1596 Shopping
The next morning, Qiao Mei dressed very simply, in a similar manner to the other women. She also wrapped a piece of cloth around her head. If she dressed too nicely, the sellers would be suspicious of her and it would be difficult for her to bargain!

Before she left the house, Xia Zhe even teased that she looked like a thief and that her outfit was really hilarious.

Qiao Mei ignored Xia Zhe and asked him to stay at home and take good care of the kids. She carried a small bamboo basket and went out. Each of the other women also carried a small basket, except for Zhang Cai, who had many woven sacks with her.

“Why do you have so many bags?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.

“You’ll know once we get there!” Wang Nuo said helplessly.

They boarded the first bus of the day to go to the county city. After about an hour, they finally arrived. The marketplace had commenced business very early in the morning and many stalls were already almost sold out.

“Let’s split up for two hours! We’ll gather back here in two hours and go back together!” Liu Yun said.

“Alright!” Zhang Cai ran off after saying that, worried that the things she wanted to buy would be sold out before she got her hands on them.

Liu Yun did not have anything she wanted to buy. She came over to Qiao Mei and said, “I’ll accompany you. It’s not that safe for you to go alone, so it’s better if there are two of us.”

“Thank you!” Qiao Mei said happily.

The things sold in this marketplace were similar to those sold in the black market in Foshan Village. It was mainly only vegetables and fruits and there were no rare items. Qiao Mei decided to go to the local fabric shop to take a look. Different places weaved cloth differently and there could be patterns only available locally. Qiao Mei thought about buying some fabric to make clothes. She could even buy more to make some clothes for the neighbors.

When she arrived at the fabric shop, Qiao Mei started to look around. These fabrics were considered expensive and the styles sold were quite old-fashioned. She had also seen the same type in the capital.

It would be better to ask Xia He to buy some fabric in the capital and send it to her. There was no need to pay more for it here!

“You didn’t see anything suitable?” Liu Yun asked curiously.

“I’m just looking around. There are things I’ve never seen before! The marketplace in my hometown is not as big as this one and there are also fewer items for sale,” Qiao Mei said.

Qiao Mei just bought some random snacks like buns, steamed rolls and fried carrot balls that she could eat when she was hungry. After that, she was ready to go back. Among them, Zhang Cai had bought the most stuff! She could not even carry everything by herself and had to ask Wang Nuo for help. Qiao Mei also reached out to help, but Zhang Cai quickly stopped her.

“Sister! You can’t! It’s not good for you to carry heavy objects when you’re pregnant! The few of us can manage! There’s no need for you to chip in!” Zhang Cai said agitatedly.

“Eh! I’m not that delicate! When I was pregnant with my first two, I still continued to farm at home!” Qiao Mei said with a smile.

“No matter what, you have to be careful! It’s not even three months yet, right? But your children are really sensible. They can actually stay at home by themselves at such a young age,” Liu Yun said.

If Liu Yun did not remind her, she had already forgotten that she still had two children at home…

Xia Fan and Xia Xing were more sensible than ordinary children. Sometimes, Qiao Mei would even forget that the two of them were still children. Xia Zhe had already fed them in the morning, so they would not be hungry yet.

The children had all kinds of toys to play with and Qiao Mei would occasionally put books beside them. Although they could not read now, they could just look at the pictures and drawings.

“Ah… that’s right! I find them very obedient too! When I was pregnant with them, I didn’t feel any discomfort, unlike this one. In the beginning, I threw up at home every day!” Qiao Mei said as she looked down at her stomach.

They chatted happily as they returned to the family compound. Zhang Cai panted heavily as she carried everything down from the bus. After that, she was so tired that she sat down by the roadside and was unable to get up for a while.

“Oh my… I definitely won’t buy so many things next time! I’m so tired!” Zhang Cai said wearily.

“You say that every time! When have you ever bought less things! I have to help you every time! If you still buy so much next time! You have to carry everything by yourself or we’ll all take a cut!” Wang Nuo said.

“Alright, alright, alright! Then you have to keep an eye on me!” Zhang Cai waved her arms and said to everyone.