A Small Farmer Girl 's Story of Making a Fortune by Farming

74

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, two months have passed.

　　On the 17th day of the twelfth lunar month, the off-season vegetables of Daliu Village finally came on the market. Baiweilou's vegetable shop also opened, and with the demand from the surrounding counties, people from Baiweilou would come to Daliu Village every two days to collect vegetables.

　　The villagers received the money from selling vegetables, smiled with their eyes narrowed, and their pink teeth showed.

　　With the money they had, they had more money on hand, so every family bought more New Year goods than in previous years. Not only did they buy fish and meat, they even set off a few more firecrackers on New Year's Eve.

　　On the first day of the Lunar New Year in previous years, children would travel around the village in groups, visiting every household, but all they would get was a handful of peanuts.

　　This year, the children's pockets were filled with peanuts and melon seeds, and they also received some candy.

　　The adults who were tired of going out rarely went to the Shen family to pay New Year's greetings this year as if they had made an appointment. They all brought gifts, such as a piece of meat, a pound of sugar, or ten eggs.

　　The kang in the room was warm, and the women crowded on it, cracking melon seeds and chatting.

　　"Xiuzhu's coat is beautiful, the color is bright and it suits her skin tone."

　　Hearing the compliment, Yu Xiuzhu stroked the coat on her body and smiled lightly: "My mother-in-law chose the material, saying that it is fresh and tender for young people to wear."

　　Originally, it was just a truthful statement, but in some people's ears, it was interpreted as a boast, which made them feel sour. But they praised her: "You are lucky to marry into the Shen family and have such a good mother-in-law. Unlike me, although I got a lot of silver from selling, I was reluctant to buy a piece of flowered cloth. I had to be frugal to honor my parents."

　　Yu Xiuzhu was simple-minded and didn't understand the meaning behind it. She just thought it was a compliment and smiled foolishly.

　　"That's right. We in Daliu Village will never find a better mother-in-law than my sister-in-law." Mrs. Wu took Yu Xiuzhu's hand, patted it with a chuckle.

　　"Haha...that's right." The woman laughed dryly twice and said nothing more.

　　Mrs. Wu glanced at her and snorted in her heart: Don't think that I don't know what you are thinking. You came to her Shen family on New Year's Day to be so weird and irritating.

　　The other women also heard Mrs. Wu's unhappiness and quickly changed the subject.

　　"Do you know why He Guangjia left the gifts and went back in a hurry? She refused to sit down and drink a sip of water." Although they were in the room with the door closed, Wang Cuiping still lowered her voice for fear of being heard.

　　Zhang Chunxiang loved gossip, so she leaned forward and asked, "Why?"

　　"She had a visitor today."

　　Wang Cuiping thought she had whetted everyone's appetite, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Wu said ruthlessly, "Guests are here, so what? It's normal for them to come and pay New Year's greetings on the first day of the Lunar New Year. What's the big deal?"

　　This made Wang Cuiping, who was eager to gossip, anxious. She didn't keep it a secret and said, "The guests who came to her house today are from Qilipu. They are the future in-laws of her youngest son!"
　　"What?"