Chapter 25 – Food market
These fluffy, little chicks were too cute. They look like mini pompoms that had come to life.
Li Man picked one up, but then she couldn’t resist choosing another one too. She had this impulsive desire to buy all of the little chicks, ah.
Seeing how cute the little chicks were, Little Five wanted to enter the pen and play with them too, but Li Hua stopped him.
Crouching on the outside part of the fence, Li Shu felt a bit anxious. “These little things all look the same. Why don’t you just randomly grab a few?”
Li Hua could guess what Li Man was thinking. He was worried that at her current rate, she wouldn’t be able to choose what chicks she wanted even after the sun had set. He handed the cloth bag to Little Five, then he entered the pen, carefully walked to Li Man, pointed at the little chick she was currently holding, and said, “This one is pretty good.”
“Really?” Feeling quite happy, Li Man’s heart suddenly softened as she looked at the little chick’s bright, black eyes. “I’ll choose this one then.”
“En.” As Li Hua picked up a few more chicks and placed them inside a large wicker basket, he said, “All of these chicks are pretty good. You recently picked up these chicks, and they all like you now. See, they’re even reluctant to walk away from you.”
“Really?” She hadn’t noticed. All of these chicks looked as if they were formed from the same mold, and she couldn’t differentiate one from the other. But, since Li Hua had said these words, she thought that this must be true. A feeling of mutual fondness suddenly welled up in her heart. “Then, let’s take these chicks.”
“Okay, let’s take this slowly.” Li Hua picked up the large wicker basket and held Li Man’s hand as they carefully went around the cluster of little chicks and left the pen.
They purchased six chicks in total, and the shop owner even gave them a small wicker basket for free to hold the chicks.
LI Man looked at the little chicks as if they were her most beloved treasure. She hugged the small wicker basket close to her chest.
However, when Li Hua was paying the shop owner for the chicks, the shop owner said he was also selling piglets. Did Li Man want to buy any?
Yes, of course she wanted them. Li Man had been thinking that her family’s courtyard looked too empty. The little chicks were too small. It would be good to bring back a few piglets to raise too.
Li Shu didn’t take care about owning baby animals. But, whatever his wife liked, he was willing to buy them for her.
At first, Li Hua was worried about how to feed the piglets if they brought them back. It was already difficult enough to feed the members of his family. But, looking at Li Man’s anxiously waiting gaze, he clenched his jaw and purchased two piglets. Why two piglets instead of one? It was because Li Man said that piglets had feelings too. If they only bought one, it would feel lonely. If there were two piglets, they would each have a companion. This would be beneficial for their growth.
On the way back from this rewarding journey, Li Man’s heart was overfilling with happiness, and her footsteps were once again light. Even after going up and down two mountains, she didn’t need to rest on Li Shu’s cart, which made Li Shu feel disappointed.
They arrived at home around dusk.
Li Yan was over at another family’s house to do work, so he would be eating dinner with that family instead.
Li Mo was the only person left at home. When they came back, he was chopping firewood. Big Black was quietly lying down near his master’s feet and keeping him company. As soon as Big Black heard a sound from the entrance, he sat up and headed over there with a wagging tail to welcome everyone home.
Li Man was scared of Big Black. In a flash, she hid behind Li Hua.
Li Mo’s expression sunk. As he walked over, he angrily yelled, “Big Black, come back.”
Li Shu pushed the cart to a corner, looked at the large pile of firewood, and asked, “Oldest brother, why are you chopping firewood again? Didn’t you already chop firewood yesterday?”
“I’m just stacking it here after I chop them up. It’ll be convenient to have firewood ready to use.” As Li Mo answered his question, he stepped forward to take the rice from the cart and put it away. Actually, in a couple of days, he had to go into the mountains to hunt again. He didn’t know when he would return, so he wanted to prepare extra firewood before he left.
Li Shu didn’t ask any more questions. He and Li Mo each carried a big bag of rice into the kitchen while Li Hua carried in a bag of flour.
After patiently waiting for them to carry everything into the kitchen, Li Man untied the piglets that had been tied to corners of the cart. To her surprise, as soon as the piglets were untied, they jumped out of her arms and ran off!