Hong Erniang sent everyone home for dinner. These women had to cook for themselves at home, and their children or husbands were all eagerly waiting for their meals.
So Hong Erniang gave these people a two-hour break at noon before they came back to work.
The women in the village were very grateful. For them, being able to earn some money while staying at home was a truly blissful thing.
He Tiantian followed Hong Erniang home. It was midday, and everyone was having lunch, so the whole village was filled with the aroma of food.
Hong Erniang took a deep sniff and exclaimed, "I wonder whose family made this food, it smells so good!"
Moreover, the further you go, the stronger the aroma of the food becomes.
He Tiantian immediately recognized the smell as sweet and sour pork ribs, which meant that Xiao Lü must have made them at home.
She knew it in her heart, but she didn't say it out loud. She just smiled and walked home with Hong Erniang.
But when they passed by Old Zhao's house, they found a group of people standing at the door, chattering away, and they couldn't hear what they were saying.
There seemed to be arguing, and He Tiantian even heard Cheng's voice filled with anger and embarrassment.
"I don't know either, but it's this price, take it or leave it!"
Cheng was really being driven to her death by these old women. It was all that bitch He's fault for saying that she could buy half a pound of chicks for seven coins, but she had spent most of the day wandering around the city and asking countless people.
These half-pound chicks sell for at least ten coins each, while the yellow, newly hatched chicks cost five or six coins each.
Ms. Cheng was in a difficult situation. She argued with the chick seller for a long time but couldn't get the price down.
On the contrary, she offended many chicken vendors, who eventually refused to sell to her.
Mr. Cheng traveled a long way before finally managing to buy twenty chicks.
Fifteen of them weighed half a catty each and cost ten coins each. There were also five chicks, which were bought for six coins each.
Not wanting to make a wasted trip, Mr. Cheng gritted his teeth and bought some.
Originally, Cheng had thought that the other people in the village probably wouldn't accept this, and sure enough, not only did they not accept it, they also thought that she had deliberately quoted too high a price.
Thinking about all the humiliation she had suffered that day, Cheng was exhausted after a busy day, but she hadn't received a single kind word.
I was seething inside, and when I was asked a question, I completely exploded.
But the others also felt resentful. It was Cheng herself who had promised to sell the chicks for them, and they had placed great hopes on her.
But after waiting for so many days, this is the result.
It's so expensive, it's beyond their budget. So they can't help but complain a bit.
Old Mrs. Zhao overheard everything that happened at the door from inside the house, and she was very resentful that Cheng had been stirring up trouble for no reason. She had tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice instead.
But after all, this Cheng family member was still one of their own, and they couldn't let the whole village laugh at her.
So Old Lady Zhao came out leaning on her cane. Seeing that the people in front of her were all from the village, she said, "If you don't buy these chicks, just consider it as us paying for them ourselves. Cheng messed up this matter. If you want to buy them later, you can go to the city and take a look."
After finishing her sentence, Old Lady Zhao glanced sideways at Madam Cheng and said in a commanding tone, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and bring all the cages in!"
Having found a way out, Cheng quickly nodded in agreement, disregarding Old Lady Zhao's unpleasant tone.
"Okay, I'll move it right away."
The other women ultimately couldn't bring themselves to buy the chicks and left reluctantly.
It took Cheng a lot of effort to move all four cages of chicks back home.
Knowing she had messed things up and was in the wrong, she didn't dare utter a sound at home.
However, Old Lady Zhao had no intention of letting her off the hook. She looked at Madam Cheng with dissatisfaction and angrily slammed her cane on the ground.
"Look what you've done! If you're not capable, why did you take on the job? You're a disgrace!"
Cheng lowered his head after being scolded, not daring to utter a single complaint.
She glanced at the chirping chicks in the yard, and at that moment, they didn't seem so special or cute anymore. They were all bought with copper coins, and it pained her to spend that money.
If she were buying them herself, she would only need five or six at most. But now she has more than twenty chicks, and just thinking about it gives her a headache.
Just as Cheng was feeling down, Zhao Fengnian came in from outside carrying a small schoolbag.
She had a sudden inspiration and called out to Zhao Fengnian.
"Fengnian, what happened to your rabbits?"
Seeing his third aunt's appearance, Zhao Fengnian immediately felt alarmed and instinctively clutched his cloth bag and schoolbag tightly.
"What...what are you doing?"
Little Grass Sister has already said she won't eat his rabbit, so I hope Third Aunt isn't after him again.
Seeing Zhao Fengnian's reaction made Cheng feel very embarrassed in front of Old Lady Zhao. However, Cheng couldn't say much in front of Fengnian, the child.
With a smile on her face, she asked cheerfully, "You silly child, I just wanted to ask you, are you still able to keep those rabbits?"
Zhao Fengnian thought to himself, "See? See? They're still after my rabbits. Otherwise, why would they suddenly ask about this?"
To dissuade his third aunt from giving up, Zhao Fengnian patted his chest and said, "Of course I can! I go up the mountain every day to find the tenderest grass to feed them. They don't eat much; I can easily feed them!"
Cheng's inner thoughts: That's wonderful.
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