"Then let’s go together and see if there are any good books."
At this mont, Guodong and the others saw Fu Xiaoping and several educated youths coming over.
"Guodong, you’re here for the market too?"
"Chen Zhqing, you all ca for the market too? We’re just here for the fun," Guodong replied with a smile.
Jing Chu also greeted them. She barely exchanged a word with Wu Hong, as Jing Chu hadn’t liked her since they moved in.
"Guodong, I’m here to buy sheep. Our village head got the application approved. We can raise sheep, but we have to hand so over to the commune."
"I saw sheep for sale just a bit ahead. You should go check it out. We have things to do, so we’ll leave now."
The family was complete, and they all followed behind the old folks.
Yang Zhongyi subtly approached Jing Chu from behind; it wasn’t the right ti to talk yet, but he felt anxious.
Jing Chu was holding the hands of Shi Jing and Jianbin, and the three were chatting and laughing together.
Li Xue noticed Guodong walking beside her and blushed.
Guodong unintentionally saw Li Xue’s red face and suddenly rembered how she looked that morning, which also made his ears turn red.
However, no one noticed their reactions.
Chaoyang’s attention was entirely on Yang Zhongyi. He felt this person was dangerous, so he kept a close eye on him.
After half an hour, they arrived at the old lady’s house.
"Please sit; I’ll go boil so water for you."
"Auntie, don’t worry about it. We’re not thirsty; let us look at the books and paintings first."
The old lady was just being polite. With so many people here, there weren’t enough bowls for everyone to drink from.
"Co along, they’re all in the small room. We haven’t touched them. Look for yourselves."
The small room was too cramped, so Guodong and Chaoyang moved out two wooden boxes and put them directly in the yard.
Guodong opened the particularly heavy box, which really was full of books. He randomly picked one, flipped through it, and saw it was fairly preserved, probably never touched before.
Wei Kaiyun opened the other wooden box; it contained half books and half scrolls. He randomly picked a scroll, opened it, and saw it wasn’t from any renowned artist; the signature was from soone unfamiliar.
So he put it down. He had already thought that there wouldn’t be anything really valuable in this small place.
"Madam, how are you planning to sell these books and paintings?"
"This box is about 300 pounds. They’re well-preserved, heirlooms from our ancestors. Ideally, we shouldn’t sell them. However, none of us can read, so keeping them is useless.
They ought to be worth more than selling to the scrap station, right? You folks are educated; na a price. I trust you wouldn’t deceive an old lady like ."
Wei Kaiyun chuckled, "Madam, how about this? We’ll give you 30 yuan and an extra 20 yuan, and we’ll take the boxes with us, to save the trouble of moving the books and paintings."
Fifty yuan is quite a sum, not because of anything she said, but because Wei Kaiyun didn’t want to cheat the old lady.
The old lady was surprised they offered so much money. People are greedy; she pondered whether she should ask for more, resulting in hesitation showing on her face.
Wei Kaiyun understood but said nothing. Buying and selling is mutual; if they couldn’t buy, it ant there was no connection.
The old lady saw that the man who managed the transaction was standing there laughing, and she feared that if she asked for too much, they wouldn’t buy.
Finally, she bit the bullet and said, "Okay, I’ll let you have them."
"Madam, I’m not giving you less money, but seeing how you’re in a bind, I’ll add another ten yuan. Consider it my goodwill."
"Thank you so much, young man. You’re truly a good person."
Having been praised, Wei Kaiyun found it both amusing and exasperating. He took two ropes from the fra, and the old lady found two wrist-thick wooden sticks. Guodong and Chaoyang lifted one box, while Wei Kaiyun and Han Xiangjun lifted another.
Yang Zhongyi watched from the side, his eye twitching.
"Brother Han, let do it." How could soone like him handle such a task?
"You? No need for you now; later, you can take turns with your subordinates."
Jing Chu suddenly rembered the village’s ox carts and donkey carts had arrived.
"Uncle Wei, there are ox carts and donkey carts."
Wei Kaiyun thought for a mont and then said to the old lady, "Madam, could you take to the village head’s or captain’s house? I’d like to borrow the village cart." He didn’t want to use the village cart originally for transporting people, and making them walk back wouldn’t be courteous.
"Alright, I’ll take you there now, but they might have gone to the market too."
The head wasn’t ho, but the captain was. Wei Kaiyun explained the situation, "Captain, please lend us a hand."
"From Li Family Village? Li Yungui?"
"Uncle, that’s my father."
"You’re his son?"
"Yes, we’ve exchanged things in the village and want to borrow the village cart."
"Alright, I’ll drive to take you back. I need to see Li Yungui anyway."
"Great, have lunch at my place then."
This made things easier. Shi Jing, Jianbin, and Chaoyang sat on the ox cart. Guodong also loaded the basket, which contained thirty pounds of red beans, not light over ti.
"Shi Jing, inform your mom there’ll be two guests for lunch."
"Okay."
Ox carts aren’t fast, but they’re speedier than walking.
Shi Jing and Jianbin found riding an ox cart novel. Chaoyang entertained them all the way.
Everyone felt relieved, chatting and laughing all the way, while Yang Zhongyi and Han Xiangjun exchanged family information.
"Not bad, on the day I left for lunch, I happened to see your old man; he seed in good health."
"That’s reassuring. I’ve been here for over a year without a chance to go back."
"Stay put, things are fine. If they brought you here, there’s a reason. Don’t stir things up."
"I know. Brother Han, when will you return?"
"After the Lantern Festival. Why? Want to send sothing to your father?"
Yang Zhongyi forced a smile, "What is there to send back ho from here? I was thinking of you taking a letter because you know our communications are checked."
"Alright, deliver it to after the Lantern Festival, then you can get a al at Xiao Wei’s house."
Yang Zhongyi absolutely adored Han Xiangjun for creating this opportunity.
"Brother Han, Old Xing is here too."
"Xing Mingying?"
"Yes."
"His family connives. Stay clear. He’s alright, but his family isn’t. Did his wife and kids co here too?"
"Yes."
"Then stay even farther from him." Han Xiangjun was well-inford and knew quite a lot about the Xing Family.
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