When Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao arrived at Xiao Yi's house in a huff, Xiao Yi's house was bustling with activity.
A dozen men were tiling the roof of the side room, while more than twenty old women, wives, and children were gathered around a basket of chicks, ducks, and geese. Qu Xiaodie was helping to collect money, grain, or record work. Xiao Yi, unable to resist Xiao Jinyu's nagging, was accompanying Xiao Jinyu around the large basket to watch people buy chicks.
Of course, Xiao Haitang also joined in the fun. When someone picked one out, she frowned and soon urged Xie Yushu not to sell it anymore, because she couldn't bear to part with it!
Xiao Jinyu also pointed with her chubby little finger.
"This is so cute, I love it too! This one is cute too!"
He looked very reluctant to part.
News travels fast in the village. As soon as most people heard that Xie Yushu had bought a lot of chicks to sell, they came over one after another early in the morning.
Half a day has passed, and most of them have been bought or exchanged. Xie Yushu didn't plan to make money from these chicks and ducklings. She bought them for three or four copper coins, fed them millet on the way, and would sell them for an extra copper coin when she got back.
Chicken chicks were sold for four copper coins each, ducklings for five copper coins each, and goslings for six copper coins each. Before noon, more than fifty of the three hundred chicken chicks were gone, all one hundred ducklings had been sold, and twenty-five goslings remained.
Those who are willing to spend money to buy or exchange grain are the families who followed us into the mountains. They still have some money left over. They have just experienced two years of high prices and have eaten grain that cost two taels of silver per pound. Now, chickens and ducklings cost three or five copper coins each, which is really not expensive!
Moreover, farmers can't afford meat. Their most basic supplements, besides eggs, are chickens, ducks, and geese. When they are tired from work, they eat some eggs. They only kill a chicken to eat when a baby is born or an important person in the family is sick!
If you raise a lot of chickens, you can save up the eggs and sell them to supplement your household income!
Chickens, ducks, and geese are essential for farmers!
Therefore, Xie Yushu's batch of seedlings was very popular and was almost sold out in no time!
Hearing Xiao Haitang and Xiao Jinyu crying anxiously, Xie Yushu came over to check. Seeing that there weren't many chickens and geese left, she quickly spoke up.
"Alright, ladies and aunties, we're not selling these anymore. We still need to raise some for our own family, and we also need to give a few to my parents and a few to my in-laws. We'll keep these for ourselves!"
A few people missed it later, which was quite a pity, so they had to give up!
Widow Liu was cooking. She also wanted to raise a few chickens. She couldn't afford to feed more than five or six, but she could manage. She would let them out to eat insects and give them some rice bran in the winter. They should be able to lay eggs by next spring!
She had planned to ask Xiao Yi for a few chickens when she finished work in the evening and no one was around, but she didn't expect them to be all gone before work was even over. She panicked, grabbed a handful of firewood, and rushed over.
"Sister Xie, could you spare a few for me? I was planning to catch more tonight, but I didn't expect them to be distributed so quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yushu looked at the chicks and said,
"Why didn't you say so earlier? We don't even have enough for our own family!"
Widow Liu hurriedly said,
"I told Brother Xiao, but he probably didn't notice!"
Xiao Yi was taken aback. He hadn't heard what Widow Liu had said to him, but since Widow Liu had directly said that he might not have noticed, he couldn't refute it even if he wanted to, so he remained silent.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Xie Yushu assumed he had agreed to Widow Liu's request, so she spoke up.
"Then I'll make you four chicks! Will you pay me now or will it be deducted from your wages at the end of the month?"
She didn't want to choose any of them, but since Xie Yushu had asked so clearly, she was too embarrassed to say she wanted them for free, so she said...
"Then let's deduct it from your wages first!"
After saying that, she quickly grabbed four chicks and had her daughter take them home.
She was thinking that she would talk to Xiao Yi later. If she won Xiao Yi over, why would she give him money? Whether Xie Yushu stayed or left depended on her own decision!
There are fifty-two chickens left! Xie Yushu asked Xiao Haitang and Xiao Jinyu to keep ten chickens and five geese, and then she picked out twenty chickens and eight geese and put them in a small basket, which she had Xiao Haitang and Hu Mei carry to Xie Baotian!
With the remaining twenty-one chickens and twelve geese, Xie Yushu planned to divide them equally among Old Man Xiao, Xiao Dayong's family, and Xiao Yuanhang's family. No matter how much she disliked Old Man Xiao and Old Lady Xiao, Xie Yujiao, and Xiao Yuanhang, she didn't want to leave any reason for criticism on the surface, because these few copper coins were not worth it!
After Xie Yushu finished dividing the chickens, she asked Xiao Yi to deliver them. Just then, the person who bought the chickens hadn't left yet, and the village chief's wife was also there, so everyone could be a witness!
As expected, after Xie Yushu finished distributing the goods, everyone spoke up, praising her for being kind, righteous, and filial.
The village chief's wife even gave Xie Yushu a special compliment.
"This child is kind and honest!"
Others who knew the inside story, especially those who had seen Old Madam Xiao and her bandits ransacking Xiao Yi's place, said that Xie Yushu was a wife that was hard to find even with a lantern, as she was both filial and capable!
So you see! Sometimes doing things against your conscience isn't for nothing! If you do everything you're supposed to do, you'll be in the right!
However, before Xiao Yi could even step out the door with his basket, he was blocked back by Old Man Xiao and his group!
Old Man Xiao pulled a long face, looking like he had a deep grudge, and began to speak.
"I heard you bought a donkey and a cart? And hired people to serve you?"
Xiao Yi tucked Xiao Jinyu behind him and said
"The donkey, the cart, and the other things weren't bought by me; I don't have the money!"
He was a total straight man, which made Old Man Xiao choke and nearly fall backward.
Grandma Xiao was so angry that she stepped forward and slapped Xiao Yi hard across the face.
"You bastard! Is this how you talk to your father!"
"Whether you bought it or not, whoever bought it is still part of this family, and everything they buy belongs to the Xiao family!"
While cursing, Xie Yujiao and Xiao Yan glared at Xie Yushu, and they also looked at Xie Yushu with provocative expressions.
Xie Yushu picked at her ear, thinking to herself, "What bad luck!"
But he didn't rush to speak! Instead, he gave Qu Xiaodie a wink!
After all, Old Mrs. Xiao hadn't even pointed her finger at her yet, so she couldn't be bothered to pick up on that insult!
Sure enough, without her saying a word, the village chief's wife scolded her.
"Old Lady Xiao, what's wrong with you?"
"Your second child just brought you some chicks and goslings, and what are you doing? You all have long faces, and then you come and start hitting and yelling at each other? What kind of parents are you?"
"What good intentions does he have? He's a heartless bastard! Now that he's got money, he's secretly enjoying himself! He's completely forgotten about his parents!"
Old Mrs. Xiao roared arrogantly.
The village chief's wife was so angry her eyes were practically spitting fire.
"That's just being unreasonable!"
Look, it's already divided up. One share for you, one share for the eldest son's family, and one share for the fourth son's family! Each family has four geese and seven chickens.
The child was kindly thinking of you, and you, instead, started cursing and hitting him!
Ten fingers may be of different lengths, but you two shouldn't go too far!
Xiao Yi handed the basket to Xiao Dayong
"Take these. One for Father and Mother, one for you, and one for Fourth Brother!"
Xiao Dayong took it
"You're so thoughtful!"
Grandma Xiao angrily pointed at Xiao Dayong's nose and cursed.
"You've got a heart, but these few worthless chicks are all you're good for, look at them like they're worthless!"
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