Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 224 How much does my wife think I'm worth?

This was the first time Xu Chaoyan had encountered such a direct and decisive woman. If it weren't for their different social statuses and positions, she would have liked to be friends with Qin Zhenzhen. For her to immediately tell Qin Zhenzhen to resign and then accuse her of coveting someone else's husband seemed rather unreasonable. Qin Zhenzhen saw Xu Chaoyan looking at her with a bewildered expression.

She then continued, "How could an ugly woman like you be worthy of such a handsome man? Besides, what future is there in being with you? Getting into a small county school is already fraught with difficulties. How can you afford the travel expenses to go to the capital for the imperial examinations? Do you expect to make money from your tofu stall? How much can you earn by working from dawn till dusk?"

Xu Chaoyan watched her mouth open and close, and couldn't help but nod. What she said made a lot of sense. The journey to the capital was long and arduous, and it would indeed be a considerable sum of money.

Seeing her deep in thought, Qin Zhenzhen assumed she had taken her words to heart and gave her a look of appreciation.

"You're quite sensible, woman. As the saying goes, 'A wise man knows when to yield.' I suppose that scholar Meng married you out of necessity. Now that there's a better opportunity, he should hold on tight."

Xu Chaoyan thought to herself, "Girl, you guessed right. He was indeed forced to marry me."

Qin Zhenzhen's lips curled into a mocking smile, and she spoke more clearly: "As the saying goes, poverty makes a couple's life miserable. With your little stall, it's probably not that easy to support him to go to the capital for the imperial examination. If you know what's good for you, you can ask to leave. I will not only give you some money to live on, but I will also find you a marriage so that you will have no worries for the rest of your life and have someone to rely on."

"How much silver are you planning to give me?" Xu Chaoyan asked the question directly.

Qin Zhenzhen thought this ugly woman was ignorant and could be easily dealt with with any amount of silver, but she was stunned by her question, "How much silver will you give me?"

She hadn't really thought about how much money to give Xu Chaoyan yet. She didn't have much savings, but she would save up money to buy clothes and jewelry whenever the jewelry store had new styles. Her parents doted on her and would give her extra money every month as an exception.

She originally planned to give her some money and find her a marriage so she could live a peaceful life for the rest of her days.

Fortunately, she knew a few of her friends whose families owned shops. There were quite a few managers and shopkeepers in the shops, and one or two of them were going to remarry. Given her status as an ugly woman remarrying, it wasn't a bad thing. She could live a comfortable life by following one of the shopkeepers, and at least she wouldn't have to work hard in the wind and rain to make a living.

Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a while, Xu Chaoyan broke the silence again: "Miss, how much silver are you planning to give me? My handsome husband isn't someone you can negotiate a price for." The implication was clear: you have to raise the price.

Qin Zhenzhen had never seen such a shameless person. She thought this woman would either cry, make a scene, or threaten suicide, or even tear her apart. Who knew that this woman's thought process was so bizarre, actually bargaining with her and discussing with a stranger how much silver her husband was worth? This kind of woman was obviously not a good person. It was a shame that Qin Zhenzhen thought this ugly woman had some backbone in working hard to support her husband's education.

Now her disgust for Xu Chaoyan had increased even more. She looked poor and wore faded clothes, and didn't even have a hairpin in her hair. She became more and more curious about how the Meng family scholar had ever fallen for this ugly woman.

"So how much do you think your husband is worth?"

Xu Chaoyan started calculating seriously: "Look at my husband, he's good at studying, handsome, and has a good personality. Maybe he'll become the top scholar and return home in glory. I'll be the wife of that top scholar, and he might even bring me back a titled lady. This isn't something that can be easily settled with a few taels of silver. It's too much of a loss, not worth it. Girl, don't tease me. Why don't you wait a little longer?"

After listening to her list of Meng Jiuhe's many merits, Qin Zhenzhen couldn't help but nod. She hadn't expected this ugly woman to have such a long-term plan. It seemed she was really playing the long game and dreaming of becoming a noblewoman. Then she was puzzled by her next sentence.

Without thinking, she blurted out, "What are you making me wait for?"

Xu Chaoyan looked at her leisurely: "Why don't you wait until the day I get tired of you and divorce you before you sell yourself to me? It's not worth it right now."

