Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 38 Temporary price increase
No matter who booked the room, if we squeeze in, we can always find a seat.

If all else fails, you can put the konjac tofu on top first, and the children can follow along.

“Your mother-in-law, oh no, your former mother-in-law,” He Dajiao said.

"What? What are they going to do with the chartered car?" Li Ruru asked, puzzled.

"Mind your own business!" A harsh voice suddenly came from not far away.

Li Ruru didn't need to turn around to know that her former mother-in-law had arrived.

Zhao was followed by Feng Yuzhu.

When enemies meet, tensions rise and swords are drawn.

Zhao snorted, "What are you looking at? Who said that only you are allowed to charter a car, but my family is not allowed to charter a car?"

"You're so domineering! So you were just pretending at home all this time, and now you're finally showing your true colors."

Feng Yuzhu still spoke softly, "Li, there's always a first-come, first-served order in everything."

Her expression held a pitiful and aggrieved look, making it seem as if Li Ruru was bullying her.

Li Ruru rolled up her sleeves and looked at He Dajiao, "Dajiao, since that's the case, please refund the money I paid yesterday."

She gave He Dajiao 10 coins in advance yesterday, and he agreed to it at the time, but now he suddenly changed his mind, which is really unfair.

He Dajiao knew she was in the wrong, so she quickly took out the money, but hesitated to hand it to Li Ruru.

Instead, he continued, "The price of my oxcart is whatever is offered; you gave 10 coins, but the Chen family gave 15 coins."

Li Ruru understood what he meant; he wanted her to raise the price.

They're auctioning off a ride in an oxcart?
She didn't speak, but Zhao became anxious, "He Dajiao, how could you do this? Wasn't it agreed to be 15 coins? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Seeing Zhao's expression, Li Ruru suddenly became interested.

Her eyes darted around before she said, "I'll offer 20 coins."

Seeing that Li Ruru was really going to compete with them for the oxcart, Zhao was extremely anxious, but she hesitated to raise the price.

That's 20 coins! That's enough to buy a pound of pork.

Normally, a ride in an oxcart costs 2 coins per person, which is already quite expensive.

It's twice as expensive as the one in the next village, where it only costs 1 wen.

In Chenjia Village, only three families own oxcarts.

The village head's family, He Dajiao's family, and Chen Xiucai's family.

The other two families' oxen were used for plowing, but He Dajiao's old ox was used for both plowing and earning extra money.

In a monopolistic business where one company holds a dominant position, the price is naturally not determined by the passengers.

Thinking of this, Zhao said, "We'll add more; we'll contribute 25 coins."

Li Ruru's eyes gleamed with a defiant light, "I'll offer 100 coins."

The air suddenly fell silent, and everyone stared at her in surprise.

Da Ya clutched her chest in heartache; her mother was going to squander money again.

Er Ya played with the hair on her chest, waiting to see a good show.

Xiao Yishan frowned and remained silent throughout.

Zhao remained silent, but Li Ruru had no intention of letting her off the hook.

"Tsk tsk tsk, is this all the Chen family can do? Not even 100 coins? What's the difference between you and paupers?"

This remark infuriated Zhao. What a joke! Her eldest grandson was going to take the imperial examination this year, and the whole family would benefit from it.

If a family of a scholar who has passed the imperial examination cannot even afford 100 coins, wouldn't people laugh their heads off?

Zhao gritted her teeth, "150 coins!"

Li Ruru quickly added, "180 coins!"

She looked down on the Chen family the whole time, which made Zhao furious. "200 coins! I'll give you 200 coins!"

After she finished speaking, she waited for Li Ruru to match her bid, but Li Ruru immediately took a step back and said, "Fine, you win!"

Zhao felt a surge of satisfaction. "Hmph, I thought you made a fortune? Is this all?!"

Li Ruru shrugged. "I don't want to argue with a family of good-for-nothings." Just as Zhao was about to retort, the rest of the Chen family slowly walked over.

Chen Dagang and Wang Shuixia were flogged by the yamen last time and haven't recovered for several days. Today they are going to the county town to see a doctor.

Chen Sanbao was beaten by the yamen officials, and his wounds were still throbbing.

Supported by Chen Dagang, Chen Jintong, and Chen Jingang, the three of them took one step, stopped two steps, and grinned as they went.

Li Ruru looked at the family with a leisurely air, then covered her mouth with a laugh, "Isn't this just a family of good-for-nothings?"

The three injured men were seething with anger, but dared not let it out, for even the slightest outburst of anger would cause them excruciating pain.

With a dark expression, Zhao helped the three people onto the oxcart, and then glanced at Xiao Yishan.

Who is that boy? He looks familiar, but I can't remember where I've seen him before.

After taking a bath and changing his clothes, Zhao Shi didn't recognize Xiao Yishan at all.

Once the Chen family was all seated, He Dajiao happily returned the 10 coins to Li Ruru.

He even said with a forced smile, "Aunt Li, look at the mess this has made, I'm in a very difficult position too."

What could be difficult for him? It was just that the Zhao family was offering him more money.

Li Ruru sneered, "He Dajiao, since you're making things so difficult for me, then I'll just stop riding in your oxcart from now on."

It's just a cow, right? It's not like anyone can't afford one!

Although cattle are relatively expensive, they can plow the fields, and most importantly, they can deliver goods to the county town.

She originally planned to buy it after she earned more money, but now she's being manipulated because of it.

Li Ruru, who is strong-willed all her life, would never let someone choke her.

He Dajiao sneered, "Oh, Aunt Li, don't be so absolute in your statement."

If you don't ride in my car, how will you do business?

There are plenty of people who don't get along with him, but who can avoid going to the county town?

In the end, they still had to beg him to ride in their car.

He Dajiao was quite confident about this.

The oxcart wasn't big, but it was packed with people. Chen Jingang urged, "Let's hurry up and stop wasting time talking to these people."

A divorced woman, three maids who had paid her a fine, and that tall, thin, menacing man—he was annoyed by all of them.

He Dajiao laughed and said, "Give me the money, 200 coins, and I'll leave once you pay."

The Chen family all looked at Zhao, who reluctantly took out a cloth bag, opened it layer by layer, took out two strings of coins, and handed them to He Dajiao.

He Dajiao laughed so hard she forgot all about home, and slowly drove the oxcart away.

Li Ruru smiled at Zhao, who was glaring at her, a smile that sent chills down Zhao's spine.

She suddenly felt like she had been tricked.

Was Li Ruru doing this on purpose?

They deliberately inflated the price to make her pay more; she never actually intended to ride the oxcart.

Zhao's heart pounded. Had she fallen for her trick and spent 200 coins like that?
Things are getting increasingly tight at home. We have to pay for medical care for three people and buy a lot of things.

She feels the pinch if she has to spend even a single extra penny.

"Idiot!" Li Ruru spat.

"Mother, what do we do now?" Daya asked anxiously.

"Let me think about it." Li Ruru frowned, wishing she could pull a cow out of her spatial dimension.

"Aunt Li, the cow is here."

Xiao Yishan and Er Ya were seen leading a cow toward them.

That cow was much taller than the cow belonging to He Dajiao, with glossy fur, and it used its tail to brush away mosquitoes and flies as it walked.

"Whose cow is this?" Li Ruru asked in surprise.

(End of this chapter)