Chapter 14 Dalang’s Suspicions

“This is our Qin family’s property. What right do you have to make decisions on your own? You just know how to be generous!” Qin Laotai was furious, her mind completely exposed by Qin Ruo’s blunt words.

She didn’t even bother to save face anymore, her voice rising several octaves.

“You’re wrong. This is mine, I can give it to whoever I want, and you have no say in it.” Qin Ruo replied coldly to Qin Laotai.

She wasn’t the original Qin Qiuxi. Being meek and mild wasn’t her style. She had decided to do whatever she wanted.

Qin Laotai was speechless for a moment, and she simply turned and walked back into the house, not even bothering with the pile of game on the ground.

Mainly because there were outsiders present, she was afraid that Qin Ruo would say something even more unpleasant and make her lose face.

The Zhou brothers felt even more sorry for Qin Ruo. Their carelessness had caused her trouble.

Qin Ruo, however, didn’t care. She waved her hand and told them to go back.

Although she had gone back into the house, Qin Laotai kept an eye on the outside. As soon as the Zhou brothers left, she rushed out like a gust of wind.

“Dalang will be returning to the academy tomorrow. Let’s stew a wild chicken tonight. We’ll stew another one for Dalang to take back tomorrow morning. Sell the rest and buy Dalang another winter coat.”

Qin Laotai spoke with a stern face, starting to arrange the disposal of the game.

Qin Ruo didn’t take Qin Laotai’s words to heart. She neatly packed the game into a large basket, then picked out two of the fattest wild chickens and a wild rabbit, and told Qin Zimu to boil some water.

Changhe Village basically had two meals a day, there was no such thing as lunch.

Qin Ruo didn’t want to wrong herself. She wanted to nourish her body first.

Seeing that Qin Ruo didn’t say anything, Qin Laotai felt her authority had returned, and her back straightened a little.

She couldn’t imagine that Qin Ruo simply didn’t want to pay attention to her.

“How can you be so greedy? What time is it? Can’t you do it at night? Wash Dalang’s clothes first. He has to take them back tomorrow.”

Seeing that Qin Ruo had taken the things inside and came out to sit on a small stool in the courtyard, not moving at all, not even showing any intention of washing the basin of clothes, Qin Laotai became anxious again.

She felt that she shouldn’t have spoiled Qin Ruo so much. Now she was both greedy and lazy.

She had told her to kill two wild chickens, but she insisted on eating an extra rabbit.

She didn’t have any common sense either. Dalang’s clothes were clearly laid out there, but she pretended not to see them.

What could be more important than Dalang’s affairs?

“Does Qin Zian have no hands or feet? He doesn’t have a wealthy fate, but he has a wealthy illness. Everyone in the Great Sheng Dynasty knows that agriculture is important. Even the emperor has led the officials to work in the fields.”

“Not to mention the distant past, even the village scholar still works in the fields.”

“What face does he have as a Tongsheng, to have someone else do even something like washing clothes?”

 Qin Zian sat in the room, holding a book in his hand, and didn’t even notice when he held it upside down.

He had heard the commotion in the courtyard, but he didn’t want to go out.

He felt that  Qin Qiuxi was different now, as if she had become a different person.

 Qin Qiuxi had never dared to contradict her grandmother, never dared to show any dissatisfaction with him, let alone compete with him for food.

This  Qin Qiuxi… could she be fake? I hope I don’t catch her doing anything wrong!

 Qin Zian stared at Qin Ruo’s figure, his expression gloomy.

Qin Laotai couldn’t control Qin Ruo, and she ended up with a nose full of ashes. She realized that she had been thinking too much.

This granddaughter was clearly impervious to reason. She had no choice but to go back and continue washing the unfinished clothes.

She knew the scholar Qin Ruo mentioned.

But her own Dalang was not comparable to Chen’s family, who had taken the imperial examination three times and had only reached the level of a scholar.

Dalang would be a high official in the future. How could he do such rough work? It would be too degrading!

Qin Ruo keenly felt a gaze on her back. She turned abruptly and looked towards the slightly ajar window of  Qin Zian’s room.

 Qin Zian wasn’t worth her attention. As long as he didn’t provoke her, they could coexist under the same roof for now.

If  Qin Zian wasn’t sensible, then he couldn’t blame her.

The person inside the room was terrified, his heart pounding.

That gaze was too sharp!

 Qin Qiuxi’s back seemed to have eyes, as if she knew he was observing her.

The oppressive feeling made  Qin Zian’s breathing inexplicably difficult.

Who was this ” Qin Qiuxi”?

 Qin Zian’s mind was in turmoil, and he simply closed the window, out of sight, out of mind.

Qin Ruo processed the chicken and rabbit, personally making a mushroom chicken soup and a braised rabbit dish. Qin Laotai watched, her heart aching.

Did all that oil cost nothing? This stinky girl knew how precious oil was.

At this rate, how much money would she need to afford to eat like this?

And she was cooking white rice at noon. Who could afford to eat like this?

What a waste! What a waste!

Although she was dissatisfied, Qin Laotai didn’t dare say anything.

This stinky girl had been a little strange these past two days, her temper was easily ignited. She didn’t want to go looking for trouble.

Thinking of what had happened last night, Qin Laotai, for once, didn’t take the initiative to add food to  Qin Zian’s bowl.

She simply pushed the dish towards  Qin Zian’s direction while eating, without making a sound.

Qin Ruo almost laughed. The table was so small, what difference did it make if she pushed it a little?

 Qin Zian remained silent, eating quietly while secretly glancing at Qin Ruo from time to time.

When he clearly saw the tear mole under Qin Ruo’s eye, he was momentarily stunned.

He thought he might have been overthinking it?

How could there be two people so similar in the world? Even the position and size of the tear mole were exactly the same.

Besides, the Qin family had nothing. If this Qin Qiuxi was fake, what was she after?

Qin Ruo ignored Qin Zian’s probing gaze. After all, no matter what schemes or tricks he had, they were all paper tigers in the face of strength.

After the meal, Qin Laotai didn’t say anything about Qin Ruo not cleaning up the dishes.

She even impatiently chased Qin Zimu away when he wanted to clean up.

When she was the only one left in the room, she looked around the doorway like a thief.

Then, she quickly picked up the remaining rice, a few eggs, and a small jar of lard, moving them from the stove to the cupboard.

After doing all this, she smiled contentedly.

Just as Qin Laotai was about to leave the kitchen, she suddenly remembered something.

She ran back to her room, grabbed a wooden lock, and locked the cupboard before finally feeling at ease.

The cupboard in the kitchen had never been locked before, but after what had happened, Qin Laotai didn’t dare to be careless.

Now, she had to guard against Qin Qiuxi.

She was afraid that the murderous b*tch would waste all these good things again.

Qin Ruo was already asleep in her room. Killing that wolf had taken a lot of energy, and she needed to make up for it.

She had no idea that Qin Laotai had done all this behind her back.

Qin Ruo slept for almost an hour.