Chapter 249

Fan Erzhu and Fan Sanzhu rushed to the front, grabbing brightly colored garments from the basket and tossing them on the ground. They grew increasingly impatient as they dug through them: “Are these all clothes we can’t eat?”

“Not a single piece we can eat?”

The other three Fanzhu siblings who followed behind heard that they were all clothes, and their excited expressions faded.

Fan Sizhu looked at the scattered clothes on the ground and grumbled, “These clothes are all pink and red with little flowers. We can’t wear these.”

Fan Zhaodi took down the basket, squatting down to pick up each piece of clothing from the ground, using her small hands to pat off the dirt.

Originally, these clothes weren’t meant for her brothers; they were all prepared for her by her second aunt.

Sun Jinhua walked up, took a garment and examined it carefully in the sunlight, sneering disdainfully, “These are all old clothes. They must have been worn by the two younger girls before being given to you. Hu Shuiqing is good at acting sweet in front of your second uncle to win favor.”

Fan Zhaodi quietly thought to herself that her second aunt didn’t need to act sweet or please her second uncle. She didn’t need to make superficial efforts to win his favor.

In fact, whether they accepted or treated her well was entirely up to her second aunt; her second uncle acted according to her aunt’s wishes and opinions.

But they didn’t need to know these things.

Sun Jinhua continued to comment, “This pink set is not bad, the light green one is also good, and the blue with small white flowers is okay… Don’t wear these sets; pack them up and you can use them when I go back to my mother’s house.”

In the past, Fan Qian wouldn’t interfere in the distribution of her daughter’s clothes; Sun Jinhua always made the decisions. Thinking of what her mother said to her in the morning, she scolded, “These are for Zhaodi!

Stop thinking about your incompetent brothers. They can buy clothes for their children by themselves!”

Sun Jinhua, who was scolded, widened her eyes and looked incredulously at the head of the family.

How dare he say her brothers weren’t good?

She immediately argued back.

Fan Zhaodi watched her arguing parents who had just returned, their faces red and their voices loud, not giving an inch. They spat out whatever hurtful words they could think of.

Later, her mother would be driven to despair, and her father would directly suggest sending her mother away for peace.

Grandmother watched from the side, while her four brothers remained indifferent.

Fan Zhaodi sighed and remembered the scenes where everyone sat together in her second aunt’s house, discussing things fairly and calmly.

Even if she broke a bowl or spilled soup, she wouldn’t be scolded or blamed; instead, they would care whether she had cut herself or been scalded.

She looked at her father, who was unusually angry today, and wondered if he was changing just because of her new clothes. This was completely different from before… Was he really changing?

Regardless of whether he cared about the clothes or giving them away, at least he was helping her.

In the past, her father never cared about her life or death.

Fan Zhaodi unintentionally caught the gaze of her grandmother, who was assessing her.

She shivered and quickly composed herself, timidly calling out, “Grandmother.”

Fan’s mother originally didn’t want to respond. This granddaughter only cared about living well at her uncle and aunt’s house and never thought about her, which made her very angry!

But then she thought that maybe she would have to rely on this granddaughter to get through these years without food, and grunted.

She reminded her again, “Don’t go running around outside these days, don’t get too dark or get hurt.”

Fan Zhaodi looked up in surprise. This time she was truly shocked!

Since when had Grandma ever spoken caring words like this to her granddaughter?

Her second aunt said that unusual actions must have hidden motives and that they must be vigilant. Sometimes it’s okay to speculate about others with the worst intentions!

Was Grandma and Father’s decision made to hit her, or to hit Uncle Er and Aunt’s family?

·

The rabbits in the Shuiqing family are the most numerous in the village.

First, rabbits indeed reproduce quickly. Once adult rabbits have offspring, there are nests upon nests of them. Second, their numbers are large, ranging from several to more than a dozen.

Combined with the picturesque scenery of Shanshui Village and ample grass supply daily, they grow quickly.

After selecting over twenty male rabbits that were too many to eat, Fan Jin followed Hu Wenhu to the capital city to sell them.

Most households in the village have only two or three rabbits, which they slaughter early in the morning, each carrying them to the village gate to gather.

Fan Qian saw Hu Wenhu driving a donkey cart and the robust rabbits on the cart, unable to help swallowing his saliva.

Looking at Fan Jin beside the cart, he pursed his lips and looked away.

Just a few rabbits; if it weren’t for their own poisoning in front, they would definitely raise larger ones than theirs!

The others greeted Fan Qian and Hu Wenhua one after another.

Both responded to each greeting.

Before long, all those going out had gathered. Some were pulling carts to buy grain to bring back, while others didn’t need grain but had various small items to buy. With too many carts making it inconvenient outside, everyone opted to carpool.

A total of thirty people went out, each carrying a large knife hidden under their carts as usual, making them indistinguishable from the outside.

The old village chief accompanied them all the way to the village gate, watching the procession gradually move away before returning to close the gate. He instructed the young men on patrol to be extremely vigilant today.

After receiving a resounding response, he returned home to await news.

Today was the first time they were selling rabbits, a significant event that would determine the village’s future livelihoods. It could be said that every household was deeply concerned!

They feared the price might not be good enough or that they might not sell any at all. They worried about both the current grain prices in the capital and the safety of those who had gone out. Those staying behind in the village repeatedly asked at the village gate if the travelers had returned yet.

The young man stationed on the sandbag embankment grinned and replied, “Not yet. They only got home after dark last time, so it probably won’t be early today either.”

The people below nodded in understanding.

Suddenly, the same young man shouted, “They’re back! They’re back! The rabbit sellers are back!”

As the sound of the copper gong echoed through the village, people from every household put down their work to join the commotion.

Shuiqing and the others heard the gong and also headed towards the village.

As the gate opened, every man who entered had a joyful expression except Fan Qian.

The old village chief felt relieved when he saw this.

Others approached and asked, “How did it go?”

“Did you sell them?”

Xu Laosan eagerly said, “Sold! We sold them smoothly.”

Upon hearing that they had sold them smoothly, the onlookers breathed a sigh of relief.

They hurriedly asked again, “At what price?”

“Who did you sell so many to?”

“Will those people buy again next time?”

Amidst the clamor, the old village chief raised his hand to quiet everyone down, but each person was too excited to contain themselves, making it difficult to control the situation for a while.

Finally, Fan Xiaoliu climbed onto the embankment and banged the copper gong to signal silence, bringing the situation under control.

Li Wen loudly spoke so that everyone could hear, “There are even more refugees now, and the roads in the capital are congested. We were squeezed everywhere. Fortunately, we had Wenhua leading the way, and we managed to find a place.”

No one dared to leave their rabbits on the carts anymore; instead, they held them tightly in their hands.

The atmosphere in the capital was not as peaceful as before; within just one street, there were several incidents of robbery!

Crying, cursing, and stomping feet filled their ears incessantly, and everyone could only look after themselves, unable to care for others.

They followed closely behind Hu Wenhua until they reached their destination.