Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Come to ask for a fight
The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the county town was extremely lively.
It seemed that people from nearby villages took advantage of this day to rush to the county town. They came to the county town to purchase things needed for the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow, including food and daily necessities, and bought them all on this day.
Yu Li looked at the streets and alleys, which were even more lively than usual, and felt very novel.
The shops on both sides of the street are filled with goods, and people are coming in and out. The baskets or backpacks in their hands are full of things. I feel more and more that people in this world attach great importance to festivals.
No matter how poor a person is, they will try to squeeze out some extra money during the holidays to buy some seasonal food and have a good meal.
Yu Jin tried hard to avoid the crowds, pointed to a pastry shop in front of her, and said, "Sister, I heard that the mooncakes here are delicious. Let's go quickly before they're sold out."
She heard from those people that after her business at the dock stabilized, she became familiar with the small vendors around her.
After hearing this, Yu Li decided to go there to buy it.
She took her sister's hand and walked towards the dim sum shop.
There were many people coming to the dim sum shop to buy mooncakes and pastries, and it was crowded.
Yu Li relied on her great strength, and wherever she passed, like Moses parting the sea, the people around her involuntarily made way to make way for her.
Yu Jin: “…”
Seeing those people who were pushed aside with confused looks on their faces, Yu Jin's face turned red, and then he couldn't help laughing.
It’s great to have a strong sister so I don’t have to squeeze with others.
When the two came out of the snack shop, their backpacks were filled with various mooncakes and pastries.
Of course, Yu Li bought more, after all, she wanted to eat it herself.
Mooncakes are a must-have food for the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are mooncakes with various fillings here. She wanted to try them all, so she bought them all.
I didn’t buy much turmeric, just one mooncake for each family member.
Although she has made some money from her business now, she has to save it. She wants to use the money to build a house when she has enough, and move away from the Yu family. This way, she won't have to live too close to Old Lady Yu and the others, and avoid the same thing that happened to Yu Zhu, causing her to be injured, happening again.
Since we can't live in harmony, it's better to stay away from each other and pretend that we don't see it.
After buying moon cakes, they went to buy sugar cakes, fresh fruits, etc.
Shanping County is located in the southernmost part of the Daqing Dynasty and has a warm climate. Every autumn, there are many ripe fruits. The nearby villagers will pick the various fruits they grow and sell them in the county town.
Yu Li bought some pears, dates, peaches, etc.
This peach ripens in autumn, has a crisp and sour taste.
In the end, the sisters' backpacks were full of things, and Yu Li even had a basket in her hand. The two of them came to the butcher's shop.
Liu was waiting for them at the butcher's shop.
When they came over, they saw Liu and Zhang Fu cleaning the yard.
Liu was a hardworking and capable person. She knew that Zhang Fu, the owner of the butcher shop, took good care of her two daughters. Whenever her second daughter got water from him, he would sell it to her at a low price. She was very grateful.
The first time she came to the butcher shop, she saw Yu Li cleaning the yard, so she rolled up her sleeves to help.
Later, every time she came, she would help with the work.
Seeing that they had bought a lot of things, Zhang Fu asked with a smile, "What did you buy?"
Yu Li said: "I bought many kinds of mooncakes with different fillings, Brother Zhang, you guys can try them too."
As she spoke, she put down the backpack, took out the mooncakes she had just bought, and handed them to Zhang Fu and Zhang Yaoping.
Zhang Fu wiped his hands clean, took a mooncake with meat filling, and said as he ate it, "Li Niang, why did you buy so many mooncakes with so many fillings? Except for the ones with meat filling, I think the other ones don't taste good."
Mooncakes with meat filling are salty, and he loves them.
Zhang Yaoping took a sweet one and retorted, "Uncle Qi, you are wrong. The ones with peanut and sesame filling are delicious. The ones with meat filling are not delicious at all."
Zhang Fu waved at him, "Go away, what do you kids know? Sweet mooncakes are not delicious!"
"You don't understand. You only like salty food. Eating too much salty food is not good for you."
"Hey, meat is so delicious. So what if I like salty food? Be careful not to damage your teeth if you eat so much sweet food."
