Transmigrated into a Blacksmith’s Husband

Advertisement

Xu Xiuhua was furious and disheveled and told everyone she met that Qiao Yuan had splashed her with oil.

But things were different now compared to before. The villagers didn’t dare pay any attention to her.

On one hand, Qiao Yuan was someone that many villagers had watched grow up, and he had always been gentle, and they didn’t really believe her. On the other hand, the Yu family had purchased a lot of things in the village and even paid for digging a well. Seeing that their lives are becoming more and more prosperous, who would want to offend them?

Although Qiao Guangzhi also worked as a supervisor in town, and the Qiao family still had ties with the Zhang family, the Yu family also had a scholar Yu Laoda! Who knows what will happen in the future?

The people just picked some trivial things to talk about and didn’t take sides.

One of the neighbors at the entrance of the alley where the Yu family lived, surnamed Li, was one of the seven families who had quarreled with Xu Xiuhua during the busy farming season. Now that the Yu family had dug a well on their side, their family became loyal fans of the Yu family. When they heard about this, the mother-in-law took her daughter-in-law and a few others out to tear into Xu Xiuhua again.

When Lin Cuifen came back after inquiring about the hay and heard about this, she was so angry she cursed up a storm, “I went too easy on her last time!”

Qiao Yuan laughed and persuaded. “Mother, don’t bother with her, it’s not worth getting angry over someone like her.”

“Ah!” Lin Cuifen sighed. “How did you endure those years?”

Qiao Yuan sweetly said, “That’s why I have all of you now.”

However, the original owner did not have a chance to cherish it. The reasons that led him to make that choice were deeply related to his life experiences in the Qiao family. In truth, every person in the Qiao family held some responsibility.

Xu Xiuhua went out for a while, and not only did she not get anything good, but she also got a stench on her. She was annoyed by everyone at home. She nagged the old ones and nagged the young ones.

Advertisement

The last time Qiao Yingying ran out to find Zhang Wensheng, she was coaxed by Zhang Wensheng’s gentle and considerate words, and he promised to come and marry her after passing the exam. So, the mother and daughter have already reconciled by now.

She wanted to have a smooth time at home for the last few days, and she also wanted Xu Xiuhua to give her more dowry when she got married, so she became smart, and always pleased Xu Xiuhua at home.

And she also couldn’t stand Qiao Yuan’s life getting better than hers, so she suggested. “Mother, Qiao Yuan is doing so well now only because that stinky blacksmith favors him. If that blacksmith took another wife, do you think his days would still be so good?”

Poor mother and daughter stayed in the village all day and had no idea how big Qiao Yuan’s business was now. They thought that Qiao Yuan owed everything to Yu Dameng.

Xu Xiuhua’s eyes glinted as she looked at Qiao Yingying, thinking that her daughter wanted to marry into the Yu family.

Qiao Yingying was furious, “Mother, what are you thinking! How could I want that smelly blacksmith? It’s Yanhe!”

“Her?” Xu Xiuhua had no idea when her daughter became friends with Ding Yanhe.

The Ding family lived by the well on the east side of the village. Qiao Yingying had noticed Ding Yanhe sneaking glances at Yu Dameng when she went to fetch water with Qiao Liye last time. She was all too familiar with that kind of gaze.

Advertisement

She later made friends with Ding Yanhe on purpose. After a few times, she found out that Ding Yanhe had played with Yu Dameng a few times when she was young. After Yu Dameng returned from the military, he helped chase away a wild dog and saved her once. Yu Dameng was also physically attractive, causing Ding Yanhe to develop feelings for him.

The mother and daughter smiled at each other and came up with an idea together.

On the other side, at Qiao Yuan’s home.

The simple cattle shed had been built. Yu Dameng also unloaded the canopy, drove the ox to a few households, and bought ten carts full of hay. The storage room in the house was full, but this was not enough for the ox to eat for the whole winter. If they prepared firewood for the winter later, they could only put it in the bedroom on the east side.

Qiao Yuan deeply felt that the space in the house was not enough and decided to build a bigger house next spring!

“We won’t bring these hays into town. We’ll just directly buy a few carts in the city tomorrow and store them at the shop.”