"You, you." Qin Zhenzhen stammered for a long time without getting anything out of her. She never expected Xu Chaoyan to say such a thing. She originally thought Xu Chaoyan was an ignorant countrywoman, but who knew she had been tricked by her.

She had spent quite a bit of money today, and she was somewhat unwilling to accept it. She blamed herself for being too concerned about saving face earlier. She should have just taken out a piece of loose silver to make amends. Qin Zhenzhen was so angry that she almost stormed off.

The maid Xiaochun stood trembling beside her, not daring to utter a word. She had originally thought that she just wanted to make things difficult for this woman and create some trouble so that the Meng family scholar would take the initiative to come to her door. Who knew that her young lady was too brave and directly told the woman to ask for her husband to leave, saying that she had taken a fancy to the man's husband.

Xiaochun quickly comforted her, "Miss, don't be angry and don't fall for that ugly woman's tricks. We're still outside with people coming and going, and everyone is watching."

Qin Zhenzhen then composed herself and regained her smile, asking Xu Chaoyan, "You might want to think carefully about my suggestion. I won't treat you badly; I'll find you a shopkeeper or restaurant manager. At least you'll be well-off and won't have to work outside for the rest of your life. I'll also give you a dowry so you'll have more confidence after marriage. If Meng Shusheng is with me, his studies will be easier. Besides, with your looks, even if your husband passes the imperial examination, you'll be the one who gets divorced. Why make things difficult for yourself?"

Xu Chaoyan continued with her work, then, wanting to tease her further, asked, "Young lady, give me a straight answer: how much silver do you intend to spend to buy my husband?"

Xu Chaoyan suddenly couldn't help but shiver, feeling as if a pair of eyes were watching her from behind. At that moment, a chilling voice came from behind.

"My wife, are you planning to sell your husband? How much do you think I'm worth?"

When Qin Zhenzhen saw Meng Jiuhe coming over, her face suddenly flushed slightly, and she revealed a shy smile.

Shen Siheng glared at Qin Zhenzhen with disgust and retorted without holding back: "Qin Zhenzhen, why are you everywhere? How come you still can't get rid of your coercive nature? You want to kidnap whoever you see? Are you that desperate to get married? You're a woman, don't you know any shame? You've ruined almost all the unmarried men in this county, and now you're trying to ruin my brother Meng? Let me tell you, no way, not even a window."

Qin Zhenzhen rolled her eyes at her. This person is really annoying. It always happens to him. "Shen Siheng, stop being so talkative. Just mind your own business. Your mother and sister-in-law are arguing again. Aren't you going to do something about it?"

Shen Siheng: "None of your business."

Qin Zhenzhen suppressed the urge to curse, then smiled at Meng Jiuhe, and said to Xu Chaoyan, "You might want to consider my suggestion. You two talk, I'll take my leave first."

She was afraid that Meng Jiuhe had overheard her words. She didn't know how long Meng Jiuhe had been there, and she wanted to leave a good impression.

Xu Chaoyan waved to her with the bamboo clips in hand: "Hey, girl, don't go! You've already paid for all of these. I'll wrap them up for you to take home and eat."

Xiao Chun hurriedly tried to run back, but Qin Zhenzhen scolded her, "Why are you running? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? Haven't you eaten in eight lifetimes? Come on, hurry back to the manor. Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

Then she yelled at Shen Siheng, "Those people surnamed Shen, just consider this my treat to you. I'll stuff your stinking mouth full so you won't spew filth everywhere all day."

Shen Siheng was so angry that he almost chased after Zhang Xuyang, but Zhang Xuyang stopped him: "You need to change your temper. You're like a firecracker, popping and crackling at the slightest touch."

Meng Jiuhe stood there staring at Xu Chaoyan for a long time, then asked expressionlessly, "How much do you think I'm worth, my wife? Is it by weight or something else?"

Seeing Meng Jiuhe's cold face and aloof demeanor, Xu Chaoyan knew she had bitten off more than she could chew. She had only intended to tease Qin Zhenzhen, but unfortunately, Meng Jiuhe overheard her.

She immediately put on a flattering smile: "Husband, what are you saying? You are priceless. How can you measure your importance with something as vulgar as money? Don't you think so?"