Xie Yushu's voice was clear and penetrating. As soon as she shouted, children from nearby shops ran out to see what was going on. When they saw the bright red candied hawthorns that Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu were carrying, they immediately turned around and called for the adults inside.

"Buy candied hawthorns, buy candied hawthorns, Daddy/Mom, I want to eat candied hawthorns!"

Seeing that it worked, Xie Yushu shouted twice more, and several more little kids ran out.

Although the economy is in recession, people who run shops in town can still afford to spend three or five copper coins. Before long, your two children come over, then his three children come over. And the children love to show off. After they finish buying, they hold up their purchases, eat them, and go to show them off to their friends. Before long, several more come running out.

Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu sold about twenty strings of skewers without even moving an inch. Seeing that they had made a profit, Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu became more relaxed and started shouting at the top of their lungs. They planned to shout at the shops on the street and then go to the walls of wealthy houses nearby to shout.

Lu and Wang were still somewhat incredulous that in such difficult times, someone would spend more than ten copper coins to buy food for a child.

Xie Yushu asked

"Second Aunt, if you had five taels of silver and several hundred copper coins, and Yumin wanted to eat a candied hawthorn that cost three copper coins, would you buy it for her?"

Wang thought for a moment and said

"If I had that much money, I'd be willing to spend not just three copper coins, but thirty!"

After saying that, she sighed.

"That's true. These shops on the street have some assets, so even in a year of famine, they shouldn't be bankrupted."

Your second uncle and I, along with your parents, thanks to you, although we don't have five taels of silver like I do, we still have one or two taels. We have enough to eat and wear these days, but we're used to being poor, so even with two taels, we're reluctant to spend it.

"After my dad and my second uncle have their own businesses, and Tianqi and Tianming will also have income from their shops, we won't have to be so tight on money anymore!"

"Hey! Life is getting better and better!"

Lady Lü sighed.

"From now on, you can keep the money you earn to yourselves. I'm getting old and it's time for me to enjoy my retirement. As for the children, you can take care of them yourselves from now on!"

"I'm just waiting to hold my great-grandchild!"

Lu and Wang were visibly delighted, thinking that they would be in charge of their own little home from now on, and they were both very satisfied.

Xie Yushu first took the group to the cloth shop and cut six feet of thick, embossed corduroy fabric that ordinary people could wear, as well as two bolts of thick black twill cotton fabric for each of them. She planned to make two new outfits for each of them to wear when Xie Tianlin got married or during the New Year.

Corduroy fabric is thicker than ordinary cotton fabric, making clothes more stylish. It costs twice as much as ordinary cotton fabric, but ordinary people can wear it without violating regulations and with face.

Because of her advanced age, Madam Lü chose dark blue and dark red ones with a "Five Blessings" pattern printed on them. She took a liking to them at first sight and touched them with great affection.

Lu chose sky blue, amber, and bamboo green, colors that are both sophisticated and not dull.

The pink and lilac colors chosen by Haitang and Yu Min are lively and lovely.

Although Xie Yushu had lost several pieces of fabric and clothes to Xiao Damei and the others, she still had replacements, so she didn't buy any yet. Lu Shi and Wang Shi, on the other hand, chose black and dark blue for the men in the family.

Knowing that Xie Tianlin's fiancé would be coming tomorrow, she chose a bright red one for her too, since she was going to be a bride anyway, and red was always a safe bet.

I also bought the fabric to go through the proper etiquette with Xie Tianlin.

They were all made of cotton, six feet of black and six feet of blue.

Cotton cloth cost twenty copper coins per foot, and corduroy cost forty copper coins per foot. In total, the corduroy cloth cost one tael, nine mace, and sixty copper coins, plus a rounding down and two bundles of thread.

After leaving the cloth shop, they bought thirty catties of cotton, one dan of rice, one dan of flour, three dan of corn, and one catty of salt. Because Lu had mentioned Xie Tianlin's family's requirements, they wanted three taels of silver, two dan of rice, six catties of cotton, and six feet of cloth.

Xie Yushu simply bought everything, and once she got back and set a date, she could just hold the wedding ceremony directly, saving Lu Shi and the others the trouble of making any more arrangements.

The trip cost another one or two taels of silver.

Finally, thinking that Lu Shi and the others had suffered half their lives without owning a single piece of silver jewelry, and that Xie Baotian and the others had only been able to afford to buy them wooden hairpins on their last trip selling mountain goods, Xie Yushu simply dragged Lu Shi, Lu Shi, and Wang Shi to a silver jewelry shop and chose a silver hairpin for each of them, symbolizing abundance year after year.

She also selected a pair of silver earrings for Lu's future daughter-in-law, to be given as a wedding gift when the new bride arrives.

The four items cost a total of three taels and six mace.

After all this, Xie Yushu's extravagant spending made the three women in the Lu family pale with heartache. Xie Yushu even wanted to buy Lu a silver bracelet, but Lu dragged her out of the shop.

Fine, if she doesn't want to buy it, she doesn't want to buy it. I'll make it up to her later.

After the mother and her children finished shopping, it only took about an hour. When they arrived at the agreed meeting place, Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu had already returned with the candied hawthorns.

Looking at the empty candied hawthorn stick handle, Madam Lu and Madam Wang asked happily.

"They're sold out? Where did you get them?"

Xie Baotian and Xie Baoshu laughed so hard their mouths were crooked.

“We went to East Street to sell them. The people there are either merchants or government officials. They live a more comfortable life than us and spoil their children. Two families bought some, and the neighbors couldn’t bear to let their children watch longingly, so they all bought some too. They sold out in no time!”

The two were still happily recounting their achievements when they saw the group of women fill the donkey cart to the brim. They noticed the fine fabric and cotton, and Xie Baoshu even saw his wife touching the silver hairpin in her hair. The two men both gasped in surprise.

"My goodness! How much money are you spending?! If you keep spending like this, we could run our shoes off and still not be able to afford it!"

"Was it Yu Shu who spent the money again? Yu Shu, you can't be so wasteful! That's not how she lives!"

Wang and Lu felt sorry for her after hearing this.

"We were originally going to prepare some things for Tianlin's wedding, but the girl insisted on buying them for us."

"Oh! Alright, Dad, Second Uncle, Grandma, Mom, and Second Aunt, you've worked so hard in our family all these years and haven't enjoyed any happiness yet. Consider this my way of showing my respect to you."

I have a skill. I can earn this money back after I go to a few clinics. Before I know it, you'll all be parents-in-law. How can you not have some decent clothes and jewelry?

Besides, isn't the point of working so hard to earn money just to have enough to eat and wear? Otherwise, why would we all work so hard?

We've survived so much hardship, so we should live life to the fullest, with spirit and energy, so that those who want to trample us underfoot can see what's what!

"Yes, let those people see that just because they divorced my sister, our family is in chaos and can't survive. We'll live better and better, and make them furious!" Xie Yumin said angrily, waving her little fist.

So the little girl was still worried about being divorced! Indeed, for a woman in ancient times, being divorced would be a devastating event, but not for Xie Yushu.

She really didn't care, but others couldn't help but care.