Chapter 11

Jian Li smelled the spicy scent, even more intense than what she had made in her past life and couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Could it be that she bought the wrong chili peppers?

How could it be this spicy?

Before even tasting it, just having it on the table, the spicy aroma was already rushing into her nostrils, making her eyes sting a little from the heat.

“It shouldn’t be… Lantern chili, Erjing strips, Shizhu red… I didn’t buy anything else.”

Looking at the large bowl of oily crayfish, Jian Li gritted her teeth. “Come on, come on, everyone try it.”

She boldly picked up a crayfish. The environment here was surprisingly good; even in a small creek, they managed to raise such big crayfish.

Jian Li weighed it in her hand, and each crayfish was at least six ounces—definitely large ones.

She twisted off the head, and when the tail entered her mouth, she was instantly overwhelmed by the spiciness.

“It’s… it’s okay, you guys eat!”

It was definitely okay, the saltiness and seasoning were fine, but… it was spicy.

But the spiciness seemed to have some magic, making her unable to stop eating.

Uncle Wang Yuedong, forcing himself to support his niece, took a bite and felt like he had swallowed a ball of fire.

“Spicy, spicy, spicy!”

He quickly drank a glass of water, but even so, he was fanning his mouth vigorously.

Wang Shuai, who was still cautious at first, couldn’t help but grin widely when he saw his dad frantically searching for water due to the spiciness.

Jian Li was still encouraging them to eat, while Wang Shuai sneakily tried to hide in the back.

He wasn’t stupid; this clearly looked like Jian Li had ruined the dish, and he didn’t want to eat it!

On the other hand, Wang Yun Yun and Sun Cuifang, after tasting it, both said it was good.

“Although it’s spicy, it’s really tasty.”

Wang Yunyun didn’t change her expression, but beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her lips turned red from the heat. Nevertheless, her eyes sparkled, and she kept eating more.

Sun Cuifang also ate a few and praised it continuously.

Jian Li’s grandmother, standing nearby, sneered. How could it not taste good?

The oil in the kitchen had already been used down to half a palm’s depth, and it was practically drinking oil—how could it not taste good?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. This girl had intentionally made it so spicy to keep her from eating. What an ungrateful person.

Wang Yuedong, looking at his wife and daughter praising the dish, was confused.

“You guys…”

Wasn’t this spicy? His throat was already sore!

Jian Li smiled and teased him, “Uncle, they say that those who can eat spicy food can manage the household. I think you’re not as good as Aunt and Sis.”

Wang Yuedong didn’t argue about this, but kept asking Jian Li and the others, “It’s really not spicy? You guys aren’t pretending, right?”

Wang Shuai, his eyes flicking around, carefully picked up the nearest crayfish.

“Those who can eat spicy food manage the household…”

He took a bite.

Then…

He cried from the spiciness.

Looking at Wang Shuai crying uncontrollably, Aunt Sun Cuifang felt sorry for him but couldn’t help but laugh.

“Well, I see you’re worse than your dad.”

Wang Shuai, with swollen red lips from the heat, spoke with difficulty.

“You lied to me again…”

Jian Li: “What did I lie about?”

Wang Shuai shot her a look, thinking to himself that he would never trust Jian Li again.

Big liar.

—-

The next day, Jian Li only needed to say one thing to get him excited and follow her happily.

Jian Li: “Come on, I’ll take you to the county town.”

After finishing the crayfish from yesterday, Jian Li, taking advantage of the night, brought Wang Shuai and Wang Yun Yun with flashlights to the creek to catch more crayfish.

However, they didn’t catch many crayfish, but they did get plenty of crabs.

At night, the crabs would come out from their hiding places and crawl along the creek for about a mile, easily filling up two buckets.

Wang Shuai quickly got impatient after a short while and left the two sisters behind to join a group of kids nearby to catch cicadas.

Jian Li split the crabs in half, mixed some flour and an egg, and coated them before frying them.

Then, she mixed the seasoning for the dish, frying some leftover chili peppers from yesterday with peanuts and freshly ground white sesame seeds. She also smashed some peach crisps into crumbs with a rolling pin.

The crabs from the hot oil, mixed with the dry ingredients, could be eaten even after cooling down.

Jian Li set aside two plates for her uncle, and the rest she put into a large basin, covered it with pig oil, and hung it in a basket at the back of her bicycle.

She called Wang Yunyun and Wang Shuai to go to the county town.

“Anyway, Uncle and Aunt are both going to work in the city today. We’re not doing anything at home, so we might as well go see if this stuff will sell.”

Wang Yun Yun was a bit scared.

“Do you think they’ll trust us, just a few kids?”

Jian Li: “Let’s go take a look. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just bring it back. It doesn’t spoil easily.”

It was heavily oiled, spicy, and salty, full of flavor. Even without a fridge, it could last for three days.

Wang Yunyun was still hesitant. “Let’s not go. No one will buy it. We’ll just eat it ourselves.”

Jian Li, with a glint in her eyes, teased her: “Sis, you’re not afraid of embarrassment, are you?”

She placed her oily hand on Wang Yunyun’s shoulder. “But Sis, I’ve almost used up all aunt’s oil. And the seasoning, the salt…”

Wang Yunyun almost cried: “I told you not to put so much earlier!”

She was the eldest of the three, and since Jian Li was just a guest, if anything went wrong, they would surely blame her first.

Her parents wouldn’t scold or curse her, but just the thought of her mom’s disappointed look made Wang Yunyun feel a chill run down her spine—worse than being hit.

Jian Li: “Sister, we can sell the stuff and get some money. If we make some money today, we can buy some seasonings and oil, quietly put them back, and no one will know.”

