When we arrived at Anjia Village, it was already past noon.
"Xiao Cui, you're back." Wen Shi was most anxious when she saw Yang Cui. "Have you bought all the ingredients? We've washed the plums and will cut them after we eat. Village Chief Zhou's wife also brought the perilla leaves. I've paid for them, and the things are drying over there."
"Aunt, don't rush, I have something to tell you." After saying that, he handed the grass carp in his hand to Madam Wen.
Upon seeing this, An Dafu immediately criticized, "Why are you buying fish again? Can't you be more frugal? We just ate duck yesterday. If you continue living like this, even mountains of gold and silver wouldn't be enough to squander."
Yang Cui chuckled: "Fish don't cost much."
Yang Cui unloaded her basket and offered the millet and mung beans she had bought: "Xiao Hu, put this grain in the rice jar."
When An Dafu saw this, he opened the rice bag and his face darkened even more: "Fish and grain, why didn't you bring your own family here! Xiaohu, take it and put it away, don't pour it out. When your sister goes back, have her take it back with her."
"Oh." An Xiaohu put the grain into the house.
Yang Cui didn't say anything; she had no intention of taking it back anyway.
"Er Ya and San Ya, go with your brothers and share the candied hawthorns."
The An brothers were a little embarrassed, especially An Xiaohai and An Xiaojiang. They felt that they were too old to compete with children for candied hawthorns.
Yang Cui noticed their embarrassment and simply gave each of them two candied hawthorns.
"Sister, I'm too old for that..." An Xiaohai waved his hand.
"Who says candied hawthorns are only for kids? Hurry up and try some, two for each person, it's fair and just."
At this point, An Dafu couldn't help but criticize again: "You're willing to buy candied hawthorns? You... sigh, what a spendthrift!"
A hint of shock flashed across Wen's face, but she said nothing, thinking to herself that Yang Cui must have made a lot of money.
"I bought these for the kids to try; they don't cost much," Yang Cui said. "Uncle, my cousins and aunts supported me yesterday and came back without even having dinner. I felt really bad about it, so I bought some eggs to give each of them two as a token of my gratitude."
“Your life has been tough. I’ll thank your uncles later.” Those people only went to Anjia Village to support Yang Cui because of him, so An Dafu felt that he could express his gratitude in person.
Hearing An Dafu's words, Wen felt uneasy, and the fish in her hand suddenly lost its flavor. With their family's circumstances, what could they possibly offer as thanks? Besides, Yang Cui must have earned money to afford so many things. Wen felt uncomfortable about her husband's actions, but she didn't say anything in front of Yang Cui.
Yang Cui said, "Uncle, I know you care about me. I've had a hard time, and so have you. You brought so many people to help me, how could I let you pay out of your own pocket!"
Then, Yang Cui lowered her voice and said, "I sold the recipe for dried plums and peach ginger to the owner of the Star Gazing Tower. I can still afford a few eggs now."
"Really?" An Dafu exclaimed, then realized he had spoken too loudly and immediately lowered his voice to ask, "If you sell the method, wouldn't that be a one-off deal?"
Yang Cui then explained the pros and cons of the matter to An Dafu. An Dafu agreed that it made sense and nodded repeatedly, but he still felt somewhat aggrieved and cursed the Lin family's ancestors for eighteen generations.
"However, I have also made an agreement with the managers of Guanxinglou and Pinxiangzhai that they will prioritize purchasing plums and peaches from my uncle whenever they need them. The same goes for perilla. We will not cut these plums this afternoon and will send them to Pinxiangzhai first thing tomorrow morning. We will also pick another 200 catties of peaches and send them to Guanxinglou. As for the price, since they need a large quantity, it will be one coin per catty, and one coin for two catties of perilla."
An Dafu was shocked once again!
She could barely speak: "Xiao Cui, are you... are you serious?"
"Of course it's true. This is just the initial quantity. We may need more later. We can also sell the peaches and plums from my uncles' families at that time."
“Then I have to tell them this good news.” An Dafu was overjoyed.
An Dafu and Yang Cui delivered the thank-you gifts to the relatives who had helped them the day before, and told them about the peaches and plums, which made them very happy.
These people originally helped Yang Cui out of respect for An Dafu. They felt sorry for Yang Cui, a woman raising two children alone and being bullied by her ex-husband's family. They never expected Yang Cui to repay them. But to their utter surprise, Yang Cui brought them such a reward! This gift is much more valuable than a meal!
Because of this, Yang Cui's relationship with them has become much closer. When they heard that Yang Cui wanted to move to Anjia Village, they were very supportive and welcomed her.
“I heard that Da Chun’s family’s land is going to be sold. It’s close to your uncle’s house. Da Fu, take Xiao Cui to ask about it. The Lin family is a den of wolves. It’s better to get away from them as soon as possible,” An Da Fu’s cousin-in-law, An Bai Shi, reminded him.
An Dafu was taken aback: "That plot of land is quite nice, with a small bamboo grove right next to it. I remember they bought it along with the bamboo grove, spending three taels of silver in total. Why are they selling it?"
"What else could it be? They lost at Pai Gow! A couple of years ago, their family was the richest, but now they've pawned everything they could, except their wife and daughter."
An Dafu and his cousin An Youfu said with regret, "You should never get involved in gambling. That stuff is a bottomless pit."
An Baishi added, "Their house site is quite nice, and many people want to buy it! However, no one in the village can afford it. The village chief's family can afford it, but they already have a house site, so buying more wouldn't be of much use. Xiao Cui, if you want to buy it, try to bargain. You can definitely get it for two and a half taels."
Yang Cui smiled and said, "That's not cheap either."
——
After lunch, Wen took the children to pick peaches, while An Dafu took Yang Cui to see the house site that An Bai had mentioned. It was indeed not far from An Dafu's house, estimated to be over ninety square meters, and there was also a bamboo grove of about fifty square meters next to it, which was quite nice.
"Uncle, this place is quite nice."
"It's nice, but the price is a bit high." An Dafu felt that Yang Cui would eventually remarry, so there was no need to buy such a nice place and it would be a waste of money.
Yang Cui was unaware of An Dafu's thoughts. She had her eye on this place and had some money, so she planned to buy it first, then go back and sell the house in Ji'an Village so she could start building her own house.
"This is the last bit of food we have left. If you take it, what will the children eat? Waaah..."
A burst of crying interrupted Yang Cui's thoughts and drew the attention of the uncle and nephew.
The man kicked the crying woman away and yelled, "Get out of the way! All you do is cry! You've ruined my luck with your crying!"
An Dafu immediately stepped forward to break up the fight: "Dachun, stop fighting, stop fighting, let's talk things out."
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