Baozi Xishi's Struggle

The family sat together and had lunch. Shen Yu lay on the small bed with his clothes on and closed his eyes for half an hour. Although he did not fall asleep, he still felt much better when he got up. He no longer felt as flustered and short of breath as when he was moving the stone powder.

Li did not rest at noon, but carefully cleaned the steamer in the yard.

Because of their large size, those steamers were seldom sold on weekdays. They had been kept in the warehouse of the Lin family's old shop for quite a long time and were covered with a layer of dust. Because of this, the price they were sold at was exceptionally cheap.

Now that it has been washed by Li, it is shining cleanly under the sun.

Li saw Shen Yu getting up and said angrily, "Why don't you sleep a little longer? You should sleep a little longer. You got up so early in the morning."

"Mom also gets up early like me, and you told me to take my time. You should also take care of yourself."

"Oh, how can you compare with me? You are a girl who has never worked in the fields. When have you ever suffered so much? If your father were still alive, you wouldn't have to work so hard."

As Li spoke, she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and then cleaned the chopping board.

Shen Yu was afraid that she would be sad, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Mom, I'm going to find a car shop on the street to see if I can get a wheel for this cart. After you finish painting the chopping board, take Yu Tao and Yu Cheng with you to paint the house, so that the walls won't be dirty and dark."

When Li heard about the serious work required to set up a stall, she put aside her sentimental feelings and quickly agreed, and then reminded him: "This cart is not cheap to equip in the countryside, so don't be cheated. If the wheels are not worth it, come back first."

Shen Yu agreed, closed the gate and walked out.

When Shen Yu was buying kitchenware at the Lin Family Shop just now, she had already asked the shopkeeper of the Lin Family Shop. There were two car shops not far from each other. Following the direction pointed by the shopkeeper, she went to the first one first.

After reporting the size of the cart frame, the clerk at the cart shop looked through his account books and found that there was only one ready-made wheel that could fit the frame, and the price was five hundred coins. Moreover, the size was not suitable and it needed to be repaired by a craftsman before it could be used.

After the clerk quoted the price, he explained, "Based on the size of the cart you quoted, it's been a long time, almost twenty years old. Even if you take good care of it, the wood should have started to rot. Even if it has wheels, it won't last long. It's better to just buy a new one. It's bigger, and the wood is new and good, so it's durable. You can also use animals to pull it. The new cart costs 1,500 coins."

After listening to the waiter's explanation and the price quoted for the cart, Shen Yu couldn't help but feel a little hesitant. Her food stall hasn't opened yet, and she needs to spend the money on urgent matters.

I haven't gone to buy food yet. After doing the math, I found that I have spent more than two thousand dollars since I moved to this place.

Shen Yu thanked the clerk and prepared to go to another cart shop. Seeing that the customer was about to leave, the clerk knew that she was short of money, so he kindly gave her some advice: "Miss, if you need it for a short period of time, you can also rent a cart. We also have some old carts for short-term use by traveling caravans. It's only ten cents a day to rent, and it's very suitable for use."

After hearing this, Shen Yu was somewhat tempted and wanted to go to another store to take a look before making a decision. He thanked the waiter, said he needed to discuss it with his family, and left the store.

I went to another store and found the prices were about the same. The money spent on replacing the wheels was a little more than the first store. The price was about the same for buying a new car, but the rental price was also ten cents a day, and there was a slight reduction if you rent for more than ten days.

After inquiring about the price, Shen Yu returned home somewhat disappointed, wanting to ask Li's opinion.

When they returned home, Li, Yutao and Yucheng were wearing headscarves and painting the walls with brushes tied to bamboo poles.

The three of them had already painted half of a wall in a room. As expected, after the wall was painted white, the room looked a lot brighter.

After hearing the price of the cart, Li slapped her thigh in sudden realization: "No wonder this cart, which I thought was still usable, was thrown here as firewood. It turns out to be a second-hand item from more than 20 years ago. The wood is almost rotten. I'm afraid it will fall apart after just a few steps."

"Then I think it's more cost-effective to buy a new car. Even though it costs more money, the car will still belong to the owner after you finish renting it."

Li counted on her fingers the advantages of buying a new car: "Buying a car is different. First, the car is your own and you can harness livestock. Second, if you really can't make it back to the countryside, you can harness livestock to haul food. There are so many advantages."

"We used to have a cart that was pulled by a big blue mule, and we could put a canopy on it. When your father was alive, I would go to the market in Linxi Town with him. It was much easier than walking. Unfortunately, I had to buy medicine for medical treatment, so I sold it at a low price. It was made of the best wood, strong and spacious."

Li was beaming with joy when she talked about the good old days.

Yutao and Yucheng were young and didn't remember much about how prosperous Shen's family was when he was alive. They stopped what they were doing and listened with great interest.

After listening to Li's reminiscences of the past, Shen Yu suddenly felt that it would be best to buy a cart. It would be a waste of money to buy one with wheels.

She immediately agreed and praised Li: "Mother, the older you are, the wiser you are. Without you, I wouldn't know what to choose."

After hearing this, Li was even more proud and boasted, "That's right. Your mother was a scholar in the village. You kids don't even remember it. In the village, even the wife of the head of the village would greet me with a smile. Everyone would say that our family is doing well and your mother is blessed."

After Li finished speaking, he put his hands on his hips and acted arrogantly.

Shen Yu and the others looked at Li with her hands on her hips and her head held high, and they all laughed. The room was filled with great joy.

After laughing, Shen Yu decided to go back to the first car dealership and pick out a car.

When Li heard that he wanted to buy something, she threw the brush in her hand into the bucket, took off her apron, and said while washing her hands in the basin beside her: "I will go with you. You are a young girl and it is difficult for you to bargain. I will go and help you to negotiate the price."

When renting a house, Li and Shen Yu worked together to reduce the rent a little. Having tasted the sweetness of bargaining, they now heard that they were going to buy a car, and they were quite eager to try. They wanted to show their prowess again and bargain down the price significantly when buying a car.

Shen Yu agreed with a smile, and told Yutao and Yucheng to only paint the barely visible part of the wall, and to paint the higher parts of the wall when they came back. Then, she and Li went to the first car dealership together.

The waiter saw the little girl who had asked about the price of the car coming back again, followed by a thin middle-aged woman, and hurriedly greeted her with a smile.

Shen Yu expressed his desire to see the new vehicle, so the clerk took them to the warehouse at the back, where there were three ready-made carts in three sizes: large, medium and small.

The clerk introduced that the cars here are samples. As the warehouse is small, there are only a few cars of different sizes. Buyers can choose the type they want and pay a deposit. Then a clerk will come to the workshop to make the car and deliver the new car to the buyer's home.

Shen Yu looked at the large handle of the small cart and measured it with his arm outstretched. It was indeed as the clerk said, much larger than the wheelless cart at home in Liushu Lane, and would be suitable for harnessing livestock in the future.

After looking at it, Li also thought it was good. Although the wood was not as good as the big cart in his previous home, it also looked like fine and high-quality wood.

So after some bargaining, Li began to show off his proficiency, complaining about the car in various ways, saying the wood, size, and workmanship were all bad, and made the clerk's face turn red.

Shen Yu was holding back her laughter, but she looked submissive, pretending to be useless as her mother said. She nodded repeatedly, pretending to go with Li, and finally ordered a small cart for 1,200 coins. She agreed with the waiter to pay the deposit first and it would be delivered to Liushu Lane before dinner.