'Before I kill him, I still need to make good use of him. But he's just a good-for-nothing, unable to handle even a simple task.'
Chen Wanyue was furious that things weren't going smoothly.
She didn't spare the peddler a glance, turning and heading back into the room.
After Chen Wanyue left, the peddler finally loosened his grip on his carrying pole. Mrs. Shi snatched everything from his baskets.
"Go on, take it all. I owe you for room and board anyway. You might as well have everything as payment for my debt."
His utter dejection made Mrs. Shi eye him a few more times.
'She wanted to take advantage of the peddler, but she saw him as a sheep to be fleeced over the long term, not one to be slaughtered immediately.'
Mrs. Shi's eyes darted. "Now, now, my boy, what kind of talk is that? You saved our daughter-in-law's life, after all. We wouldn't really push you to your death. There, there... I'll just take these two silver hairpins, and you can have the rest back."
