Chapter 22

In this era, eggs were a scarce commodity, considered a nutritional item.

When eggs and Chinese toon were placed together, most people would definitely think the eggs were the most valuable.

Lin Yulan didn’t have many eggs, but knowing that Jiang Rou had two children, she made sure to give her three.

Little did she know, Jiang Rou’s eyes were only on the Chinese toon.

She asked in surprise: “Yulan, are these… are these Chinese toon all for me?”

Lin Yulan, fearing she might not be able to give the gift properly, smiled awkwardly.

“I picked these Chinese toon yesterday from the mountain. They’re not worth much, I hope you don’t mind…”

“How could I mind! I love Chinese toon the most!” 

Jiang Rou interrupted Lin Yulan’s words, beaming with a wide smile, her eyes crescent-shaped, full of satisfaction.

Seeing this, Lin Yulan let out a sigh of relief and smiled as well.

…

After Lin Yulan left, Jiang Rou carefully stored the eggs away, making sure not to accidentally knock them.

While she did this, there were always two pairs of eyes silently watching her, observing as she hid the eggs.

Hmph.

Zhou Xiaochuan let out a cold snort in his heart.

He was already used to it.

Everyone was selfish; whenever someone got something good, they would hide it away, thinking of keeping it for themselves and never considering sharing it with him or his sister.

Including just now, the way she had been so kind to Xiao Hua—it was definitely because Dad was around, and she was just acting.

Zhou Xiaochuan’s gaze turned mocking, too lazy to look at Jiang Rou anymore.

He withdrew his gaze and grabbed Zhou Xiaohua, who had been staring at the eggs, drooling.

“Don’t look! Anyway, she’s not going to give us any. Come on, big brother will take you for a nap.”

With that, Zhou Xiaohua was dragged away.

Jiang Rou heard the faint voices coming from the bedroom, but she didn’t respond or explain.

Because she had more important things to do.

Jiang Rou emptied the basket of Chinese toon.

Chinese toon was a reddish-blue wild vegetable, a limited spring treat.

It grew on the toon tree, and only the tender tips could be eaten.

The older leaves would be bitter and astringent, so they couldn’t be eaten.

Because of its rarity, it had always been expensive.

Lin Yulan was a careful and patient person. The Chinese toon she had picked was from the freshest parts, and she had cleaned it thoroughly, with no other fallen leaves mixed in.

Jiang Rou divided all the Chinese toon into two portions, neatly arranged them, and tied them with a small string.

Next, she stood up and glanced at the bedroom, seeing that the two little ones had already cuddled together and were lying on the bed, napping.

Jiang Rou gently closed the door.

As she turned back, her expression brightened, and she immediately reached up to touch the jade ring on her chest.

The familiar rainbow-white light flashed before her eyes.

“Dear Master, welcome to the Space System. Your Tao Duoduo Mall has been opened and is running smoothly. It can be used at any time.”

Once Jiang Rou opened her eyes, she skillfully navigated the mall interface.

She first checked the previously created “Jiang Xiao’er General Store.” which had passed the System’s automatic review.

Then, she took the half of the Chinese toon she had already prepared and brought it into the Space System.

She placed it into the “Jiang Xiao’er General Store” and clicked to upload.

Tao Duoduo Mall had a very magical big data recognition system. All uploaded products didn’t require the shop owner to fill in any related information, as the system would automatically provide options.

Ding! The product has been successfully uploaded.

Product Name: Spring Limited Rare Wild Vegetable, Chinese Toon.

Product Weight: 500g

Suggested Retail Price: 200 Yuan

Jiang Rou was very satisfied with the 200 Yuan price and didn’t bother to modify it. She simply clicked confirm and listed the product.

Three minutes later.

Because of the rarity of the product, this batch of Chinese toon immediately showed as sold.

Dear shop owner, your product “Spring Limited Rare Wild Vegetable, Chinese Toon” has been sold.

Ding-dong, 200 Yuan has been credited today.

With the pleasant sound of the deposit notification.

Jiang Rou happily opened her account balance and saw the 200 Yuan displayed.

This time, she was no longer a penniless person with a zero balance.

And then, thinking about…

Lin Yulan had just said that these Chinese toon were all picked from the mountain.

So there might be large patches of Chinese toon still growing in the mountain, ready to be harvested.

It was just early spring, and besides Chinese toon, it was also the season for other wild vegetables to grow.