Yu Jin smiled, she didn't expect that the two of them would argue over the salty and sweet taste of mooncakes.
When Liu saw that her eldest daughter also handed her a mooncake, she was a little flattered.
She was reluctant to eat it, so she broke off a small piece to taste it, gave some to her second daughter, and wrapped the rest in oil paper, intending to take it home for her two younger daughters.
After eating mooncakes, everyone chatted for a while, then cleaned the yard, and Yu Li, Yu Jin and Liu prepared to leave.
Zhang Fu said to Yu Li, "Mother Li, tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. We have to slaughter a pig in the morning. I'd like to trouble you to come and help."
During festivals, more people come to buy meat. Even the poorest people will grit their teeth and cut some meat to add to their dishes. They even have to slaughter two more pigs.
Yu Li responded to him, saying that he understood and would come over tomorrow.
She left the butcher's shop with Yu Jin and Liu, and after leaving the city, they took a mule cart back to the village.
Yu Jin bought a lot of things today, and it would be too tiring for them to carry them all the way back, so they decided to take a mule cart back to the village.
The price of a mule cart is three cents per person, so it is affordable to ride it occasionally.
The owner of the mule cart was the third son of the village head.
The head of the village is surnamed Zhou, which is a common surname in Qingshi Village. Yu Jin and her friends usually call the mule cart owner Zhou Sanshu.
Last night, Yu Jin went to the headman's house to say hello and asked Uncle Zhou San to wait for them at noon so that they could take a bus back.
There were quite a few people riding in the mule carts, including several villagers from Qingshi Village, who had come to the county town specially for shopping today. The backpacks they put on the carts were full and covered with cloth.
Seeing the mother and her two daughters coming over, they greeted them with a smile.
"Oh, it's you. What did you buy? Look, the backpack is full."
The person who spoke was Aunt Guihua, who also came to the county town today.
In fact, what Old Lady Yu said was not wrong. Aunt Guihua was quite lazy, both lazy and greedy. She usually rushed to do easy work like purchasing in the county town.
In addition, she loves to gossip and whenever there is any disturbance in the village, she is always involved.
As Aunt Guihua spoke, she reached out to lift the cloth covering the backpack that Yu Jin had placed next to her, but was held down by a hand.
Yu Jin pulled her hand away and said, "Aunt Guihua, I have a lot of stuff here, don't open it casually, or it will fall out."
Although she was clearly rejected, Aunt Guihua was not angry. She smiled and said, "Mrs. Jin, I heard that you are selling grain rice in the county town recently. How is your business? Can you teach me? I also want to do some business and make some money to supplement the family income."
Hearing this, everyone in the mule cart looked over and was also tempted.
The fact that Yu Jin went to the county town to sell mixed-grain rice could not be concealed, and the villagers soon found out.
Most people are envious. After all, who doesn't want to make money? But although they are envious, not many dare to do so. When they go to the county town to buy things, they are usually timid and fearful, not to mention going to the county town to do business. They don't have the brains or the courage.
Therefore, everyone thinks that Yu Jin is very brave and powerful.
Not only Yu Jin, but also Yu Li, who found a job as a pig slaughterer in the county town, is equally powerful.
These two sisters are people that everyone will definitely mention when chatting.
Now when the villagers get together to chat, they will say that the daughter of the second branch of the Yu family is very capable and can find food for herself. Although some people also say that the sisters of the second branch of the Yu family are restless and the girls run to the county town all day long and never come home, but everyone understands that they are just jealous.
Whoever makes money will be criticized by others. After all, they cannot make money themselves, so they can only criticize others.
"That's about it." Yu Jin said, "I can make some money, but I also spend more. You know, I'm in the grain rice ball business. In addition to buying grain, meat and seasonings, I have to pay some fees to the dock manager when I go to the county's morning market to set up a stall. I take the boat here early every morning... Add up all these little things, and I can only earn a few hard-earned dollars."
After listening to her analysis, everyone in the car felt that they really didn't make much money.
This kind of hard-earned money is no different from farming.
Aunt Guihua didn’t quite believe it. If they really didn’t make much money, could they have bought so many things today?
It must be because he has money, so he spends it generously.
