As she looked up, she saw Er Zhu waving at her with a foolish grin not far away...
The sunset glow fell on Er Zhu's face, making him look even more handsome!
"Er Zhu!"
Li Mei's eyes turned red. She called out and ran towards Er Zhu with her arms outstretched.
It's great that he's back!
It's good that he's okay!
Holding tightly onto his sturdy waist and feeling Er Zhu's familiar presence, Li Mei's eyes reddened further.
Since her husband's death, she and Er Zhu had relied on each other.
Unknowingly, Er Zhu had become her sole concern!
Er Zhu also embraced Li Mei. The warmth and softness in his arms gave Er Zhu an indescribable feeling.
His lower abdomen slowly heated up, and a restless emotion surged in his heart!
No, he had to resist!
Er Zhu took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and slowly moved back.
Feeling Er Zhu's movement, Li Mei finally reacted and quickly let go of him.
Although Er Zhu was foolish, he was a man nonetheless.
Men and women should not touch!
"It's good that you're alright. Don't run off carelessly again. Let's go home."
Li Mei took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in her heart, and moved aside to make way for Er Zhu.
Er Zhu was stunned. Seeing that Li Mei didn't dare to meet his eyes, he understood her concern.
There were already many gossips around a widow's door, and if this scene were seen, who knew what the villagers would say.
Sister Mei already had enough troubles; he didn't want to cause her any more.
With that thought, Er Zhu grinned foolishly and pointed at the sack behind him:
"Here, this is three thousand yuan!"
"Alright, stop fooling around, let's go back first."
Er Zhu wanted to say more, but Li Mei, without even looking at the contents of the basket, dropped this sentence and walked home.
Watching Li Mei's hurried back, Er Zhu smiled wryly, speechless.
She still treated him like a fool!
Er Zhu said nothing more. He followed Li Mei and slowly walked towards home.
In the blink of an eye, they had finished dinner.
After Li Mei tidied everything up, she sat on the kang, tilting her head in thought.
She had to go out to borrow money tomorrow.
But who could she, a widow, borrow from?
Over the years, she had borrowed from all her relatives and friends.
Let alone lending her money, they now avoided her name!
"Sigh!"
Li Mei propped her chin with one hand and sighed deeply.
"Sister Mei, don't worry, we have money!"
Seeing Li Mei's worried expression, Er Zhu pointed at the two sacks in the corner.
"That's the good stuff I found in the back mountain. That three thousand yuan is definitely no problem!"
Just as Li Mei was about to ask, Er Zhu earnestly assured her.
Looking at Er Zhu's sincere expression, although Li Mei still had doubts, she nodded heavily.
Even though Er Zhu was foolish, she would believe him as long as he said it!
"Let's sleep. Leave everything to me."
Seeing Li Mei nod, Er Zhu smiled slightly.
The next morning, Er Zhu carried the sacks to town.
Looking at the bustling market, Er Zhu felt a sense of unreality.
But he couldn't afford to marvel now. He laid out the wild chickens and Polygonum multiflorum on the ground and shouted loudly.
"How much for this wild chicken?"
After about five minutes of shouting, a very low voice came.
Then, Er Zhu saw a sallow, shaky man pointing at the wild chicken on the ground and asking.
His voice was weak, his energy depleted, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
This was a deficiency of vital essence!
"Brother, you have a deficiency of vital essence. Wild chicken is not as good for replenishment as Polygonum multiflorum."
As Er Zhu spoke, he picked up a section of Polygonum multiflorum he had already cut.
Looking at the dark, root-like object, the man's face turned even paler!
Damn it, when a person is unlucky, even drinking cold water will get stuck in their teeth.
He just wanted to buy a wild chicken to supplement his health, but he ran into a swindler!
"What are you doing? Are you trying to pass off tree roots as Polygonum multiflorum to sell to me?"
"Are you thinking I'm easy to bully?"
Er Zhu's good intentions were not met with gratitude but with a barrage of curses.
The man's voice was loud, and soon Er Zhu's stall was surrounded.
"You young man are not being honest. You're cheating someone because you know they can't fight back."
"Exactly, Polygonum multiflorum, even a fool knows that's just common tree roots!"
"People like this should be thrown out. They're shaming our market!"
...
Within a few minutes, the crowd was criticizing Er Zhu from all sides, and Er Zhu had become the most hated unscrupulous merchant in the market!
The man who had bought the wild chicken was even more furious, pointing at Er Zhu and roaring:
"Let's all go up and overturn this swindler's stall!"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone rushed forward, clearly intending to overturn the stall.
"Stop! This is Polygonum multiflorum. I'm doing this for your own good!"
Er Zhu shielded the wild chickens and Polygonum multiflorum, his brow furrowed as he roared at the man.
He had intended to help the man, but instead, he was met with such abuse!
In this day and age, it was truly difficult to be a good person.
"Polygonum multiflorum my foot! If this is Polygonum multiflorum, then I'm your grandson!"
Seeing that Er Zhu was still arguing, the man was even more enraged, jumping and cursing as he rushed forward.
Instantly, the market, which had been orderly, descended into chaos.
"Alright, everyone stop!"
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, an aged voice suddenly rang out.
Everyone stopped and looked in surprise at the white-haired old man slowly approaching.
The old man wore a long robe. Although he was skin and bones, he was spirited, especially his bright eyes, which were no different from a young man's!
Old Wang rarely came out to shop these days, but he had encountered this scene!
"Old Wang, this unscrupulous merchant, who has lost all conscience, is trying to pass off tree roots as Polygonum multiflorum. You must uphold justice for us!"
Seeing Old Wang, the man seemed to have found a savior. He supported Old Wang as he walked forward and fiercely pointed at Er Zhu.
"Yes, this person is utterly shameless!"
"Old Wang is a renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctor. Let's see what you have to say to him!"
"What's there to say? Just beat him to death!"
...
As soon as the man finished speaking, the surrounding crowd chimed in.
Judging by their angry expressions, it was as if Er Zhu had a deep-seated hatred with them!
"Kid, you're unlucky today!"
Old Wang walked up to Er Zhu and gave him a fierce glare.
These unscrupulous merchants, daring to pass off tree roots as medicinal herbs, were simply abominable!
Although Old Wang hadn't seen the Polygonum multiflorum, he had already concluded that Er Zhu was an unscrupulous merchant just by looking at his shabby clothes!
Old Wang ignored Er Zhu and directly picked up the Polygonum multiflorum nearby to examine it carefully.
Er Zhu also ignored him, standing silently in place, openly and honestly.
"Shameless swindler, do you really think we common folk are easy to bully?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, a woman around fifty years old suddenly shouted.