Chapter 142:
The next morning before dawn, Old Lady Zhao came over supporting herself with a cane.
“Old Lady Zhao, why are you here?”
Luo Zhi’er had just set up the rack and was loading the cart.
The village was gripped by panic over the thefts and poisoning, and Old Lady Zhao was furious when she heard about it.
She didn’t know which fool with no mind would do such a wicked thing!
Hearing that Luo Zhi’er was going to town, she came over before dawn today!
“I’ll come help watch your home.”
Luo Zhi’er was amused: “Old Lady Zhao, you don’t need to come this early. Just drop by when you’re free!”
Old Lady Zhao said: “Anyway, this old woman at home can’t sleep in the morning, so I might as well come over and check. You haven’t left yet?”
“Oh, Grandma Zhao! You’re here so early!”
Miaomiao had put on her clothes, Luo Zhi’er had tied her hair, and she ran off to wash up before coming out and sweetly calling Grandma Zhao.
“Hey, good Miaomiao, wow! You’re dressed so pretty today.”
Miaomiao was a bit shy, her little face turning red.
“Grandma will stay home and watch the door for you, so go to town with peace of mind. With Grandma Zhao here, no one will dare smash your stove!”
“Thank you, Grandma Zhao!”
“By the way, San Mao’s Wife, when you go to town today, help bring back a bag of white sugar for me. Us old folks always have no taste in our mouths.”
Old Lady Zhao took out a few copper coins from her bosom and gave them to her.
“Old Lady Zhao, look at you. You can give it to me when I get back in the evening.”
“No way, this old woman doesn’t have a good memory and would forget by evening!”
“If you forget, you forget. It’s just a few coins.”
“Look at what you’re saying, a few coins are still money. Take it quickly! I don’t have the habit of taking advantage of others!”
“Alright!”
She turned to Miaomiao and said,
“Miaomiao, be careful on the road. Your mother just bought the mule cart and isn’t very familiar with it yet, so drive slowly!”
“Got it, Old Lady Zhao! Then we’re off!”
“Hey! Hey!”
Old Lady Zhao leaned on her cane at the door, watching the mother and daughter go far away until they disappeared!
She sat by the table for a bit, then stood up and wandered around.
On the way, the mother and daughter heard the cuckoo bird calling “Cuckoo, cuckoo!”
“Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe!”
Miaomiao imitated it too! It sounded so nice!
After imitating for a while, she got tired. Miaomiao ate the egg pancake she had made, took a sip of honey water, and said,
“Mother, why does the cuckoo bird always call ‘Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe’?”
“Hehe, Miaomiao, do you want to hear a story?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Like a little chick pecking at rice!
“Alright! A long, long, long time ago, there was a pair of farmer father and son who planted a lot, a lot of wheat.”
“In the season when the wheat was ripening, they still didn’t reap it! The villagers asked them, ‘The wheat is all ripe, why aren’t you reaping it?'”
“No problem, it’s still in time, wait a bit more!”
“When others urged them to reap, they said, ‘Are you jealous that our wheat grew better than yours? You want us to reap early? No way!'”
“They always wanted to wait for the unripe parts to ripen a bit more before reaping! Much of the fully ripe wheat fell to the ground and sprouted new shoots.
Just as they were preparing to harvest, rumble!!! It suddenly poured with heavy rain! Hail!”
“Ah! Wouldn’t that be a disaster? The whole year’s harvest gone, Grandpa and Great Uncle would be mad to death!”
Miaomiao spoke like a little adult though she was small.
“Exactly!”
“The result is obvious, a complete crop failure!”
“This pair of father and son were naturally full of regret, annoyance, and heartache. Isn’t this crop their very livelihood!”
“Facing the yellow earth with backs to the sky, everything back to zero. Unable to think straight, the two finally died of depression!”
Miaomiao’s eyes showed heartache.
“Ah? So pitiful!”
She sighed,
“People can’t be too greedy!”
Luo Zhi’er smiled,
“In the end, the two turned into cuckoo birds, flying back every year when the wheat is nearly ripe to remind the villagers: ‘Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe! Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe!'”
They flew around the wheat fields urging everyone, afraid that folks would reap too late!
