Chapter 18

“Mother~ Mother~”

Jiang Wan called out even before entering the door.

“What’s wrong? You look so happy.”

Yin Huaixi was drying some herbs and looked at her daughter with curiosity as she seemed so excited.

“Mother, I just heard something at Aunt Cuifang’s house.”

Jiang Wan quickly repeated what Mao Cuifang had told her. Yin Huaixi, knowing her daughter well, immediately understood what she wanted to do.

“You brought the scissors back. Do you want to go sell sea urchins?”

“Mm-hmm! Mother, you had some just now, didn’t you? The egg of the purple sea urchin is delicious. On such a hot day, eating cool, smooth sea urchin eggs is both nutritious and refreshing. I want to try it.”

Jiang Wan looked at her mother and cousin with hopeful eyes.

Yin Ning immediately supported her cousin.

“Cousin, I’ll help you carry the bucket!”

Yin Huaixi sighed. Her daughter truly had an adult mindset, wanting to share the burdens of the family.

“You can go, but wait until your uncle comes back. We’ll go then.”

The family members had all gone out, and if her sister-in-law came back and couldn’t find them, she would be worried.

“Alright, while we wait for uncle to return, let’s boil two pots of water and brew some mint leaves to sell cold tea.”

A no-cost business—just sell a bowl and earn a bowl.

The two little girls eagerly rushed into the kitchen.

At that moment, two people arrived at the door. Yin Huaixi took a look and vaguely remembered who they were.

They were from the Zhou family.

“Huaixi, are you busy?”

Lin Wanrong smiled as she entered, with her husband Zhou Qian following behind, carrying a basket made from palm leaves. Inside were several bamboo bowls and five small bamboo spoons. The craftsmanship was a little rough, but it was clear they had put in effort.

“Brother Zhou, Sister Lin, what’s this?”

“We’ve come to give you this.”

Lin Wanrong felt a bit embarrassed, as their family had moved into a larger house, but the only gift they could offer was this small token.

“We’ve just moved in and been busy with a lot of things, only now coming to find you. There are quite a few things in the old house that can still be used, but when we checked the stone house, there wasn’t even a single bowl. These were made by my father-in-law. Please make do with them for now.”

Old Zhou was born into a farming family. His father and grandfather were a carpenter and a bamboo worker, so he had learned some crafts. However, after passing the imperial exams and becoming an official, he abandoned his craftsmanship.

Life is unpredictable, and now, in his old age, the old man had taken up his skills once again.

Yin Huaixi was pleasantly surprised to receive the basket, as they had just been lacking these little items.

“Sister Lin, these are exactly what we needed! I won’t be polite, and please thank Uncle Zhou for me. Once we’re settled, I’ll go visit him.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve only just arrived in the village, so take your time. If you need any baskets or containers, don’t go buy them, my father-in-law can make them himself.”

“Okay, I won’t be polite.”

The two of them chatted and became even closer. Yin Huaixi saw them out, and as she turned back, she saw her daughter kissing the bamboo bowls.

“Mother, these bowls are just what we needed! We’re going to sell cold tea, and they’re perfect!”

“What do you need them for?”

Yin Huaishan, holding a bundle of bamboo twigs and a half-finished basket on his back, walked into the house.

“Uncle! Look at this bowl, isn’t it just what we need?”

“Hmm? This bowl… I met Uncle Zhou on my way back, and they sent it?”

Jiang Wan nodded eagerly and her gaze fell on the half basket on her uncle’s back.

“Uncle, did you go out to learn some craft? Did they agree to teach you?”

“What’s wrong with that? The village head is a good man. He helped me with the base of this basket. He even promised to teach me how to weave baskets and make hats.”

Hearing that the village head had agreed to teach him, Jiang Wan wasn’t surprised anymore.

Although the village head usually had a stern face, he was actually quite a good person. He only cared about the village’s welfare and never caused trouble for their family or the Zhou family.

The Cai family didn’t count, as that was their own fault.

“Uncle, you’re amazing! You know how to study, how to find food, and now you can make baskets too!”

Yin Huaishan’s old face turned red. He awkwardly held the basket and sat on the doorstep to continue weaving it.

Yin Ning, watching from the side, couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Her father was always so serious, but here he was, acting like a silly little boy. He seemed much more lively and human.

She liked this version of her father.

“Cousin, the water’s ready!”

“Coming, coming! Let’s first rinse these bamboo bowls.”

When selling imported items, it’s better to clean the tools as much as possible when conditions permit.

Yin Ning remembered her aunt had mentioned sterilizing the equipment. Even though she couldn’t see the germs, her cousin and aunt’s advice always made sense, so she followed it without question.

The two girls rinsed the bowls and boiled another pot of water to brew the tea and let it cool. Yin Huaishan, hearing that they were going to the main road to sell, thought for a moment and decided to go with them.

“I’ll help you carry the stuff over first. While you sell, I’ll find a tree nearby to sit under and weave my basket.”

He didn’t feel comfortable letting only the women go out.

Yin Huaixi didn’t refuse. It would indeed be reassuring to have her big brother along.

“What if your sister-in-law comes back and can’t find us?”

Yin Huaishan gave his sister a puzzled look, then turned around and reached into the stove.

She used a piece of black charcoal to brush and write two sentences on the door.

Yin Huaixi: “……”

She almost forgot. Her older brother and sister-in-law were intellectuals.

That made things easier. The four of them packed up their things. Jiang Wan and Yin Ning carried the baskets and bamboo strips, while Yin Huaixi held the sea urchin bucket and the basket and bamboo bowls that the Zhou family had just given them. Since processing the sea urchins required a lot of water, Yin Ning also carried an empty bucket.

The river near Lianjia Gou wasn’t far from the main road, so getting water would be fairly convenient.

Once everything was ready, the four of them, each holding or carrying something, made their way toward the village outskirts. Along the way, they didn’t encounter many people. At this time, the men who worked on the boats were out at sea, while the women stayed at home to take care of the children, manage household chores, grow vegetables, and raise chickens and ducks. They were all busy and didn’t need to greet each other.

Soon, they arrived at the main road that Mao Cuifang had mentioned. There were traces of carts passing by, but no one could say for sure if anyone would pass through in the afternoon, or whether they would buy anything from them.

Jiang Wan took a look, then put down her things and asked her mother and cousin to help gather some slightly thicker long sticks from the nearby woods.

When selling food, if it’s just laid out on the ground, a cart passing by would raise dust everywhere, and no one would want to spend money. So, she decided to make a simple table using sticks.

The table legs were the easiest part, and the tabletop wasn’t hard either. The sticks could be placed side by side and fixed with dry grass or vines. Then the tabletop could be placed directly on top of the legs.

She only needed to put a ceramic jar and a few bamboo bowls on it, and it would easily hold up.

Wait, she still needed something to serve the sea urchins. How would she serve the roe? She couldn’t just feed it directly to people’s mouths, so she needed something to put it in.

Jiang Wan looked around.

Oh, Grandpa Tree, your leaves are really beautiful.

She quickly grabbed a handful of leaves, hoping they would do the trick.