She turned to look at the silent Liu next to her and asked, "Sister Liu, you must be making a lot of money, right? I heard that you can sell out every day, so you must be making a lot of money."
Liu was a little embarrassed and whispered, "It's not sold out every day..."
"Not sold out? That's impossible?"
"Really, we brought them back for lunch."
“…”
Hearing what Liu said, everyone couldn't help but sigh. Sure enough, how could people in the county town be interested in grains? If they didn't sell them all, they could only take them home to eat. How wasteful!
Normally, most villagers eat thin food, which they can eat mixed with water to fill their stomachs, and this can also save a lot of food.
This multi-grain rice ball is dry, and I have to bring it back and eat it myself every day. It makes me sad just thinking about it.
Aunt Guihua felt depressed when she saw that Liu couldn't get anything out of her fight.
She hated talking to this kind of person the most, because no matter how much you said, she wouldn't say a word, as if she was performing a monologue, and you couldn't find out anything.
Aunt Guihua's gaze finally turned to Yu Li, who was sitting outside the mule cart. She smiled and said, "Mother Li, how much can you earn this month by slaughtering pigs in the county town?"
Seeing her turn to ask Yu Li, Yu Jin's face darkened and he looked a little annoyed.
Her sister has a simple personality. Whenever someone asks her a question, she always answers politely. In her opinion, her sister is simply the girl with the best personality in the world.
Aunt Guihua obviously knew the truth, which is why she went to her sister to inquire.
Yu Li turned to look at Aunt Guihua and said politely, "No profit."
"What?"
Instantly, everyone looked over, stunned.
Why did she say she didn't make any money? Did she go to kill pigs and the other party didn't pay her?
Yu Li patiently explained, "I spent all the money I received every day, and it was still not enough. I had to ask my mother-in-law for help, so I didn't make any money. I actually spent a lot."
Everyone: “…”
Aunt Guihua was dumbfounded. She didn't expect that "no profit" meant this.
She couldn't help but ask, "How did you spend it? Why wasn't it enough?"
It costs forty or fifty cents to kill a pig. Even if I have to share it with others, I can still get twenty or thirty cents. There must be other income. It is impossible that I only make that little money every day. This money is definitely enough for me to spend.
Yu Li counted on his fingers and said, "Sometimes we have to go to the clinic to get medicine. Xiao Ge'er and I both need to take medicine to regulate our bodies, and we also need to buy sweet preserved fruits. The food at home is gone, so we have to go buy food, and also buy food and daily necessities... There are too many things to buy, and the money is really not enough."
“…”
Aunt Guihua was silent.
Is that how it is calculated? Does the Fu family have so many things to buy?
She looked at Yu Li. This girl had a sincere face and looked like a good kid who would never lie, which made her choke.
The Yu family has three daughters. The mother is a bit stubborn. The eldest daughter is honest but talks a lot of nonsense. The second daughter is smart and strong, and is not at all like the honest and dull Yu Laoer and his wife.
She was really depressed to find that she couldn't get any information from them.
Aunt Guihua finally decided not to pay any attention to the three of them and turned to talk to someone else, trying to find out other people's gossip.
Yu Jin curled the corners of his mouth and secretly gave his elder sister a thumbs up.
It is enough for you to know how much money you have earned. You don't need to tell anyone else. After all, in this world, many people will sympathize with you if you are not living a good life, but they will not be happy if you are living a good life.
An hour later, the mule cart arrived at Qingshi Village.
After paying, everyone got off the bus and went home.
Yu Li returned to the Fu family and gave the things he bought today to Zhou.
Zhou was surprised by what she brought back. Seeing that most of the basket was mooncakes, she was speechless.
"Mother Li, why did you buy so many mooncakes?"
Yu Li said, "They all looked delicious, so I bought some to try." She sat down to eat and said, "Mom, you guys try it too, it's really delicious."
Zhou responded with a smile, took a mooncake with red bean paste filling, broke it open, and tasted it with the two children.
After taking a bite, she said, "It's so sweet."
The two children like it very much. They are young and like sweet things, especially those that are greasy and sweet.
After dinner, Yu Li went back to his room to catch up on his sleep.
