Chapter 43: Cheating
People like to watch the fun, especially when there are a bunch of married women gathered together.
Little Cai felt the blunt gazes of everyone, and the half of her face that had been beaten began to hurt again. She was so embarrassed that she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"She was just beaten by the man in her family. There were no slap marks on her face before..." someone whispered.
Zhang Yunniang has never liked Xiao Cai. Some women will fight back when they are bullied, but some women, when they get caught in the rain, will just tear up other people's umbrellas madly. As Niu Niu's adoptive mother, Xiao Cai never protected the child. She just treated Niu Niu as a tool to suffer for her.
Zhang Yunniang finally softened her heart and did not let little Cai face everyone's scrutiny. She took the lead and walked out with the child in her arms, saying, "Let's go quickly. If we are late, the good dishes will be picked up by others."
After hesitating for a moment, the others followed.
Little Cai stayed there alone, holding the vegetable basket tightly in her right hand. It took a long time before she came to her senses and walked in the direction where everyone left.
Zhang Guangzong at home would ask for meat soup when he woke up, so she had to swallow it no matter how aggrieved she was.
After not seeing Xiao Cai anymore, Niu Niu regained her former lively self, looking around the street with her big eyes. The scenery in the city was different from that in the countryside, and Niu Niu still found it very fresh after seeing it many times.
Zhang Yunniang also indulged her. When they came across a shop selling flower-shaped cakes, she saw Niu Niu staring at them and bought her a bag.
Madam Qi couldn't help but sigh: "Mrs. Yun, you really love your daughter."
Others also echoed.
Really wealthy families would not rent a house from a rich woman. Most of them would stay in an inn, or simply rent a yard or buy a house for themselves.
There were many people living in Mrs. Qian's yard, and even though it was close to the examination hall, the air was a bit turbid with so many people crowded together.
Such families would not be willing to buy such flashy cakes for their daughters. At most, they would buy a two-cent candied haws or something like that to get rid of them. Moreover, if there were any good things, they would mostly give priority to the boys in the family.
The bag of cakes that Niu Niu was holding cost Zhang Yunniang fifty cents, and there were only eight cakes in the bag.
Zhang Yunniang smiled and said, "Niuniu is well-behaved and deserves to be loved."
Most ordinary families bought this whole bag of pastries as gifts, but Zhang Yunniang handed it to Niuniu without blinking an eye.
Niuniu carefully picked up a piece of cake, smelled it, and then brought it to Zhang Yuniang's mouth: "Mom, it smells so good, please eat it quickly!"
Zhang Yunniang was very pleased with her daughter's filial piety, but she still said, "I'm not hungry. You eat first. I'll wait to eat with your father."
After hearing this, Niu Niu didn't hesitate any more and started eating the pastry in small bites.
After finishing a piece of cake, although Niu Niu was still very greedy, she put away the whole bag of cakes, planning to share them with her brothers after returning home.
"Is it delicious?" Zhang Yuniang asked softly.
Niuniu nodded vigorously and whispered, "Huahua pastries are delicious, but I've eaten better ones."
Zhang Yuniang didn't think much about it: "What do you think is the most delicious?"
She thought Niu Niu would say roast chicken, after all, the child had been thinking about it since she had eaten it once.
Niuniu said, "It's the best food I've ever had in my dreams."
Zhang Yunniang didn't expect that the little girl was still thinking about that gourmet dream.
The group soon arrived at the street where vegetables were sold.
Most of the vegetables in the city are delivered by vegetable farmers outside the city. There are many residential houses near this street, and over time, it has become a vegetable street.
Because there is no one to manage it, this place is a mixed crowd of all kinds of people, including people selling vegetables, buying vegetables, setting up stalls, begging, basically everyone.
As Madam Qi was selecting vegetables, she sighed, "After staying in the city for a few days, my wallet is almost empty. Vegetables in the city are too expensive."
When the others heard this, they all complained bitterly.
"I don't know if the price went up because of us coming here. I spent too much money on groceries. My husband blames me for not knowing how to live."
"At home, we pick vegetables from the vegetable garden. Why would we waste this money?"
Scholars usually have a lot of expenses for writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone. Every time they take an exam, it is a major blow to the family savings. Therefore, supporting a scholar is a big burden for most families.
If you can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, and your family can hold on for a while, you may eventually make a profit.
But if you can't even pass the exam to become a scholar, then all your money will be wasted.
But there are only so many people who can pass the college entrance examination each time. In this game of thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge, if someone wins, someone loses.
Zhang Yunniang looked at their depressed expressions and changed the subject, "Speaking of which, it would be great if my home was closer to the city. Then I could come to the city every day to sell vegetables and maybe I could get rich."
Madam Qi chuckled and said, "You wish for it. I also want to own a house in the city."
The women did not gather together, but each picked out the vegetables they wanted to buy.
Zhang Yunniang has a large family, so she has to buy enough for two or three days at a time, and her vegetable basket is soon full.
Seeing that she was having a hard time carrying the basket of vegetables, Niu Niu struggled to climb down from her and asked to walk by herself.
Little Cai was a step late, but she could still see the women's backs in her sight, so it didn't take her long to enter the street.
Before she could buy the vegetables, an old beggar stopped her and said to her, "Madam, I have a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation. I will sell it to you as long as you pay three taels of silver..."
Little Cai thought he was a liar and immediately scolded him, "Get lost."
The old beggar was still defending himself: "Madam, please believe me. I am really not a liar. My family's secret recipe is also real..."
Just as Little Cai was about to curse, she suddenly saw a familiar figure on a stall not far away. She came up with a plan and said to the old beggar, "Old man, it's not that I don't want to buy your secret recipe, but I don't have money. Did you see that woman with the child? She has money, go sell it to her!"
When the old beggar heard this, he did not act immediately. Instead, he stood in front of Xiao Cai and silently handed over the broken bowl in his hand.
Little Cai was puzzled: "Didn't I show you the way? Why are you still pestering me?"
The old beggar looked like a scoundrel and said, "Do you have a bad relationship with the woman with the child? You want me to cheat her, but you won't give me any benefits?"
When Xiao Cai heard this, she immediately jumped up and down in panic: "Well, you admitted it yourself, there is no secret recipe at all, you are just trying to trick me!"
The old beggar laughed and then shouted loudly: "Children!"
As soon as he finished speaking, five or six dirty beggars suddenly appeared from nowhere and surrounded Xiao Cai.
The old beggar even began to teach her a lesson, saying, "If you hadn't intended to hurt me, I wouldn't have bothered you."
Little Cai cursed in her heart. This old beggar's words sounded high and mighty, but in reality he was just taking advantage of a fat sheep to slaughter. Unfortunately, she came out alone and was a woman, so she was weak and powerless and could only bear this loss.
After paying a full twenty cents, the old beggar waved his hand, and the other beggars left like a tide.
"Don't worry, old beggar, I keep my word."
After the old beggar said this, he squeezed into the crowd with a broken bowl in his hand, stopped Zhang Yunniang and her daughter, and said with a smile: "Madam, I think you look kind. I have a secret recipe passed down in my family. It only costs three taels of silver..."
(End of this chapter)
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