Since arriving in Yegou Village, this was Xingxing's first time leaving the village. She looked around curiously the whole way. At first, the mountain path was difficult to walk, so Zhou Laoda put her in a basket and carried her on his back.
When they reached the main road, they were lucky enough to flag down an oxcart. It cost two coins for adults and one coin for children, which meant they had spent nine coins. Zhao Guihua felt a pang of pain, but she didn't show it.
The oxcart traveled for about half an hour before finally arriving at the town gate of Shanshui Town. Entering the town only required a routine check, and if there were no problems, one could enter directly without paying an entrance fee.
When they arrived in town, the quintuplets kept their word and didn't run around. Erfu and Sifu each carried a basket of dried herbs on their backs, while Dafu and Sanfu each held Xingxing's hand on one side.
Wu Fu was somewhat tempted to go to the stall to take a look, but he had to hold back because he had no money and hadn't sold the herbs he brought.
Old Zhou also brought a basket of dried herbs to sell. His family had no other income and could only make money by selling herbs. If there was no natural disaster, they could also find short-term jobs in the town or county. However, there were too many refugees and labor was too cheap, so it was not worthwhile to work.
Thanks to Young Master Wang, the largest pharmacy in town now accepts Zhou Laoda's medicinal herbs, so the whole family went straight to the pharmacy as soon as they arrived in town.
This time, Zhou Laoda's basket of medicinal herbs sold for two taels of silver. The medicinal herbs brought by Erfu and Sifu had lower medicinal value, meaning they were easier to find, so their two baskets only sold for eight hundred coins.
Although it was less than they had imagined, the quintuplets were still very happy. Actually, it was quite a lot. Adult men who helped carry sacks at the docks typically earned around 100 coins a day, at most 200, and that was only on lucky days. 800 coins was really a lot.
"Sis, come on, I'll buy you everything!" Zhou Erfu waved his hand generously.
The other four brothers also urged Xingxing to hurry up and go with them to squander money.
"Don't run around, I'll take Xingxing with me." Zhao Guihua was worried about letting her daughter follow the five boys, so she held her tightly in her arms, afraid of losing her.
Xingxing felt helpless. She really wanted to get down and walk around, but when she got to town, her mother held her in her arms and wouldn't put her down. Xingxing didn't want her mother to worry, so she obediently let her mother hold her.
Afterwards, Zhou Laoda went to buy salt, while Zhao Guihua took the children to the cloth shop. After buying the cloth, they went to find someone to buy cotton. Due to the natural disaster, the price of cotton had indeed risen. The cotton and cloth used to make two sets of clothes for Xingxing cost one tael of silver.
The quintuplets treated us to lunch, and they also paid for the snacks we bought afterwards. They bought maltose, malt sugar, a pound of pastries, and six strings of candied hawthorns, which cost four hundred coins.
At this moment, the group arrived at a stall selling hair accessories. The five brothers were vying to choose a pretty hair accessory for their sister. However, although they were quintuplets, they each had different tastes.
Chow Tai Fook thinks the light blue hair accessory looks good, Chow Yee Fook thinks the bright red one looks good, Chow San Fook thinks the pink one looks good, Chow Si Fook thinks the light blue one looks good, and Chow Wu Fook thinks they all look good. It would be best to buy one of each color.
“I think it’s a good idea. That way, Xingxing can wear a different hair accessory every day.” Zhou Erfu thought it was a great idea.
The five Fus were all in agreement and were about to pay for the gifts, but Xingxing struggled to get down from Zhao Guihua's arms. She waved her hand and said, "I'll choose them myself. I don't need to buy so many, just two will do."
Finally, Xingxing chose two hair accessories, one light blue and one light pink, and bought a few hair ties, spending a total of ten coins.
"Mom, what kind of hair accessory do you like? Come over here, Xingxing will help you choose." Xingxing waved to Zhao Guihua, indicating that her brothers would pay for it and that her mother shouldn't hesitate to spend the money.
Zhao Guihua chuckled, a warm feeling welling up inside her. She said softly, "Mother is already so old, why does she need to wear this? These are for young girls."
"Is that so?" Xingxing tilted her head and thought for a moment. Then, seeing a woman passing by, her eyes lit up. "I know! Mother wants to wear a silver hairpin. Look, that aunt is wearing a hairpin."
Where would she get the money to buy that? Her little girl really has wild ideas.
“Mom is different from them. They live in town, while we live in the village. We have to work every day and go up the mountain. Jewelry is easy to fall off. Do you see how many people in the village wear jewelry?” Zhao Guihua said with a light laugh, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes as she spoke.
What woman doesn't love jewelry? But their family simply couldn't afford it, and they had to be frugal with their daily expenses.
She was insightful and didn't easily compare herself to others. She believed that being alive in this world was a matter of luck, and that material possessions could be earned slowly. Even if she couldn't earn them, she didn't need to be too upset. After all, life had to go on, and it was enough for the family to be together, healthy, and free from illness.
Xingxing tugged at her sleeve, gesturing for her to lower her head. "Mother, Xingxing will work hard to earn lots of money, then buy a big house in town, bring you and Father to live there, and then buy you a silver hairpin to wear."
"My good daughter, your father and I won't have to worry about the rest of our lives. We are so happy." Zhao Guihua didn't take Xingxing's words seriously, but she felt comforted. Indeed, only daughters are truly caring, while sons are just there to collect debts.
Old Zhou, listening from the side, was also delighted, chuckling and scratching his head. It's so good to have a daughter. Looking at his five rascals, they had already run next door to buy meat buns. All they know is eating, eating, eating. They only care about food and have no regard for their parents.
The return journey would take half an hour on the official road and half an hour on the mountain path. With the sun gradually setting in the west, the group dared not delay any longer, fearing they would not be able to return before dark.
"Let's see if there's an oxcart going the same way. Taking an oxcart would be faster." If it were just the two of them walking, it wouldn't be a problem, but with the children around, Zhao Guihua didn't want to tire them out.
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