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The next day was market day.
Wanru woke up early to cook porridge, while Madam Li made pancakes. After freshening up, Wanqing joined them in the kitchen, sitting by the stove to tend the fire.
On cold days, tending the fire while warming herself had become her favorite thing to do. If she could roast a few sweet potatoes in the embers, it would be even better.
Once the family was up, they all gathered around the heated brick table to eat. Breakfast was the usual—white rice porridge with mixed-grain pancakes—but today, there was also a bowl of pickled radish on the table.
To everyone’s surprise, the radish Wanqing had pickled was delicious—crisp, refreshing, and incredibly appetizing. They all agreed they should pickle more.
Wanqing happily agreed and asked her father to buy more radishes.
Lin Heng, tasked with an important errand, set off. Wanru, along with Hehua and her mother, also went to the market.
Madam Li handed a handful of copper coins to Wanru, startling her. She quickly refused, saying, “Mother, this is too much!”
“It’s not much, just 50 wen.” Madam Li had become more generous now.
“Mother, I’m just going for a stroll. Ten wen is enough for me,” Wanru sincerely felt she didn’t need that much.
Madam Li listed a few things to buy, and in the end, Wanru accepted only 30 wen, worried she might lose it. She calculated that 30 wen would be sufficient.
Wanqing chimed in cheerfully, “Sister, don’t forget to buy me a gift, and one for our brothers too!”
Wanru smiled. “Got it.” This was the most money she had ever held. She triple-checked that it was secure in her pocket before heading out.
Zhiwen stayed home instead of going to town. He, along with Wanqing and their two younger brothers, spent the day clearing land, gathering stones from the field behind their thatched house.
There were many stones in the barren land. Wanqing and her brothers sorted them into piles, separating the large ones from the small ones.
Wanqing had a plan—once they built a new house, these stones could be used to pave pathways, ensuring the roads wouldn’t get muddy on rainy days.
Curious about the soil underneath, she dug a little and found it to be decent. In her past life, she had dabbled in gardening, growing flowers, vegetables, and fruits in her backyard. With the right fertilizer, this land should be suitable for planting.
Looking at the land that belonged to their family, a special sense of ownership welled up in Wanqing. She pointed around and excitedly said to her brothers, “In the future, we’ll build a house here, plant vegetables over there, and dig a pond here. We’ll grow lotuses and raise fish in the pond. That little hill will have fruit trees—peach, pear, jujube, apple… We’ll plant a few of everything. And of course, flowers and plants too. It’ll be as beautiful as we want it to be!”
The vision was so wonderful that she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Zhiwen was also inspired. “With such a big plot of land, we’ll have more vegetables than we can eat.”
“No problem! If we have extra, we can sell them to Fulou Restaurant!” Wanqing had already secured a connection with them.
Thinking about how Fulou Restaurant had taken care of Wanqing, Zhiwen agreed it was a good idea.
Scholarship, farming, industry, and commerce—she was a girl, so she couldn’t take the scholarly route. That left farming! “Next year, we’ll make our fortune growing vegetables!”
“Yes!” Their youngest brother enthusiastically echoed, “Make a fortune growing vegetables!”
The siblings chatted and laughed, making the work feel effortless. By noon, when they returned home, the market-goers had just arrived back.
“Elder sister!” The younger siblings gathered around Wanru eagerly. She beamed with excitement and said, “I bought you all some sweets!”
Wanqing declined, saying she wasn’t a child.
Wanru took out a packet of malt candy and gave it to her two younger brothers. She had bought it at the market.
Then, she pulled out two handkerchiefs and let Wanqing pick a color—she planned to embroider them and give one to Wanqing as a gift.
She also took out two pieces of fabric, saying they were for making money pouches for their father and elder brother. Now that the family had more money, embroidered pouches would be convenient for carrying coins.
Wanqing wanted a pouch too, but the original owner of her body had never learned embroidery, so she didn’t know how to make one.
Madam Li seized the opportunity to say that Wanqing should start learning embroidery. Their family’s clothes needed mending, so she and Wanru could use them for practice.
Wanru handed over the soapberry powder and the ten new bowls and plates that Madam Li had asked her to buy. She also returned the leftover copper coins.
Wanqing hadn’t expected Madam Li to buy new bowls and plates, even if they were the cheapest kind. She picked one up to examine it closely. Madam Li smiled and said, “We don’t have many dishes at home, and if guests come, we wouldn’t have enough. So, I asked Wanru to buy a few more.”
“Mother, you’re so thoughtful!”
Just then, someone called from outside the courtyard. Lin Heng had arrived with Carpenter Zhang.
It turned out the bathtub, table, and stools they had ordered were ready. Lin Heng opened the courtyard gate and helped Carpenter Zhang carry everything inside.
A brand-new table, four long benches, and two small stools—now they wouldn’t have to squeeze around the tiny table to eat.
With new furniture in the house, the children couldn’t resist touching and trying everything out, sitting on the stools excitedly.
Wanqing’s eyes lit up when she saw the bathtub—finally, she could take a proper soak!
Gleefully, she turned to Wanru. “Sister, do you want to take a bath? Let’s have a soak later!”
Wanru glanced at the large wooden tub. A bath? Was this what people used for soaking?
All her life, she had only ever washed by scrubbing with a basin of water. The idea of actually soaking in a bath had never crossed her mind.
Wanqing suggested cleaning the tub first so the whole family could experience the joy of a bath.