Chapter 5: Lesson
After Su Xiaoxiao placed the sweet potato cake into the steamer, she carried a basin of dirty clothes to the river behind the village.
This was running water that flowed through several villages. Usually, everyone would come here to wash clothes and rice.
It was dawn, but there were already many people washing clothes.
When everyone saw Fatty Su appear with a wooden basin, they all thought that they had seen a ghost!
This lazy woman actually woke up early to work? Were their eyes playing tricks on them, or had the sun risen from the west?
No, Fatty Su must be here to extort money!
Everyone's eyes were filled with fear. Without waiting for Su Xiaoxiao to approach, they picked up the buckets and ran!
Su Xiaoxiao shrugged helplessly and found a place to squat by the river.
There was no industrial pollution in ancient times. The water source was clean and clear. Even the air she breathed was refreshing.
Su Xiaoxiao took out the clothes and spread them on a large rock. She rubbed them with soap and used a wooden stick to remove the soap from the clothes. She washed them with water and repeated the process.
After washing the basin of clothes, Su Xiaoxiao broke out in a sweat.
Su Xiaoxiao carried the wooden basin and walked back. Coincidentally, she bumped into Liu Shan's eldest daughter-in-law, Little Wu, walking towards the river with a basin of clothes.
Little Wu also saw her and trembled in fear. The wooden stick in her basin fell to Su Xiaoxiao's feet.
Little Wu was frightened. She wanted to pick it up but didn't dare to.
Su Xiaoxiao freed one hand and bent down to pick up the wooden stick.
Little Wu hurriedly closed her eyes!
Clunk.
The expected pain did not come.
Little Wu opened her eyes fearfully and looked at the wooden stick in the basin. She turned around in disbelief. Fatty Su had already walked away without saying a word.
"She… just… left?"
… .
In the Su family, the three children woke up.
Su Ergou would sleep until late in the morning, and so would Su Cheng. As for Wei Ting, he was seriously ill and was still unconscious.
No one dressed the three children. They went down barefoot.
They walked around the house. None of the adults could be woken up.
At this moment, the chattering of children came from next door. The three of them walked out curiously.
Liu Shan and his family lived next door.
The eldest daughter-in-law, Little Wu, had gone to wash her clothes. At this moment, the person shouting was the son of the second daughter-in-law, Madam He. His name was Niu Dan.
Niu Dan was seven years old this year and was the only grandson of the Liu family.
"Mother! Put on my clothes!"
"Okay, okay, okay. Wait a moment. Let your father drink the medicine first."
A few days ago, Father Niu went to the fish pond to dig for lotus roots and sprained his waist. The doctor prescribed some herbs to promote blood circulation.
The three children stood on their tiptoes and leaned on the windowsill, looking at the family in a daze.
Niu Dan had already seen the three little children and knew that they were the new burdens of the Su family. He looked down on them.
He stuck out his tongue in disdain. "Lue! I'll beat you to death!"
"Come down!" Madam He patted her son's butt and pressed him onto the bed. She took his clothes and put them on him.
"Mother, I want to eat sugar eggs!" said the Niu Dan.
"Okay! I'll make it for you!" Madam He said.
She had many daughters at home, and only she had a son. The entire family doted on him. Not to mention a sugar egg, she could get him two.
Niu Dan held the sugar-flavored egg his mother had made and ate it while watching the three little children.
When Su Xiaoxiao arrived home with the wooden basin, she saw the triplets watching the Niu Dan eat.
The three of them were barefooted and their clothes were thin.
Su Xiaoxiao frowned and put down the wooden basin.
When Niu Dan saw Fatty Su, he immediately stopped being arrogant and turned to run.
Su Xiaoxiao brought the three little ones home and put clothes and shoes on them.
The three of them were thinner than she had expected.
Judging from Wei Ting and their clothes, they did not look like they could not afford to eat. Why were they so thin?
"Are you hungry?" she asked.
The three children nodded.
"I'll get you something to eat." Su Xiaoxiao entered the kitchen.
The three children followed her in and stared at the eggs in the basket.
"Do you want to eat this?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.
All three nodded.
Su Xiaoxiao cracked three sugar eggs, one for each of them.
The stove house had just been lit and was warm. Su Xiaoxiao moved a small stool over and let the three of them sit in the stove house to eat.
She went to Wei Ting's room and woke him up. "It's time to take your medicine."
Wei Ting opened his eyes in a daze.
Su Xiaoxiao helped him up and fed him anti-inflammatory medicine and blood-reducing medicine.
Wei Ting did not want to eat for the time being and fell asleep again.
This scene was witnessed by the three children who were peeping at the door.
They thought of the woman they had seen at the house next door this morning.
The woman fed medicine to Father Niu, dressed Niu Dan, and made sweetened eggs for him.
Niu Dan called her mother.
… .
Su Xiaoxiao went to wake Su Ergou up and asked him to stay at home to see the children and the patient. She had to go to town.
Although Su Cheng had gone to town yesterday, he was a man and did not know how to plan his life carefully. The first thing he did after robbing the money was not to buy rice and noodles for his family, but snacks for his daughter.
Most of the money had been spent on snacks, leaving less than two hundred copper coins.
It was almost the end of the year, and prices were rising. It was already difficult for a family with two hundred copper coins, let alone one with four mouths at home.
She had to think of a way to earn money.
As she was thinking, a sharp shout suddenly came from diagonally ahead.
"Fatty Su!"
"Oh?"
"He Tongsheng?"
He Tongsheng's real name was He Jian. He was the third son of the He family.
After breaking off the engagement yesterday, Ergou said that he had escaped to town. She did not expect to meet him at the entrance of the market today.
Beside him stood two young men dressed like scholars. They should be his classmates.
He Tongsheng walked over angrily and said in extreme disgust, "Fatty Su, that's enough! Don't haunt me!"
Su Xiaoxiao frowned. "Do you think I'm here for you?"
He Tongsheng asked coldly, "Aren't you?"
"That's true." Su Xiaoxiao nodded and stretched out her hand.
He Tongsheng dodged like a snake and retreated. "What are you doing?"
Su Xiaoxiao smiled. "The betrothal gift. Don't tell me you only call off the marriage and not the betrothal gift?"
"You!"
"What about? I'm warning you, don't talk nonsense with me. You only have to pay money after a few gropes at the brothel. Firstly, I didn't marry you, and secondly, I didn't consummate the marriage with you. Don't think about reneging on a copper coin!"
He Tongsheng was furious!
This fat woman… actually compared him to a prostitute!
Damn it!
However, he had already spent a portion of the money!
Su Xiaoxiao said calmly, "If you don't return it, we'll have to meet at the government office."
He Tongsheng gritted his teeth and said, "Aren't you afraid of embarrassing yourself by causing trouble in the government office?"
Su Xiaoxiao asked, "What's face? Can it be eaten? Besides, aren't you the one who's embarrassed? You accepted the betrothal gift and agreed to the marriage."
He Tongsheng blushed. "I was deceived by the matchmaker."
Su Xiaoxiao looked at him coldly.
"To think that you've read so many sage books for so many years. Even a countryside matchmaker can deceive you. Anyone who's not stupid can't fall for this!"
"I think you should stop studying! Go home and farm! The water in your brain might be able to water two acres of land!"