The leading child suppressed the excitement in his heart, "Sister, we can get them. We guard the seaside, and we can get a lot of these things. I don't know how many you need in total, and will you still send them here?"
"Just send them here. There are mule carts here. If there are many, send them directly to my place," Qi Zhenzhen said after thinking.
"Sister, we also have mule carts in our village. Just tell us a place, and we'll send them directly. I can drive a mule cart, so it's convenient," the child said. "My name is Lian Bei, and I gathered all these shells."
"Are you a girl or a boy?" Qi Zhenzhen asked.
Lian Bei scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed. "I, I'm a girl. This outfit was worn by my elder brother. It's troublesome and uses a lot of fabric to alter it for a girl to wear, so I'm making do. Tying my hair like this is convenient. It's also very convenient for running around."
Looking closely, her brows and the corners of her eyes were indeed delicate, not like a boy's.
"Is it convenient for you to deliver the goods?" Qi Zhenzhen asked again.
"Convenient, very convenient. I sometimes help my elder brother deliver fish," Lian Bei patted her chest with a thud. "Sister, you can rest assured."
Qi Zhenzhen gave the address and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Please take these things back first and send them to me together later."
"Sister trusts us? Aren't you afraid we'll take the money and disappear?" Lian Bei asked curiously.
"Could it be that your vision is so short-sighted that you can only see this one or two taels of silver?" Qi Zhenzhen retorted.
Lian Bei grinned happily, her white teeth perfectly aligned. "Sister, don't worry, I will definitely handle your business well."
After speaking, she waved her hand, directing the other children to take the shells back.
During this time, the eldest Madam Zhang did not speak or intervene.
"Don't you think I'm acting recklessly, Eldest Aunt?" Qi Zhenzhen linked her arm with the eldest Madam Zhang.
The eldest Madam Zhang shook her head, "If it were someone else, I might have stopped her. This little girl is Lian Bei, and I trust her."
This meant she knew Lian Bei.
"Why?" Qi Zhenzhen asked.
"She's from Lianjia Village, ten li away from our Tuan Island. Last year, her parents encountered a storm at sea and not even a scrap of cloth was found, their bodies were gone. Only she and her elder brother were left at home. I remember her brother was thirteen and she was nine. Their grandparents and elder uncle's family didn't even handle the funeral for her parents, they just hastily divided the property. They only gave the siblings three mud houses, and all the land was taken away with the excuse that they were too young to manage it. This Lian Bei is feisty. She made a scene at their village head's place, and the clan elders and the village head made a decision for them. They managed to get the Lian family's grandparents and the elder branch to give grain instead of land, thus securing provisions for her and her brother. This girl is capable. She and her brother handled the funeral for their parents. The villagers, seeing their plight, generously donated. It's said that after more than half a year, the siblings paid off their debts from the famine." The eldest Madam Zhang said, "How could a child like this embezzle your silver and not do the job?"
Qi Zhenzhen smiled, "I just felt that this little girl's eyes were clear and held a cleverness, so she would definitely understand that this deal offered more than just immediate benefits."
"That's true."
The two entered the house hand in hand. Grandma Lin asked who had come. The eldest Madam Zhang told her about Lian Bei, and Grandma Lin also began to praise her, "In ten villages around, I've never seen such a capable little girl. One can't help but admire her. She handles everything inside and out. Even though she has an elder brother, she is the one in charge of their household."
"It's all forced by life. Otherwise, at her age, she would still be growing up protected by her parents?" The eldest Madam Zhang chimed in, "Look at our two children."
It's still true that children from poor families grow up quickly. Forced by life, both adults and children grow up very fast.
When they sat down for lunch, they heard noisy sounds from the doorway. Uncle Lin put down his chopsticks and went out. Good heavens, the entire Zhang family, old and young, had arrived.
Regardless of anything else, the two families were still in-laws, and guests who came to the door should be treated well.
Lin Ruichun smiled and welcomed them in, but the Zhang family stood still.
"In-laws, Uncle and Aunt, it's cold outside, please come in quickly. Have you eaten? You haven't eaten at this hour, have you? We just finished cooking. Come in and eat together. My father is looking forward to having a drink with Uncle." Lin Ruichun said.
"We can't afford your wine, our old Zhang family," the younger brother of Madam Zhang said indignantly. "They are capable of divorcing my sister, so why are they pretending to be nice?"
Lin Ruichun rubbed his hands, "What are you talking about, brother-in-law? No matter what happens, we should go inside to talk, right? Standing at the door is not appropriate."
"What? You think it's embarrassing? If you think it's embarrassing, then don't do such things! And you still want to cover it up? Aren't you disgusting? Yesterday, my wife and I came and everything was fine. Then my sister came back, and then your Lin family divided the property. Now look, no one even came to the door. What, are you taking our Zhang family lightly?" The younger brother of Madam Zhang shouted.
"Brother-in-law, you are determined to meddle in our Lin family's affairs and determined to send your elder sister back to your Zhang family, right? If that's the case, then let's talk at the door." Lin Ruichun's face darkened.
The mother of the younger Madam Zhang pulled her son, "You scoundrel, you're freezing outside, but will your elder sister freeze? Who will be responsible if something happens to her?"
After speaking, she helped Madam Zhang into the house.
Seeing this, the other members of the Zhang family also followed them in. The younger brother of Madam Zhang drove the mule cart into the yard, tied it up, and then followed them into the house.
Grandfather Lin and Grandma Lin invited the Zhang family to sit down and eat. The eldest Madam Zhang went back to the kitchen to busy herself. The Zhang family didn't just have one or two people; the food they had prepared would definitely not be enough.
"Eldest sister-in-law, make me a sweet water poached egg and steam a small sponge cake. I've been craving these two days," Madam Zhang followed the eldest Madam Zhang into the kitchen and said.
The eldest Madam Zhang glanced at her, feeling a bit strange. Even if her parents came, she shouldn't be treating herself like a guest. She looked like she had something to rely on.
After Madam Zhang finished speaking, she returned to the dining table with a smug look.
Grandma Lin frowned. This second daughter-in-law was becoming more and more out of line. Was she treating herself as a guest today?
"In-laws, brother and sister-in-law, come, let's eat first. The eldest daughter-in-law will prepare a few more dishes. Just say whatever you want to eat," Grandma Lin invited.
The Zhang family did not stand on ceremony. They each picked up a pair of chopsticks and started eating.
The eldest Madam Zhang then brought out a basin of oysters stewed with tofu and a plate of pan-fried small dried fish, as well as the sweet water poached egg and steamed sponge cake that Madam Zhang had requested.
Unexpectedly, Madam Zhang pinched her nose with an exaggerated expression, "Eldest sister-in-law, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? These small dried fish are so fishy, and you're serving them like this?"