allonlinenovel Chapter 140 Strolling through the county town on the first day of the Lunar New Year
Chapter 140 Strolling through the county town on the first day of the Lunar New Year
Lin Qingchuan was so happy and excited that he worked all night and had all the pig trotters braised early. He took a short nap and then got busy loading them onto the truck.
Suddenly, firecrackers went off in the town, one after another.
Lin Xiaotang was awakened by the sudden sound of firecrackers. She noticed the noise in the yard, so she quickly got up, dressed, and opened the door. Just then, she saw her father leading a mule cart, about to leave.
"Dad, why didn't you call me again? I was worried about letting you run back and forth by yourself."
Lin Qingchuan grinned, revealing two rows of big white teeth.
"Isn't today the New Year? I thought I'd send him back as soon as possible so I could spend the New Year with you three. Besides, I'm not afraid to go alone in the dark. What's there to worry about? Even if there are kidnappers, they need to rest for a couple of days during the New Year, don't they?"
Lin Xiaotang smiled and said, "No one can say for sure. Why don't we bring Mom and Xiaoyu along? That way you won't have to rush back for the New Year. The four of us can spend the New Year in the county and have a good time exploring."
Anyway, business was booming during the Chinese New Year. My family supplied braised pig trotters to the restaurant and earned half again as much as usual. If you can earn money, you have to be able to spend it.
Lin Qingchuan thought about it and realized that his daughter made a good point. After all, the town was far inferior to the county. Since the family split up, he had been busy farming or making money. He hadn't taken his wife and daughter out for a proper visit yet. Since visiting any place was the same, he might as well take his wife and daughter to the county.
Today is a great opportunity!
"Alright, let's wake your mother and Yu'er up, and quickly get ready to go together, but..."
"What's wrong?"
"Your mother is pregnant, and she has to travel such a long distance. I don't know if she can handle it?"
As the father and daughter were talking, Liu came out dressed.
In the past six months, without her mother-in-law's nagging and less exposure to wind and sun, and with plenty of food and warm clothing, she has changed from her thin and dark appearance to fair skin and a little plump. Wearing new clothes, she looks several years younger than she did six months ago.
“Dad, you know that farmers work until they give birth. When I was pregnant with Tang’er and Yu’er, I worked until I gave birth to both of them. Walking a little is fine. If it’s really too much, you take Yu’er and walk quickly to deliver the things, and let Tang’er lead me. We’ll walk slowly to find you.”
Lin Xiaotang suggested, "Dad, Mom, why don't we sell the mule and buy a horse? It will be more convenient to deliver goods back and forth, and the horse-drawn carriage will run faster. Dad won't have to suffer from foot pain anymore."
It’s not impossible!
Nowadays, the family has enough money to buy horses. Once the mule cart is unloaded, the horse can be harnessed and it can run away.
Lin Qingchuan immediately agreed, "Okay, let's wait for an opportunity to sell the mule and buy a horse."
Overjoyed, Liu quickly pulled her youngest daughter out of bed, dressed her in a bright red new dress, and then deftly combed her two daughters' hair and tied them with red ribbons.
Lin Qingchuan also loaded the portion of braised pig's trotters intended for Yunlai Restaurant onto the carriage, so that it could be unloaded at the restaurant when they passed by.
After tidying up, the family, dressed in new clothes, led their mule out the door.
Xiaoyu sat on the mule cart, so excited that she could no longer stutter. She chattered away the whole way, more energetic than a sparrow.
Following her daughter's advice, Liu walked for a while, then rested for a period of time on a mule cart.
Later, Lin Xiaotang got off the mule cart and walked, forcing her mother to sit on the mule cart to rest, so as not to tire herself out and cause miscarriage.
Fortunately, the family got up early and leisurely made their way into the county to Wanhe Restaurant, so they weren't late.
After unloading the truck, the family of four found a small stall, ate some steamed buns and drank some porridge, and then headed towards the busiest street market.
Looking at the bustling market in Dushui County, Liu couldn't help but sigh.
