Chapter 529: Chapter 516: No One Comes Without a Reason

“There’s really no big deal…”

Mrs. Wang chuckled, “You see, Uncle Wencheng of our family has just slaughtered a pig from our domestic stock yesterday, and half of it was sent over to us. It’s a substantial amount of pork to deal with, considering there aren’t many people in our house. It would be impossible to finish all of it in a single year.”

“We were thinking about you and Miss Sui, and how it would be somewhat tricky for you two to prepare pork for the New Year, so we thought we’d send some over. This should be enough for both of you.”

“This is the pork tenderloin, which is a perfect mix of fat and lean, excellent for making dumpling fillings. These ribs can be used for a stew, perhaps with some radish. This pork belly can be used in a braised pork dish, or added to other stews for flavour. This loin cut is best fried…”

“I wasn’t exactly sure what cut of pork you and Miss Sui prefer, so I simply brought a bit of everything. By the way, I also placed some cabbage and radish in there for you to use as side dishes. I’ve already discarded the hardened outer leaves, so the remaining leaves are quite tender.”

Zhuang Qingning looked at Mrs. Wang’s cheerful smile ripe with obvious appeasement, and immediately became cautious, “Aunt Wang, if you have something to say, out with it…”

According to Mrs. Wang’s usual behaviour, she could be categorized under the ‘No Pain No Gain’ category.

If one were to think of the worst, one might say it was like a weasel paying a New Year’s visit to the chicken…

“I really have nothing up my sleeve.” Mrs. Wang hastened to explain. “Miss Zhuang, please, don’t overthink it. I just didn’t know what to do with so much pork at home, and thought about sharing some with you.”

“Don’t misunderstand, please. I truly have no ulterior motives, nor any other intentions.”

Really?

Yeah, right!

Zhuang Qingning felt increasingly ill at ease as she carefully covered the bamboo basket Mrs. Wang had opened with the cloth, “Aunt Wang, there’s a saying that one should not accept rewards for doing nothing. If you really don’t need anything from me, you should take these things back.”

Saying this, she picked up the bamboo basket that Mrs. Wang had brought and walked towards the door.

“No, no, no…”

Mrs. Wang, turning panicky, stopped Zhuang Qingning with a whimper.

“Aunt Wang, just say what you have to say.” Zhuang Qingning stopped her steps.

“I, I…” Mrs. Wang fumbled for words, clutching her sleeve. After a while, she stammered, “Miss Zhuang, I must admit I’ve done some wrong to you in the past. I used to look down on you, and aside from making snide comments, I grew envious when I saw you making money, and wanted to arrange a marriage between you and Wencheng…”

“I was just blinded by greed and made these foolish plans. Miss Zhuang, please don’t take it to heart. I promise I won’t harbor such thoughts anymore. Please accept this as my apology for my past behaviour.”

After hearing this, Zhuang Qingning blinked, even gasped in surprise.

Her suspicious gaze moved over Mrs. Wang and finally rested on the heavy bamboo basket in her hands.

The only reason she could think of that would make the usually scheming Mrs. Wang come and apologize to her, and promise not to scheme again, was probably her engagement to Chu Jinnian.

In this era of strict hierarchy, the common folk held a deep fear for officials, as evidenced by Mrs. He’s deep concern for Zhuang Mingli attending class with Chu Jinzhou. This was the typical attitude of the common folk towards officials.

Mrs. Wang must have found out about her engagement to Chu Jinnian, who was an official in the capital, and feared that she had unintentionally offended the future wife of an official. Out of fear, she came promptly to apologize, hoping to smooth over the relationship and avoid being blamed for past mistakes.

Zhuang Qingning had been worried about how to deal with Mrs. Wang’s past attitude and her spreading rumors about her and Zhuang Wencheng. After all, she was Wencheng’s mother and to avoid hurting Wencheng’s feelings, she couldn’t be too strict. However, if not addressed, Mrs. Wang would likely only worsen the situation. It has been a difficult situation for her.

Now, everything was resolved without her having to lift a finger.

It was indeed unexpected that the pretend engagement with Chu Jinnian could win her such an unexpected advantage.

It seemed like her decision at the time was really wise and enlightened.

Zhuang Qingning contemplated her correct decision, while being amused by Mrs. Wang’s behavior. She then handed the bamboo basket back to Mrs. Wang, “Aunt Wang, I understand your intentions, but you should take the pork back.”

“How can it be…?” When Mrs. Wang thought Zhuang Qingning was not ready to forgive her, she became anxious again.

“Aunt Wang, don’t be so worried. You should take the pork back for two reasons. Firstly, we have plenty back home and wouldn’t be able to finish it anyway, so accepting your pork would only result in waste. Secondly, it’s good that you realized your past mistakes. As long as you don’t repeat them in the future, I won’t hold it against you.”

Mrs. Wang was indeed scared. The basket was full of various cuts of pork, weighing about seven or eight kilos. As the New Year was approaching, it would be nice to have a bit more pork at home for Wencheng’s marriage arrangements. Besides, every bit of savings could help.

“Leave the radishes and the cabbage, as it so happens we don’t have them at home. These we can eat in the next few days. But please, take the pork back with you,” Zhuang Qingning reasoned.

Mrs. Wang was initially worried that Zhuang Qingning wouldn’t accept the pork, but now that Zhuang Qingning agreed to keep the cabbage and radishes only, she was filled with both joy and guilt. “Only Miss Zhuang could be so kindhearted, she’s incomparable to ordinary people.”

She was on her way to become the wife of a high-ranking official. Look at the grace in her gestures, she indeed has the demeanor of being the lady of the house.

But knowing that Zhuang Qingning might find it unpleasing, Mrs. Wang didn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she said, “Sure, no problem. We had a good harvest this year, lots of radishes and cabbages. They are all stored in our cellar. Feel free to come and take some when you need.”

“No need, I see you’re a bit shy, probably wouldn’t feel comfortable taking it yourself. I’ll go dig out some cabbage and radishes and bring them over later.”

“Also, we have plenty of pickled mustard seeds. I’ll bring some to you. You can pickle them and have it with some porridge in the morning, very refreshing…”

“I’ll go dig them up now, and bring them to you later. ”

Mrs. Wang walked out, beaming as she hauled back the heavy bamboo basket. After walking a few steps, she turned back and looked at Zhuang Qingning.

She hadn’t noticed before, but now every time she looked at Zhuang Qingning, she felt like she was looking at a future noble lady. No matter how she looked, Zhuang Qingning was very pleasing to the eye.

There’s a saying, isn’t there? A bird destined to be a phoenix won’t look like an ordinary fowl.

Thankfully, her wit had guided her to heed the words of her son Wencheng and curry favor with Zhuang Qingning early on. Even if it didn’t lead to any benefits in the future, at least she could avoid any future blame, right?