Mrs. Lai’s parental home was in the neighboring village, just a mile away, and although it was not in the same town as theirs, it was still not far from their town.
Mrs. Li’s parental home was in the same town, just two miles away by the edge of the town.
Hongji drove the ox cart to the town, passing by his second sister-in-law and her family’s shop, and saw two women tending to both shops.
The men of the family were probably out restocking, and as for the little child, he was likely inside the room. They were also seen attending to customers.
Today was not a visit to their home, so Hongji chose not to stay. When he arrived at the place selling pork, he stopped his cart there.
For a trip to his wife’s parental home, a wife would prepare gifts and chickens, with pork being a key focus. The village had pork for sale, but it was more expensive during the festive period, and there was little choice.
"Boss, here to buy pork?"
Hongji parked the ox cart in front of the pork stall, and the pork seller, a robust man who recognized Hongji, greeted him cheerfully.
This pork stall owner was a man of a different surname from Mrs. Li’s village, running the business with his wife.
Both were swamped during the festive period, slaughtering extra pigs to sell more pork, and the whole family was out selling meat.
To a refined boss like Hongji, the seller knew right away that a big customer had arrived.
"I’ll take fifteen pounds of half-fat, half-lean, fifteen pounds of fatback, and five pounds of pork belly."
Upon hearing Hongji’s request for several tens of pounds of pork at once, the seller’s smile grew even broader. He sold the meat with good cheer and, not daring to overcharge, even threw in a few pork bones for free.
Seeing the pigs’ trotters, Hongji also had the seller weigh out two for him.
This purchase cost Hongji a fair bit of money, but it was within what he could afford, costing him just several taels.
Those tens of pounds of pork would allow him to return home in style to his mother-in-law’s house, where the family with visiting relatives could prepare a big feast.
Hongji had arranged for his wife’s eldest sister and her husband to come, along with some other relatives. There would definitely be several tables to set up on the second day of the new year.
Vegetables and such were not his concern; his wife’s parental home also farmed several acres for vegetables and sold them all year round, so they were certainly not short of vegetables to eat.
After paying, Hongji had the pork packed by the butcher into a burlap sack and placed next to him in the ox cart.
As the cart stopped, those inside could just hear the noises outside.
Ye Shiqi, as the ox cart started moving again, faintly heard the voice of the pork seller from before.
"Hey, a few more big customers today and the pigs we slaughtered won’t last till noon."
Then she heard another woman’s voice, "Who was that just now? So generous."
Another woman replied, "Dear customer, you don’t know? That was the rich man buying meat to take to his mother-in-law’s house, the village right up ahead, from the Li family in our village."
The first woman then had an epiphany, "Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. Isn’t that the rich man from Bushen Village who has become wealthy these past few years, the son-in-law of the Li family I’ve heard about?"
Another female voice confirmed, "That’s right!"
Ye Shiqi... heard the dwindling voices and smiled at her mother.
"Qing, are you happy because we’ve entered our grandparents’ village?"
Ye Fengqi hugged Ye Shiqi, saying with a smile, since she and her four sisters had been sitting closely together in the cart since they boarded, ensuring they wouldn’t fall with the cart’s movement.
"Mm, I was just smiling too. My dad has become a rich man, and our mom has become a rich woman!"
Upon hearing Ye Shiqi put it this way, everyone in the ox cart laughed.
"This child is rather lively today!"
Mrs. Li responded with a bashful smile.
"Our Qing is actually quite spirited; it’s just that people usually don’t bother her!"
The other sisters also nodded their heads in agreement.
"Did I say something wrong?" Ye Shiqi pressed on.
The sisters all shook their heads in unison!
From the front, where he was driving the ox cart, Hongji also said with a laugh, "Wife, our daughter is praising us, so accept the compliment. We need to work even harder from this year onward."
"Mm, husband, you are right!" Mrs. Li responded.
"Wife, we’ve arrived at your parental home!"
Right after Hongji said that, the ox cart began to come to a slow halt.
Mrs. Li gave an affirming sound.
They heard the sound of footsteps approaching - it was people coming out from the house beside them to meet them at the cart.
Hongji saw his brothers-in-law, their wives, their children, and even his father-in-law and mother-in-law walking out of the house.