Su Qingyu saw the quarrel and pushing in front of them and stopped to look.

The market was very crowded. Vegetables and livestock brought by rural farmers were casually placed on the ground. Some had boards set up, while others had carts to display their goods if they had better conditions.

The vegetables were picked and pushed all the way, and the vegetable leaves were a little wilted. People splashed them with water from time to time, making the whole street a little wet.

Coupled with the excrement of domestic animals, the fallen feathers of poultry and wild animals, and the mosquitoes attracted by the scraps thrown away by fish sellers and meat sellers…

the whole street looked crowded and dirty.

Su Qingnao saw many well-dressed women passing by with handkerchiefs covering their noses. They hurriedly turned around and left without even picking up something. They didn’t even count the money they got back.

Some people didn’t care about the environment, maybe they were used to it. They chose the vegetable stalls and bargained with the farmers, which was lively and fun.

Looking at the place where the quarrel and pushing were happening, a bunch of people gathered around. After listening for a while, Su Qingyu also understood.

It turned out that a few gangsters came early in the morning to collect the stall protection fee. A farmer had to pay a large sum of money for the chickens, ducks, and vegetables he brought before he sold them. He was a little unhappy and started to quarrel with the farmer.

The neighboring villagers couldn’t stand it, so they helped him by saying a few words. The gangster hit him with a stick, and the two sides started fighting.

Su Qingyu looked at the farmer’s stall and saw a cage on the ground. Inside, two chickens and a duck could be seen vaguely with their feet tied and their wings clipped. Next to the chicken coop is half a basket of eggs and half a box of vegetables.

Probably some were sold.

You may not earn much if you sell them all, and the protection fee will be fifty cents.

The farmers valued every penny. They might have walked dozens of miles early in the morning, enduring hardships pushing and carrying their goods to sell, only to find that the money they earned wasn’t enough to pay protection fees. This situation would surely make them anxious.

“We’re not saying we won’t pay the protection fee, but it’s too much. We can’t even make so much in the morning…” The old farmer begged weakly, hunched over. The two half-year-old grandchildren were close to him, pinching the corners of his clothes with fear on their faces.

“Enough with the nonsense! If you were only selling vegetables, we would only charge you ten or eight wen, but look at what you’re selling – poultry! Look at this setup they’ve given you on the ground. Moreover, we checked this morning, and you’ve brought at least seven or eight chickens and ducks in a cage. We’ll charge you fifty wen. It’s a favor to the folks from the village. Consider yourself lucky we’re cutting you some slack.”

The old man waved his hands repeatedly: “No, not that much. I only brought four chickens and one duck. There are still three that have not been sold. Each one only earns a few cents of hard-earned money…”

Those ruffians wouldn’t listen: “Stop the nonsense. If you don’t pay up, we’ll take away this cage of chickens and ducks.”

“No!” When the old man heard that the chickens and ducks were about to be taken away, he became anxious and subconsciously threw himself on the top of the chicken coop.

The people watching the excitement whispered.

“This group of people is really going to eat people. All the hard-earned money they have earned this morning has gone into their pockets.”

“Isn’t that right? Why is no one taking care of this? If the villagers don’t dare to come to sell vegetables, what will happen to our town? What do the people here eat?”

“Exactly! Charging a token amount like two or three wen would have been reasonable, just for the sake of it. How come they’re asking for so much? And they’re even complaining about the ground being dirty as if they would clean it up after taking the money.

Some people who didn’t know the truth looked at a few gangsters and asked the people next to them: “Are they from the county government?”

There were onlookers with faces full of disdain: “Where did our town get county officials from? We do have scattered officials sent by the county government, like the scholar from the Liu family on the main street. But they haven’t mentioned anything about paying protection fees. These guys are clearly here for blatant robbery.”

Having listened for a while, Su Qingyi understood the situation, and she carefully surveyed the street market, deep in thought.

When she came to her senses again, several gangsters were walking away in high spirits with sticks on their shoulders.

When passing by her, Su Qingyu felt that one of them looked familiar, so she turned her head and took a closer look. Hey, he looked familiar.

