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“That’s nonsense!” Erya shot back. “My mother said that no matter how poor we get, she would never sell us.”
There was no way she would sell her body.
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“Beg for money, of course.” Erya spoke with utter conviction. “Father died in the twelfth lunar month, leaving behind two little girls. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for us?”
Xiao Yan: “……”
Well, well, well.
What a brilliant idea.
So brilliant that he…was at a complete loss for words.
“You’re staying in our home. You can’t just eat and drink for free, right? I’m not even asking you to lift a finger. Surely you won’t say no to this small favor.”
Xiao Yan had no intention of saying no.
Because through the narrow slit in the window, he had already seen the boy Tiezhu walk in.
True to his name, he was as solid and sturdy as an iron pillar—and in Xiao Yan’s current state, there was no way he could overpower him.
Xiao Yan made only one request—
Wrap him up in a mat so that his face wouldn’t be seen.
Though he no longer had any dignity left to lose, a shred of useless pride still clung stubbornly to his bones.
Until he could get over it, he hoped he’d be allowed this bit of vanity.
Maybe, after some time, once he got used to it, he wouldn’t be so troublesome anymore.
“You sure are fussy.”
Despite her grumbling, Erya still directed Tiezhu to wrap Xiao Yan in an old, tattered mat.
Xiao Yan was so thin now he looked like a paper figure, likely weighing less than a hundred jin.
Tiezhu bundled him up effortlessly and laid him on the flat cart.
The cart reeked with a pungent stench, the kind that had seeped deep into the grain of the wood after years of use.
Xiao Yan held his breath and heard Erya talking to Tiezhu.
“Brother Tiezhu, go slow, okay?”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine. I’ll be careful with the cart—I won’t let your father get bumped!”
“Pfft, who’s worried about him getting bumped? I’m worried you’ll break the cart! We still need it next year to buy and sell pigs!”
Xiao Yan: “…”
He had already slipped into character—lying completely still, pretending he was dead.
Erya turned to instruct Sanya again: “Don’t say a word. Just cry. No matter what people ask, don’t answer. If you give us away, all our effort today will be for nothing.”
Telling a pitiful backstory—that was her specialty.
“Second Sister, I don’t think I can cry,” Sanya said with a mournful face, already trying to back out.
“Then think about not having any meat to eat for New Year’s. Or how your freshly bought candied hawthorn fell on the ground and got snatched up by a dog.”
Tears instantly streamed down Sanya’s face.
That was too easy to make her cry.
“See? Wasn’t that easy?” Erya said smugly. “Alright, big sister, keep an eye on the door. We’re off.”
Meanwhile, Lu Qiniang went to the butcher’s shop, only to find the door closed.
It seemed the butcher had gone home for the New Year.
After a busy year, who wouldn’t want to return home to their wife and children, warming themselves by the stove?
Since the Emperor’s ascension, with his policies to rejuvenate and reduce taxes, the common folk had been living fairly well.
Lu Qiniang felt a bit disappointed, but she quickly encouraged herself and made her way to Zhuangyuan Tower.
However, her plans were thwarted in practice.
She tried to approach the people coming and going at Zhuangyuan Tower, but almost everyone was in a hurry. As soon as they saw her, they assumed she was begging for food and gave her impatient looks.
Forget about asking for help with cooking; they didn’t even want to listen to her speak.
That wasn’t too bad—Lu Qiniang was patient.
But the innkeeper of Zhuangyuan Tower was having none of it.
Wasn’t she trying to poach business right under his nose?
Lu Qiniang smiled awkwardly and explained that she only wanted to do business for these few days during the New Year and wouldn’t be competing with them in the future.
But the innkeeper wasn’t listening. He ordered the servant to chase her away.
In the end, she was forced out and squatted under the eaves of the nearby teahouse, which had already closed. She was still unwilling to give up.
She realized she needed to be even thicker-skinned.
If they wouldn’t let her work, she’d work anyway.
She kept her eyes fixed on the people coming out of Zhuangyuan Tower, waiting until they were close enough before she’d try to strike up a conversation.
But the result was always the same.
She waited until the sun was setting. People came and went from Zhuangyuan Tower, but she didn’t manage to secure a single customer.
“Money, oh money, you truly are my nemesis,” Lu Qiniang muttered to herself. “Why does this year have to be so hard?”
If this path didn’t work, the only thing she could think of was setting up a stall on the streets during the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth of the first month.
But selling things required capital, and she didn’t have any.
Maybe she could do a performance with a one-handed stone lock?
She had seen street performers before who earned tips.
But that wasn’t a long-term solution either. She could only take it one step at a time.
For now, she needed to earn a little silver to serve as her capital, and then return to her old business—raising pigs!
She calculated it out; she’d need at least ten taels of silver for the initial investment…
Forget it. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. She’d go home to eat and sleep for now.
Maybe she’d suddenly come up with a way to make money after some rest!
Just as she was about to head home, she saw someone who looked like a servant hurriedly exiting Zhuangyuan Tower.
The sky was getting dark, and Lu Qiniang muttered to herself, “Where am I supposed to find someone to work this late?”
As luck would have it, the man was walking in her direction, and his muttering reached her ears.
“Excuse me, sir, what kind of work are you looking for?” Lu Qiniang asked with a smile, stepping forward to strike up a conversation.
“Don’t block my way, I’m in a hurry!” the man said impatiently, frowning. “I need to find a few people to help move some goods.”
They were merchants from another region, transporting twenty carts of tea to Beijing for delivery.
Tea was extremely precious, so when they arrived at Zhuangyuan Tower, they had carefully moved the tea into a room to prevent theft and protect it from the dampness of the snow.
However, they had just received word that the buyer wanted the tea delivered to Zhili, and the delivery needed to be made by the 30th.
That meant they had to push hard and travel day and night to make the deadline.
But with it already being this late in the day, the city gates would soon close, and loading the carts would be a rush.
That’s why they were so anxious, looking for someone to help.
Lu Qiniang was thrilled when she heard this. “I can do that work! I’ll help you move it!”
The man looked her over, seeing her slightly plump figure, and thought she’d be out of breath just walking, let alone moving goods. He impatiently said, “Move aside, move aside, I’m in a hurry, and I don’t have time to play with you.”
“I’m not playing with you,” Lu Qiniang said, smiling. “Your work is important, and we can’t waste time. Here’s the plan…” Her mind was working fast. “You go ahead and find some people. The goods are in Zhuangyuan Tower, right? I’ll help you move it!”
The man thought it wouldn’t hurt to agree, since he still needed to find help, so he reluctantly agreed.
“What are you doing here again?” the shopkeeper said, visibly displeased when she saw Lu Qiniang.
Lu Qiniang smiled brightly. “This time I won’t affect your business. I’m here to help move things.”
She went to the back courtyard and quickly located the carts.
The workers were already loading, but in Lu Qiniang’s eyes, they were moving at a snail’s pace.
“Move aside, let me do it!” she said as she rolled up her sleeves.