Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Shen Yu stood up, took out the purse that Mrs. Liu had given her, handed it back and said, "The wooden sword cost me fifteen coins, and this is the remaining money."

Mrs. Liu took it, opened her purse in a hurry and said with a smile: "Thank you Miss Shen, my son Maodou has only been with you for a short time, and he has become much more sensible. I'm sorry that you spent money to buy water chestnuts for him to eat. I should pay for it."

Shen Yu waved her hand indifferently and said with a smile: "Maodou is a sensible and good child. Water chestnuts are not worth much. I bought them for Maodou to eat. Don't mention it again."

Seeing that Shen Yu's tone was sincere and that she really liked edamame, Mrs. Liu no longer insisted and took back her purse.

When Shen Yu saw that the people and the money had been handed over, he said to Li: "Mom, the lecture is over, and it's time for us to go back."

It was the first time for Li to listen to a great monk preaching. The monk’s level was not the same as the ones he heard in the countryside. Although he spoke in plain language, it made people want to cry. They wanted to take out all the money in their wallets and donate it to feel at ease.

Although the lecture had ended for quite some time, Li was still immersed in the stories he had heard from the scriptures and could not extricate himself, savoring them carefully.

When she heard Shen Yu calling her, she came back to her senses and nodded, "Okay, it's time to go back, we still have to prepare for the stall tomorrow.

Mrs. Liu said, "It's time for us to go back. We have to release river lanterns tonight, so we need to go back and prepare. Miss Shen, let's go together."

Along the way, Maodou obediently let Sister Liu lead the way, never complaining of being tired, and never letting anyone touch the big knife, carrying it on his back like a treasure.

When they arrived at Willow Lane, Madam Qi and Zheng Sanniang said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.

Mrs. Liu held Shen Yu and insisted on handing over the basket. She said sincerely, "Miss Shen, thank you for helping me carry the edamame for half a day. Only then can I and his father have time to listen to the lectures and worship the Buddha. I don't have much to thank you for. Here are some snacks. Take them back and eat them."

Shen Yu couldn't refuse, and seeing that Mrs. Liu really wanted to give it, he had to accept it generously and thank her. Then the two families parted at the gate of the courtyard.

Because Guang'an Temple was not far away, I walked and looked around along the way and didn't feel tired when I got home.

Several people sat around the table drinking tea and chatting. Li was very content today. Although she had emptied all the two hundred coins in her purse when she made the offering, she was happier than if she had picked up two hundred coins for nothing.

She mentioned the master who gave the lecture and said with conviction: "Today the master said that I have good children and will enjoy the blessings of my children in my old age. Good days are ahead."

Shen Yu didn't take it seriously, knowing that the monks were just speaking in accordance with people's wishes to make some money from incense offerings.

But in this era, such words cannot be said, so she smiled and agreed: "Of course, we are all good people, and mother's life will definitely get better and better in the future."

After hearing this, Li nodded and recalled the monk's words with a happy look on his face.

Yucheng was lying on the table, fiddling with the little wooden man who could do somersaults. Although the little wooden man was small, it was exquisitely made. The joints of its arms and legs were movable, and it could do somersaults.

Yu Cheng couldn't take his eyes off it the moment he saw it. Although he didn't ask for it, it was obvious that he really liked it. Although Shen Yu spent eighty cents to buy it, he felt that the mechanism was really interesting and the eighty cents were well worth it.

Yutao took out her small purse, took out the two pairs of earrings, and then pushed the purse in front of Shen Yu. She smiled sweetly and said, "Sister, you paid for the earrings at the temple fair. This is the money you gave me this morning."

Yu Cheng was reminded and took out his small purse from his sleeve pocket and put it on the table. He touched his head a little embarrassedly and said, "Sister, I bought my wooden man for eighty cents. I only have fifty cents in my purse. I don't have enough money."

Shen Yu did not put them away, but pushed the two purses back.

She smiled and said, "Keep this money for yourselves, and treat it as your own pocket money. In the past, our family lived a hard life, and we had no extra money, so we had to spend all our money on food and drink. Now that we have money coming in from the food stall every day, we are a little more comfortable. From now on, I will give you some pocket money every month to buy some little things you like. If you find something you like but don't have enough money, just tell me and mother, and if it is really necessary to buy it, we will add it. This fifty cents is your pocket money for this month, keep it well and don't lose it."

Yutao and Yucheng were both surprised when they heard this, and happily put away their purses.

Yutao picked up the pair of green jade-colored water-drop glass earrings, tied them with a red string, and playfully waved them in front of Li's eyes. Only then did Li come back to her senses, took a closer look, exclaimed happily, took them and looked at them over and over again.

Yu Tao smiled and said, "Mom, my sister bought this for me. Does it look good?"

Li held it up with her hands and nodded, saying, "This style is really beautiful. I saw the lady who came to buy buns wearing one yesterday. When the sun shone on it, it was so green that it dazzled people's eyes."

Yutao ran to the bedroom and brought the bronze mirror over, urging, "Mom, try it on quickly. It will definitely look good on you."

Li took off the lilac pendant on her earlobe and replaced it with this one. She looked around in the blurry bronze mirror.

Li looked at it for a long time, then put the mirror down with satisfaction. She looked at the two sisters in surprise and asked, "Why did you only buy one for me? What did you spend all that money on? Mother is already this old, you should each buy a pair to wear. If you didn't dress up well when you were a girl, do you have to dress up when you are this old?"

As she was about to take them off, Shen Yu hurriedly stopped her and said, "I bought two pairs. Mom likes this style, so just wear it. Why take it off?"

Yutao also said, "Yes, mother, my sister bought two pairs. Yours is jade green, and mine is peach pink."

As he said this, he picked up his own pair and showed it to Li.

Li looked at Yutao, then at Shen Yu, and asked, "Why didn't you buy one for yourself?"

Shen Yu shook his head and explained: "I don't like wearing this. It's inconvenient to do things, so I didn't buy it."

Li heard this and shook her head, saying, "How can that be possible? A daughter's ears are bald, but a mother is wearing earrings to show off. It will make people laugh. You can wear this pair. It will look good on you."

Shen Yu pressed Li's hand to prevent her from taking it off, and said in a pleading tone: "Mom, I really don't like wearing this kind of earrings. Let's put it this way. If I see lilac earrings that I like someday, I will definitely buy a pair for myself."

Li thought about it and realized that Yuzhi had always worn small lilac earrings, so she had to give up. She also reminded her, "Buy a pair when you find one. The old pair has faded and turned black. Don't wear it anymore."

After saying that, she finally took off the earrings and said happily, "Yuzhi is right. It is indeed inconvenient to wear a headscarf when setting up a stall. I will put it away first and wear it during the New Year."