Chapter 28: Is There One That

Qiao Lanhua thought of their grandmother and elder aunt, and was instantly speechless.

Qiao Xuehua opened her mouth and said, "Big sister, you're so formidable now that grandmother and the others are all afraid of you; if you go back, they definitely wouldn't dare do anything."

"That's not necessarily so."

Qiao Sheng isn't afraid of trouble, but finds it bothersome.

Gao Shi and the others aren't comfortable with her; how could they just give up so easily?

Qiao Xuehua still wanted to persuade further.

Qiao Lanhua gave her a little tug and said, "If big sister doesn't want to, that's fine; after all, we've already split the family now, and in the future, even if we interact with big sister and the others, we won't fear what grandmother and the others might say."

As they were leaving.

Qiao Sheng took four plain white mantou and gave them to the girls.

Qiao Xuehua, with a shocked expression, said, "Big sister, you, where did these plain white mantou come from?"

"Xiao Shitou and I were lucky; we went to town to sell the wild chickens we caught, rescued a person, and his family was very grateful, so they gave us mantou."

Qiao Sheng spoke half‑truthfully, and she hadn't yet told them about the Yanghuai Flower.

First, Li Dayin and the others don't need much in a day; second, she's worried that if they speak out, Gao Shi and the others might hear and plot against them.

Qiao Lanhua first said to Qiao Xuehua, "Big sister, keep them for yourselves; there's food at home…"

"Exactly."

Qiao Xuehua echoed.

Qiao Sheng, without waiting for a response, shoved the packed mantou into Qiao Xuehua's arms.

"Alright, take them if you want. I have ten mantou here; Xiao Shitou and I ate two, leaving eight. We gave you four, so we still have four left."

Qiao Lanhua and the others only then accepted them.

She gave them a few instructions.

She saw them off.

Qiao Sheng and Xiao Shitou closed the Mountain God Temple's gate, slung the tied wild rabbit on their backs, and headed toward town.

They asked at a few shops.

Qiao Sheng and the others finally sold the wild rabbit; its price was higher than that of the wild chicken—22 wen per jin, for three and a half jin, which is 77 wen.

Adding the over five hundred wen she had left before, she now seemed to have a little over 650 wen in hand.

Can this amount of money buy a man?

Exactly.

Qiao Sheng had already decided; she planned to buy a person to be her temporary husband, and once the female household registration was settled, Xiao Shitou would register and then divorce.

"Mother, what are you thinking?"

Xiao Shitou asked.

Qiao Sheng blurted out, "Mother is wondering how much money can buy a man."

"Huh?"

Xiao Shitou thought she had misheard.

Qiao Sheng looked around, pulled Xiao Shitou aside and said, "Mother, I don't want to recruit a husband; I'm thinking of buying a man to be my husband, and once the female household registration and your household registration are settled, we will divorce him."

That would indeed be a viable method.

Xiao Shitou lifted his eyes and asked, "Mother, how much does it cost to buy a person?"

Qiao Sheng's expression paused, and she said, "I don't know that, perhaps we should go ask?"

Xiao Shitou had no objection.

In their town there were three pawnshops; the clerks of two of them wouldn't entertain their inquiries and drove them away outright.

One pawnshop's clerk did greet them, but the price he quoted was steep—a young man would cost at least fifteen taels of silver.

And he had to be especially ugly.

"Do you have one that's about to die?"

When Qiao Sheng asked that, the pawnshop clerk stared at her in disbelief.

Realizing what she had said.

Qiao Sheng said it was just a casual question and left with Xiao Shitou.

They walked out of here.

Xiao Shitou stopped and said, "Mother, you shouldn't buy one that's about to die; that's too risky. Besides, I don't want you to become a widow…"

(End of Chapter)