Chapter 179 - 179: Son-in-law Is a Scholar
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The five acres of land owned by the Qiao family were planted with sweet potatoes after they removed the warm greenhouse. It was nothing particularly precious.
They did this out of caution in case something unexpected happened. They didn’t want to waste valuable crops.
After completing his exams, Yuan Jiaqi headed home instead of returning to the academy. He wanted to wait until the results were announced before making any decisions.
As it turned out, an official visited their home to deliver the good news after the results were released. Yuan Jiaqi had once again achieved the top score in the exams, bringing immense joy to the family.
It was the same official as the previous year, who had also received several red envelopes. This time, he remembered the Qiao family.
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This significant achievement quickly became the talk of the town.
Yuan Jiaqi had been the top scorer last year and had now repeated the feat. As the top scholar among the students, he had the highest chance of becoming a Recommended Scholar.
Furthermore, Yuan Jiaqi consistently held the top position year after year, causing some people to feel uneasy.
Who were these people? They were none other than Yuan Jiaqi’s family and the clan leader who had previously vowed never to return.
Such an honor was supposed to belong to the Yuan family, and they couldn’t allow a woman to take credit for it.
They boldly approached again, but this time, Yuan Jiaqi had people block them from entering their house, refusing to let them in.
The Qiao family was equally frustrated. Their son-in-law had achieved the top score, a great source of pride for the family. Moreover, he was a live-in husband, adding to the Qiao family’s pride. Unfortunately, they watched this honor slip through their fingers.
What could they do? They couldn’t claim any credit for themselves.
Even though they couldn’t take any action, they proudly boasted about their son-in-law being the scholar within the village, much to the annoyance of others.
The Tian family, on the other hand, was furious. They smashed pots and dishes, resenting Qiao Mai for leaving their family and marrying such a successful husband. They couldn’t stand that she had become the wife of a Recommended Scholar.
This frustration had driven them to the point of despair.
Qiao Ma was quite pleased. Instead of hosting a celebration at home, she booked a banquet at the Jingtai Restaurant.
After all, her cousin worked there. When there was a cause for celebration at home, it was important to support Shopkeeper Tong in his business.
She reserved ten private rooms and the entire main hall at the restaurant. In other words, she had rented out the place, with each table costing ten taels of silver.
This delighted Shopkeeper Tong immensely. Ten private rooms with eight guests per table amounted to eighty people, and an additional ten tables in the main hall meant another twenty tables, totaling one hundred and sixty people. How many guests would she need to invite?
Qiao Mai invited Mayor Qian, the guards, and the Lu family, including Xiu Hong, Xiu Yu, and Liu Ye. She also invited Shopkeeper Qin and his family, as well as all the merchants in the town who had contributed to the relief efforts during the snow disaster.
She provided her own wine – a large jar of Maotai for each table.
She had put a lot of effort into celebrating Yuan Jiaqi’s success.
Yuan Jiaqi was pleased. The more Qiao Mai treated him well, the more he felt she had feelings for him.
The celebration banquet took place on the second day after he became the top scorer. The area in front of the Jingtai Restaurant was bustling with people, and everyone celebrated Yuan Jiaqi’s achievement.
While Qiao Mai greeted the guests, a few suspicious figures quietly entered the restaurant.
Who were they? Who else could they be?
Since Qiao’s Small Eatery opened after the New Year, these two pairs of old individuals had shamelessly gathered there, openly plotting against the Qiao family. However, they hadn’t been able to do anything against the Qiao family.
Upon hearing that the Qiao family was hosting a banquet at the Jingtai Restaurant, with each table costing ten taels of silver, they couldn’t resist the temptation.
They decided not to return home for lunch and instead sneakily came to enjoy a meal.
In any case, one pair was Qiao Mai’s parents, and the other pair were Yuan Jiaqi’s parents. Could they kick them out in front of everyone?
Taking advantage of the chaos, they entered the restaurant, found a conspicuous table, and dug in.
The waiters would serve the dishes to the reserved tables. They didn’t need to arrange the guests; that was the host’s responsibility.
