The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Because the weather was getting colder, the days were getting brighter later, and the nights were too dark, so they set the time to get up and set out when the rooster crowed three times, which was a little after four in the morning.

Everything in the car has been loaded the day before, so we can set off as soon as we get together.

Because most of the car was filled with charcoal, there was not much room for people to sit, so not everyone could go this time.

Chen Cui must go with us, so we can only bring two more people, and those candidates can only be Chen Dahe and Changping.

After all, this time they are out to sell things. Chen Dahe is a young and strong man and can help unload the truck when the time comes.

Changping is her eldest son and the oldest of four children. He needs to be taken out to see the world so that he can take on important responsibilities in the future. When necessary, he can also help look after the ox cart.

Chang'an and Changfu stayed at home to look after the house and take care of their younger sister.

This had been discussed early in the morning, and although the two of them were a little disappointed that they could not go into the city this time, they knew that there was nothing they could do about it, and did not raise any objections.

When they set out, it was still dark outside. Although they tried to be as quiet as possible, they still woke up Chang'an and Changfu.

The two men rubbed their eyes and said goodbye to them, closing the door. Chang'an went to Chen Cui's room to sleep so that he could take care of his sister who was still asleep.

This time, Chen Dahe was driving the car all the way. Chen Cui and Changping leaned against an old quilt in the back carriage to block the wind, and fell asleep without realizing it.

When the mother and daughter were awakened by Chen Dahe, it was already bright in the sky. The ox cart had arrived at the gate of the county town, and pedestrians could be seen coming and going on the road from a distance.

Chen Cui rubbed her eyes, stretched, and moved her numb limbs. The streets were bustling with people queuing to enter and leave the city.

After paying the entrance fee and entering the city gate, Chen Cui found a breakfast stall and decided to eat something first.

Chen Dahe was a little hesitant. They came out to sell things today. The things haven't been sold yet and the money hasn't been earned yet. Isn't it inappropriate to spend money on food first?

In fact, he mentioned it in the morning and asked if my sister had brought any food. At that time, my sister told him not to worry about it, so he didn't pay much attention to it, thinking that she had brought food. If he had known that my sister was going to go to the county town to eat, he would definitely stop her and bring a few steamed buns as dry food.

Alas, it’s too late to say anything. After traveling so long this morning, Chen Dahe is now hungry and can only follow his sister’s instructions on how to eat.

They went to the same mutton soup stall as last time, and Chen Cui asked Changping to go buy some meat buns and sesame cakes nearby.

The meat buns were for Daha and Shaobing and his mother. Daha's mutton soup contained meat and mutton offal, while the other two still had clear soup.

Hearing Chen Cui's request, the boss recognized the woman who had visited his stall not long ago and greeted her with a smile: "This sister-in-law is in town again. Why didn't she bring her children with her this time?"

Chen Cui smiled and said, "The eldest is here, but the others are at home, so they can't come every time!"

Chen Dahe was surprised to see his sister dealing with the stall owner in a very friendly way. He felt that his sister had changed when he saw her this time. She was more forthright and generous than before, and she was much bolder. She even dared to strike up a conversation with others!

As a countryman who seldom goes to the city, Chen Dahe always has an indescribable awe for city people.

Especially for business owners like this, he usually doesn't dare to talk to them because he thinks they are knowledgeable and experienced and he is afraid of showing his weakness, saying something wrong and being laughed at.

At this moment, he couldn't help but look at Chen Cui with admiration, thinking that his sister was really different!

Soon, the boss brought three bowls of mutton soup to the table as she requested, and Changping also came over with buns and sesame cakes.

Seeing that it was inconvenient for him to carry so much food in his arms, the boss specially took a large bowl and put it on the table for them to put the sesame cakes and buns.

Chen Dahe had followed his father into the city before, but he usually brought his own food with him and at most had a bowl of vegetarian noodles at a stall. He had never drunk mutton soup with meat.

He looked at the steaming, fragrant mutton soup in front of him, which contained a lot of mutton offal and mutton. He carefully took a spoon and took a sip. His eyes immediately lit up. It was so delicious!

Then, he bit into the big, white, plump and soft bun. The gravy inside almost overflowed, and the aroma it exuded was even more tempting.

Then, Chen Dahe took two bites of the bun and drank a few sips of the soup. He ate and drank at the same time, slurping loudly.

Changping looked at his uncle and his reaction was similar to when they first drank the soup, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Dahe rubbed his stomach contentedly and said, "The food in this city is really delicious. You can't make it this delicious at home!"

But when he saw Chen Cui paying the bill with a handful of copper coins, he began to feel distressed again, staring and said, "It's so expensive. If I had known, I would have drunk the clear soup like you guys!"

Chen Cui comforted him: "It's rare for you to come to the county town, just try something new. Changping and I can't eat meat now, otherwise we would have brought mutton."

Having said that, Chen Dahe was still a little unhappy, feeling that he had made his sister spend money.

He even whispered to Changping about the price of the meat buns. After finding out, he regretted it so much. He was just focused on eating and didn't expect that he would have spent half a pound of salt money on breakfast.

The three of them drove the ox cart back to the grocery store they had visited last time.

Although Chen Dahe was very curious about everything in the county town, he had no time to look at them. Under the command of Chen Cui, he concentrated on driving the ox cart forward.

When they arrived at the store, Chen Cui drove the ox cart to the side so that it would not block the road, and then took Changping into the store.

She still wanted to try taking it to the store first, mainly because they were not familiar with the county town and might not be able to find a suitable buyer all of a sudden. If they wandered around aimlessly, it would be a waste of time. It would be better to use the time saved to cut more trees and burn more charcoal.

But the prerequisite is that the price given by the grocery store must be reasonable. If the purchase price is too low, then she will have to find other ways.

Chen Cui first found the basket of charcoal in the store and asked the price: "Boss, how much is this charcoal?"

The shop owner was busy introducing the goods to the customers. He glanced back and said, "The good ones are five cents a pound, and the ordinary ones are three cents a pound."

Chen Cui was delighted. She didn't expect that the price of charcoal would go up in such a short time. The purchase price would definitely go up as well. She just didn't know if the boss would be willing to buy it. If he was willing, what price he would give!

She stood aside with Changping, patiently waiting for the boss to send away the customers who had finished their shopping, before she went up to him and told him her intention.

“Oh, you want to sell charcoal?”

The boss looked at the simply dressed woman and the boy in front of him with surprise.

He originally thought that this person came to the store to buy something, but he didn't expect that he was actually selling something to him.

Chen Cui nodded quickly, took off the backpack behind her and showed him the charcoal inside.