"Can you make it any cheaper? Three hundred coins is indeed a bit expensive." This three hundred coins was the cost of renting a stall on the street for Xichun. The county town is different from the town. You have to go to the county government to rent a stall in advance, which is also considered a stall fee, instead of you occupying it first and then paying.
After discussing it back and forth for a while, the two finally managed to lower the price to 270 coins. With the help of a middleman, Xichun paid three months' rent and felt relieved.
In the backyard of Xichun's house, the bok choy that had been sown had already sprouted tender green seedlings, while inside the house, the vegetables that Xichun had planted were still growing vigorously. Fortunately, the two robbers did not dare to make too much noise when they came, otherwise these vegetables would not have been safe either.
She tidied up all the things that needed to be cleaned in the house. When Aunt Zhang and the others reached the later stage of spring plowing, they could go to the county town. Uncle Zhang stayed at home to guard the fields and did not plan to go to the city to do business with Xichun and the others.
Therefore, the rest of the work can be left to him alone, and Aunt Zhang and Taozi will also be able to free up some time.
Aunt Zhang's family also had a cart. That morning, even Uncle Liu and the others came to help move things. There wasn't much furniture in the rented house, so they took everything they could from their own home.
As the group walked through the village, many people were curious about the things that looked like they were being moved. When they heard that Xichun and her friends were going to the city to do business, everyone suddenly understood.
"Taozi, will you live in the city from now on?" Taozi's friends, who usually played with him, were filled with envy when they heard that he was going to go to the city with Xichun to work as a shop assistant.
Many of them had never been to the county town in their lives, while others had only visited it once or twice. Xichun, that girl, has really made something of herself.
When Wang heard that Xichun was going to the city, she also came to find her. Wang's belly was getting bigger and bigger. She had heard Xichun say that when robbers broke into her house, Ma Dawei had also come to help. This made Xichun's opinion of him change a bit.
Ma Xiaobao stared at Taozi with envy. He felt a little regretful. If he hadn't bullied Xichun back then, would he have been able to become like Taozi?
“Xichun, if anything happens when you go to the city, remember to come back and let me know. A young lady shouldn’t be so reckless. If you really have difficulties, come back. People in the city are very arrogant and easy to bully.” Madam Wang said a lot of words of advice.
"Mother, don't worry, I'll come back often. You should go home now; it's inconvenient for you to be pregnant." Xichun replied and then left.
Watching her retreating figure, Wang knew that this child was a very opinionated person. She couldn't ask for too much, and only hoped that she could live a peaceful and smooth life.
After pushing the cart for three hours, they finally arrived at the county town. Everyone entering the county town had to pay one coin, which Xichun paid for.
After putting their things in the rented house and tidying them up, it was already afternoon, and Uncle Zhang and the others went back together.
Qiangzi knew they were coming today, so when it was time to rest, he came over to help clean. There was a pear tree in the yard, and Xichun looked at the flower buds that were about to sprout, her heart filled with hope.
This is another starting point for her, but not the end. In the future, she will work hard to make money so that no one will dare to bully her anymore. Ideally, she will buy a house in the county town and hire a few people. That would be the best outcome.
The four of them tidied up until nightfall. Qiangzi didn't go back; he and Taozi stayed in a room in the courtyard. Xichun and Aunt Zhang each had a room, with the middle room used to store vegetables and eggs, and the remaining space was cleared out specifically for storing firewood.
To ward off malicious people, Xichun even asked the villagers to get some thorny firewood and scattered it in every corner of the yard. If someone who didn't know better jumped down from the yard wall, they would definitely get pricked.
Xichun and the village chief agreed that the village would deliver a batch of vegetables every three days, with payment upon delivery, and the amount would be adjusted according to the actual situation.
If they were going to make hot pot, the stoves they had prepared would not be enough, so Xichun decided to buy seven stoves at once, two for cooking herself and five for setting up a stall.
Taozi was also a diligent person. The group carried things into the house in trip after trip until everything was ready before they stopped to rest.
Xi Chun delivered a bowl of her homemade spicy hot pot to each of her neighbors. The neighbors were intrigued by their arrival and assumed they were a family.
"Are you here in the county town to do business?" The neighbor to Xichun's left was a family of five, also a widow with four children, surnamed An. The eldest son and daughter were not at home. Aunt An said they had gone to sell things nearby, so they were also doing business.
The other three children are too young and can only stay at home with Aunt An.
"Yes, we sell food. It's a small business, but there's not much profit to be made in town, so we came to the county to take a look," Aunt Zhang explained with a smile.
“That’s true. There are still quite a few people in the county town. If your food is delicious, you’ll still have business. These are homemade pancakes. You should try some,” Aunt An said with a smile.
Other families also accepted the kindness and returned a small gift, but none were as enthusiastic as Aunt An. As long as they were all well-mannered, Xichun felt at ease.
After preparing everything, they quickly set a date for opening. It was another dark morning when Xichun and the others were already loading things onto the cart. As they pushed the cart out, the An family next door opened their door, and two teenagers were also pushing a small cart, seemingly going to do business as well.
"You must be the family my mother mentioned who just moved here. Where are you going? Are you familiar with the way? If not, I'll take you there," An Wuji asked with a smile when he saw them.
"Thank you, sir. We know the way, so we'll be going now." Xichun thanked him for his hospitality and left.
"It seems this family is quite hardworking, going to do business so early in the morning," Aunt Zhang said to Xichun as they walked.
“Yes, no matter how hard things get, hardworking people won’t starve. Let’s go early and set everything up.” Xi Chun also prepared tea eggs this time. Although Manager Zhu’s restaurant also had them, their stall was not close to that restaurant, so there was little overlap in customers.
As soon as they set up their stall, people around them looked over curiously. Xichun took the boiled tea eggs and gave one to each stall. You can't refuse a smiling face; it's always good to be polite.
Sure enough, fewer people stared at them, and Xichun and her team gradually started to receive more customers.
Taozi had already practiced with Xichun in town, and since he is an optimistic, cheerful, and eager-to-learn person, he handled the situation with ease.
Taozi lit both stoves, and the people around them were curious about what they were selling.
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