An Jing had intended to help An Fu up, but her aloof husband had beaten her to it, lifting up An Fu before she could.
Shi Xiaolan was already choking up again, unable to speak for a moment.
Yet, it was An Fu, whom Xiao Changyi had helped up, who said with tears of gratitude, "You saved our entire family, you are our family’s great benefactor."
An Jing couldn’t help but laugh through her tears, "Isn’t that a bit too serious..." It was only about buying a hundred pounds of tofu from them.
"It’s not serious! You really are our family’s great benefactor!" Shi Xiaolan insisted through her choked voice. "An Jing, you don’t understand, our family can no longer survive... If it weren’t for the kind-hearted uncles, aunties, and folks in the village who occasionally help us out, we would have been unable to carry on a long time ago."
Hearing Shi Xiaolan say this, An Jing felt a sigh of relief in her heart: At last, there’s a normal village, which is An Village.
"An Jing, don’t worry," Shi Xiaolan continued, "we will hasten to make the hundred pounds of tofu for you! At the latest... it will be ready by this time the day after tomorrow, is that okay with you?"
"You don’t need to rush," An Jing immediately interjected, "we don’t—" need it urgently.
Before An Jing could finish her sentence, An Quangui said, "There’s no need to rush, no need to rush. All the old arms and legs in our village will help out, they will definitely get it done. I will also call over my good-for-nothing sons to help, not just the day after tomorrow, we can have it ready for you by tomorrow. That way you can start making and selling fermented tofu sooner. It won’t just prevent a delay for you but will also help improve Fu Zi and their living conditions as soon as possible."
Listening to An Quangui’s words, An Jing once again compared the people of An Village with those from Jiuping Village, and the latter seemed to pale significantly in comparison.
Indeed, without comparison, there is no harm.
After chatting with Shi Xiaolan for a while longer and ensuring that the hundred pounds of tofu would be delivered directly to her house the next afternoon, An Jing finally parted ways with them.
Once apart, An Jing couldn’t help but sigh quietly, whispering to Xiao Changyi, "I never imagined Shi Xiaolan had been living such a hard life."
Xiao Changyi remained silent.
An Jing immediately smiled and took hold of one of Xiao Changyi’s hands, interlocking their fingers tightly.
Xiao Changyi just glanced at her and tightened their interlocked fingers a bit more, still without saying a word.
"Husband, you also lived a hard life before, don’t worry, I won’t let you live that hard life again," An Jing declared with boundless confidence.
Xiao Changyi indeed cooperated and nodded lightly, "Hmm."
An Jing was even happier now. She was about to tease her husband again when she unexpectedly saw Niu Dahua, that gossipmonger. Niu Dahua was actually in West Market selling vegetables, and her stall wasn’t very far from the spot An Jing used to occupy.
With so many people buying vegetables and the crowd coming and going, she had not noticed her before.
"Her again..." An Jing felt somewhat nauseated and quickly averted her gaze.
Xiao Changyi, however, had already instinctively followed the direction of her gaze. Upon seeing Niu Dahua, his eyes grew colder, but he said nothing and quickly looked away as well.
"Husband, she surely saw everything about us selling fermented tofu, she will definitely spread it all over the village when we get back," said An Jing.
Xiao Changyi didn’t comment on Niu Dahua but simply asked indifferently, "Do you care?"
An Jing immediately beamed, "Not at all, I hope she does talk about it. The better our days get, the poorer theirs become. The contrast will vex them so much, just thinking about it makes me pleased~"
Xiao Changyi looked at An Jing’s smug expression, his eyes full of indulgence and doting.