When Cui Hongyu said this, Chen Xiaobei almost choked to death on his water.
A violent coughing fit also woke Chen Qiao'er from her sleep.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei return, she immediately jumped out of bed, "Brother, you're back. Sister-in-law has been talking about you for a long time."
Her words made Cui Hongyu's face flush slightly.
"Qiao'er, don't talk nonsense."
"Husband, I'll go prepare your meal."
To Chen Xiaobei's surprise, besides fish, Cui Hongyu had also prepared a pot of wine for him.
Huh?
Why is there wine here?
Seeing him staring at the wine pot, Cui Hongyu quickly explained, "Husband, Chen Ping sent this. He said it's to thank you for finding the killer."
Looking at the pot of wine, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but sigh. If things were truly as Cui Banxian said, then Chen Anbang deserved to die.
While eating, Cui Hongyu recounted the progress of the house repairs. "Oh, and Lidong said that there might not be enough materials. He wants to go to the county town tomorrow and needs to borrow our donkey cart."
Chen Xiaobei nodded. "That's perfect. I need to go to town to sell vegetables tomorrow anyway. He can come with me."
Cui Hongyu couldn't help but advise, "Husband, you've been working hard all day. You should rest tomorrow."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head. He could rest, but the vegetables in the field couldn't. If he didn't sell them quickly, they would get old, not only affecting the taste but also causing the leaves to turn yellow.
"It's fine. Going to town doesn't require much effort. I can sleep on the donkey cart."
Cui Hongyu didn't try to persuade him further, knowing that anything she said would be useless.
The next day, Chen Xiaobei woke up before dawn.
Leafy vegetables are the most tender before the sun rises.
So, harvesting must be done early.
His getting up immediately alerted Cui Hongyu, who also got up.
They had developed a certain tacit understanding now.
After quietly putting on their clothes, they walked out of the room, exchanged a look, and smiled.
Seeing Cui Hongyu smile, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but step forward and give her a hug. "Thank you!"
Cui Hongyu's face flushed slightly. "Thank me for what!"
"Thank you for marrying me. If it weren't for you, Qiao'er and I might still..." Before Chen Xiaobei could finish, Cui Hongyu reached out and covered his mouth.
"Husband, we are already married. As long as you don't dislike it, Hongyu is willing to work like an ox or a horse to serve you and Qiao'er for a lifetime."
Chen Xiaobei felt a surge of emotion. Women in this era were truly resilient.
They were so humble. Alas.
According to Chen Xiaobei's plan, he needed to prepare at least a hundred catties of vegetables to sell today.
This way, after another trip to the county town tomorrow, this batch of vegetables would be mostly sold.
Then, he would sow the seeds as soon as possible, and in about half a month, it would be harvest time again.
After they loaded the vegetables, Lidong arrived with the craftsmen.
Seeing the cart full of vegetables, Lidong seemed a bit taken aback.
"Brother Xiaobei, I..."
Chen Xiaobei smiled and patted the donkey cart. "Let's go. I'm going to sell some vegetables along the way."
Lidong then snapped back to reality. After assigning the day's tasks, he got into the donkey cart.
In the county town.
Old Wu saw Chen Xiaobei bringing so many vegetables today and couldn't help but laugh. "This is more like it. After all the effort, selling such a small amount is barely worth anything."
Chen Xiaobei unloaded the vegetables. "Old Wu, I'll leave it to you. Help me sell them."
Saying that, he turned and left.
Lidong watched this scene, dumbfounded. "Brother Xiaobei, aren't you afraid he'll give you less money?"
Chen Xiaobei chuckled. "I'm not afraid. Besides, even if I get a little less, it's okay. I can do something else."
This...
Lidong was clearly shocked by Chen Xiaobei's attitude.
What kind of philosophy was this! He clearly didn't understand; it was beyond his comprehension.
Chen Xiaobei handed the reins to Lidong. "Alright, you go take care of your business. Come to the vegetable market to find me when you're done."
Since he was here, Chen Xiaobei decided to check out the livestock market again. He was lucky today; someone was selling puppies, and they were newly born.
Of course, the puppies weren't cheap, costing five coins each.
Chen Xiaobei bought four at once.
Seeing him buy so many dogs, even Old Wu was a little surprised.
But Chen Xiaobei had his own plans. The courtyard was getting bigger, and he would be away more often in the future.
Therefore, he would keep three dogs at home, training one for Cui Hongyu and one for Chen Qiao'er as guard dogs.
The remaining one would be for the village patrol team, especially for night patrols. Having a dog would be more convenient.
While selling vegetables, Old Wu brought up an old topic. "Brother, Steward Cao came by a couple of days ago and asked about the pheasants again. You need to hurry. If you can get in good with the Cao family, no one in the county town will dare to touch you."
Chen Xiaobei sighed. "Brother, I want to catch them, but someone startled the pheasants, making them move. I haven't found their new nest yet."
This was an excuse, but also a helpless one.
Just then, Lidong returned after finishing his errands, his cart laden with tiles.
This saved Chen Xiaobei from his awkward situation.
"Old Wu, settle the bill. I have to go." Chen Xiaobei smiled.
Old Wu was not one to delay. He took out a handful of large copper coins from a wooden box nearby and counted them. "Here are ninety. Not a loss, right?"
Chen Xiaobei didn't even look, took them, and tucked them into his chest. "Good. I'll bring you more tomorrow."
As they left the city, Chen Xiaobei bought two portions of meat buns, one with ten and one with five.
The portion of ten was for Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao'er.
The portion of five was for Lidong.
Holding the steaming meat buns, Lidong's eyes were filled with excitement, gratitude, and a hint of envy.
The moment Chen Xiaobei accepted the copper coins earlier kept replaying in his mind.
A cart of vegetables could fetch ninety copper coins.
And Chen Xiaobei said he would bring more vegetables tomorrow.
So, tomorrow there would be another ninety.
One hundred and eighty copper coins in two days. He, working himself to death, couldn't earn this much in a month.
As a strong laborer, he earned five small coins a day, and he couldn't work on rainy days. Even on good days, he might not find work.
When he compared, Lidong naturally felt a pang of envy.
On the way back, Lidong leaned towards Chen Xiaobei and asked tentatively, "Brother Xiaobei, can I ask you a favor?"
Seeing his slightly fawning smile, Chen Xiaobei knew he needed something. "Brother Lidong, what are you being so polite for? Tell me, what is it?"
"Well, I want to grow vegetables too. Can you help me sell them to that Old Wu?" Chen Xiaobei wasn't particularly surprised by Lidong's request.
Growing vegetables wasn't too difficult in this era; the challenge was selling them. Hetou Village was more than twenty li from the county town. If it weren't for the donkey cart, carrying vegetables with shoulder poles would be an unimaginable difficulty.