The matter of the three stones was not told to Madam Yun by Qi Zhenzhen at the time. She kept them in her pouch, and she didn't know how Madam Yun had seen them.
Qi Zhenzhen didn't take it seriously, it was just a stone left by Gu Sinian as a thank you.
"Mother, didn't I tell you I saved two people when I went into the mountains? One gave me a gold nugget, and the other was very stingy, only giving me these three stones. They were bright red and very beautiful, so I kept them with me," Qi Zhenzhen said casually.
Madam Yun's eyes flickered. Her daughter didn't recognize the preciousness of these things, but she did.
These were clearly top-quality chicken blood stones. Although their size was not large, they were unique in shape. Especially upon closer inspection, within the bright red, there were fine golden thread patterns. This was gold-veined chicken blood stone, not something one could buy with money.
Normally, even one was rarely seen, and that person casually gave three to her daughter?
Madam Yun told Qi Zhenzhen how precious the stones were. Qi Zhenzhen was very shocked. After a long while, she said, "Mother, I was still thinking that person was stingy. I didn't expect these stones to be so valuable. Then I must keep them well. If the family is short of money in the future, they can be used."
Madam Yun was amused by Qi Zhenzhen's words, "How can you say that? Only someone who knows the goods will know its value. If they meet someone like you, they would just think they are pretty stones?"
Qi Zhenzhen stuck out her tongue, took the chicken blood stones from Madam Yun's hand, and thought about how to properly store them later. This was a large sum of money.
Well, she wouldn't call Gu Sinian stingy anymore. He was much more generous than that Qian Yuanbao.
As for now, for a month, she went into the mountains every day. She hunted solitary wild boars, sika deer, and musk deer.
Wild boars only sold meat, and the money wasn't much, but it was still a small three taels of silver. As for the sika deer, it sold for a full six taels of silver. This was not the most. The most was the musk deer. It was also Qi Zhenzhen's good luck. The musk cut from the musk deer was of superior quality, weighing four qian. One qian sold for fifteen taels. After selling all of it, she made sixty taels of silver.
Adding the rabbits and pheasants she hunted every day, Qi Zhenzhen had saved a full ninety taels of silver.
Moreover, the family had also stored enough grain. At least for the next year, the three of them could live without worry for food and clothing.
Now she still had gold-veined chicken blood stones worth a thousand taels. Qi Zhenzhen felt like she was a little rich woman now.
Two days after the Qi family's housewarming, Zhang Xiaoniu came to the Qi family without a word.
He wore a pained expression and stared intently at Qi Zhenzhen.
Qi Zhenzhen had not kept the previous events from Madam Yun, so Madam Yun naturally knew that Zhang Xiaoniu 'fancied' Qi Zhenzhen. In Madam Yun's eyes, he was just a naive young boy, and his so-called liking was probably just a momentary whim. Madam Yun didn't take it too seriously. Moreover, Zhang Xiaoniu was pure-hearted and a likable boy, so Madam Yun had a good impression of him.
"Why is Xiaoniu looking for Zhenzhen?" Madam Yun invited Zhang Xiaoniu to sit down and said gently.
Zhang Xiaoniu's parents had passed away when he was very young. He was raised by his older brothers. The villagers were wary of the four brothers, so who would speak to him so kindly? Zhang Xiaoniu even wondered if his mother was also as gentle and amiable as Madam Qi. Thinking of the appearance of most women in the village, Zhang Xiaoniu felt he was overthinking. Those women were all loud-voiced and rough-skinned, not gentle at all.
If Zhenzhen liked him and married him, he would not only have a cherished wife but also a kind mother-in-law.
But!
Zhang Xiaoniu heard what his second brother said in his ear—
"Miss Qi is not someone you can think about. Not to mention anything else, do you think our family's situation can match Miss Qi? A little over a month ago, the Qi family was still in a sorry state. What about now? Tell me, which family in the village is doing better than the Qi family?"
In the entire Apricot Blossom Village, no family's life was as good as the Qi family's now.
The villagers all rumored that it was because the Qi family had wealthy relatives.
As these words spread, even falsehoods became truth.
In short, the Qi family was not something ordinary families could aspire to. At least their Zhang family could not.
Furthermore, Miss Qi had also clearly stated that there was definitely no possibility between her and Xiaoniu.
Zhang Erniu felt that his younger brother was young and shallow-minded. He was currently fixated on this beautiful woman, but when he grew older and became sensible, he would definitely get over it.
Therefore, after the Qi family's affairs were settled, Zhang Erniu really asked an old friend to find him a job.
He originally only wanted to find a job in Cuiping Town, but he didn't expect the good job to be in the capital.
The capital was a bit far, but it was the capital of the Great Feng Dynasty. If he could establish himself in the capital and see the prosperity of the capital, his brother's horizons would certainly broaden. At that time, Miss Qi would surely be a passing memory to him. After the three Zhang brothers discussed it, they felt that the capital was a good place and unanimously agreed to send Zhang Xiaoniu to the capital.
In other words, Zhang Xiaoniu had no choice at all. His future had been directly decided by his three brothers.
He naturally knew that his brothers were doing it for his own good, but he felt indignant and reluctant.
That's why he stormed over to the Qi family.
Now that he saw her, his restless heart suddenly calmed down. Zhenzhen was still young. If he went to the capital and forged a future for himself, would it still be true that he didn't deserve Zhenzhen, as his second brother said?
Thinking this, a smile gradually appeared on Zhang Xiaoniu's face.
"Aunt Qi, I'm not here to see Zhenzhen. I'm just here to say goodbye to you all. I, I'm going to the capital." Zhang Xiaoniu said with some excitement, "I will work hard to forge a future."
The capital, for Madam Yun, was not an unfamiliar place. Originally, she had been wholeheartedly thinking of returning. Now, she only wanted to stay with her two children and live a stable life. What did the goodness and prosperity of the capital have to do with her?
"Xiaoniu is capable and clever. Auntie believes you can achieve your wish," Madam Yun said sincerely.
A man's ambition could always make them set aside other emotions. Even though Zhang Xiaoniu was still a half-grown boy, once he had a plan for the future, his mind would naturally broaden, and he would no longer be confined to that small bit of romantic affection.
Qi Zhenzhen also came out to encourage him, telling him to do well in the capital, to achieve success, and to bring glory to the Zhang family. Their old acquaintances could also benefit from it.
Zhang Xiaoniu thumped his chest, loudly promising that he would not disgrace his brothers, and silently added in his heart that he would not disgrace Qi Zhenzhen.
When he was leaving, Qi Zhenzhen also went to see him off, reminding Zhang Xiaoniu not to neglect exercising, and to practice the boxing techniques she taught him diligently every day. She also said that there were many nobles in the capital, so he should restrain his temper when he got there and not treat the capital like Apricot Blossom Village and act on impulse.