After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 123 The Children Who Helped with the Work

Meeting Su Tai's expectant gaze, Shen Yi lost all interest in teasing her and nodded with a smile, "Unexpectedly good, all sold out."

Today, as soon as I arrived at the riverbank, I saw several people waiting to board a boat. They kept asking questions because of the smell, and I told them it was food sold by my family. They answered for a long time, and perhaps because it smelled especially good when it was freshly made, they couldn't resist and all of them spent money to buy some.

Some people asked how it was made, and I didn't hide it from them. Anyway, the important things are the seasonings and fillings, which they can't make either.

When I arrived in Dahe Town, I set up my stall at the same place as yesterday. As soon as I put the wicker basket down, passersby started asking about it. Everyone followed suit, and soon my little stall was surrounded by several people. Even Manager Li came out to watch the excitement.

He also showed his support by buying one of each kind, saying he wanted to try them out. Unexpectedly, less than 15 minutes after he left, he rushed out again and insisted on buying all the remaining guokui (a type of flatbread) from our store, saying that several customers had asked about them.

I was in a hurry to set sail, so I sold it all to him. I don't know how he sold it.

Su Tai nodded thoughtfully, "That's good too. If Manager Li can buy some from you every day, we can earn a little more."

Today's earnings were close to two hundred coins. Adding the forty coins earned from rowing the boat, it came to about two hundred and forty coins. This was enough to cover Huang Xinghua and the others' wages, and even leave some money behind. It was enough to cover the family's daily expenses.

“That’s what I was thinking too. We’re planning to do the same amount tomorrow as today, and see how things go with Manager Li,” Shen Yi said.

Su Tai thought so too. When she came to her senses, she found that Shen Yi was already sitting in the vegetable garden. He quickly took several grape seedlings out of the pots and dug a big hole with each shovel. In just a few breaths, three or four big holes appeared in the ground.

Next, I threw the seedlings into the holes one by one, filled them with soil, and the four grape seedlings were planted.

Su Tai was amazed by how fast he worked. She swallowed hard, then turned and left knowingly, saying, "I'll go to the kitchen and make you something nice to eat."

Seeing her flee in panic, Shen Yi couldn't help but smile, his eyes crinkling with laughter, before continuing to work with his head down.

Without Su Tai by his side, he moved even more nimbly, digging a row of holes in one go, pulling up the fruit seedlings one by one and throwing them in, then filling in the soil, carrying water to irrigate, all in one go.

Sixty fruit seedlings were planted in less than an hour.

Seeing that it was getting late, he left the vegetable garden.

The next day, after he left, Huang Xinghua arrived with her eldest son, Shen Dagou, and second daughter, Shen Xiang.

Su Tai saw that they all looked puzzled.

Huang Xinghua pushed her two children forward and smiled shyly. "Shen Yi came to my house before he left and asked me to call someone over to help you plant the fruit seedlings. My two children are good at working, and Shen Yi agreed, so I brought them over."

Shen Xiang said nervously, "Sister Su Tai, although I am still young, I can work very quickly."

Shen Dagou wasn't about to back down either, "I can carry two buckets of water at once."

Su Tai couldn't help but laugh when she saw them like this. "Alright, then you can stay and help me with the work today."

Huang Xinghua breathed a sigh of relief and quickly let the two children into the yard before continuing to work in the fields.

It was the first time the two children had visited Sutai, and they felt particularly uneasy seeing the high walls and the clean and tidy courtyard.

Su Tai invited them to come inside and sit for a while, but they refused, their minds only on their work.

She didn't force them, and led them through the small door behind the kitchen to the vegetable garden.

"Your job today is to transplant the remaining grape seedlings. Just dig a hole, put the seedling in, cover it, and water it. It's not difficult."

The two men went over to take a look, nodded, and Shen Dagou picked up a shovel to remove the soil, while Shen Xiang took charge of transplanting the grape seedlings from their pots. The two worked together very well. Su Tai watched for a while, then nodded in satisfaction and left.

Without Su Tai watching over them, the brother and sister breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sped up their work. By noon, they had transplanted eighty trees, and they only needed to work on the rest in the afternoon.

At this moment, Su Tai came over and invited the two of them to have dinner.

Both of them shook their heads.

Su Tai smiled and said in an unyielding tone, "You come to work for your sister, and it's only natural for her to provide you with food. It's not anything fancy, so don't stand on ceremony with me. If you don't come over, I'll bring it to you myself."

The brother and sister then obediently followed her out.

After they washed their hands and sat down on the stone benches in the courtyard, Su Tai immediately brought over two bowls of goat milk and a plate of coarse flour flatbread, all of which were braised pork with preserved vegetables and sweet dishes.

The two were somewhat overwhelmed by the abundance of food.

Su Tai explained, “We raise two sheep at home, and we have plenty of sheep milk every day. If you like, you can take some back with you later. The guokui (a type of flatbread) is a food that your brother Shen Yi specially made and puts on the boat for sale. I don’t have the patience to cook, so I’ll just eat these ready-made ones. You can try them too.”

"Thank you, Sister Su Tai." The brother and sister thanked her before starting to eat.

With just one bite, the two were captivated by the guokui (a type of flatbread), and couldn't stop eating. Only after they burped did they realize that the plate of guokui was empty, and they both blushed with embarrassment.

Su Tai didn't mind and even prepared camellia water for them to quench their thirst.

The brother and sister drank a few sips of water and hurried back to work.

The remaining work was completed in just one hour.

Seeing that they were about to leave, Su Tai immediately packed them the goat milk and several rough-crust flatbreads she had prepared in advance, along with their wages.

The brother and sister had a hearty meal at Su Tai's place, and even received goat milk and guokui (a type of flatbread). They never dared to dream that they would receive wages.

It was only when Granny Chen was groping around that she felt the contents of the oil paper package and took it out that she discovered it.

As it was getting dark, Shen Mu and Huang Xinghua returned, and Granny Chen quickly explained what had happened: "Shen Yi's wife is too kind. She not only gave the two children food but also paid them for their work."

One of the couple went to check the items, while the other called the two children over for questioning.

Shen Xiang was quick-witted and immediately recounted everything that had happened at Su Tai's place that day. "Sister Su Tai said that she has sheep at home and doesn't lack sheep milk, so she packed some for us. The flatbread was made by Brother Shen Yi and sold on the fishing boat. She specially kept extra for the family. Sister Su Tai said that we should bring some back for our families to try."

We didn't want any wages; it was Grandma who found out.

Granny Chen nodded. "I counted it, it's sixty coins! That's the same as my daughter-in-law's wages."

Huang Xinghua hurriedly said, "Mother, the food they ate today cost several coins! No, I have to return their wages tomorrow. We can't take advantage of them just because they are well-off."

She took on this job for her child today to save some food for the family and let the child have a full meal; she never thought about letting them earn wages.

Shen Mu nodded. “The wife is right. We can’t keep taking advantage of others. Now the wife earns thirty coins a day, which is much better than in previous years. We can’t be too greedy.”

Granny Chen said, "That's what I was thinking too, so the money is all wrapped up. Xinghua will take it over tomorrow."