Some time ago, Mother Su had been mentioning the widowed mother of Hua Bao to her, saying how difficult her life was as a widow raising a son. Xiao Qingyang and Xiao Qingxing also often talked about Hua Bao, saying that all the children in the village were afraid of him.

In those days, the vegetables in the Su family’s vegetable patch kept disappearing inexplicably, and her step-grandma cursed in the direction of Hua Bao’s house for several days.

As a result, Su Qingyu was very familiar with the name Hua Bao.

Looking at Hua Bao again, he had the appearance of a dandy, dressed smartly and appearing to be in his mid-twenties, but with a face that exuded a ruffian-like aura.

Due to his and his mother’s behavior, nobody nearby was willing to marry into their family. As a result, despite reaching a mature age, he remained single. Hua Bao’s mother was left with only him, hoping desperately to find him a spouse. However, even the greediest matchmakers were reluctant to approach their door.

When families heard it was his family proposing marriage, they wouldn’t even open their doors.

At this moment, Su Qingyu saw that he was looking agitated, holding a half-meter-long polished stick in one hand and tapping the palm of the other hand from time to time as he passed by her.

Maybe he noticed Su Qingyu’s gaze and looked towards Su Qingyu… Maybe he thought Su Qingyu looked familiar, and even frowned in thought.

Su Qingyu didn’t want to deal with him and quickly looked away, and the other party didn’t stop.

It wasn’t until the group of them had gone far that Su Qingyu moved to the vegetable market.

She looked at the old man who was charged fifty cash. He was holding his two grandchildren and wiping away tears.

His grandson, who was twelve or thirteen years old, lowered his head, tightly holding the rope of the chicken coop in his hand, pursed his lips tightly, and his eyes were filled with hatred. The younger granddaughter held the old man’s arm and avoided the eyes of the onlookers.

Su Qingyu sighed softly.

There were three chickens and ducks in that cage, but they could only be sold for fifty cents. If they were taken away, the gain outweighed the loss. Looking at the stall on the ground, after paying the money, she was afraid they wouldn’t have much of their hard-earned money left today.

Su Qingyi took a look at the chickens and ducks in his cage and noticed that they were well-raised, with shiny feathers and smooth fur. The eggs in the basket were also wiped clean, and although the vegetables in the crate were scattered, it was evident that they were grown exceptionally well, with hardly any signs of pests.

When Su Qingyu looked at the three of them, the onlookers gathered around him and bought everything from his stall out of sympathy for the family.

The old man reacted, weighed the items, and thanked the buyer. After being comforted by everyone in turn, the three people’s moods became much calmer. They wiped their tears and quickly helped the buyer bundle chickens, ducks, and vegetables.

In the end, half of the basket of eggs was bought by an aunt.

The old man’s family packed up their burdens with great gratitude, supported each other, and left the vegetable market in a hurry.

Su Qingyu looked a little sad. The people at the bottom, who had no money and no power, had the hardest time.

Su Qingyu slowly strolled around the vegetable market.

She found that the variety was quite rich, including fish, meat, poultry and game, various eggs, mountain delicacies, fresh river produce, and many varieties of vegetables.

But there was just no good plan. The whole street was crowded and dirty, and there were so many people shopping around the stalls that it was difficult to even walk.

The farmers crowded around and put the things they brought randomly on the ground. There were water stains, dirt, and mosquitoes on the ground. Some places with a lot of water were so muddy that it was difficult to even set foot.

The farmer wore a pair of worn-out straw sandals, his clothes covered in dust, with patches upon patches. He didn’t mind the dirt; it was just dirt to him. However, most of the buyers from town were relatively well-off, wearing cloth shoes, and the women wore long skirts. With each step, their shoes would get dirty and wet, and their clothes splattered with mud and water.

Many people were walking on tiptoes, screaming when they stepped in the water, holding up their clothes and shaking them off, with a frown on their faces.

Su Qingnao walked around and the experience was really not good.

She bought some ingredients, her hands were full, and she was ready to go back.

With her hands occupied, she couldn’t free one to lift the hem of her skirt, so she had to tread carefully, tiptoeing through the muddy sections. Glancing down, she saw her cloth shoes soaked, her socks wet, and the hem of her skirt dotted with mud.

Just as he was frowning, the ingredients in her hand were snatched away.

(End of chapter)