"Ah—ah—"
The silver was quite heavy, which made Tuanzi very unhappy. She cried out twice and clenched her chubby hand into a fist, punching Zuo Li straight in the cheek.
"Oh ho, you're not afraid of me? What, not satisfied with this gift? Your Uncle Zuo will exchange it for gold when he earns more silver!"
A baby's hands are like they have no bones, so no matter how much you hit them, it won't hurt.
Zuo Li was extremely excited. He touched Tuanzi's chubby face through the soft cloth, very carefully.
"Ahhh—"
Tuanzi barked twice more, seemingly in protest.
"So cute, I want to steal her home! Aunt Yan, if you ever don't want to take care of your granddaughter anymore, just leave her with me and I'll look after her for a couple of days."
"Haha, sure, I'll take care of Tuanzi for you when she can walk. Don't find her annoying then." Yan Xia laughed heartily in response.
"I'd love you so much, how could I possibly dislike you? Your name is Tuanzi, right? Uncle Zuo will wait for you to grow up well, and then Uncle Zuo will carry you around to patrol the streets and let you be as impressive as you want."
Zuo Li touched Tuanzi's chubby little face again, this time without the cloth in between.
His hands were a little rough.
Tuanzi's face was so tender that Zuo Li felt like he was touching a piece of incredibly soft tofu.
I was afraid it would get damaged.
He quickly withdrew his hand.
"Oh dear, why isn't Tuanzi barking anymore? Do you want to ride on your Uncle Zuo's head and show off too? This little rascal is quite clever." Yan Xia took Tuanzi from the nanny's arms, gently pinched her little face, and scolded her with a smile.
"Xiao Li, don't just stand there, come inside and sit down. Someone, help Zuo Yachai to a seat, and don't forget to pour tea!" Yan Xia instructed the gatekeeper.
Zuo Li was welcomed inside.
Guests came in a steady stream.
Yan Xia felt her face was about to freeze from smiling. Today's guests included regular customers of the shop, newly made friends, and couples from the village, filling the entire front yard.
Not only that, the county magistrate's wife also sent someone to deliver a gift.
They gave Yan Xia plenty of face.
From the front gate of the Yan residence, one can see the twin bridges on the city wall.
A woman was standing on the bridge, holding a child and selling dried wild mushrooms and wild fruits, but these two things were so common that no one bought them at all.
It was already close to noon.
The sun grew increasingly intense, and the woman, drenched in sweat, leaned against the bridge, holding her child, her body swaying precariously.
But for the sake of making a living, she gritted her teeth and endured it.
"Selling, selling dried wild mushrooms, selling wild fruits, cheap sale—" the woman shouted, her face flushed.
But passersby only glanced at her and didn't even stop walking.
The baby in her arms whimpered and cried.
The woman was exhausted and hot, and she looked around.
But he met Xiao He's gaze as she stood at the gate of the Yan residence.
"Mother, that looks like Zhao Yuefang."
Xiaohe said to Yanxia.
"Yes, it really is her. Why is she standing on the bridge with a child on such a hot day? It looks like she's selling something."
Yan Xia looked in the direction Xiao He pointed. She frowned slightly. Didn't she give Zhao Yuefang an ounce of silver and twenty catties of rice before? Why was she standing in the scorching sun with her child selling things in this hot weather? Did she not have money? Oh well, she's not her wife. She can control others for a while, but can she control them for a lifetime?
"It's better to help in an emergency than to support someone who's always been poor," Yan Xia said, not wanting to get involved this time. "Forget it, let's go inside. It's almost time to eat." She then looked away, no longer glancing at her.
"Okay, Mom, you go in first, I'll be right there."
Yan Xia nodded and went inside first, while Xiao He whispered a few instructions to the maid beside her.
Zhao Yuefang, standing on the bridge, was stunned. Sweat dripped from her face to her lips, and she licked it with her tongue; it tasted incredibly salty.
They were from the same village. She was dressed in rags like a beggar, and was almost fainting from the sun. She hadn't sold a single copper coin. On the other hand, Shi Xiaohe, who had married Jin Fu, was dressed in gorgeous clothes, looking like a rich young lady. She didn't dare to look closely at her.
The two were separated by only one road, but Zhao Yuefang felt as if they were worlds apart.
She looked away, lowered her head, and continued hawking her wares.
"Selling dried wild mushrooms and wild fruits! Cheap sale, only one copper coin a bag!"
The sound was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
The son in her arms had already cried himself to sleep.
“I’ll take all of these. It’s too hot outside, so you shouldn’t hold the baby in the sun.”
Suddenly, a girl with her hair in two buns stood in front of Zhao Yuefang. She had round eyes and chubby cheeks, and it was clear that she was used to eating good food. She was a little chubby, but not ugly.
She has two dimples when she smiles, a very auspicious appearance.
"Really? You want them all? Thank you so much, miss. These will only cost you twenty copper coins."
In front of Zhao Yuefang was a basket, which contained packets of dried wild mushrooms and wild fruits wrapped in leaves.
A total of twenty-one packs.
She rounded it down to zero.
"I don't have any spare coins, so take all of these. It's too hot outside, so don't bring the kids out to suffer. Here, take these. I'll take the things, and you can keep the bamboo basket too, otherwise I can't carry it."
She handed Zhao Yuefang a small piece of silver, about half an ounce.
After saying that, he shouldered his bamboo basket and left.
Zhao Yuefang then realized what was happening and hurriedly turned around, wanting to call out to the girl.
But then the girl walked to the entrance of the Yan residence, said a few words to Shi Xiaohe, and then the two went inside together.
Zhao Yuefang is not stupid.
She gripped the loose silver coins tightly in her hand, biting her lower lip until it turned white.
"Waaaaah—" The son in her arms cried loudly, attracting the attention of the people setting up stalls nearby.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Zhao Yuefang took her child off the bridge and quickly left.
She was coaxing her son as she walked.
"Oh!"
"Don't cry, my good boy, Mommy will feed you milk right away, okay, don't cry, my boy—"
Zhao Yuefang found a deserted alley and went inside.
She squatted down against the wall, untied the drawstring of her clothes, and lifted them up to breastfeed her son.
She didn't get dressed and stand up again until both breasts were emptied.
The family's money had long been spent. Not long ago, her son fell ill and spent all the one tael of silver that Yan Xia had given him.
Not only that, but half of the rice was also sold.
She then replaced the remaining rice with cheaper, higher-volume brown rice.
This way it can last longer.
Her son had a big appetite and was quite chubby. If she didn't eat more, she wouldn't have enough breast milk for him to drink. So she simply took her son to the mountains every day to pick mushrooms and dig for wild vegetables. Because Gaoshan was bought by Yan Xia.
She could only search in the mountains outside the village.
She was lucky yesterday and found a wild fruit tree, so she picked a lot of fruit and brought it back.
Before dawn today, I carried a bamboo basket and my son all the way to town.
Because they had no money, they had to walk the whole way.
It was already morning when we arrived.
It's just to make some money and buy some meat to nourish myself.
She ate wild vegetable porridge every day, and her breast milk was almost gone. Her son cried every night because he was hungry.
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