After a busy half-day, Liang Fugui and his wife finally delivered all their sugar beets to Chen's Sugar Shop...
They sorted out some spoiled beets, leaving a total of 5,000 catties, and sold them for 5 taels of silver. They also sold 400 catties of brown sugar for 32 taels of silver.
Looking at the money on the table, Madam Liang felt a lump in her throat, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
Seeing her like this, Liang Fugui shook his head and smiled, "Wife, what are you doing? Why are you crying with joy?"
"What's there to be happy about? I'm just feeling terrible." Madam Liang raised her hand to wipe away her tears. "Why did you have to make such a mess of things instead of living a good life? Now look what happened, we only got this little bit of money from the sale."
"Look at you, we should be content. We never had so much money before."
"You think all of this is ours? Don't forget, we haven't even paid the workers their wages yet!"
"Of course, how could I forget about that?" Liang Fugui frowned slightly. "How much will the wages be?"
Madam Liang took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "I had already calculated it. The wages for these days are nearly two taels of silver."
"It's not much money. You should have them come over quickly and settle their wages clearly, so they don't keep nagging you like they're going to kill you every day. It's so annoying."
Liang gave him a reproachful look. "Don't worry, I already sent Ruhua to Willow Village to inform them. They should be arriving soon."
No sooner had Madam Liang finished speaking than a burst of laughter and chatter came from outside the courtyard.
Liang Fugui muttered discontentedly, "They dawdle when they're working, but as soon as they hear it's time to get paid, they come running faster than rabbits."
"Alright, stop talking and just pay them their wages. Stop complaining."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right now." Liang Fugui walked out lazily.
His heart ached, and he reluctantly took out his money, but he dared not refuse. If he were even a penny short, those women might actually scratch him...
When Ru Hua received her wages, she was overjoyed. With this money, she could buy some decent food, and her parents-in-law would no longer have to eat rice bran.
Without giving it another thought, he ran home like a whirlwind, smiling as he spoke to Old Mrs. Chen, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Mother, we have money now, and we have food to eat."
"real?"
Old Mrs. Chen has been suffering these days. Ever since she drank cow dung water last time, she hasn't dared to crave anything, and she eats whatever is available at home.
That meant one meal was rice bran and mixed grains, and the next meal was mixed grains and rice bran.
Over time, her stomach swelled up like a toad slug, unable to go up or down, making her writhe on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Upon hearing that money had been made, he hurriedly got up from the kang (a heated brick bed).
Seeing this, Old Man Chen hurriedly stepped forward to help her up, saying, "Old woman, slow down, be careful not to strain your stomach."
Seeing Ruhua pull a handful of copper coins from her pocket, Old Mrs. Chen smiled so wide her mouth almost reached her ears, "Oh my, my good daughter-in-law, you are so capable."
"Yes, Ruhua is truly a great benefactor to our family. With this money, we can buy a lot of brown rice, and we can hold out until Zhancai comes back." Old Chen was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
Old Mrs. Chen frowned and glared at him fiercely. "What did you say? You want to buy brown rice again? That stuff is hard to digest if you eat too much of it. Can't you see how big my belly is? If I eat that, I'll suffocate."
"We only have a few hundred coins in total. If we don't buy brown rice, what do you suggest we buy?"
"Just stay put, why are you worrying about what to buy!" Old Mrs. Chen ignored Old Mr. Chen and looked at Ruhua with a big smile, "Good daughter-in-law, you've really worked hard these days."
"Mom, you're too kind. I'm not tired. Earning money to support my parents-in-law is what I should do."
"Oh, you're such a filial child. I'm relieved to hear you say that."
"Mother, you should lie down and rest. I'll go to town to buy some grain." After saying this, Ruhua turned to leave, but Old Mrs. Chen quickly called her back, "Ruhua, wait a moment."
"Mother, is there anything else?"
"Yes, this, this... that, that..." Old Mrs. Chen was craving those big sesame seed flatbreads, but she was too embarrassed to say it directly, and she kept stammering "this, that" without getting a clear answer.
Seeing her mother's hesitant manner, Ru Hua couldn't help but feel anxious. "Mother, just say what you have to say."
"It's nothing serious, it's just that my mouth hasn't been tasting spicy lately. Could you bring Mom something refreshing?"
"Refreshing? What's refreshing?" Ru Hua didn't react for a moment.
Old Man Chen saw through Old Woman Chen's intention. Without thinking, he smiled and said, "Ruhua, you don't know, your mother loves big sesame cakes the most. She means you have to buy her two sesame cakes."
"You talk too much, damn it!" Old Mrs. Chen glared at Old Mr. Chen reproachfully.
Ru Hua smiled and nodded, "Okay, since my mother likes to eat it, I'll buy a few more." After saying that, she politely asked, "Mother, what else would you like to eat? I'll buy it all."
Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen couldn't help but smack her lips. These days she had been eating rice bran. If she could have a meal of meat, with her mouth full of oil when she bit into it, that would be so satisfying!
She thought this to herself, but said aloud, "My stomach is so bloated right now, I can't eat anything even if there's something delicious!"
"Then I'll buy you some medicine to regulate your body. Once your bowels are clear, your stomach will feel better."
"No, no, no, don't waste that money. You'd be better off buying something nice to eat!" Old Mrs. Chen gently rubbed her stomach and said, "I heard from Old Mrs. Yang in the village that my problem is that I don't have enough fat in my stomach. I don't need to take medicine. As long as I eat a piece of meat, I'm guaranteed to be fine."
Ru Hua almost laughed in exasperation. This old lady was really something. She just said she was craving something, but she went to such lengths to come up with this. Didn't she get tired of it?
Before her husband left, he entrusted his parents to her care, so she had to take good care of the elderly couple.
But she was in a dilemma. Her family didn't have much food left; if she bought more fresh meat, she would have to buy less grain.
If that's the case, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out until my husband returns.
But if she refused, she would be betraying her husband's trust.
Thinking of this, Ruhua hardened her heart and said, "Fine, then I'll cut a piece of meat for Mother to stew and eat."
......
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