Divorced woman with child travels through time

On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the snow had stopped for two days, and the sun had just come out, its white rays bringing a slight warmth. Chen Wenfang had already given the workers an early holiday this afternoon so that they could celebrate the Laba Festival at home.

After cleaning up in the morning, we stopped work after lunch. Just past noon, about a hundred people gathered at Chen's workshop's training ground. The crowd was chaotic yet orderly, with groups of three or five chatting happily, waiting to receive their bonuses. The wages for last month had already been paid yesterday, and the wages for the next few days would be paid along with red envelopes when work resumes next year. Everyone agreed with this arrangement because, frankly speaking, it's only been a few days this month, and the red envelopes given for working during the Chinese New Year would definitely be more than the wages for these few days.

Two tables were placed at the end of the training ground near the building, with writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and ink pads on them. Chairs were placed next to them, with an empty space of about one meter between them. A line was marked with lime about one meter in front of them.

Before long, Brother Nie led Lü Xiong, Li Huanqiu, and the two brothers Wang Xiaoguang and Xiaoming, five people in total, and steadily pushed a two-wheeled cart over. There were four baskets on the cart, covered with a layer of red cloth.

A commotion arose among the crowd. Brother Nie, pushing his cart, called out, "Everyone, line up along the one-meter line at the table. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can go home for the New Year!" The commotion subsided instantly, and the crowd slowly and orderly formed two long lines that stretched towards the edge of the road.

Boss Nie and his men piled the cart between two tables. As soon as they pulled back the red cloth, "Wow..." the crowd gasped. Two of the four baskets contained grayish-metallic pieces of silver, while the other two contained strung-up copper coins, all dusty and realistic.

Wang Erniu led Chen Wenfang out and stood in the middle of the table. Aunt Liu, along with Chahua and some other women, pushed a large cart of snacks to the side. This was a small token of appreciation from Chen Ji. Each person who received their bonus would receive four bags containing a snack gift package: one pound of fried rice, one pound of sachima (a type of Chinese pastry), one pound of multi-flavored peanuts, one pound of rice candy, two one-pound jars of chili sauce, and two pounds of Chen Ji's homemade soft and fragrant sweet potato chips. They waited until others had received their money before distributing the snacks.

The children also came out and crowded to the side to watch the excitement. Little Grass looked at the big basket of copper coins and felt very envious. She wanted to eat well and grow taller quickly so that she could earn wages when she worked in the future.

Brother Nie and Lü Xiong sat down, took out their notebooks, dipped them in ink, and wrote down the prize money distribution record, along with the date. The Wang brothers and Li Huanqiu stood on either side of the table, preparing to distribute the prize money.

The first person was from Brother Nie's construction team. Wang Xiaoming weighed the silver in front of him and handed it to Wang Erniu, who then passed it to him.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Wang Erniu said considerately.

"Not at all, thank you, boss." The man took a tael of silver and a string of copper coins, then went to Aunt Liu's place to get four bags of pastries. He pressed his fingerprint on the package, happily carrying the things and swaggering away. The others waited excitedly. One worker after another came. Some only wanted silver, some preferred copper coins, but most took a little copper coins and silver.

Slowly, the crowd moved in little by little, and the number of people gradually decreased. The money in the baskets also decreased. Everyone happily carried large and small bags of snacks home. The bulging gift bags were printed with the unique and exquisite Chen Ji trademark, making them particularly prestigious.

At this moment, Chen Wenfang and others noticed that an elderly man from the construction team had received his money and stood there without leaving, for reasons unknown.

About half an hour later, there were still a few workers left. Once the bonuses for the ordinary workers were paid out, they would all be gone. Chen Wenfang noticed that the old man hadn't left yet, so she tugged at Wang Erniu and gestured to him. Wang Erniu understood and stepped forward to ask.

"Uncle Tian, ​​is there something you need?"

Brother Nie's people had just finished distributing the money and came over to check on the situation. Seeing this, they asked, "Uncle Tian, ​​what's wrong? Is the amount of money incorrect?"

Uncle Tian, ​​who looked to be in his forties but was in his thirties, wore a tattered cotton-padded jacket with many stains. With his rough, cracked, and mud-covered fingers, he nervously rubbed the exposed, yellowed cotton wadding of the jacket and hurriedly explained, "Nothing's missing, nothing's missing..."

Wang Erniu and the others did not interrupt him, but waited quietly for him to speak, perhaps because everyone was watching him and waiting for him to speak.

His face flushed red, and after holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to say, looking at Wang Erniu with great embarrassment, "Master, this pastry is too precious. I am a poor man, it is not worth it for me to eat such good things. Can I exchange these for some coal?"

He was embarrassed and ashamed; among so many people, he was the only one who made a request, and he felt really bad about it.

Brother Nie knew his situation. He was born into a bad family; his father passed away not long after his birth, and his mother was also ill during his pregnancy. She struggled to raise him, but his mother's condition worsened. Although she was not yet dead, he was very filial and used all the money he earned to treat his mother. His mother was in good health, and he had arranged a marriage for her. However, his mother suddenly fell seriously ill and vomited blood. When the woman heard about this, she immediately broke off the engagement. He used the money he had earned from the wedding to save his mother's life.

His mother felt she was a burden to him and attempted suicide by drowning twice, but she was rescued by someone. She was lucky to be alive. He couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he spent all his savings to save her.

His mother, pitying his hard work in earning money, never mentioned death again and stubbornly continued to live. He persisted in earning money and managed to keep his mother alive until now. A few years ago, he found a baby girl who was also in poor health and had been abandoned. He took her in out of kindness and raised her. She was also a costly person, needing medicine every few days. The heavy burden made him look much older. Brother Nie pitied his poverty but kindness and specially agreed to let him work. He was a good person, hardworking and not lazy. Now that he works at Chen's, his life has become much better.

Wang Erniu understood just by looking at him and asked, "I wonder how much coal Uncle Tian wants to exchange?"

"Whatever you want, boss. Just give me five jin if you don't mind." He was quite embarrassed, afraid that he would take advantage of the situation.

“Okay, Uncle Tian, ​​please wait a moment,” Chen Wenfang couldn’t help but say.

"Oh, these kind people," Chen Wenfang sighed, whispering a few words to Aunt Liu. Aunt Liu nodded with pity and quickly went to the nearest small building. A moment later, she brought out a bamboo basket and placed it in Uncle Tian Qi's hands.

"Here, take it," Aunt Liu said.

"Hey, something's not right!" As soon as he got his hands on the coal, Uncle Tian immediately said, "There's more than five pounds here, I can't take advantage of this! No, no..." As he spoke, he had to take some out of the bamboo basket, "There should be ten pounds here, how can I take so much?" Uncle Tian's face was flushed with discomfort, but he insisted on carrying it out.

Brother Nie subtly used a clever force to pull his hand back, advising, "If the master tells you to take it, then take it. There's no need to be so polite."

Aunt Liu, Uncle Liu Hai, and the others all urged, "That's right! That's right! Take it away... take it away quickly."

"Sigh..." Uncle Tian was moved to tears. He put down his snacks and picked up the coal to leave.

Wang Erniu picked up the snack gift bag again, placed it in his other hand, and said, "Take them all! They're for the children; consider them a small token of our appreciation." He also gripped his hand tightly, not allowing him to break free.

Tian Qishu was speechless, only murmuring to himself with emotion, "Thank you, boss! You are such a kind person... Thank you..." After saying that, he staggered away carrying his things.

A collective sigh escaped the crowd; it seemed misfortune always seemed to strike at its weakest point, and bad luck only seemed to find those with unfortunate fates…