The sky was cloudless.
The moonlight was bright, illuminating the entire world.
Old Madam Zhao was sitting in the courtyard, bundling dry grass.
She quickly looked up and said, "Your Eldest Aunt's family is raising three chickens and twenty ducks. At noon, half a basket of wild vegetables is enough to feed them. Is anyone free to help with this?"
Chun Hua, the eldest granddaughter of the Zhao family, had always done this kind of work. She was about to open her mouth to agree when Madam Sun pulled her.
Madam Sun sneered inwardly. Her Eldest Sister-in-law made so much money from her business but didn't share any with them, yet she still wanted them to feed her chickens and ducks wild vegetables. What was she dreaming of?
The Old Madam was too biased. Eldest Sister-in-law's family had already moved out, yet she still wanted this side of the family to help with chores. Why? Just because Eldest Sister-in-law had given birth to four sons?
Thinking of this, Madam Sun felt incredibly bitter.
Now, she could barely have children anymore; she couldn't even get pregnant...
"A-nai, let me go help Eldest Aunt." Xia Hua volunteered, "Just feed the chickens and ducks, right? Is there anything else to do?"
Old Madam Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Help clean up the house a bit, clean up the chicken and duck droppings. Your Eldest Aunt said she'd pay you two *wen* a day for help. I'll take one *wen*, and you can keep the other *wen*."
Xia Hua couldn't believe it, "Half a basket of wild vegetables and weeds gets one *wen*?"
Picking shepherd's purse required slowly searching on the mountain, but wild vegetables for chickens and ducks were abundant on the field banks. This one *wen* felt like it was given to her for free.
Madam Sun's eyes widened in disbelief. Although the Old Madam kept one *wen*, wasn't there still one *wen* left? Accumulating it day by day, she could even buy a beautiful piece of floral fabric.
Shamelessly, she said, "Xia Hua is only eleven years old and weak. Let my Chun Hua do this."
"Third Aunt, it's just half a basket of wild vegetables. Our Xia Hua can still carry it. Even if she can't, she can make two trips. It's not a big deal." Madam Wen said with a smile, "Xia Hua, this job pays money. You must do it well. If your Eldest Aunt isn't satisfied, she might switch it to your sister Chun Hua."
Xia Hua immediately said, "Mother, I definitely won't be lazy."
The matter was thus decided.
Madam Sun felt a mouthful of blood choke in her chest. She reached out and pinched Chun Hua, "Who told you, you mute, not to say anything? If you had spoken up earlier, would anyone else have a job?"
Chun Hua's tears of grievance fell.
She had wanted to go, but her mother wouldn't let her speak. Could she be blamed for this?
At night, Dahe Village was a little dry and hot. Insects and birds chirped all night. The gentle breeze of early morning blew, waking up the entire village.
Cheng Loanloan had woken up early. After many consecutive days of busyness, her waist ached and her back hurt, but it wasn't a serious illness.
The mother and her five children, carrying the ice jelly, rode in an ox cart straight to the gate of Hekou Town.
The morning dock was bustling. The mother and her five children split into two groups to set up their stalls. Because the reputation of the ice jelly had spread, business was very good today. In less than half an hour, they had sold two barrels of ice jelly. The mother and her five children then circled back towards Nanfu Academy.
It was still early. The mother and her five children found some steps and sat down.
Cheng Loanloan turned her head and asked the four children, "Do you want to go into Nanfu Academy?"
Zhao Dashan scratched the back of his head, "The academy probably doesn't allow outsiders to sell things randomly." Cheng Loanloan: "..."
She took a deep breath and asked again, "What I mean is, do you want to study at the Southern Prefecture Academy?"
Zhao San Niu shook his head like a rattle-drum. "No, no, no, my brain is stupid, I can't learn, I'm not going to school."