noveldrama
Chapter 254 - 254 254 Buy Buy Buy
Chapter 254 - 254 254 Buy Buy Buy
?Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Buy Buy Buy Chapter 254: Chapter 254: Buy Buy Buy “Brother Wang, please have a seat first. This matter is between you and my elder sister. As her younger siblings, we will follow her wishes. As long as she is happy, we have no objections. The only requirement is that my sister must be happy!” Bai Xiao invited Wang Yan to sit down.
It would be a lie to say it wasn’t shocking. Wang Yan, a grown man in his forties, was no longer a young lad who acted on impulse. He had passed that impetuous age long ago. To do this for Bai Yue was truly admirable—it took great courage to start over at such an age, and it was not without difficulty.
Bai Yue looked at Wang Yan, “Brother Shitou, it’s not worth it for you to do this for me. Your family is living well; why bother? I’m just a woman who’s been divorced, and by doing this, you’re making your parents absolutely despise me.” She hadn’t expected Wang Yan to truly choose to break with his family for her. Although she’d imagined it, she couldn’t believe it—it took immense courage for a man to do this.
“I’ve said I’m serious about marrying you, you should trust me even if I don’t use the Wang Family’s pig farming skills! I can still support you and the kids,” he said earnestly.
Bai Xiao glanced at Bai Yue, who was already moved to tears. Alright! Let’s leave these two alone, what are they doing here like a third wheel?
Pulling Bai Song along and pushing Li Haiping, Li Hai’an, Li Haishun with him, they headed outside, “Let’s go, we’ve eaten and will head to town to buy New Year goods. Your mother will stay home!” The couple needed a good talk, it couldn’t be settled over just a word or two, they needed time and space.
Bai Song wanted to say something, but Bai Xiao quickly pulled him away.
Arriving at Bai Xiao’s room, Bai Song sat on the kang bed. Watching his sister serve the kang table, he hurriedly took it from her, “Xiao, what exactly is going on? I’m still confused. When did elder sister and Wang Yan get together?”
Li Haiping and Li Hai’an were all smiles, looking incredibly happy, which made Bai Xiao curious.
“What are you two laughing about? Look, your smiles are stretching to your ears.”
Li Haiping blushed, “Actually, we really hope Uncle Shitou can be our dad. We never thought this dream could really come true.” It was natural for the two boys to be shy about these matters.
“Brother, you heard, right? Don’t worry too much. As long as Wang Yan treats our elder sister well, I don’t see anything wrong with it. She’s had a tough life, and she deserves someone who truly cares for and cherishes her. However, I didn’t expect Wang Yan to actually break with his family for her. It seems this man has deeper affection and loyalty to our elder sister than we thought.” Bai Xiao set the tableware and went to the kitchen to serve food.
Bai Song scratched his head. Isn’t this too sudden?
Suddenly having another brother-in-law.
The five of them ate, then carried their baskets and set off. Since it was the month before the Lunar New Year, people were buying goods for the festival, so there were always ox carts and tractors running to town. They paid a dime each for a ride on a tractor. Initially, the tractor driver refused to take their money—the village chief’s daughter, who would dare? Not afraid of getting scolded by Liu Baoguo.
But Bai Xiao did not want this minor amount of money to cause gossip in the village later—villagers tend to be petty! This tiny bit of money was significant to them, and it might give rise to idle talk.
They were not short of a bit of money; there was no need to cause such trouble for Liu Baoguo.
Firmly, they handed the money to the tractor driver, and they securely reached the town. First, they went shopping, then they planned to visit Bai Ju’s home before returning to the village.
As the New Year approached, the market swelled with people—busier than a temple fair in the last few days.
Small vendors lined the streets, the crowd weaving in and out, nearly impossible to move through as people pressed against one another. Through all this, there were still enthusiastic calls inviting them to look at their goods.
Bai Xiao discovered that, in just half a year, the number of people doing business in the town had greatly increased, which showed that many people had seized the business opportunities brought by policy changes.
It was rare to see beef for sale, so Bai Xiao had the vendor cut thirty pounds directly, which she took home to braise. Whether sliced on a platter or cooked in dishes, it was great, and this large purchase delighted the beef seller, as this single sale was equivalent to the business of several other people. In the end, she even gave Bai Xiao a free tripe, which was cheap and unwanted; usually, vendors would keep it for themselves, and giving it away was just a little extra.
Bai Song looked indulgently at his sister buying items. Although he thought it excessive, he understood that his sister wasn’t doing this just to satisfy her own cravings but was preparing for the family’s New Year, and ultimately, they would all benefit.
So he swallowed his words.
This New Year needed to be relaxed and enjoyable for his sister and was their most comfortable one yet, so why not buy and buy?
Thus, Bai Song, Li Haiping, Li Hai’an, and Li Haishun all turned into Bai Xiao’s porters, carrying baskets and following behind her, putting whatever she bought into the baskets.
She also bought forty pounds of pork. Seeing a meat grinder, Bai Xiao specifically ground eight pounds of minced meat, three pounds of which were for making dumplings! The rest was for frying meatballs, five to six pounds for cooking! The remaining parts were all belly meat. Bai Xiao thought the belly meat was excellent, nicely marbled, just perfect for making roast pork.
She also bought eight pig’s feet and two pig’s hocks.
For the New Year in their place, frying meatballs and tofu, making roast pork, and small crispy meat were essential dishes, and they could eat them from the twelfth lunar month until the end of the first lunar month.
She also bought kelp, dried bean curd sticks, and daylilies as side dishes. There were no greenhouses this season, no fresh vegetables; they bought several heads of Chinese cabbage. The rest were white radishes, carrots, and potatoes, with no green vegetables at all.
Vermicelli, glass noodles, and various seasonings like chili powder, five-spice powder, star anise, and also scallion, ginger, garlic, were all available for purchase.
She also bought some preserved eggs and salted duck eggs. She also bought chicken feet. They were bound to cull chickens from their own coop this year, but if they wanted to eat chicken feet, there wouldn’t be many of them, and the items they were buying just kept piling up.
They also bought peanuts, sunflower seeds, and candies. Normally, they should have roasted the peanuts and seeds themselves, but they had no land to grow these this year, so they had to buy some.
The three boys saw the fireworks and couldn’t contain their excitement, as boys naturally loved them.
Bai Xiao, with a grand gesture, said, “Buy!”
So the three boys happily dove in, following Bai Song’s inclination—just setting off a few fireworks for the New Year would suffice! But Bai Xiao said that this year they wanted a bustling and thriving New Year! So they bought extra to be festive.
The three enthusiastic boys bought a whole basket full, delighting the vendor, who rarely encountered such a big customer in a year. The vendor not only served them eagerly but also gave them plenty of freebies, making the three young men incredibly happy.
It seemed that they had never experienced a New Year where they could so freely buy things they liked. It all seemed like a dream. Just half a year ago, they were struggling intensely, desperately trying to protect their mother from harm and working themselves to the bone in stone quarries just so they could have enough to eat. Now, suddenly, it seemed as if all happiness surrounded them.
The contrast was so great that it was surprising enough to make them think they were dreaming.
In such times, they wished never to wake up, without any fear or worry, no hunger or cold, no mother’s tears and bloodshed. Could there be a better life than this?