The wife of two taels of silver

Finally lying in bed, with the two children fast asleep beside her, Lin Haitang felt calm.

Lin Haitang slept comfortably with the corners of her mouth curled up, but reality often hits her hard, and her thoughts suddenly drifted to tomorrow's breakfast.

Originally, Lin Haitang had stewed big bones for tomorrow morning's meal, but plans couldn't keep up with changes. Li Zhuqing came, so Lin Haitang directly sent out breakfast for the three of them tomorrow.

This meant that she had to make breakfast again tomorrow, and it would have been nice to just heat up some big bones.

Lin Haitang couldn't laugh anymore, she wanted to cry.

Forget it, let’s just fry some rice and stew some cabbage and tofu tomorrow. Lin Haitang thought, the smile on her face disappeared, and she was speechless.

Why can't I escape the fate of waking up early even in ancient times? I have to make my own breakfast. Why didn't I travel back in time and become a rich lady? Angry! Oh my god!

This was Lin Haitang's last complaint before going to bed. Perhaps because she was weak or too tired today, Lin Haitang fell asleep in a short while and even started snoring.

The next day, Lin Haitang woke up later than the other two children. Luckily, the two children were sensible and didn't need her to dress them. However, washing the two children was not enough, so Lin Haitang had to go and boil some water for the siblings.

After getting up, Lin Haitang ran straight to the kitchen. The cold air made her stamp her feet. She quickly lit the stove to warm herself up. When the water boiled, Lin Haitang called the two children to wash their faces and rinse their mouths.

Lin Haitang simply washed her face and cooked the rice porridge, then began to cut cabbage and tofu, and went to the space to find some garlic, chili peppers, chopped green onions and so on.

It would be nice to have vermicelli. Lin Haitang wants to eat cabbage, tofu and vermicelli stew.

The meal was ready, and Lin Haitang and the other two ate their fill. Then Lin Haitang planned something big.

Lin Haitang had a total of 21 taels of silver. After deducting the 52 coins she had spent yesterday selling meat and tofu, she still had plenty left, enough to last her a while, but she certainly couldn't afford to spend all her savings.

Lin Haitang wanted to go to the city and visit the county market, perhaps there were some ways to make money. She definitely couldn't let her two children go with her, as there were too many people at the market and she was afraid she couldn't keep an eye on them. Besides, she wasn't going there to have fun, but mainly to find ways to make money and buy things for the family.

Then the problem becomes where to put the two children.

Lin Haitang was definitely worried about the two children being home alone. They were under four years old, and she couldn't bear the responsibility if anything happened to them locked up alone. She couldn't rely on the children's grandmother, so she had to trouble the village chief's family.

Lin Haitang had wrapped the two children up warmly, dressing them in all the clothes they could wear. She also needed to buy them a few more sets of cotton-padded clothes at the market. Lin Haitang hadn't taken anything from the village chief's house, and since there wasn't much left at home, she planned to buy some at the market and bring it over when she came to pick up the children.

Lin Haitang squatted down and discussed with the two children: "Momo, Lanlan, can Mommy go to the county town for a while? Mommy will buy you clothes and delicious food. But Momo and Lanlan can't go. There are too many people at the market. Mommy has to buy a lot of things this time and can't take care of you two. I will send you to the village chief's house to see Xiaobai, okay?"

Gu Zhilan grabbed Lin Haitang's thumb and said, "Okay, Lanlan will go see Xiaobai, but mother, Lanlan also wants to go to the market. Lanlan has never been there before."

"Our Lanlan is so well-behaved. Mom promises that next time I will take you and your brother to the market to play, okay?" Lin Haitang kissed Gu Zhilan's little face.

Gu Mo also grabbed Lin Haitang's sleeve: "Okay, Mom will take me and my sister there next time."

"Oh, Momo is so sensible." Lin Haitang also kissed Gu Mo, and Gu Mo's face suddenly turned red. "Come on, Mom will take you to the village chief's house." Lin Haitang held one of them by the hand.

"Hey, Haitang is here." Duan just walked out of the house and saw Lin Haitang knocking on the door. "Momo and Lanlan want to eat fried peanuts? Come on, go back to the house with Auntie to get them."

Lin Haitang walked into the yard with the two children: "Auntie, I'm bothering you again today. I want to go to Yangcheng to attend the market, and I'd like to trouble you to help look after Momo and Lanlan."

Duan picked up Lanlan and said, "You are being so formal when you say that. What's the trouble? Lanlan is so cute and sensible. She is my own child. I love her so much. Don't worry, I will leave the child with you."

After Duan finished speaking, she suddenly smiled sheepishly. She scratched her face and said, "Haitang, Jiahe was so happy to eat the big bone you asked Zhuqing to bring back yesterday. She ate most of it herself, which scared me. She loves the chili oil and that fragrant... yes, it's called cilantro. I fried a small bowl of chili oil this morning, but Jiahe said it didn't taste right." Before she finished speaking, Duan felt even more embarrassed: "Haitang, can you teach me how to fry the chili oil? And that cilantro, I want to buy some from you."