So every year, when farmers hear this “Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe,” “Reap the wheat quickly before it’s fully ripe,” they start sharpening their sickles and preparing for battle!
“No wonder every year when Miaomiao hears it, Grandpa immediately yells for us to go reap wheat without stopping!”
By the time Luo Zhi’er and Miaomiao arrived in town, it had just dawned. Having a mule cart made a big difference; it was much faster than walking.
When they reached Yumian Tower, it had just opened for business. Shopkeeper Zhu didn’t expect her so early and chatted with her a few words.
She took the things for quality inspection,
“Luo Niangzi, please come inside. Have some tea before going to stroll on the street.”
“I’ll humbly accept.”
“Luo Niangzi, I see you have a few baskets in your mule cart. What food did you make? Planning to sell them somewhere?”
“Hehe, Shopkeeper Zhu has sharp eyes; nothing escapes you.”
“Not at all.”
“Exactly, I made bread, planning to take it to the marketplace to sell and see. First time making it, not sure how it’ll be.”
“Bread?”
“Yes, newly developed. Going to test the waters!”
“Hehe, does this old man have the honor to taste it first?”
“Of course!”
“Shopkeeper Zhu, please wait!!!”
Luo Zhi’er quickly ran to the mule cart and uncovered the cloth over the baskets.
She gave Shopkeeper Zhu an oval-shaped red bean bread, a square toast, and two corn flour red bean breads.
“Shopkeeper Zhu, this toast, I see you’re busy in the morning and probably haven’t had breakfast yet!”
“Toast?”
Such a strange name!
“You can slice it, take out two slices for breakfast, pair with hot water or honey water, or milk, sheep milk, all good!”
“You can also fry an egg, add some lettuce, and sandwich between two slices of toast.”
“This corn bread is crispy. It’s my first time making it, brought only a little. Next time, if it sells well today, I’ll bring more for you to try!”
“Good, good!”
Shopkeeper Zhu nodded repeatedly, smelled it. Luo Niangzi truly had skillful hands; the bread was golden yellow with a sweet, fragrant aroma.
He couldn’t resist breaking off a piece and putting it in his mouth. Wow, crispy, soft and glutinous, with red bean sweetness and egg fragrance!
He didn’t know how it was made, but selling it on the street would surely bring good profits.
He even wanted to buy it all.
But she didn’t mention it, taking it to the marketplace to test the waters. It seemed she wanted to run her own livelihood!
Luo Zhi’er also casually mentioned to him that she was going to the dog market later to buy a fierce dog.
Fierce dog?
Hearing that, he thought of the thieves targeting her home.
After the quality inspection ended, Luo Zhi’er hurriedly said goodbye to Shopkeeper Zhu and left; she needed to grab a good spot at the marketplace.
She parked the mule cart at the marketplace parking area, put on the bamboo basket, carried a bamboo basket in one hand, held Miaomiao’s hand in the other, and went to the marketplace to set up a stall.
Morning was when everyone vied to buy ingredients; she had gone to Yumian Tower to deliver goods first.
Now the roads were already bustling with people, a bit crowded, and all the ground spots were taken.
Luo Zhi’er found a corner spot, which was a bit remote behind with few people passing by.
Looking at the packed vendors, some still fighting over spots and cursing, oh well, she could only set up here.
In a bit, even this spot would be gone.
She spread out the straw mat on the ground, took out the bamboo basket from the bamboo basket, placed the two bamboo baskets on the straw mat, uncovered the cloth piece, and started calling out!
“Don’t miss it if you pass by!”
“Come see, come taste, come try our Old Luo Family’s exclusive recipe bread!”
She raised her voice to call out.
“Selling bread! Handmade by mother, sweet and delicious, crispy little breads!”
Miaomiao, like a little oriole, called out along with her.
Immediately attracting many customers to look this way.
Because no one had eaten bread before?
What was that? Looking at it, probably some kind of dim sum!
Who eats dim sum in the morning? Better to get a vegetable cake. No one came to buy.
Luo Zhi’er thought for a moment.
How about tasting?
So she planned to go to the shop selling kitchenware to buy a knife and some small tableware.
Then take out a toast bread, slice it, put it on a plate, and whenever someone passed by, give them a small piece to taste.
