"Okay, I definitely won't let you down!" Madam Yu nodded.
Li Mai nodded, stood up, glanced at Zhou Lei, and prepared to leave.
The fisherwoman suddenly asked, "Li Mai, have you recently needed a lot of money?"
Li Mai smiled and said, "Yes, but not much. There will be a shortfall of fifty taels in a month. However, this is not a problem. Madam, you don't need to worry about me. You just focus on making our lover's hairpins. I'll be waiting for your good news."
After saying that, Li Mai turned back, smiled at her, and left.
Madam Yu originally wanted to say that if you need money, I can lend you one hundred taels first, but after hearing Li Mai's words, she realized that the girl meant to refuse.
Zhou Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief when they went outside and walked on the street.
Li Mai turned around and gave him a wry smile. "What's wrong?"
"Sister-in-law, you're terrifying! You actually said a thousand taels. I never even dreamed of that number," Zhou Lei said, still shaken.
Li Mai smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of? I have my reasons, and the other party has their considerations. She can refuse or accept; it depends on her magnanimity. But as the ones who have contributed, we should naturally take charge of our own craftsmanship. If I believe my work is worth that much, then it is worth it."
“If she refuses, I can choose not to cooperate with her. At least our products are still there, and someone will recognize their value. Remember, little brother, the bigger your heart, the bigger your stage; the bigger your eyes, the bigger your world.”
Ten-year-old Zhou Lei could understand some of his sister-in-law's words, but he couldn't comprehend others. However, he kept her words firmly in his heart.
After they went outside, they saw Uncle Wuping's oxcart across the street.
The people on the other side breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two of them finally come out.
After they walked over, everyone first looked at Li Mai's expression. Seeing the smile on her face, they felt reassured.
Because there were outsiders present, Old Man Zhou and Zhou Tao wisely refrained from asking any questions.
"Mom, are we going home now?" Zhuzhu asked happily, jumping around in the shade on the ground.
"Okay, let's go home. Oh, right, let's go buy some gifts for Nan Nan and Dong Dong first, and see if our brother-in-law is here on the way!" Li Mai reminded everyone.
"Okay!" Old Man Zhou replied, carrying Zhuzhu onto the oxcart. Zhou Lei and Zhou Tao followed, and finally Li Mai also got on the oxcart.
Uncle Wuping and Old Man Zhou remained seated on either side of the cart shafts as they walked toward the street where groceries and food were sold.
Finally, they bought two boxes of pastries, two boxes of dried fruit, and a basket of peaches for Nan Nan and Dong Dong, and walked towards an open space at the end of the street.
Of course, Li Mai also bought a portion of each of these for her family. The reason she bought two portions for her eldest sister's family was that one portion was for the elders.
The open space at the end is where several people set up stalls.
The people selling things here are all from nearby villages. They usually set up their stalls in the morning and go home in the afternoon.
It's noon now, around 1-3 PM. They don't know if their brother-in-law Xu Shun has gone back yet. They can only try their luck there.
Zhou Quan had already sat up and was sitting next to Li Mai, the two of them talking in hushed tones.
Li Mai told him about her conversation with Mrs. Yu earlier. Old Man Zhou and Uncle Wuping were chatting outside, so they couldn't hear what the two of them were saying.
After hearing this, Zhou Quan's lips twitched. Even after years of working outside, he had never dared to open his mouth so wide in front of someone. He realized that his little wife was truly bold.
"Oh no! Your brother-in-law is being harassed!" Suddenly, the oxcart stopped, and Old Man Zhou shouted.
Upon hearing this, Li Mai said to Zhou Quan, "Lie down, I'll go down and take a look!"
After saying that, she stopped pretending to be a lady, and jumped down from the carriage while supporting herself with one hand.
Zhou Quan: ......
So, is your wife a martial arts expert?
Zhou Lei followed suit and jumped down.
Zhou Tao was about to go downstairs when Zhou Quan quickly grabbed her, saying, "Don't go down and cause trouble."
Zhou Tao: ......
At this time, there were still three stalls left in this area that hadn't been closed. One was selling sweet potatoes, and another was selling old cloth, which looked like the kind of coarse, bluish-gray cloth that families wove at home.
The other one was Xu Shun's bamboo weaving stall.
Meanwhile, in front of the bamboo weaving stall, two women and three men were causing trouble.
Two women were smashing things on the stall, while three men were grabbing Xu Shun and beating him.
"Stop!" Old Man Zhou shouted angrily.
The three men looked up, one of them still unconsciously stepping on Xu Shun's chest. The three men looked at Old Man Zhou with unfriendly expressions.
"Where did you come from, you old codger? What, trying to meddle in our business?"
"You old geezer, do you believe that if you say another word, this swindler's ribs will break in the middle of the night?"
"Boss, stop wasting time talking to them. Let's avenge your wife and kill this brat."
Li Mai glanced at the items on the stall: three bamboo baskets, two bamboo crates, several small bamboo wicker baskets, and two winnowing baskets that had been trampled and broken by the two women.
Great, my brother-in-law is going to make a fortune.
"You people, in broad daylight, have you no regard for the law? You'll go to jail for bullying small business owners like this!" Old Man Zhou tried to rush over to save Xu Shun.
When Li Mai saw that this old man with his frail arms and legs was still charging forward, she realized that if he got hurt, her family wouldn't even have someone to carry water for them every morning.
"Dad, you rest for a bit, I'll take care of these scoundrels." Li Mai picked up a bamboo pole from Xu Shun's jar, which was used to organize things, and flew up with the pole, rushing towards the three ruffians.
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