Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Xuanyu excitedly hugged his mother's neck and said, "Mom, really? Then I can ride a horse every day!"

Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai looked at her in disbelief. Chen Wenfang smiled and said to everyone, "It's true!" It was rare for Chen Xuanyu to act so affectionately towards her. Chen Wenfang kissed his little face before saying, "These days, until the New Year, we have to go to the market every day. It's too far away, and it's too tiring to travel. We earn money to spend, right? Buying a horse-drawn carriage will save a lot of trouble. Later, those of you who want to learn can learn to ride horses with Brother Erniu. When you grow up, you can all drive carriages."

"Oh, that's great!" the children cheered. Aunt Liu was happy too.

"I want to learn too, so I can drive the carriage someday!" Stone said happily.

Uncle Liu Hai laughed and said, "Then I'll have Erniu teach me too, so I can learn as well, hehe."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You can just talk to him about it."

Wang Erniu said, "Don't worry, I'll definitely teach you. The children can learn too; it's always good to have more skills. Learn them well."

Chen Wenfang nodded and said from behind, "You'll all learn together later, and you have to study hard, okay?" The children nodded and discussed happily.

Aunt Liu then asked Chen Wenfang, "Fang'er, how much silver did we earn today?"

Chen Wenfang said playfully, "Guess?" Aunt Liu replied, "I have no idea."

Chen Xuanyu was the first to respond enthusiastically to his mother, saying, "Five taels?" When he and Chen Wenfang used to sell herbs at their stall, the most silver he had ever seen was five taels, which was given to him by Ouyang Jin. So he probably felt that the most silver he had ever seen was five taels.

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Wait a minute, guess again?"

Xiao Ahao made a V sign with his hand and said, "Then two ounces?" He had only recently learned to count from Chen Xuanyu.

Chen Wenfang shook her head. "That's not right either."

“That should be five taels!” Fifteen said, holding out a piece of cloth. Chen Wenfang still smiled and said, “It’s still not right!”

Neither Shi Tou nor Da Zhuang noticed Chen Wenfang collecting money, and they honestly remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Chu Yi said seriously, "It looks like there should be about ten taels of silver, right? I'm keeping an eye on the money box."

Chen Wenfang patted Chu Yi's head and praised, "Chu Yi is really good, very capable, you can even see that."

Aunt Liu, who was standing nearby, said, "How come there are so many?"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "With so many of us working so hard, we should at least earn some money. When we get home, I'll distribute the wages to you all, and we'll settle accounts daily. Even the kids will get some."

Fifteen quietly asked her brother, "Do we have some too?"

Chen Wenfang said from the side, "I heard that, I'm right here. Don't worry, everyone will get some, no one will be left out! It's all about sharing the money."

Everyone was quite excited and eagerly awaited their arrival home.

When they arrived at Aunt Liu's house, Wang Erniu got out of the car first and put the floor mats down. Everyone got out one by one, with Dazhuang at the very back carrying the money box.

Chen Wenfang said, "Auntie, the carriage is parked at your house."

Aunt Liu said, "Okay, I'll have them take good care of it later."

Wang Erniu unloaded the frame from the horse-drawn carriage. Uncle Liu Hai stroked it affectionately and led it into the cowshed.

Chen Wenfang said, "Let's go inside first. I'll pay everyone's wages before we go home. Come on, come on!"

Everyone followed excitedly behind. Dazhuang, carrying the box, followed Chen Wenfang into the house.

Chen Wenfang took out the key from her inner pocket, opened the box, and had Dazhuang pour the money onto the table.

Everyone sat around the table in a row. Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Come on, let's count the money together." Dazhuang tilted the money slightly, and the entire box of copper coins clattered onto the table, creating a huge pile that was quite impressive.

Wang Erniu and Uncle Liu Hai and Aunt Liu were doing this for the first time, and they found it both funny and interesting. Not to mention the younger ones, who had never seen so much money in their lives.

Chen Wenfang spread the money out, and everyone started counting the copper coins. As they counted, they rummaged through the pile of coins. Chen Xuanyu, Wang Hao, and the fifteen younger ones all counted them carefully. In no time, all that could be heard was the clinking of the copper coins. With so many people, the money was counted in no time.

Chen Wenfang counted 2,824 coins, but to her surprise, Erniu counted more than her, being the one who counted the most, 3,568 coins. Several children also counted some; Chen Xuanyu counted over 300, and Chu Yi was quite good, counting 2,323 coins. Aunt Liu wasn't very good at it, so she didn't count. In the end, Chen Wenfang added them all up, and the total came to 12 taels and 374 coins.

Uncle Liu Hai sighed, "This money is well earned, not too hard. Fang'er will have a good New Year."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "We can only make a quick buck before the Lunar New Year. Don't worry, we'll all be better off in the future. Once I open my shop, we'll all work together." After saying that, she began to divide the wages.

Chen Wenfang said, "Thank you all for your hard work. Brother Erniu, Aunt Liu, Uncle Liu Hai, I'll give you each two hundred coins a day. The other three adults, Shi Tou Dazhuang and Chu, will get fifty coins a day, and the three younger ones, Chen Xuanyu, Wang Hao, and Shiwu, will get twenty coins a day. What do you all think?"

Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu quickly refused, saying, "This is unacceptable. How can you ask for so much money? Others in town only earn forty coins a day, and you're offering double that price. This is unacceptable."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Why can't we do that? If we can make money, we have to be able to spend it. Besides, you've been working so hard with me, getting up early and working late. You have to take this money. I'll get angry if you don't." Without waiting for a reply, she took the money she had calculated earlier and placed it in their hands.

"Two hundred coins a day, settled daily. I mean what I say," Chen Wenfang said decisively. Seeing Chen Wenfang's firm attitude, the two could not refuse and accepted the money.

Wang Erniu then said, "I don't need mine, right? You can keep my wages for me, and I can ask you for money if I need it, okay?"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

After Chen Wenfang finished speaking, she looked at Wang Erniu meaningfully.

Wang Erniu didn't back down. He looked at her intently and said, "Yes, you can hold it for me. I trust you."

Chen Wenfang suddenly felt a little shy, smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll hold it for you." There was a sudden hint of ambiguity between the two.

The other young men were watching from the sidelines. Chen Xuanyu couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Mom, give me my wages first. I need to buy something to eat later."

Chen Wenfang gave him a disdainful look and said, "Come on, everyone gets some." Then, as she had said earlier, she handed out wages to everyone. Fifteen, receiving his own money for the first time, felt his palms burning. He glanced at his brother. First Day, also holding his money, was excited but didn't know what to do. He said to Chen Wenfang, "Godmother, please hold mine for me too."

Chen Wenfang refused, saying, "You're a grown man now, you need to have some money of your own and make your own decisions."

Chu Yi carefully put the coin into his inner pocket, feeling the copper coin against his heart, which was somewhat hot.