Jiang Yuwei figured there wasn't much to do at home anyway. The house was all built, and she had enclosed the two acres of barren land behind it with stones to make a backyard. She also asked the villagers to help build a pigsty, a cowshed, a sheepfold, and a chicken coop. She even built a small hut for the wild fox, Xiao Jiuye. She had used up most of the space, and she hadn't decided what to plant on the remaining empty land, so she left it for now.
Jiang Yuwei secretly planned to come and help in three days. If she could do a good job and the customers were satisfied, she could research how to make a mobile banquet and thus increase her income.
So Jiang Yuwei nodded in agreement. After Manager Zhang left, the stall sold out in no time. Jiang Yuwei thought that Ning Zhao had been studying at the academy for some time now, and that today's market day was a good opportunity to see how he was doing.
He then said to Ning Qiu:
"Qiu Mei, take your things and wait by Uncle Ning Wu's oxcart. Your brother Huai Zhi and I have some things to take care of."
Ning Qiu nodded, packed up the items on the stall, and left.
Jiang Yuwei pushed Ning Huaizi's wheelchair, with Ning Wan holding onto her clothes as they followed beside her. She smiled at Ning Wan and said:
"Wan'er, do you miss your brother? Shall we go buy some snacks and visit him?"
When Ning Wan heard that she was going to see Ning Zhao, her big eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.
"Okay, okay, okay, let's go see our brother!"
Jiang Yuwei took Ning Wan to a pastry shop and picked out some of Ning Wan and Ning Zhao's favorite pastries, packing them into two portions, one for each child. Then she pushed Ning Huaizhi to the academy on North Street.
Fortunately, the gatekeeper of the academy remembered Jiang Yuwei. When he heard that Jiang Yuwei was coming to see Ning Zhao, he hurriedly went in to call Ning Zhao out.
Jiang Yuwei noticed that Ning Zhao had grown taller in the few days she hadn't seen him. He looked quite handsome in the clothes she had bought for him. He had become much fairer and plumper while staying at the academy, and now he seemed to have gained a more scholarly air about him. Jiang Yuwei was very pleased with the changes in Ning Zhao.
Ning Zhao's eyes lit up when she saw her family, and she greeted them sweetly:
"Father, Mother, Wan'er, you've come to see me."
Ning Wan rushed into Ning Zhao's arms in one stride, nuzzled her head against Ning Zhao, and called out in a childish voice:
"Brother, I've missed you so much. Mother bought you some delicious food, come and see!"
Ning Zhao took the package from Ning Wan's hand, smiled, opened it, and seeing that it contained pastries, quickly took a piece and stuffed it into Ning Wan's mouth. She then handed a piece to Ning Huaizhi and Jiang Yuwei each before picking up a pastry to eat herself.
"Delicious, delicious, Mom, the pastries you bought are really delicious."
Jiang Yuwei looked at the two children eating with great satisfaction and nodded with a smile. This was the meaning of her working so hard to earn money.
Seeing this, Ning Huaizhi also laughed and said:
"Zhao'er, how are your studies going these days? Can you understand what the teacher is saying and keep up?"
Ning Zhao nodded and said:
"Father, you taught me many of these words before. Now the teacher is leading us to read the Four Books and Five Classics, and I can understand most of them. If there are any parts I don't understand, I will pester the teacher to ask after class, and the teacher is willing to answer me. Oh, by the way, I will take some of these pastries to the teacher later."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei knew that Ning Zhao was not only quick-witted, but more importantly, she was also grateful. Even with delicious food, she didn't forget her teacher. So, she took out the crayfish and pickled fruit she had saved in advance from her basket and handed them to Ning Zhao, saying:
"Zhao'er, take these back and share them with your teacher and classmates. You also need to eat well yourself, understand?"
Ning Zhao smiled as she took the package from Jiang Yuwei and nodded, saying:
"Okay, thank you, Mother."
As the three were talking, a bell rang from inside the academy. Ning Zhao quickly put down Ning Wan, who was clinging to him, and said:
"Father, Mother, Wan'er, class is starting, I should go back now."
Jiang Yuwei quickly pulled over the reluctant Ning Wan, waved to Ning Zhao, and said:
"Okay, hurry inside. Mom will be coming to town in three days. When you're on holiday, Mom will pick you up and we'll go home together."
After saying goodbye to Ning Zhao, Jiang Yuwei took them to a clothing store to pick out two sets of clothes for Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan each. They then went to a fabric shop to select some nice fabrics. Jiang Yuwei planned to buy the fabrics herself and make a set of clothes for each person in her family when she had some free time.
The three were strolling along the street when they heard an old man calling out from the side of the street:
"Cattle for sale! Cattle for sale! Anyone want to buy cattle?"
Jiang Yuwei looked in the direction of the sound and saw a thin old man wearing patched and tattered clothes leading an old yellow ox, stroking the ox's head while calling out his wares.
Jiang Yuwei immediately became interested and lowered her head to ask:
"Huaizhi, do you know how to herd cattle?"
Ning Huaizhi nodded. Whether it was choosing cattle or horses, Ning Huaizhi was skilled. Back in the army, he personally selected the warhorses for his troops and had even chosen dozens of strong oxen suitable for transporting grain.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly pushed Ning Huaizhi in front of the ox and whispered in his ear:
"How about we buy this cow?"
Ning Huaizhi reached out and touched the cow's fur, then looked closely at its pupils and eyes, and saw its four hooves powerfully pawing the ground. He smiled and said:
"This cow is good."
Upon seeing this, the old man selling the ox quickly smiled and said:
"Yes, yes, this ox helps us plow the fields every day. It's very strong and has done a lot of work for us. If we weren't so desperate for food, I wouldn't be selling this ox."
As he spoke, the old man began to wipe away his tears with his sleeve.
Jiang Yuwei and Ning Huaizhi exchanged a glance, and seeing Ning Huaizhi nod at her, she asked:
"Uncle, how much do you want to sell this ox for?"
The old man looked at the cow, then at Jiang Yuwei's family, gritted his teeth, and held up one finger, saying:
“I’ll sell it for one tael of silver. My ox is very strong. You can take it back and feed it well. It can not only pull the cart but also work in the fields. It’s very suitable. If I didn’t need the money urgently, I definitely wouldn’t be willing to sell it.”
Jiang Yuwei looked at the ox and laughed:
“Uncle, it’s not cheap for you to sell this ox to me for one tael of silver. This ox is not young, and we don’t expect it to plow the fields. It’s just that it’s convenient to have an oxcart when we come to town. I’m a straightforward person. If you give me the cart behind the ox as well, we can settle the deal for one tael of silver.”
The old man pondered for a moment and said:
"Alright, you can have this cart. But there won't be any oxen left, so it's useless to me anyway. Not a penny less than the tael of silver. I want cash."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and nodded, taking out some silver from her purse and handing it to the old man, saying:
"Alright, then we're done with the money."
The old man accepted the silver, bid farewell to the ox with great reluctance, and then left.
Jiang Yuwei smiled as she helped Ning Wan onto the carriage, then helped Ning Huaizhi onto the oxcart, before finally lifting Ning Huaizhi's wheelchair onto it. After a flurry of activity, she patted her forehead and frowned, saying:
"Oh no! I don't know how to drive an oxcart! What am I going to do?"
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