Chapter Seven Selling Lianzi

  Before the first ray of sunlight in the morning had entered the window, Zhao got up, quietly put on her clothes, packed the things she was going to sell, and went to the kitchen to pack the pancakes that were baked last night. Thinking about it, the time wasn't early either, so she should wake up a few daughters.

  Just as I walked to the door of the east house, I heard Xi Mei's suppressed voice inside. "Big sister, second sister, do you think if mother comes in and sees us all getting up, will she be surprised? Hehe, thinking about mother's surprised look is definitely very interesting."

  "Ah, Mother will be shocked when she comes, because she definitely didn't expect the laziest one to get up so early. This is a big girl's first time getting married, after all." Xi Mei teased.

  "Oh no, Second Sister, you're always scolding me. I'm still young, sleeping more can help me grow taller and stronger, and in the future, I'll be tall and strong enough to protect all of you."

  Zhao pushed open the door and went in. "You, protecting us? If there's danger, you'll definitely be the first to run away." "Right, right, that's how it is," several sisters said in unison.

  The character's integrity has been greatly doubted, but it doesn't matter, there will definitely be opportunities to change this impression in the future. Thinking of this little girl rushing into Zhao's arms, she opened her big black eyes and asked: "Mother, when are we leaving? I've packed everything up. Look, the sun is almost out, if we don't go now, there won't be room for us on the cattle cart."

  "Alright, let's go. I'll sell the money to buy you a hairband, okay? You've always wanted the same hairband that Juan wears, right? I'll get you one just like it later, okay?"

  Xi Mei scrunched up her little nose in distaste, she didn't like that tacky red hair tie at all. Her mother probably thought she was staring intently at Juan's blonde hair because she liked the hair tie.

  "Mother, I don't want it, I don't like that red ribbon." Her eyes rolled around, "When I make a lot of money in the future, I'll definitely buy many beautiful things for Mother and sister, who needs a ribbon?"

  "Alright, wait till you earn money to buy for your mother. Now we really should go out, or else Sun Dajie will leave." After packing up their things, Zhao Shi led the four sisters out of the door.

  The big willow tree at the village entrance, Qian's family has arrived. Seeing the mother and daughter walking towards them with smiles all over their faces, they greeted them warmly. "Xiuye (Zhao's name), you're here! Oh, look, our little Xiemei is also here, didn't she grind her mother for a whole night yesterday?"

  "Hey, no way! This girl was throwing a tantrum last night when I said I wouldn't take her along. She's been cooped up at home for too long and it's time she got out for some fresh air. Since she wants to go, let the other three girls come along too."

  "Go take care of the child. Alright, everyone is here, we should get on the bus too. Come, let Auntie Qian hold you, your mother is holding eggs, don't let them get broken."

  Xi Mei stretched out her arm to Qian Shi "Aunt Qian, hug me. My mother's arms are not as comfortable as Aunt Qian's." Hey, you say, this little girl has reached the level of being as innocent and pure as fire when talking to people, but speaking nonsense when talking to ghosts.

  The three sisters all giggled and sat down beside Madam Zhao.

  Old Sun swung his whip and cracked a loud whip flower, the ox cart slowly moved forward on the yellow dirt path. The woman's chatter and children's laughter drifted far away with the air.

  After nearly an hour, they finally entered the city gate. As soon as they got off the ox cart, Sanjie was seen rubbing her sore butt. Ximei pulled at Xihe's clothes and told her to lower her head slightly, whispering in her ear, "Sanjie, how can a lady rub her butt in public? Be careful not to be seen by others."

  "You little scamp, you dare to tease me? Just wait and see how I'll deal with you. Don't run away!" The two sisters started wrestling at the city gate, their giggles and laughter attracting the attention of many onlookers. An elderly person couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "Youth is truly wonderful."

  Zhao saw more and more people looking over, so she stepped forward to stop the two from fighting. "Alright, not a bit of ladylike behavior, we've arrived, you mustn't lose face, or else next time I won't bring you out."

  "Alright, alright." The two little ones retreated with a comical air. Their ridiculous appearance even made Zhao Shi, who had been sternly scolding them, unable to help but laugh.

  "Money Auntie, let's go to the embroidery shop first to sell the embroidered shoes. Xi Mei, you bring the eggs and come with Money Auntie. After we finish selling, we'll go find you guys."

