Chapter 10: Made Money & A Crisis

What she wanted to say was two taels.

After all, her last visit to a restaurant in Lin’an County had cost her exactly two taels for one meal.

But the shopkeeper had already started calculating on his abacus, mumbling to himself about the cost of ingredients, labor wages, firewood, and other overhead expenses.

Song Miaomiao opened her mouth a few times, hesitating to say two taels, worried she’d get thrown out again.

After all, she was short by a whole nine taels of silver.

After mentally prepping herself for a long while, Song Miaomiao finally braved the risk of being kicked out and stated the number: two taels.

The clacking of the abacus instantly stopped. The shopkeeper looked up at her with a deep, probing gaze.

Nervously, Song Miaomiao instinctively held up her basket as a shield and said in a small voice, “It—it’s still… negotiable.”

Seeing how scared she looked yet still dared to ask for such a high price, the shopkeeper understood this girl wasn’t just playing games.

So he responded seriously, “Miss, take braised pork for example. Do you know how much one serving sells for at my place?”

Song Miaomiao honestly shook her head.

The shopkeeper cleared the abacus and started clacking away.

“68 wen per serving.”

“Right now, regular pork on the market is 35 wen. Pork belly is 40.”

“My shop uses only the best pork belly.”

“So the cost of ingredients alone is half the price of the dish. On top of that, I pay wages to one chef, one assistant, and one helper.”

“Then there’s water, firewood, seasoning, wear and tear on kitchen tools, taxes, and all kinds of miscellaneous expenses.”

“You tell me, how long do I have to work just to earn enough for one dish?”

Song Miaomiao’s eyes widened in amazement. After doing the math, she realized she had definitely asked for way too much. Embarrassed, she didn’t dare speak.

But the shopkeeper wasn’t mocking her. He spoke sincerely:

“Girl, this menu of yours—honestly, is it worth two taels of silver? Yes, it is!”

“But it’s a luxury item. My shop is small and can’t afford that kind of expense.”

“So all I can offer is one tael. If you don’t agree, you can try one of the bigger restaurants in town.”

Song Miaomiao looked conflicted.

That was exactly what she had thought earlier, which was why she went to the larger restaurants.

But they had all thrown her out.

She hesitated for a long while, afraid that if she kept stalling, even this one tael would slip away.

So she agreed to the shopkeeper’s price.

After all, it only took a bit of effort on her part, and one tael was still a profit.

Seeing her agree, the shopkeeper was just about to settle the payment when Song Miaomiao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and volunteered another offer.

“Shopkeeper, these 30 dishes in my illustrated menu likely don’t cover everything you serve, right?”

“If you add just another 200 wen, I can draw all of the dishes from your menu. How about that?”

This time the shopkeeper was genuinely surprised. “You drew all these pictures?”

Song Miaomiao nodded. Afraid he wouldn’t believe her, she grabbed a charcoal pencil from her basket and quickly sketched on a blank piece of tree bark.

A simple drawing of a meatball soup appeared on the bark in no time.

The shopkeeper looked at it and repeatedly praised it, clearly impressed. Song Miaomiao gained confidence and began drawing more as she spoke.

“Shopkeeper, if you add another 300 wen, I can make a binder with clasps for you. That way, you can easily replace damaged bark pages or add new dishes.”

The shopkeeper: “……”

This girl looked naive and easy to fool, yet she was so savvy in business.

Still, her prices weren’t high, and the services were exactly what he needed.

Especially the binder idea—it sounded useful for other things too…

“All right then. I’ll give you one tael of silver now and write you a promissory note.”

“Once you finish the other two things and bring them over, I’ll pay you the remaining 500 wen.”

“Deal.”

When that heavy tael of silver landed in her pouch, Song Miaomiao still couldn’t believe it.

She had earned money.

She had really earned money with her own two hands.

The joy of earning money was far greater than picking it up off the ground.

Only when people on the street started giving her odd looks did she manage to tone down her excitement.

