Back in their hometown, their grandmother wouldn't give them a single penny, so the children had to go up the mountain to collect bird eggs and down to the river to catch small fish to eat.
If you're lucky, you might be able to dig up some medicinal herbs or collect a snake's shed skin, which you can then exchange for a few copper coins at the pharmacy to buy candy for your younger siblings!
So, in Da Wa's young mind, the saying "even a hero can be brought down by a penny" couldn't be more true! He might not be a hero, but he always will be!
Seeing that he could make money this way opened his mind and he was overwhelmed. It was a whole new world for him!
The mother and son arrived at the place where Wu Chunhua and the others were doing business, but it was not yet 9:00 AM.
Qin San Niang was never used to the ancient way of telling time. Fortunately, she had a pocket watch in her space, which she took out and hung on her body to check the time. Although the children were very surprised, they were not surprised when they heard that it was a pawn shop item, supposedly from a foreign land, since it was not within the territory of Da Sheng.
Liu and others also knew that at that time there were many countries in the world, and these countries would fight each other.
Qin San Niang thought that if one had to pinpoint the impact of war, then raising the level of common people's understanding could be considered a significant increase in knowledge. However, no one wanted to broaden their horizons in this way!
Even from a distance, Da Wa could see that a large crowd had gathered around his family's stall! Excitedly, he shouted, "Mom, Aunt Chunhua and the others' business is just as good as yesterday! Look how many people are here!"
Qin San Niang was also pleasantly surprised, not expecting there to be even more people today than yesterday. However, she immediately sensed something was amiss; why were there so many people gathered in three concentric circles, as if they were just watching a spectacle?
The older boy, who had run a few steps closer, also noticed something was wrong. Peeking through the gap, he saw his stall's table overturned on the ground! And Luo Huan, also pushed to the ground. The chubby girl's face was bright red, with a clear five-finger mark on her cheek—she had obviously been slapped!
The young boy could no longer contain himself. These gloves and earmuffs were the result of his family's hard work, and besides, his older sister, Fatty, had been injured protecting her younger brother. He truly considered her his sister! As for Luo Huan? She was one of his own too!
Someone was bullying them! Da Wa ran over and pushed through the crowd, where he saw Wu Shi and Pang Ya blocking several men in front of them.
Ignoring everything else, the eldest son swung his fist at the man at the front who was about to strike. Caught off guard, the man was knocked to the ground by the boy!
This was outrageous! The other hooligans, seeing their companion attacked, even though he wasn't seriously injured, became even more shameless.
"Hmph, where did this little bastard come from, daring to hit a man?! No wonder your family is all women doing business here, you don't have any men at home, do you? Not even a hair has grown up yet, and you still want to fight with me, Master Guo! You hit my man, and you think you can leave without paying some money?!" The leader, a thug who called himself Master Guo, said fiercely.
But in his heart he was thinking, "What damn bad luck! I can't even collect protection money! These newbies need to be taught a lesson!"
The eldest son was furious. Even though his mother was right behind him, he wasn't afraid of them at all! Even if his mother wasn't there, as the eldest son in the family, he wouldn't allow anyone to bully his family. It was his responsibility, and he wanted to grow up quickly under his mother's protection.
"It's broad daylight, we're doing legitimate business, have you no regard for the law?"
"Oh, you little punk, you know about the law? In Willow Street of He County, I, your Uncle Guo, am the law! Understand?! If you offend me, will your family still be able to do business?" The Guo family ruffian seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He had been running rampant in Willow Street for so long, and this was the first time he had ever heard the word "law"!
The other henchmen joined in the sneer, as if to say that they were doomed and should forget about doing business here!
The old woman selling eggs didn't dare approach at all, and the other vendors only dared to stand at a distance. A few of the bolder ones joined in, offering words of advice.
"You women, and this child, hurry up and give us some money to settle this! Master Guo is a member of the Green Dragon Gang! We can't afford to offend him, so don't get involved in legal trouble over a little money!"
"Exactly, girl, it's not worth offending Master Guo over this. They're not people we can afford to offend!"
The others chimed in, thinking to themselves, "Didn't you make a lot of money yesterday? You deserve to be targeted. Besides, they've been paying protection money for over a decade, so why shouldn't you pay?"
How could such a little scheme possibly escape Qin Sanniang's notice? However, the best way to deal with a rogue is either to be even more rogue, or to beat him into submission!
Having been a law-abiding citizen her whole life, Qin Sanniang decided to stop suffering in silence, especially since she now held a powerful weapon! She had some leverage! She dared not offend high-ranking officials, and dared to bully scoundrels?!
Big Brother is indeed her offspring! He wouldn't budge no matter what! Fatty was afraid that Big Brother would be bullied, so she stood next to him.
Wu Chunhua and Liao Hongying originally intended to settle things peacefully, but this didn't seem like a peaceful resolution. Besides, they were both people who had experienced killing; this little disturbance couldn't frighten them anymore! Moreover, if Da Wa was here, wouldn't San Niang be far behind? Why should they be afraid? They were the ones who should be afraid!
Hearing the praise from those around them, the group of ruffians were all smug and eagerly awaiting their windfall. They had heard that this family had made over ten taels of silver yesterday! How could they not know when such a big merchant had arrived on Willow Street? It couldn't be!
The ruffians drank too much the night before last and didn't even have time to stroll around the market yesterday. They never expected to suffer such a huge loss! But it's alright, isn't this another opportunity? As long as they want to do business on this willow-lined street, they'll have to cough up half their money! Otherwise, hmph hmph hmph…
After a long while, the women and children opposite did not kneel down and beg for mercy, and there was not even a trace of panic in their eyes. And that woman, what is the meaning of the pity in your eyes?!
"Did you guys hear that? Ten taels of silver, not a penny less! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite. Hurting Master Guo's men will land you in the authorities!" one of the henchmen said fiercely.
Ten taels of silver!
Everyone around gasped in shock!
That Master Guo is ruthless! This family is probably going to lose all their capital! The man who wanted to copy the earmuffs and gloves yesterday is now seriously considering whether or not to let his wife and sister continue the business! Even if they make money, it will be taken away, and they might even get injured for no reason. These people don't know how to hold back when they're going to do it.
Qin San Niang chuckled and stepped into the crowd. "Oh, I didn't know that there were people who staged accidents and weren't afraid of the authorities?"
"Alright, eldest son, go report this to the authorities. Tell them there's a disturbance here, disrupting our business!"
Do you think the government is your private property? You can't just let people in whenever you want. If that's the case, then there's no point in having this government anymore. Just blow it up with a bomb!
"Who are you? Mind your own business! Are you bored or in a hurry to be reborn?" The lackey and scoundrel who had threatened the eldest child earlier frowned and shouted when he saw a young woman walk out. He figured she wasn't anything special.
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