The next day, Qiao Mei only woke up when the sun had risen high in the sky. When she opened her eyes, it was already past nine in the morning.
Usually, Second Aunt-in-law would not be able to sit still by this hour. She would have started knocking on the bedroom door at around seven o’clock. Why was she not here today?
Qiao Mei got up slowly and got dressed.
Qiao Mei had only realized something last night. Although she was stronger than others, she could not tolerate physical contact very well and her body was much more sensitive than ordinary people. Even if she was being touched using normal strength, she would feel more itchy, painful and sensitive than others.
After getting dressed, Qiao Mei went to the bathroom to wash up. She looked around but could not find Xia Zhe, and wondered where he had gone so early in the morning.
Xia Zhe usually kept a close eye on her and basically stayed by her side 24 hours a day, almost never leaving her line of sight. He would even do his morning exercises inside the courtyard and would leave a note by the bedside if she was not up yet.
“Second Aunt-in-law, where did Xia Zhe go?” Qiao Mei went downstairs and asked.
“Xiao Zhe left in a hurry this morning. I think the old master asked him to go back there. He even said to tell you not to wait for him and to eat on time as he’s not sure what time he’ll be back today. He also said that you can’t go out today and don’t go anywhere.” Liu Fen counted on her fingers and reported one thing after another to Qiao Mei.
It seemed that Xia Zhe had given her a lot of instructions.
Qiao Mei nodded and said, “Second Aunt-in-law, have you eaten?”
“I’ve already eaten. The food on the table is for you. I’m going out now to buy the ingredients for lunch. I’m leaving.” Liu Fen pointed at the breakfast on the dining table and then left.
After breakfast, Qiao Mei went to the backyard to take a look at the new fruit tree she bought yesterday. She fussed with the watering and fertilizing for a long time, and was still not done with the small fruit tree even after Liu Fen returned from doing the marketing.
“You don’t say. Yesterday, the leaves on your small fruit tree were still wilted. After one night, the leaves have already straightened out. Perhaps the tree will really bear fruit this year,” Liu Fen said as she stood behind Qiao Mei.
Liu Fen grew up in the countryside when she was young and only moved to the city much later. She had some knowledge about farming.
This fruit tree had already bloomed previously when they bought it. At that time, there were already a few small fruits hanging on the tree, but there were not many and the survival rate was low. She thought that these fruits would fall off after a few days, but she did not expect the tree to be growing well instead.
“Of course! I’m a professional! I’m very good at planting flowers, vegetables and trees in our village!” Qiao Mei took the opportunity to praise herself and create a persona. This was so that later on, everyone would believe what she said and they would not find it strange when she started growing different plants at her house.
Liu Fen listened in a daze. Back when she lived in the village, she only knew how to plant crops in the fields, that she needed to sow in spring and reap in autumn, and that there were different tasks to do at different times of the year. She did not know anything about high yield, survival rate and crossbreeding in plants. However, since Qiao Mei knew how to dig out good quality ginseng, then what she said must be true.
Suddenly, the phone in the house rang. Liu Fen hurriedly ran to answer it.
“Who is this?” Liu Fen asked.
“What! How would I have so much money… Why the need for so much money! My family only has 2,300 dollars in savings. I didn’t bring much with me this time.” She had even given 100 dollars to Qiao Mei when they first met. Now, she only had a little more than 100 dollars left.
“How about this, I’ll think of a way. Let me ask my maternal family if they have money and also check with my children. Don’t be too anxious.” With that, she hung up.
As she hurriedly ran upstairs, she shouted to Qiao Mei, “Mei Mei! I’m going out for a while! Don’t go out by yourself! Get the helper to cook lunch for you!”
Qiao Mei held out her dirty hands and looked at Liu Fen in puzzlement. “Second Aunt-in-law, what’s wrong? What happened?”
In the backyard, she could hear Liu Fen say things like money, being anxious, and something about wanting to go back to her maternal family. She did not manage to hear everything clearly.
“It’s… your Third Aunt-in-law! Oh my, I’m so angry that I’m muddled! Your Third Aunt-in-law is so bold as to borrow 50,000 dollars from He Ning! It’s 50,000 dollars! Oh my goodness!” Liu Fen was so worried that she paced around the house, not knowing where to go first.
Qiao Mei had a shock as well. The sum of 50,000 dollars was not a small amount.
