Our mistress said that the porridge will be distributed until February. There’s still over a month left.”
“Hehe. This porridge is not expensive at ten copper coins per bowl.”
From that day on, the Qiao family distributed porridge for free and also sold it. Many people heard about its specialty and brought bowls to buy porridge regardless of status.
Just like that, the news spread like wildfire. This scene appeared on the streets of the capital. There was a long line to buy porridge.
A bowl of porridge cost ten copper coins, ten bowls cost a hundred copper coins, and a hundred bowls cost a tael of silver. There were no less than a few thousand people in the capital who ate porridge daily.
After they got the porridge, they ran to a place and squatted down like beggars to eat it.
Steward Zhang told Qiao Mai about this. “Mistress, what do you think?”
“Sell it if there is demand. Our family doesn’t lack that bit of rice. Send more people and cook a few more pots.”
“Yes, Mistress!”
A thousand bowls were worth ten taels of silver. They became a porridge seller instead of a porridge distributor.
The number of people who came to buy porridge was more than those beggars.
They earned a few dozen taels of silver daily as they could earn money by giving out porridge.
Qiao Mai had people buy cotton clothes and blankets for the beggars with the silver they had earned from the sale. This way, they could live through the winter with food and warmth.
The Qiao family did good deeds, which made those wealthy families unable to sit idle.
Although their financial resources could not compare to the Qiao family, they had to put on an act.
Everyone said the porridge of the Qiao family was delicious, but they did not give out much porridge. They only gave out two pots a day. Each pot was made with meat broth and contained meat in it.
They wanted to beat Qiao Mai’s porridge stall. Unfortunately, Qiao Mai’s porridge was still the best.
Even some monks and nuns begging for alms were queuing up. They had never tasted such sweet and fragrant porridge in their many years of cultivation.
Because of the porridge, the people from the temples in the capital’s suburbs came looking for her.
The abbot of Ganye Temple, Huanglong Temple, Jingxiu Nunnery, and Yuntai Temple brought their disciples to visit Lucky Garden one after another.
Qiao Mai was speechless. She attracted a group of monks and nuns just by giving out porridge. They were all here for her rice.
Was it begging or buying? She heard these temples had many incense offerings and should not be short of money. She was not a saint. There’s no way she’s giving it to them for free!
In the living room, there were three abbots, a nun, a Daoist nun, and a group of disciples behind them.
Qiao Mai sat at the head of the table. They had already greeted each other earlier.
“I know why you’re here, but there are too many monks and little food. You can’t beg for alms.”
“We won’t take advantage of you.”
“There’s no other place to buy this rice other than from me. Can you buy it with silver?”
“Please name your price.”
“Fifty copper coins per catty. I can only supply a thousand catties a year.”
“That’s too little. How about ten thousand catties?”
“Give me the silver before taking the rice.”
“Okay.”
Just as she sent the people away, Yubao came from the palace.
“This servant greets Royal Consort Qiao.”
“Why did you come personally?”
“The emperor tasted your porridge. He felt that the rice was good. You know what I mean.”
“Call the Internal Affairs Emissary to bring some silver to buy it!”
“How much is one catty?”
“A hundred coins!”
“As long as the emperor likes it, even one tael of silver per catty is fine.”
“Then I’ll sell it for one tael of silver.’
Yubao’s hands trembled in fear. “Don’t, this servant was just describing it like that. The emperor is thrifty. Let’s take it as a hundred coins per catty.”
“I’ll put the rice in Qiao’s Small Eatery. You guys can go there to buy it. Don’t bother me with everything.”
Since then, Qiao’s Small Eatery had another business, which was selling rice.
In fact, she was selling it cheaply. This was genuine spiritual rice, and you couldn’t buy it even if you had money.
Greeny had built many large warehouses in the space. It had saved up a few warehouses of spiritual rice, and it was time to sell them.
Therefore, Qiao Mai did not reject anyone. It was just that the rice was pretty expensive. Although ordinary people could afford it, they felt a little heartache when they ate it.
Ling’er had been gone for half a month. Qiao Mai was not worried. Nothing would happen. She would come back sooner or later.
At this moment, Ling’er had already finished her work and had visited her relatives and friends. At this moment, she and Nanny Jin were in a carriage.
The car stopped at the entrance of Peach Blossom Village. “Princess, what are you doing here?”
“I want to see the place where Mother used to live.”
“Did the Royal Consort live here before marrying Mr. Yuan?”
“Yes, Mother has suffered a lot here. I want to kill that family.”
“It’s better not to. Princess, you know her personality the best. If she wanted them dead, they would have died long ago. They wouldn’t have lived until now.”
“That’s right. My mother wanted them to live. She wanted them to know how good her life was and how regretful they would be. This was better than killing them. But when I thought of the pain my mother had suffered, I just…”
“Princess, you will be getting married in a few months. I heard the mistress is giving out porridge in the capital to accumulate blessings for you. You must not let down her good intentions.”
At this moment, snow began to fall from the sky. Ling’er wiped her tears and instructed the coachman. “Return to Lucky Garden!”
“Yes, Princess.”
Nanny Jin hugged Ling’er and let her cry in her arms. Her mother had given her the best things. She was such a good woman. Why did she have to endure torture? Every time she came back, she wanted to destroy the Tian family.
Thinking back, why were they thick-skinned enough to come and do a blood test?
Damn it!
The carriage had just entered the official road from the village road. Tian Sanzhuang was driving his carriage home. When he saw the carriage opposite him, he knew it belonged to the Qiao family.
In this world, only the Qiao family could afford such a luxurious carriage. What were they doing here?
It had been so many years since the incident. If Qiao Mai wanted revenge, she would have done so long ago. He heard that she had not returned for the past two years but sent her daughter instead. Could it be Ling’er?
He stopped the carriage and shouted boldly.
“Is Princess Tianshui sitting in the carriage?”
Ling’er didn’t say anything, and the coachman didn’t pay attention to him either. He drove the carriage past him.
There was a voice in Tian Sanzhuang’s heart that kept calling out to him, “Go after her. She’s your daughter. She’s really your daughter.”
He immediately turned his horse around and chased after her. “Princess
Tianshui, I’m Tian Sanzhuang.”
Nanny Jin looked at her. “Why aren’t you answering?”
“He’s unworthy!”
Nanny Jin was silent for a moment before gently opening the curtains. “Hurry up and leave.”
As soon as she spoke, the coachman casually swung his whip at Tian Sanzhuang, who dodged it.
Ling’er stuck her head out and looked at Tian Sanzhuang sinisterly.
“Your entire family should die. Fortunately, that pair of old fools died early. Otherwise, if they had fallen into my hands, I would have made them wish they were dead.”
Tian Sanzhuang jolted. It seemed that Princess Tianshui knew everything. However, was she his daughter? If not, why did she come to Peach Blossom Village?
Does she want to see her mother’s enemy? Tian Sanzhuang sat in the front of the cart and sighed softly.
If his parents treated Qiao Mai well, perhaps the Crown Princess’s father would be him.
Every time the news came from the capital about how prosperous the Qiao family was, the distance between them got further and further.
Now, the Qiao family looked down on him.
Tian Sanzhuang could only turn his horse around and leave unwillingly. Ling’er pursed her lips and did not make a sound.
Nanny Jin asked carefully, “Is he Madam Qiao’s ex-husband?”
“Yes, my grandmother’s family was poor, so they traded my mother for a bag of wheat. After this man married my mother, he went to the army. My mother…” After Ling’er told Nanny Jin everything, her mouth hung open in shock.
“Madam Qiao is your birth mother?”
“Yes.” “So that man just now was your father?”
“Yes.. “