Chen Rong heard the tone of Fang Pingying and thought she didn’t want them anymore. In a hurried and anxious tone, she said, "Yes, big sister, you don’t want them anymore, do you? My husband and I picked those dates with much difficulty, in several bags, dried them nicely for you. They can be stored for years without going bad..." "Sister-in-law, I want them, why wouldn’t I? I’ve already paid most of the deposit, it would be a waste not to take them." Fang Pingying saw her concern and immediately continued, "Where is your husband? I’ll send someone to bring him over, why don’t you go inside and take a seat?" Upon hearing that Fang Pingying still wanted the dates, Chen Rong immediately relaxed and a smile appeared on her face. She quickly waved her hand and turned around, "No need, I’ll go get him. I know the place." When Luo Zhiyong heard that her husband had brought several bags, he smiled and said he would go with her, "I’ll go with you, and help brother along the way." "Brother, I really appreciate it." Chen Rong thanked him and then went to the village entrance with Luo Zhiyong. Fang Pingying walked into the courtyard, and Luo Honglan asked, "Sister-in-law, who is that outside?" Fang Pingying answered briskly, "It’s from the time we used to do business, remember? I had bought dates from them, and Sister-in-law Chen has brought the dates over." Luo Honglan immediately remembered Chen Rong and said with a smile, "Oh, it’s Sister-in-law Chen. I should have gone out to greet her too." The village entrance wasn’t far from their house, and it didn’t take long before Luo Zhiyong and Chen Rong arrived, pulling a cart of dates. Chen Rong’s husband, tall and big, looked honest and straightforward, not much of a talker. After delivering the goods, he refused to come in, waiting outside, allowing Chen Rong to go into the courtyard to settle the payment with Fang Pingying. According to the initial agreement, Chen Rong said the dates would be charged by weight, totaling eighteen yuan. Fang Pingying had already paid ten yuan as a deposit, so now she only needed to pay eight yuan. Fang Pingying thought the amount was about right, didn’t weigh them again, and directly handed another eight yuan to Chen Rong. After receiving the money, Chen Rong greeted Fang Pingying and then left. Looking at the several bags of dates in the courtyard, Luo Honglan said to Fang Pingying, "Sister-in-law, with so many dates, let’s make pastries to sell. They surely sell well during the New Year." "Are you talking about the pastries you used to make at home?" Fang Xiu, who had worked in the shop for a while, knew how well pastries sold, and immediately echoed Luo Honglan, "Yes, those things also sell well in the provincial city, big sister, go ahead and make them." "You sell these in the provincial city?" Zhou Yunmei understood somewhat and asked Luo Honglan and Fang Xiu, "Do these things earn a lot of money in the provincial city?" Fang Pingying had already told Fang Pingying and Luo Honglan, while they were in the provincial city, not to discuss how much money the shop made at home. Seeing this, Fang Pingying casually said to Zhou Yunmei, "Not much, just tens of dollars a month. Others earn more, we don’t make that much." Zhou Yunmei had an ’I thought so’ expression, "I said so, with you guys, you probably wouldn’t make much." However, after thinking for a while, her eyes brightened, and she continued, "But, making some at home is also good, especially selling some during the New Year. The dates are already bought, it’s better than wasting them." Pingying immediately rejected the idea as soon as she heard it, "No, in the provincial city we’ve already agreed with that boss, we cannot sell elsewhere, we also can’t do it privately." Yun Mei contemptuously curled her lip, "The provincial city is far from here, the boss won’t know. We just sell this batch, after it’s sold, we won’t sell anymore, that’s it." "Exactly, and Uncle Zeng, whom you co-operated with to open the store, is Juzi’s uncle anyway, he wouldn’t mind these things. Just do it, making some money to support the family for the New Year is good too," Fang Xiu added. "Right, let’s do it, we’ll start this afternoon." With Fang Xiu supporting her, Yun Mei became even more enthusiastic, all geared up as she rolled up her sleeves, "Pingying, teach me how. If I learn it, I might as well keep doing it on a regular basis. I’ll sell in the town and you sell in the provincial city, and we, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, can earn all this money." Pingying rolled her eyes, feeling that Yun Mei was really too good at fantasizing; earning money is not that easy. Seeing Yun Mei gearing up , Pingying knew that if she directly refused, Yun Mei might get angry and might come up with other tricks, potentially causing trouble that could tarnish Uncle Zeng’s reputation. Thus, Pingying decided on an indirect approach to solve this dilemma. Pretending to feel unwell, she gently touched her stomach, whispering, "Mom, you saw how I was working on these at home before, it’s a non-stop job. Even if I wanted to, I’m afraid I can’t do it now; my body can’t take it." After saying this, Pingying also gave Zhiyong a meaningful glance. Zhiyong knew what Pingying was thinking; he was reluctant to speak up initially as he felt somewhat guilty about deceiving his own mother with his wife, but knowing his mother’s temperament, he played along with Pingying’s words, whispering a complaint to Yun Mei, "Exactly, mom, are you really that short of money that you need my pregnant wife to earn it with you?" Then it dawned on Yun Mei that Pingying was pregnant, and she immediately stopped arguing, repeatedly saying, "Right, right, I really am forgetful, I forgot about your pregnancy. Then let’s not do it, we don’t lack that bit of money." Pingying smirked secretly and let Zhiyong help her back to the room. As soon as she got back to the room, Pingying was lively and jumping around, no longer pretending to hold her stomach, which didn’t really show anything since it was just over two months. She took a look outside the window and sighed softly. Zhiyong smiled and glanced at her, "Looks like, you’ve touched my mom’s weak spot." "What choice did I have? You saw how your mom’s eyes widened at the mention of money. If I hadn’t spoken like that, she would have probably forced me to share Uncle Zeng’s pastry recipe with her and would have thought up all kinds of strategies," Pingying said rather sternly. "Uncle Zeng has practically paid for that recipe, I couldn’t possibly reveal it." Zhiyong gave a small smile, "If you don’t tell, you don’t tell. My mom is just talking; you take her too seriously. Her personality is not suited for trading." Pingying thought so too. Yun Mei doesn’t like to work and particularly dislikes hassle, and can’t stand being wronged. If she really went into trading, she probably wouldn’t last half a day before arguing with customers. Probably just platitudes after all. In the evening, the family was about to have dinner when Luo Cuilan returned. As Luo Cuilan had left in anger this morning, her mood seemed off this evening, particularly when she saw Pingying and Zhiyong, her look was very disdainful. Pingying and Zhiyong didn’t bother catering to her and continued with dinner preparations. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it with a recommendation or monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)