Competition

Da Tou sat excitedly in the chair, gesticulating and saying, "At first, no one bought any, thinking that our family's yam beans were smaller than others, and we didn't sell a single skewer until noon. Then, Big Sister and I felt hungry, so we shared a skewer to eat. There was a little kid next to us, watching us eagerly. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him one. Then his parents came and bought a skewer from us.

Da Ya was also very excited. This time, conducting business was different from before. They used to follow behind their aunt and uncles, shouting, talking to people, and collecting money. However, this time, the siblings were on their own on the street, and all the candied haws were sold out!

"They told other kids that our candied haws were delicious, so several adults bought them for their children to eat." I remember Aunt saying that yam beans can also be used as medicine, so we told them that yam beans can invigorate the spleen and nourish the qi, and that's why many people bought them. Even some elderly people came to buy them.

Man Bao immediately said, "Hawthorn can also be used as medicine." "It can aid digestion, invigorate the stomach, and promote blood circulation."

Everyone: "Man Bao, we are competing with the people selling hawthorn candied haws, not hawthorns."

"Yes, yes," Da Tou said angrily. "That old man is so annoying." When Big Sister went out, she deliberately avoided the street where he was and chose to take another route, just to avoid any competition with him. But he still came over in the end. Let him come, let him come. He saw that we were young and wanted to drive us out of the street, saying that we were not allowed to sell candied haws on the street anymore.

Da Tou clenched his fists and said, "The patrolling constables didn't say I couldn't set up my stall." "Why does he have the right to stop me?"

Old Zhou frowned and asked, "So how was it resolved in the end?"

Fortunately, Uncle Wu and the others were not far from that street. Someone counted the items and hurried to inform Uncle Wu and the others, who arrived promptly before we were asked to leave. When he saw that there were many of us, and Uncle Wu and Big Sister were adults, he immediately dared not push us out anymore. Da Ya snorted, "This kind of person is just like the idiom Aunt mentioned, what was it called again?"

"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Da Ya laughed, "Exactly, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Man Bao clenched his fists and waved in front of him, saying, "I know, it's just like White Erlang, a beating will do."

Old Zhou instinctively nodded, then was glared at by his wife, and immediately stopped nodding. He reprimanded Man Bao, "How can a girl think about fighting all the time?"

"Isn't it fine as long as it's not a girl?" Man Bao immediately looked at Da Tou and instigated, "Da Tou, if he bullies you and Da Ya next time, you let Da Ya stand behind, and you go ahead!"

Everyone: "..."

Mrs. Qian tapped her forehead and asked, "Is your homework done?"

"It was done a long time ago."

"Then go read and teach Da Tou to write the accounts properly." "Look at the way he writes; it's like chicken scratch."

Upon examining it, Man Bao also expressed disdain, commenting, "It must be because he wrote too little."

Mrs. Qian chased the children out, then said, "Eldest, tomorrow you and Da Tou will go out." We need to build a house, and you must stay home. But if the candied haws can be sold, there will be more income at home. Da Tou and Da Ya are both adults, while Lao Liu is only four years older than Da Tou. Can't they also go to the county town to conduct business?

Mr. Zhou was already feeling a bit sorry for the children and didn't want them to go to the county town again.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Okay, tomorrow Lao and I will go with you."

Mr. Zhou was a kind father, but Mrs. Qian was a strict mother. She said, "Alright, tomorrow Lao and I will go with you."

Mr. Zhou lowered his head and said softly, "That person has been selling candied haws in the county town for many years; he may not know many people. What if he bullies Da Tou and Da Ya if they fail in the future?

Man Bao and the others were eavesdropping by the window and door. Even though they were chased out, they wouldn't obediently listen. She also wanted to see if the bully who bullied Da Tou and Da Ya would get beaten up.

Mr. Zhou thought his eldest son was too long-winded and said disdainfully, "Da Tou is the eldest grandson, and Da Ya is the eldest granddaughter!"

Mr. Zhou straightened his back, no longer resisting, and nodded, saying, "Okay, then we'll go tomorrow."

It was impossible to beat someone up unless the other party actively provoked them. Otherwise, their visit tomorrow would just be a deterrent, mainly to inform the other party that their two children were being watched.

The discussion in the room stopped, and Mr. Zhou began to talk about building the house. He discussed who to invite to quarry stones, who to invite to cut trees, and other related matters.

Man Bao listened with boredom and quietly left. Then a group of children stood in the middle of the yard, and Man Bao reached out to Da Tou, asking, "Where's my share of the money?"

Da Tou innocently opened his eyes and asked, "What money?"

"The candied haws and the yam beans are mine, so the money from the candied haws should be considered mine."

Da Tou then withdrew his hand, "It's okay, I'll go ask Big Sister for it later." "How much money did we earn today?"

Da Tou had been studying for a little over a year and could count up to a hundred. On the way back today, he didn't stop counting the money with Da Ya. First, he counted one hundred wen into the bag, enough to fold a tree branch. Then he counted the second one hundred wen, but he couldn't count enough for the second one hundred wen.

"So," he said, "there's one hundred, and there's sixty-six."

Their candied haws were priced the same as others, three wen for a small skewer and five wen for a large skewer.

However, the yam beans appeared slightly smaller than the hawthorns, thus lacking a price advantage.

Therefore, they were all sold out, indicating the popularity of their taste.

Man Bao chuckled and said, "The hawthorns he used are so sour, I don't like them at all." "I don't think the kids in the county town would like them either."

"It's not true. I think they're delicious," Da Ya rarely spoke up for him.

Man Bao curiously asked her, "How do you know?"

"Because I bought a skewer from him to eat." I think his hawthorns are red and look better than the yam beans. "I also wanted to know what his candied haws tasted like, so I tried them."

Da Tou nodded, "I also ate two." We brought the leftovers back for our parents and younger brother to eat. Unfortunately, San Tou did not get to eat the hawthorn candied haws as they were all confiscated by Aunt Qian. She thought the sugar blocks used by the other party were beautiful. The sugar coating was more transparent and slightly thicker than hers. Curiously, she studied it and unintentionally ate all the hawthorns.

San Tou had been waiting on the side, but when she saw her mother eating a little, and then slowly, slowly ate all the candied haws.

She was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.

Her mother was really mean!