"Big brother, how is it? Is it selling well?" Zi Qing anxiously wanted to know if her idea was good or not.

  "Daughter, see? I told you your little sister would be eager to ask about this. Qinqin, shes just a little money enthusiast." Zifeng joked.

  "I hate it, big brother is the most hateful. Mother, look, big brother only knows how to bully me." Zi Qing turned her body and grabbed Shen Shis clothes corner, not realizing that she was throwing a tantrum at all.

  "Alright, I wont tease you anymore. Today your two brothers sold out all the couplets. There are too many people in the city, buying and selling New Years goods, vegetables, etc. Its too lively. Next time Ill take you there. This time I bought red paper from the city that is even cheaper than ours by a cent. I exchanged all my earnings of over 3,000 copper coins for paper and ink. After these are sold out, I wont sell anymore." Zi Fu said, stroking Zi Qings head.

  The family went into the house, and Shen took out the fabric she had bought. For Zi Qing, she had bought a large piece of red printed cotton cloth, for the boys in the household, a light blue one, for Tian Shi, a dark red one, and for Zeng Lao Ye, a deep blue one. Only Zeng Rui Xiang and Shen did not have any, seeing this, Zi Qing felt a pang in her heart.

  Shen let her son Fu take the fabric to be given to Old Master and Tian, "Just say its money from selling couplets, to show filial respect to your grandparents." Zi Qing hurriedly followed.

  Tian saw the fabric sent by Zi Fu, smiled like a chrysanthemum, and hurriedly took it over, saying: "My eldest grandson is really capable, so young and already earning money, whats rare is that he still thinks of his grandparents. Tell grandma, how much money did you earn?"

  "Auntie, theres not much money, just enough for my younger brother and sister to make a new cotton-padded jacket for the New Year. Its all been spent today." Zi Qing looked at her older brother, who was telling lies without even blinking an eye, and couldnt help but think that her older brother was quite clever despite his young age.

  "Zi Fu, didnt you buy something for your younger sister? Your younger sister has been good to you." Qiu Yu asked hastily as soon as she saw that Zi Fus hands were empty.

  Zi Fu felt a twinge of discomfort upon hearing this, and was about to say something when Old Master and Zeng Ruiqing walked in. The next day was the beginning of the new year, so Zeng Ruiqing had taken time off to go home for the holidays and ran into Old Master on the street, and they came in together.

  Tians family shook the cloth to show off to Lao Yezi, and then repeated Kuazi Fus words again. Just as they were speaking, Zhou Shi brought Zi Ping in again. Lao Yezi was naturally delighted, originally he valued this grandson the most, now his heart was even more proud. However, Zeng Ruiqing and Zhou Shis faces didnt look very good.

  At this time, Zi Ping asked: "Why havent you eaten yet? Im starving."

  "Eat, eat, eat, youre just a food barrel, all you know is to eat and be foolish. Look at others, theyre so young and already have a mind for business, doing nothing all day but making money for their family. Unlike you, whos just like your mother, busy from dawn till dusk, exhausted to death, yet no one says a word of praise. However, Father, Mother, lets get back to the point, our family hasnt divided up yet, should Zi Fus earnings be turned over to the public?" Madam Zhous words made Old Master and Tian Shi stunned, unable to react for half a day."

  The child Qing pushed the child Fu, and the child Fu quickly took over the conversation. "Auntie, I didnt earn much money, its all spent today, and my mother saw that my younger brother and sisters cotton-padded jackets are all broken. Its going to be New Years soon and theres no money to buy new ones, so isnt this just letting us try?"

  "Its just kids messing around, there cant be many of them left, besides theyve all been spent anyway." Tian finally reacted.

  "Alright, stop arguing. Lets eat. Dont envy others for having new clothes to wear. This time when I came back, I also bought fabric for you and your mother. Youll have new clothes to wear for the New Year too." Zeng Ruiqings words began this lunch in silence.

  The next day, the young Mrs. Shen was very busy. Early in the morning, she had to kill chickens, cook breakfast, and make various sweet glutinous rice cakes with Mrs. Zhou, some fried and some steamed. The children were all chased out, afraid of sneaking a bite. After they were done, they first offered sacrifices to the Kitchen God, and after sacrificing to the Kitchen God, the old man also worshiped their ancestors. Finally, Mrs. Tian gave each child one piece, and hid the rest away for unknown purposes.

  Zeng Ruixiang didnt go out all day, hiding in Zifus house to write couplets. Zifu said that on the 25th, he would sell them at the market, and whatever was left would be sold in Anzhou City on the 26th, after which they wouldnt do it again this year and would help with household chores instead.

  On the twenty-sixth, Ziyin was woken up by Zifu while she was still dreaming, because the night before, Ziyin had begged Shen Shi to agree to let her and Zifu go to the city, leaving Zi Lu to watch over Zi Xi. Fortunately, it was Aunties own car, or else Shen Shi really wouldnt have agreed.

  In a daze, Zi Qing felt like they hadnt walked for long when she heard that they had arrived. Looking up at the tall city gate in front of her, it was similar to the ancient city walls of Nanjing and Xian that she had seen on TV before. After entering the city, most of the houses along the streets were single-story buildings, while the shops in the commercial street were mostly two-story buildings. The farmers market was located at the intersection of the commercial street, and it was packed with people shoulder to shoulder, making a lot of noise. Xiao Fu Sheng sent them off here, agreed on a time and place to meet up again, and then went to take care of his own business.

  Zi Fu skillfully set up the stall with Zi Qing, today they brought more than 600 pairs of couplets, estimated to be sold out soon. Zi Qing wanted to go around alone to see if there were any new farm products, after all, after the Chinese New Year, they would thoroughly separate households and had to plan what economic crops to plant. Zi Fu refused to let her wander around alone. Zi Qing could only calm down and shout to sell quickly, so that they could finish early and have time for other things. Its not easy to come to Anzhou, cant go back empty-handed.

  Everyone saw a five or six-year-old little girl shouting, with a simple bun on her head, wearing old but very clean clothes. The little girls voice was crisp and sweet, not nervous at all, which surprised everyone, and immediately many people gathered around. When Zi Qing handed over the couplets, they couldnt bear to refuse, and the couplets were sold quickly. Zi Fu focused on collecting money, and the two of them worked together seamlessly, selling out in just over an hour.

  Ziying looked at Zifus cloth bag filled with copper plates and found it too heavy, so she poured the copper plates into a bamboo basket. The basket already had some copper plates in it. Ziying spread the cloth bag on top of the basket, and Zifu added some straw to it. With great effort, they lifted it together. Zifu suggested that they first find a nearby money exchange shop to change the copper plates for silver coins. Fortunately, there was one just outside the market. The two of them counted the copper plates for half a day, with Ziying only counting up to ten. She recalled a classic crosstalk phrase: "I, Wang Lao Wu, have never seen so much money!" This was Ziyings first time earning her own money, and she felt a sense of accomplishment.

  It was easy to count, and they had already counted 5,000. They exchanged it for a five-tael silver ingot at the money shop. Zi Qing didnt dare to look closely and hid it in a basket. Zi Fu didnt dare go to the market again. After all, for two children, five taels of silver was a huge sum of money. Zi Qing saw a large general merchandise store next door and pulled her brother inside together.