"Ping'an Town doesn't have anyone selling ducks, but Hekou Town does. I want to go to Hekou Town tomorrow, and if I see any, I'll bring them back for you."
Auntie Wang was extremely grateful and even helped chase the ducklings back.
The three of them worked together, and the twenty ducks no longer dared to fly around, obediently following them into the yard.
In the yard, there were some wild vegetables that Zhao Sanniu had just cut, but the twenty ducklings had already eaten their fill in the rice paddies and didn't even glance at the wild vegetables.
Zhao Sidan chuckled, "The ducks can eat their fill of worms now, so Sister Xia Hua won't need to help dig wild vegetables anymore."
Cheng Loanloan nodded. The ducks' daily food was perfectly resolved, so Xia Hua indeed wasn't needed for that. However, Xia Hua was a diligent young girl, and keeping her around was still very useful. For example, every day now, Cheng Loanloan had to go out to collect dry grass, then roll it into a block of grass that could be put into the kitchen. This job didn't require any skill but was extremely time-consuming. Perhaps it could be given to Xia Hua.
1
The whole family gathered to eat lunch. Zhao Ergou wasn't there, and Cheng Loanloan felt a little unaccustomed to it.
She wondered if the county magistrate had taken Ergou and the others to eat something, and if Ergou had listened to her instructions... She just hoped everything went well.
After lunch, Cheng Loanloan changed into new clothes.
These were the most common and cheapest homespun fabric in the countryside. They felt a bit rough against the skin but also somewhat comfortable. Regardless, these were new clothes, without patches, and the collar and sleeves weren't stained from years of wear. Wearing them made her feel refreshed.
She glanced at the seven or eight wooden basins in the courtyard, temporarily having no intention of returning them. So, she took some of the ice left over from the morning and walked towards the old Zhao family house.
At noon, many people took naps, but the weather was too hot to sleep.
Old Man Zhao was sitting at the door chopping wood, having cut a large fir tree into a log about half a meter long.
Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai were making tables. The two brothers worked quickly together. In their hands, Madam Wen and Madam Sun were also busy with all sorts of things.
As soon as Cheng Loanloan walked in, everyone in the courtyard looked up at her.
Madam Sun's eyes flickered. Her elder sister-in-law was actually wearing new clothes. The earthy yellow color highlighted her fair skin, making her look several years younger.
Her heart was sour, and her words also carried a hint of bitterness: "Elder sister-in-law must have made a lot of money. It's not even the New Year, and she's already wearing new clothes. It really makes people envious."
Madam Wen heard this and looked over, feeling a bit envious herself.
She could only get a new set of clothes on New Year's Day, but last year, affected by the natural disaster, after a difficult year, the whole family hadn't made any new clothes. Cheng Loanloan smiled.
She had money in her hand, so did she still want to wear ragged clothes every day?
The purpose of making money was to live a better life, not to be afraid of this or that, not daring to eat or wear.
"Third Aunt is just joking. If I made a lot of money, I would go buy silk. Who with money still wears homespun clothes?" Cheng Loanloan said indifferently, "Homespun fabric is two copper coins a foot. Third Aunt, if you want to wear new clothes, it's not like you can't afford them."
Sun Shi was a little angry. Over the years, she had indeed secretly saved more than a hundred copper coins, but asking her to spend ten coins to buy fabric for clothes was like cutting a piece of flesh from her body. How could she bear to spend it?
Old Madam Zhao said angrily, "Third daughter-in-law, there's still a basin of clothes in the back room. Go wash them."
Sun Shi dusted her hands and walked out to the back room.