The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 41 Returning to the Village

Zhang Zhan called out to Old Mrs. Wang.

"Oh, it's Lord Zhang. What can I do for you?"

Once they arrived in the county town, everyone realized that Zhang Zhan was not an ordinary yamen runner as they had imagined, but an official.

They certainly didn't dare ask what official position he was.

To the villagers, even if he was just a yamen runner, he was still considered an official.

A county magistrate is the highest-ranking official.

Perhaps because of their shared bond, Old Mrs. Wang wasn't as afraid of him as the other villagers.

Zhang Zhan handed over the package: "Thank you so much for your family's kindness last time. This is a token of my appreciation, please accept it."

Grandma Wang didn't accept it: "Lord Zhang has already done us a great favor by sending relief grain to our village, so we should just forget about these things."

"Yes..." Zhang Zhan was a little embarrassed, but he still endured the shame and said, "I borrowed two pairs of pants from you last time, and I ruined them when I took them back to wash. These are my replacements for you. Don't worry, they're both new and unworn."

Actually, the servants at home found it disgusting; it had various patches and the fabric was of poor quality, so they simply threw it away.

"They weren't any good pants to begin with, so they're ruined now—" Old Mrs. Wang suddenly realized that her husband didn't seem to have any extra pants. Why not go and get a few feet of cloth and make a pair of pants for everyone?

I didn't get to buy fabric during the Lunar New Year, so now I can make up for it.

"I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you. There are also little trinkets for Ayu inside." Afraid that Grandma Wang would refuse, Zhang Zhan simply stuffed the things into Grandma Wang's arms and turned to leave.

Grandma Wang chased after it for a few steps, but couldn't catch up, so she gave up.

The two packages were bulging, and they definitely contained more than just two pairs of pants.

Never mind, he'll probably feel better accepting it.

Otherwise, people would think they were aiming for something big.

After receiving the package, she couldn't buy anything else, so she simply went to the rice shop and handed the items over to Village Chief Hu, asking them to look after them before going to buy more.

She carried two taels of silver, enough to buy many nice things.

She first went to the general store and bought some brown sugar and salt. Then, remembering that she still had some soybeans that could be made into tofu, she bought some brine as well.

Spices such as Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers are extremely expensive, especially Sichuan peppercorns, which are usually sold in pharmacies.

Fortunately, there was an old Sichuan pepper tree in the village, so we didn't have to buy one.

The general store had everything. She saw a few hair accessories, picked out a few more, and bought two bundles of needles and thread.

She didn't buy many items individually, but they added up to a considerable amount. The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed with delight as he calculated on his abacus, saying, "This is 732 coins."

Old Mrs. Wang didn't even flinch: "Seven hundred coins for the tail."

The shopkeeper looked troubled: "Aren't you putting me in a difficult position? If it's seven hundred coins, we won't make any profit. At most, we can give you a discount of two coins. We're a small business, we don't have that much profit."

“Look, the color of your salt is too yellow. My hammer would be worn out from knocking it so many times! When I saw it at the shop over there… and this hair accessory of yours, there are loose threads here, and this stitching looks like a centipede… and the brine isn’t very good either, it’s filthy…”

Shopkeeper: "..." If you dislike it so much, then don't take it!
The old lady proceeded to nitpick at the shopkeeper slowly and deliberately, until the shopkeeper's face turned green. Only then did she say, "Seven hundred coins is already a reasonable price for me. If you're really losing money, I'll go check out that shop on the street. They're very shrewd in business; they even gave me two extra hair ornaments! I originally thought the shopkeeper there didn't look as lucky as you, but since that's the case—"

After saying that, the old lady turned to leave.

The shopkeeper, surnamed Luo, was quite superstitious. Hearing this, he quickly said, "Alright, alright, seven hundred coins it is! We'll do it on a low-profit, high-volume basis. You'll have to come and visit more often, sir!"

The old lady picked up her things and casually replied, "Sure."

After leaving Luo's Grocery Store, Old Mrs. Wang went to the Cloth Shop.

After taking the fabric out, the shopkeeper clutched his chest and remained silent for a long time.

The shopkeeper asked him what was wrong, and he exclaimed in anguish, "I've met a master!" He lost a full thirty coins!
"Steamed buns! Fresh meat steamed buns! Steamed bread, big white and soft steamed bread!" The owner of the steamed bun shop shouted enthusiastically.

On a whim, Old Mrs. Wang walked over.

Meanwhile, another day passed, and Old Wang's bamboo fence was mostly complete. With a few more minor repairs, it would be perfectly stable.

The few lads just kept circling around the house, preferring to clean the chicken coop, pigsty, and manure pit rather than leave.

Wang Chuanman returned carrying a new bundle of firewood. Seeing them, he asked Liu, "Why didn't those brothers go out and have fun today?"