Things like shepherd’s purse, elm seeds, sunflowers, amaranth, dandelions, knotweed…

As well as wild ferns, purslane, wild onions, water celery, and wild garlic…

Perhaps all these wild vegetables could be found.

Without pesticides or fertilizers, they were pure organic wild vegetables, and the System would definitely recognize them as high-quality products.

Moreover, with the soaring prices in the 21st century, many wild vegetables were becoming harder and harder to find, and their prices naturally rose as well.

This was why Chinese toon could be sold for an astronomical price of 200 Yuan per jin.

The prices of other wild vegetables certainly wouldn’t be low either.

By then…

Achieving financial freedom would be a matter of moments.

And…

They were on an island, so there must be places where they could harvest seafood. In that case, they could collect the freshest seafood all year round and still sell it for a good price.

Jiang Rou’s grocery store would surely have a thriving business in the future, with no worries about sales.

However, in the present moment,

Jiang Rou had no time to daydream about that; instead, she was busy spending money.

The home was too simple, and to maintain a normal life, there were many things she needed to buy.

Toothbrushes, three yuan each—buy!

Toothpaste powder, ten yuan per box—buy!

…

Jiang Rou selected everything carefully, choosing only the most affordable and practical items.

After all, 200 yuan wasn’t a lot; she still needed to be frugal.

Thinking of Zhou Xiaohua and recalling her chubby little face,

Jiang Rou chose a pack of Yumeijing cream, one yuan per pack—cheap and generous—buy!

She also picked out candy that children loved to eat…

The most famous one was White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

White Rabbit Creamy Candy had been a rare treat in the 1970s, not available in ordinary supply and marketing cooperatives. Only department stores in big cities had it.

Such a great product, and by the 21st century, its price was still high.

A pack of White Rabbit Creamy Candy sold for twenty-four yuan.

Although Jiang Rou felt a bit of pain in her pocket, she still bought it without hesitation.

Aside from that,

The thing Jiang Rou most wanted to improve was the meals.

Three meals a day were either steamed buns or steamed cornmeal buns, with no trace of oil in the vegetables. The food was simply too poor.

Adults might be able to eat like this, but for two children, these foods provided no nutrition at all.

Jiang Rou typed “pork belly” into the System mall…

One strip after another of tender pink pork belly, with a balanced mix of fat and lean, appeared on the screen.

Moreover, the price wasn’t high—only eighteen yuan per jin.

With the remaining balance, she could easily buy two or three jin.

However…

She suddenly realized she had pork. If anyone found out, how could she explain it?

That would surely cause a commotion.

It seemed that buying the pork belly wasn’t an option anymore.

But!

She could still find an alternative solution.

Jiang Rou reentered the search keywords and tried again.

[Dingdong.]

[You have purchased “Edible Lard 200g” for 15 yuan.]

A small jar of lard, packaged in a glass bottle, with a solid, milky white paste inside.

Before even opening the lid, Jiang Rou could already smell a rich, meaty aroma from the lard.

With the lard, she could use it to cook.

Not only would it be unnoticeable, but it would also enhance the flavor of the food.

This was the perfect solution to Jiang Rou’s current dilemma.

…

Jiang Rou took all the things she had bought out of the System space.

She also gathered the items the women from the courtyard had sent today.

She began to sort and organize everything.

Aside from that,

Jiang Rou needed to clean both the inside and outside of the house.

The only clean room was the bedroom.

The living room and kitchen had accumulated a thick layer of dust since no one had been using them.

Jiang Rou first filled a basin with water and sprinkled a fine layer of droplets on the floor.

Then she found a broom and began sweeping from the inside out.

Back and forth, she repeated the process three times, finally managing to clean things up a bit.

She climbed up to clean the windows, then moved on to the kitchen.

These things were all related to food, things that would end up in the mouth, so she had to be even more careful, more thorough.

Jiang Rou exerted all her energy, constantly tidying up.

She didn’t even realize when the two children woke up. She was still bending over, her head lowered, scrubbing away the stubborn stains on the stove.

The sky gradually darkened.

That evening, the person who brought food wasn’t Song Yan, but Zhou Chongshan himself.

Zhou Chongshan pushed open the door and walked into the house.

He glanced around at the now bright and clean room.

The man stopped in his tracks, his gaze unfamiliar, and he instinctively took a few steps back.

He exited the house, looked around the familiar courtyard, and then reentered the house.

The old, dusty smell was gone, replaced by a fragrant scent.

Wherever his gaze fell, everything was spotless, immaculate.

This… was this his home?

—