The Yu family all trusted Qiao Yuan’s decisions and had no objections.

Yu Dameng said to Lin Cuifen. “Mother, the well-digging team told me that they will start digging on our side tomorrow when they have enough manpower. Please keep an eye on things here.”

After all, there was silver buried underground in their home!

Lin Cuifen nodded. “I’ll let Shanwen stay here and watch it closely tomorrow.”

Advertisement

Of the twin brothers, Yu Shanwen was much more reliable than Yu Shanwu.

Qiao Yuan took a bite of rice and said, “Okay, I’ll make roasted duck for you tomorrow when I come back.”

His joke made the whole family burst into laughter.

After moving all that hay and building the cattle shed, they definitely needed a bath tonight.

But it was too cold to take a bath at this time. Yu Dameng even specially burned a brazier for Qiao Yuan, but it was useless and very choking.

Suddenly, Qiao Yuan remembered the kind of stove used in modern rural areas!

There were two types of heating methods. One was to add charcoal or firewood to the stove, with several chimneys leading outside the house. This method could warm up the entire house, but it consumed more firewood. The other method was to burn honeycomb coal, which can keep the area around the stove warm. It was also convenient for boiling water and cooking, and it was very economical by saving a lot of coal!

The more Qiao Yuan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. After washing and drying his hair by the stove, he happily started drawing.

When Yu Dameng came back after washing, he saw his little husband humming a tune while leisurely enjoying himself. He couldn’t help but smile. “What are you thinking about? You look so happy.”

Qiao Yuan scooted over to let Yu Dameng sit beside him. “I just drew two coal stoves. Come take a look.”

With the sketch and Qiao Yuan’s explanation, Yu Dameng gradually understood and became serious. “This is feasible, and not difficult to make.”

Qiao Yuan was conflicted, “I just don’t know which one would be more popular.”

The one with the chimney couldn’t burn coal but could burn firewood. However, honeycomb coal was more economical and practical. If they made both stoves, it would be difficult to handle with just Old Man Yu and Yu Dameng.

Yu Dameng thought for a while and said, “As you said, honeycomb coal needs an inner liner. We can make this inner liner detachable, add it to the stove with the chimney, and let the customers choose how to use it. This way, they can use charcoal, firewood, and honeycomb coal.”

Qiao Yuan laughed heartily and pounced on Yu Dameng. “You’re really so smart!”

Advertisement

Yu Dameng’s ears reddened, and he couldn’t help but feel restless when he smelled Qiao Yuan’s fragrance. He reached out and touched Qiao Yuan’s earlobe.

Qiao Yuan’s eyes curved with happiness as he moved even closer. His warm breath was very tempting, “You smell so good after washing, it would be a pity not to do something.”

……

The next day, Yu Dameng and Old Man Yu started working on making the stove. The shredders and peelers were already completed. With it not being the busy farming season, the shop only had orders for weddings next spring. Since it was still early, the two of them currently had a lot of time.

This kind of large item didn’t need to be polished finely, and it was easy to make it square and according to the size. After determining the size of the inner liner of the stove, Yu Dameng went to find a bricklayer and ordered two inner liners, which only cost ten wen.

On the other side, at the entrance of Yu Qiao Ji, a very luxurious double horse carriage suddenly stopped at the door of the shop. The person who jumped off the carriage was none other than Chu Li, the young master who had visited Yu Qiao Ji last time.

The corner of Qiao Yuan’s mouth twitched violently. He couldn’t even afford one horse, yet this guy had a double carriage – he really was wealthy.

As soon as Chu Li saw Qiao Yuan, he showed a row of white teeth and waved at him, with enthusiasm that he didn’t know where it came from. Then he turned his head and helped someone down from the carriage. Qiao Yuan approached and saw that it was Pei Yin, the owner of Laike House whom he had met last time.

He was completely confused and didn’t know why these two people came together and made such a big fuss. However, he maintained a smile and led the two of them to the private room upstairs.

Ming Xu and Ming Chen were very smart, and they served tea and snacks without Qiao Yuan’s orders.

Chu Li stared at the newly added snowballs curiously, “What are these? I don’t recall seeing them last time.”

