The meat buns from this stall were especially fragrant—thin-skinned and stuffed with juicy filling. The children ate until their mouths were shiny with grease.
At first, Old Man Wang was too embarrassed to accept the food.
“Madam Chu, this old man can’t just take food from you like this.”
But Chu Fuyu insisted, saying she would also be troubling him to help buy a donkey cart later, and only then did he finally accept the bun.
One meat bun was surprisingly filling. At the very least, after eating, the children stopped complaining about hunger, and Old Man Wang even cracked his whip with more energy than before.
Not long after, the donkey cart slowly rolled into the horse market.
Several horse traders came forward along the way trying to attract customers, but Old Man Wang ignored them all and directly led Chu Fuyu toward the largest stable.
The three children widened their eyes, looking around excitedly.
There were so many donkeys, so many horses—and even more people.
Chu Fuyu repeatedly warned them not to run around. They had to stay close, hold her hand or each other’s hands, otherwise bad people might snatch them away.
Huaijin already had the steady air of an eldest brother. He patted his chest confidently.
“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll keep an eye on my younger brothers and stay close to you.”
Chu Fuyu smiled and rubbed his head.
As expected of her good eldest son—so reliable.
After they got off the cart, a friendly-looking man in his thirties approached them.
“Brother Wang, what brings you here? Buying writing supplies again?”
Old Man Wang chuckled.
“That’s right. But not only that—I’m bringing you business today. Shopkeeper Li, let me introduce you. This is Madam Chu. She wants to buy a donkey. Pick her one that’s healthy, strong, obedient, and free of illness. Also help her set up a cart.”
Hearing this, Shopkeeper Li immediately became even more enthusiastic.
“Madam Chu, you’ve come to the right place if you want a donkey! All my donkeys are fed premium fodder and carefully raised. Every single one is sturdy and strong enough to haul plenty of cargo!”
Chu Fuyu smiled and nodded.
“I trust Old Man Wang, so naturally I trust Shopkeeper Li as well. Please help me choose one—preferably one with a gentler temperament.”
Shopkeeper Li eagerly led them deeper into the stable.
Chu Fuyu followed along while Huaijin carefully held onto his younger brothers and his mother’s hand.
After circling the stable for a while, Shopkeeper Li finally led out a donkey and proudly presented it.
“This one’s a newly imported Gaochang breed. Look at its muzzle and hooves—top quality.
This donkey has excellent endurance and a good temperament. It rarely kicks up a fuss and has plenty of strength. Pulling five or six heavy chests at once wouldn’t be a problem. The only downside is that it eats a lot and loves snacks.”
Chu Fuyu immediately followed Old Man Wang’s lead in inspecting the donkey.
Clearly, Old Man Wang was far more experienced. He opened the donkey’s mouth to inspect its teeth, checked the hooves, and even felt its ears. After a full inspection, he finally nodded in satisfaction.
“It’s indeed a good donkey. It should still be able to haul loads for another twelve or thirteen years without issue.”
Once the donkey was chosen, Chu Fuyu agreed immediately.
She also had Shopkeeper Li attach a cart and include plenty of premium fodder.
When it came time to discuss the price, Shopkeeper Li asked for three taels of silver for the donkey and cart together. Old Man Wang helped bargain the price down, ultimately saving her another five hundred copper coins.
Chu Fuyu couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
That three-copper meat bun had truly been worth it—it had saved her five hundred copper coins.
As expected, Old Man Wang was experienced. The old really were wiser.
After the cart was prepared, Chu Fuyu successfully learned how to drive the donkey cart with Old Man Wang’s help.
The three children were ecstatic, circling around their family’s new donkey nonstop.
“Big Brother, our family has a donkey cart now! Does this mean we can come to town every day to eat buns?” Huaiyi’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Huaijin had also been delighted, but hearing that made him helpless.
“Huaiyi, why do you only ever think about food?”
Huaiyu immediately corrected him.
“Big Brother, you can’t call him Sanmao anymore. He has a proper name now—Huaiyi.”
Huaijin could only nod.
“Alright, alright. Huaiyi.”
Huaiyi didn’t care about any of that. He quickly climbed onto the cart and urged excitedly,
“Big Brother, Second Brother, hurry up! Let Mother drive us around!”
Shopkeeper Li happily pocketed the money and cheerfully saw them off.
Seeing that Chu Fuyu could now handle the donkey cart fairly well on her own, Old Man Wang finally relaxed and bid them farewell.
“Madam Chu, it’s getting late. You should go buy your things now. I need to buy writing supplies too.”
Chu Fuyu quickly nodded.
“Thank you so much, Old Man Wang! Please go ahead.”
After parting ways with him, Chu Fuyu slowly drove the donkey cart forward while the three children chattered excitedly in the back the entire way.
“Wow, our donkey is amazing! It walks so fast!”
“This cart is so new! Much newer than Grandpa Wang’s!”
“Mother, are you tired from driving the cart?”
Listening to her sons’ cheerful voices filled Chu Fuyu’s heart with warmth.
How wonderful.
Life should be like this—getting better and better day by day.
The donkey truly was as excellent as Shopkeeper Li had promised. Its temperament was exceptionally gentle, and as long as it was fed properly, it obediently followed every command.
Next, Chu Fuyu planned to take her sons on a massive shopping spree.
Their first stop was the largest clothing shop in Xing’an Town, called Embroidered Silk Pavilion.
The moment Chu Fuyu stepped inside holding the children’s hands, they were greeted by rows upon rows of dazzling garments.
The fabrics were soft, the embroidery exquisite—a sharp contrast to the coarse linen clothes they themselves wore.
Besides ordinary fabrics, there were also thick fur-lined garments made from animal pelts. They looked fluffy, warm, and highly resistant to the cold.
The three children stared blankly at the clothes before them, too afraid to touch anything.
Since childhood, they had only ever worn rough linen. They owned merely one or two sets each throughout the year, freezing in winter and sweltering in summer.
How could they have ever seen such beautiful things before?
Chu Fuyu, however, remained much calmer.
The shopkeeper of Embroidered Silk Pavilion was surnamed Zhou—a gentle and elegant woman slightly older than Chu Fuyu, with an especially approachable temperament.
Even though Chu Fuyu and the children were poorly dressed, Shopkeeper Zhou still patiently introduced every item with care.
“Young Madam, your children are so adorable. They should wear red—it’s festive and lively.
And this one here is filled with premium cotton stuffing. Thick and warm. The weather is already cold now, and it’ll get even colder in a few days. This padded jacket is excellent for warmth.
And these two can even be worn through the New Year. Look at this fur—so dense. Finest rabbit fur.”
Shopkeeper Zhou was beautiful and soft-spoken, yet there was something naturally convincing about her words.
After examining the clothes carefully, Chu Fuyu found that the quality truly was excellent.
Looking at the children shivering slightly in the autumn wind, she waved her hand decisively and bought each child five or six new outfits.
There were inner garments, padded winter clothes, and rabbit-fur cloaks.
Seeing Chu Fuyu spend so generously, Shopkeeper Zhou’s smile widened even further.
She warmly held Chu Fuyu’s hand and began introducing women’s clothing instead.
“Sister, raising children on your own can’t be easy. But besides buying clothes for the children, you should dress yourself up too.”