When the two reached the village entrance, they ran into Uncle Li, who was driving an oxcart to the county.
The oxcart was already packed with He Tiantian and her family, including two adults and four children. Later, Zhao Yanniang and Tiezi's mother arrived and managed to squeeze onto the oxcart.
Zhao Yanniang regularly went to the county to deliver food to her son every week, while Tiezi's mother, He Tiantian, had only seen her once.
The time her husband, Zhang Wulai, got into trouble, that's when Tiezi's mother cried the most.
Tiezi's mother was plump, with droopy eyebrows and a face that looked like a bitter gourd.
This reminded He Tiantian of the character Xianglin's Wife in Lu Xun's works. Tiezi's mother was just like that, always full of complaints wherever she went.
From the moment her backside touched the oxcart, Tiezi's mother began to lament.
"Sigh, life is so hard for my family. Zhang Wulai committed a capital crime, leaving me alone to raise Tiezi, who is still so young... How could he be so heartless?"
"How could I have been so blind to marry such a scoundrel? I regret it so much..."
On the entire oxcart, only Tiezi's mother could be heard muttering to herself.
If it were just ordinary self-talk, that would be fine, but when Tiezi's mother complained, she would occasionally ask Zhao Yanniang, who was beside her, for a response.
This is really...too difficult.
Even someone as gossipy and enthusiastic as Zhao Yanniang was somewhat listless at this moment, thanks to Tiezi's mother's nagging.
Zhao Xiaocao, carrying a basket, looked like she hadn't woken up yet, and seemed listless.
However, she had sharp eyes, and after spotting Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi on the oxcart at the village entrance, she immediately perked up.
What are they doing? Are they going to the county?
Zhao Xiaocao was incredibly jealous; she had never been to the county town before. A few days ago, she begged her parents and brothers to take her with them, but none of them wanted to.
They said she was wasting money on travel expenses and that she would have saved money if she had stayed at home.
Zhao Xiaocao was furious and resentful. One day she would leave this wretched village, find work in the county, and never come back home!
"Grandma, those are Second Aunt and the others." Zhao Xiaocao hid the jealousy in her eyes and looked at the people on the oxcart with envy.
Old Mrs. Zhao looked up and saw that there wasn't a single person on the cart full of people that she liked.
So... that Tiezi's mother used to like visiting their house.
It would be a bit impolite not to greet her as they approached. When Old Lady Zhao got a little closer to the oxcart, she asked, "Tiezi's mother, are you going to the county?"
Tiezi's mother then looked up and ended the previous conversation. When she saw Old Lady Zhao, she forced a smile that was more like a grimace.
"Yes, I'll go to the county to see if there's any manual labor I can do. You know my family's situation; without his father, we're almost starving..."
**Let's get back to the topic we just discussed.**
He Tiantian was getting a headache from the noise, especially after seeing Old Lady Zhao's shrewish face, which made her feel really bad.
Zhao Xiaocao stood at a distance, unwilling to go forward; she didn't want to lose face in front of Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi.
Tiezi's mother chatted with Zhao's old woman for a long time. If Uncle Li hadn't urged them to leave soon, they probably wouldn't have stopped talking like that.
He Tiantian and Zhao Yanniang both had past grievances with Old Lady Zhao, so naturally neither of them wanted to give the old woman a second glance.
The oxcart slowly walked out of the mountains. Without Old Lady Zhao, Tiezi's mother wanted to chat with Zhao Yan's mother again.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yanniang yawned and said, "I'm sleepy. I got up too early this morning. I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when we get there." After saying that, she closed her eyes and dozed off.
Tiezi's mother awkwardly shut her mouth. She still wanted to find Sister-in-law Yulan and He Tiantian. But the two of them seemed to have discussed it beforehand and buried their heads together, not knowing what they were doing.
On the oxcart, there were only four little calves chattering happily the whole way.
Even seeing a bird in the sky or a flower by the roadside, as long as it's not from the village, they find it all very novel.
He Tiantian knew this road so well that she knew every single stone along the way. As they approached the county seat, He Tiantian felt that something was different from usual.
The streets were as bustling and lively as ever. It took He Tiantian quite a while to notice that there were more soldiers on the road.
What's going on?
He Tiantian noticed that every now and then, soldiers would ride on horseback, leading a group of soldiers, and gallop from the street toward the city gate.
Wherever they went, people all consciously dispersed.
However, the people in the city seemed to be used to this situation. He Tiantian casually pulled a passerby aside and asked, "Uncle, what's going on with these soldiers? They're quite scary."
The uncle was very helpful. "Young lady, are you new here? There's been a flood in the south, and everyone is sending troops to provide support!"
Flood? He Tiantian looked completely bewildered.
Their area hasn't had a single rain since the beginning of spring, so how come there are already floods in the south?
However, I heard that the drainage system was not perfect in ancient times, and it was common for floods to inundate fields and villages.
In ancient times, natural disasters were frequent, and He Tiantian only hoped that the floods in the south would not affect their area.
She wanted to take the cross-stitch to Hong Erniang's Yunshui Shop to exchange for money, so she asked Sister Yulan to take the children to eat a bowl of wontons each on the street, and she would pay for it.
The main reason was that she was afraid Sister Yulan would feel bad if she saw that her cross-stitch could sell for ten taels of silver, but she only received one hundred coins as payment. That's why she sent Sister Yulan away.
Everyone hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, so they were all hungry at this time.
After settling them in, He Tiantian took her cross-stitch embroidery to Hong Erniang's Yunshui Shop.
The shop had been renovated by Hong Erniang at some point, and it looked extremely exquisite.
When Hong Erniang saw He Tiantian arrive, she still warmly invited her in.
"Hey girl, it's been two months and you're only coming now? I thought you were busy with childbirth."
"No, no, I was busy with farming recently and couldn't come over," He Tiantian said with a laugh.
The price was the same as last time. After exchanging the money for one hundred taels of silver, He Tiantian was about to leave. But at this moment, Hong Erniang stopped her.
"Little sister, I have something to ask you to give me some advice."
He Tiantian looked at Hong Erniang with confusion, but seeing her pleading expression, she couldn't bear to refuse her.
"What's wrong? Tell me."
Hong Erniang flicked the handkerchief in her hand, "It's still that Ni Chang Ge, you probably haven't seen it yet. They're selling cross-stitch now, and it's taken away a lot of my customers."
He Tiantian was quite surprised. What exactly was the background of this Ni Chang Pavilion? How could they replicate modern things?
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