Seeing a customer walk in, the young shop assistant in short clothes hurried forward.
“Miss, what kind of seeds are you looking for? Our shop has the most complete selection. We have just about everything.”
The man who looked like Lingli Chong kept scanning Xiao’an’s face with his narrow eyes, as though her face were a beautiful flower that he wanted to stare at to his heart’s content.
Xiao’an glanced at him before asking the shop assistant,
“Do you have sweet melon seeds?”
“Yes, yes! We do. Twenty copper coins per liang.”
Xiao’an had absolutely no idea about ancient prices, so she instinctively blurted out,
“That expensive?”
The shop assistant shook his head.
“Miss, the seeds in our shop are not expensive at all. You won’t find a cheaper price anywhere in the whole of Qi County.”
He respectfully glanced at the “Lingli Chong” beside him.
“This is our shopkeeper. He’s always sympathetic toward poor people. Just think about it—how could he possibly sell things at an unreasonable price?”
The “Lingli Chong” chuckled a few times before taking over the conversation at just the right moment.
“Little girl, if I may say so without sounding boastful, many people like to call me ‘Liu the Great Benefactor.’
“There’s only one reason for that—I’m kind-hearted.
“When I sell seeds, I always give exactly the proper weight. I never cheat people or make dirty money.
“Sweet melon seeds are light, and nobody buys them by the whole jin. Even if I charged you a little extra, how much more could I possibly make? A few copper coins?
“Would I really commit a sin just for a few copper coins? It wouldn’t be worth it.”
Xiao’an thought about it and realized he had a point.
“I want to plant two mu of land. How many seeds will I need?”
Liu the Great Benefactor looked at Xiao’an with a broad smile.
“I know the soil conditions of all the villages around Qi County like the back of my hand. That’s a basic skill every seed merchant must have.
“Which village are you from? I’ll calculate roughly how many seeds you need based on your village’s soil.”
“Linshi Village. It’s mountainous terrain.”
“For mountain land, the seedlings can’t be planted too far apart. Otherwise, if some seedlings die, you’ll waste an entire section of land.
“Two liang will be enough. You’ll even have some left over. If any seedlings die, you’ll still have enough to replant them in time.”
Two liang really did seem reasonable.
Xiao’an spent forty copper coins to buy two liang of sweet melon seeds, and the shop assistant carefully wrapped them in oil paper.
She left Liu the Great Benefactor’s shop and headed straight for another store that sold grain.
She needed to buy cornmeal.
Going without any grain for a short period was possible, but no one could endure it for too long.
Cornmeal that had originally cost ten copper coins per jin had already risen to twenty copper coins.
After buying the sweet melon seeds, Xiao’an’s remaining one tael of silver was just enough to buy forty-eight jin of cornmeal.
For one person, supplemented with wild vegetables, that would last her more than two months.
Her food problem was temporarily solved.
She put the cornmeal into her basket and carried it toward the city gate.
Once she left the city and reached a secluded stretch of road, Xiao’an quietly put the basket into her space.
She continued walking lightly and empty-handed.
Only when she was about to enter the village did she take the basket back out of her space and put it on her back.
Her first stop was Zhu Cui’s house.
When Zhu Cui saw Xiao’an, she became extremely excited and immediately asked with concern,
“How did you sleep last night? Were you scared?
“I was actually thinking about going up the mountain to check on you later.”
Xiao’an smiled.
“There’s a bed in the bamboo house, and I can bolt the door from inside. I slept quite well.
“Auntie, don’t worry about me.”
Zhu Cui asked again,
“It rained last night, and everyone is getting ready to plant their crops. What are you planning to plant on your two mu of land?”
“Sweet melons. Look, I just came back from the county town. I bought two liang of sweet melon seeds.”
“Sweet melons?”
Zhu Cui and Wang Dashan were both startled.
“Will sweet melons really sell well during a famine?
“They spoil quickly once they ripen. If you don’t sell them in time, they’ll rot.”
“Sweet melons have a short growing period, and not many people plant them. I think they should sell well.”
Zhu Cui sighed.
“If you don’t plant sweet melons, the only other option is corn. The harvests have been poor for the past two years. Maybe planting sweet melons really could earn you some extra money.”
Then she said,
“Since you’ve decided to plant sweet melons, I still have some watermelon seeds at home. You can take them and plant them too.”
Xiao’an accepted the watermelon seeds from Zhu Cui.
She also took her washbasin, bowls, and chopsticks and placed them in her basket.
Zhu Cui smiled.
“Silly girl, that’s too heavy. You won’t be able to carry it. Let me help you take it up.”
Xiao’an put the basket on her back.
“Auntie, look. Am I not carrying it easily? It’s not heavy at all.”
