Chapter 766: Going to the City to Give Gifts

At dinner that evening, Phoebe Huxley started asking about Madman Ye. When she learned about June Lowe and her mother’s situation, she said sympathetically, "That poor child has had such a wretched life. Her father’s dead, her mother’s mad, and she’s not good-looking herself. I’m afraid she’ll never find a husband."

"Ms. Lowe is very pretty, not ugly at all."

Tang Xiao’nan genuinely didn’t think June Lowe was ugly. Although she had a birthmark, the rest of her face was smooth and fair with lovely features. Even with that blemish, she still didn’t seem ugly at all.

’Once medical technology advances, she can have that birthmark removed, and June Lowe will definitely be a beauty. After all, her mother is so gorgeous; how could her daughter possibly be ugly?’

"How good can she look with a big splotch of a birthmark on her face? And even if she didn’t have it, having a mad mother is still a problem."

Phoebe Huxley sighed. Though she sympathized with June Lowe, she would be unwilling to accept her as a daughter-in-law. The birthmark wasn’t the biggest issue; what worried Phoebe was the madness. She had heard such illnesses could be hereditary. What if it was passed down to her grandchildren? That would be terrible.

Tang Xiao’nan frowned. ’What Phoebe Huxley said isn’t entirely without reason. With a mother suffering from an intermittent mental illness, it would indeed be difficult for June Lowe to marry well. But that’s not a huge problem. Marriage isn’t the only path for a woman. Being a happy bachelorette is great too!’

"Why are you meddling in other people’s business? I think we should make a trip to the city. The man bought so many things for Xiao’nan—food, clothes, toys—that must have cost a fortune. Now that we know who he is, we have to go and thank him," Felix Thorne said.

Phoebe Huxley nodded. "You’re right, we should. Okay, I’ll make some Qingming cakes tomorrow, and we’ll go into the city the day after."

The Lunar New Year had been late this year, so it was already the end of February when the celebrations ended. Now, in late March, the qingming grass on the mountains was lush, green, and tender—the best time to harvest it. Phoebe Huxley had already been planning on making some Qingming cakes to give away as gifts anyway.

Early the next morning, Phoebe Huxley went up the mountain and came back with a basket full of qingming grass. When Rosalind Green and the other women heard it was for Madman Ye, the cloth peddler, they came over on their own initiative to help.

"Phoebe, are you going into the city tomorrow?" Juliana Rhodes asked.

"Uh-huh. I’m taking some Qingming cakes to Madman Ye. He really took care of my husband and Xiao’nan when they went south," Phoebe Huxley replied.

Rosalind Green’s expression flickered. "Then I should go thank him as well, shouldn’t I? He looked after Kenneth even more."

Mrs. Green nodded in agreement. "You absolutely should. Go with Phoebe tomorrow."

"But what kind of gift should I bring? I haven’t prepared anything," Rosalind said, looking troubled.

Phoebe Huxley said in her usual forthright manner, "No need to prepare anything. Just come in with me on the Qingming cakes. My husband caught two chickens yesterday, and we have some cured pork and dried fish. Adding the cakes to that will be more than enough."

Rosalind still looked conflicted; she felt that wasn’t sincere enough. Her mother saw through her and said, "You can make some zongzi. A wealthy man like him isn’t short on material things. It’s the thought that counts."

"Okay, I’ll go make some now. It’s a good thing I saved the bamboo leaves we dried last summer."

Rosalind Green got busy, soaking glutinous rice and beans and marinating pork for the filling. She planned to make both savory and sweet varieties. With Mrs. Green helping, she had everything ready in no time.

The next day, Phoebe Huxley and Rosalind Green took the village tractor into the city. Juliana Rhodes and the other women came along as well. Since they hadn’t been to the city in ages, they decided to take a day off and go shopping.

Madman Ye was also out strolling about. He wasn’t familiar with Vessaria, having only passed through it in a hurry many years ago. Tristone, on the other hand, was familiar territory. His hometown was actually in Zylos Province as well, but it was far from Vessaria, located over by Wynton. Much like Wraven, Wynton had many mountains and little farmland, and it bordered the sea. His old home was right on the coast, where people made a living by fishing.