The young wife watched helplessly as a vegetable went missing, but with Sun Shi's tough attitude, she could only accept her bad luck and loss, angrily grabbing the vegetables and slamming the door shut.
Sun Ming chuckled happily as he watched his sister count the silver, giving a thumbs up: "Sis, this trick is genius! Look at those two idiots from the Hua family, even selling pickled vegetables, not as smart as you. Just shaving a bit off the weight in a family's vegetables can earn a lot more money!"
Sun Shi laughed heartily, tucking the silver into her bosom, then poked Sun Ming on the head: "You silly boy, you didn’t know to press the scale a little lower, and ended up weighing the full weight perfectly. If I weren’t clever, we wouldn’t have gotten this advantage!"
The brother and sister, happy as clams, carried their baskets and continued selling along the street. Sun Shi said, "Xiao Ming, you sell by yourself for a while, remember to press the scale down! I’m going to find your brother-in-law and nephew; if I’m gone too long, they’ll get suspicious."
Meanwhile, the Hua couple was forced to sell their vegetables in another area.
The customers there were fewer than the patch Sun Shi occupied, so business wasn’t going well.
Uncle Hua frowned deeply, "Sigh, everyone else’s business is easy, why is ours so hard? It’s really unlucky to be stuck next to Su San Yun’s territory."
Aunt Hua was also worried, "Who says otherwise, but there’s no way around it. Su Lao San’s family is Ali’s uncle by blood, and relatives naturally get the perks. We’re lucky just to get a sip of the soup."
Sighing, Uncle Hua could only accept their bad luck.
After selling their vegetables, the Hua couple saw night approaching and headed home. On the way back, they met other villagers returning from selling, all beaming as they talked about how much money they made. The Hua couple hung their heads low. They had taken great care of their vegetables, cleaning off the dirt and even giving pickled vegetables as gifts, but their income was only about half of others’. How could they feel balanced about that?
Back at home, Aunt Hua was indignant, "If we were lazy and made no money, fine. But we work from dawn to dusk, not only are we the most dedicated sellers, but also among the first in the village. Why are we worse off than others? It just doesn’t sit right with me!"
Uncle Hua was equally upset. The couple sighed, "Ali said it all well at first and set rules against stealing territory, but how come she secretly lets her own relatives take our land?"
As the couple was talking, suddenly there was a knock on the door. Opening it, they saw Qingmu, the servant from Su Li's household.
Uncle and Aunt Hua's faces immediately changed, their hearts uneasy. Could it be that they offended Sun Shi during the day and were reported, and now Su Li won’t allow them to sell vegetables anymore!?
Qingmu was very polite, showing no disdain or contempt despite the Hua couple being poor villagers: "My lady invites Uncle Hua and Aunt Hua to visit her home; she has important matters to discuss with you both."
Aunt Hua's heart pounded wildly as she grabbed Uncle Hua's arm: "Old man, what should we do now?"
Uncle Hua bit his lip and said, "If Ali invites us, we have to go. There’s no choice. Sigh, what bad luck!"
The couple tidied up, closed the door, and nervously followed Qingmu to Su Li’s house. Along the way, their hearts beat like little drums, thinking about how to apologize and soften Su Li, begging her not to revoke their selling privileges.