In the afternoon, after she woke up, she took out the mooncakes she bought today, placed them on the table, and sat there eating the mooncakes.
Fu Wenxiao, who was sitting next to him: "..."
Seeing her finish one after another without stopping her mouth and hands, Fu Wenxiao couldn't help but say, "Li Niang, don't eat too much, it will cause indigestion."
"Indigestion?" Yu Li looked at him, "No, I can finish it."
It is impossible to have food accumulation, the only problem is not eating enough.
Fu Wenxiao was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't eat too much sweets, it's bad for your teeth."
Nowadays, mooncakes are available in both sweet and salty flavors. The sweet ones are mostly filled with peanut, sesame, and red bean paste, which look greasy and sweet.
Yu Li said "oh" and didn't take it to heart at all. He just said, "I'll go brush my teeth later."
She has superpowers now, so it's impossible for her to have cavities.
Of course, teeth cleaning still needs to be done properly.
Fu Wenxiao stopped talking.
In the end, he watched Yu Li eat most of the mooncakes he bought today, and he felt a little annoyed with her.
Looking at the remaining mooncakes, Yu Li hesitated for a moment and decided not to eat them and save some for the festival tomorrow.
"Eat if you want to. We can buy it tomorrow." Fu Wenxiao said. Seeing her hesitant face, he wanted to satisfy her.
If it were in the past, he would definitely not say such a thing.
It turns out that people's bottom line can be constantly broken, but he has never met someone who can make him break his principles before.
As if she was waiting for him to say this, Yu Li responded happily and reached out to take the mooncake.
Zhou was afraid that she would feel too full, so she specially made a pot of tea for her.
"Mother Li, drinking mooncakes with tea can help relieve your greasiness. Eat more." She said lovingly, "I have learned how to make mooncakes before. If you like them, I will try to make some for you tomorrow."
Yu Li's eyes lit up, "Thank you, mother. I'll go buy some ingredients for making mooncakes tomorrow."
My mother-in-law is so capable. I didn’t expect that she can even make mooncakes. Is there anything she can’t do?
At this moment, in Yu Li's mind, he felt that the most powerful person in the world was Zhou.
Fu Wenxiao paused while pouring the tea, glanced at the two of them, and couldn't help laughing.
Her expression is really easy to understand, but sometimes people would rather not understand it, just like when he woke up from a coma, her expression of looking at him as if he was "resurrecting a corpse" was hard to describe.
It's pretty cute though.
**
After leaving the yamen, Zhu, the yamen runner, hurried towards the city gate.
When they arrived at the city gate, seeing that Ge and his two companions had not arrived yet, Zhu went to a nearby bun shop and ordered several buns to fill his stomach.
These yamen runners usually have quite a leisurely life. Apart from reporting in at the yamen every day and showing their faces in front of their superiors, the rest of the time they are either patrolling the streets or rushing over to deal with fights and maintain law and order in the city.
I often wander around the streets.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, villagers from nearby villages flocked to the city to purchase goods. As the number of people in the county town increased, the yamen runners also became busy.
I had originally planned to go to Qingshi Village early today, but I didn’t expect to be so busy until now.
Zhu Yayi has been busy since the afternoon and is very hungry. He just wants to go to Qingshi Village to finish his work so that he can go back to the county town to find Wen Niang. Wen Niang promised to prepare some food for them and drink with them today.
After waiting for about half an hour, the yamen runners Ge and Peng finally arrived.
"Brother Ge, Brother Peng, you are finally here. Why are you here so late?" Zhu, the yamen runner, came over and asked them if they were hungry. He handed them a few cold buns.
The two were very hungry and ate the buns with big mouthfuls, not caring that they were cold.
They were busy today as well. Maybe tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there were many merchant ships coming to the dock, and some trouble even occurred. They could only stay there until they finally finished their work just now.
After hearing this, Zhu, the yamen runner, showed envy on his face.
These two people are busy, but they make a lot of money. I wish I was willing to be so busy.
After eating the buns, the three of them set off and took a boat to Qingshi Village.
The setting sun has already gone down the other side of the mountain, dusk is gradually setting in, and the grass and trees on both sides of the river are shrouded in the deep dusky color that is unique to autumn.
