allonlinenovel Did they run away with the copper coins in Chapter 7?
Did they run away with the copper coins in Chapter 7?
When Gao Mengli followed the smell to the outhouse in the backyard, she preferred to find a place to relieve herself at the foot of the mountain, just like yesterday.
It was just a big pit with two planks on top and a triangular shed made of corn stalks around it.
Just standing at the entrance of the outhouse, the unique fermented smell stung her eyes.
She had no choice but to hold her breath and squat shakily on the two wooden planks to relieve herself.
Then, a fatal problem was discovered: there was no paper!!!
Judging from this family's appearance, they probably wouldn't have such a luxury item. I could only look left and right, and after an internal struggle, I resignedly closed my eyes and quickly plucked a few dry leaves from the corn stalks next to me to clear them away.
After putting on my pants, I sprinted to the front yard, took several deep breaths of fresh air, and only then did I feel alive again.
Lin Xi rubbed her eyes and yawned as she came out. "J...wife, where's the outhouse?"
Gao Mengli pointed towards the backyard with a dark expression on her face.
Lin Xi yawned and walked over. Not long after, a panicked scream rang out.
"what--"
Gao Mengli looked at Lin Xi who had run out with an expression that said, "I knew it."
Lin Xi grimaced. "Honey, this outhouse is so smelly... What if my legs go numb and I fall in?"
Gao Mengli rolled her eyes at Lin Xi and said irritably, "Can't you be more careful? If you fall, no one will save you."
He smelled so bad, she really didn't want to try to pull him out.
Helpless, Lin Xi had no choice but to go back and resignedly go to the outhouse, doing the same thing as Gao Mengli.
After returning, the two carried water back to their room to wash up, because they felt the corn leaves weren't clean enough.
Meanwhile, Lin Fei, who had gone to the village to inquire about news, had just pushed open the door of the old house when Jiang's group of people surrounded him.
Jiang asked anxiously, "How is it? Have you found out whose fish were touched?"
Lin Fei shook his head. "Mother, I've asked around, and the two of them haven't been to the village since they fell into the water yesterday. Could it be that my brother and sister-in-law really caught the fish?"
"No?" Jiang muttered to herself, wondering why she couldn't believe it.
"Mom, let's go to work at the dock first. If we're late, we'll get our wages docked again."
Jiang's second daughter-in-law, Zhu Mei, looked at the sky. They went to the dock to carry heavy loads. Because she was a woman and not very strong, she could only get half the wages, 12 copper coins a day, while the men got 24 copper coins.
Jiang waved to them, "Go quickly."
"Grandma, I'm going back too. I just heard my parents getting up."
After Da Niu finished speaking, he turned around and ran away quickly. He was really afraid that if his parents called him and he wasn't there, he would get another beating from both his parents. He was terrified.
Jiang's third daughter-in-law, Yang Qing, looked at the fish in the basin and said, "Mother, what should we do with these fish? If we don't cook them soon, they'll go bad."
It would be a shame to let it spoil. Let's make some fish soup, add plenty of water, and everyone can have a bowl to nourish their bodies.
In addition, fish are scarce in spring, so it's not easy to find fish to eat.
Old man Lin Yong frowned, bending over as he pushed a wooden cart in the yard. He was making this table and bench, but the style he was making was quite ordinary.
In addition, since most households weave bamboo baskets and make benches and tables themselves, they sell them very cheaply and don't supplement household income much.
But even a little bit of meat on a mosquito's leg is still meat. So every day I do physical labor, and I get really hungry looking at the fish in the basin.
"Old woman, look, we've been waiting all day, but the victim hasn't come. Why don't we cook the fish? Otherwise, it'll be a waste to let it spoil."
"Alright, take this to the kitchen to make fish soup. Leave half for the second brother and the others, and we'll eat the rest with steamed buns for breakfast later."
Jiang also felt it was a pity, so she agreed to the proposal.
"Yes, Mother!"
The three little radish heads clapped their hands happily. Great, we'll have fish soup today!
Da Niu tiptoed back into the yard, feeling his way along the door.
Gao Mengli was staring at the sky in silence, having not been able to eat anything for breakfast today.
Just then, she saw Da Niu returning and quickly waved, "Da Niu, we've been waiting for you!"
Da Niu shuddered and trembled with fear.
To a seasoned expert, this means, "Come on, you little brat, come and face your doom."
Seeing that he didn't come over, Gao Mengli was still confused. She turned to look at Lin Xi, who was biting his nails, and slapped him on the back.
"Ouch, that hurts."
Lin Xi winced in pain, looking pitifully at Gao Mengli.
He just felt his nails were too long, so he bit them, but Gao Mengli never let him bite them, saying it would cause an infection.
Gao Mengli looked at Lin Xi with a stern face, "How many times have I told you to stop biting your nails? This place is so backward, the medical conditions are poor, be careful that even a minor illness will send you to the King of Hell."
"I...I won't do it again. I won't bite anymore."
Lin Xi readily agreed, forgetting that this place was in some unknown dynasty, with backward medical resources, a place where she might die from even a minor illness.
Thinking of this, he trembled with fear.
Da Niu looked at the two of them as if they were ghosts.
He saw his mother hit his father, and his father, like a submissive wife, was apologizing.
Although both of them were good-for-nothings, his mother always listened to his father, and it was always his father who beat his mother and his mother who apologized.
How come things are reversed today? It's like the heavens are turned upside down...
Gao Mengli turned her head and saw Da Niu still standing blankly at the door. She grinned at her and said, "Da Niu, come here. I have some copper coins here. Go buy some flour and have your father steam some cornbread later."
As for why Da Niu was asked to go, it's because the two of them were turned away when they went out yesterday.
Forget about buying them, you won't see a single person in the village.
"Oh."
Da Niu quickly walked over and stared blankly like a machine as his mother actually took out a copper coin and placed it in his hand.
Gao Mengli didn't know the prices here, so she took out 30 copper coins and put them in Da Niu's hand.
Then she pulled Lin Xi back into the house, found some scissors, and watched him trim his nails.
Da Niu stared blankly at the copper coins in his hand. All these copper coins were for buying flour?
Wait, white flour? Her mother wants to eat white flour? ???
This stuff is so precious, the price of one pound of white flour could buy two pounds of black flour!
He glanced at his mother, and sure enough, she was as extravagant as ever.
There wasn't a single family in the village that ate white flour; everyone ate black flour.
Now, the only place to buy flour is in town.
He had no choice but to carefully put the copper coins on his body and, with his short legs, go to the nearest town, Hetou, to buy flour.
One pound of wheat flour costs 12 coins, and 30 coins can buy just two and a half pounds.
It takes him half an hour to get to town, and it will take him more than half an hour to get back carrying the flour.
He unconsciously quickened his pace. He had eaten fish yesterday, and he didn't know if he would get any wheat flour dishes today.
Meanwhile, Gao Mengli and Lin Xi waited and waited at home, but no one came back.
For the nth time, Lin Xi stood at the door looking around. "Wife, did this child run away with the coins? It takes this long to buy them in the village?"