Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chapter 361 Lychee

There were too many people, so on the first day of the lunar month, a large plate of scrambled eggs was taken to the stone table in the courtyard. Some flatbreads were also set out for the workers to eat outside. Uncle Hu came over when he saw this.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and said, "This has no flavor, don't eat it yet, I'll mix some chili sauce in!"

The guys looked at each other, wondering why the food had lost its flavor. The eggs were fluffy and golden, and the meat was so tender it practically melted in their mouths. They never got to eat anything this good at the restaurant.

Uncle Hu happily ran out with a jar of chili sauce, took some serving chopsticks, moved a small portion of the meat to the side, poured some chili sauce on it, stirred it, and said, "I love this stuff, you should try it if you like." After saying that, he picked up a big dollop and put it in his bowl, then happily started eating.

Seeing how much he enjoyed his food, several of the other men couldn't resist taking some to try as well.

"Wow! This smell!"

"I'll try it too, and wow, it's pretty good."

"Then I'll try some too!" They're all grown men, and once they have one, they get more and more hooked.

"Come on, pour some more." One of the workers took the chili sauce and poured it on. They were all heavy workers, and a little salt made them feel especially good.

Just like Uncle Hu, Chen Wenfang poured chili sauce on the same occasion. The children, like the adults, ate with great relish. Magistrate Lou nodded with satisfaction at the Chen family's family style. This Mrs. Chen seemed to be a generous person and had the air of being very wealthy. She didn't seem like she would often ask the county government for money or things in the future. That was great.

After finishing their meal, Magistrate Lou led his men away. Chen Wenfang and the others were exhausted from the day, and once Wang Erniu returned home, they went to rest early.

The next morning, Chen Wenfang wanted to stay in bed a little longer, but was woken up by Chen Xuanyu's mother, who was known for her deadly charms. Wang Erniu had already disappeared.

Chen Wenfang got up covered in sweat. Summer in Fujian is really hot. After taking a bath, on the first day of the lunar new year, they brought out a horse-drawn carriage. Uncle Hu also drove one, and the whole family went out to the market in a lively atmosphere.

The market wasn't far; it was just three streets away, around a corner. Aunt Hu told Xiao Bo and the others to go to Chen Wenfang's car, while she and Uncle Hu went to buy things and pick up the letter.

Upon arriving at the location, Chen Wenfang and the children were greatly disappointed. Next to the low houses, there were a dozen or so elderly people and children setting up stalls along the way, much like a rural market. They had baskets beside them, and some fruits, vegetables, small fish, shrimp and crabs on the ground. They looked pitifully ugly and were obviously wild.

Chen Wenfang got off the car and looked around. Hey, there were lychees!

Seeing her interest, the old man next to her quickly said in his labored Mandarin, "Why don't you buy some to try, madam?" In fact, there were only three pitiful bunches of lychees on the ground.

"Can I have one?" Chen Wenfang asked. This thing was much smaller than the one in her previous life. It was red, though. She wondered what it would taste like.

The old man's eyes darkened slightly as he glanced at the antique yet elegant carriage and said softly, "If the esteemed person likes it, they may take it."

Seeing that he understood, Chen Wenfang squatted down, picked one, peeled it, and put it in her mouth. Mmm, delicious! Sweet and not sour, with a unique aroma. Except for the seeds being a bit big, it was perfect. Several children nearby gathered around when they saw the delicious food, watching longingly.

"How much is it per pound? Do you have any left?" Chen Wenfang looked at the three bunches of lychees and felt that she could eat them all by herself.

The old man hesitated for a moment, then held up two fingers, "Two coins a bunch."

Chen Wenfang was shocked. This stuff could be sold for such a low price. That small bunch must weigh at least half a pound, and it was only two coins. This is lychee! It's something that would have been quite expensive in any era.

Seeing Chen Wenfang's surprised expression, the old man, fearing she would find it too expensive, immediately changed his mind and gestured, "If it really doesn't work, one coin a handful is fine too, but that's the lowest I can go. Look at my injury, it's not easy to remove these."

After saying that, he rolled up his slightly damp trouser leg, revealing a patch of abrasions on his calf that was still bleeding.

"No, no, no, you misunderstood." Chen Wenfang couldn't bear to look at his wound and quickly explained, "You didn't sell it for much, it was too cheap. Do you have any more? I'll take them all."

"Yes, yes." The old man smiled broadly, removed the leaves from the basket behind him, revealing neatly arranged bunches of clean lychees with leaves, stacked very nicely, not too many, about ten bunches.

Chen Wenfang looked around and said, "I don't have anything in it, so please include the basket. Please calculate the total cost!"

"Ah? I'm not selling this basket. I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you, but I only have one basket at home. I don't have the money to buy another one." The old man rubbed his rough hands together, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Chen Wenfang was ashamed of her arrogance. "How much do you want? I'll have someone come and collect it later."

"Fifteen in total, twenty-eight coins will suffice for you, sir." The old man was very honest and even offered to reduce the amount by a little.

"That won't do!" Chen Wenfang looked at her purse, which only contained loose silver coins.

Fifteen had been craving it for a long time, so he took out his little stash of coins and said, "I have some, I'll give it to you!" He then took out a handful of copper coins, counted them casually, and found that there were only twenty. His hands were too small, so the money looked like a lot.

"No need, here you go!" Chen Wenfang picked out a piece of silver, about a qian, and handed it to him, saying, "Uncle, your lychees are very delicious, but there are a few. Consider this money as a deposit. In our area, these fruits would cost at least ten wen per jin. Yours are too cheap. I'll buy them all at five wen per bunch. If you have any more, please send them to me. Hmm, it's just a little past the county government office, there's a big tree at the entrance. In a few days, they'll hang a plaque: Wang Duwei's Mansion on East Street."

Chen Wenfang also thoughtfully gave him the address.

"Oh, okay, thank you so much!" The old man wiped the sweat or tears from his face and accepted the gift with trembling hands.

"Alright, you can eat now." As soon as Chen Wenfang finished speaking, each of the children grabbed a handful, and Chen Xuanyu even thoughtfully gave a handful to Xiao Bo behind them.

Well, nine bunches were taken out at once, and now they're basically all distributed. The remaining bunch of fruit was picked and put into the basket we just bought.

Along the way, there were people selling green pears and grapes. Chen Wenfang didn't stand on ceremony and bought whatever she wanted to eat. The children did the same. Whenever they saw a fruit they didn't recognize, they would buy some to try. Juan'er and Xiao Bo followed behind her, eating and eating, having a great time.

Caiyun was somewhat surprised; how come all the children in the Chen family had pocket money?

Another young man selling small fish at a stall, who was also the only young person on the entire street, witnessed them buying things. Seeing that they didn't seem to want to buy anything, he eagerly came over.

"My lady, would you like to buy some small fish? They're perfect for nourishing the baby."

Chen Wenfang glanced at his muddy straw sandals, then looked at his fish. Although they were dead, they were clearly fresh.

"Don't be fooled by its dead appearance; I caught this fish this morning," the young man, wearing a vest, assured him, patting his chest.