Aunt Zhang followed the instructions, “The ten jin of flat beans were ordered from me, and the large winter melon was ordered from Auntie Hua from the Hua Family. Auntie Hua had chores to do, so I agreed to come along and bring them. The winter melon was weighed, it’s thirteen jin.”
“Could you also give Auntie Hua the money for the winter melon?” Su Qingyue counted out the money and handed it to Aunt Zhang.
She didn’t count it, “That’s fine.”
“Don’t you want to count the money?” Qingyue asked.
“Don’t I trust you?” Aunt Zhang laughed, “You didn’t weigh the vegetables I brought either.”
“Would my Auntie deceive me?” she said carelessly. That weight is certainly accurate.
“Absolutely, I wouldn’t do such a dishonest thing.” Aunt Zhang looked at a pot in the yard, “Qingyue, I heard that your family has medicinal mud toothpaste for sale again?”
“Yes, same price, same quality.”
“The medicinal mud toothpaste is really good, it makes my mouth feel clean and fresh. My Ping’an really likes it and has been complaining that he has none left.” Aunt Zhang gave her eight copper coins, “Here, I’ll buy four packs of toothpaste.”
Su Qingyue didn’t take the money, she went to the yard and filled a small pot with medicinal mud toothpaste for her, “You don’t need to pay, Aunt Zhang. You’ve helped me a lot, this is a gift.”
“Just yesterday, I had a big bowl of duck meat from your home, I can’t take more from you for nothing.” Aunt Zhang insisted on paying.
Qingyue couldn’t refuse her and had to accept it.
Aunt Zhang looked at the pot she was holding, “Girl, you accepted the eight cents for the toothpaste, but didn’t collect money for this pot, did you?”
“The pot isn’t valuable, take it. If you insist on paying for it, I won’t sell it you.”
“Alright… alright…” Aunt Zhang laughed heartily, the more she looked at Su Qingyue, the more she liked her, “Qingyue, if I had known you were so good, I would have sold everything I had to get you into my family. You’re fifteen years old, and our Ping’an is just fifteen too. If you two were a pair, it would be great.”
Qingyue smiled shyly, “What are you talking about?”
Aunt Zhang suddenly changed the topic and said to Qinghe, “Fourth son of the Xiao Family, Qingyue is the best wife in our village. It’s a blessing for the Xiao Family to marry her, you must treat her well.”
“I will.” Xiao Qinghe promised. He was originally a little upset that Aunt Zhang wanted to match his wife with Zhang Ping’an, but when he thought about Qingyue, such a good wife, he believed everyone in the village would envy him, whether they said it out loud or not.
With one hand holding an empty basket and the other holding a pot of toothpaste, Aunt Zhang said to Su Qingyue, “Girl, I heard that after Qian Zhang used your medicinal mud toothpaste, her smelly mouth became fresh and clean. She secretly told everyone that her two husbands, Qian Duotian and Qian Duodi, kissed her mouth. Then her toothpaste ran out and her mouth started to smell again. I heard during this time, neither of her husbands touched her, let alone kissed her.”
“…” Su Qingyue didn’t respond.
Qinghe felt embarrassed hearing about other people’s bedroom affairs, and his face turned unnatural.
Aunt Zhang continued, “Being older and maturer, I don’t feel embarrassed about speaking of such things. I wasn’t planning to mention it, but Qian Zhang hitched a ride on your carriage without asking, insulted Qinghe, and that wasn’t enough. Qian Zhang even threatened you with her two husbands, Qian Duotian and Qian Duodi. It’s ridiculous! Qian Zhang has always been shameless. On my way here, I saw Qian Zhang knew that you were selling medicinal mud toothpaste again. She was very interested and kept asking about the price.”