The autumn in Shanping County has never been obvious. Except that the weather is not so hot, the grass and trees are still green, making it difficult for people to feel the bleakness of autumn.
The boatman's heart trembled when he saw the three yamen runners.
He mustered up his courage and asked, "Three officials, where are you going?"
"Qingshi Village." said Zhu, the yamen runner.
"What business do you have there?"
"How can that be possible!" Peng Yayi said with a smile, "We are just going there to look for someone."
They knew that the common people were afraid of the government, so they naturally could not speak carelessly since it was not official business, for fear of arousing the fear of the villagers and even attracting the head of the village and the elders. It would be too much of a fuss and would not be good for their trip.
The three of them went to Qingshi Village this time just to find a girl to scare her and make her kneel down and apologize to someone. Naturally, they couldn't tell anyone about this kind of thing.
If the common people knew and understood the rules by which the yamen runners did their work, they would not be able to use the power of the yamen runners to intimidate them in the future, which would be counterproductive.
Therefore, everyone knows about this kind of thing tacitly, and it is enough for you to understand it yourself.
The boatman secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked a little happier.
He didn't ask any more questions, but he was still somewhat afraid of these yamen runners.
When the boat reached Qingshi Village, the dusk deepened.
Most people in the village have gone home to eat and rest, with only a few returning late.
The three men were standing on the riverbank at the entrance to the village. Because it was too dark, the yamen uniforms they were wearing were not noticeable and they did not attract any attention.
The three men had never been to Qingshi Village and didn't know where the Fu family was, so they stopped someone to ask.
The person who was stopped was an honest villager. When he got closer, he finally saw clearly that the clothes they were wearing were those of the county yamen runners. He was so scared that he trembled and almost knelt down.
Three people: "..."
"Okay, stop kneeling." Zhu Yayi said impatiently, "Where is the Fu family?"
The villager was somewhat stunned when he heard this, and asked carefully: "Sir, what do you want to do with the Fu family..."
"You're being long-winded!" The guard Peng shouted, "Just tell us directly. Don't ask about things you shouldn't ask about. It won't do you any good."
The villager was a timid man who had never dealt with government officials in his life and rarely saw yamen runners. He never expected that he would meet three yamen runners just after coming back from working in the fields. He was scared to death and after being scolded by them, he dared not ask anything more.
He pointed in a direction tremblingly, "...Go over there, there is a blue brick house, that's the Fu family."
After asking for directions, the three of them left without paying any attention to the villager.
The villager sat paralyzed for a while, and finally his legs felt less weak. He quickly ran home, fearing that he would encounter those ferocious yamen runners again.
When his family saw him like this, they asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"
The villagers said in fear: "I just met three yamen runners, and they asked me where the Fu family was. I, I..."
"What? A government official came to look for the Fu family? Did the Fu family commit a crime?"
In an instant, the whole family gathered around, fearfully asking for the news.
The villager shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either. He didn't dare to inquire because the three officials looked very difficult to deal with.
Everyone was confused and worried about the Fu family.
The Fu family is old, weak, and sick, and Yu Li is the only one who can work. But Yu Li is just a young girl, and if anything happens, she can't do anything.
I just hope the Fu family is okay.
**
The three yamen runners found the Fu family easily because they were the only family with blue brick and tile houses nearby, while the others were all mud houses.
"It seems that the Fu family is quite rich." Zhu, the yamen runner, said.
He thought to himself that the woman who beat people was married into the Fu family. The Fu family was able to build a blue brick and tile house, which showed that their family background was not bad. No wonder she had the courage to beat people. This was her confidence.
Thinking of this, he felt relieved and felt that this trip was safe.
The runner Zhu went forward and knocked on the door, making it bang loudly.
Ge and Peng, the two yamen runners, stood behind him, looking very relaxed. They also felt that there would be no accidents on this trip. After scaring people, they could leave.
These country folk, like the villager just now, are timid and ignorant fools who are easily frightened.
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw the door open from the inside.
The two yamen runners, Ge and Peng, looked over and saw a face that was dazzlingly white even in the twilight. This face looked quite familiar...
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