Chapter 54 Not a younger brother, but a nephew

Sun walked out from the crowd.

She had hoped that the other women in the village would raise objections, but no one said a word, so she had to play the villain.

She had calculated that her sister-in-law had bought a lot of things since she came back these past two days, and roughly estimated that she could earn at least two hundred coins a day, which was more than most villagers could earn in a month.

Earning two hundred coins a day, and only paying them two coins per pound, isn't that too stingy?

Sun said matter-of-factly, "Donghua is still so young. As soon as she heard that Aunt needed lantern grass, she immediately went up the mountain to look for it. She only got four coins after searching for a whole day. Shouldn't you raise the price a little more, sister-in-law?"

Upon hearing Sun's words, the other women in the courtyard immediately exchanged glances.

Although they hadn't considered raising prices, it would be a good thing if they could, since no one would complain about having too much money.

Cheng Wanwan smiled and stood up, saying, "Donghua is indeed a bit small, and Xiaomai and Huzi are also too young. It's not worth going up the mountain for a few coins. I didn't think this through. From now on, I'll leave the lantern picking to my family's Ergou, Sanniu, Dawang, and Erwang. I won't trouble you all anymore."

Upon hearing this, all the women present widened their eyes in astonishment.

Lanterns cost two coins a pound, and a half-year-old child could find two pounds in half a day on the mountain. They even planned to help pick some to exchange for money. How could such a good job just disappear like that?

"Sister-in-law Zhao, I think two coins is a fair price. Let our children continue to help pick lanterns."

“Mom, Er Gou and San Niu have to go to town to sell things every day. They don’t have time to go up the mountain. We can’t let the two kids go up the mountain in the middle of the night.”

“If a wealthy woman complains that two coins are too little, we don’t mind.”

"That's right, that's right."

Sun was the wife of Youcai. Her husband was the third son in the Zhao family, named Zhao Youcai. She had no sons, so the villagers either called her Zhao Sansaozi or Youcai's wife.

Mrs. Sun's face flushed red and then turned pale: "When have I ever complained that two coins are too little..."

Cheng Wanwan smiled faintly: "Donghua is too young. If something really happens to her on the mountain, I can't take responsibility. I won't accept any more lanterns from Donghua."

Sun was furious, but could only force herself to say, "Is it alright if Chunhua sent it?"

Cheng Wanwan nodded indifferently.

The women in the village said a few more words and then dispersed.

Old Mrs. Zhao sat at the doorway, bundling dry grass into a ball to start a fire, as it was the easiest thing to catch.

Sitting at the door and chatting with passersby, you can unconsciously learn all the latest news and gossip from one end of the village to the other.

As soon as Mrs. Sun returned, she was given a severe scolding by Old Mrs. Zhao.

"You shameless Sun Shi! That's your own sister-in-law! Not only do you not help her lower the price, but you're even thinking of raising it! You shallow-minded little slut, how did Third Brother end up marrying a wife like you!"

Sun felt extremely wronged.

So what if she's my sister-in-law? I won't give her a single penny of the money I earn.

She kept her head down and didn't say anything. Seeing her like this made Old Mrs. Zhao even angrier, and she scolded her fiercely before she could vent her anger.

Just then, Zhao Sidan walked in carrying a bowl: "Grandma, this is what my mother asked me to bring."

He placed a bowl of bone and bamboo shoot soup on a stool in the yard, turned around and ran away; he still had to go back to eat braised pork.

Old Mrs. Zhao's face darkened again: "She's already squandering money after just earning a few copper coins. Even if pork bones are cheap, they still cost copper coins to buy. How much money does she have to afford to waste like this? No, I have to go over and give her a talking-to. Don't just focus on spending money on food. There are still three boys in the family waiting to get married. We need to save up those copper coins slowly..."

The old lady put the pork bone and bamboo shoot soup in a pot to keep it warm, waiting for the old man to come back to eat, and then quickly went out the door.

Sun glanced at her and saw that the old lady had indeed gone out. Then, before the others returned, she secretly took a small piece of pork bone with meat in it from the pot, stuffed it into Donghua's mouth, and instructed, "Hurry up and hide to eat, don't let anyone see you."

Donghua swallowed the meat whole, not even bothering to throw away the bones. She found a secluded spot and slowly sucked the marrow and oil from the pork bones.

Zhao Sidan was also sucking on the pork bone. He held the pork bone in one hand and used chopsticks to pick up braised pork with the other, eating a piece of meat one bite at a time, his mouth full of oil. When he was about to pick up more braised pork, Cheng Wanwan pressed down on his chopsticks: "Leave the rest for your sister-in-law."

Wu Huiniang had probably taken some medicine to prevent miscarriage, and the bitter taste of the medicine affected her appetite. She didn't eat much while sitting at the table, and only ate one piece of braised pork before stopping.

Cheng Wanwan said, "Your health is too poor. You almost lost the baby. You have to eat more. You have to force yourself to eat even if you don't want to."

Wu Huiniang felt she was being too dramatic.

White rice, pork bone soup, braised pork—such excellent food, yet she still couldn't eat it.

Zhao Dashan heated up the wontons he had brought back in a pot and brought them over: "Hui Niang, have something light to eat first, fill your stomach."

Wu Huiniang quickly declined, saying, "Wontons are such a good thing, give them to your mother, I won't eat them."

Zhao Sidan blinked and said, "We've already eaten in town, sister-in-law, you should eat quickly, so that your little brother can grow up chubby."

Zhao Ergou slapped him on the back of the head: "Idiot, he's not a younger brother, he's a nephew."

"Mom, look, my second brother is bullying me!"

Zhao Sidan covered the back of his head and complained.

Cheng Wanwan shook her head: "Even food can't shut you up, hurry up and eat."

The family was making a ruckus when Grandma Zhao walked in. She had good eyesight and spotted the food on the table immediately.

The old lady strode inside and saw it more clearly. Sure enough, it was white rice and pork. Each person had a large bowl of white rice, a large bowl of pork bone soup, a bowl of glistening pork, and a bowl of pig's blood. The old lady wasn't looking at the food; she was calculating the money.

The price of white rice in town has probably risen to thirty coins per pound. There are at least three pounds in front of me, which is ninety coins. The pork bones are ten coins, and the pork is fifty or sixty coins... All of this adds up to several hundred coins... Old Mrs. Zhao almost had a heart attack and fainted.

"You spendthrift woman! What kind of official's wife are you? Three or four pounds of rice in one meal! Even the wealthy Wang family in town doesn't waste money like that!" Old Mrs. Zhao cursed angrily. "Your three sons are waiting to get married. You think you're so great just because you've earned a little money? You think you can eat white rice today and starve tomorrow?"

Cheng Wanwan: "..."

Who could have known that the old lady would suddenly barge in during the meal? They only eat rice occasionally, you know.

In modern times, eating white rice is perfectly normal.

But in this era, there's a poem that goes, "Those adorned in silk robes are not the silkworm farmers." In other words, those who grow white rice cannot afford to eat it. That's just how cruel reality is.

If it weren't for her online store, she really wouldn't be able to afford a pound of white rice that cost thirty copper coins.

The boys in the family didn't know the purchasing power of copper coins, but the old lady who controlled the Zhao family's finances knew it all too well; she could probably even calculate how many grains of millet a copper coin could buy.

Cheng Wanwan quickly explained, "I bought these a long time ago and have been saving them for a long time. Mom, have you eaten yet? Sit down and eat with me. There's still some rice in the pot..."