Chapter 25: Past Events

In winter, the days are short, the nights are long, and time flies by. When the first snow of the season fell over Changle Town, it was already the twelfth lunar month, and the year was coming to an end.

As time passed, Wang Yuan’er’s tea egg business at the pier became well-known. Now, everyone in Changle Town knew about this snack. Seeing her success, some families secretly started making and selling similar eggs. However, without knowing the exact recipe, their eggs didn’t taste as good as Wang Yuan’er’s. Gradually, people stopped trying, and those who wanted tea eggs would buy Wang’s Five-Spice Tea Eggs, as they were considered the authentic ones.

In the twelfth lunar month, snowflakes danced in the air, and the north wind grew increasingly bitter.

Wang Yuan’er stayed in her room, counting the money she had made from selling tea eggs. She had saved up two taels of silver, which was not in vain. However, tea eggs were still a small business. To expand, she needed to think of more ways to make money. She closed her eyes, thinking about her past life, bit by bit. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stood up.

The pier in Changle Town would become a central hub for canal transport. When and why would it open?

She remembered!

In her previous life, during the Dragon Boat Festival in the thirtieth year of Jianhe, the emperor was assassinated by the deposed crown prince during a palace banquet. The rebellion was later quelled, and Prince Jing, the fifth son, was supported as the new emperor, changing the era name to Jing Sheng. The new emperor was called Emperor Jing. He then opened the imperial examinations, promoted canal transport, and encouraged agriculture and commerce, ushering in a prosperous era.

Because of the canal transport, the land prices in Changle Town skyrocketed. People even fought to the death over a few feet of land. Unfortunately, a future flood would still destroy everything.

However, Wang Yuan’er wasn’t thinking about land prices at the moment. She was thinking about the most scandalous event.

There were rumors that the crown prince was deposed and committed regicide because he had an affair with one of the emperor’s concubines during the Lantern Festival. The emperor found out, leading to the crown prince’s downfall and the tragic regicide.

Wang Yuan’er sat down on the kang, counting on her fingers. This year was the end of the twenty-ninth year, and next year would be the thirtieth year of Jianhe. In a few months, the emperor would pass away.

The crown prince’s scandal with his stepmother would be exposed during the Lantern Festival, leading to his deposition. It wasn’t far off.

Thinking of these rumors, Wang Yuan’er felt disgusted. This was the imperial family, known for being heartless. They killed without hesitation, whether it was father or son. But these were not things she, a commoner, could change or discuss. Common people only cared about having enough to eat and wear, not who sat on the throne.

Shaking off these thoughts, Wang Yuan’er focused on land prices. If she had money now, buying some land to hold onto would be great, as its value would multiply in the future. Unfortunately…

She squeezed her small purse and pouted. With this little money, what land could she buy?

Looking out the window, she saw Madam Liang coming out of the kitchen with a basin. Her protruding belly looked out of place on her thin frame.

Madam Liang was already eight months pregnant and might give birth after the new year. Thinking of the tragic fate of Madam Liang and her unborn child in her previous life, Wang Yuan’er felt uneasy. Could she really change that outcome, or would fate repeat itself?

No!

Wang Yuan’er refused to think further, shaking off the bad thoughts. Since heaven had given her a second chance, it wouldn’t let her suffer the same pain again. It wouldn’t.

Chapter 26: Hearing the News of a Death

Wang Yuan’er carried her usual basket and walked back to town from the pier. The weather was getting colder, and there were fewer boats and travelers, with people hurrying along. Today’s business was worse than usual.

“Hey, Wang family’s eldest girl, slow down. Do you still have braised eggs today?” As she walked past Ban’er Street, Madam Lu from Lu’s Coffin Shop called out to Wang Yuan’er.

“Aunt Lu, I have some,” Wang Yuan’er quickly stopped, put down her basket, and replied with a smile, “Aunt, how many do you want?”

“Give me three,” Madam Lu said, pursing her lips. “I have to say, your braised eggs are a bit expensive. If my son didn’t like them so much, I wouldn’t buy them. His aunt is coming today, so I’ll cut them up as a dish to save trouble. Can’t you sell them cheaper, Wang family’s eldest girl?”

Wang Yuan’er forced a smile, “This is already very cheap. The price of eggs has gone up. Aunt, you’re a wealthy person; consider it a treat for me.”

Since she started buying eggs to make braised eggs, many egg sellers in Changle Town have taken the opportunity to raise prices. Compared to the beginning, the profit margin on each five-wen egg had decreased significantly.

“Oh, look at this sweet talker. Fine, wrap them up for me and add more sauce,” Madam Lu said, waving her hand and talking to a woman standing on her shop’s steps.

“Hey.”

“That liquor might be called nectar and jade liquid, but it’s also deadly. I’ve always said, with his drinking, he’d get into trouble sooner or later. He couldn’t even make it to the new year,” the woman sighed as she watched Wang Yuan’er work.

“Exactly. I heard his body was stiff when they pulled him out. It’s his own fault. The big rocks in the ditch are always there. Drunk and disoriented, he fell in and hit his head,” Madam Lu replied. “My husband said he seemed to have hit the back of his head. Did you see it?”

“You know I’m scared of these things. I wouldn’t dare look. That’s what I heard,” the woman said, patting her chest in fear and then looking sympathetic. “Poor Gou Dan, already lost his mother, and now his father too. Did he just buy a coffin from you?”

Mentioning this, Madam Lu looked displeased and said, “If Zhao Niu had any money, he spent it on liquor. Gou Dan was often starving and stole buns from Zhang’s shop. You know that, right? Their house is so rundown that not even thieves would bother. How could they afford a coffin?”

“They can’t just bury him like that, can they?” the woman exclaimed.

“No, they can’t. My husband made a thin coffin for him and said it was on credit. But who knows if we’ll ever get paid back,” Madam Lu said scornfully. Noticing Wang Yuan’er had stopped moving, she called out, “Hey, Wang family’s eldest girl, why are you so slow with those eggs?”

Wang Yuan’er snapped out of her shock and asked, “Aunt Lu, did you just say that Gou Dan’s father died?”

“Yes, last night he got drunk and fell into a ditch, hit his head, and died,” Madam Lu said, annoyed.

Clatter!

Wang Yuan’er’s wooden spoon fell into the clay pot, her eyes staring blankly. Some people and events remained unchanged from her previous life. What about the future?