When the family of four arrived at the market, Ning Wan and Ning Zhao both clamored to get off the cart, while Ning Chen sat obediently on the oxcart, unwilling to go shopping. Jiang Yuwei had no choice but to help the two children off the cart first, and then told Ning Huaizhi to wait for her at the entrance of the market before picking up her basket and taking the children into the market.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the market, she went to the butcher shop to buy some meat and bones, then went to the grain store to buy some rice and flour, before taking her two children to the pastry shop to let them pick out some of their favorite pastries and wrap them up.
As Jiang Yuwei and her child stepped out of the pastry shop, they saw an old man pushing a cart loaded with piglets, hawking them.
"Full-term piglets, come and buy them quickly if you want them, they are all plump and strong!"
Jiang Yuwei's eyes lit up and she quickly stepped forward to inquire:
"Uncle, how old is your piglet?"
Seeing that a customer had come to his door, the old man greeted him warmly:
“These piglets of mine are all three months old. You can definitely raise them if you buy them. Look at them, they are all so energetic, plump and strong, they are in great condition!”
Jiang Yuwei nodded, then stepped forward and patted the pig's rump. After observing the piglets on the cart, she pointed to three plump-looking piglets and said:
"These are nice, Uncle, give me a discount! If the price is right, I'll take them all!"
Seeing that Jiang Yuwei was about to buy all three piglets, the uncle quickly smiled and said:
“My piglets are big, and they usually sell for eighty coins each. If you want them, I can give you a discount. I'll give you three for two hundred and thirty coins.”
Jiang Yuwei thought for a moment and said:
"I'll give you two hundred coins, give me all three, okay? If you raise them well, I'll come back to you to buy piglets later!"
The old man selling pigs gritted his teeth and said:
"Okay, I've tied your legs. Take it!"
Jiang Yuwei counted out two hundred coins and handed them to her uncle, then asked him to help deliver the piglets to Ning Huaizhi's oxcart. The group then drove the oxcart towards Ningjia Village.
Upon arriving at Ningjia Village, Jiang Yuwei first had Ning Huaizhi take Ning Chen to the village head's house before heading to her own courtyard. On the way, she happened to run into Chen Guixiang and Old Man Ning, who were returning from the fields.
Chen Guixiang was furious when she saw Jiang Yuwei sitting on the oxcart:
"Pah! Your own mother still has to walk up the mountain, and all you ever do is run around after your wife. When have you ever cared about your parents?"
Ning Huaizhi listened to Chen Guixiang's insults without arguing or getting angry; he simply greeted Old Man Ning.
"Dad, Mom, you just came back from the fields?"
Old Man Ning remained silent, only staring at the piglets on the truck with a gloomy face as he nodded.
Seeing that her son wasn't responding to her, Chen Guixiang muttered again:
"Pah! You're living a good life at home, yet you have the conscience to care about your parents working themselves to the bone in the fields? You've even bought three piglets at once, but I haven't seen you think of being filial to your parents now that you're rich!"
Seeing that Chen Guixiang wouldn't stop talking, Jiang Yuwei said coldly:
“You two are in good health, don’t think about being supported by your children at such a young age. It’s a blessing that you can still work in the fields. If one day you’re truly bedridden, then we can take good care of you then. We have things to do at home, so we won’t chat with you any longer. Let’s go, Huaizhi!”
Ning Huaizhi nodded quickly after hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, and whispered to his parents:
"Father, Mother, we're going back now."
Without waiting for their reply, he drove the oxcart away.
Chen Guixiang watched the eldest son's family leave, stomping her feet in anger:
"What a tragedy! What a tragedy! This is going to drive this old woman to her death! I shouldn't have raised this ungrateful wretch in the first place. Now I'm just doing all the work for someone else. He's really forgotten his mother after marrying a wife!"
Old Man Ning frowned as he looked at Chen Guixiang, whose face was flushed with anger, and said in a deep voice:
"Have you forgotten how you kicked the eldest son's family out back then? Now that they're doing well, don't be envious. You reap what you sow. From now on, let's both live a good life with the second son's family."
After saying that, Old Man Ning ignored Chen Guixiang, who was still standing there going crazy, and walked straight towards his home.
When Jiang Yuwei arrived at the courtyard, she busied herself unloading things. She had finished moving everything else, but she couldn't figure out how to move the three pigs herself. So she had Ning Huaizhi drive the oxcart to the backyard and then called Ning Wu and Tie Zhu to help her move the pigs down to the pigsty.
Jiang Yuwei was thinking that her family would start raising pigs in the future, and they would need more cornmeal. She planned to take some time in the evening to go to her space to dry all the ripe corn, so that she could keep it to grind into cornmeal to feed the pigs.
Ning Zhao was very curious when she saw Tie Zhu and Ning Wu busy making paper, so she pulled Ning Wan to play in the paper mill.
Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi went to the front yard to prepare dinner. Ning Huaizhi looked at Jiang Yuwei with concern and said:
“Wife, our Yuwei paper is of good quality and reasonably priced, but it's affecting the business of Ge's Paper Shop. I'm afraid they won't let this go easily. If we run into them every time we go to town to sell paper, I'm afraid you'll suffer sooner or later. Now that my legs aren't strong, I can only sit on the oxcart. I can handle two or three people who don't know martial arts, but if they're prepared in advance and go all out, I'm afraid…”
Jiang Yuwei pondered for a moment and said:
“Then we won’t set up a stall in town anymore. Anyway, we’ve just started making paper, and only Tiezhu and Ningwu are doing it, so we can’t produce much. Or we can think of a way to attract a few regular customers, so that the paper we make each time can be sold out quickly. We can also let customers place orders in advance, and we can make paper according to their orders. That way, even if we don’t set up a stall, we won’t have to worry about selling our Yuwei paper.”
Ning Huaizhi nodded, stuffed a piece of wood into the bottom of the pot, and continued:
"Your idea is good, but how can we cultivate a group of regular customers?"
At this moment, Ning Zhao and Ning Wan also returned from the backyard. Upon hearing Ning Huaizhi's words, Ning Zhao quickly spoke first:
"I have a plan. I'll take this paper to the academy to sell. Our paper is of good quality and reasonably priced. My classmates will definitely buy it!"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and patted Ning Zhao's head:
“Zhao’er’s idea is good. From now on, anyone who has bought our Yuwei paper once will be a member of our family. They can buy it at the member price and enjoy the privilege of making a reservation once a month. Zhao’er will be responsible for selling paper to classmates in the academy, and I can go to the bookstores in town and other stationery stores to see if they are willing to use our Yuwei paper.”
Ning Wan, who was standing to the side, listened attentively and blinked her eyes curiously, asking:
"Mother, when you sold paper today, you said that selling it at 25 coins a ream was a loss. If you keep selling it like this, won't we lose everything?"
After speaking, Ning Wan looked at her own brick house with some worry, her eyes revealing a deep reluctance.
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