Still smiling brightly, she walked into a pawnshop with her basket on her back.

When she came back out, the one tael of silver in her pouch had turned into three.

She had pawned the outer robe of the silk outfit she had brought back from the Song residence.

This was Song Miaomiao’s backup plan—if she couldn’t sell the menu, she wouldn’t go home empty-handed.

But back when she was a rich young lady, she had no real concept of money. She figured the robe, while nice, would only fetch a few hundred wen at best.

After all, it was second-hand.

She hadn’t expected the pawnbroker to offer one tael immediately. Sensing some wiggle room, she negotiated it up to two taels.

And it worked.

…

The ox cart fare for the trip back was still three wen.

Song Miaomiao swung her legs cheerfully, gazing at the sunset on the horizon, breathing in the scent of fresh wildflowers. She had never felt so at ease.

She thought about how shocked her mother would be when she learned she had earned a full three taels of silver—and couldn’t help but smile with joy.

Suddenly, the ox cart jolted hard. This time, Song Miaomiao was ready and held onto the cart tightly.

The ox cart driver got down to check the cart and looked apologetically at the passengers.

“Sorry, everyone—the wheel’s broken. I don’t think the cart can go any further.”

The other passengers immediately started grumbling and yelling, demanding the driver refund their fares.

But because the ox cart had already gone halfway, the cart driver refused to refund the full fare and only agreed to return one wen.

In the end, Song Miaomiao took back a single wen and began walking home along the main road.

As she walked, she kept checking her surroundings carefully, afraid she might get lost since this was her first time going out alone.

She walked for more than half an hour, and as the sky gradually darkened, fewer and fewer people were on the road.

Song Miaomiao started to feel scared.

She picked up a stick for self-defense, and by the time she saw the small path leading into the village, it was already completely dark.

On the way, she passed a rustling bamboo grove.

It was pitch black, like a monster waiting to swallow people whole. Her legs nearly gave out in fear.

Suddenly, her heart tightened, her face went pale, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

She heard it.

Footsteps behind her.

At this time, in this place—whether it was a person or a ghost—either one was enough to make her blood run cold.

Without hesitation, she gripped the stick tightly and, with a burst of courage, darted into the bamboo grove.

The man behind her clicked his tongue, “This little lady’s got quite the sense of alertness.”

He immediately gave chase.

Hearing the unmasked footsteps getting closer behind her, Song Miaomiao’s fear surged into her throat.

But a woman’s strength was no match for a man’s. In the dark, she tripped over a fallen bamboo stalk and fell hard to the ground.

A sharp pain shot through her scalp as she was yanked up by her hair. When she saw the man’s face under the moonlight, she screamed in terror.

It was the ox cart driver from earlier.

His cart was never broken—he’d deliberately let her walk home so he could wait until nightfall to make his move.

Zhang Chui looked at the tear-streaked girl under the moonlight, his breath becoming heavy with lust.

Ignoring her desperate struggle, he tried to tear off her clothes.

“I’ve been following you all afternoon. A pretty girl like you, walking alone… it’s like the heavens sent you to me.”

“After I have my fun, I’ll sell you to a brothel and make a fortune—won’t even have to worry about a month’s expenses!”

Song Miaomiao fought back fiercely while screaming for help at the top of her lungs.

Her cries were heartbreaking, filled with panic, as terror washed over her like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, she felt her money pouch being ripped away by the man.

“Well, well—an unexpected bonus.”

The man shamelessly pocketed the three taels of silver.

That was the last straw.

Fear forgotten, Song Miaomiao lunged forward and sank her teeth into his arm, biting down with all her might until she tore off a piece of flesh.

“Give it back! That money’s for my mother’s debts!”

At that moment, on the other side of the bamboo grove—

Lu Zheng, who had heard Song Miaomiao had gone to town and hadn’t returned by nightfall, grew uneasy and set out to look for her.

Then he heard that furious, tear-choked cry.

His face instantly darkened.

He nocked an arrow, raised his bow, and charged into the bamboo grove.