CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 48: FRAUD (FIRST UPDATE)

The timing was just about right when two people dressed in black officials’ uniforms came out to maintain order.

Meanwhile, someone opened the gate to the cattle pen behind, leading a cow out one after another.

Each cow was showcased in turn, then marked with wooden signs displaying prices for those interested in purchasing.

Of course, everyone had to negotiate the price a bit.

Qin Yao didn’t see any cows being slaughtered and knew what she was looking for wasn’t there, so she kicked Liu Ji, who wanted to go forward and look at the cows.

"Let’s go, to the slaughterhouse!" Qin Yao said.

Liu Ji endured the pain in his calf, first shaking his head at the cows as if to express dissatisfaction before turning to follow the steps of Mother and the four children.

Qin Yao stuffed Sanlang and Si Niang into his arms, "There are a lot of people, watch the children and wait for me by the side."

The slaughterhouse was most bustling in the morning when pigs, cattle, and sheep from all around the city were mostly slaughtered here together.

Beef was the hardest to come by because working cattle were valuable; they were only brought for slaughter if they were sick or no longer fit for work.

Qin Yao felt her luck was pretty good since there were cows being slaughtered today, and two at that.

The fresh slaughter and sales meant each stall set up for free trading.

Qin Yao bought beef tendons from the two cows, spending fifty cents.

Having smoothly accomplished the main task in town, Qin Yao was in a great mood, returning to meet the father and sons waiting by the street while also buying charcoal and taking the kids for a stroll.

Si Niang, being held in her father’s arms and seeing from up high, was the first to spot a vendor selling sugar-coated hawthorn. She immediately tugged at her father’s sleeve, "Father, buy sugar-coated hawthorn!"

Liu Ji thought he was being called to buy some, glanced at Qin Yao, and seeing her nod, he stopped the hawthorn vendor, set Sanlang and Si Niang down, and paid for one for each of the four with his money.

After buying, he reminded Qin Yao, "Eight cents, remember to reimburse me later; this is our grocery money."

Qin Yao was most annoyed to see him be so stingy, nodding impatiently.

Da Lang Brothers and Sisters were overjoyed, not expecting Father to spend the money. They had been planning to use the two cents they got for teaching Father to cook last time to buy one for themselves.

Now, with each getting one, happiness came so suddenly, their smiles were bright as can be.

"Mother, you taste first." Si Niang stood on tiptoe, lifting the sugar-coated hawthorn high up and looking at Qin Yao in anticipation.

The red hawthorn coated in a shiny layer of sugar glaze looked particularly tempting.

Since it was her daughter’s good intention, Qin Yao didn’t refuse.

She bit into the first piece, the sugar coating crisp and crunching, mixing with the sour and crisp hawthorn, making for a pretty good taste.

"Mother, is it good?" Si Niang asked expectantly.

Seeing Qin Yao eat, she seemed happier than if she herself had eaten it.

Qin Yao nodded, "Delicious," signaling the little girl to try a bite.

Si Niang, being small with a small mouth, struggled to bite through, her mouth watering from the sugar stimulation, ultimately having to lick and melt the hard sugar coating before she could bite off a small piece of hawthorn.

This was a taste of sweet and sour she had never experienced, her eyes lighting up as she exclaimed, "Wow."

This cute little appearance was so endearing that Qin Yao lifted her up.

Sanlang had been following behind, holding up his sugar-coated hawthorn. Seeing Auntie hadn’t noticed him, the little guy felt a bit lost.

Qin Yao suddenly turned around and picked him up as well.

Sanlang’s face went from disappointed to thrilled, offering the sugar-coated treat to her like a treasure.

Qin Yao ate a piece too.

Unexpectedly, Da Lang and Second Lang mimicked them, insisting that Qin Yao try theirs as well.

Qin Yao laughed; she wouldn’t be polite. Who could refuse snacks?

After two more sugar-coated hawthorns, Qin Yao sighed with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, we’ll buy more next time."

"More?" Liu Ji held his deflated money bag, thinking they couldn’t afford to buy more!

Qin Yao scoffed at him.

The four children also made faces at him in unison.

Liu Ji clutched his chest, feeling overwhelmed.

He paid for them, and yet didn’t get to eat a single piece of the sugar-coated hawthorns; it felt so unfair!

"Father, for you." Da Lang, seeing his father’s pitiful state, also fearing he might harbor too much resentment and be disliked by Stepmother, offered the two remaining sugar-coated hawthorn pieces in his hand as solace.

Liu Ji was actually quite easy to appease; soon enough, like Si Niang, he was licking the sugar-coated treat with a satisfied smile.

"Da Lang, Dad hasn’t raised you for nothing," Liu Ji said, wrapping an arm around his eldest son’s shoulders with gratification.

Da Lang smiled but couldn’t help reminding him, "Dad, you’ve never raised us for a day. Since I was born, you haven’t managed any household matters; you always run off to town, asking Mother for money whenever you return, and you’ve never brought back a single coin. It’s Mother who raised me."

Qin Yao, walking ahead, was surprised to hear this. She turned back.

She saw Liu Ji’s smile freeze instantly, and both father and son exchanged a look before Da Lang broke eye contact first, plunging them into silence.

While buying charcoal, they unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

"Lin Erbao, what are you doing here?"

Seeing him, Liu Ji reacted like a startled bird, his entire demeanor flaring up.

Qin Yao, curious, assessed Lin Erbao, who was holding a little girl. The loving gaze he cast on the small child was unfamiliar, quite unlike the fierce debt collector she had known.

Seeing Qin Yao with her family in tow, Lin Erbao smiled and asked, "Miss Qin, in town for New Year shopping?"

Qin Yao nodded, glanced at the girl beside him.

The little girl, looking about seven or eight, was well-dressed and clearly well-cared for by her family.

"Dad, who are they?" the girl asked Lin Erbao curiously.

"Just some friends of Dad’s."

"Oh," the girl said, inquiring no further.

They were there to buy charcoal too and had already finished their purchase. Lin Erbao picked up the basket full of charcoal, ready to bid farewell to Qin Yao’s family.

Qin Yao remembered something and signaled him aside to talk, inquiring about why Liu Ji borrowed money initially.

Twenty taels of Silver was no small amount.

Lin Erbao’s answer was quite unexpected to Qin Yao.

It wasn’t gambling or spending on courtesans, but rather being swindled.

The scammer claimed to know someone in the government office; since Liu Ji was literate, the scammer planned to recommend him for a job at the county government.

Liu Ji, desperate for help, believed him and rushed to borrow money to give to that ’good brother,’ only for the man to abscond with the money.

Moreover, it wasn’t just him who got conned; other poor scholars from the academy were similarly tricked.

However, the others didn’t have Liu Ji’s audacity, only borrowing five or ten taels, and their families had land to mortgage, so it wasn’t a big issue.

Seeing Lin Erbao and his daughter off into the distance, Qin Yao turned back, casting a knowing look at the clearly panicked Liu Ji, warning, "The sky won’t drop pies, only traps!"

Hearing this, Liu Ji knew she had uncovered all his secrets.

Right then, he felt like a fish on the chopping block, lying stark bare before her, without any privacy left.

Feeling a bit vexed, he hoisted up the purchased load of charcoal and strode off briskly, without a word.

The cloudy expression on his face, which the previously cheerful Da Lang Brothers and Sisters noticed, caused them to tone down their laughter.

"Let’s go, I’ll treat you all to something tasty."

Qin Yao referred to the wonton stand by the city gate; she had eaten there last time, finding the taste exceptional.