Thus, when Qiao Mai noticed them, these people had nearly finished their meal.
With a stern expression, she approached their table and said, “Leave!”
“Mair? Can’t you let us finish our meal?”
At this moment, Qiao Shicheng was no longer acting as a father, speaking pitifully.
“Are you leaving or not?”
“But we’re your parents and in-laws. Is it too much to ask for a meal without any other requests?”
Qiao Mai walked to the counter and picked up a broom without hesitation. She swung it towards them.
“A shameless bunch! You never change; no matter how many times I scold you, you don’t learn. Get out!”
“Ah, Mai, we’re your parents. You might be struck by lightning for hitting your parents.”
“I told you to leave!”
With no restraint, Qiao Mai struck them with the broom. Fortunately, they were still wearing light clothing. Otherwise, they would have suffered grave injuries.
The two pairs of old folks quickly got up and, reluctant to leave the dishes on the table, ran outside.
The broom Qiao Mai was holding had been smashed to pieces. She stood at the restaurant’s entrance, pointing at the old folks and scolding them.
“Shameless scum! Even after all these years, you haven’t learned your lesson. If you dare to come again, I’ll hit you every time I see you.”
Shopkeeper Tong couldn’t bear it any longer. “Madam Qiao, please stop. After all, they are your biological parents, and two are Mr. Yuan’s parents.” “Tsk! We’ve cut ties long ago. They are nothing to me.”
“That may be your view, but the world doesn’t see it that way. When your husband becomes a top scorer, you should pay attention to your reputation.” “With these two shameless people, what kind of reputation can I have?” “It’s easy to cut off ties, but it’s a fact that they are your biological parents.”
Qiao Mai rolled her eyes. “I don’t care about other people’s families, but they can’t have anything to do with my assets.”
Qiao Shicheng and his wife, along with Yuan Jiaqi’s parents, couldn’t believe that she had resorted to physical force. They thought she would prioritize appearances.
They never expected her to take action, especially in front of so many guests and right in the main hall.
This young lady was audacious!
Some believed Qiao Mai was ruthless, while most thought she was genuine.
If you treated her well, she’d reciprocate a hundredfold, but if you treated her poorly, she’d return it a thousandfold.
There was nothing wrong with what she did. Some people assumed she would never take action, that she would meekly accept things. They were caught off guard by her actions.
“Well done! These shameless people have been scolded countless times, yet they never change. They even dare to come back. They deserve to be beaten!”
Lu Sanniang was the first to applaud. Everyone outside the door burst into laughter when they saw the four disheveled figures.
Yuan Jiaqi watched as his parents became pariahs, with everyone calling for punishment. Although he resented them, it didn’t sit well with him.
He wasn’t like Qiao Mai, a woman of the new era, who was both a secret agent and an orphan, able to treat her biological parents this way.
He was a traditional and native man. Despite his seemingly ruthless exterior, he couldn’t do what Qiao Mai had done.
That was the difference. Qiao Mai wanted a man who shared her mindset, someone who would support her no matter what she did. Clearly, Yuan Jiaqi wasn’t there yet, and he couldn’t achieve that.
After the celebration banquet, Yuan Jiaqi returned to the academy the next day.
On the other hand, Qiao Mai settled down to focus on her cultivation. Since her space had been upgraded, she had been incredibly busy. Although she had been farming, she hadn’t had the chance to inspect it properly.
At night, she entered her space. She had planted trees on the additional 50 million acres of land she had acquired, and all future land expansions would also be dedicated to tree planting.
Currently, her space covers over 100 million acres of land, roughly one-fifth of the Earth’s surface area.
She sat cross-legged by the edge of a pond where lotus flowers stretched to the horizon. Fish swam in the water, and shrimps were now the size of fingers. The concentration of spiritual energy in her space had reached 50%. She couldn’t help but feel pleased.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and begin her cultivation, she heard a rustling sound nearby.
Oh my goodness, what was that sound?
She knew her space had living beings, but she knew what sounds they made. It wasn’t the hiss of snakes, the crunching of grass by horses or deer, or the chewing of cud..
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