When Su Hua and the other two returned to Shanghe Village, it was almost noon.

Now, the villagers of Shanghe Village have almost finished their work in the fields, and the area under the crooked sycamore tree at the village entrance is bustling with activity.

The old women sat in a row on the tree roots, chatting away while weaving straw sandals from last year's rice straw. The old men, almost one by one, held a pipe and slowly puffed out smoke.

There were also children with pigtails sticking up in the air, squatting on the open ground nearby, running, laughing and playing, their bodies and faces covered in mud and grime.

The silvery laughter attracted the birds on the sycamore branches to look down frequently.

"Clatter clatter—"

"Da da da—"

The slow, steady clatter of ox hooves mingled with the clatter of horse hooves.

The villagers under the sycamore tree stopped what they were doing at the same time and turned to look.

Then they saw an old yellow ox leading a big black horse coming down the mountain path.

They were very familiar with the old yellow ox in front of them; they could tell at a glance that it belonged to the village chief, Su Chengde. But they had never seen the big black horse before.

It was completely black with a small tuft of white hair on its forehead. It looked rather thin, and its front hooves limped as it walked, making one worry that the horse might fall over at any moment.

As for the driver on the carriage shaft, he wore a sky-blue robe, had a jade-like face, and a cold and aloof demeanor; many people did not recognize him.

Until a clear, crisp girl's voice rang out.

"Third Aunt! Aunt Zhou! Sister-in-law Xia Hua! Sister Da Mai, they're all weaving straw sandals! Each one is so exquisite and beautiful, I'm afraid I wouldn't even want to wear them..."

The villagers looked in the direction of the sound and saw the curtain of the oxcart being slowly lifted.

Two smiling faces, one large and one small, were revealed.

It was none other than Su Hua, the youngest daughter of the Su family, and her granddaughter Chunhua!

The villagers quickly put away their straw sandals and tobacco pipes and hurriedly jogged to the side of the carriage, their eyes full of interest.

"Hua'er, I heard from Widow Liu that your snail business has stopped! Where did you go today?"

"Did you buy that big dark horse in the back? It must have cost a fortune, right?"

"Why not buy a strong horse? This horse walks with a limp, it probably can't run, wouldn't that be a waste of money!"

"That's right, buying a low-quality horse is not as good as buying an old ox, a mule, or even a donkey. It's not worth it..."

As for the little kids who had been squatting in the open space playing in the mud, they all ran to Mo Bao's side, staring at it intently, as if they could burn a hole in it!

They have absolutely no idea about inferior horses.

But previously, only the Meng family in Shanghe Village owned a chestnut horse.

Now, there's one more.

It makes me happy just looking at it.

His hands at his sides were itching to move.

"I think this big black horse is even more beautiful than the Meng family's chestnut horse."

"Yes, its eyes are huge, one of its pupils is as big as several of ours, it's tall, and its butt is perky!"

"I wonder if we can touch it?"

"No way! You can't even look at the Meng family's chestnut horse, let alone touch it. They say looking at it will cause your hair to fall out, and touching it will cause your flesh to bleed. I only stood a little closer to take a look, and Meng Fu made me pay for it..."

Su Hua's lips twitched as she heard this, and she told Xiao Jinhan to stop the oxcart.

Turning my head, I saw Mo Bao snorting, looking annoyed by the dolls' stares, and even starting to kick his hooves.

She quickly called out to the children, "This is a calligraphy piece of a horse that my family bought today. However, its hoof is a little injured right now. Once it heals and gets to know everyone, you can all play with it!"

"Really?" Upon hearing this, the children's faces instantly lit up with smiles, their eyes filled with disbelief.

“Of course, it’s more real than real gold.” Su Hua nodded with a light laugh.

Upon seeing this, a snotty-nosed baby's eyes lit up instantly.

"Can I touch Mo Bao's butt then?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Mo Bao's tapping motions became even more impatient.

Su Hua: "..."

She could only manage a smile and slowly shake her head.

"No, Mo Bao is a girl, and you are a boy. Men and women should not touch each other."

Hearing this, the little child wasn't disappointed. He grinned and said, "If you can't touch my butt, then I'll just pat Mo Bao's head..."

Su Hua smiled without saying a word; this was probably even less likely to work.

Horses always value their heads more than their rear ends.

Of course, she was never one to intentionally spoil the fun.

He'll know when he wants to touch it later.

Just then, a voice that sounded like it had just been pulled out of a kimchi jar rang out.

"The Su family is really rich now, with more money than they can spend. What good is buying such a damaged horse that can't even walk steadily? It's better to give the money to your Aunt Jinhua than to throw it into the water!"

Su Hua turned her head to look and saw Widow Liu getting up from the riverbank and walking over, carrying a heavy wooden bucket in her hand, but taking very quick steps.

They rushed straight toward their oxcart.

Su Hua couldn't help but laugh at the look in his eyes that seemed to be afraid of missing any juicy gossip.

She suppressed the upturned corners of her mouth and sighed heavily. "The other night, the Meng family insisted on giving our family twenty taels of silver. They wouldn't let us leave if we didn't give it to them. As the old saying goes, you have to spend this windfall as soon as possible. We just happened to come across this calligraphy, so we bought it."

However, this money really doesn't last long; it's gone as soon as you buy a horse.

Unlike Aunt Liu, whose stir-fried snail business in Cangwu Town is booming, there's probably nowhere left to put her money!

Upon hearing this, some people who had been eyeing the twenty taels that the Meng family had given to the Su family as a pledge, and who had been thinking of borrowing some money, all put their minds at ease and turned their attention to Widow Liu.

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