Moreover, a winter melon weighs at least ten pounds, and they can earn more than ten coins from it.
Selling a few more would be enough for a family to barely get through the famine period.
Sure enough, Wang Yulan and the others were very interested when they heard this.
"Well...that's fine too. I'll go back and bring over the melons I picked last time!" Before Wang Yulan could finish speaking, she got up and walked out...
The others also got up.
"Cui Cui, wait a moment."
Lin Cuicui turned around abruptly; "Aunt Liu, is there anything else you need?"
Liu Yingying asked with a smile, "After I collect everyone's winter melons, I'll start making candy. Zhao Di and the others alone aren't enough. Would you like to come and help me?"
"I'll pay you two coins a day, meals included, how about it?"
"Me?" Lin Cuicui pointed to herself in surprise, thinking she had misheard.
Shi Sanmei quickly answered for her daughter, "Yes! Of course we're willing!"
"Cui Cui, it's rare for me to be able to help your Aunt Liu, so you'd better work hard, or I'll beat you up!"
Everyone knows that Liu Yingying's family is the only one still able to afford food. Her daughter can eat and earn money while staying with her—what a wonderful thing...
The other women nearby were incredibly envious; they wished they had brought their children along too.
Wang Yulan shamelessly offered herself up: "Sister Liu, do you need any more people? I can call my child over too?"
But Liu Yingying refused; "No need, I don't need that many people."
"Alright, you can all go back now. Cui Cui will come over here for breakfast tomorrow morning."
After everyone left, Zhu Jiawang was the first to jump out and express his dissatisfaction.
"Why does Cui Cui get paid, but we three siblings don't?"
This brat is asking for trouble again. Liu Yingying glanced back at him.
“Starting tomorrow, you three siblings will also receive wages, one coin a day.”
Zhu Jiawang: "What! Only one coin?"
This time, Liu Yingying didn't even bother to look at him and went straight into the house.
Zhao Di couldn't stand it anymore and slapped him on the back of the head. "You're still holding a grudge? Who does Liu Niang work so hard for every day? Isn't it to support us?"
Zhu Jiawang pursed his lips and stopped talking.
Soon, Wang Yulan and the others called their husbands to bring over the winter melons from their homes and put them all in the yard.
Liu Yingying took out a scale from the house and began to weigh the items.
Sister-in-law Xu brought over six winter melons, weighing a total of seventy-five catties.
Liu Yingying asked Zhao Di to give her seventy-five coins.
Sister-in-law Xu's hands trembled slightly as she took the money; it would be enough for her family to eat for a while.
Tomorrow, she and her husband are going up the mountain to pick wild winter melons...
Next came Shi Sanmei, who brought eight winter melons, weighing a total of one hundred catties.
Zhao Di then gave her a string of cash.
Wang Yulan had fewer than the other four, but she still received fifty coins.
Everyone was happy to receive the money and prepared to go home, but they were stopped by some curious villagers as soon as they came out of Liu Yingying's house.
"Aunt Wang, I just saw you carrying so many winter melons to the scholar's house. What are you going to do with them?"
Aunt Wang frowned. She was reluctant to share such a good way of making a living with others. What if more and more people brought her winter melons and Liu Yingying didn't accept so many? Wouldn't her business be ruined?
But Lin Cuicui explained directly, "We sell the winter melons we pick from the mountain to Aunt Liu, who then makes them into candied winter melons and sells them in the city."
"Is that so?" The villager stroked his chin thoughtfully.
I heard from others today that Liu Yingying made a lot of money selling winter melons.
While he was lost in thought, Wang Yulan and the others had already walked far away.
The man snapped out of his daze, glanced at the Zhu family, and turned to go home...
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Lin Cuicui arrived.
When Liu Yingying got up, she realized that her mother had been standing in the yard for quite some time, and then she remembered that the gate hadn't been bolted last night...
A twelve or thirteen-year-old child would still be a middle school student in modern times, but in this era, they are already struggling to survive...
Liu Yingying felt a pang of sympathy and asked, "How long have you been here?"
"Not long ago, I just arrived too."
"Okay, starting tomorrow, you can come around breakfast time. I don't start work until after breakfast."
"Okay!" Lin Cuicui nodded obediently.
Liu Yingying told her to sit down for a while, then went to wash up. She then called Zhao Di and Zhao Di into the kitchen to help out.
Breakfast consisted of hand-pulled noodles and five fried eggs, one for each person.
Lin Cuicui was somewhat flattered to see that she also had a poached egg in her bowl.
"Aunt Liu, noodles are enough for me. You should give the poached egg to Jiawang; he's a boy and should eat more."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiawang, who was engrossed in eating, immediately looked up with anticipation.
But Liu Yingying said, "He doesn't do as much work as you do, and besides, he has his own share. You should eat yours, otherwise you won't have the strength to work later!"
"But..." Lin Cuicui still felt a little guilty.
In the countryside, eggs are a luxury; most people wouldn't eat them themselves, let alone give them to girls...
Zhao Di smiled and glanced at her; "Cuicui, don't worry, we have plenty of eggs, you won't eat us out of house and home!"
"Pfft!" Lin Cuicui was amused and stopped refusing.
Everyone was eating breakfast when there was another knock on the door.
Liu Yingying thought someone had heard the news and brought her winter melon, but when she opened the door, she saw Lü Sufeng standing outside with two children in her hands.
"Third sister-in-law, what do you mean by this?" Liu Yingying frowned slightly.
In the past, Ma Qiumei bullied her the most, but this Lü Sufeng is no better.
"Sister-in-law, it's like this, we're really starving at home. My husband and I are going to the county town to beg, but we don't feel comfortable leaving the two of them at home. We were thinking that since you have many children, and they're all their cousins, we thought it would be good for them to come over and keep each other company..."
"I'll have to trouble you to look after things for a while, sister-in-law!"
After finishing her sentence, Lü Sufeng didn't wait for Liu Yingying's response and ran away as if she had greased her feet.
It was as if he was afraid she would refuse.
Liu Yingying was a little angry.
You, Lü Sufeng, how dare you try to force a sale on her!
Have they completely forgotten the grudges they had previously formed?
Aren't you afraid of abusing these two kids?
To everyone's surprise, when the two children saw that Liu Yingying's expression was somewhat unpleasant, they were so frightened that they burst into tears...
My second aunt always tells them that my eldest aunt is possessed by the Five Spirits and can eat children...
Oh no, judging from her expression, she's definitely going to eat them up in a minute!
Thinking of all this, the two children cried so loudly that they attracted the attention of the neighbors.
Anyone who didn't know better would think Liu Yingying had done something to them...
"Alright! Stop crying, everyone!"
Liu Yingying frowned and roared.
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