Pei Yao glanced at them, a faint smile on her face:
"Ladies, please come and eat with us. I made extra today."
Those people did not move after hearing Pei Yao's words.
Chen Fang also called out, "Zhang Niangzi, come and have some with us. Yao'er specially made some for you."
The look of confusion in those people's eyes turned into shock.
Some people couldn't believe it: "We're getting a share too?"
After all, they already have sixty coins a day, and now they even get to eat big steamed buns!
Pei Yao nodded: "Ladies, come and eat quickly, or it won't be soft when it gets cold."
Although those people couldn't believe it, they still involuntarily moved their feet and moved closer.
Pei Yao made very large steamed buns, and she and Chen Fang gave one to everyone.
"If that's not enough, there's more here."
After Pei Yao finished speaking, she turned to the people at the Liangshui Well behind her and said, "Aunties, if you don't have enough to eat, there are steamed buns here too."
The woman from Liangshui Village and Pei Yao were from the same village, and they were quite familiar with each other.
Upon hearing Pei Yao's words, everyone responded with a smile.
Each family brought different dishes, and when they sat down, everyone was taking turns eating them.
Everyone who ate the steamed buns praised the Pei family's buns as being extremely delicious, especially when paired with pickled cabbage and minced meat.
This was the first time they had ever eaten such delicious steamed buns; they were soft, fluffy, and sweet.
Especially the pickled cabbage and minced meat dish; Zhang Niangzi thought to herself that she hadn't eaten meat for over a year.
I've long forgotten what pork flavor tastes like.
It smells so good...
She had never even eaten such soft steamed buns before.
Zhang Niangzi reluctantly held the steamed bun in her hand, ate half of it, and carefully wrapped the remaining half with some minced meat in a banana leaf before putting it in her pocket.
Pei Yao noticed Zhang Niangzi's behavior. She had overheard the other women gossiping about Zhang Niangzi's family situation.
I know that Madam Zhang has had a hard life and hasn't had a good time these past few years.
So seeing her behavior, one can guess that she was probably thinking of taking it back to her three children to eat.
Pei Yao took three more steamed buns from the basket, and then put some pickled cabbage and minced meat in a banana leaf.
"Zhang Niangzi, here you go. We made too much and there's still a lot left. Take it back for your child to eat."
Pei Yao handed the steamed buns wrapped in banana leaves to Zhang Niangzi.
Madam Zhang was taken aback. She looked at Pei Yao in disbelief and quickly declined:
"How can you do that, Miss Pei? You should keep this steamed bun for yourself."
These days, food is very precious; every bite we eat is one less bite we have left.
Therefore, Madam Zhang dared not accept it.
Pei Yao smiled when she saw him decline and placed the steamed bun in her hand.
“Madam Zhang, please take it. There are still quite a few left in the basket. It’s hot now, and they won’t keep for long. It would be a waste if you didn’t take them.”
After hearing Pei Yao's words, Madam Fang hesitated for a moment before accepting the steamed bun.
Her voice choked with emotion: "Thank you, Miss Pei, you're such a good person."
Pei Yao's smile remained unchanged. She had originally intended to remind Zhang Niangzi to eat the steamed bun she had just left in her arms.
But after thinking about it, I didn't say anything.
There were some things I was afraid of saying that might hurt Zhang Niangzi's pride.
The poor also have self-respect...
Pei Yao didn't say much and went back to clean up the mess everyone had made.
There wasn't much to collect, because everyone cleaned up after they finished eating.
The tide had almost gone out, and everyone got busy again.
......
The sun rose and set several times.
The Pei family lived their lives in an orderly manner, with Chen Fang in charge of drying the ribbons every day.
Pei Yao then began delivering the goods that Gu Mingqian had requested to him in batches.
First, he packed the prickly pear seeds he wanted and the brewed lychee wine separately. Since the lychee wine was stored in a large vat, the steps were also reduced.
However, Gu Mingqian wanted a lot, so the workload was still quite large.
After thinking about it, Pei Yao finally found someone in the village to help her.
With the help of others, everything was installed quickly.
Gu Mingqian's boat remained at the original dock location.
When Pei Yao and Gu Dalang arrived at the dock, it was much quieter because no members of the Pei family were setting up stalls there anymore.
Gu Mingqian wasn't there; he must have gone out.
Fortunately, the butler who had been following Gu Mingqian was there. He accepted the goods and then went to get the silver notes for Pei Yao.
After saying goodbye to the housekeeper, Pei Yao and Pei Dalang walked back together.
She plans to go to Deyun Restaurant today; she's been so busy lately that she hasn't been there in a while.
When Pei Yao went to Deyun Restaurant, Manager Qian had just finished his work.
Pei Yao smiled brightly at him: "Uncle Qian."
Shopkeeper Qian walked over with a smile: "Miss Pei, haven't you been setting up your stall at the docks these past few days?"
Pei Yao nodded: "It's true that nothing can be hidden from Uncle Qian."
Shopkeeper Qian waved his hand and said, "No, it's just that when I asked Gou Dan to go to the dock to look for you yesterday, he said he didn't see you. He heard from the shopkeepers at the next stall that you haven't been setting up your stalls for the past few days."
Manager Qian paused for a moment, then asked, "Has something happened at home?"
"No, it's just that I've been too busy with family business lately and couldn't get away to come, so I couldn't make it."
Pei Yao explained.
Shopkeeper Qian nodded, and when she said she was alright, he didn't say anything more.
Pei Yao: "Uncle Qian, did you send Brother Gou Dan to the dock to find me yesterday because of something?"
Manager Qian poured Pei Yao a cup of tea: "Yes, there is something I need to discuss."
Pei Yao accepted the tea and thanked her.
"The other day, you asked me to inquire about a few people."
Pei Yao's face lit up with joy: "You found out?"
Shopkeeper Qian nodded: "I heard yesterday that he's working at a salt field below Meilin Town, but..."
Shopkeeper Qian glanced at Pei Yao, who asked in confusion, "But what? Has something happened?"
Manager Qian nodded: "I heard that old man Liu caught a cold recently, and the saltworks didn't send him a doctor. His condition isn't very good..."
Seeing Pei Yao's furrowed brows, Manager Qian offered words of comfort:
"But you don't need to worry too much. I know people at the saltworks, so after hearing the news yesterday, I asked someone to invite a doctor to examine him and prescribe medicine. However, the environment at the saltworks is not good, so it's not suitable for recuperating. If we can get him out as soon as possible, we should do so."
After listening to Manager Qian's words, Pei Yao pondered for a moment.
He then asked, "Uncle Qian, how much silver is needed to redeem one person?"
Although the officials had previously said they would charge one hundred taels of silver per person, the Liu family was large and they couldn't raise enough. Even if he lent it to them, it would still be a huge debt in the future.
I just heard from Manager Qian that he knows someone there, so I was thinking of seeing if I could get a discount if I do.
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