"Isn't it because I'm waiting to eat pheasant?" Liu found it amusing. "Mother will probably be back today, but whether we'll eat pheasant or not is still up for debate."

They tied up the pheasant and left it in the chicken coop. Before Old Mrs. Wang returned, they didn't dare to decide to eat it on their own.

Wang Chuanman was speechless: "These brats, all they talk about is food."

Little Ayu is the best. She never asks for food or drink, has no demands, and does whatever she's told. She's very obedient.

Little Ayu was standing around Old Wang. Old Wang had difficulty walking and hadn't done much work in the fields, so he had Wang Chuanfu cut some bamboo to weave a basket at home. Old Wang wasn't very fast, but in no time, the basic shape of a basket was formed, and Little Ayu watched intently.

Even when Tuanzi urged her in the space to ask for food and plant crops, she ignored him.

"Grandpa will weave you a little flower basket, do you want it?" Old Wang said to Little Ayu when he saw her looking at it so intently.

Old Wang had originally woven a small basket for Xiao Ayu, but it was a bit too big. Xiao Ayu would sway and fall when she carried it.

Xiao Ayu wanted to blurt out "yes," but then stopped herself.

The little flower basket must have been hard work for Grandpa to weave, and she couldn't let him work even harder.

So, with a very reluctant look in her eyes, Xiao Ayu said, "Ayu, no."

But those little eyes clearly said, "I really want the little flower basket, but I can't have it," which softened Old Wang's old heart.

"It's alright, Grandpa can make flower baskets quickly, it won't delay anything." As he spoke, Old Wang took a piece of bamboo strip from the side, twisted and turned it with his fingers, and quickly made the bottom of a flower basket.

Little Ayu watched with great interest.

When Liu saw this, she smiled and asked, "Ayu, is Grandpa weaving a flower basket for you?"

"Mmm!" Little Ayu nodded her head, revealing a few small teeth, and smiled sweetly and obediently, "Grandpa is so amazing."

Old Wang laughed heartily and made up even more enthusiastically.

Before the little flower basket was even finished, someone outside called out, "Old Wang's family, your old lady is back. Go to the village entrance to greet her."

"Here it comes!" Wang Chuanman leaned his carrying pole against the wall and ran towards the village entrance.

"Grandpa, I'm going to pick up Grandma!"

Old Wang bowed his head and replied, "Go—Wulang, with your sister."

Before Wang Wulang could even reach Xiao Ayu, she ran off into the yard.

The little lamb trotted over to her side, and after running for a while, it suddenly lowered its head to the ground, revealing its fluffy neck.

It indicates to Xiao Ayu that she can ride it.

"Little lamb, I can walk by myself. I'm too heavy to ride you," Little Ayu said unwillingly.

The lamb still didn't move, and Xiao Ayu said, "I really can't do anything with you," so she had no choice but to sit on the lamb's back.

The lamb took off running on all four hooves and quickly overtook Wang Chuanman.

On the way, when other villagers saw him, it caused quite a stir.

No matter how many times they saw it, they found it incredible.

A child nearby was crying and shouting, "Dad, I want one too! I want one too! Buy me a sheep! I want to ride a sheep!"

The result was a slap in the face: "Ride, ride, ride! Can you ride a sheep?!"

"Waaaaah, even little Ayu can ride it..."

"Look at yourself, you idiot! How can you compare to Xiao Fu Bao?" Another slap landed on the back of the head. "Go play somewhere else!"

"Woooooooo..."

Little Ayu was unaware that a group of little lambs were secretly envying her. The lamb led her to the village entrance, where they saw Old Lady Wang distributing things to the villagers.

They bought grain and some small items, a lot of miscellaneous things, so in the end they had to rent a cart to come back.

I need to return the cart tomorrow, and it'll be a good opportunity for other villagers to buy seeds.

"Grandma Wang, why did you buy so much stuff? It must have cost a lot of money!" someone whispered, wanting to see what Grandma Wang had bought.

Grandma Wang casually remarked, "It's springtime, who doesn't buy something?"

"Grandma!" Little Ayu's joyful voice rang out from outside the crowd as the little girl rode her little lamb, bouncing closer.

She ran so fast that her rosy cheeks, like clouds in the sky, made her even more endearing.

"My granddaughter is here, I won't talk to you anymore." Grandma Wang pushed through the crowd and picked up little Ayu with a smile.

Grandma Wang touched Little Ayu's forehead to hers and shook it, making Little Ayu giggle.

"Grandma bought you something. I'll show it to you when we get back, sweetie."

Thank you for your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and tips! I've read all your comments, and you're my motivation for updating every day! Let's witness Xiao Fu Bao's growth together!

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(End of this chapter)