"My goodness, this county market is huge! The roads are so wide, one road is three times wider than the town itself! And the shops here, each one is bigger than the last! Wow... the clothes in that clothing shop are so beautiful..."
Liu sighed repeatedly, finding everything she saw fascinating.
Xiaoyu's eyes, however, were glued to the candy figurine stall by the roadside.
She exclaimed excitedly, "Dad, Mom, what's that? I want to eat it!"
With money in his pocket, Lin Qingchuan was willing to spend it and quickly bought three sticks, one for each of his wife and daughter to try.
Liu, her face flushed, held the sugar figurine her husband had forced into her hand. "Dad, you only need to buy one for the two children. Why waste money by buying an extra one?"
“I’ve already told you, I’ll make up for everything you lacked when you were little. Besides, you’re not alone now, there’s another one in your belly. Just let the baby have a taste first.”
Lin Xiaotang couldn't help but burst out laughing. Her father's corny pick-up lines were truly corny yet refreshingly unique.
She turned her head and saw someone passing by a jewelry stall, so she immediately ran over to take a look.
The stall was filled with all kinds of jewelry: bracelets, earrings, hairpins, and headdresses—wooden, sterling silver, and jade…
She didn't understand jade, but silver was easy to identify.
Among a dazzling array of jewelry, she spotted a silver hairpin with plum blossoms carved on it, simple yet elegant.
It matches her mother's new clothes perfectly!
So she quickly waved and called out, "Mother, come and see! This plum blossom hairpin is very beautiful and will definitely suit you perfectly."
What?
hairpin?
That must have cost a lot of money, right?
Liu felt bad about spending the money and immediately waved her hand to refuse, "No, no, no, Tang'er, let's just browse around, why are you looking at hairpins? They're too expensive!"
Lin Qingchuan stopped the mule to one side and quickly pushed his wife toward the jewelry stall.
"If Tang'er says it's pretty, then it must be pretty. If you like it, we'll buy it. We can't afford anything expensive, but a hairpin is fine."
At her daughter's and husband's insistence, Liu went to see it anyway. Not only did her daughter fall in love with it at first sight, but she also couldn't take her eyes off it after just one glance.
The hairpin is thick at one end and thin at the other. The thick end is only about the size of a chopstick, with two branches wrapped around it. There are plum blossoms and tender buds on it. Under the sunlight, it shines with a silvery light and is very beautiful.
She asked the stall owner somewhat hesitantly, "Sister-in-law, how much is this hairpin?"
The woman selling hairpins quickly glanced at them, and seeing that the whole family was dressed in new clothes, she immediately held up five fingers.
Liu sighed, "Fifty coins?"
The woman's eyes widened immediately, looking at her as if she were a fool. "Are you kidding me? These are pure silver. Even if you melt them down and use them as money, they'd still be worth a lot. Fifty coins for a few wooden hairpins!"
Five taels of silver?
Lin Xiaotang was so shocked her jaw almost dropped!
Good heavens! Why doesn't this woman just rob someone? Five taels of silver could make so many hairpins as thin as these!
She quickly said, "For such a thin hairpin, you want five taels of silver? That's a joke! It's worth at most half a tael, no more than that!"
The woman thought half a tael wasn't enough to make a profit, but she didn't want to lose the deal, so she immediately changed the price, "Add another tael, you can take the hairpin. I can't sell it for half a tael of silver, there's still the labor cost involved. Look at me, I'm still setting up a stall here during the New Year, it's not easy for me, is it?"
Lin Xiaotang felt that one and a half ounces was too expensive and that she could try to bargain it down further.
Liu felt that one and a half taels of silver was enough for their family's expenses for a year, and she was heartbroken. She quickly pulled her daughter toward the mule cart.
"Tang'er, this hairpin is too expensive. Mother doesn't want it. Let's go look somewhere else."
Upon hearing that the guest was leaving, the woman immediately relented and asked him to stay.
"Hey, little sister, come back quickly. I've got half a tael of silver for you. It's the New Year today, even if we don't make money, we can still have some festive cheer."