Lin Haitang laughed after hearing this, and thought Duan was very cute: "Aunt, you just said we were family, and now you're being so formal with me. I'll teach you how to make the chili oil when I get back. And I have plenty of cilantro at home, so I'll bring you a basket when I get back. We're two families, so why bother talking about money? Otherwise, I'd be embarrassed to leave Momo and Lanlan with you."

Of course the chili oil is delicious. The oil is first fried with onions, ginger, garlic and coriander, and the chilies are also freshly picked from the space, so of course they are fragrant when fried.

Fortunately, Duan Shi didn't ask where the coriander came from. Lin Haitang really hadn't figured out how to make it up. If she had to explain it in detail, she could only say that Gu An brought it when he came back from Chinese New Year.

Lin Haitang said, "Aunt, I'll trouble you to take care of those two children. I'll go to the county town right away to avoid being too late."

Lin Haitang gave the two children another few words of advice: "Momo, Lanlan, you two must behave well at grandma's house and don't make trouble. Mom will be back this afternoon."

Before the two children could say anything, Duan said, "Haitang, just put your mind at ease. Go to the village first. If Old Wang's carriage arrives too late, there won't be any good seats left."

"Okay, I'll be leaving first, auntie." Lin Haitang waved to the two children again: "Mom is leaving, Momo Lanlan."

"Okay, my sister and I will be obedient." Gu Mo also waved to Lin Haitang, and Gu Zhilan shouted: "Mom must come back soon!"

Lin Haitang replied: "Okay, mother will be back soon."

Lin Haitang arrived a little late, as Old Wang's car was almost full. She sat in the back of the car. Aside from the rough ride, everything else was fine. It was closer to the exit, so she could see outside as soon as she opened the curtains. It was also more airy and free of the messy smells inside. Lin Haitang preferred the back seat.

Old Wang didn't just pull the cart to Shang'anhe Village; he started from Xu Village. Shang'anhe Village was the third village he had reached. However, these villages were close to each other, so he knew everything that happened in the village. For example, everyone knew about Lin Haitang asking for money a few days ago. As soon as Lin Haitang got on the carriage, some people started to grumble.

An old lady that Lin Haitang didn't recognize, who probably wasn't from Shang'anhe Village, said directly to Lin Haitang, "Oh, this is Gu An's family, right? Where's the official's wife? The money is coming back. Now you have money to go to the market in Yangcheng?"

Lin Haitang really wanted to roll her eyes, but she smiled and said, "Yeah, but I'm not rich. I can't be like you, going to the market in Yangcheng when I have no money."

"You!" The man pointed at Lin Haitang angrily, "You! I'm kindly reminding you, but you really don't know what's good for you! I think your brain hasn't gotten better, it's become even more stupid!"

Lin Haitang really didn't want to argue with her any more: "Don't forget what you said just now. You also said that I am the wife of an official. How come you dare to slander the wife of an official now? You are quite brave."

A young and aggressive woman's voice rang out: "Aunt Xu, you are the elder. You are the same age as Gu An's mother. Why are you making things difficult for a junior? Besides, no matter how good Lin Haitang is, it's really not up to Xu Cun to discipline her."

The speaker was Lin Qiaoxia from Shang'an Village, three years older than Lin Haitang, and married to Li Erzhu from the same village. They had been married for many years and had only one daughter, now seven years old. Due to health reasons, Lin Qiaoxia was unable to have any more children, which made her mother-in-law, Li Zhang, even more disliked. Li Zhang also disliked Li Erzhu. She doted on the third son, Li Qiang, the most. Although she wasn't as kind to the eldest son, Li Ming, she treated him like her own child, and treated Li Erzhu like a servant. Fortunately, Lin Qiaoxia was a bit of a brat, so the second wife didn't get bullied to death by Li Zhang. Some time ago, Lin Qiaoxia had just gone to the village chief and the old patriarch, Li, to divide the family property. Lin Qiaoxia had gone to the city to buy some things to fill the gaps in the family.

Lin Qiaoxia and Lin Haitang are from the same clan. Although they are distantly related, Lin Haitang should call her sister. What's more, Lin Qiaoxia is kind-hearted and has a bold personality. She directly confronted the old lady in Xu Village, leaving her speechless.

Lin Haitang smiled at Lin Qiaoxia to express her gratitude.

Lin Qiaoxia also laughed heartily.

After about half an hour, they finally arrived in Yangcheng. Lin Haitang got off the bus quickly. Her back and waist were sore from the ride.

Lin Haitang stood there and waited for Lin Qiaoxia to come down. She greeted her and thanked her.

Lin Qiaoxia said, "Why thank you? You should call me sister, and I can't stand by and watch you get bullied. Where are you going at the market? Maybe we're on the way, so we can help you."

Lin Haitang said, "First I'm going to buy some ready-made clothes for the two children, as well as some rice and flour. I can also find some cloth to make clothes and quilts for the children, and then I'll buy some food for the two children. There are so many things to buy at home."

Lin Qiaoxia said, "I also want to go to the grain store and the cloth store. Let's go together. Otherwise, you won't be able to carry all these things."

Lin Haitang was very happy: "Thank you first, sister."