Ever since the last visit to town where she got familiar with the layout, Tian Sangsang couldn’t bear to leave ng Shuyan behind. This ti, she brought him along. Initially, she thought they could rest on the ground as soon as they reached town, but the inconvenient transportation and the journey were truly exhausting. They hadn’t even traveled halfway when the sun grew hotter. Tian Sangsang took out a simple hat from her space and put it on ng Shuyan. Despite this, the little boy’s fair face was flushed with a rosy red from the heat.
"Yanyan, let Mommy carry you." The braised food in her hand was packed in a clay pot and placed in a bamboo basket. Tian Sangsang held the basket in one hand and reached out with the other to lift him.
"Mommy, you’re already so tired. I can walk by myself," ng Shuyan resolutely shook his head.
As they spoke, familiar cows’ mooing sounded, and Li Zhengxiong’s ox cart had already stopped beside them.
"Sangsang, heading to town again? Hop on, I’ll give you a lift," Li Zhengxiong said warmly from the front of the cart, his voice deep and steady.
She usually felt a bit uneasy taking a ride for free, but when she glanced at her son, his tender, fair complexion made her worry that he’d get too tired. Feeling both delighted and slightly embarrassed, Tian Sangsang said, "Yes, heading to town. Big Brother Li, I’ll trouble you then; we’re always taking your cart."
She carefully placed ng Shuyan onto the empty ox cart, set the basket on the plank, and climbed up herself.
"Sangsang, you’re always so polite. It’s really no trouble, just good timing..." His voice abruptly stopped. Li Zhengxiong seed to suddenly notice the small, soft figure on board. Gripping the whip in his hand tighter, he quickly averted his gaze, yet couldn’t help sneaking a few more glances.
"Uncle Li, thank you for giving and my mommy a ride to town," ng Shuyan said, his small lips pressed together. Although he found this Uncle Li a bit strange—always sneaking looks at him—he was grateful that the man was willing to help at a ti like this.
So small! So cute!
"Y-Ya... Yanyan, it’s n-nothing. Don’t m-ntion it," Li Zhengxiong stamred, his ears turning bright red.
Squinting his large eyes, ng Shuyan felt a little shy under the man’s heated gaze and lowered his head, though he couldn’t resist peeking up at him again. Mommy wasn’t wrong—if I didn’t look at him, how would I know he’s watching ?
Seeing the two of them sneak glances back and forth at each other, Tian Sangsang was utterly exasperated. She had to step in to change the subject, "Big Brother Li, what are you headed to town for?"
"I’m doing so part-ti work in town," Li Zhengxiong said as he shifted his gaze away from ng Shuyan, his deanor finally less constrained. "And you, Sangsang?"
"I made so braised food, planning to sell it in town to earn a bit of money to support the family," Tian Sangsang replied, smiling.
Li Zhengxiong’s eyes lit up as if recalling sothing. "That pig offal you gave last ti tasted amazing! My mother and I both loved it. She even bought so to make at ho, but the flavor couldn’t compare to yours. What braised food are you making this ti?"
"Just so chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, duck feet, duck necks, pig trotters... Things like that. These may be cheap ingredients and a bit troubleso to eat, but once braised, they taste even better than the pig offal."
"Sangsang, how are you selling it? How much per pound? Let buy so, too. I love your cooking!" Li Zhengxiong said boldly. The people in their village weren’t too picky about food, but Sangsang’s skilled hands set her dishes apart. Every ti she made sothing, even the big n in the village adored it. Though he often hunted wild ga, his hands weren’t nearly as deft when it ca to cooking.
Pork in town sold for seventy-five to ninety cents per pound. Tian Sangsang decided to price her braised food similarly. After all, while items like pig trotters and chicken wings were relatively affordable, the spices needed for braising were difficult to find. It had taken considerable effort to gather them in her space. In a small place like this, such ingredients were nearly impossible to source. Scarcity adds value, as the saying goes. Even at seventy-five cents a pound, the cheapest she could go was seventy cents—no less.
"Big Brother Li, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Just tell what you want, no charge." Tian Sangsang had been worrying about how to repay the favor of the ride, and here was the perfect opportunity. Debts of gratitude were the hardest debts to carry, after all. She lowered her head to open the clay pot, her face glowing with a gentle smile. "Wait a mont, I’ll pick so out for you."
"How could that be okay? I can’t take advantage of you!" Li Zhengxiong objected hastily. It wasn’t right not to pay for sothing she had worked hard to prepare and planned to sell. But as he turned back and saw the softness in her expression alongside the tantalizing aroma wafting from the pot, a double wave of assault hit him. His face flushed red again.
"Really, you don’t have to. It’s fine, truly," she insisted.
Tian Sangsang swiftly picked two of each type of braised food—a total of more than twenty pieces. She packed them into a clean bag and hung the bag on a nail sticking out from the vertical plank.
Noticing his reddened face again, Tian Sangsang couldn’t help but find it amusing. It wasn’t the first ti she had seen him blush.
Huh? Uncle can blush? ng Shuyan, as if witnessing sothing rare, stared at him wide-eyed.
The mother and son’s curious gazes made Li Zhengxiong turn his red face away. After a few calming breaths, he said, "I go to town every day to work a few hours except on Saturdays and Sundays. If you’re heading to town in the future, just take my cart."
What a great deal! Tian Sangsang thought for a mont and replied, "That’s perfect timing—I plan to go to town on Mondays and Fridays. Big Brother Li, let pay you the usual cart fare."
"How could I charge you? We co from the sa village; we’ve all got it tough. If I can manage to carry you, I will. Talking about money would hurt feelings," Li Zhengxiong protested again, his tone urgent. Helping fellow villagers was just a matter of convenience, and charging for it felt wrong.
"Big Brother Li, you have to take the money. Think about it—if you give a ride every ti and don’t charge anything, what will people think if they see? If others see taking your cart, they’ll want to hop on too. Eventually, it’ll beco a hassle. It’s better to set a price from the start. It’ll give you so extra inco, too."
Li Zhengxiong, being an earnest and honest man, still shook his head. "It just doesn’t feel right. We’re all neighbors, all struggling. As long as I can carry them, I will; otherwise, people will think I’m taking advantage."
"Big Brother Li, that’s nonsense. You’re putting in effort, aren’t you? Plus, the ox is yours, the cart is yours. If we take a bus to the county, we still have to pay, don’t we? How is it any different for an ox cart? And if more people start riding, what happens when you can’t carry them all? Who do you choose to turn away? To make it fair, you could exempt the elderly and children from paying, but for everyone else, you must set clear rules. That way, everything’s transparent, and people will understand."
Li Zhengxiong finally grasped her point. He couldn’t argue with her logic, "Sangsang, you’re absolutely right." He thought back to past market trips where it had indeed caused problems when more people wanted rides. He couldn’t please everyone and often wished he could take them all along.
After dropping Tian Sangsang and her son off in town, he glanced at little ng Shuyan, who barely reached his knees. Almost as if avoiding being caught, he quickly lifted his gaze and said to Tian Sangsang, "I finish my part-ti work at two every afternoon. I’ll co find you here, and you and your son can ride back with . It’ll save you the trouble of walking."
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