As Wang Ma was patting her chest to catch her breath, Jiang Yuwei waved and called out to Ning Chunlin:
"Chunlin, come here quickly!"
Ning Chunlin's heart softened again this morning because of Xu Qianqian's pestering. He didn't want to bring Xu Qianqian to the capital, but he couldn't bear to part with such a woman. He secretly thought that if he took her with him, the journey would definitely not be boring.
Now that this delicate and beautiful woman is clinging to him like this, Ning Chunlin's heart is already fluttering. He comes from a peasant family and has never seen anything like this before.
In addition, Xu Qianqian was good at coaxing people, and she had Ning Chunlin completely bewildered by the morning, making him only think about getting to the capital as soon as possible to formally take her as a concubine.
Now that he had run into Jiang Yuwei and Wang Ma's group in Ping'an Town, he was even more eager to act like a man in front of Xu Qianqian. So, in a moment of impulsiveness, he put his arm around Xu Qianqian's waist and walked up to Wang Ma.
“Wang Ma, this Xu Qianqian is my woman, and I will definitely take her with me when I go to the capital this time.”
Ning Chunlin spoke to Wang Ma in a commanding tone.
Seeing this, Wang Ma frowned and said:
“Young Master, the journey to the capital is long and arduous. I’m afraid this person might not be able to endure the hardship. Why don’t we go to the capital first to meet our relatives, and then you can send someone to bring this person to the mansion later?”
Upon hearing Wang Ma's words, Jiang Yuwei knew that this was a delaying tactic. If Ning Chunlin were to enter the capital, he would be so engrossed in a few noble ladies that he would forget all about Ningjia Village and would not remember the widow Xu Qianqian who remained there.
Xu Qianqian naturally knew that her position was unstable at the moment. If she separated from Ning Chunlin, he would probably forget about her within three days. So Xu Qianqian quickly said:
“Brother Chunlin, I come from a farming family and I’ve experienced all kinds of hardships. I’m not afraid of the hardships on the road, but I’m afraid of the pain of not being able to see you and missing you every day.”
As she spoke, Xu Qianqian pressed herself even closer to Ning Chunlin.
Hearing this, Ning Chunlin couldn't bear to see his precious daughter suffer, so he looked at Wang Ma and said firmly:
"See? My Qianqian isn't afraid of hardship on the road. Just pack her things. I'm definitely going to take her with me."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ma was about to speak again to persuade Ning Chunlin, but Xu Qianqian didn't give her a chance to speak, glancing at Wang Ma and saying:
"Brother Chunlin, the servants in this Prince's mansion are really different. This is the first time I've ever seen a master have to consult with his servants before doing anything. Are you really the eldest young master of the Prince's mansion? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Hearing Xu Qianqian's words, Ning Chunlin could no longer hold back and turned to glare at Wang Ma.
"Wang Ma, if you don't want me to go to the capital, just say so. Now you're trying to stop me from bringing anyone with me. I think I might as well quit being the young master of the Wang family!"
Seeing that Ning Chunlin had lost his temper, Wang Ma dared not try to persuade him any further. She could only bow to Ning Chunlin and say:
"Since the young master wants to take Miss Qianqian on his journey, this old servant will naturally not stop him. This old servant will go and prepare Miss Qianqian's things."
Ning Chunlin nodded in satisfaction after hearing this, then gave Xu Qianqian a smug look.
Actually, Ning Chunlin regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He was afraid that Wang Ma would get impatient and really not take him back to the capital, which would shatter his dreams. Fortunately, Wang Ma was sensible and agreed to his request without refusing to offend him.
Once Ning Chunlin saw that the trip to Beijing was settled, he simply took Xu Qianqian and went off to enjoy himself elsewhere.
It was almost noon, so Jiang Yuwei didn't dare to delay any longer. She went to the grain store and bought some more food. She was going to take Liu Shi, Daya, and Gou Dan with her on the way, so she naturally needed to prepare more food.
Jiang Yuwei thought she would go back and make more flatbread and steamed buns tonight to fill her stomach, which she could then eat with pickled vegetables, so that it wouldn't delay her journey.
After leaving the grain shop, Jiang Yuwei went to the butcher shop and bought some meat. Seeing this, Wang Ma reminded her:
“Yuwei, it’s getting hot, and meat doesn’t keep well. If you buy too much, it will all spoil on the way, which would be a waste.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled as she picked out the meat:
"I'm going to make this meat into jerky, salted meat, and sausages. That way, we can eat them while traveling. We can't just eat pickled vegetables the whole way. By the time we get to the capital, we'll probably be starving and emaciated."
Wang Ma nodded upon hearing this:
"I know about dried meat and salted meat, but I've never heard of sausage before. Is it good?"
Jiang Yuwei turned to look at Wang Ma and smiled:
"Why don't you buy some meat and sausage casings to take back with you? I'll make you a portion to eat on the road."
Upon hearing this, Wang Ma nodded happily and said:
"Okay, okay, thank you so much, Yuwei. I was worried that the young master wouldn't be used to other foods on the road. I've noticed these past few days that our young master prefers the food you cook. If you make this kind of sausage, my young master will definitely like it."
As she spoke, Wang Ma bought some meat in the same quantity as Jiang Yuwei and put it in her basket.
Jiang Yuwei thought about buying some more chicken and duck eggs to make some salted eggs so she could eat them on the way.
So he took Wang Ma to the market to see if anyone was selling the eggs they had saved up at home.
To their surprise, the two searched around but couldn't find anyone selling eggs. Just as they were about to give up, they spotted an old woman with gray hair sitting in a corner. In front of her were a basket of chicken eggs and a basket of duck eggs.
Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to go up and ask about the price, a fat woman walked over angrily.
"Aunt Chen, we're neighbors, how could you cheat me like this!"
The fat woman spoke first.
Seeing this, Aunt Chen, who sells eggs, asked in confusion:
"Xiaoyu's mother, what do you mean by that?"
Jiang Yuwei leaned closer to take a look, and realized that the fat woman was none other than the little girl who had saved her that day, Xiaoyu's mother. Ping'an Town was small enough that she could still run into her here.
Jiang Yuwei looked at the eggs in the basket and thought that she must have bought ingredients to cook for the bandits. These bandits were eating too well. She had to find a way to tell Officer Huang this before she left.
Just as Jiang Yuwei was thinking, she saw Xiaoyu Niang hand the basket of eggs in her hand to Aunt Chen impatiently, saying:
"If you cheat on the weight of your goods, who will dare to do business with you in the future?"
Aunt Chen immediately objected upon hearing this and took the basket of eggs, ready to weigh them again for Xiaoyu's mother to see.
To my surprise, the eggs were off the scale as soon as they were weighed; they were a full eight ounces short.
Seeing this, Xiaoyu Niang glanced at Aunt Chen disdainfully and said:
"See? I told you you can't cheat people in business! See, I caught you red-handed! You'd better pay up! I don't want your eggs anymore!"
Aunt Chen panicked when she saw this. She had clearly weighed out four jin and eight liang, and there was no mistake in the exact weight. She had rounded down the price for Xiaoyu's mother because they were old neighbors, and only charged her for four jin and five liang. Now how come there were only four jin of eggs left in the basket?
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