Chapter 48: Fraud (Update 1)
It was almost time, two men in police uniforms came out and were in charge of maintaining order.
Someone else opened the door of the cowshed behind him and led out the cows one by one.
First, each cow is displayed, then marked with a wooden sign, with the price written on it, and the buyer is expected to pay for it.
Of course, everyone wants to bargain.
Qin Yao didn't see the cow being slaughtered, and knew that what she wanted was not there, so she raised her leg and kicked Liu Ji who was about to go forward to see the cow.
"Let's go to the slaughterhouse!" Qin Yao said.
Liu Ji endured the pain in his calves, first shook his head at the cows, making an expression of dissatisfaction, then turned around and followed the five of them.
Qin Yao pushed Sanlang and Si Niang into his arms and said, "There are many people here. Please take care of the children and wait for me."
The slaughterhouse is busiest in the morning, as most of the pigs, cattle and sheep in the city are slaughtered here at this time.
Beef is the hardest to come by, because oxen are of great value, and they will only be slaughtered when they die of illness or are no longer able to work.
Qin Yao felt that she was lucky. Someone came to slaughter cows today, and she killed two of them.
The animals are killed and sold immediately, with stalls set up in various places for free trade.
Qin Yao bought the tendons of the two cows for fifty cents.
The most important thing before going into the city was accomplished smoothly. Qin Yao was in a good mood. She returned to the father and his five sons who were waiting on the street, and went to buy charcoal while taking the children for a walk.
Si Niang was held in her father's arms. She was the first to spot the man selling candied haws and immediately tugged at her father's collar, "Father, buy some candied haws!"
Liu Ji thought he was being asked to buy some, so he glanced at Qin Yao first. When he saw her nod, he stopped the man selling candied haws, put Sanlang and Si Niang down, and paid for one for each of them.
After the purchase, he reminded Qin Yao: "Remember to give me the eight cents later. This is our family's grocery money."
Qin Yao hated seeing him being so stingy and nodded impatiently.
Dalang and his two siblings were overjoyed. They didn't expect their father would pay for it. They had originally wanted to use the two cents they had earned from teaching their father how to cook to buy one for themselves.
Now, everyone has one. Happiness comes so suddenly and everyone's smile is so bright.
"Mother, you eat first." Si Niang stood on tiptoe, held up the candied haws high, and looked at Qin Yao expectantly.
The red hawthorns are covered with a layer of shiny sugar syrup, which looks particularly tempting.
Since her daughter meant well, Qin Yao did not refuse.
When I bit the first one, the sugar coating was crunchy and mixed with the sour and crispy hawthorn, it tasted pretty good.
"Mother, is it delicious?" Si Niang asked expectantly.
Seeing Qin Yao eating, she was happier than if she were eating it herself.
Qin Yao nodded and said, "It's delicious." She motioned the little girl to try it quickly.
Si Niang was a small person with a small mouth, so she couldn't bite the hawthorn. The sugar stimulated her and made her drool. In the end, she could only lick the hard sugar coating to melt it before she could take a small bite of the hawthorn.
This was a sweet and sour taste that she had never tasted before. Si Niang's eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "Wow."
This little girl was so adorable that Qin Yao picked her up.
Sanlang followed her for a while holding the candied haws. Seeing that the aunt didn't notice him, the little guy felt disappointed.
Qin Yao suddenly turned around and picked him up.
The disappointment on Sanlang's face instantly turned into surprise, and he handed the candied haws to her mouth like offering a treasure.
Qin Yao also ate one.
Unexpectedly, Dalang and Erlang followed suit and insisted that Qin Yao taste theirs as well.
Qin Yao smiled. She was not polite. Who could refuse snacks?
After eating two more candied haws, Qin Yao sighed in satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad. I'll buy more next time I come."
"Still buying?" Liu Ji covered his empty wallet. He couldn't buy anymore!
Qin Yao tutted at him.
The four children also made faces at him.
Liu Ji covered his chest and suffered a severe blow.
He paid for it, but he didn't even get to eat a single candied haws. How unfair!
"Dad, here you go." Dalang felt sorry for his father and was afraid that he would be disliked by his stepmother because of his deep resentment, so he gave him the two remaining candied haws in his hand to comfort him.
Liu Ji was actually quite easy to please. He immediately licked the candied haws like Si Niang and showed a satisfied smile.
"Da Lang, your father has not raised you in vain." Liu Ji put his arm around his eldest son's shoulders and said with relief.
Dalang smiled but still reminded him: "Dad, you never raised us for a day. Since I was born, you didn't care about the family affairs. You always ran to the city. Every time you came home, you asked mom for money. You never gave a penny to the family. It was mom who raised me."
Qin Yao was walking in front and turned back in surprise when she heard these words.
The smile on Liu Ji's face froze instantly, and the father and son looked at each other. Dalang moved away first, and both father and son fell silent.
When buying charcoal, I unexpectedly met an acquaintance.
"Lin Erbao, why are you here?"
When Liu Ji saw him, he was like a frightened bird, and his hair stood on end.
Qin Yao also looked at Lin Erbao, who was holding a little girl, curiously. The loving look he gave the little girl was not the same as the fierce debt collector she had seen before.
Seeing Qin Yao with her family, Lin Erbao asked with a smile, "Madam Qin, are you going into town to buy New Year's goods?"
Qin Yao nodded and glanced at the little girl next to her.
The little girl looked about seven or eight years old, neatly dressed, and obviously well taken care of by her family.
"Dad, who are they?" the little girl asked Lin Erbao curiously.
"Dad's friend."
"Oh." The little girl didn't ask any more questions.
They also came to buy charcoal, and had already bought all of it. Lin Erbao picked up the backpack full of charcoal and prepared to say goodbye to Qin Yao's family.
Qin Yao remembered something and motioned for him to step aside to talk. She then asked Liu Ji what he wanted to do when he borrowed money from him.
Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount.
The answer given by Lin Erbao was a little unexpected to Qin Yao.
It wasn't gambling or drinking, it was being cheated.
The swindler lied to Liu Ji, saying that he knew someone in the yamen, and Liu Ji was literate, so he planned to recommend him to get a job in the county yamen.
Liu Ji was desperate and tried every possible means. He actually believed it and immediately ran to borrow money and gave it to the "good brother". As a result, the man took the money and ran away.
And it wasn't just him who was deceived; several other poor students in the academy were also deceived.
However, others were not as bold as Liu Ji and only borrowed five or ten taels of silver. Their families also had land as collateral, so there was no problem.
After watching Lin Erbao and his daughter walk away, Qin Yao turned back and gave a meaningful look to the obviously flustered Liu Ji, saying word by word: "There is no such thing as a free lunch, only traps!"
When Liu Ji heard this, he knew that she had revealed all her secrets.
Suddenly I felt like a fish on the chopping board, lying naked in front of her with no privacy at all.
He was a little annoyed. He picked up the load of charcoal he had bought and walked forward with big strides without saying a word.
Seeing that gloomy look, the four brothers and sisters of Dalang, who were originally smiling, realized that something was wrong with their adults and restrained themselves.
"Let's go, I'll treat you to something delicious."
Qin Yao was talking about the wonton stall at the city gate. She had eaten there last time and it tasted delicious.
(End of this chapter)