After saying goodbye to Zhu Cui, she headed toward the mountains.
After walking a little more than two li, Xiao’an suddenly realized something.
The original owner had died of starvation.
There was no need to think too hard about how weak this body should have been.
Yet she was carrying more than fifty jin of goods and didn’t feel tired at all.
Could it be that after transmigrating, getting the portable space wasn’t the only advantage I received?
Did I also gain superhuman strength?
Farming required physical strength everywhere, and she was living alone, so she also needed to protect herself from unscrupulous people.
Having this ability was incredibly useful.
When she reached the middle of the mountain, she opened the bamboo house door.
Xiao’an propped the door open with a stick. Otherwise, the inside was too dark.
She entered her space and took out a small electric saw.
With it, she easily cut a window into the bamboo wall at the front of the house.
She then sawed down another bamboo stalk and made a simple window frame.
Inside her space, she found a piece of very old fabric whose original pattern could no longer be recognized.
She fixed the old cloth to the window frame.
Sunlight filtered through the fabric, immediately making the room much brighter.
Xiao’an was worried that someone might tear down the old cloth and climb through the window when she was away.
So she nailed several strips of bamboo vertically across both the inside and outside of the window, making something like bars.
Of course, these “bars” were made of bamboo rather than iron.
They could keep out respectable people, but they wouldn’t stop a truly unscrupulous person.
After finishing the window and securing the door, Xiao’an carried the cornmeal into her space.
She washed her hands, mixed a basin of cornmeal with warm water, added yeast according to the proper ratio, and then added some white sugar.
She steamed a basin of fluffy, sweet cornmeal cake.
Each piece was about the size of a small rice bowl.
Xiao’an ate two in one sitting and drank a cup of warm water.
For the first time in many days, she had eaten until she was full.
That afternoon, she went down the mountain again.
She brought three cornmeal cakes to Zhu Cui for her children to taste and retrieved her iron cooking pot and farming tools.
Outside the bamboo house, she built a simple stove.
Once she had free time, she could gather firewood and cook simple meals outside.
The next morning, Xiao’an heated one of the cornmeal cakes and ate it.
She came out of her space and was preparing to go work in the fields when she heard footsteps.
Someone was coming up the mountain.
Xiao’an pushed open the door.
Sure enough, three people were climbing the narrow mountain path toward her.
She knew all three of them.
They were the original owner’s parents—Su Shun and Zhao Daiqin—and the other was Zhou Dalan, the matchmaker who lived at the eastern end of Linshi Village.
Zhao Daiqin had a broad smile on her face, and her voice was as gentle as silk.
“Xiao’an, come inside. Your mother has something to tell you.”
The original owner had suffered even more than Xiao’an.
Xiao’an had lost her biological mother and then been abandoned by her biological father, who left her with her grandparents.
The original owner’s parents were both alive.
They had simply abandoned her with her grandparents because she was a girl.
Xiao’an had the original owner’s memories, so she naturally knew exactly what kind of people her parents were.
She glanced at Zhao Daiqin.
“If you have something to say, just say it. I still have work to do.”
Zhou Dalan was wearing a very old dark-red silk flower in her hair.
It was covered in layers of dirt that could no longer be washed away, like a heart that had accumulated filth.
She dramatically clapped her hands.
Her voice was loud and shrill.
“Xiao’an, Auntie is here to congratulate you first!”
She looked as though some wonderful piece of good fortune had suddenly fallen from the sky and landed directly in Xiao’an’s lap.
Xiao’an remained completely unmoved.
“Where does this ‘good news’ come from?”
Zhou Dalan clapped her hands again.
“Girl, you know Liu the Great Benefactor from the county, right?
“He wants to take a second wife, and he came to me to find him a suitable girl.
“His requirements are quite high. He wants a girl who is young and delicate, but who can also read and write.
“His first wife is ill and has been bedridden for years, so she can’t manage the household.
“He wants to marry a second wife to help manage the household and keep an eye on the cabinet where he stores his silver.
“The moment he told me what he wanted, I thought of you.
“Among all the girls in the surrounding villages, none of them are as pretty as you. And on top of that, you can read and write and know how to manage a household.
“You’re sixteen, at the perfect age—fresh and beautiful.
“Forget Liu the Great Benefactor. Even if it were an official riding around in a sedan chair, he’d definitely take a liking to you when he saw you.
“I didn’t dare waste any time, so I hurried to find your parents.
“This is a wonderful opportunity that’s nearly impossible to come by. They were both quite happy about it, so they brought me here to discuss it with you.
“Go and clean yourself up properly. I’ll take you to Liu the Great Benefactor’s house so he can meet you.
“If he likes you, you won’t have to live alone in that shabby house your grandparents left behind, suffering through a miserable life anymore.”