Su Yi played with the two little cubs for a while and then got on the kang bed to rest. It wasn’t until three o’clock in the afternoon that she got down to start her yard work.
Possessing immense strength, Su Yi wielded her hoe and turned the soil over in just a few strokes, shaping it into a neat, square little vegetable plot. She was highly skilled at sowing seeds, burying them with soil, and watering.
This whole area consisted of abandoned mountain land, so the vegetable plot probably wouldn’t yield a good harvest without being watered with spiritual spring water. However, she never intended to rely on this tiny plot of land to make a living anyway. Still, she couldn’t let her planting go completely to waste, so the water she had just poured was spiritual spring water diluted with river water. After all, she had worked hard to plant it, and she couldn’t let it result in a total crop failure.
After planting the vegetables, Su Yi smashed two bowls and a glass bottle, preparing to plant the shards along the top of the wall.
The sun was already sinking into the west. A young girl leaning over a wall to plant broken glass presented a picture that was both jarring and strangely harmonious.
The jarring part was Su Yi muttering to herself, “You petty thieves, if you dare to come and actually manage to climb up here, I’ll respect you as a brave soul! But if I really catch you, even if you don’t die, you’ll lose a layer of skin.”
The harmonious part was that under the glow of the setting sun, the sight of the beautiful Su Yi leaning over the wall working looked exceptionally picturesque.
Stepping onto her homemade ladder, Su Yi felt perfectly secure. She had tested it before using it and found it very sturdy, so she was completely at ease and didn’t worry about her safety at all. Within a short while, Su Yi climbed down from the ladder.
“Finally got the courtyard sorted out! I also want to set up a table and place a lounge chair in the yard. In the future, I can drink tea and admire the moon out here,” Su Yi said as she looked at her courtyard, visualizing the setup.
“Tomorrow it’s time to go make some money! What should I do?” After speaking, Su Yi went into her spatial dimension to find some inspiration.
Su Yi walked down the aisles of her supermarket space, looking at the wide variety of ingredients and seasonings.
“I’ve got it! Ready-made braising spice packets, pig’s trotters, pig’s ears, chicken drumsticks, potatoes, soy products… with so many ingredients, I can totally make braised food! If I braise two pots, I’ll have both meat and vegetarian dishes covered.”
“If I put in the braising spice packets, and then add hotpot soup base and various seasonings, won’t it smell heavenly? My culinary skills aren’t bad at all, let’s give it a try!”
No sooner said than done! Su Yi immediately used her thoughts to clean the required ingredients. Afterward, she took out a pressure cooker, threw in the spices and the meat, and finally turned on the stove.
“It’ll only take half an hour! If the taste is good, I’ll start selling it tomorrow!”
Before she knew it, the fragrant aroma of the braised broth drifted through the kitchen and even filled the entire small courtyard. “Good thing my place is secluded, otherwise God knows how many people would be driven crazy by this delicious smell!” After speaking, Su Yi took a sip of the yogurt in her hand.
“The time is about right, it’s time to put in the vegetables!” Su Yi opened the pot as she spoke.
The braised broth looked incredibly rich, and the braised meat had a bright, glossy reddish color that looked extremely enticing. Su Yi couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.
She scooped all the braised meat out directly and then threw the vegetables into the pot.
“The vegetables will be ready in three minutes!” Su Yi said confidently, closing the lid again.
Su Yi couldn’t wait to take a bite of a braised pig’s trotter, saying happily, “It’s so fragrant! This skin is so soft and chewy. Ah—hot, hot! It’ll taste amazing even when it cools down! This flavor is completely good enough to sell. I am seriously amazing!”
After taking just a few bites of the pig’s trotter, Su Yi set it down and turned off the stove. She didn’t rush to scoop the food out, leaving it in the pot to continue soaking up the flavor. She decided that her dinner for tonight would be this braised food, paired perfectly with a steamed bun!
“I’ll braise another pot after I finish eating! I’ll braise two pots first to test the waters. If I really can’t sell it, I’ll just eat it myself. Anyway, it stays fresh inside the spatial dimension!”
After finishing her dinner, Su Yi followed the same blueprint and braised another pot. Once it was done, she quickly moved it into her space to keep it warm.
“I better clean up quickly and go to bed. I have to wake up early tomorrow to go to the town to sell the braised goods!”
It took very little effort to clean up, which was all thanks to Su Yi’s excellent prep work earlier, leaving very little that needed cleaning now.
At ten o’clock in the evening, Su Yi finally lay down on her large kang bed. Before long, a serene sleeping expression appeared on her face.
