Although it was a drop in the ocean compared to twenty taels, she still felt a little heartache.
The wontons still tasted the same as before, and Ye Lingyu was momentarily lost in thought.
She brushed her bangs aside with her hand. Although she had washed her face today, she deliberately made her hair a little messy to cover her face.
After finishing the wontons in her bowl, Cheng Qingyan looked around, searching for the things she wanted to buy.
First, they should buy clothes. The clothes she and Ye Lingyu are wearing can be saved for when they are busy working in the fields.
After Ye Lingyu finished eating, Cheng Qingyan asked the wonton stall owner, "Grandpa, where can I buy clothes around here?"
The old lady chuckled and pointed west: "Go west, there's a house at the end of the road."
"Okay, thank you!"
Ye Lingyu was pulled to the clothing store, a shop she knew.
Heading west, the pedestrian traffic decreases considerably compared to the main street.
Cheng Qingyan felt like she was visiting an ancient town, but unlike others, she was actually in ancient times.
Sure enough, as we approached the end of the road, a tailor shop appeared on our right.
Cheng Qingyan pulled Ye Lingyu, who was standing at the door and wouldn't go in, into the shop. The shop owner was a woman. When she saw the customers enter, she put down what she was doing and went to greet them.
"What would you like to see, sir and madam? We have ready-made and custom-made clothing available."
The walls were covered with ready-made clothes and rows of fabrics, which dazzled Cheng Qingyan.
"Boss, please help me and my wife choose two sets of autumn/winter clothes."
Upon hearing that this was a major customer, the proprietress smiled even more broadly.
"This lady is so blessed to have such a loving husband. Would you like to see one set on the left and one set on the right?"
On the left is a light green ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), a very gentle color. On the right is a set with a red belt; the dress is red and white, and it looks quite nice.
Seeing that Ye Lingyu remained silent, Cheng Qingyan simply took the item off her and let her go in to try it out.
She also chose a navy blue long gown and a robe similar to a round-necked robe.
When Ye Lingyu came out after changing her clothes, she had already come out as well.
It caught her eye, but Ye Lingyu's hair still covered her face.
"It's alright, these are all the sets. We also need two sets of undergarments and two sets of coarse cloth clothes for working."
When they finally settled the bill, it cost two taels of silver. The proprietress was very kind and gave each of them a pair of shoes and a hair tie as a gift.
Cheng Qingyan didn't take off his long robe this time; he changed into new clothes from head to toe. Of course, he didn't let Ye Lingyu take hers off either; new clothes, of course, had to be worn.
Today was supposed to be a big shopping day; I wouldn't call it extravagance, but at least I needed to make sure I had the most basic necessities.
I also bought some seasonings, and finally bought a piece of pork belly wrapped in lotus leaves, which weighed at least five pounds!
She carried new and old clothes on her back, while Ye Lingyu's basket contained pork belly and seasonings.
Then I bought pots, bowls, chopsticks, and kettles – these are essential daily necessities that can't be skimped on.
I bought four quilts and plan to gradually add household items.
She took the little things to the old man's teahouse in town, and left the iron pot and bedding in the shop, waiting for the old man to come before loading them into the car.
She paid the old man ten coins and then stopped asking him to ferry other people to help her and Ye Lingyu deliver their things home. She paid him two more coins for that.
That's bad; the oxcart almost couldn't fit everything.
But it was also comfortable. All these things together, without spending all five taels of silver, could solve most of their problems in life, which was well worth it.
Throughout the journey, Cheng Qingyan never complained about the bumpy ride again, as she was sitting on a new mattress.
Ye Lingyu thought that she would make up the mattress for herself.
When the old man drove the oxcart into the village, the villagers saw that it was Cheng Qingyan and Ye Lingyu, and they couldn't help but gossip and point fingers.
Some people started asking, "Cheng San, now that you have money, hurry up and pay it back! If you don't pay back the money, you can take something as collateral!"
"That's right, Cheng San, when are you going to pay back the money you owe us?"
"The Cheng family should have returned it to us by now, right? You already have the money to buy these things."
Cheng Qingyan looked at Ye Lingyu: "Wife, we can return them, but we need to get our fields back."
Ye Lingyu nodded: "Please invite the village chief over. My husband said he'll settle the accounts for you once he arrives."
When everyone heard that Cheng Qingyan, the deadbeat, was going to pay back his debts, they rushed to find the village chief.
The village chief is Meng Qiuliang, the old man who used to stroll by the river.
After the village chief arrived, a large number of people gathered at Cheng Qingyan's house.
Those who owed money and those who didn't all came to watch the spectacle, turning the once quiet and deserted little courtyard into a bustling place.
Cheng Qingyan moved a wooden stump to the village chief. Although there were other elderly people in the village, there were only two wooden stumps in the house that were barely enough for people to sit on, so she had no other choice.
The village chief looked around at the crowd and noticed that many people were smiling and pointing at Cheng Qingyan.
After sitting down, he rubbed his legs and said, "Cheng San and Madam Cheng, stop busying yourselves. Tell me, what important matter has you called everyone over here?"
Cheng Qingyan looked at Ye Lingyu, who then pushed her.
At this point, how could we let Ye Lingyu make the decision? What would others think of Cheng Qingyan afterward? Don't forget, this is an era where men are superior to women.
Cheng Qingyan cleared his throat: "Ahem, ahem, village chief. I invited you here today to be a witness. In the past, I, Cheng Qingyan, have been a bit of a scoundrel and have done many things that have angered the public."
"Everyone should be here today. The main purpose is to pay back the money we owed you all."
"Moreover, no matter how much money we owe you before, each household will pay an extra ten coins."
When they heard that the money would be returned, everyone was still whispering among themselves. But when they heard that each household would receive an extra ten coins, the crowd erupted in cheers.
You should know that some families only lent out ten coins.
Someone asked, "Cheng San, are you telling the truth or not? We can't tell if you're telling the truth or lying."
"That's right, Cheng San, where did you get so much money?"
"Cheng San, you're not kidding us, are you?"
“They’ve added so many things to their home, if they dare not pay back the money, we’ll take their belongings as payment!”
"Speedy, you can use things to pay off the debt, didn't you do that before!"
Then someone else asked, "Cheng San, you're not out there committing crimes and trying to drag everyone down with you, are you?"
These words were like a bomb being dropped on the crowd.
Cheng Qingyan smiled faintly, looking down. These people's thoughts really do diverge very quickly.
"The reason we asked the village chief to be a witness today is to return everyone's money and, incidentally, take back our family's land."
Someone in the crowd objected: "No, there are still crops in the fields, we can't do it now."
"That's right, that's right. I knew you, Cheng San, had been up to no good. Turns out you were trying to get two acres of grain for nothing."
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