She would not show any pity for Song Ruier.
Qiao Lian'er felt a surge of emotion, took her mother's hand, and patted it gently.
No one paid any more attention to Song Ruier. They closed the door and went into the kitchen to eat. Soon, the kitchen was filled with laughter and cheerful chatter.
Song Ruier found those voices incredibly grating. He used to be one of them, but now he felt like a beggar, sitting at someone's door with a broken bowl, eating their meager charity.
He picked up the chipped bowl, feeling an irresistible urge to smash it to the ground.
But he held back. He hadn't eaten for several meals, and he was even more ashamed to ask other families in the village for help, especially since he had insisted on staying with the Song family in front of so many people.
Having finished eating, Song Ruier felt full and regained her strength. She took the broken bowl with her, picked a spot, and smashed it hard against a rock.
With a bang, the broken bowl shattered.
Song Ruier felt a little better, spat on the fragments again, and then left.
This scene was witnessed by Old Man Qiao, who came out to use the outhouse.
Old Man Qiao stood at the gate, watching Song Ruier's figure disappear into the night.
The old man's eyes were both calm and cold.
Compared to the Qiao family's table, which was laden with both meat and vegetables, and the meat dishes were delicious, the Song family's meal was much more meager. They hastily prepared a stir-fried bitter melon, a stir-fried cabbage, and a large bowl of soup with two eggs. The family sat around the table, eating in silence, their faces showing rather unpleasant expressions.
Having just lost thirty taels of silver, Song Laoda's trip to Yongguan County to sell mushrooms today also didn't go smoothly.
He initially quoted three taels of silver per pound. While wealthy families found it delicious, they wouldn't charge three taels of silver for it.
Old Song refused to believe this superstition and insisted on finding someone willing to pay three taels of silver for a pound of mushrooms before he would give up.
So he spent all his time lingering in the Rich Man's Lane in Yongguan County. Finally, he gritted his teeth and lowered the price to two taels of silver per catty, but still no one bought it.
The families from the village who went to Yongguan County to sell mushrooms all sold out and left, but Old Song still hadn't sold the mushrooms in his hands.
Finally, one family looked at him coldly and said, "Those people who come to sell Datian specialties, are they from your village? They only ask for 700 coins per catty. You're asking for too much and being too greedy. Here's what we'll do: we'll give you 600 coins per catty. Take it or leave it."
“We do have some money. Don’t think we’re fools. We know the market price for this kind of thing. There’s no way we’re going to give you two taels of silver per pound.”
Old Song saw that the sun was already setting, and if he didn't sell everything soon, there wouldn't be any carriages to bring him back.
Moreover, he had lost patience after waiting for so long, so he gritted his teeth and sold it for six hundred coins.
Eight catties of mushrooms were sold for four ounces.
Who knows when that thirty-tael debt will be repaid?
So Boss Song came back with a belly full of anger.
When they arrived home, the Song family had only found seven catties of mushrooms on the mountain that day, and they could only sell a little over one tael tomorrow.
So, Old Mrs. Song gritted her teeth and only cracked two eggs.
"How come the Qiao family found so many mushrooms when they went up the mountain, but we only found so few when it was our turn?"
Ms. Shen was indignant.
"Back then, only the Qiao family went to look for mushrooms. Even if there were very few mushrooms growing on the mountain, they could still find a basket or two. Now that so many villagers are competing for them, there will definitely be less left to go around," Chen snorted.
Song Laoda said, "It's all the Qiao family's fault for being selfish. They only told our Song family at the time, and we kept it a secret. Wouldn't it have been better if both families had made the money?"
“Not only are we not making much money now, but they are also being dragged down. They deserve it; they can’t afford to build a bigger yard.” Song Dahua said gloatingly.
Today she saw that the Qiao family hadn't found many mushrooms.
Thinking about this, the Song family finally felt a little better.
Song Lao Er said again, "Going to such a far county town, the round trip by carriage and the cost of food and supplies will cost a hundred coins. It's better to go to Qingshui Town, sell the mushrooms, and come back immediately to find more mushrooms. We can earn a little more that way."
Old Mrs. Song thought it made sense: "Alright, we'll go to Qingshui Town to sell them tomorrow, but we'll avoid the villagers and make sure they don't see us."
No rules apply to the Song family.
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