The road to wealth of a peasant widow

On the official road in winter, a team of horse-drawn carriages carrying goods were moving slowly forward. The goods on the carriages were neatly arranged and fully loaded.

In a carriage at the front of the convoy, Chen Cui and Chen Dahe were sitting next to the cargo.

Both of them had scarves wrapped around their heads and homemade masks on their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed to protect themselves from the cold winter wind.

This mask was originally sewn by Chen Cui to be worn when traveling in the car. However, after wearing it twice, the coachmen in the car team learned to use it, and they asked their wives to sew the same type for them.

Although they felt it was strange to wear this thing on their faces at first, with this thing called a mask, their mouths and noses are covered tightly, and their faces are indeed much warmer, and they no longer have a runny nose due to the cold wind.

After a while, the convoy stopped at the door of an inn and everyone went in to have lunch.

After Chen Cui entered the store, she was the first to call the waiter, "Give me twelve bowls of dumplings, one bowl with vegetarian fillings, and the rest with meat, hurry up."

Master Chen, who was about to order, was a little stunned: "This..."

Chen Cui smiled and said, "Master Chen, today is the Little New Year. I will treat everyone to dumplings to comfort everyone who is still on the road during the festival."

Master Chen rubbed his hands together and said, "Look, this is embarrassing..."

Before he could say a few more polite words, the other masters below had already begun to express their gratitude, praising Mrs. Liu for her kindness and openness.

Mrs. Liu was an extremely polite person. She always gave extra favors to everyone, which made them feel very happy.

This was their third and final delivery. Seeing that the drivers had already taken their seats, Master Chen simply stopped refusing and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Liu. I always owe you a lot."

Chen Cui was also polite: "No, thank you for your hard work, masters."

In fact, they were paid by the carriage and horse company for their work, which had nothing to do with Mrs. Liu. She had already paid the freight to the carriage and horse company.

During the journey, she could have chosen not to spend a single extra penny, as they would still have to do their job of transporting goods as assigned by the bank. But they were so capable, which made her feel at ease.

A group of ten drivers were sitting in the lobby, laughing and drinking hot water, waiting for the dumplings to be served.

Chen Cui was naturally at the same table with Chen Dahe. They both took off their scarves and masks and drank some hot water to keep warm.

Chen Dahe was already used to his sister's generosity. The first time he went back, he told his father about his sister giving the coachman wine money. Unexpectedly, his father actually praised his sister for doing a good job.

"We are just peasants, with nothing to rely on. We can't compare with those shops and businesses. Don't underestimate the carriage and horse companies and these coach drivers. Why do they dare to go on the road without escorts and they are so safe all the way? There must be someone behind them, at least they have connections both officially and secretly. These coaches go out with the sign of the carriage and horse company. You and your sister will inevitably rely on these people's care on the road, and it is only right to respect them."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Shangen said this.

He didn't expect that his little daughter knew so much now. She even knew the tricks of going out. Even he had to think about it again and again before he understood it. It seems that his daughter has grown a lot.

On the contrary, Chen Dahe, who asked this question, was given a disdainful look by his father: "Go out with your sister, listen more, watch more, learn more, follow your sister's instructions in everything, and stand in front of her when something happens. Remember?"

Chen Dahe nodded woodenly. Isn’t this what he has always done?

After a while, more than a dozen bowls of dumplings were served on the table.

The men driving the carts had already peeled garlic and were waiting. When they saw the hot dumplings, they quickly picked one out, dipped it in some vinegar, and started eating with the garlic.

Everyone else was eating pork and cabbage, but Chen Cui was eating dumplings stuffed with egg and black fungus. Although the vegetarian dumplings tasted good too, she was still craving for meat.

Who knows the feeling of having money in hand but not being able to buy meat?

Fortunately, she will be released soon. Today is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month. In two days, it will be the 100th day since Liu Eryong's death. Then they will be able to lift the ban and eat meat.

After finishing their meal, the group continued on their journey and arrived at Huipintang on time in the evening as scheduled.

After all the charcoal was delivered to the warehouse, Chen Cui received the final payment, one hundred and forty-three taels of silver.

Chen Cui said to Shopkeeper Xu, who was grinning from ear to ear at the sight of the charcoal being put into the warehouse, "Thank you for your care during this period. It's getting late, so we'll leave now."

Over the past month, the price of charcoal has increased slightly due to the cold weather. Although the price increase is not large, due to rain and snow in other areas, the roads are difficult to travel and the supply is in short supply.

The charcoal prices of other stores have increased to some extent because of this, but Huipintang has sufficient supply due to Chen Cui's continuous supply, so they can purchase it freely and choose not to increase the price.

This move brought a lot of business to their store, and their turnover increased significantly compared to previous years.

Shopkeeper Xu was also rewarded by his boss, so he was very kind to Chen Cui and her brother: "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Liu. We will have a chance to cooperate again next year."

Chen Cui hurriedly said, "Thank you very much. I wish you a prosperous New Year in advance and wish our Huipintang a prosperous business!"

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Xu smiled until his eyes almost narrowed into slits, and bowed to see them out.

The next day, Chen Cui and Chen Dahe started the purchasing process.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, there are more street vendors and various acrobatic performances, making the scene very lively.

What they want to buy are things that are not easy to find in the county town or are more expensive than here. As for some common daily necessities, they are still cheaper in Yinping County.

Chen Cui and Chen Dahe walked around for a long time and bought a lot of things.

Suddenly, Chen Cui saw a small stall selling lanterns in front of her. The colorful lanterns hanging there were very beautiful.

Chen Cui thought that because of the mourning period this year, they couldn't set off firecrackers or put up couplets at home, so it would be less lively, so she decided to buy some lanterns for the children.

The lanterns she chose for her children were all based on their zodiac signs.

The lantern for Changping is a cow, the lantern for Changan is a rabbit, the lantern for Changfu is a snake, and the lantern for Suisui is a little mouse.

Because they are for children to play with, no matter what animal style the lantern is, it is all brightly colored and cute in shape. Even a mouse exudes a sense of cleverness and is very likable.

When Chen Dahe saw the toys his sister bought for the children, he couldn't help but shook his head.

My sister really dotes on her children. Changping and Changan are so old, but she still buys these for them. The lock pillars and tie pillars in his family have long been abandoned.

Then, he excitedly started buying firecrackers for several boys in the family. These were things for men to play with, and who wanted to play with sissy lanterns?