Chapter 12 The Farce in Front of the Butcher Shop

Hmm, is this reliable?

Well, after looking around, I found this one.

Yunxia walked sideways, tiptoeing into the store with crab-like steps, taking down bag after bag of seeds from the shelf and carefully studying the product information on them.

Before long, I picked out some mature, quick-growing, and common fruits, vegetables, and seeds, counted them three times to make sure they were correct, and then woke up the owner to pay the bill.

"30 small bags and 15 large bags, totaling 12 yuan. Boss, are you sure you counted them correctly?"

The lazy shopkeeper glanced at it casually and said, "That's right, we offer a 20% discount on orders over 10 yuan. Girl, you can have 9.6 yuan."

Hmm, that's quite honest. It seems like we can have a long-term partnership.

I handed him two 5-yuan notes, took back four 1-mao notes, put the seeds in my bag, thanked the shopkeeper, and walked slowly away, sideways and with crab-like steps, through the narrow passage.

"Girl, try whatever you like. Just tell your auntie which flavor you like," the owner, who looked like a Buddha, said cheerfully.

In the 1980s, there weren't many flavors of sunflower seeds, but they were very practical. The shells were clean, the kernels were plump, and there weren't many fancy options.

"Two jin each of original flavor, five-spice flavor, and sour plum flavor, two jin of hawthorn candy, two jin of fruit candy, and two large bags of rice candy."

The money Aunt Wu gave was far from enough, but Yunxia had her own money in her pocket!

It's a once-a-year holiday, and it would be a shame not to indulge yourself at least once in a while.

The little girl was not only cute, but also a big customer. The chubby boss happily got busy, and before long, all the goods she wanted were weighed.

"Girl, you're so pretty, you can even swing the scales high. Here, I'll give you a big backpack, I sewed it myself, don't mind it."

"Thank you, Auntie. I was just worried that my handbag wasn't big enough."

After paying, I put the sunflower seeds and candy into my bag and carried it with the help of the chubby shopkeeper. The rice candy was too big to fit, so I had to carry it in my arms.

The little girl, with an extremely cheerful smile, walked around the market holding rice candy, attracting a lot of attention.

Yunxia wanted to go to the meat section to find Wu Lifang, but as soon as she entered the section, she saw a group of people gathered together. Driven by curiosity, she used her short stature and the fragile rice candy to squeeze in.

Upon recognizing the key figure at the heart of the chaotic scene, he was momentarily stunned!

"Pah, Yang Zhaodi, you sly bastard, give me back the money you stole, or I'll bring some people to smash up your front door."

"And you... Wu Lifang, hurry up and pay for the meat for me. It's only 15 yuan. Seeing your stingy attitude makes me feel disgusted."

Wearing a bright red coat, Li Cuihua gripped Yang Zhaodi and Wu Lifang's sleeves tightly with both hands and said fiercely, while the chubby Wang Tianci stood listlessly beside her.

"Sister Li, 15 yuan is no small amount. I'm sorry, I didn't bring much with me and can't pay for the meat for you."

"Why waste your breath on her! Li Cuihua, you buy New Year's goods without any money, and then you pester people you know to pay for you. You're just taking advantage of others and acting lawlessly, aren't you?"

"You're spewing nonsense. Just now, you were the only one standing next to me. The 30 yuan in my bag was definitely stolen by you. Give it back now, or I'll call the police and have you spend the whole New Year in jail."

Startled, Wang Tianci grabbed Li Cuihua's clothes and said, "Mom, the market is crowded, and we've been shopping for so long. Maybe it fell off without us noticing. Maybe... we should look for it along the way."

“Son, the cloth bag doesn’t have any holes, how could it have fallen out? No way, even if we have to take it to the police station, we have to get the money back.”

Grabbing her sleeve, she was about to leave when Yang Zhaodi struggled free. "Li Cuihua, you think you're so great? You dare to extort money from me? Don't you even know when I, Yang Zhaodi, have ever suffered a loss?"

With a fearful look in his eyes, a tense expression, and a listless demeanor, Wang Tianci is completely out of character!

Having already guessed what was going on, Yunxia stepped forward with rice candy in her arms. Wu Lifang, knowing that Yunxia had been abused, quickly stepped forward to protect her behind her, her eyes sharply fixed on Li Cuihua.

"Hmph, you brat, life is so good for a widow! You've only been living like this for a few days!"

Yun Xia pretended not to hear the sarcastic remark, her lips curving upwards with a sweet smile.

“Aunt Yang, if it weren’t for you saving me, Xiaxia would probably have died of illness long ago. You are a kind-hearted person, and Xiaxia believes that you would never steal other people’s money.”

The more I look at this little girl, the more adorable she becomes. I wish I could secretly take her home and raise her. "Xiaxia, you have such a sweet tongue. Auntie will buy you some candy later."

"With the end of the year approaching, the money for buying New Year's goods is prepared in advance. It's unlikely that you can get something for free at the market. I've lived with the Wu family for a year, and I know Aunt Li's character better than anyone. She would never do such a thing."

Hmph, at least I didn't raise her for a year for nothing!

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Li Cuihua, like a victorious rooster, proudly raising her head, and a mischievous smile flashed in the girl's clear eyes.

"In conclusion, Aunt Li's New Year's money is really gone. Whether it was accidentally lost or stolen by pickpockets, we'll have to let professionals investigate. Call the police; the police station is right next to the road, and they respond very quickly."

"No, Mom, we absolutely can't call the police."

The little rascal is almost crying from fright. This is just the beginning; the real show is yet to come.

"Brother Tianci, 30 yuan is not a small amount. It's equivalent to Auntie's monthly salary. Hmm, I wonder if it meets the criteria for filing a case?"

The chubby boy's lips were trembling with fear, but Li Cuihua, preoccupied with the anxiety of losing her money, did not notice his change.

"Hmph, whatever the standards are, I'm going to make a scene and get the thief caught and severely punished."

"Mom, I have something to tell you."

"Finding money is the priority; we can talk about this when we get home."

After saying that, she grabbed someone's arm and started to walk out. This time, after Xia Xia's words, Yang Zhaodi understood and actually cooperated.

Unexpectedly, the chubby boy squatted down and grabbed the back of Li Cuihua's clothes tightly, refusing to let her leave no matter what.

"Tianci, be good, let go quickly, Mommy has to go do something important, I'll make you braised pork later."

"Mom, I won't make a fuss about eating meat anymore, can we... not go to the police station?"

Even when pushed to the limit, she didn't get angry at the chubby boy, which shows how much she spoils him. Yunxia, ​​holding Mihua Tang, bypassed Aunt Wu and stood in front of them.

"Aunt Li, maybe it's lost. Why don't you describe some features so we can help look for it? Anyway, we'll have to say these things at the police station, so just think of it as a draft."

Since it involved 30 yuan, Li Cuihua had to take it seriously. She glanced coldly at the onlookers and said, "One 10-yuan note, four 5-yuan notes, oh right, the 10-yuan note has a red oil stain on the neck of the portrait. I remember it very clearly."

With a swift movement, the chubby boy pulled his hand back into his pocket, his clenched little hand seemingly confirming something!

Seeing that he dared not look into his pocket, Yunxia shouted, "Hey, Brother Tianci, what was sticking out of your pocket just now looks like 10 yuan!"