“Coming right up! Your wonton is ready, enjoy!”
The wonton stall owner raised his hand high and skillfully poured a ladle of broth into the bowl.
As the ladle emptied, the small bowl was filled to the brim.
He placed the wonton before Sun Tieniu, casually collecting the copper coins he had laid out.
A small bowl of wonton cost five coppers, which actually pained Sun Tieniu to spend.
But the fragrant sesame oil aroma wafting into his nose was so enticing that it made Sun Tieniu feel it was worth it.
Just as he was happily eating a bite of baked wheaten cake followed by a spoonful of wonton, a sudden commotion of arguing erupted behind Sun Tieniu.
Turning his head to look, he saw an elderly woman holding a four or five-year-old boy scolding a young woman.
The young woman was also holding a one or two-year-old child in her arms.
The child in the young woman’s arms had its eyes open and wasn’t crying, whereas the boy held by the elderly woman kept clamoring to eat meat.
“Meat, meat, all you know is meat! Where would our family get money to buy you meat? Do I look like meat to you? Why don’t you just eat me instead!”
Though the elderly woman’s tone was fierce, her action of only buying wonton for the boy showed she doted on him greatly.
But upon hearing his grandmother say this, the boy actually opened his mouth wide and tried to bite her arm.
This startled the young woman beside them, who quickly reached out to grab the boy’s collar.
The young woman pulled with considerable force, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall backward.
This in turn frightened the elderly woman, who leaned forward hastily and pulled the boy back into her arms.
The boy burst into terrified wails, and the elderly woman immediately began loudly berating the young woman.
“Are you trying to kill him? Using so much force! Did you deliberately want to drop my precious grandson?”
After scolding, she lowered her head to comfort the boy.
“Oh, you scared my precious grandson! Don’t cry, my dear, grandma will hit her for you! I’ll beat her to death!”
Saying this, the elderly woman raised her hand and began throwing punches at the young woman, appearing to strike without holding back at all.
“Look, my dear, grandma is hitting her! Useless thing, you can’t even tell a simple lie! When the adults asked if this girl was born at the hour of you on the fifth day of the ninth month, you couldn’t even say ‘yes’? Worthless! What use was it for our family to marry you? A hundred taels of silver! Gone just like that! Are you and that money-losing goods even worth ten taels together? That was a gleaming hundred taels! Wastrel…”
The elderly woman continued her tirade against the young woman, who kept her head bowed, not daring to make a sound.
The shrill voice still echoed in his ears, but Sun Tieniu could no longer make out the words. At this moment, only two phrases echoed in his mind:
The fifth day of the ninth month at the hour of you, and one hundred taels of silver.
Amid the elderly woman’s acrimonious scolding, the boy finished his bowl of wonton.
Just as he started fussing to eat more, the elderly woman finally stopped talking. She half-dragged, half-carried the boy, tossed five coppers on the table, muttering “What kind of black market stall is this, charging five coppers for a miserable bowl of wonton! This is robbery!”, and left the wonton stall.
Seeing her mother-in-law leave, the young woman gave an awkward smile to the stall owner and hurriedly followed with her child.
The owner walked over to the table with a rag, picked up the copper coins from the table, and spat on the ground in disgust.
“Hmph! Trading your granddaughter’s life for money, aren’t you afraid it’ll shorten your lifespan?”
The shopkeeper’s voice wasn’t loud, but since he was close to Sun Tieniu, the latter still overheard him.
“Shopkeeper, do you know what they’re talking about?”
Hearing Sun Tieniu’s question, the wonton stall owner didn’t take it seriously and casually explained.
After all, this matter had long been spreading through the town, and only country folks like Sun Tieniu wouldn’t know about it.
“Hey! It’s about that noble in the imperial city who wants to refine Longevity Pills. They need children born in the hour of the rooster on the fifth day of the ninth month as medicinal ingredients. So the provincial government sent officials to find eligible children. If selected, they’ll give a hundred taels of silver.”
