Chapter 16

“What reputation? Being too powerful? Disrespecting elders?”

Sang Luo sighed, “Auntie, I’m a widow now, a fifteen-year-old widow. I still have to raise Xiao An and An Ning. A powerful reputation would be helpful.”

Sang Luo had only been here for a day, but she could tell that the old lady was tough on the outside but soft-hearted, so she was willing to explain a bit more.

“As for disrespecting elders, even that little brat Shen Jin dares to beg for food for Xiao An and An Ning. Today, I learned he learned it from Third Aunt, showing no mercy for the younger generation. I can’t respect that kind of behavior, so I don’t care about my reputation.”

It’s not that she didn’t understand the importance of reputation in this ancient era, but the actions of Uncle Shen and Mrs. Li crossed Sang Luo’s bottom line. She couldn’t respect people like them.

Adapting and being flexible depends on the situation and the person. Sang Luo wasn’t willing to compromise herself for the sake of reputation when dealing with people like Uncle Shen and Mrs. Li.

Besides, the original owner followed Mr. Li back initially because she knew her own situation and wanted to find a way to survive. She didn’t expect that Mr. Li brought her home with ulterior motives, resulting in her starving to death due to illness. Sang Luo survived only by relying on the original owner’s body. How could she respect Li’s kindness and filial piety when considering the fate of the original owner?

Sang Luo believed that she could slowly adapt and live her life. It was better to clarify things with people like Uncle Shen and Mrs. Li early on. Everyone would know how to deal with each other in the future.

Mrs. Chen felt a pang of discomfort at the mention of Sang Luo being a fifteen-year-old widow.

In the past few days, she has been kind to Sang Luo, mostly for the sake of Shen An and Shen Ning. At this moment, she genuinely felt a bit of pity for Sang Luo.

Such a pitiful person.

Thinking of Uncle Shen and Mrs. Li’s actions, she said, “Well, it’s better to bring these things to light today to prevent them from using the elder’s authority to oppress you in the future.”

This was an acknowledgment of Sang Luo’s way of doing things.

As Sang Luo was about to leave, the old lady stopped her. “Wait a moment.”

Sang Luo looked back and saw the old lady’s cheek twitch before she asked, “How are you planning to bring the sweet soup to the market?”

Sang Luo smiled and said, “I’ll bring a ceramic basin. When the time comes, I’ll pour it directly into it and carry it with a basket on my back.”

The old lady didn’t say anything after hearing that and just waved her hand. “Alright, go back and get busy.”

Sang Luo bid farewell to the old lady and headed back home. Without ginger or cooking wine, the fresh shrimp porridge would spoil if left cold. Moreover, tomorrow was the big market day, and she had a lot of preparation work to do.

Watching her walk away, the old lady muttered, “It’s not enough to just wander around.”

……

Another day passed in the blink of an eye.

The next day dawned bright and early, the day of the village’s big market.

For their first attempt at selling “Fairy Tofu,” Sang Luo and the two kids took it very seriously. In the August heat of the mountains, daytime could still be scorching. To ensure freshness, Sang Luo would only gather the leaves in the evening, and the Fairy Tofu was made freshly by Sang Luo herself in the middle of the night.

Of course, the two kids couldn’t sleep either and kept hovering around, bringing water and utensils.

They planned to divide the Fairy Tofu into two barrels, but when it came down to it, considering the family’s lacking supplies, it wasn’t feasible to make too little.

The big market only happened once every five days, and their business was still at a loss, so they couldn’t afford to be too conservative with their supplies.

As for whether carrying two barrels of Fairy Tofu would be exhausting, Sang Luo thought it was something she could endure with gritted teeth.

After staying up for most of the night and making two batches, filling four large pottery basins, by the time it was just starting to get light, the second batch had solidified perfectly. Sang Luo used a bamboo knife to cut them into neat squares, packing them into two wooden barrels borrowed from the Chen family, totaling thirty-two pieces. She made sure not to waste any scraps, putting them all in for sampling at the market.

It all sounded wonderful in theory, but when it came time to lift those two barrels of tofu, Sang Luo clenched her teeth to no avail…

They were really heavy! This stuff was solid as porcelain!

During the last few years of her previous life, Sang Luo hadn’t engaged in many physically demanding tasks due to health reasons. Even though the original owner had endured a few difficult months, the days before the flooding could be described as having food and clothing without any struggle. Plus, there was a maid attending to her needs. How could she be someone who is accustomed to heavy labor?

Carrying from the mountain to the village, before they even reached the village entrance, Sang Luo’s shoulders were already aching, making walking laborious and exhausting, which made the two kids, Shen An and Shen Ning, nervous.

“Big Sister-in-law, should I go back home and fetch another pottery basin? Shen Ning and I can share the load in our baskets,” Shen An suggested.

Their big sister-in-law had just recovered from a serious illness a few days ago. They were only able to enjoy a peaceful life for two days.

At first, Sang Luo thought she could manage, but after walking for a short distance, she started to feel anxious. It seemed like her constitution was even weaker than her previous life.

It’s not that her health was particularly poor; she was just too pampered since childhood. With very little physical activity in her daily life, let alone labor. She simply didn’t have much strength.