The next morning, Su Yi got out of bed at six o’clock. After a simple wash up, she applied makeup to darken her complexion by two shades to make herself look like an ordinary peasant girl, and then she was fully ready.
Su Yi made herself a braised food sandwich using a steamed bun, pairing it with spiritual spring water for a quick breakfast.
After breakfast, Su Yi rode her electric scooter out the door. She rode toward the town with great caution along the way, terrified of running into anyone. Fortunately, an electric scooter didn’t make noise like a car; if anyone were nearby, she could just stash it away instantly.
Luckily, she didn’t encounter a single soul along the road. When she was almost at the town, Su Yi started walking on foot. Carrying her “cheat” wicker backpack toward the town, she finally began crossing paths with people.
“Thank goodness I put the electric scooter away early! Otherwise, I would have been completely finished,” Su Yi said with lingering fear.
After walking for another twenty minutes or so, Su Yi finally reached her destination—the market stalls area.
Su Yi set up a simple table and sorted the braised food by category. Pork, pig’s trotters, chicken drumsticks, potato slices… she separated each item and arranged them on large platters so customers could easily make their selections. She also cut up two plates of samples—one meat and one vegetarian—all chopped into relatively small pieces.
With all the preparations completed, Su Yi began calling out to attract customers. In truth, she didn’t even need to shout; some people had already noticed her novel stall setup and were gathering around out of curiosity.
“Braised food for sale! Meat and vegetarian dishes available! We have pork, pig’s trotters, chicken drumsticks, potato slices, green beans…”
“A wide variety of dishes! Meat dishes are twelve copper coins per pound, and vegetarian dishes are three copper coins per pound. Come and have a sample!”
Su Yi looked at the crowd in front of her stall. “Everyone is welcome to come and try a piece. Take a toothpick yourself; if you think it doesn’t taste good after eating, you don’t have to buy!” Su Yi pointed to the toothpicks placed in a small dish.
An older woman smelled the fragrance and swallowed her saliva. “Young lady, let me try!”
“Sure!” Su Yi picked up the plate and handed it to the woman. The older woman poked a piece of pork. “Mmm—so delicious! Give me a pound of pork. Even though it’s a bit pricey, the taste is just too good!”
“Alright! Coming right up, please wait a moment!” Su Yi said happily.
Just like that, Su Yi’s stall officially opened for business.
Almost all the customers who tried the samples said they wanted to buy. In an instant, Su Yi’s business exploded!
“Please line up, everyone! One line for samples and one line for buying the braised goods! There’s enough for everyone!”
After Su Yi spoke, the crowd filed into lines one after another. Those who hadn’t sampled yet held a “give it a try” attitude, while those who had already eaten and were willing to spend money were terrified they wouldn’t get a turn.
When there is order, everything goes very quickly. Within half an hour, there was hardly anyone left in front of the stall. Naturally, Su Yi’s braised goods were also hitting the bottom of the trays.
“Perfect timing. I’ll wait a bit longer to see if I can sell out completely!”
Su Yi waited for about another half hour, and everything sold out entirely. The old man selling vegetables at the neighboring stall looked enviously at Su Yi as she packed up her stall. She had already sold out everything, while he still had a mountain of goods left.
Su Yi had no time to worry about her surroundings. Hurriedly packing up her stall, she began wandering around the town.
She popped into a ready-made clothing shop to take a look, but the styles were generic and the patterns weren’t as nice as the ones at Jinxiu Pavilion! Su Yi decisively retreated.
Seeing a shop that sold furniture, Su Yi went inside to browse. The craftsmanship was quite good, so with a grand wave of her hand, she bought everything she needed directly! Why bother going all the way to the county seat to buy? The items were all the same, and buying early meant enjoying them early! Moreover, now that she had started a business, her source of income was completely legitimate. She was originally a merchant’s daughter anyway, so having this much capability wasn’t surprising to anyone.
Su Yi wandered around a bit more and bought herself a water vat, intending to place it in the kitchen. Washing things would be much more convenient in the future, and she wouldn’t have to carry a bucket to make a run to the river every single time! She couldn’t possibly use spiritual spring water just to wash things; that would be far too extravagant.
The town wasn’t large, so Su Yi finished exploring it in no time. She surreptitiously lifted her wrist to look at her watch; it was eleven o’clock.
“Time for lunch, I’ll just find any random shop to eat!”
Noticing a noodle shop ahead, Su Yi went inside and ordered a bowl of noodles. The taste was passable—not particularly stunning, just average. Upholding the traditional virtue of not wasting food, Su Yi finished it all.
“Nothing left to do, time to head home!” After speaking, Su Yi set off on her journey back home.