Joe's Farming

Qiao Yu remembered that she hadn't seen Xu Yuan for a long time. When she passed Qingyuan Town, she went to Yipinxuan. The old man took the children for a stroll nearby.

When the shopkeeper of Yipinxuan saw Qiao Yu, he smiled and said, "Boss Qiao, I haven't seen you for a few days. You look even more radiant. The autumn pear paste has been sold out a long time ago. Here are two taels and six cents. Please keep it."

Qiao Yu received the money and said, "Thank you for your trouble. The shopkeeper looks good. Business is good, right? Is Ayuan here?"

The shopkeeper immediately showed a trace of worry on his face. Qiao Yu thought, no way, this braised dish has suffered a Waterloo at Yipinxuan?

The shopkeeper sighed: "Well, the business is better, but the young master has been ill recently and has not been here for a long time."

Qiao Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he recalled the rumors about Xu Yuande in the town. He asked anxiously, "What's the disease? What did the doctor say?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "I don't know the details. It's probably an old problem. In fact, the young master rarely came here. It's just that he got better recently and heard that the shopkeeper of Fu Man Lou was pestering you, so he wanted to buy the recipe. It will be good for both you and our restaurant."

Although Qiao Yu had only known this brother for a short time, he knew that it was entirely possible given his personality. He felt very sad when he thought that such a kind-hearted person might not live past the age of eighteen.

"Boss, can you take me to see him?" Qiao Yu didn't know where the Xu family lived.

"Well..." The shopkeeper glanced at Qiao Yu, the worry in his eyes could not be faked, and finally nodded and said: "Let's go, I'll take you there. But the master and the mistress may not let you see the young master."

Qiao Yu cupped his hands and said, "I understand. Thank you, boss."

-

Fortunately, the master and mistress of the Xu family were not so unreasonable. After the doorman passed the message, soon Xu Yuan's servant came to lead Qiao Yu.

Just like Granny Liu when she first entered the Grand View Garden, Qiao Yu was deeply shocked by the huge house.

After all, his family is already quite well off in the entire Shangtian Village, but compared with the Xu family, there is still a difference between a cheap bungalow and a fully-decorated villa.

It seems that the gap between the rich and the poor is more serious in this era. Qiao Yu calmed down and thought that as long as his family had enough food and clothing, he didn't need to pursue crossing class boundaries. Thinking of this, he felt very peaceful.

Seeing that Qiao Yu was dressed in ordinary clothes but had a good temperament, the servant did not dare to neglect her. He quietly led Qiao Yu to the young master's bedroom: "Sir, please come in."

Qiao Yu nodded.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Xu Yuan wearing a cloak and sitting on the couch in the outer room. Although the weather was getting colder, it was not necessary to wear a cloak.

Xu Yuan looked very weak, pale and unhealthy.

Qiao Yu hurried forward and asked anxiously, "Ayuan, what's wrong with you?"

Xu Yuan put down the book he was reading and said softly, "Brother Qiao, please sit down." He glanced at the servant again, and the servant hurried to pour tea for Qiao Yu.

Xu Yuan then slowly replied: "It's an old problem. I feel uncomfortable everywhere, but I can't tell what it is specifically."

When Qiao Yu heard this, she thought that it would be great if this happened in modern times. After various tests, she would definitely know what was wrong. She also hated herself for not being like the protagonists of the time-travel stories she had seen before, who either had a system hack or a golden finger for studying medicine.

But Qiao Yu was worried that her worried look would make Xu Yuan feel even worse, so she forced a smile and said, "It's okay. There's a saying in my hometown that people who are prone to illness since childhood are less likely to get serious illnesses and live longer. Just take good care of yourself and eat well every day, and you will get better slowly."

Xu Yuan had been ill for so long that he naturally knew that these words were just to comfort himself, but he had long passed the stage of being unwilling to accept it because of physical reasons: "I know, don't worry too much."

Qiao Yu nodded: "Yes, the shopkeeper told me that the stewed dishes are selling well."

"Well, Brother Qiao's recipe is good."

"I've been setting up a stall in Taoyuan Town these past two days. There are many wealthy people in Taoyuan Town, so the stewed dishes are selling very fast. I've also been selling soap recently. Ayuan, you may not know this, but it's used to wash hands and clothes. Today's batch is sold out, so I'll give you a few pieces next time."

"Soap? It sounds novel. Brother Qiao is really amazing. Taoyuan Town has a dock and many merchants come and go. Brother Qiao's business will definitely get better and better."

Xu Yuan chatted with Qiao Yu for a while, then he felt a little tired. Qiao Yu noticed: "Ayuan, have a good rest. I'm leaving now and will come to see you another day."

Xu Yuan nodded: "Brother Qiao, take care, I won't see you off."

-

After leaving Xu's house, Qiao Yu returned to Yipinxuan in a depressed mood, thinking that she would bring more things for Xu Yuan to see next time.

The children had not come back yet, so Qiao Yu ordered a pot of tea and waited for them at Yipinxuan.

After waiting for half an hour, I saw Gu Xiaoyan being held by a man with one hand, Xiaoxue being led by an old man, and Qiao Xing following beside him with his head drooped. There was a small cut on his forehead, stained with blood.

Qiao Yu stood up and rushed over to check each child. When he saw no other injuries, he asked anxiously, "What happened? Did they fight with someone?"

When Gu Xiaoyan saw Qiao Yu, she wanted to hug the child. Qiao Yu took the child and saw that the man in front of her had a headband on his head. She wondered who else could it be but Xu Ning. She forgot why he was not building a house but here and just kept thanking him.

Gu Xiaoxue's eyes were swollen from crying. She looked at Qiao Yu and complained, "Grandpa took us to buy some candied haws, and a few kids came out and cursed, and... threw stones at my brother."

Qiao Yu put Gu Xiaoyan down, then half-knelt down and looked at Qiao Xing.

Qiao Xing's eyes were red, but she didn't cry.

Qiao Yu touched the child's head and asked, "Are they the people who bullied you before?"

Qiao Xing nodded and said sullenly, "I will avoid them next time."

Qiao Yu frowned: "Why are you beating around the bush? I ask you, did you fight back?"

Qiao Xing thought his mother didn't like him fighting, but when he thought about how badly they scolded him, not only him, but also his brother and sister, he wanted to go back and kick them a few more times. Qiao Xing didn't say anything.

Qiao Yu asked again: "Did you fight?"

Qiao Xing nodded, and his eyes became even redder.

Qiao Yu hugged the child, touched the child's head gently and said, "Well done. From now on, when someone hits you, you can no longer not fight back like before. If someone scolds you, you scold back. If someone hits you, you hit back." He still remembered that Qiao Xing's feet were beaten by these people, and he was afraid that the child would be traumatized by them. He was a fool in his previous life, and he didn't want the child he raised to be a fool too.

At first Xu Ning thought Qiao was going to scold the child, but when he heard these words, he was stunned. It was also the first time that the old man had encountered someone educating a child in this way.

Qiao Xing whispered, "Okay." His mother is the best mother in the world.