He Tiantian wasn't surprised that Uncle Li would say that; she just felt that women in this era were quite tragic.
At home, they work like oxen, eating the least but doing the most work.
The oxcart swayed and rattled into the city, and Uncle Li, as before, drove it to a shady spot under a tree to wait.
After so long, she came to the county town again, but this time it felt very different from before.
The usually crowded streets are now deserted, with only a handful of people around. Some of the food stalls that used to be there have closed down. Only a few shops remain open.
He Tiantian clutched the bundle in her hands and hurried to Hong Erniang's Yunshui Shop.
It just so happened that Hong Erniang was also planning to close her shop and go home; the shop hadn't had any business for a long time. Hong Erniang was now relying on a few large clients she had maintained in the past to keep going.
"Second Aunt?" He Tiantian called out from behind.
Hong Erniang quickly turned around, and her face lit up with joy the moment she saw He Tiantian.
"Big sister, you've finally arrived! I figured you'd been busy with your baby since you hadn't come for so long." Hong Erniang unlocked the door again and welcomed He Tiantian inside.
He Tiantian was a little embarrassed. She really wanted to come earlier, but she just couldn't get away.
Moreover, it was too inconvenient not being able to contact her by phone at this time, so she could only postpone it again and again.
"How are you? You look so energetic, it seems you've recovered quite well." Hong Erniang looked He Tiantian up and down, inside and out.
"Hehe...not bad, not bad. But why do I see that your shop, and the shops on the street, aren't doing very well? What's going on?" He Tiantian made some pleasantries, then asked with a puzzled look.
Hong Erniang sighed heavily and waved the handkerchief she was holding.
"Don't even mention it. The entire Changning County... no, most of Quanzhou is experiencing drought. Our area is the hardest hit. Now every household is without water, so who has the leisure to come out and buy things?"
He Tiantian was somewhat surprised; she had no idea that the drought was so severe.
She had heard Zhao Tingzhang mention it before, saying that several villages were suffering from severe drought. Their Changfeng Village was located deep in the mountains, quite far away, so it was slightly better off.
"Then what will happen to your shop, Second Sister?"
"What should we do? I don't know either. Business is bad right now, and we can't even make a living by running the shop. As for that cotton you mentioned to me last time, I'm planning to go up north myself." Hong Erniang looked into the distance with a determined gaze, as if she had made up her mind.
Back in the day, before she opened her shop, she had traveled all over the country and seen all sorts of things.
Anyway, she was all alone, so she had no worries no matter how far she went.
"Second Aunt, the mountains are high and the roads are long, can you manage by yourself?" He Tiantian was already imagining the fighting, killing and robbery scenes she had seen in TV dramas.
After all, this is not a society governed by the rule of law, and people's lives and property are not guaranteed in any way.
"What's the big deal! I wouldn't trust anyone else to go! Besides, Quanzhou is suffering from drought right now, I might even survive if I go out there," Hong Erniang said casually.
Although the shop wasn't doing well, Hong Erniang still managed to settle all the goods in He Tiantian's possession.
It won't make a difference if she sells these two days; cross-stitch is easy to sell anyway. She has connections, so she can just package them all up and sell them.
After leaving the shop, He Tiantian couldn't feel happy despite having made money.
She looked at the glaring sunlight. In this sweltering heat, she wondered when it would rain in this wretched place.
Walking on the street, it felt like my feet were being burned.
He Tiantian planned to buy a lot of things this time, so she first went to the market and bought some vegetables and pork. Then she went to a clothing store on the street and bought a few ready-made clothes.
She bought two outfits for herself, and each of her four children also bought two outfits.
Finally, she went to the pastry shop and bought more than a dozen bags of pastries. Since Lantern is currently learning to make pastries, she bought more than a dozen kinds for Lantern to study and to provide her with some inspiration.
Even after buying all of these, there's still a lot of stuff left.
He Tiantian carried a large package out of the city gate. There were few people on the oxcart when it came up, but there were four or five people on the way back.
Having lived in the village for so long, He Tiantian still didn't know all the members of each family.
However, these people did remember who He Tiantian was.
Before she even got into the car, one of the young women beckoned He Tiantian over, "Wanzi's mom, come sit next to me, I'm free."
He Tiantian glanced at her; she seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place her. She smiled sheepishly and tried to put her things in the car first.
"Let me help you," Zhao Guihua said, taking He Tiantian's bundle from her.
He Tiantian didn't even realize what was happening. To be honest, she didn't like others touching the things here.
The main thing is to be wary of others. She's a widow with so many children. If she flaunts her wealth, she'll only bring trouble upon herself!
Zhao Guihua is quick-handed and strong.
He Tiantian tugged at it twice, but couldn't budge it, and even stumbled forward.
After putting the package away, Zhao Guihua looked at He Tiantian with embarrassment.
"Ah...are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
He Tiantian waved her hand and reluctantly sat down next to Zhao Guihua. Mainly because there didn't seem to be any other seats available.
"Oh, Maruko's mom, why did you buy so many things by yourself? Is this the cross-stitch you've been doing all this time?" A familiar-looking woman asked He Tiantian warmly.
He Tiantian tried hard to search her memory for who this person was, but ultimately failed.
She sighed heavily, "That's right! I paid for all these embroideries myself, but I didn't expect that the harvest would be so bad now that no one would buy them."
"As you've probably seen today, many shops in the city are closed. People are struggling to survive, so who's going to do business? I bought these embroidered pieces myself, so I can't just throw them away. I have to take them back with me. Sigh..."
After He Tiantian finished speaking, the women next to her all looked regretful.
"Oh dear, doesn't that mean you're losing money in this business, Maruko-chan?" a woman asked dramatically.
“That’s right! But Maruko’s mom probably earned enough before, hehe…” Zhao Guihua chimed in.
She had just deliberately helped Maruko's mother with her luggage, and she had carefully squeezed it; it was soft and did indeed resemble fabric or embroidery.
The other people on the bus who had initially tried to get close to He Tiantian gave up after hearing what she said.
See? Doing business is the most unreliable thing. You can lose money anytime. It's much more reliable to just farm honestly.
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