Chapter 11: Fragrant Fried Eggs

When she first saw these things, Wang Man was still a bit dazed.

She had indeed died and transmigrated—this much was real. But the fact that she could still access the storage room from her modern life—what was going on with that?

She didn’t read web novels, nor was she into all those romantic TV dramas.

What she liked were things even slightly related to martial arts practice.

If not that, then auctions.

She also enjoyed watching survival shows on deserted islands—anything adventurous or extreme challenge-related, she liked.

Once, just for the thrill of it, she and a friend even trekked through a tropical rainforest.

When she first entered the storage room, she had instinctively stored those taels of silver inside. Later on—she couldn’t get in anymore.

So for the past couple of days, she’d been rather frustrated.

But she believed that if she could enter once, then there would definitely be a second, a third time… Eventually, it would open up to her fully.

After all, it was her own space—shouldn’t things always return to their rightful owner?

Wang San ultimately couldn’t resist his urge to go out and wander—he snuck off.

Madam Ma was so afraid that Wang Man would vent her anger on her that she treaded carefully, not even daring to speak.

Wang Man didn’t bother with her either. She was focused on figuring out how to enter her storage room.

As long as she could get in, pulling out just a couple of gold bars would be enough to feed them for a long time.

After dozens of failed attempts, Wang Man finally grew disheartened.

For now, she still needed to stock up more food at home. If she waited any longer, winter would be upon them.

As for Wang San, that man was completely unreliable.

Dealing with him could wait until he came back.

Surprisingly, Wang San returned quite quickly—he came back the very next day.

In no time, he was grinning as he came over to Wang Man and said cheerfully,
“Man-niang, I’m back.”

Wang Man lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, then stretched out her hand and said,
“Hand it over.”

Since she couldn’t retrieve the taels of silver from the storage room for now, and the food at home wouldn’t last much longer, she figured she’d see if she could use this money to raise some livestock.

Wang San hesitated for a moment but still pulled out a handful of copper coins from his chest.

Wang Man counted them—exactly fifteen. Not one more, not one less.

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, lowering her head again to continue pondering her own matters.

Seeing that she wasn’t pressing him further, Wang San let out a sigh of relief.

He was a grown man, after all—he didn’t want to be getting beaten every day.
If word got out, how could he keep his standing in the streets?

After a few days of rest, the aftereffects of Wang Man’s concussion had improved quite a bit.

But she still couldn’t make any sudden or intense movements—otherwise, she’d feel dizzy, nauseous, and ready to vomit.

She was extremely frustrated now. If she had known the storage room would become inaccessible, she should’ve pulled out two gold bars right then and there.

Even just one would’ve been good. Worst case, just taking out a couple of taels of silver to keep outside would’ve helped.

Right now, she had nothing—just these fifteen wen in her hand. What could she possibly do with that?

Start a business? She wasn’t good at that sort of thing.

Besides, what kind of business could she even start with such a meager amount? It wasn’t enough to even cover startup costs.

She wondered if people here engaged in underground fighting. If they did, maybe she should just go back to her old trade?

Sigh. Forget it. Underground fighting wouldn’t work here.

This was the countryside, where everyone was just ordinary folk. At most, they quarreled a bit or got into a light scuffle—nothing serious enough to really throw punches.

If she ended up killing someone, wouldn’t she be facing a lawsuit? That kind of trouble wasn’t worth it.

Right—there’s that old saying: “Live off the mountain if you’re near the mountain, live off the water if you’re near the water.”

They did have a mountain nearby—Xianfeng Mountain.

It was said to stretch endlessly for tens of thousands of li, spanning across several counties.

Legend had it that it was once the cultivation site of an immortal.

The mountain was rich in resources, teeming with so much wildlife that it had practically reached the point of overpopulation.

But no one dared go in. It was extremely dangerous. Even on the outskirts of Xianfeng Mountain, wild boars and wolves could often be seen.

So, none of the villagers in Gaoshan Village dared venture into the mountain. Most of them only moved about on the nearby hills and ridges.

Even the old hunter who had once taught her martial arts had never gone up there.

Since Xianfeng Mountain was off-limits, that only left the river.

But the river wasn’t any simpler—it was called the Jumping Water River.

Now, does that sound like a normal name? Of course not.

The water inside, just like the name, would sometimes jump and bubble for no apparent reason, like boiling water. It was downright creepy.

Of course, that was just what the elders said. Whether it was true or not, she hadn’t seen it for herself.

Sigh. So, relying on the mountain wouldn’t work, and relying on the river wouldn’t work either. She’d have to come up with another solution.

Wang Man sat outside, her eyes darting around the area, scanning every corner she could see.

She was thinking—how could she solve the problems of food and clothing?

Just then, her neighbor, Old Madam Wang Si, passed by with her grandson, Wang Tugen, holding a boiled egg in hand. As the boy ate, he peeled the remaining shell.

Wang Man’s gaze landed on that egg—and in that instant, an idea sparked in her mind.

One copper coin could buy one egg. With fifteen wen, she could get fifteen eggs.

What if she turned those eggs into tea eggs, and sold them for two wen apiece—would anyone buy them?

But where would she get the tea?

Everyone around here was poor. Who would be drinking something as luxurious as tea?

No, no—that wouldn’t work. Tea eggs were out.

Wait—she could boil the eggs, crack the shells, sprinkle them with salt, and then roast them. The result would be a slightly charred, fragrant flavor with a touch of salt.

She used to love making them that way herself. There had to be someone who’d like them too.

They did have salt at home—just a small bowl that her eldest aunt-in-law, Madam Lu, had given her last time.

She’d only used a bit, so it should be enough for a dozen or so eggs, right?

Maybe she could think of a way to buy more eggs. Just a dozen felt too few.

But again—money limited her plans.

Suddenly, her eyes darted, remembering the way Wang San looked when he gave her the copper coins earlier. It seemed like he still had more on him.

What if she…?

Hehe…

With that thought, Wang Man turned and went inside.

She found Wang San sitting on a stool, dozing off against the wall.

She walked up and, without a word, began rummaging through his clothes.

Wang San was startled by the sudden movement and jerked awake, instinctively covering a spot at his waist.

“Man-niang, what are you doing?”

Wang Man just smiled without answering, her hands still working non-stop.

Her hand shot straight toward the spot Wang San was covering. Hmph—if that wasn’t a guilty conscience, what was?

Sure enough, she had guessed right.

With one swift grab, she pulled out a small money pouch. Opening it, she found about twenty-something copper coins inside.

The corner of Wang Man’s lips curled up.

“Wang San, who would’ve thought you were hiding private money? Hand it over to the household.”

With that, she tossed the pouch lightly into the air, caught it with practiced ease, and turned to walk away.

Wang San stared, wide-eyed, at Wang Man’s retreating figure. It wasn’t until then that he realized—those copper coins he’d worked so hard to stash away had just been snatched from him again.

He felt like crying. Was this a wife he had married, or a bandit he had brought home?

What a vicious wife! So young, yet already so corrupt—becoming a bandit, and not even bothering to rob anyone else, only targeting him.

Was his life easy or what?

Heaven above! Please come out and uphold some justice! If this keeps up, how’s he supposed to live in the future?

Thinking that, he sprang to his feet and chased after her.

No way—he had to take those coins back.

It might not be much, but it was still his capital, the key to turning his life around.

He had already handed over fifteen wen yesterday. Why should she come and rob him again today?