Looking at Pei Yao's ever-smiling demeanor, Lin Shaoqing felt that the girl was only paying attention to him out of politeness.
He felt a little embarrassed, wondering if Pei Yao really wanted to be his friend.
Lin Shaoqing is a foodie who doesn't care much about fame or status. He just wants to eat all the delicious food in the world, see all the beautiful scenery, and live a carefree and happy life.
But his father always insisted that he study, always saying, "Of all professions, only studying is the best," which Lin Shaoqing found utterly tiresome.
"Miss Pei, the ice jelly you made is truly delicious," Lin Shaoqing said earnestly to Pei Yao.
Pei Yao nodded noncommittally: "Yeah, I think so too."
Lin Shaoqing couldn't help but smile when he heard her answer. He smiled gently. This girl was so interesting. It was the first time he had seen such a frank girl, unlike many other women who were always awkward and hesitant.
Pei Yao ignored Lin Shaoqing and went about her business. She was in a hurry to pack her things so she could go home as soon as possible, as there was still a lot of work to be done at home.
Everyone finished eating and started leaving, so the three of them quickly went forward to start cleaning up.
Lin Shaoqing wanted to help when he saw her busy, but the three of them were too quick and efficient, so he couldn't get involved at all. He had no choice but to give up and leave with the ice jelly that Pei Yao had packed for him.
After packing their things, Pei Yao and the other two first found a wonton shop and ate a bowl of wontons to fill their stomachs before going to a pottery shop in town.
The lychee glutinous rice wine at home is almost ready to ferment, and Pei Yao plans to buy some small wine jars to store it.
The wine jars weren't hard to find; Pei Yao described them to the shopkeeper, and he immediately produced the ones she wanted.
Pei Yao bought more than twenty identical ones, and also bought some Xuan paper for sealing wine jars.
It was already past 2 PM when they finished shopping. On the way, Pei Yao and Niu Qingshan discussed that one oxcart was clearly not enough for everyone, so she wanted to rent another oxcart to deliver the goods.
Pei Yao was an outsider, so naturally she didn't know as many people as Niu Qingshan. Therefore, she thought of asking him if he knew anyone else who happened to have an oxcart, preferably someone who lived near Liangshui Village.
Niu Qingshan thought for a moment and remembered that there really was such a person, Liu Tie from the neighboring Liu Family Village. His family owned an oxcart. Liu Tie's family lived in Liu Family Village, which was next to Liangshui Well Village, about ten miles away on foot.
Since they would be passing through Liu Family Village on their way back to their village, the group discussed it and decided to go directly to Liu Tie's house to discuss the matter. If he was unwilling, Pei Yao could quickly find someone else.
After all, lychee wine also needs to be transported to the dock tomorrow, and Niu Qingshan's car definitely won't be able to fit it all.
When Pei Yao and the others arrived at Liujia Village, Liu Tie was tidying up the firewood he had just collected in the yard. He saw Niu Qingshan and greeted him with a smile. His face, tanned dark by the sun, wore a kind and honest smile.
Despite being the same age as Niu Qingshan, the boy's face was full of vicissitudes, and his hair had turned gray. He looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a tired expression.
He looks like an honest and hardworking farmer.
Liu Tie was shy and insecure, and rarely spoke to girls or people in general. But when he saw Pei Yao, a girl not much younger than him, his face turned bright red, and he began to stammer, "Da Niu, you... how come you have time to see me? My mother said you've been... doing business lately. Aren't you busy?"
Liu Tie scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"No rush, I came to see you today because I have something to tell you..." Knowing that Pei Yao was in a hurry to go back, Niu Qingshan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
Niu Qingshan first introduced Pei Yao and Chen Fang to him, and then told him about Pei Yao's desire to rent his car. Since there were only a lot of goods when delivering in the morning, and Niu Qingshan's car was enough for the return trip, Liu Tie only needed to help with one delivery trip in the morning when there were a lot of goods. The Pei family would give him 350 wen per month.
Pei Yao had asked beforehand if this was the normal price for a chartered car.
Fortunately, Liu Tie was very happy to hear that he could earn 300 coins a month and only needed to make this one trip.
He readily agreed and picked them up from the Pei family courtyard in Liangshui Village every morning to take them to town.
Liu Tie was just a farmer. His family was poor and didn't own a fishing boat. All they had was an old yellow ox that his father had bought a few years ago before he passed away, a few acres of barren land, and an old mother who depended on him for survival. Liu's mother was also in poor health and had to take medicine every few days, which made the already poor family even worse off.
So Liu Tie's family was so poor that even rats would leave with tears in their eyes if they came in.
Liu's mother couldn't bear to see her son suffer, so she was always reluctant to waste money on medicine.
Liu Tie was a filial son, and he couldn't bear to see his mother not seeking medical treatment in order to save money for him.
He could only go to town to find work and earn some money to pay for his mother's medical treatment. However, there was a lot of work to be done at home and in the fields, so Liu Tie couldn't work every day. He could only go to the town's dock to help move goods and do hard labor to supplement his family's income when the farm work was not busy. But even for the low-paid porters, there were usually more monks than porridge, so there was never enough work to do every time.
With such a stable income, how could Liu Tie possibly refuse?
Upon hearing that her son had a stable income, Liu Tie's mute mother, who was standing behind the door, was so grateful that she didn't know what to say. She rubbed her hands together, at a loss for words, and then came over to kneel down and kowtow to Chen Fang and the others in gratitude.
Although Liu's mother was clearly in her thirties, her face was etched with the marks of time. If Niu Qingshan hadn't told Pei Yao and the others about Liu Tie's family situation beforehand, Pei Yao wouldn't have recognized her as a woman at all; she looked more like an old woman...
Everyone was startled by Liu's mother's action and quickly helped her up.
Chen Fang said, "Sister, there's no need for that. We need Liu Tieqian to help us deliver goods."
Liu's mother couldn't speak, so she could only frantically make gestures that Chen Fang and the others couldn't understand, but Liu Tie could understand them.
He explained to everyone with a choked voice, "My mother said thank you for giving me work. She has nothing to repay you with, so she can only kneel down and kowtow to you."
Pei Yao quickly waved her hand, refusing to let her kneel, and Liu's mother had no choice but to give up after a few insistences.
Liu's mother gestured for them to wait a moment, then went inside and took out the only two very small eggs in the house, carefully placing them in Pei Yao's hands.
These were wild eggs that Liu Tie had picked up in the mountains before, and she hadn't been able to bear to eat them.
Liu's mother looked at Chen Fang and the others with sincere eyes; she was truly grateful to them.
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