Chapter 41 Just for a Bite
"Madam Ye, you've come again today?"
The vegetable vendor was surprised to see Ye Wan set up her stall so quickly. She had clearly offended someone; how dare she come?
While working, Ye Wan said, "It wouldn't do if we didn't come at the slightest sign of trouble. We have so many children at home, and we can't afford to eat."
"I see your business is doing quite well. Why don't you have your husband set up a food stall too? The two of you could earn more. What's he been up to? I haven't seen him these past few days."
Before Ye Wan could speak, a line of people started to arrive to eat the noodles.
Around noon, the three men swaggered over to the stall.
"Oh, she's a pretty young lady, just a bit dark-skinned. Hurry up, get the protection money ready."
Scarface stepped onto the stool, and those who were about to come over immediately moved away.
Scarface is a man in this market; most people know him, and he's very fierce.
Upon seeing this, Ye Wan feigned poverty, saying, "My daughter already told me yesterday, 'Brother, could you please grant me a few more days? My family really has no money.'"
"Your food smells pretty good. Give us brothers two bowls each."
Scarface glanced at the pot and plopped down on it.
Ye Wan pulled Er Ya back from speaking up, and the three of them each cooked a bowl of rice.
"It's nothing special. These poor bastards are praising it to the skies. If you don't have the money ready, young lady, my brothers and I will come every day to see if you still want to do business!"
Scarface ate the noodles and threw the bamboo bowl on the ground.
"Scarface, just smash that little wench's stall, why waste time talking!"
The scarred henchman asked, "Isn't this how they always did it?"
Scarface picked his teeth. "The higher-ups told us not to move, just come once a day. Anyway, we've got nothing else to do, so let's just treat it as a bit of fun."
"You know what, that young lady is quite pretty, it's just that her face is a bit dark. It would be nice to have some fun with her."
These people weren't afraid that Ye Wan would hear them when they spoke.
He just swaggered away, laughing and joking.
Ye Wan hugged Sanya, who was about to cry, and said, "Don't be afraid. When your father comes, he should have a solution."
"Godfather, you're here?"
Just as Ye Wan had calmed Sanya down, the old man arrived.
"Cough cough... Your godmother steamed some buns and asked me to call you over to her house to eat. Oh, and save her a bowl of noodles, cough cough... She's been talking about it since early this morning." The old man couldn't help but cough as he spoke.
I cough less now than before, but I still cough.
"Perfect, I won't sell the rest. I'll go back and have dinner with my godmother," Ye Wan said as she packed up her stall.
"Godfather, I heard that wild vegetables can stop coughing, so I brought some for you today. Try them, or you can dry them and soak them in water."
Ye Wan took out a small basket of wild vegetables from under the cart; they were all dug up from her spatial storage.
The old man coughs every few words; it's unpleasant to listen to.
Er Ya asked curiously, "When did you pick these wild vegetables? How come I didn't know?"
They haven't left the house since they got back yesterday.
"Why do I have to ask you for permission before I can do anything that someone else gave me?" Ye Wan was too lazy to explain.
Er Ya pouted and muttered to herself.
Following the coughing old man into the alley to the west, Er Ya couldn't help but pinch her nose.
"This place stinks horribly and has stained my new dress."
The ground was covered in garbage and foul-smelling water, flies were swarming around, and the smell was truly awful.
Ye Wan retorted, "If you don't want to go, just wait by the oxcart. Nobody's begging you to go."
She doesn't have the life of a princess, but she's got princess syndrome. Isn't that just being pretentious?
Er Ya retorted, "Who said I'm not happy? You don't like hearing the truth?"
"You're the most troublesome one, I don't even want to take you along."
Er Ya glared at Ye Wan several times in anger, but Da Ya pulled her out to speak.
"Da Ya, Da Ya!"
Suddenly they heard someone call out "Da Ya". The group turned around and saw a dwarf-like man leaning on a cane, staring intently at Da Ya.
"Ah! Who are you? You scared me to death!" Er Ya screamed, and hurriedly hid behind Da Ya in fright.
"Da Ya, you're my wife, you have to come to my house and serve me, Da Ya!" The man leaned on his cane and stared intently at Da Ya.
Er Ya said in a shrill voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? My eldest sister isn't called Da Ya."
"Lin Daya, you are Daya, you are my wife!"
Da Ya recognized who it was and turned pale.
"It's that short peddler, what happened to him?"
"Phew, I don't know what bad luck that shorty had. His arms and legs were broken, and after they were set, they grew crooked."
As the women watching the commotion talked, they glanced at Ye Wan and her group. "That shorty keeps calling her 'Da Ya,' which of you is called 'Da Ya'?"
Ye Wan tightened her grip on Sanya's hand. "Nobody called out to Daya. They've probably gone mad. Let's go."
"Cough, hurry up and go," the old man urged.
The short man chased after him for a few steps, but couldn't catch up.
"It's alright, don't be afraid," Ye Wan comforted Daya.
He couldn't help but think of Lin Anyuan. Could it be that Lin Anyuan was the one who did this?
...
...
At the market entrance, a horse-drawn carriage slowly came to a stop.
"Young master, let's go back to the academy. If the old lady finds out you sneaked out, she'll probably fall ill from anger again," Yantai advised dejectedly.
Only a young master would skip school like this. If the old lady finds out, both he and the young master will be punished.
"Just make sure she doesn't know," Liu Wenshu said lazily, resting his chin on his hand inside the carriage.
When the carriage stopped, it didn't see anyone setting up a stall there.
"Hey, why are you closing up shop so early today? I was really looking forward to having some noodles."
Liu Wenshu glanced at the stall; there were still marks on the ground. He hadn't expected that the person had already left.
Seeing this, Yantai spoke up, "Young master, it seems we've come at the wrong time. This proves that skipping school is wrong. Let's hurry back."
The young master skips school just to eat a bowl of noodles?
That's impossible.
Although that noodle dish was indeed quite delicious, he wanted to try it too.
The next second, Liu Wenshu spoke up, "You say it's not a coincidence, so it's not? Come on, let's find an inn to stay in, and we'll eat tomorrow."
Yantai was convinced and hurried to catch the carriage.
"Please, sir, have mercy and give us some food!"
"Young master, please have mercy! We've been starving for days, please give us some food!"
"Where did all these beggars come from in this town?" Liu Wenshu frowned as he sat in the carriage.
I've encountered several along the way; I've never seen so many before.
"I don't know, it seems like there have been a lot more beggars lately. Young master, let's go quickly."
As soon as the carriage left the market entrance, a group of five or six beggars came over.
"Get lost, you stinking beggars, go away!"
The surrounding vendors kept chasing them away.
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