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Chapter 208: Meeting the Yang family again
Eventually, everyone picked their material. Third Aunt also helped Lian Fang Zhou pick out two fabrics, one with begonia and red-embroidered orchids and one with white-embroidered wisteria flowers, a set of inner clothes made of silk. This was enough for Lian Fang Zhou but she also personally picked out a dark blue floral fabric and one with dark green bamboo leaves on a brown-green background for Ah Jian.
They also ordered several pieces of cowhide and suede to make the leather boots, knee pads, and gloves.
The total cost for the fabric and workmanship was twenty-three taels of silver.
Lian Fang Zhou happily paid the bill. Several people came from the back hall to measure their bodies. For the servants, Lian Fang Zhou gave them a rough estimate of size and agreed to come pick everything up in four days.
Aunt Zhang, Madam Zhao, and Li Juan also bought several items for their family. The three women in their family could make clothes, so they didn’t need to have it made in the shop. They just bought some more needles and thread and prepared to take it all home.
It was not easy to walk around with these things, so Aunt Zhang temporarily stored the fabrics in the store and said that she would come back later.
Everyone smiled and walked out. As they left, they bumped into a group of three or four people, shocking all of them.
Faced with Yang Huai Shan’s bright eyes full of surprise, Lian Fang Zhou turned her head in disgust and cursed in her heart.
A trace of hurt flashed through Yang Huai Shan’s eyes, looking sad.
Old Madam Yang looked at her son and then at Lian Fang Zhou. Seeing that Aunt Zhang was there, she didn’t dare be too daring, but she stomped hard on the ground and rolled her eyes at Lian Fang Zhou, slapping at her. “No one wants a bastard, don’t show me that coquettish look! Thanks to my old lady, my eyes are bright even in my old age, so I don’t have to look at you all day long!”
Old Madam Yang’s voice was sharp and shrill, and she didn’t intend to hide it at all. When she spoke, she stared straight at Lian Fang Zhou, as if she was afraid that no one would know who she was talking about.
Lian Ze and the others glared at her.
Third Aunt opened her eyes wide and screamed at Old Madam Yang: “What nonsense are you talking about, you old bitch! Do you have to be this shameless every time!?”
“Mother, please don’t say anything, many people are watching.” Yang Huai Shan also hurriedly pulled Old Madam Yang’s sleeve gently, whispering.
“It’s good for everyone to watch! Shameless bitch! She couldn’t seduce my son so she hooked up with other men! Really couldn’t stand to be lonely!” Old Madam Yang said, her eyes falling on Ah Jian’s body as she sneered.
At this, Yang Huai Shan’s hand was shook off, and she stared at him with a bit of hatred for iron not being steel. It seemed that he didn’t agree with her and refused to scold Lian Fang Zhou as he should.
“What nonsense are you saying!” Lian Ze was furious and turned his head to glare at Old Madam Yang, his face flushed.
On the other hand, the reaction of the two guilty parties, Lian Fang Zhou and Ah Jian, were surprisingly calm. While Ah Jian gently tugged at Lian Ze, signaling him to shut up, Lian Fang Zhou grabbed Third Aunt, who was about to jump out and scold Old Madam Yang.
She sighed softly: “Auntie, why bother?” She tugged Lian Ze and said, “Let’s go.”
“Yes, good boy! Don’t worry about gossip!” Aunt Zhang said with a light sigh.
“Since it’s just gossip, I won’t take it to heart!” Lian Fang Zhou smiled.
Admits the chattering crowd, Lian Fang Zhou and her party walked out of the shop.
The people’s comments were obviously not as good as Old Madam Yang had expected and did not spur accusations of Lian Fang Zhou, but rather talked about her. This made Old Madam Yang very embarrassed and she stared hatefully at Lian Fang Zhou’s back, her face red and white.
Suddenly, Old Madam Yang was hit in the knee by a small object, who knew where it came from. She staggered and involuntarily fell on top of white-skinned middle-aged man wearing a brown robe.
At first glance, she seemed to be deliberately seducing him.
A young woman exclaimed ‘ah!’ in surprised at the same time that the middle-aged man also shouted “Ah!”
“Shameless bitch, just what are you trying to do!” The woman next to the middle-aged man screamed in fury, voice full of hostility and contempt. She angrily pushed Old Madam Yang away and pointed at her, cursing: “What are you doing with my husband! How old are you to be so shameless!”
Everyone looked over and all began to laugh loudly.
The middle-aged man was also very angry, flicking his sleeves aside in disgust.
In the crowd, there were many men, women, and children. Old Madam Yang’s face was rose red but she was not willing to show weakness and cursed back: “It’s obviously your man who hit me, how dare you scold this old woman!”
The middle-aged man glared at her in disbelief and said with a digusted look: “You? You’re not even as good looking as my old mother! Are you so cheap, you’ll take anymore? No one wants it!”
The crowd laughed again.
“I’ll beat you to death!” Old Madam Yang screamed, rushing forward…
The shop was suddenly very chaotic.
Lian Fang Zhou and the others, who hadn’t walked very far away, stopped when Old Madam Yang and the middle-aged man started screaming, looking back curiously.
The Lian siblings all had bright eyes and smiles on their faces. They gloated and cursed: “It’s real retribution, she deserves it!”
“If such an old woman is so shameless, then the Yang family hasn’t had a good thing since she was young! Fang Zhou, don’t pay attention to her words, she must be a lunatic!” Madam Zhao’s mouth also curled up.
Lian Fang Zhou glanced at Ah Jian faintly and then smiled, nodding. “Of course, I won’t take this kind of gossip in my heart. Let’s go!”
The group talked and laughed, ignoring the crying and screaming of the fight behind them as they turned and left.
Lian Fang Zhou slowed down and fell behind everyone by half a step. She pulled Ah Juan slightly and said with a low voice, “Did you do something?”
Ah Jian didn’t dodge and nodded openly: “That old woman’s mouth is so stinky, it’s okay to make her look ugly!” He lifted his head and raised his thick black eyebrows, asking with a smile: “Could it be that I did something wrong?”
“No!” Lian Fang Zhou laughed and shook her head, saying solemnly: “You did it right! Thank you, Ah Jian!”
The two looked at each other and laughed.
Eventually, the group walked into the market that sold all kinds of fruits, vegetables, and poultry. Because the two families wanted to buy different things, they agreed to meet at the exit and split up.
Lian Fang Zhou asked Ah Jian, Lian Ze, and Lian Che to buy firecrackers, wine, a large, square-cut pork belly for the offering, a few large bones, two pig trotters, winter bamboo shoots, yuba, dried tofu, dried fish, sesame, and some other dried goods.
She, Third Aunt, and Lian Fang Qing went to buy the various other things they needed for the winter solstice dishes, including two big carps and four live chickens.
By now, the crowd was more scattered, and they managed to buy everything quickly.