Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 18

After turning a corner, they arrived at the Li family’s house. Li Dalang had already harnessed the ox cart. Li Jinfeng led the little bun forward and called out, “Big Brother, Cuihua and Huzi are here!”

Li Dalang glanced at Ying Su. He only gave her a brief look, nodded as a greeting, then turned back to feeding grass to the ox.

Ying Su naturally didn’t care about his cold attitude. She remembered how, back then, this man had locked Shen Cuihua and Li Erlang’s corpses together for seven whole days. Because of that, she never had any good feelings toward him.

Liu Chuncao came out of the courtyard carrying a cloth bundle. Seeing Ying Su, she greeted her warmly and invited her to get on the ox cart.

Madam Li also came out from the yard. As soon as Dazhuang saw the little bun, he grabbed his hand, calling him to go into the courtyard together to catch crickets and play.

The little bun looked at Ying Su reluctantly, hesitated for a while, then finally said, “Mommy, come back early.”

Hearing this, Ying Su’s face softened with a smile. She nodded seriously to him and replied, “Alright.”

With Ying Su’s solemn promise, the stone in little bun’s heart finally dropped. Reluctant but reassured, he followed Dazhuang into the courtyard, turning back every few steps.

Watching this, Liu Chuncao smiled and said, “Huzi is really attached to you.”

Ying Su smiled in response, lifting the two wooden buckets onto the cart. Liu Chuncao reached out to help, but was startled when she picked one up, “What’s in here? Why is it so heavy?” She had assumed it wasn’t much since Ying Su carried them so easily, but when she tried herself, she nearly couldn’t lift a single bucket.

Ying Su pressed her lips into a small smile. “I caught some fish in the river. I want to sell them in town for money.”

Worried that villagers might see on the way and stir up trouble, Ying Su had covered the buckets with lids, leaving only a small gap. She planned to uncover them once outside the village to let the fish breathe.

After hearing this, Liu Chuncao grew curious and lifted the lid to peek inside. One look, and her expression turned to shock, “You… you caught all these yourself? The river is very deep, how did you manage to catch so many fish?”

Seeing her so astonished, even Li Dalang turned to look. Inside both buckets, they were packed full of fish, dark and wriggling, each of them quite large. For a moment, even Li Dalang couldn’t help but look at Ying Su a little differently.

Ying Su’s lips curved slightly, though her expression turned embarrassed. She clutched the corner of her clothes and said, “I… I’m very good in the water… Before, when I was out of my mind, Huzi suffered a lot following me around. Now that I’ve regained clarity, I want to earn money. I don’t want him to suffer anymore.”

Her eyes gradually lit up, radiating determination.

The first part of her words was meant for Liu Chuncao and Li Dalang, but the latter part came straight from her heart.

Hearing this, Liu Chuncao couldn’t help but like her more. Knowing she had gone into the water to catch fish just to make life better for her child, her feelings grew more genuine. “There’s nothing wrong with earning money. But the Dongjun River is very deep and connects to the Great Bian River. From now on, you’d better not go diving too much. If anything happened to you, what would become of Huzi?”

Ying Su nodded. “I understand.”

As they spoke, Li Dalang had already driven the ox cart forward.

The Li family’s house was in the middle of the village, so as they drove out, they naturally encountered many villagers. Liu Chuncao, being sharp and capable, had decent relations with the village women, greeting many of them along the way. 

Still, each woman’s eyes would fall on Ying Su for a moment. Because of the incident with Li Ergou, however, no one dared to provoke her.

On the way, Ying Su kept her eyes on the roadside, silently memorizing the route. Occasionally, Liu Chuncao chatted with her. The town was not far, only about ten li from Dongjun Village.

It was said that the distance from the foot of the three mountains, Dongjun Mountain, Xiling Mountain, and Yunwu Mountain, to the town was about ten li. Hence, the town had long been called Ten-Li Town.

The town was bustling, filled with people coming and going. Since the shop where Li Dalang and Liu Chuncao worked was on Southwest Street, while the marketplace was on Northwest Street, Li Dalang stopped the cart at the main crossroads. Liu Chuncao helped Ying Su carry down the two buckets of fish.

“Dalang, you go on to the shop first. I’ll help Cuihua find a spot to sell her fish, then I’ll head over.”

Offering to help on her own, Liu Chuncao received no objection from Li Dalang, who drove the cart away toward Southwest Street.

As they carried the buckets, Liu Chuncao explained, “This Northwest Street is where the hawkers and vendors set up their stalls. Northeast Street is lined with shops. If you want to buy anything, you can find it on either of those two streets.”

Ying Su glanced toward a few tall wooden buildings in the southeast direction and asked, “What’s over there?”

Looking at the tall buildings, Liu Chuncao’s eyes showed a trace of envy. She then pulled her gaze back and said, “That’s where the rich and powerful go. The things inside are something we could never afford in our lifetime!”

Ying Su was puzzled. Ten-Li Town was just a small place. Even if goods varied in quality, it shouldn’t be so extreme that poor folk could never afford them. After all, the town was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with inconvenient transport. No matter how high the prices, there had to be customers. Why would they say “never afford”?

Noticing her confusion, Liu Chuncao explained, “Don’t be fooled by how poor our village looks. Ten-Li Town is in a prime location. The waters of the Dongjun, Xiling, and Yunwu Rivers all flow into the Great Bian River.” 

“Every summer, many high-ranking officials from the capital come here with their families, visiting Yuntai Temple on Yunwu Mountain to burn incense and escape the heat. Everything on Southeast Street is prepared for those nobles.”

Ying Su nodded, her mind quickly turning over new ideas. Nobles were always generous spenders. If one wanted to make money, they would be the best targets.

Together, Ying Su and Liu Chuncao walked toward Northwest Street. From a distance, they could already hear the lively clamor. The marketplace was much like a modern one, with vendors lined up on both sides of the street and shouts ringing out everywhere.

While listening to the bargaining voices and calls of the hawkers, Ying Su gauged the prices. She noticed there were also others selling fish, and their price was eight copper coins per jin. She made a note in her heart of how to set her own prices.

Liu Chuncao helped her find an open spot, placed the fish down, and told her to go to the woodworking shop on Southwest Street once she finished selling and buying her things. Then she left to rejoin her husband at work.

Because of the crowd and the lack of oxygen, many of the fish in the buckets were already weak, some even floating belly-up. Ying Su frowned slightly. If the fish died, they wouldn’t fetch a good price. But without oxygen, and no aerators here, she could only sigh. She quickly squatted down and separated the struggling fish into another wooden basin.