Chapter 70: Decision to Repay the Debt

Chapter 70: Decision to Repay the Debt

Upon arriving in Nan City, Qin Xiaoyao found a spot to park the cart and then began hawking loudly.

The straw shoes, priced at four coins per pair and well-made, sold quickly.

Once all the shoes were gone, she didn't linger and pushed the cart straight to Lingyun Bookstore to deliver the finished manuscript for Song Que.

She also took the opportunity to collect new book-copying assignments and purchase stationery as needed.

Afterward, she headed to West Market to meet her father and join Li Danni.

If she needed to buy vegetables or other items, she would purchase them in West Market or at miscellaneous shops along the way.

Today, she bought some things on the road to prepare for making preserved eggs.

Because it took some effort to find what she needed, by the time she reached West Market, the market was nearly closing.

Li Danni had been waiting for quite some time at Qin Dahzhuang's stall, and upon seeing Qin Xiaoyao, she finally felt relieved.

"Sis San Ya, you finally came! I almost thought you'd forgotten about me!" Li Danni said plaintively while loading the goods onto the cart.

A hint of apology flashed across Qin Xiaoyao's face.

"How could I? I could forget anyone else, but not you!" she said with a smile.

"It took longer than expected to buy things."

"Did you manage to buy everything you needed?" she asked Li Danni.

"Yes. We come to town every other day, so there wasn't much worth buying today." Li Danni replied.

"But you, if there's anything you need to buy next time, let me know in advance. I can get it for you. That way, you won't have to worry about coming late and finding the market closed."

Qin Xiaoyao smiled.

"We'll see. I didn't plan on buying anything today."

At that moment, Qin Dahzhuang brought over several large bones and was about to place them in Qin Xiaoyao's basket on the cart.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly spoke up to stop him.

But Qin Dahzhuang ignored her.

"These bones have all the meat stripped off, and your aunt finds it troublesome to make soup out of them. You might as well take them back. It saves me from having to find a place to throw them away," he explained.

Li Danni looked at Qin Xiaoyao with a smile, her eyes filled with envy.

Uncle Qin was supporting Sis San Ya again.

What was this nonsense about bones without meat being thrown away? Even without meat, there was still bone marrow inside.

Even these bones could be bundled and sold for six or seven coins without worrying about finding buyers.

She, for one, would definitely want them.

Take them home, make soup, add some vegetables, and it would be very nourishing.

Qin Xiaoyao knew her father's intentions well, realizing that resistance would be futile, so she didn't stop Qin Dahzhuang anymore.

Then, she noticed that there was still a piece of meat unsold on her father's meat stall.

She asked Qin Dahzhuang to weigh it for her.

Qin Dahzhuang glanced at his daughter and reached for the meat.

"Two jin," he reported after weighing it.

"Two jin and two liang," Qin Xiaoyao corrected him at that moment.

Qin Dahzhuang was taken aback and turned to see his daughter staring intently at his scale.

Clearly, his little trick had been spotted by his daughter.

"Ten coins per jin for lean meat, totaling twenty-two coins," Qin Xiaoyao stated.

She then proceeded to pay.

Qin Dahzhuang's expression was somewhat awkward as he accepted the money.

Only then did Qin Xiaoyao take the meat and put it into her own basket.

Next, she bid farewell to her father and returned to Xiashui Village with Li Danni.

Once they left the city, Li Danni noticed that Qin Xiaoyao wasn't talking much and inquired about her situation.

That was when Qin Xiaoyao shared her concerns.

"Back when we were struggling financially, I asked my father for a loan of five taels of silver to treat my husband's leg."

"Now that my husband is much better and we're using less medicine, and since we can resume deliveries to Rongfu Building, we actually have more money on hand. We have enough to repay the debt."

"So just pay it back. It will save Auntie from giving Uncle a hard time!" Li Danni suggested.

Having worked with Sis San Ya for so long, she had seen Sis San Ya's stepmother.

It wasn't that she was bad, but her words always seemed strange, and she appeared to be quite harsh toward Uncle Qin.

Now she understood the reason behind it.

Indeed, not only had Uncle Qin subsidized Third Elder Sister, he had also lent her five taels of silver.

To be honest, putting aside the sisterly bond between her and Third Elder Sister,

in her view, it wasn't entirely unreasonable for Third Elder Sister's stepmother to lose her temper.

After all, she now carried the Qin family's child, so she had to consider the baby in her womb.

Qin Xiaoyao pondered for a moment.

"Mm," she replied.

Forget it; she would find a way to cover the capital for the century egg business herself.

She didn't need to collect all the eggs at once, so she didn't have to fork out six taels of silver in one go.

Given their current situation, they could actually scrape together the money.

Because of her borrowing money, her father was increasingly unable to hold his head high in front of Lady Zhang.

As his daughter, she couldn't be too heartless.

With this thought, Qin Xiaoyao felt a sense of relief.

"The next time we go into town, we'll return the money to the Qins."

By returning the money in front of Lady Zhang, she could then return home with dignity in the future.

Seeing Qin Xiaoyao's improved mood, Li Danni smiled along.

"Mm! Third Elder Sister is mighty!"

Qin Xiaoyao looked at Li Danni with amusement.

"How did you see me being mighty?"

Li Danni was taken aback.

Her mind whirled.

"It was last night when you dealt with that shrew—it was simply mighty and domineering!" She exaggeratedly gave Qin Xiaoyao a thumbs-up.

It was truly mighty! At the time, she saw how Third Elder Sister lifted Aunt Wang like a chick.

Then, facing Aunt Wang's crying and the crowd of onlookers, Third Elder Sister said those words in such a domineering manner.

If it were her, even if she had Third Elder Sister's strength, she wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on Aunt Wang.

And she certainly wouldn't have dared to say those words afterward.

"Pfft—" Recalling last night's farce, Qin Xiaoyao burst out laughing.

"If people don't provoke me, I won't provoke them. If she wants to cause trouble for me, she can't blame me for striking back."

In fact, that Aunt Wang should feel fortunate. In her previous life, she would have died twice already.

"Hehe, that's true!" Li Danni agreed wholeheartedly.

From now on, if anyone dared to bully her, she would retaliate.

If she didn't have the ability, she would seek help from Third Elder Sister! Third Elder Sister was her guardian angel!

After chatting for a while longer, Li Danni brought up the topic of digging for yams.

"At our current pace, we'll finish searching for yams in that mountain tomorrow."

"Third Elder Sister, shall we continue entering the mountains after that?"

It wasn't unreasonable for her to ask. After being in the mountains for so long,

apart from yams and fragrant spring trees, they hadn't found much else that could be sold for money.

If they could discover yams in other mountains, that would be great.

But luck was unpredictable.

"Enter," Qin Xiaoyao replied.

"We'll forget about the inner depths of the mountains, but we should still explore the surrounding few mountains."

"It would be good if we could find something, but if not—" Qin Xiaoyao paused.

"But if not?" Li Danni asked.

"We'll find another way to make money."

Li Danni was taken aback.

"How?" She looked at Qin Xiaoyao.