Yu Xiaolian listened to Yu Changhe's words and felt that there was another way to make money.
She could sell the fish stew spice packets to the restaurants. Her space not only had fish stew spices, but also ingredients for braised pork, spicy crayfish, braised meat, hot pot base, bean paste, rice sauces, all sorts of things. The fresh food area of the supermarket was stocked with items essential to modern households, which were also consumables.
Always selling ginseng wasn't a sustainable solution and would raise suspicion.
Yu Xiaolian squinted her eyes, ready to change her approach.
Although she had several hundred taels of silver in her space, who would complain about having too much money?
After all, she was bound to confront Jun Mobai sooner or later. Jun Mobai was both powerful and influential. As a woman in ancient times, it was impossible for her to succeed through the imperial exams, but she could throw money at promising students from humble backgrounds to cultivate her own influence.
That's the way to go.
Yu Xiaolian discussed her idea with Mrs. Sun, but to her surprise, Mrs. Sun disagreed. She believed that the silver and items in the space were sufficient for them to live comfortably for a lifetime without unnecessary hassle.
Left with no choice, Yu Xiaolian explained to Mrs. Sun that she dreamt of both her and Yu Changhe encountering trouble, more so from offending an influential person. Without accumulating strength, they'd be at the mercy of others.
After the incident with the space, Mrs. Sun naturally believed Yu Xiaolian's words. Nervously, she asked for details, and Yu Xiaolian shared some of the specifics.
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun not only stopped opposing but took it upon herself to handle the matter, stating that the people at the town's restaurant wouldn't believe the words of a ten-year-old child, let alone discuss business with her.
Mrs. Sun volunteered, and Yu Xiaolian couldn't be happier.
The two of them quickly reached an agreement, whispered to each other for a while, and then got busy.
Mrs. Sun decided to finish her embroidery work first before tackling other tasks. The food items could be brought out openly, so Yu Xiaolian didn't need to gather wild vegetables or herbs anymore, but they still needed to collect firewood.
The supermarket didn't have firewood or coal.
Mrs. Sun worked on embroidery, Yu Changhe wove baskets, and Yu Xiaolian went up the mountain to collect wood.
The collected branches were piled into a stack and tied with ropes made from water bulrush grass.
When Yu Xiaolian was about to set off, Yu Changhe offered to carry them for her once tied up, but considering Yu Changhe's leg inconvenience, she decided against it.
She would carry small bundles herself and make several trips back and forth.
This way, Yu Xiaolian carried firewood back and forth for several days in a row.
The firewood was stacked in the corner of the backyard, separated from the firewood of Old Lady Yu and others.
Seeing Yu Xiaolian shuttle back and forth carrying so much firewood, Yu Changhe told her to rest and continue later. Yu Xiaolian, indeed a bit tired, sat down beside the wall where it was cool.
As she helped Yu Changhe strip willow branches, they chatted casually.
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of incense, and Yu Xiaolian sniffed. It seemed to be coming from Old Lady Yu's house.
Noticing that Old Lady Yu's window was open, out of curiosity, Yu Xiaolian leaned against the window and craned her neck to look inside.
This glance almost made her burst out laughing.
Old Lady Yu, with utmost sincerity, was kneeling on the ground, holding thick incense sticks and bowing to the 'Land God'!
This 'Land God' was, of course, the Slow Sheep Village Chief Yu Xiaolian mischievously took from the supermarket.
At the moment, the Slow Sheep Village Chief was being worshipped on the altar set up by Old Lady Yu, with a few wild pears and five steamed white buns laid out before him.
Old Lady Yu kowtowed several times, speaking fervently, "Please, Land God, when the silver coins are ample, return my money to me. My youngest son is not yet married, and I depend on this money for my old age!"
Unfortunately, the village chief couldn't care less about these matters. You've prayed to the wrong entity.
Yu Xiaolian covered her mouth, laughing until her stomach hurt.
Afraid of being discovered by Old Lady Yu, she quickly slipped away after enjoying the spectacle.
