Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Big Girl Li Who Appeared Suddenly
There were two bowls stacked together. The bowl on top contained a large string of copper coins.
There was also a piece of pig liver below it.
It was the piece that they hadn't sold when they closed their stall. It was estimated to be more than two catties.
A warm sensation welled up in Qin Xiaoyao's heart, and her eyes turned red.
She was envious of her predecessor…
She wiped the corners of her eyes.
She quickly counted the copper coins and found that there were a hundred of them.
She put the copper coins into the money bag and walked forward with the bamboo backpack on her back.
What was there to be envious of? Now she was Qin Sanya, and her predecessor's father was her father.
In the future, she would take good care of her father on behalf of her predecessor. Yes, she would treat him as her own father.
Feeling the weight of the money bag on her waist, Qin Xiaoyao calculated that she had about 233 copper coins now.
In the afternoon, when Doctor Li came to visit, after deducting the deposit, she had to pay at least another fifteen copper coins for the house call and consultation fee.
As for the money for the medicine, the medicine that Doctor Li brought for his visit should not cost much.
Even if he wanted to prescribe expensive medicine, he would probably have to wait for her to come into town before he could prepare it for her.
When the time came, with the silver borrowed from her father, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Qin Xiaoyao felt more at ease when she thought of this.
Then, she looked at a grain store in the distance.
Qin Xiaoyao furrowed her brows when she recalled how her mother-in-law had cooked watery congee this morning.
Thereafter, she walked toward the grain store.
Since she was already here, she had to buy something to bring back.
After entering the grain store, Qin Xiaoyao saw the prices of various grains.
The fine rice and noodle flour were as high as six or seven copper coins. With their family's current situation, they could not afford it.
Brown rice and rough noodle flour were much cheaper at two copper coins per catty.
"Miss, how much do you want?" The waiter saw Qin Xiaoyao stop in front of the brown rice and came over.
"I want to buy ten catties of brown rice and ten catties of flour, but I didn't bring anything to hold them."
It was only after she entered that Qin Xiaoyao noticed that the people who came to buy grains had all brought their own containers to store the food.
Some brought sacks for rice and flour, while others brought jars.
The waiter smiled.
"Oh, that's easy. We have sacks for storing food, and the deposit is five copper coins for one. You can bring it back for a refund the next time you come."
Qin Xiaoyao thought for a moment and then nodded.
"Then I'll have to trouble you to help me weigh it, my brother."
The waiter smiled. "10 catties of brown rice and 10 catties of rough noodle flour coming right up!" he responded.
Then, he immediately went to get a sack and weighed the rice and flour for Qin Xiaoyao.
Qin Xiaoyao waited until the waiter helped put the rice and flour into the bamboo backpack on her back before she took out the money and went to the counter to settle the bill.
After paying 50 copper coins, she only had 183 copper coins left in her pocket.
After leaving the grain store, Qin Xiaoyao felt that the backpack on her back had gained 20 catties, but she didn't really feel the weight all that much.
Just as she was about to leave town and go home, she heard the sound of candied hawthorn being sold.
She thought of the two little ones at home, and she also felt a little hungry…
Making up her mind, Qin Xiaoyao finally called out to the man who was selling candied hawthorn.
"Mister, wait!"
The man carrying the candied hawthorn stopped in his tracks immediately. He turned around and saw Qin Xiaoyao, a smile on his face.
"Miss, you want to buy candied hawthorn?" He had only made a hundred skewers of candied hawthorn today, and there were only a few left. He could pack up and go home after selling off these remaining sticks.
"Yes, I am. Mister, how much are your candied hawthorn?" Qin Xiaoyao asked.
"Hehe! Two copper coins for one," the seller replied.
"How many do you want, Miss?"
Qin Xiaoyao was stunned.
Two copper coins for one skewer? It was actually the same price as the rice and noodle flour.
However, there was sugar on the candied hawthorn, and sugar was a precious item in ancient times. Thinking about it in this way, the price was reasonable.
Qin Xiaoyao took another look at the broom-like holder the seller was holding, stuck with skewers of candied hawthorn. There were exactly five skewers of candied hawthorn left on it.
"Er… Mister, how about giving me all five skewers for eight copper coins?" Qin Xiaoyao tried to bargain.
"This way, I'll get a discount, and you can go home after selling it. You won't have to walk around on the streets anymore."
The seller paused for a while.
"Alright. It's the last few skewers. I'll sell them to you," he said after that.
These were the last few remaining skewers, which did not look as good as the ones sold earlier.
Furthermore, there were not as many people on the streets now as there had been in the morning.
It was also good to sell it out early and go home.
"Thank you, Mister!" Qin Xiaoyao quickly thanked him.
She then retrieved the money.
The seller was also very straightforward and immediately took out the candied hawthorn for Qin Xiaoyao.
After a short while, the two completed the transaction.
After getting the candied hawthorn, Qin Xiaoyao put the four best-looking ones into the bamboo backpack.
After that, she unwrapped the one with the worst appearance and started eating.
The sweet and sour taste made Qin Xiaoyao squint her eyes in delight.
She ate two balls of hawthorn in a row, plus the sugar on them.
Qin Xiaoyao's stomach felt better, so she wrapped the candied hawthorn again reluctantly and put them back in the backpack.
Good things would only taste better when eaten with family.
Qin Xiaoyao was filled with energy as she imagined the scene of her family eating candied hawthorn with her. In particular, when she imagined the possible expressions on the two little faces, she felt very energetic all of a sudden.
After that, she strode toward the West Gate.
Once out of the city gate, she hurried home.
Along the way, Qin Xiaoyao saw a few more ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages passing by.
She couldn't help but feel a little envious.
When would she be able to buy an ox-cart?
However, it was just a thought before Qin Xiaoyao dispelled the idea.
She couldn't even bear to pay two copper coins for the ox-cart ride, so how could she still think about buying an ox-cart?
It was better to treat her attractive husband's legs first and pay off the debt she owed her father.
Qin Xiaoyao was thinking about making money the whole time, so she didn't realize that she had stepped into Brook Falls Village.
However, just as she entered the village and walked under the big banyan tree, a person suddenly jumped out from behind the tree.
Qin Xiaoyao, who was deep in thought, jumped out of her skin. If she had not stopped herself in time, she would have already attacked the other party instinctively.
Surprisingly, Big Girl Li, who had jumped out of nowhere, was the one who had been scared out of her wits by Qin Xiaoyao.
She almost thought that Qin Xiaoyao was going to beat her up.
"Big Girl, why are you here?" Seeing the fear on Big Girl Li's face, Qin Xiaoyao smiled at her in embarrassment.
Big Girl Li also quickly wiped away the fear on her face.
"Hehe! Well, didn't you ask me to come and look for you yesterday?"
"I wanted to go to your house, but I heard you went to town. So I… I came here to wait for you."
How would she dare to go to the Song family? She was dying to stay as far away from the Song family as possible.
Waiting for her here helped Big Girl Li avoid the sight of others, thereby solving her problem.
She didn't want the villagers to see her as Qin Xiaoyao's ally.
"Oh." Qin Xiaoyao replied with a smile.
"Then let's go home and talk," she said enthusiastically.
"No need, no need!" Big Girl Li quickly refused frantically.
She saw Qin Xiaoyao's puzzled expression.
Big Girl Li continued. "Firstly, I came here to thank you. Thank you for the pheasant you gave me yesterday."