A group of five or six children gathered at the entrance of the courtyard.

Each child held a basket, filled with freshly picked lantern fruits.

“You little ones sure move fast,” Cheng Wanwan said with a smile. “But Auntie can only settle the payment tomorrow night. Is that okay?”

Wang Damie was the first to nod. “That’s fine, Auntie. Whenever you want to pay is okay.”

Cheng Wanwan let out an awkward laugh. “This weighs two jin, so Auntie owes you four wen, plus the two eggs from the other day.”

A few days ago, when they were digging trenches, she had promised the children eggs in exchange for their help.

In total, she owed over twenty eggs, but so far, she had only given out eight.

It would take at least three more days to settle that debt, and now she owed them over ten more wen.

She had to clear this balance by tomorrow night, or her conscience wouldn’t let her rest.

More children arrived one after another—some bringing a jin, others two.

Before long, there were over twenty jin of stone flower seeds stacked in the courtyard, and she owed more than forty wen in total.

Initially, the villagers had been envious, thinking that Madam Dashan was making a fortune selling food.

But when they saw that she couldn’t even afford to pay for the raw materials upfront, they realized how tough running a business really was.

She had to buy on credit, earn money first, and only then settle her debts.

If she failed to sell her goods, not only would she be stuck with unsold stock, but she’d also be buried in debt.

For small farmers, such high risks were simply unaffordable.

Some of the village women who had harbored ill intentions now dismissed their thoughts entirely.

Cheng Wanwan and her sons got busy at home.

The students at the Nanfu Academy had decent spending power—seventy or eighty bowls of ice jelly weren’t enough.

Tomorrow, she planned to take about two hundred bowls to try her luck.

There was a distribution dock in Hekou Town, where many laborers worked. She wasn’t sure if these men would be willing to spend three wen on ice jelly, but she figured it was worth a try.

Zhao Sidan was in charge of shelling the stone flower seeds.

Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu were responsible for washing them.

Wu Huiniang handled boiling the brown sugar syrup, while Zhao Sidan kept an eye on the stove.

Meanwhile, Cheng Wanwan sliced hawthorn fruit, shelled peanuts, removed their red skins, and crushed them into fine bits…

“Big Auntie, are you home?”

A voice called from the entrance. Cheng Wanwan wiped her hands and walked out.

Chunhua and Donghua, two sisters, stood at the doorway with their baskets.

At their feet sat a large bamboo backpack, which looked like it contained at least five jin of stone flower seeds.

Chunhua asked, “Big Auntie, we accidentally picked a bit too much. Will you still take it?”

Of course, Cheng Wanwan would. One jin of stone flower seeds could yield at least twenty or thirty jin of ice jelly.

Plus, they wouldn’t spoil after being shelled, so the more, the better.

She smiled. “That’s five and a half jin—Auntie owes you eleven wen. Come pick it up tomorrow night.”

Chunhua’s face lit up with joy.

She had earned eleven wen all on her own!

Her mother would be thrilled when she found out.

She took Donghua’s hand and turned to leave.

Donghua sniffed the air. “Big Auntie, your house smells so good. What is Sidan eating…?”

She stared intently at Zhao Sidan, who was sitting by the door.

After finishing his work, Zhao Sidan had sat down on the doorstep to eat his snack.

There were six pieces in a pack, but he was eating them slowly, savoring each tiny bite.

Even so, he had already eaten three pieces.

He planned to save the rest for tomorrow, but when he looked up, he saw Donghua staring straight at him.

Quickly, he hid his snack inside his sleeve.

“Big Auntie, I’m so hungry…”

Drool trickled from Donghua’s lips. Her expression made it obvious what she wanted.

Cheng Wanwan wouldn’t argue with a seven or eight-year-old child.

She said, “Sidan, give your little sister Donghua a piece.”

Zhao Sidan widened his eyes. “I only have three pieces left! That’s not even enough for me!”

Cheng Wanwan sighed.

What should a parent do when their child refuses to share with others?

She regretted not reading those parenting articles on social media.

As a single woman, she had no clue how to teach kids.

Although Donghua’s behavior—openly asking for food—was not exactly polite, Sidan was also being too stingy.

She crouched beside him and whispered, “If you give Donghua one piece, I’ll buy you another pack tomorrow.”

Zhao Sidan’s eyes lit up, and he quickly compromised.

Carefully, he pulled out a piece of the snack and handed it to Zhao Donghua.

Donghua immediately stuffed it into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

Then she smacked her lips, still staring at the snack hidden in Sidan’s sleeve.

Zhao Sidan glanced at Cheng Wanwan with a meaningful look—if he gave away another piece, would she buy him another pack?

Cheng Wanwan: “…”

Clearly, bribing a child with snacks was the wrong approach to teaching generosity.

She quickly said, “Chunhua, it’s getting late. Take your sister home now.”

Obediently, Chunhua led Donghua away.

As soon as they reached the small road, Donghua pouted. “Big Auntie is so stingy! She only gave me one piece of snack!”

Chunhua frowned. “She told Sidan to share with you, didn’t she? If you talk like that, Big Auntie will be upset.”

“But it was just a tiny piece! I didn’t even taste it properly,” Donghua licked her lips. “And I saw so much fabric on Big Auntie’s table! Big Sis, Big Auntie must be making lots of money. Sidan will have endless snacks from now on…”

Chunhua had noticed the fabric too—all sorts of brand-new colors.

It had been years since she had new clothes.

The sisters hurried home to the Zhao family house.

There, the adults were sitting in the courtyard, chatting while doing their handiwork.

“I heard Eldest Sister-in-law made quite a bit of money,” Sun-shi remarked ambiguously. “She even bought half a jin of meat and dozens of ducklings. If she wasn’t making a profit, would she dare to spend like that?”

Old Madam Zhao paused her work. “Buying ducklings is a good idea. They’ll lay eggs and bring in more money. Looks like Eldest Daughter-in-law is finally taking life seriously.”

Sun-shi’s face darkened. The old lady was so biased—she could twist anything into praise!

Forcing a smile, she added, “Eldest Sister-in-law made money and bought meat. Forget about buying treats for the kids, but she didn’t even send some meat over for Father and Mother to try?”

Her words were outright instigation.

Old Madam Zhao’s expression turned cold. “Third Daughter-in-law, if you’re feeling idle, go chop some bamboo out back. One of the baskets broke.”

Before she could finish, Chunhua and Donghua walked through the door.

Sun-shi, with nowhere to vent her frustration, immediately snapped at them. “Where have you two been fooling around? If a wolf had snatched you up, we’d be rid of two little troublemakers!”

“Enough!” Old Madam Zhao scolded. “There are patrols in the mountains now. No wolf would take them. Chunhua, Donghua, come here. Tell Grandma what you were doing.”

Chunhua spoke softly. “Big Auntie is collecting lantern fruits, so we went up the mountain to pick some.”

Donghua added excitedly, “We picked over five jin! Big Auntie said we’ll get eleven copper coins!”

Sun-shi’s anger vanished instantly. She eagerly asked, “Where’s the money?”