Chapter 9: Market

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Hearing this, the two little fellows widened their eyes and thought about it seriously. After a moment, they shook their heads.

Only then did Zhou Xiaoli continue on.”Therefore, it’s wrong to only listen to what others say. You have to make your own judgment. Look, did he help Father chase away those children who bullied Father today?”

The two little fellows nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Xiaoli: “Then shouldn’t we also thank him for helping us? So, the next time we see him, we have to thank him, understand?”

“Got it, Sis.”

—

After educating the two little fellows, Zhou Xiaoli took out the rabbit she picked up today. The two little fellows were immediately attracted by the rabbit.

Zhang Lan’s heart ached for her eldest daughter. It was because she had experienced those prejudices herself that she was able to relate to him.

However in the blink of an eye, she was also attracted by the fat rabbit. Her eyes turned red from happiness. “My daughter is not a jinx. She’s clearly blessed.”

Zhou Xiaoli understood Zhang Lan’s feelings. Everyone in the village said that her daughter was a jinx. As a mother, she must have felt terrible over the years.

At this moment, she felt like she needed to vent some emotions.

The two little fellows nodded in agreement.

Zhou Xiaoli smiled and said, “Mother, this rabbit’s fur is not bad and should be worth some money. When we go to the market tomorrow, we can sell it there and buy some food.”

Zhang Lan nodded repeatedly. She thought of something and said, “Coincidentally, my fish basket is ready. We can go to the river in the afternoon to set up a fish basket. If we catch any fish, we can sell them at the market tomorrow.”

Zhang Lan felt much more energetic as she spoke about her plans. There was also some hope in her heart and she only felt that there was something to look forward to in life after all.

When the two little fellows heard Zhang Lan’s words about the fish basket, they began to share more with Zhou Xiaoli excitedly. They even said that the little ducklings ate the insects that they caught this morning happily.

Zhou Xiaoli went to take a look. Those ducklings were indeed much more energetic than yesterday.

After receiving Zhou Xiaoli’s praise, the two little fellows became even more energetic. They held hands and ran to catch insects again.

Looking at the two children’s cheerful backs, Zhou Xiaoli thought that she could make bamboo dragonflies for them to play with after cooking.

—

Zhou Xiaoli had scraped out all the oil from yesterday’s duck soup and had only added salt and mushrooms to it. It was quite light, but since they hadn’t been able to fill their stomachs for a long time, it was a rare delicacy.

Zhou Xiaoli felt a little indigestion today, so she took the duck skin that she had left out to dry all morning, and ground it so that the whole family could drink it.

At noon, they ate wild vegetables stir-fried with duck oil. They shredded some duck meat and ate it with millet porridge. The family was quite satisfied with lunch.

In the afternoon, Zhou Yu cleared out an empty space in the courtyard and spread the thatch in the courtyard to dry. Zhou Xiaoli went to the riverside to set up a fish basket. The bait was two small earthworms.

When night fell and the family was about to sleep, there was a knock on the door. When they opened the door, they found Liu Liangcai standing outside.

Zhou Xiaoli immediately said, “Uncle Liu, you’re here. Father and Mother are in the room. Do have a seat in the room.”

Liu Liangcai entered the courtyard, but did not enter the house. “Your uncle doesn’t have much money either. There are 20 copper coins here. Go to the market tomorrow and buy some food.” he lowered his voice and handed a small gray cloth bag to Zhou Xiaoli.

Afraid that Zhou Xiaoli wouldn’t want it, Liu Liangcai added. “Don’t refuse me. I’m not giving it to you for free. Just take it as a loan from me. When your family is doing better, you can return it to me then. Alright, there’s nothing else. Your aunt is still at home. I’ll go back first.”

Without waiting for Zhou Xiaoli’s refusal, he then hurried out of the door.

The 20 copper coins felt heavy in her hand.

Seeing how their family’s current situation was, Zhou Xiaoli would not be pretentious that they don’t need it. She took the money and silently remembered this favor done for their family.

Zhou Xiaoli got out of bed early the next morning. She first went to the river to collect the fish basket. She had a good harvest of two large carps.

Crucian carp soup could strengthen the spleen and stomach as it was very nutritious. Thinking of this, Zhou Xiaoli immediately decided to save one for their family to make soup and nourish their bodies. The other one was to be sold at the market with the rabbit skin.

The market was to be held in Dazhuang Village. It was a small market formed by the villagers of the surrounding villages to facilitate communication among the villages.

Dazhuang Village was not far from Boyu Village; it was only a 15-minutes’ walk away.

Although the market was not held on a big scale, it was quite lively as villagers were exchanging supplies. Most of them were bartering.

Zhou Xiaoli found a spot and brought out the carp. The carp was still alive, and so, an old granny came over to ask about it soon. She said that her daughter-in-law had just given birth and she wanted to buy the carp to make stew for her daughter-in-law.

Zhou Xiaoli had already inquired about the prices of goods before coming. So she said, “Auntie, carp is sold at 12 copper coins per pound. This fish is a little more than two pounds, so I’ll charge two pounds for it. What do you think?”

Zhou Xiaoli did not inflate the price and even gave her a discount. More importantly, she had walked throughout the market earlier and only Zhou Xiaoli’s fish was alive and kicking. The old lady was naturally satisfied and said with a smile, “Good, good. Little girl really knows how to do business.”

As she spoke, the old lady put down her basket and opened it. There were eggs inside. She then asked, “Can I use eggs to exchange for it?”

Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “Sure. The current price of eggs is three copper coins for two eggs. 24 copper coins would be for 16 eggs.”

Before the old lady left home, her family had already calculated the prices for her, so she knew how many eggs she would need to barter for two pounds of fish.

She was more surprised that Zhou Xiaoli managed to figure it out so quickly. After she had counted out the eggs and handed them to Zhou Xiaoli, she said to Zhou Yu, “Your little girl is really amazing.”

Zhou Yu did not understand, but looking at the other party’s expression, he knew that it seemed to be a good thing, so he smiled at the old lady.

After sending off the granny, Zhou Xiaoli got up. She emptied the water from the small wooden bucket and prepared to go to the market to see if there were any fur stalls.

At this moment, an old man came to her stall. He pointed at the rabbit skin and asked, “Are you selling this rabbit skin?”

Zhou Xiaoli immediately nodded. “Yes.”

The old man squatted down and checked the rabbit’s skin. “This rabbit fur is still intact and whole.”

Zhou Xiaoli smiled and said, “Uncle, don’t worry. I’ve cleaned this rabbit skin very well. I guarantee that you won’t suffer a loss.”

The old man could not help but look at Zhou Xiaoli in surprise. “Did you clean the rabbit skin yourself?”

Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “Yes.”

The old man smiled and praised Zhou Xiaoli for her ability.

Throughout the entire process, Zhou Xiaoli had a sweet mouth by affectionately calling him uncle, but the old man just smiled and watched.

He looked at Zhou Xiaoli, the little girl who had been talking to him, and Zhou Yu, who stood at the side in a daze. The old man could not help but take a few more glances at Zhou Yu.

After seeing Zhou Yu’s dull face, the old man instantly noticed that Zhou Yu was a fool. He could not help but feel sympathy for this smart and sweet-tongued girl in front of him.

3 s