However, the two kids weren’t empty-handed today. Each of them carried a basket on their back. Shen An’s basket was relatively heavier, containing a pottery basin and several bamboo tubes hastily made the day before for sampling the sugar water and clean water needed for handwashing at the market.

Yes, they were hastily made bamboo tubes. Of course, Sang Luo didn’t make them; it was Mrs. Chen’s son, Chen Youtian, who made them yesterday evening when Sang Luo went to fetch the basin.

Meanwhile, Shen Ning carried a half-basket of washed and dried lotus leaves.

In ancient times, there were no plastic bags, and Sang Luo couldn’t have people carry goods home with their hands after buying them. After thinking for a long time, she went quite far yesterday evening to find a wild pond and collected over thirty lotus leaves, and also picked dozens of leaves suitable for making sample cups to replace disposable cups at the market.

Sang Luo looked at the two younger siblings’ sizes and hesitated to put pressure on them, fearing it might stunt their growth. She bit her teeth and said, “Let’s not fuss anymore. Resting a few times halfway should be fine.”

As they spoke, someone ahead called out, “Is that Xiao An?”

“It’s Uncle Arita!” Shen An got excited and hurried forward, “Uncle Arita, it’s me. What are you doing here? Are you going to the market too?”

Chen Youtian looked at the little ones, then at Sang’s wife struggling behind with her burden. He thought to himself that Sang’s wife really did have a big heart to let him help.

He nodded, “I’m also going to the market to sell some things. Your grandmother asked me to wait for you at the intersection, afraid that your sister-in-law wouldn’t be able to carry the load for six or seven miles. I’ve come to help out, and to look after you at the market.”

The latter part was said for Sang Luo, who was coming over with her load.

In reality, his mother’s original words were: “Sang’s wife is as skinny as a twig, but she’s got a big heart. With two buckets, I think she’ll have to resort to her tricks halfway tomorrow! Tomorrow morning, take the eggs we’ve saved to the market to exchange for some money. Go early, wait at the village entrance. If you meet her, lend her a hand with her burden, and take care of things at the market. Then, we won’t have eaten her half a bowl of fish for nothing.”

Wasn’t it resorting to her tricks?

It wasn’t even halfway yet, and Chen Youtian could see that Sang’s wife was already exhausted before reaching the village entrance.

As they walked, Sang Luo’s bamboo pole was on Chen Youtian’s shoulder, and Chen Youtian’s basket of eggs was in Sang Luo’s hands.

It was said to be a basket, but Sang Luo could only see a dozen or so eggs.

Either Chen’s family didn’t have many chickens, or it was hot that day, and they were afraid the eggs would go bad, so they had to make a trip with just a dozen or so eggs. Or perhaps Chen’s family didn’t need to go to the market that day, but they took this trip to help her.

Seeing that the old lady didn’t say a word yesterday but had Uncle Arita make several new bamboo tubes for her, the latter was highly probable.

She felt grateful. At this moment, she felt that saying thank you would be empty words. Her mouth, which was used to sweet talk, was unexpectedly honest. She just said, “Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Arita.”

But she had made up her mind to make friends with the Chen family. As people say, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. In the Shen family, Shen’s third uncle’s family, who was right in front of them, wasn’t even as good as Chen’s old lady with just a finger.

Chen Youtian smiled, “Let’s go, we need to find a good spot early.”

As they walked with their burdens, they saw the green lotus leaves in Shen Ning’s back basket. “Are these lotus leaves for wrapping the fairy tofu?”

Before Sang Luo could speak, Shen Ning nodded repeatedly and even mentioned the small leaf pieces they used when they were tasting it. Finally, she proudly praised Chen Youtian, “My sister-in-law knows a lot!”

Chen Youtian heard that even the details of the tasting were considered, and he nodded along with Shen Ning’s words, “That’s quite thoughtful.”

The six or seven miles passed quickly amidst Shen An and Shen Ning’s excited chatter. When they came out, it was just barely dawn, and when they looked from a distance, they could only see shadows. By the time they reached the market, the sky was already bright.

The so-called big market was actually held in a large village relatively central to Qingpu Township, making it convenient for villagers from surrounding villages to exchange goods.

“This is Sanli Village, named after being three miles away from the county town. Several villages along our route are named after the distance they are from the county town, such as Sanli Village, Wuli Village, Qili Village, and Shili Village.”

Sang Luo only realized that the market was so close to the county town. She found it surprising and asked, “We passed through more than two villages on the way, right? What about the other villages?”

Chen Youtian smiled, “There are many villages where families with the same surname gather, and these are mostly named after the surname. There are also some named after the geographical features.”

As Sang Luo listened, she gained knowledge. By the time they entered Sanli Village, many people had already arrived at the market. Some villagers who lived closer to the market had already set up their stalls and arranged their goods. There were people carrying burdens, baskets, tying bundles with straw ropes, and even just placing things on the ground at their feet.

Shen An and Shen Ning couldn’t take it all in. The last time they came to the market was when Shen Lie was still around.

Shen An scanned the market and pointed to a junction, “Big sister-in-law, there are many people setting up stalls over there, and it’s at a junction. Shouldn’t we set up our stall there?”

Only after asking did she realize that her sister-in-law was not familiar with this area at all. Then, the three of them looked at Chen Youtian together.