Divorced woman with child travels through time

The carriage sped along and soon arrived at Lijia Town. The snow was still heavy, and apart from the shops, there were hardly any people setting up stalls in the market.

Chen Wenfang led the children off the bus. Not far away, a man was selling steamed jujube cakes. The stove underneath was the same kind that Chen Wenfang had suggested to the blacksmith shop. Next to him, a four or five-year-old child was playing in the snow on the ground, wearing gloves.

Chen Xuanyu, the favored child, rushed over first and said to Chen Wenfang, "Mom, I want to eat this cake." Chen Wenfang followed, looked at the jujube cake, which was steamed until it was crystal clear and covered with jujube paste. It looked very pretty and should taste delicious, so she asked, "How much is this?"

The man, who looked to be in his early thirties, had a face that bore the heavy marks of life's hardships. With a smile typical of people trying to make a living, he said, "Madam Chen, if you want some, well, I'll give it to you for thirty-five coins a catty. It usually sells for thirty-eight coins."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You know me?"

The man laughed and said, "Yes, yes, but my wife is seriously ill at home, so I don't often come out to set up a stall."

Chen Wenfang felt a pang of sympathy and asked, "How many kilograms do you have here in total? Would you like to weigh them all?"

The man paused for a moment, then said, "My wife, you don't need to do that."

Chen Wenfang pointed to the people next to her and said, "Look, they're all my family members, so many of them."

The man smiled and nodded, deftly weighed it with his hands, and said, "It's twelve and a half catties in total. If you want it, Madam Chen, I'll just give you twelve catties."

Chen Wenfang calculated in his mind that thirteen catties should cost half a tael of silver, based on the price of thirty-eight wen per catty.

Chen Wenfang took out fourteen taels of silver and said, "Here are fourteen taels. Please take them and keep the change." The man smiled gratefully at her, accepted the silver, and said, "Thank you, Madam Chen!"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "No need to thank me. It's so cold outside, and it's snowing heavily. It'll probably snow even harder soon. Take the children home quickly. I have children too!"

The man cut the jujube cake as Chen Wenfang asked, wrapped it in a cloth, handed it to Wang Erniu next to him, then packed up his stall and took his child home.

Everyone carried a piece of jujube cake and ate it as they walked. The rest were wrapped in cloth and put back on the carriage, to be saved for the New Year. Uncle Liu Hai didn't want to go with them; he couldn't bear to leave his horse and wanted to stay and bond with it. Since they weren't far away, they let him be. Chen Wenfang looked around but didn't see any firecrackers, so she asked Aunt Liu, "Where can I buy firecrackers? I haven't seen any."

Aunt Liu said, "These are usually sold in shops. I'll take you there. The people who set up stalls here are mostly poor people. They rarely buy these expensive things. You have to go to that street to buy firecrackers."

Chen Wenfang immediately understood and led the group to the upscale street lined with restaurants. Just as they turned a corner, they encountered a young man, about ten years old, slightly larger than Da Zhuang, around eighteen or nineteen. He was dressed very lightly and pulling a cart with two baskets full of firecrackers. Chen Wenfang said, "Let's go, we can go take a look at this!"

The children rushed over in a flurry. Chen Xuanyu stuffed all the jujube cake in his hand into his mouth, puffed out his little mouth, and used his free hand to rummage through the firecrackers. He had never seen real firecrackers before; he realized that firecrackers were indeed made of bamboo.

He had finished his jujube cake early on the first day of the lunar new year. He picked up a firecracker and looked at it curiously. "How do you light it?" he asked. He'd never lit one before. The fifteenth said, "I've seen others do it, and I want to try it too."

Chen Xuanyu was much smarter. He asked the young man, "Boss, how much is this? Can I try putting one out first?"

The young man, Liu Xuetian, was an orphan. His parents passed away when he was young, leaving him a bamboo grove and an old house. He loved playing with these things since he was a child, and as he grew older, he started to research and make firecrackers on his own. Now that he's mastered the craft, he makes firecrackers to make a living. Seeing that they were all children, Liu Xuetian laughed heartily and said, "These are five coins each. How many do you want? Why don't you take two and try them out first!" He then gave one to each of the children and handed them some incense that was burning nearby.

The children took the firecrackers and examined them curiously, but dared not set them off. The firecrackers were very cleverly made, with fuses on them, and probably contained gunpowder. Chen Wenfang watched from the side without saying a word, just smiling as she watched how they would do it.

After Chen Xuanyu took it, he aimed the firecracker at the target, lit the fuse, and with a snap, lifted it a short distance away. Then, a loud "bang!" was heard. Both of the firecrackers Chen Xuanyu had set off exploded. "This young man's work is pretty good. He's a talent," Chen Wenfang exclaimed.

The children were full of admiration. Little Ahao said, "Xuanzai, you're so amazing, you can even release them?"

Chen Xuanyu said confidently, "Of course, I set off a lot when I was a kid. During Chinese New Year at home, we'd set off huge bags of firecrackers, and fireworks too." Chen Wenfang remembered the pile of firecrackers she bought for him last year, and compared to that, it was indeed quite a lot.

After her divorce, Chen Wenfang was always worried that her child would suffer. She didn't care if she was poor and had a hard life, and she wouldn't even buy cosmetics for herself, but she was ruthless when it came to her child's food, toys, and other necessities. She wanted him to have everything that others had, because she didn't want him to feel unhappy due to the lack of a father's love. That's why Chen Xuanyu was always very confident.

The children were all amazed and very envious. Little Ahao said, "Then I want to set off a whole bag of firecrackers too." Seeing that everyone was holding firecrackers but not setting them off, Chen Xuanyu said, "I'll teach you!" He taught them step by step how far to hold the firecracker, how to light the fuse, and how to throw it quickly after lighting it. Shi Tou took the lead and said, "I'll do it, I got it." He had been itching to set them off for a long time. He lit the fuse, but then panicked and threw the firecracker not far enough, startling everyone. Chen Wenfang, however, thought it was quite safe. The fuse was much longer than our modern ones, so it definitely wouldn't blow their hands.

Seeing that they all liked them, Chen Wen stepped forward and asked, "Young man, how many are in these two baskets?"

Liu Xuetian smiled at her, "So many, do you want them all, my wife?"

Chen Wenfang laughed, "You know me too?"

Liu Xuetian said, “Madam Chen, there are very few people in our town who don’t know you. Madam Chen is a well-known good person. If you want it all, here’s one tael of silver for you. I’ll give it to you. The cost was at least half a tael. The rest was my labor, so I won’t accept it.”

Chen Wenfang smiled, secretly calculating in his mind. There were probably several hundred in this cart, and at five copper coins each, he definitely had more than a tael of silver here, that silly child.

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "That won't do. How many do you have here?"

Liu Xuetian answered truthfully, "About three hundred."

Chen Wenfang said, "There are about three hundred, so let's call it three hundred. That's five coins each. You also have one and a half taels of silver here. Add two baskets, and it'll be twenty coins each." After saying that, he counted out forty coins, added one and a half taels, and gave them to him. "There's a carriage turning back ahead. Can you deliver it to it for me?"