Upon hearing about the hundred taels, Sun Tieniu’s eyes widened like a bull’s.
“A hundred taels! That much?! Really?”
Seeing the faint excitement on Sun Tieniu’s face, the wonton stall owner’s expression darkened slightly.
From his appearance, he seemed like an honest farmer, but it turns out he’s just like that wicked old woman!
“Heh, they really do give it. But those officials aren’t fools—they won’t take just any child! They have their methods of inspection. Like that case earlier, it was fortunate they told the truth—at worst, they got driven out. Those who lied didn’t come out of the government office in one piece!”
After saying this, the shopkeeper noticed the excitement fade from Sun Tieniu’s face and snorted coldly again. Without caring that there was still a mouthful of wonton soup left in Sun Tieniu’s bowl, he directly took the bowl away and started wiping the table.
Truly, morals are declining—people would even abandon their children for silver!
Preoccupied with these thoughts, Sun Tieniu didn’t mind the shopkeeper’s gesture equivalent to driving away a customer. He shouldered his Back Basket and headed toward where the Village Chief had parked the oxcart, even forgetting to buy the grain and salt he needed.
By the time all the villagers had finished their shopping and returned, the Old Village Chief had already driven the oxcart quite a distance, yet Sun Tieniu still hadn’t snapped out of his daze.
A hundred taels of silver! He’d never seen that much money in all his life!
Sigh! Why did it have to be those born in the hour of the rooster on the fifth day of the ninth month? If it were those born in the hour of the tiger on the seventeenth day of the fourth month, his little daughter would have been perfect!
A hundred taels of silver!
Just as he was thinking this, the words “fifth day of the ninth month” suddenly reached his ears. Sun Tieniu immediately snapped back to reality and turned to look toward the source of the voice, discovering it was Granny Li speaking from her seat on the oxcart.
At that moment, Granny Li was measuring a piece of red string with her hands, which looked like a bracelet for a little girl.
An old woman beside her, seeing the swiftly moving red string in her hands, asked, “Forty-five loops? Isn’t that a bit too big? A six-month-old baby can’t wear that, can she?”
Granny Li looked at the bracelet she had just finished weaving and shook her head with a smile.
“Not too big, not too big! The baby from Lao Xu Jia was born on the fifth day of the ninth month—forty-five loops is just right!”
The old woman beside her also nodded. “You’re right. And you’re so skilled—I could never weave one. I just bought a ready-made hair ribbon.”
Knowing she was just being polite, Granny Li didn’t take it to heart. “It’s all the same, it’s all the same. It’s just the thought that counts.”
The two old women chatted happily, and others nearby, hearing them, joined in.
That was when everyone realized they had all, as if by unspoken agreement, bought something for Xiao Fu Bao from Lao Xu Jia.
Most items were hair ties and candies, with some like Granny Li purchasing colored threads and fabric scraps to sew pouches or make Chinese knots upon returning home.
Only Sun Tieniu’s Back Basket remained completely empty.
Everyone glanced at him briefly but didn’t dwell on it—after all, it was normal for a grown man to be forgetful.
Though no one meant anything by it, Sun Tieniu felt intensely awkward. Yet clearer than his embarrassment was a surge of excitement.
He remembered!
That little lucky treasure of the Xu family—wasn’t she born at the hour of you (5-7 PM) on the fifth day of the ninth month!
The Lao Xu Jia truly was a blessed household. Even after Xu Lao Si’s death, the child he left behind could be worth a hundred taels of silver!
If his family had a hundred taels, not only would they never go hungry again, but they could order anything they wanted from the town’s restaurants!
At this thought, Sun Tieniu grew exhilarated, but the next moment, his spirits sank even deeper.
No matter how much he fantasized, it was futile—the child wasn’t his.
Lost in these thoughts, Sun Tieniu’s steps faltered abruptly.
Who said the child couldn’t become his?