Jun Haoyue blocked the doorway and wanted to go with her, but Xu Xingchen shook his head and refused him: "You have to help out in the village. One of us has to stay."
"Then I'll go to the market." Jun Haoyue tried to make a deal.
"Are you willing to let me help so many villagers cultivate the land?"
He was naturally reluctant to let her go, so he pursed his lips and made way. "Then be careful on the road. If I don't see you back by dusk, I'll go look for you."
Xu Xingchen knew that he was worried about him, and his heart felt warm. He curved his eyes and replied to him, "Don't worry."
Xu Xingchen had already memorized the way to the town, and she deliberately quickened her pace, so she arrived in the town before noon.
At the entrance of the town, a young man in a short shirt saw her and ran into the crowd without looking back.
The open space in the center of the long street has become her exclusive stall. When she arrives at the place, she places bags of seeds there.
The sun was scorching. Jun Haoyue was not with her this time, and she could not bring her homemade parasol, so she just sat on the stall in the sun.
After a while, Chen Pi came to her stall panting, "Miss Xu, long time no see."
Xu Xingchen looked at him in surprise. It had indeed been a long time since they last met. He looked a little stronger and darker. "Long time no see."
"Miss Xu hasn't been to the market for a while. What are you selling today?"
"Sell some vegetable and fruit seeds."
Chen Pi wondered, "Why don't you sell malt sugar?"
When this was mentioned, Xu Xingchen felt bitter in her heart. She thought about it and felt that it was not something that could not be told, so she told him in detail about the locust plague that had hit Sanwan Village, the destruction of all the wheat, and the huge debt owed to the caravan.
Chen Pi's brows knitted together after hearing this. "Which caravan is it? I'll go talk to them!"
Xu Xingchen hurriedly stopped him: "Hey, don't go. I was the one who broke my promise first. Don't blame them."
"But... one hundred and fifty taels is too much."
"I can only scrape it together slowly." She didn't tell Chen Pi that the other party only gave her three days.
First, her relationship with Chen Pi was not close enough to the point of being open with him, and second, she didn't want to owe him a favor.
Chen Pi walked around twice, suddenly thought of something, and told Xu Xingchen to wait for him for a while.
Not long after, Chen Pi came back, panting, and took off the cloth bag on his back. When he opened it, he found some knitwear, children's tiger-head hats, tiger-head shoes, and so on.
"This is...?"
Chen Pi scratched his head and said, "My mother is not in good health, so she does some handicrafts at home, and I am responsible for running around and selling."
Xu Xingchen was relieved, "Auntie will definitely be very happy to see you like this."
"No, I should thank you. If you hadn't saved my mother, I wouldn't have woken up. You are my benefactor." Chen Pi replied seriously.
She nodded, then said awkwardly, "But, I don't buy these..."
Chen Pi chuckled, "Miss Xu, you misunderstood. I'm not selling these to you. I'm giving them to you. Even though they won't sell for much, they're all I have."
Xu Xingchen was surprised. He looked at the cloth bag in his hand, then looked at him again. "Give it to me?"
"yes."
Afterwards, Chen Pi did not leave. He spread a piece of cloth next to Xu Xingchen's stall, displayed his handicrafts, and sold them together.
As the sun was setting, Xu Xingchen's seeds were selling well, and Chen Pi, who was standing nearby, also sold a lot of handicrafts thanks to the bonus from the related sales.
Xu Xingchen silently counted the money he had earned, and including the money from the handicrafts, it was only a dozen taels, leaving him with fifty taels.
After counting the money, she looked at the sky and began to pack up the stall. Chen Pi called his younger brother to help clean up.
When the younger brother arrived, he winked at him and was kicked in the butt by Chen Pi. The younger brother went to clean up while muttering.
Chen Pi packed up the remaining scattered handicrafts and handed them to Xu Xingchen, "Miss Xu, you can take these back with you and sell them next time."
Xu Xingchen shook his head and declined: "How can this be so embarrassing? You gave me all the money from the sale, and you still want to give me the things. This..."
As the two of them pushed each other, the younger brother poked his head in and said, "Miss Xu, just accept it. The boss has been looking forward to seeing you for a long time. Today, I finally saw you coming. At noon..."
"Go away, you have no right to speak." Chen Pi kicked the younger brother on the butt again. The younger brother stood aside with his hands covering his buttocks with a face full of resentment.
"Miss Xu, don't listen to his nonsense. Last time, my mother blamed me for not thanking you enough, and I've been looking for an opportunity to thank you properly."
Xu Xingchen smiled and shook his head. "It's okay. I'll take these. You can tell me if you have anything next time."
"Okay, okay, no problem. Then I'll go back first. My mother is home alone, and I have to go back to see her." Chen Pi agreed happily.
The two parted at the intersection of the long street.
Xu Xingchen hugged the silver and remaining goods in his arms, took a deep breath, and hurried back.
She was eager to go home, so she took a small road. The road was winding and sparsely populated, and she walked alone in the alley.
'Crackling...'
There were two footsteps in the alley. At first, Xu Xingchen thought they were passers-by. After turning two corners, the footsteps behind her were like a shadow. Only then did she realize that she was being followed.
Not knowing the other party's purpose, Xu Xingchen ran away.
The person behind him was stunned at first, then after realizing what was happening, he quickly chased after him.
Xu Xingchen panicked and turned around and around, not knowing which road he was on. The end was actually a dead end!
She wanted to go back the way she came and run a different route, but the person following her had already caught up with her. "You bitch, you're quite a runner."
"What are you doing?" Xu Xingchen looked at the other person warily.
The person following was a man as thin as a bamboo pole. "Huh? What are you doing? What do you think I do?" He put his finger to his mouth and whistled.
He's calling his accomplices!
Xu Xingchen's alarm bells immediately rang.
The man approached Xu Xingchen step by step, "Hand over the bag in your arms, otherwise..."
Xu Xingchen stepped back, hugging the bag. She gritted her teeth and threw the bag out. "All the money is in there."
Money can be earned again if lost, so she should get out of this situation first. Otherwise, when the man’s accomplices come, she will not only be robbed of her money.
The man took two steps forward and picked up the bundle. After rummaging through it, he took out a cloth bag, which was Xu Xingchen's homemade purse. He tossed the purse in his hand and weighed it.
The man licked his lips sinisterly and said, "Young lady, you are a wise man who knows how to deal with current events. However, I want not only money but also people!" After saying that, he laughed and pounced on Xu Xingchen.
Xu Xingchen was prepared. He stepped forward and rolled on the ground, and the man missed.
"Hey, that's interesting. I like it."
The man pounced again, and Xu Xingchen grabbed the bamboo basket and wooden barrel from the corner and threw them at the man without even looking.
"Ouch!" The man cried out as he was hit on the head. A bump immediately appeared on his forehead. He cursed, "Damn it, bitch, if you don't accept my toast, you'll have to drink the penalty! I'm going to kill you today!"
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