Hekou Town was half an hour away from Ping’an Town.

Ping’an Town was a little over an hour away from Dahe Village.

The mother and her two sons had missed the ox cart, so they walked for almost two hours before they finally saw the familiar mountain range.

By this time, the sun had already set, and dusk shrouded Dahe Village.

The orange sunset reflected on the rice fields, creating a peaceful and beautiful scene.

“Dashan’s wife, why are you coming back so late?”

“Sister-in-law Zhao, I heard you went to town today to sell food. How did it go?”

The women chatting under the big pagoda tree saw the mother and sons approaching and quickly gathered around to ask questions.

Cheng Wanwan signaled to her two sons to carry the goods home first.

She smiled and said, “I made some food to sell. Fortunately, I managed to sell everything and earned a few copper coins. I even bought over half a pound of meat for the children to have some protein.”

“Ever since the grain prices went up in town, the price of meat has also skyrocketed. Last time I checked, it was twenty-five coins per pound—so expensive!”

“If you could afford meat at twenty-five coins per pound, you must have made quite a bit!”

“Tell us, how much did you earn?”

The women, naturally curious, widened their eyes in anticipation.

“The price of meat went up to thirty-five today,” Cheng Wanwan sighed. “I spent thirty coins and only got a small portion. With six people in the house, each can only have a bite to taste. I used the rest of the money to buy ducks. Since we have water here, raising ducks and selling their eggs will be much easier than struggling to make food every day.”

One of the women quickly did the math in her head—thirty coins for pork and at least a hundred coins for twenty ducks.

That meant Dashan’s wife had earned over a hundred coins in just one day!

Many of the women grew envious. “Dashan’s wife, what exactly were you selling?”

Cheng Wanwan sighed again. “Just the lantern grass my children helped pick a few days ago. It seemed like it wouldn’t cost much, but making it turned out to be a hassle. The key ingredient is sugar, and you all know how expensive sugar is—forty to fifty coins per pound. I had to buy a big bag of sugar just for one day’s work, and I even added peanuts to make it crispy…”

The women looked conflicted. Even plain water, when mixed with brown sugar, could make one’s mouth water.

Anything with brown sugar would taste good.

But brown sugar was too expensive.

None of them dared to gamble on making sweets to sell in town.

What if they couldn’t sell them?

“I still owe the general store half a pound of sugar on credit, so I have to sell more food tomorrow to pay off the debt,” Cheng Wanwan said. “By the way, I’m still collecting lantern grass from the mountain—two coins per pound. If you ladies have time, please help me out.”

Aunt Wang clapped her hands. “That’s great! Before it gets completely dark, I’ll take my son and pick some more!”

Another woman added, “I’ll send my boy too. If we gather seven or eight pounds, you won’t refuse to buy them, right?”

Cheng Wanwan smiled. “Of course not! This stuff gets used up fast. The more, the better.”

In an instant, the chatting women dispersed, afraid that if they went too late, others would have picked all the lantern grass.

Cheng Wanwan walked home at a leisurely pace.

While making money for herself, she also kept the village women busy, so they wouldn’t be too envious of her success.

When she entered the courtyard, Wu Huiniang was preparing the pork, getting ready to make braised pork using the same method as before.

She worked quickly, and before long, the meat was simmering on the stove.

Zhao Dashan was washing stone flower seeds, fully absorbed in his task.

Cheng Wanwan told him to do it inside the main house—no matter what era it was, core techniques should remain secret.

From now on, all steps related to making “bingfen” (a traditional jelly-like dessert) would be done in the inner room.

Zhao Ergou was tending to the family’s vegetable patch.

He had spent the entire day working on it, dividing the land into small sections, each planted with different vegetables, watering, and adding natural fertilizer.

Zhao Sanniu was in the courtyard chopping firewood, a daily task he had to complete.

Zhao Sidang, the youngest, was playing with the newly arrived ducklings, feeding them wild vegetable roots.

“Mother, I love these ducklings!” His eyes sparkled. “They love water. Let’s dig a pond for them!”

Cheng Wanwan marked a spot in the yard. “The ducklings are still small. For now, they can stay here. Later, we’ll dig a big pond.”

She had plans to buy the land at the foot of the mountain, not just to raise ducks but mainly to grow lotus roots—also known in this era as “jade shoots.”

Jade shoots were native to the south, but those grown in Dahe Village weren’t as crisp and tasty.

Their color was a pale yellow. However, she had improved varieties from the marketplace.

Her lotus roots and seeds would be of excellent quality—but not too exceptional. If they got selected as tribute for the imperial court, it would be a disaster.

Lotus roots had always been a tribute item.

In the south, they were easy to find, but in other regions, only the emperor and high-ranking nobles could enjoy them.

If she cultivated them and sold them to the ruling elite, it could become a lucrative business.

She had once visited West Lake, where ornamental lotus flowers covered about sixty to seventy thousand acres. When they bloomed, the scenery was breathtaking.

If she could own her own lotus pond, she wouldn’t mind staying in the village forever—admiring flowers, drinking tea, and listening to the rain.

What a wonderful life that would be.

But for now, she couldn’t even afford thirty acres of land.

She had a long road ahead.

As the last traces of sunlight faded, the braised pork was finally ready.

Less than a pound of meat filled half a bowl.

The fragrance was rich and enticing, making everyone’s mouth water.

The braised pork disappeared in an instant.

Each person got a spoonful of the leftover sauce, mixing it with their rice—a simple yet heavenly meal.

After they finished eating, Cheng Wanwan pulled out a package from her basket. “Sidan, this is for you. Go ahead and eat it.”

Zhao Sidang was overjoyed. “Mother, you’re the best! I love you the most!”

He carefully unwrapped the package, inhaling the delicious aroma. Before he could take a bite, he heard the sounds of his brothers swallowing their saliva.

Afraid that they would snatch it away, he quickly stuffed the pastry into his sleeve.

Cheng Wanwan chuckled and pulled out more packages. “Everyone gets one. Huiniang, you too. Eat your own, and no stealing from others.”

Zhao Dashan scratched his head. “Mother, I’m too old for pastries.”

Cheng Wanwan took his share and handed it to Wu Huiniang. “If your husband won’t eat it, you eat it all. No leftovers.”

Wu Huiniang had never eaten such a treat before. Her hands trembled slightly as she took it, her voice choking with emotion. “Thank you, Mother…”

She was determined to be a good daughter-in-law and care for her mother-in-law in old age.

Meanwhile, Cheng Wanwan kept pulling items from her basket.

The family had no sense of money’s value, so she had no pressure when hiding her actual earnings. Her basket seemed bottomless.

“Store this food away and lock it up. Don’t let anyone see.

Also, these fabrics—each of you can have a new set of clothes. The leftover scraps can be used for undergarments.”

She wasn’t blind to the fact that except for her eldest daughter-in-law, the four brothers didn’t even wear undergarments. If their pants tore, their backsides would be exposed—unacceptable.

As the family divided up the fabric, a voice suddenly came from outside the courtyard…