When Jiang Yuwei saw that it was the constable patrolling the street, she quickly stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and told him everything that had just happened. The onlookers also testified on Jiang Yuwei's behalf.
Niu Er helped his mother up, and was about to retort when the constable glared at him and shouted:
"Niu Er, you were just released from prison not long ago, do you want to go back in today?"
Seeing this, Niu Er quickly waved his hand and said with a smile:
"Sir, what are you saying? I'm an honest and law-abiding man. A place like prison is not suitable for me, not suitable for me at all."
The constable nodded impatiently and said:
"Stop causing trouble for me, apologize to them right now, and remember to put this mess back in order!"
Niu Er turned around and glared at Jiang Yuwei, muttering under his breath:
"sorry."
Then, reluctantly, he carefully arranged the straw sandals he had overturned in front of the constable, bowed to the constable, and then quickly left with his mother.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly thanked the constables and everyone else, and then began to sell the straw sandals she had woven:
"Fellow villagers, look at these straw sandals that were just woven yesterday. My children are wearing them, and they are very comfortable. We wore these straw sandals to the market today, and they didn't tire our feet at all. If you have children at home, you can take a pair home for them."
"Mommy, these shoes have little rabbits on them! I love them! I want them!"
Jiang Yuwei looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl with two small buns in her hair holding her mother's hand, pointing excitedly at the straw sandals on the stall.
Seeing this, Ning Zhao quickly picked up the pair of straw sandals from the stall, handed them to the little girl, and said with a smile:
“These were all hand-knitted by my mother. They’re very comfortable to wear. Try them on.”
Seeing Ning Zhao's initiative, the woman felt embarrassed to refuse and took the shoes for the girl to try on.
Unexpectedly, the straw sandals fit the girl perfectly, and she jumped around a few times on the ground, shouting happily:
"Come and see my straw sandals, there are little rabbits!"
Everyone turned to look at her when she called out. Women with children were begged by their kids to buy a pair of new straw sandals. After inquiring, they found out that the straw sandals only cost ten copper coins a pair, which was about the same price as ordinary straw sandals, so they all took out their money to buy them.
Ning Zhao helped the children choose shoes that fit, while Jiang Yuwei was in charge of collecting money. In just one morning, they sold out all the dozen or so pairs of shoes that had been made the night before.
After a busy morning, the mother and her two children hadn't had a drop of water. Jiang Yuwei was starting to feel hungry, so she looked at her children apologetically and said:
"It's all my fault, Mom. Now that we have money, next time we come to the market, we'll take an oxcart so you won't go hungry. Come on, let's go eat something delicious!"
The two children were starving, but too shy to ask for food. Now that their mother was offering to take them out to eat, they were naturally delighted.
Jiang Yuwei noticed that there was a steamed bun shop right next to her stall, and the aroma of the buns had been tantalizing her all morning. She gritted her teeth, took out two copper coins, bought four buns, and sat down by the roadside to eat with her two children.
After the three of them finished eating, Jiang Yuwei took the two children to the fabric shop. She picked out a blue fabric for Ning Zhao, and thinking that the little red jacket Ning Xin was wearing would look even better on Ning Wan, she also picked out a red floral fabric for Ning Wan.
She only earned one or two taels of silver today, so she can't buy too many things for the child. She needs to save some capital so she can do other business to make money in the future.
The three of them strolled around the market. Jiang Yuwei noticed a stall selling soybeans and suddenly had an idea. She bought some soybeans and then went to a grain store to buy some cornmeal. She originally wanted to buy some white sugar, but since white sugar was too expensive in this world, she had to give up.
After buying their things, Jiang Yuwei took the two children to catch the oxcart back to the village. The oxcart fare was five copper coins per person, which Ning Zhao thought was a bit expensive, so she tugged at Jiang Yuwei's hand and said shyly:
"Mother, let's walk back. Wan'er and I aren't tired; we don't need to take the oxcart."
Jiang Yuwei saw through his thoughts at a glance and said with a smile:
"But Mother is tired. She stayed up so late weaving straw sandals last night and got up so early today. Mother doesn't have the strength to walk back."
Hearing Jiang Yuwei say this, Ning Zhao looked at her with heartache and said:
"Then let's take the oxcart back."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, then carried the two children onto the oxcart and placed the baskets she had bought, which were full of things, on the oxcart as well.
The three had just sat down when they saw Madam Sun leading Ningxin onto the oxcart.
When Sun saw that Jiang Yuwei actually had money to ride in an oxcart, she craned her neck to look at the basket on Jiang's back. It looked full, but it was covered with a cloth, so she didn't know what was inside.
Sun was naturally puzzled. Could it be that Jiang Yuwei's family had given her some dowry money when she married into the family, and she had kept it for herself? If that were the case, it wouldn't do. Her husband's earnings were all handed over to his mother for her to manage. They hadn't separated the family yet. If Jiang Yuwei had money and didn't hand it over, wouldn't that mean her husband would have to support her and her orphan?
The more Madam Sun thought about it, the angrier she became, so she spoke directly:
"Why is my sister-in-law not at home helping her mother-in-law today? Why is she bringing two children to the market?"
Jiang Yuwei glanced at Madam Sun and said coldly:
"Since you care so much about your mother-in-law, why don't you stay home and help her with chores instead of bringing Ningxin to the market?"
Mrs. Sun hadn't expected Jiang Yuwei to be so quick-witted, so she stammered:
"I...I came to the market today. Yes, that's right, my mother-in-law sent me!"
Jiang Yuwei smiled slightly, and asked with a scrutinizing gaze:
"Is it really as you say?"
Sun, holding Ning Xin's hand, unconsciously tightened her grip. She was somewhat afraid of the aura emanating from Jiang Yuwei, but naturally, she didn't want to lose face in front of all the villagers, so she shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Of course, my mother-in-law always dotes on me and always lets me bring Ningxin to the market. But you, without my mother-in-law's permission, you spent money so extravagantly, buying a whole basket of things. Let's see what your mother-in-law says when you get back!"
As he spoke, he turned his head away and refused to look at Jiang Yuwei anymore.
Sun's reminder reminded Jiang Yuwei of Chen Guixiang's true colors. Now she could only hide her things in her spatial storage before going home and take them out when she needed them. She also had to hide the money she had left over today to prevent Chen Guixiang from taking it away.
Currently, she and her two children still live under the same roof as the Ning family. If they have any money, they will naturally have to hand it over to Chen Guixiang to manage, according to the family rules.
Jiang Yuwei knew she wasn't yet capable of starting her own business. With her current financial resources, she couldn't even afford a warm blanket. Therefore, she decided to be patient for now, maintain harmony with the Ning family, and secretly accumulate strength. She would wait for the right opportunity to plan for a better life later.
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