After Pang Dayong and Chen Juren walked away, Hong Xiaoduo led Tian Shu into the street.
"Aren't family members the closest and the ones we should cherish the most?" Tian Shu muttered, somewhat puzzled.
He just couldn't understand why Pang Yong reacted that way when his family was mentioned. He was so kind to a mentally ill old man with whom he had no blood relation.
"Logically, it should be as you say, but human nature is complex. Not everyone cherishes their family and loved ones, and there are many reasons for this."
There is also a type of family member who is not worth cherishing.
As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day," meaning that a kind person can be so disappointed in their family that they must have been heartbroken. Hong Xiaoduo said as she walked forward.
Tian Shu stood beside her, pondering her words.
It sounds like she knows a lot about Pang Yong's family affairs.
At the entrance of the alley, there was a hunter selling mountain goods: a few animal hides, dried mushrooms, hazelnuts, and pine nuts.
Since discovering that she has a cheat code that allows her to hit anything she wants, Hong Xiaoduo has been hunting a lot of prey along the way with the children in the mountains and forests. Animal hides are naturally plentiful, but things like mushrooms, hazelnuts, and pine nuts are seasonal and cannot be picked at any time.
She and her children also love to eat nuts, and even if they pick some along the way when the season is right, they will eat them all in a few days.
"Tian Shu, these dried mushrooms are pretty good. Let's buy them to stew with chicken. These hazelnuts and pine nuts are also good. Let's buy them all." Hong Xiaoduo picked up each bag and looked at them. The nuts were large and none of them had wormholes. She then said to Tian Shu.
Upon hearing this, Tian Shu immediately asked the other party about the price, weighed the contents, calculated the total amount, and even asked the other party to accompany the goods to the inn.
In the short time that followed, Hong Xiaoduo, who was standing to the side, had already entered the space and compared Pang Yong's hair with Jiang An's.
Because it was by the roadside, they left the space before the instruments could produce results.
Anyway, Old Luo had said that she was the owner of this space and no one else could enter, so he wasn't worried that someone with ill intentions might go in and switch the paternity test report when she wasn't there.
She extended her thoughts out of the space and just then heard the hunter happily agree, following the two of them to deliver the mountain goods to the inn.
"Young lady, young master, do you not find any of these hides that you like? I can give you a discount." The hunter tried to sell his animal hides.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, we have our own hides, and quite a lot of them," Tian Shu replied apologetically.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. I just couldn't resist being a little greedy because you two are so easygoing and agreeable," the hunter said with a simple and honest smile.
Hearing the other party's response, Hong Xiaoduo and Tian Shu couldn't help but laugh as well.
"By the way, uncle, do you have any hawthorns? If so, we'd like some." Hong Xiaoduo suddenly remembered that she had promised the children to make candied hawthorns herself, but she hadn't seen any for sale in Yaozhen.
Upon hearing this, the hunter immediately nodded and said, "Yes, yes, but those things aren't worth much. I'll be coming down the mountain again tomorrow, so I'll just bring you some. I won't charge you."
“It’s not worth much, but it was hard work picking it, so how can we just take it for free? We don’t need just a few kilograms. If you have thirty or fifty kilograms at home, bring them all and sell them to us. You can buy some candy for your kids later.” Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile.
Upon hearing that it was thirty to fifty catties, the hunter thought he had misheard: "Young lady, do you mean three catties, five catties, or ten catties?"
Does it mean within 50 jin (25 kg)?
"I mean within 50 jin (25 kg). We have a lot of kids in our family who love candied hawthorns, so I was thinking of buying some to try making them myself later," Hong Xiaoduo replied patiently.
"Fifty catties?" The hunter understood clearly and no longer said it was worthless or that he didn't need the money.
She's right. Even if it's not worth much, if a lot of people want it, you can sell it for more money and buy some snacks for the kids.
Upon arriving at the inn, the hunter helped deliver the dried mushrooms, pine nuts, and hazelnuts to the room before hurriedly leaving. He didn't sell the animal hides, thinking he should hurry back home to retrieve the hawthorns and deliver them before dark, otherwise, what if the family had something come up and had to leave early the next day?
Whether it's a lot of money or a little, you only feel at ease when you have it in your hands.
Animal hides are more valuable than hawthorns, but if you can't find a buyer and nobody wants them, it's all for nothing.
"Tian Shu, where are you going?" Hong Xiaoduo, who had returned to her room and was about to enter her spatial dimension, saw Tian Shu walking out and hurriedly asked.
Tian Shu assured, "I won't wander off or go anywhere. I'll just go check on Xiao Hui and come right back."
Upon hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo nodded, got up, and followed her outside. Although Tian Shu would be eleven years old after the New Year, and was very smart and mature, she was still worried about him leaving her sight and acting alone.
There are child traffickers in modern times, and there were human slave traders in ancient times. She would rather be careful than be careless and risk something going wrong.
Money lost can be earned back, and lost items can be bought or replaced.
Children are an exception; no one can predict what tragic fate awaits abducted children.
Tian Shu felt happy, at ease, and safe with Hong Xiaoduo's caution and prudence. He didn't think she was being overly cautious or annoying at all.
Meanwhile, in a large mansion on the south side of the town, a whole family, men and women, young and old, were happily looking through the newly moved-in silks, antiques, and jewelry in the courtyard of the main house.
"Master, why is the New Year's gift from Yaozhen the same as last year? Didn't Xia'er write to say that she earned more this year than last year?" Guo, whose face was full of wrinkles but adorned with gold and silver and heavily made up, looked at the thousand-tael silver note in her husband's hand and said with great dissatisfaction.
Pang Xinghuai, who was already frowning, said in a deep voice: "What else could it be? Those two are only thinking about enjoying themselves. As for us, we can just deal with them casually."
So, after the New Year, find an excuse to go over there and give them a talking-to.
Jiang An's family is wealthy and powerful, and they earn money easily. They offer us such a meager tribute; do they think we're beggars?
“Grandfather, Tian Er’s family just came back from outside and said they saw my eldest cousin going fishing with that madman Chen again. Should we have the servants bring him back and lock him up? He’s actually living at that madman’s house now, and he’s completely disgraced the Pang family.” A boy of thirteen or fourteen stepped forward indignantly to complain.
Pang Xinghuai's gaze remained fixed on the silver notes in his hand. Hearing this, he didn't even raise his head, but said irritably, "Why bother with that ungrateful, ungrateful wretch? Let him be. Just looking at him is bad luck."
"He probably holds a grudge against us because of that incident, right?" Guo thought and said.
Pang Xinghuai snorted and said, "Is that our fault? They knew who they could be with to enjoy life. We didn't break them up. They can only blame their bad luck..."
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