She never imagined that Old Lady Yu would actually believe the nonsense she casually made up, or perhaps Old Lady Yu thought it was worth a try in a hopeless situation?
Apparently, losing that money made Old Lady Yu feel worse than death!
Since lunchtime, she hadn't seen Yu Changfu. She didn't know if he went to the fields with Old Man Yu to weed or went to fetch Mrs. Cao from her parents' house.
In the evening, Mrs. Sun cooked some porridge again, but it wasn't as watery as usual. After the family had a simple meal, Mrs. Sun asked Yu Changhe to heat water in the kitchen as she wanted to take a bath.
Once Yu Changhe had the hot water ready and moved the bathtub into the room, he closed the door and left. Yu Xiaolian took Mrs. Sun to the supermarket's toiletries section, letting her choose her favorite shower gel, shampoo, and other items like toothpaste and a toothbrush.
Excited like a child, Mrs. Sun, guided by Yu Xiaolian, eventually picked a bottle of rose-scented shower gel, a bottle of ginger shampoo, a soft-bristle toothbrush, and a whitening toothpaste.
Yu Xiaolian then took Mrs. Sun to the skincare section to introduce her to toner and moisturizer. However, to her surprise, Mrs. Sun ignored the skincare sets in favor of the cheapest snow cream.
Mrs. Sun's reasoning was simple: snow cream—fragrant.
The moment she smelled it, she loved it.
Real quality skin care products often don't have strong fragrances, but Mrs. Sun didn't know that and simply chose what smelled the best to her. Yu Xiaolian didn't want to interfere much. Everyone has the right to make their own choices.
After choosing those items, Yu Xiaolian let Mrs. Sun pick a towel before they left the supermarket.
Both of them happily took a bath, and Mrs. Sun, smiling, applied the snow cream in front of the bronze mirror.
Smells wonderful!
Mrs. Sun smelled her hands, her face full of delight.
Just then, Yu Changhe's voice sounded from outside the door, "Why are you two taking so long with the bath? Are you done yet?"
Mrs. Sun panicked slightly, "Your dad shouldn't see these things. Quickly put them away, and I'll come to you when I need them."
Mrs. Sun took out an empty rouge box she had used before and transferred some of the snow cream into it. She loved the snow cream so much she wanted to use it every day.
After Mrs. Sun scooped out some snow cream, Yu Xiaolian put everything away.
Mrs. Sun opened the door from the inside and asked Yu Changhe to dispose of the bathwater.
Yu Changhe's sharp nose detected something, "Why does it smell so nice in here?"
Mrs. Sun replied vaguely, "Xushi gave me a small box of fragrance cream, which I used just now."
It's not surprising that Xushi had fragrance cream; she was known for her love of beauty. What puzzled Yu Changhe was, "Why would Xushi give you such a precious gift?"
With her back to Yu Changhe, Mrs. Sun said, "Perhaps she saw that I repaid several taels of silver at once and thought our family was well off, trying to ingratiate herself with me."
Back when Yu Changhe was a government official, Xushi's attitude towards Mrs. Sun was warm and friendly; her treatment changed after Yu Changhe injured his leg and lost his job.
"Now that she thinks you're well-off again, who knows what her ulterior motives are? In the future, don't accept things she gives you; if you want to use something, buy it yourself from the town."
Mrs. Sun agreed with a few nods, "Tomorrow, I really do need to go to town. I'm running low on embroidery threads and need to pick up some other supplies too."
Yu Changhe frowned, "Mother and the others have just searched our house; they know we don't have money. If you come back with purchases, what if Mother asks where they came from?"
Yu Changhe believed it wasn't yet time to buy things.
Mrs. Sun suggested, "Tomorrow, I'll take the baskets you've woven and the Jiang family's cart. If she asks, I'll say we sold the baskets and earned the money."
Yu Changhe nodded in agreement. This way, the baskets won't get stolen by Yu Ziyi anymore, an issue he hadn't dared mention to Mrs. Sun for fear of starting a conflict again.