"I also have a car with eight wheels," Yangyang said casually, waving his hand, then turned to Lele, "Brother, I brought one for you too. When we go back, Iâll show it to you."
"Huh? When did you bring the little car too?" Yang Chuxia wondered. She hadnât seen it in the little guyâs belongings when they packed.
"Hehe, you didnât know, did you? I secretly hid it in a hidden compartment of the carriage. I brought four of them with me. All the new ones Grandmother made, I took them all, haha." Yangyang was quite proud talking about it, covering his mouth with his little hand and giggling. He didnât care for the cars with four wheels; he had plenty of those at home.
"Why did you bring so many with you?" Yang Chuxia was exasperated, this rascal kid, didnât he know those were meant to be sold in the shop?
"To give them away!" Yangyang said, spreading his hands, "I donât have any friends in the Capital City, but brother must have made some after being here for so long, right? Brother can give them away; itâs something to show off, definitely not something you find in the Capital City."
Lele was moved when he heard this, "Indeed, my own little brother! I do have someone to give it to."
Yang Chuxia was speechless at the little guyâs far-reaching plans.
Procuress Shen, listening to the conversation among the family members, seemed to understand something.
Mingcui explained to her, "The toy shop in the Capital City is probably owned by the Mu Family. The Mu Familyâs goods are all brought in from Funan, and our Madam and Old Masterâs hometown is in Funan."
Now Procuress Shen got it, seems like these toys were from their own place; no wonder they didnât care for them.
"Hey, Mom, look over there, over there, it looks like fun." Following Yangyangâs gaze, it was a group of acrobats with a few animals, including monkeys and squirrels, performing tricks. At times theyâd have the squirrel hand things to the audience, at times theyâd have monkeys climb poles. But these people were rather cruel; whenever an animal didnât perform as instructed, theyâd whip it down on them.
Yang Chuxia noticed that the little monkey was already showing blood on its body, and they were even harsher on the squirrel, with a woman holding a metal needle nearby. If the squirrel didnât deliver a designated item into an audience memberâs hand, the needle would be stabbed into its tail. The animal, otherwise so nimble, did not dare to run away after being pierced.
"Mom, theyâre so cruel, I canât stand it, I want to save them!" Initially, Yangyang found the animals carrying items interesting, but when he saw the needle being used, he couldnât bear it. It must be so painful.
Lele couldnât stand it either and tugged at Yang Chuxiaâs sleeve, "Mom, can we buy them? Otherwise, we canât save them."
"Iâm afraid the owner might not agree," Yang Chuxia thought the owner used these animals to make money, so how could he be willing to sell?
"What if we offer a higher price?" Lele asked again, "Mom, they do this to make money. If we give them an amount they canât earn, surely theyâll be willing to sell."
Yang Chuxia looked at him penetratingly, thinking my son has such noble thoughts, but have you ever spared a thought for our money?
"Mom, brother is right, letâs buy them. If it comes to it, I can just ask for less pocket money in the future, canât I?" Yangyang began to employ his wheedling tactics.
"Alright, alright, stop shaking me, Iâll have someone go ask," she consented.
Yang Chuxia had no choice but to send a servant to inquire. The owner was thrilled to hear someone wanted to buy the animals, especially since they came in a carriage; clearly, they were rich folks. Right away, he quoted a price of five hundred taels.