Her grandmother had gone to her second uncle’s house early in the morning and wouldn’t return until the evening. With the adults not around, Jian Li felt she could do whatever she wanted.

Wang Yunyun was finally persuaded by Jian Li: “Alright, Xiao Li, but this will be the last time.”

Doing things behind the adults’ backs was hard for her.

Jian Li took care of Wang Yunyun, then glanced at Wang Shuai.

The boy looked completely confused.

Jian Li: …Forget it, he’s just a fool.

“Stay put, and when we get to the county, I’ll buy you the same ice cream as yesterday.”

Wang Shuai eagerly agreed.

So, the three of them rode their bikes under the blazing sun, sneaking out to Tao County.

After riding for a while, Jian Li got tired and let Wang Yunyun take over, but since Wang Yunyun couldn’t balance properly, they let Wang Shuai do it instead.

Wang Shuai huffed and puffed as he rode both girls to the county.

Jian Li kept her word. Once they arrived, she bought him the ice cream the first time she saw a freezer. It wasn’t the snowman shape from yesterday, but a large one with a crispy cone.

Wang Shuai was thrilled, biting off the chocolate coating first, then slowly savoring the taro-flavored ice cream inside.

Jian Li bought a mung bean ice cream for herself, and Wang Yunyun took a fruit-flavored popsicle.

After finishing their ice creams in front of the freezer, Wang Shuai shouted, “Give me the stick, give me the stick!”

Country kids didn’t have many toys, so Wang Shuai collected sticks to play with, using them to spear the ice cream sticks.

He happily thought that with his sister back, maybe he could collect thirty sticks by the end of the summer.

The three of them wandered through the town, asking for directions.

Jian Li asked directly, “When is the night market open?”

“Where is it?”

“What do they sell?”

After getting precise answers, Jian Li led the group to the park street in Tao County.

This was the liveliest area in the county.

Across from the park, night market stalls would set up in the evenings.

The products sold were very similar: stir-fried noodles, dumplings, small side dishes, and there was a gas stove for stir-frying food to order.

It was then that Jian Li realized the problem.

The night market would only get lively around seven or eight in the evening. She had arrived early, but what would they do later?

Wang Yunyun almost started crying: “I told you it wouldn’t work…”

Tao County was over half an hour away from Wangjia Village. The three of them couldn’t possibly walk back at night.

Jian Li gritted her teeth; they had already come, so she decided to wait until five or six, and then as soon as the market opened, she would start selling.

At the first stall, she began recommending her crabs: “Auntie, this thing will definitely sell well. Look, it’s ready to serve—just put it on a plate and sell it, no need to cook or season it. And if it doesn’t sell out, you don’t even need to put it in the fridge… It’s really cheap, only one yuan per jin.”

The woman tried a bite, shaking her head: “No, no, who eats crabs around here? They’re tasteless and don’t have much meat. You’d be better off selling dumplings, with a hearty helping of pork.”

Jian Li didn’t give up and kept on: “Auntie, trust me, this will sell well. It’s so hot, and everyone who drinks will want some snacks. These crabs are spicy and fragrant, and their shells are thin. You can even eat the little ones straight away…”

The woman was eventually worn down by her persistence and smiled: “This child, your brain is really quick.”

After thinking for a moment, the woman took a crab to discuss it with the man sitting behind her, smoking. A while later, she came back.

“Alright, I’ll trust you this time. It’s 60 cents a jin. I’ll take it all.”

Jian Li glanced at the setting sun, then hesitated for a moment.

“Make it 80 cents, Auntie. I’ll round it down a bit, just to make the deal easier.”

The woman laughed: “Okay, 80 cents it is.”

They borrowed a scale from a nearby fruit vendor. The crabs weighed over 30 jin.

“It’s 24.30 in total, but I’ll round it to 24.”

The woman happily paid, asking where they were from and how they came up with the idea of selling crabs.

Jian Li kept a secret, saying that her relatives were chefs.

“My uncle cooks at home, and we just wanted to sell them to get some pocket money.”

She even boosted the value of her crabs: “My uncle is a top chef at a big restaurant. His dishes sell for 7 or 8 yuan a plate.”

The woman was surprised: “Really?”

Jian Li nodded eagerly: “Really, the big bosses specifically ask for his food.”

The woman’s interest piqued, and she handed them each a drink.

“I’ll try selling them tonight, and if it sells well, you can keep supplying me. Consider this drink as my treat.”

Jian Li accepted the drink, agreeing enthusiastically.

“Auntie, don’t worry, it will sell well. If not, you can come find me.”

The woman couldn’t help but laugh, thinking how this little girl could talk better than the adults.

Having successfully sold her goods, Jian Li immediately took Wang Yunyun and Wang Shuai back home.

Wang Shuai, sitting on the back seat, looked uneasy.

Mostly, he was confused.

He just couldn’t understand how his sister had become like this.

Wang Yunyun felt as if she had been punched in the face.

She couldn’t help but feel ashamed. Even though she was the oldest, today she didn’t dare say a word. Jian Li was not only selling things, but also having to deal with that woman, while Wang Yunyun stood in the back, letting her younger sister take the lead.

Halfway through, Wang Yunyun quietly asked Jian Li if she was scared.

Jian Li, riding her bicycle, responded, “What’s there to be afraid of?”

Wang Yunyun hesitated and said, “…They’re all adults, and they’re still haggling…”

When she heard the woman refuse, Wang Yunyun felt her heart sink. But when the woman agreed, she felt as though she had ascended to heaven.

When the other party started haggling, she felt both angry and scared.

Then, as Jian Li bargained, Wang Yunyun was afraid and wanted to stop her, urging her to just accept it.

—-

“Don’t you think she’s bullying you?”

Jian Li chuckled.

“Sis, you need to understand whether she’s targeting the matter or the person.”