She first lit the fire and set the mutton soup to boil, then arranged the marinated dishes she had prepared in advance the day before. Since business had been good yesterday, she had prepared twice as much today.

Soon, the aroma of the mutton soup spread.

Ji He took the opportunity to observe her surroundings while there were still few people around.

To her left was an uncle selling vegetables. He was unloading the vegetables from his cart and placing them on the ground. A quick glance told Ji He that the usually fresh green leaves looked somewhat wilted today.

She squatted down to help and casually struck up a conversation. “Uncle, how long have you been selling here?”

“A year now. You’re a new face, girl. First time here today?” The uncle was pleased to have some help and chatted while arranging his vegetables.

“I was here for a while yesterday. Business looked alright, so I came again today. Uncle, why do your greens look a bit wilted today? They weren’t like this yesterday.”

Ji He carefully arranged the vegetables, noticing that most of the leaves were indeed wilting.

Something felt off.

This was a morning market, not a regular vegetable stall—people shouldn’t be selling leftovers from the previous day.

“Don’t mention it! The heat is unbearable. When I picked them from the field this morning, they were fine. But just on the way here, the leaves started curling up.”

The uncle looked at the wilted vegetables with concern. The morning market was full of picky elderly customers, and he feared he wouldn’t be able to sell them.

As he spoke, he took out a spray bottle and misted the vegetables.

The leaves immediately looked much fresher.

Ji He wanted to say more, but when she looked up, she saw a customer coming for mutton soup. She swallowed her words, put on a smile, and focused on her work.

Her mutton soup was well-seasoned, flavorful, and packed with ingredients—not just mutton offal but also a good amount of actual meat. Customers who had enjoyed it yesterday returned for more today.

The number of customers grew, and Ji He was soon too busy to stop.

Just as she was fully immersed in her work, a surprised voice called out.

“Ji He?”

Hearing her name, Ji He instinctively looked up.

In front of her stood a middle-aged woman dressed in sportswear, studying Ji He with a curious expression. Her eyes darted over the stall, lighting up when they landed on the duck intestines and goose intestines.

Those were expensive. Since this girl was selling them, today might be a good chance to eat some for free.

Before Ji He could respond, the woman had already picked up a disposable container and started helping herself while loudly complaining,

“You silly girl, you have this skill, yet you never let the family taste it? Not a single thought for the elders!”

She moved quickly, grabbing only the most expensive duck intestines, completely ignoring the chicken intestines. Within moments, her container was nearly full.

Ji He’s eyebrows twitched.

She swiftly grabbed the woman’s arm and took back the container with a smile. “Aunt, the duck intestines are spicy. The elders won’t be able to eat them. How about I get you a bowl of mutton soup instead?”

The woman, displeased at having her container taken away, pursed her lips before forcing a smile. “Fine, give me five bowls of mutton soup. Be generous with the offal. And pack all those duck intestines too—I’ll try them. If they’re good, I’ll come back.”

Ji He kept her smile, put the duck intestines aside, and handed her a single bowl of mutton soup.

“Aunt, we’re family, so I’ll be direct. My parents left behind a debt of 3 million. The collectors come knocking every day, saying that if I don’t pay up, they’ll go to Grandpa and Grandma for the money.”

“I begged them for a long time, and they finally allowed me to set up a stall here to pay off the debt. I have to turn in my earnings every day. If I don’t meet the target, they threaten to go looking for you all.” Ji He sighed as she watched her aunt’s face darken, then continued,

“Aunt, I haven’t visited you all lately because I didn’t want to bring trouble to your door. But since we’ve run into each other today, would it be possible for me to borrow some money? I don’t need much, just 100,000, to pay off part of the debt first…”

The woman’s face turned grim. She looked around nervously, as if every pair of eyes watching her belonged to debt collectors.

She cursed inwardly—trouble, even after death! Those two left nothing but a pile of debt!

Without a word, she snatched the mutton soup from Ji He’s hands and hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, leaving even the duck intestines behind.

Ji He called out behind her, “Aunt, be careful! Watch for cars!”

The woman sped up like she was being chased by dogs, disappearing into the crowd in no time.

Ji He lowered her head, her smile unchanged, and continued selling mutton soup.

“Would you like scallions and cilantro?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, you were here yesterday, right? A regular! I’ll give you some extra offal.”

When you’re busy, time flies. Even though it was still early in the morning, the temperature wasn’t low, and standing over the boiling mutton soup had already soaked Ji He’s back with sweat.

By the time the soup was sold out, she checked the time—8:30. It was almost time to close up.

Only some duck and goose intestines were left, since they were expensive and not many people bought them.

Ji He started packing up. She secured the large stainless steel pot onto her tricycle and then walked to the stall on her right.

A woman in her thirties was selling tofu.

Seeing Ji He approach, she beamed. “Hey, girl! Want some tofu?”

Ji He nodded. “Sis, how much tofu do you have left? I’ll take it all. I want to make fried tofu puffs to sell.”

“Plenty! I still have three and a half boards left.” The woman’s eyes lit up. She spoke quickly, “If you take it all, I’ll give you a deal—55 per board. Normally, I sell them for 60 each.”

“Alright. I’ll drop my things off first, then come back with my bike.”

“Sounds good! My shop is just behind here. See that tofu workshop? We sell tofu all day—not just big blocks, but also dried tofu and tofu skin. It’s all pure brine tofu. Look at how clear the whey is!”

The woman gestured behind her, and Ji He saw the tofu workshop sign.

With the deal set, Ji He turned back to her stall, just in time to hear the strict-faced market officer announcing over a loudspeaker that it was time to pack up. She greeted him, then got on her tricycle and slowly pedaled away with the crowd.

Since it was crowded, she rode cautiously while glancing at the vegetable stalls around her.