  "Alright, don't worry about it." Xi Mei patted her chest and said, "I guarantee I'll complete your task." Xi Mei looked at her with a surprised face. Second sister, you're really a heroine among women.

  "Xǐ mèi, dāng zhe gàn ma, nǐ bù shì yī zhěng hǒu zhe yào qù xiù zhuāng shàng kàn ma. Zài bù zǒu jiù bǎ nǐ yī rén liù zhè, jiào pāi huā zi de bǎ nǐ zhuā zǒu". Sān jiě, nǐ zhè shì chì luǒ luǒ de wēi xié a, nǐ yǐ wéi wǒ shì liǎng sān suì de xiǎo hái a.

  Hey, you're not two or three years old, you're four. What's the difference? This silly kid.

  Arrived at the entrance of Tianxia Embroidery Hall, looking at the crowd coming and going. Xi Mei stared at the crowd in surprise, no wonder her mother wanted her to hurry up, it turned out that there were a lot of people.

  But sister, you're going a bit too far by tying me to your waist with a rope, I'm not a puppy.

  Among them, one of the partners was busy almost when he felt a gaze following him. He lowered his head to take a look and found that it was a little girl who was not even as tall as his thigh. The little girl looked at him with her big innocent eyes, the ribbon on her head fluttering with the movement of her small head, her mouth biting her finger, and there seemed to be some admiration in her gaze.

  The momentary companion's waist straightened, and he smiled with a friendly face, asking "Little girl, what are you doing here? Is there something you want to tell big brother?" Don't get me wrong, Xi Mei looked at him with admiring eyes because he was really good at talking. In modern times, he would be a gold medal salesperson.

  Organizing her words, she revealed a cute smile and said: "Big brother, I'm here with my mother and sister to sell our wares. Big brother, take a look, what price can we sell them for?"

  That man looked at the knot that Xi Mei handed over and said, "Little sister, your family's knots are well-made. For 4 cents, our best knots here are also this price."

  "Big brother, it's only 4 cents more, can't you raise the price by another cent? Look at the embroidery my sisters did, it's much better than others. What do you think, big sister?"

  Chen Jia's older sister heard Xi Mei's voice and turned her head, seeing Xi Mei haggling with someone over the price. She smiled wryly. "You, your nerve is really not small. You even know to raise the price by a cent, aren't you making it hard for others? Wait till the shopkeeper comes, won't he scold him?" Her index finger scratched her little nose.

  Right, he can't make decisions on his own. Isn't this a waste? But she still felt that something was off, looking at him didn't just seem like a buddy, there's an inexplicable feeling about him, it's decided that he's not from a poor family.

  Forget it, Xi Mei came back to her senses. But how come it's been so long and there's no sound? She looked up and saw that this guy was staring straight at her sister, good guy, like a wolf. No way, she had to protect her sister.

  "Cough cough" startled this daydreaming fellow.

  "Oh, it's at Xiaotangdu. What did you say, little sister? Is it 5 cents? Then that's 5 cents."

  "No, let's just follow the old rules, don't make it difficult for the boss." Xi Ju replied with embarrassment.

  "Miss, you don't know. Your noodles are quite well-made, if sold in another shop, they would also be 5 cents. You're taking care of our business so well, this price is also reasonable. May I ask, miss, where do you live?"

  It's gone, this is summoning a wolf. Speaking incoherently. Xi Mei's little head turned towards Zhao's direction and shouted loudly, "Mother, this young man is collecting the toll, 5 cents each. Come quickly."

  Zhao heard his daughter's voice and quickly walked over. He said to the apprentice, "Sorry to trouble you, this is 50 yuan for the hair ties, can you count it and see if it's correct?"

  "Alright." Without even a glance, he led them directly to the counter.

  As soon as she got the money, Xi Mei hastily walked towards the door, "Mother, mother, let's go quickly, I still want to see Second Sister selling eggs."

  Mr. Zhao thought for a moment, and said with a smile to the young man, "In that case, we won't disturb you now. Next time we come, we'll definitely thank you properly."

  After finishing speaking, he took a few daughters and left. As they were about to leave the door, the little girl who was being held by the woman surprisingly turned her head back to him and made a face.