Chapter 50: Theft
The first thing the mother and daughter did when they got home was to string Copper Coins. After spending some time stringing all the loose money together, they began counting the amount.
"How much?" Zhang Zhaodi looked at Su Yaoguang eagerly.
Su Yaoguang first took out a share of Silver and said, "This is what I saved before."
She then pointed to the second pile of Silver, resembling a small hill, and said, "This is what Sister Chun’e gave me this morning."
The last pile, which had more loose money, was what they earned today.
Before Su Yaoguang could announce the total amount, Zhang Zhaodi counted it herself, her hand holding the Silver trembling non-stop, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"In total, it’s twenty-nine taels of Silver and five hundred thirty-two Copper Coins."
Su Yaoguang smiled and said, "This amount of money is enough for us to chew on for two years. If we spend sparingly, it could last three years. Mom, aren’t you relieved now? You don’t have to worry about going hungry."
"Don’t forget, we are also supporting a scholar now. This amount of money would only last a little over a year." Zhang Zhaodi said, "But my daughter is capable, there’s nothing much to worry about."
"Right now, everything is selling well, but these goods have a long shelf life. Once everyone who wants them has bought them, business will certainly decline. Unless we find new customers and sell our goods to more people in need, there’s actually a place where these rouge and powders are very much needed. If we sell to them, our business would definitely not be bad."
"Which place?"
"The brothel."
"No way." Zhang Zhaodi said with a cold face, "Even if we’re poor, we’re still daughters of a decent family, how can we go to such a place? Even if I starve to death, I won’t let you step into such a place."
"Mom, those girls didn’t willingly fall into such a life either..."
"I said no means no, this is not up for discussion." Zhang Zhaodi glared at Su Yaoguang, "Your courage is growing, you really dare to earn any kind of money."
Seeing her mother’s resolute attitude, Su Yaoguang had no way around it. She wouldn’t go to the brothel, but if they put up a sign, those women would eventually come to them on their own.
"Tomorrow I’m going to Sister Chun’e’s place to do makeup for her cousin. Let’s rest today and not make any more rouge and powders." Su Yaoguang said, "Let’s make dumplings for dinner!"
Second Aunt Su jogged back to the yard and said to Grandma Su, who was collecting clothes in the yard, "Mom, I just saw Zhang Zhaodi and Su Yaoguang carrying two big baskets of things back."
Grandma Su looked at her angrily, "Are you trying to infuriate me? What does it matter to us if those two wicked girls brought things back? We’re already cut off from them."
"If I’d known, I wouldn’t have helped auntie scheme against her. Now we’ve torn faces, and we don’t even have the chance to take advantage. What did we gain from this?" Second Aunt Su grumbled discontentedly.
"With this time spent watching them, why don’t you look after your son properly? Didn’t you hear Dabao crying again?" Grandma Su, already angry, was angrier now.
Second Aunt Su went inside and picked up Su Dabao, holding him in her arms to soothe him. Suddenly, seeing Su Dabao’s small figure, a glint flashed in her eyes, and an idea arose in her mind.
"Dabao, do you want to eat meat?" Second Aunt Su asked in a low voice.
"Yes." Su Dabao licked his lips, "Mom, are we having meat today?"
"Whether we can eat meat today depends on your performance." Second Aunt Su patted his head. "Just listen to mom later, okay?"
In the evening, as they were about to eat dumplings, Zhang Zhaodi went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables for the filling while Su Yaoguang carried a bucket to the well. The mother and daughter left the yard one after the other and made sure to lock the door before leaving.
What they didn’t know was that just after they left, a small figure sneaked in through a hole in the hedged yard.
When Su Yaoguang returned with water, she stopped as she walked into the yard. She looked around and muttered to herself in confusion, "Strange, I feel like something’s not right."
As she muttered, she poured the well water into the water tank. When she came out again with the empty bucket and walked through the courtyard, her gaze stopped at the cage not far away.
The cage contained two little rabbits that Zhou Wangshu had caught on the hill last time, which she had been taking care of every day. Now the cage door was open, and the rabbits were gone.
She put the bucket down and started looking around the yard. After searching for a while, she couldn’t find the rabbits, but the small hole at the corner of the hedged yard was exposed in front of her.
She parted the nearby branches, examined the small hole, and found a piece of cloth.
"What’s wrong?" Zhang Zhaodi returned.
"Our rabbits have been stolen." Su Yaoguang handed her the piece of cloth.
Zhang Zhaodi took one look at it and recognized it as fabric from Su Dabao’s clothing, and she snorted coldly, "They really know how to bring us bad luck. Daughter, I’ll go get the rabbits back."
"We didn’t catch them red-handed, and if we go ask for the rabbits now, we definitely won’t get them back." Su Yaoguang said, "If we want them to return the things, we’ll have to use some means."
"What means?" Zhang Zhaodi asked, "Speak quickly. I’ve been bullied by their family for more than ten years, and I’ve had enough. Now that we’ve severed our ties, I don’t have to be polite to them anymore."
"Later, you’ll do this..." Su Yaoguang whispered a few words into Zhang Zhaodi’s ear. "Don’t worry, I’ll first go prepare something, and send them a big gift."
At Uncle Su’s house, Grandma Su was holding a rabbit in one hand, her wrinkled face filled with a proud expression.
"My darling grandson is truly capable, he managed to get two such plump rabbits for free. To prevent any trouble later, let’s cook them all tonight and enjoy a feast."
"Mom, Su Yao’er has been bullying us for so long, these two rabbits can be considered compensation for us. Doesn’t that make you feel better?" Second Aunt Su laughed heartily.
"That brat is now very cunning. If she comes over, she’s sure to make a big fuss again." Grandpa Su said worriedly.
Uncle Su dismissed him, "She didn’t see it, on what basis can she say the rabbits are here? Even if she found the rabbit meat in our home, she can’t prove they’re her rabbits."
"Exactly. All rabbits look the same, what evidence does she have to prove the rabbits in our home are hers? Even if this case went to the County Magistrate, it would probably be difficult to judge."
"I just don’t feel comfortable."
"You’re just scared of her. Cowardly, you won’t amount to anything in this life, which is why a junior can run rampant over you." Grandma Su cursed him, "If you’re scared, don’t eat, we can eat it ourselves."
Grandpa Su said sheepishly, "The old lady is right, I’ll listen to you."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone was knocking on the door.
Grandma Su and Second Aunt Su exchanged glances.
Grandma Su told Su Dabao to go to his room and also locked the rabbits in his room, then instructed Second Aunt Su to open the door.
Second Aunt Su opened the door and saw Zhang Zhaodi.
Only to see Zhang Zhaodi anxiously asking, "Have you seen two rabbits?"