Chapter 21

“One more, please!”

Fu Yuanling hadn’t had enough and urged Jiang Wan to cut open another one. He loved seafood, and this sea urchin roe was absolutely to his taste.

“Changqi, Ah Xiao, come and try some too!”

Fu Yuanling pulled Qi Xiao over and had him pay.

“…”

Accepting his fate, Qi Xiao paid another ten coins. This time, he got a small piece to taste for himself. Sure enough, it was delicious and fresh, and it was no wonder Yuanling was so captivated by it.

His friend didn’t have many hobbies, just a love for food. In just two months in town, he had already eaten his way through every nook and cranny. Today was no different; he had heard the vegetarian food at the Holy Mother Temple was amazing, so he dragged both Changqi and him along.

“Little girl, give us another one.”

Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao was shocked and clutched his money pouch tightly, but before he could refuse, the girl spoke up first.

“Sir, sea urchin roe is eaten raw; one or two per day should be enough. Eating more might upset your stomach.”

Jiang Wan could tell that this food-loving gentleman truly enjoyed sea urchin, and since he’d already made her some money, she didn’t want to be too greedy and felt obligated to remind him.

Fu Yuanling was a bit surprised that this girl, who looked so poor, would restrain herself from making more money.

“Alright, then. No more cutting. Just sell me everything left in the bucket, and I’ll take it back for my family to try.”

With that, he snatched a silver coin from Huo Changqi’s hand and handed it to Jiang Wan. He’d checked the bucket earlier and estimated there were probably a dozen or so urchins left. This silver piece was more than fair.

“Sell me the wooden bucket along with it, too, so they don’t all die on the way.”

Jiang Wan held the silver piece without speaking, mentally counting how many urchins were left and whether the money was enough. She had originally picked up eighteen urchins. Though there were still more in the sea, those were deeper down. To avoid soaking her clothes, she had only taken what she could reach from the shallow water.

Eighteen in total: one was eaten at home, one opened for a free sample while selling water, and the two they’d just had. That should leave fourteen in the bucket.

One hundred and forty coins!

“Cousin, can you check? How much could we exchange this silver piece for in copper?”

Yin Ning weighed the coin in her hand, quickly making an estimate.

“This is about two coin of silver, worth around two hundred copper coins.”

Jiang Wan grinned, immediately pocketing the silver.

“There, take the bucket with you.”

Making such a large sale all at once, Jiang Wan was in high spirits. She gave Fu Yuanling detailed instructions on how to handle and eat the sea urchins, mentioning which types of people should avoid them, and even added a recipe for steamed sea urchin egg custard.

Those two hundred copper coins were definitely worth it.

After seeing the three gentlemen off, Yin Ning’s smile broke into a grin as she hugged her cousin and shook her excitedly.

“So much money! So much money!!”

Finally, their poverty-stricken home had some income! Yin Ning’s eyes were red with excitement, and if they weren’t out in public, she might have burst into tears.

Jiang Wan didn’t feel as emotional as her cousin. She’d had no shortage of money in modern times, and the hardest times here were already behind her. The village had enough to eat and drink, and she and her mother had confidence they could make money to get by.

This was just the first step.

“Cousin, why don’t you tally up how much we made today?”

With something to keep her busy, Yin Ning calmed down a bit, thought for a moment, and quickly came up with the total.

“We earned thirty-eight copper coins and a piece of silver. Should we head home now?”

Jiang Wan shook her head.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. We still have a jar of water left to sell.”

The success of today’s venture had boosted Jiang Wan’s confidence. She decided to continue selling after gathering seafood tomorrow. Staying a bit longer meant that even if no one bought the water, people would at least remember this spot as a place to buy refreshments. These were all potential customers.

Yin Ning followed her cousin’s lead. She now admired her more than ever. When those gentlemen approached, she barely dared to look at them, but her cousin had been calm and smooth, handling the sale with ease.

Sometimes it felt like she was looking at a different person. No, no, her cousin was still the same. She had probably just changed her personality after being mistreated by the Jiang family.

Jiang Wan had no idea her cousin was creating explanations for her. At that moment, she spotted new customers and quickly went to greet them with enthusiasm.

This time, it was an ox cart with an older woman holding a child, clearly from a nearby village.

“Good day, sir and madam! Would you like a bowl of our cold tea? It’s refreshing and cheap, just one copper coin for two bowls.”

The old man driving the cart pursed his lips, about to refuse, but then heard his little grandson clamoring for a drink.

“Drink what? There’s plenty of water in the river up ahead.”

The older woman naturally didn’t want to spend money on water, but the old man doted on his grandson. Seeing the child’s dry, parched lips, he relented, taking out a copper coin to buy two bowls of tea for the couple and their grandson.

The peppermint water was perfect for the hot weather, and everyone who tried it had only good things to say. After drinking it, the elderly couple felt refreshed as they continued their journey leisurely.

After making another coin, Jiang Wan tossed the copper coin and noticed her cousin’s hesitant expression.

“Cousin, are you wondering why I changed it to one copper for two bowls when it was originally two copper for one?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Well, our goal today is to make money. Two coins per bowl could earn more, but we can’t assume everyone we meet will be willing to pay. Since the water cost us nothing, selling more at a lower price makes sense.”

“A bowl is a bowl. If we’d charged that old man two coins per bowl, he probably would have just turned around, and we might have even gotten scolded by the old lady.”

In the countryside, selling water for two coins per bowl would surely make people think she was crazy.

Jiang Wan murmured her reasoning to her cousin, and over the next half hour, they managed to sell two more bowls of peppermint water. This time, they sold to a traveler and collected two coins. After that, they waited a long time without seeing anyone else, and as it started to get dark, the two girls packed up and called Yin Huaishan to head home.

On the way back, they were short one bucket but had gained a table. The many flowers wrapped around it drew a lot of attention to Yin Huaishan, who rushed to take it off as soon as they got home, acting as if he’d been bitten by bugs.

The two cousins snickered quietly behind him, but as soon as they entered the yard, they were hit by a strong, unpleasant smell.

Uh…

Jiang Wan had completely forgotten about that dead fish.

She’d brought it back from the sea yesterday, but after the house was burglarized, it slipped her mind. Still, it wasn’t too late—she could still use it!

Braving the stench, Jiang Wan placed the dead fish in a basket and carried it to the shore, where she buried it in the sand near some shallow rocks. The tide had risen, so she could only bury it here. The smell might attract crabs and octopuses overnight, and she planned to come back for the basket after the tide went out tomorrow.

Here’s hoping for a pleasant surprise.

Hehe, now it was time to go home and give her mother and aunt a little shock.

She and her cousin hadn’t told her uncle exactly how much they’d made today; they wanted to surprise the adults together.

When Jiang Wan got home, the three adults were already hounding her cousin for details.

“I saw the jar was empty—how much did you sell today?”

“And the bucket? Where did the bucket go? Did you sell all the sea urchins too?”

Seeing her cousin return, Yin Ning sighed in relief and quickly hid behind her.

“All the money is with my cousin; ask her.”

All three adults turned their gaze to Jiang Wan, who didn’t keep them in suspense. She first took out forty-one copper coins from her sleeve and then pulled a silver piece from her pocket.

Three pairs of eyes went wide, and Yin Huaishan even stuttered.

“W-Wanwan, th-this money!”

“It’s all from me and my cousin’s hard work!”

Jiang Wan proudly puffed out her small chest and pulled her cousin forward with her.

The three adults were shocked, each of them dazed and reflecting on themselves.

How could these grown-ups not be as good at earning money as two kids?