“This thing is called a snowball, it is complicated to make, so I didn’t sell it in the shop.” Qiao Yuan explained.

“Snowball? It’s also fitting for the season.” Chu Li tasted one, his eyes curved like crescents. “Delicious! It’s even better than the hawthorn slices last time.”

Pei Yin smiled helplessly and said to Qiao Yuan, “Ah Li is just like this, don’t mind him, Brother Qiao.”

Qiao Yuan smiled, “How could I?”

He was being partly polite and partly sincere. Chu Li’s straightforward charm was cute. Qiao Yuan didn’t dislike him, he just wasn’t too familiar with him yet. But Young Master Chu seemed to think they were close.

Pei Yin exchanged a few more words with Qiao Yuan, then brought up the main topic, “We came here today to discuss something with you, Brother Qiao.”

“Oh? What’s the matter?” Qiao Yuan didn’t expect these two wealthy young masters to have anything to discuss with him.

Pei Yin said, “We want to cooperate with you and open a shop like this in Shengjing.”

“Shengjing?” Qiao Yuan was shocked. That was a place where every inch of land was worth gold. How much money would that cost!

But he still had some sense and said, “I only met you two by chance, how can I trust you?”

Chu Li felt a bit heartbroken, “Do I look like a bad person?”

He thought Qiao Yuan was good-looking and nice, and wanted to be friends with him.

Pei Yin smiled slightly and said, “We can’t reveal our identities, so how about we cooperate with you under the name of our Laike House?”

He signaled to the young attendant, and various boxes were brought up one after another.

Chu Li perked up, wiped his hands, and got up to introduce them to Qiao Yuan one by one, “If it wasn’t for picking treasures for you, I would have come to see you sooner! Look at this self-ringing clock from Wanbao Pavilion, the Immortal Pillow1The name implies this is an ornate, luxurious pillow made for immortals or the emperor. from Yuhong Xuan2From Imperial Splendor Pavilion, which sounds like a place that produces items for royalty. , the first-class Ruyi3A ruyi (pronounced roo-ee) is a curved ornamental scepter that was highly valued in Chinese culture. Gifting ruyis was a sign of friendship, loyalty and respect. from Zhenbao Fang4Treasures House, likely a place housing precious relics and antiques. , the finest silk and satin from the Weaving Bureau, and…”

He wanted to continue, but Pei Yin gently stopped him, “Settle down.”

Chu Li reluctantly shut his mouth, then tugged at Qiao Yuan’s sleeve and whispered, “You must agree, okay?”

Qiao Yuan: “……”

What business do you still need to do with all this money!

Pei Yin smiled and said, “We haven’t known each other for long, so it is indeed presumptuous of us to bring this up.”

Qiao Yuan looked at the exquisite self-ringing clock and wavered. Who knew how hard it was to watch the sun and wait for the drum tower to announce the time every day. He still hadn’t mastered this skill yet!

Pei Yin continued, “Brother Qiao provides the recipes. Ah Li and I provide the manpower and storefront. How about we split the profits by forty-sixty?”

Qiao Yuan thought for a moment and felt that these two wealthy young masters probably didn’t need to deceive him. If they really wanted the recipes, they could use their power to force him to hand it over. As a commoner, he would have no choice but to comply. And, even if the profit-sharing agreement fell through in the future, he would still have a self-ringing clock. Those two young masters couldn’t possibly open a shop in this small county town too anyway!

Pei Yin and Qiao Yuan discussed some more details and decided to sign a contract. They would select some reliable and skilled people to come over and learn from Qiao Yuan later.

Chu Li was overjoyed and pulled Qiao Yuan’s arm, “From now on, we are in the same boat!”

Qiao Yuan: “……”

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter.

1The name implies this is an ornate, luxurious pillow made for immortals or the emperor. 2From Imperial Splendor Pavilion, which sounds like a place that produces items for royalty. 3A ruyi (pronounced roo-ee) is a curved ornamental scepter that was highly valued in Chinese culture. Gifting ruyis was a sign of friendship, loyalty and respect. 4Treasures House, likely a place housing precious relics and antiques.