19 So Many Debts to Repay

Zhao Ce had made a good arrangement. The problem was that they didn't have any vegetables to stir-fry at home. Su Caier didn't dare to go up the mountain today, so she couldn't bring back any wild vegetables.

However, Su Caier suggested that they could cook a pot of white rice and mix it with pork lard scraps for Zhao Ce to eat. Zhao Ce happily agreed.

Pork lard scraps don't last long, so they saved half for tomorrow and Zhao Ce ate a lot of the remaining scraps. Su Caier only ate two pieces and said she didn't want to eat anymore, wanting to leave it for her husband.

Zhao Ce smiled and didn't insist on her eating more. After all, the young girl was used to eating plain food, and it wasn't good for her to eat too much greasy food at once. They decided to save the rest for dinner.

After satisfying his hunger, Zhao Ce had more energy to work. He processed the sugar and left it to evaporate and dry.

Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on the door. He left Su Caier in the kitchen and went to answer it. It was one of the children who had received the pork lard scraps earlier, holding the small piece of pork lard scraps and drooling. His parent was behind him, and Zhao Ce remembered that the man was Aunt Chun's husband.

Uncle Feng looked a little uncomfortable when he saw Zhao Ce. He scratched his head and asked, "Mr. Zhao, did you give our child some meat today?"

"This little guy is just greedy. If they dare to come and ask you for meat again in the future, just send them away."

Zhao Ce smiled and replied, "It just so happened that I gave him a small piece of pork lard scraps, which doesn't really count as meat."

Listening to Zhao Ce's casual words, Uncle Feng remembered his wife's sarcastic remarks towards Zhao Ce under the big pagoda tree earlier today. He couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

He directly handed a small basket to Zhao Ce, saying, "Meat is precious, so it's better to leave it for you scholars to eat and replenish your bodies. These are some vegetables and fruits that we grew at home. Take them and eat them."

Zhao Ce tried to refuse, but Uncle Feng didn't listen and directly gave the basket to him, saying, "When you finish eating the vegetables, hang the basket outside your fence. I'll come and take it back when I have time."

As he spoke, he pulled his child and left, afraid that Zhao Ce would refuse again. Zhao Ce looked at the fresh and lively vegetables in the basket and thought about Uncle Feng's hurried departure.

He couldn't help but smile and mutter to himself, "This basket of fresh vegetables came at the right time, just like a pillow when you're feeling sleepy."

"I didn't expect that by giving away a small piece of pork lard scraps, I could even solve the problem of dinner vegetables."

After closing the fence gate, Zhao Ce was about to take the basket of vegetables back to the kitchen when another woman came over, followed by two children who had also received the pork lard scraps. The woman looked uncomfortable and said, "Thank you, Zhao Ce, for giving our children meat today."

After speaking, she handed two eggs to Zhao Ce and didn't listen to his refusal, taking the child and leaving.

Another family also felt uncomfortable and sent over some vegetables they grew themselves, which weren't worth much money.

However, these families all wondered why Zhao Ce had changed so much, no longer looking down on their children and even giving them meat to eat.

Zhao Ce put the vegetables in a large basket and placed the two eggs on top. With this full basket of loot, he returned to the kitchen where the young girl was cooking.

She was surprised to see so many vegetables and, after hearing the reason from her husband, she happily exclaimed, "My husband is so amazing! Everyone is grateful to him, and now we have vegetables to eat!" After selecting the vegetables, she washed a cucumber, stirred it in the wok, and then stir-fried the vegetables with pork fat. She paired it with a bowl of white rice, and both of them ate until they were full.

Afterward, they cleaned up the dishes and put the sugar away. They washed up and went back to their room while it was still a little light outside. Once the door was closed, they were in complete darkness.

Su Caier had already climbed onto the bed, but because she had eaten well and taken a hot bath, she was too excited to sleep. She asked quietly, "Husband, do you have to go out tomorrow?" Zhao Ce replied, "Yes, I'll take this sugar to the city tomorrow to exchange it for some money, and then I'll pay back Uncle's silver first."

When she heard about the silver, Su Caier asked nervously, "Do we owe a lot of money at home?" Zhao Ce teased her, "Well, we owe quite a bit, probably around twenty taels." "Twenty taels?" Su Caier exclaimed in surprise, "That's a lot!" Their family only had a little over five taels in savings.

Their family only had a little over five taels in savings, which wasn't enough to pay off their debts.

Zhao Ce heard the silence next to him and curiously asked, "What are you thinking about?" Although women in ancient times had to rely on their husbands, after years of marriage, they might still have their own dreams and worries.

He wondered if this young girl was scared by their family's high debt. When he asked, Su Caier came back to reality and whispered, "Husband, I heard that selling a bundle of firewood in the city can get 10 wens. If I can sell one bundle every day, I could help you pay off a lot of money in a year. Shall I go up to the mountain tomorrow? As long as I keep my head down, no one in the village will see me."

Zhao Ce was moved by her words and said, "That could help me exchange almost three taels in a year." Su Caier was happy and asked, "Really? I've been trying to calculate it, but the number is too complicated." She realized that her husband was really a learned man.

She flipped over on the bed and said, "Okay, then I'll go to bed early tonight and get up early tomorrow to chop firewood. I'll go with you the day after tomorrow to sell it in the city." Zhao Ce replied, "No, you can chop firewood, and I'll carry the firewood after you finish to sell in the city."

Chopping firewood and selling it was not an easy task, and earning 10 wens was harder than it seemed. Su Caier's words were innocent, but Zhao Ce knew that she was serious. Listening to her shallow breathing next to him, Zhao Ce's heart was touched. He had never seen anyone as pitiful and lovely as her. Then he smiled to himself and silently thought, "Su Caier, I will be good to you in the future."