Early the next morning, Qiao Suluo woke up bright and early. Opening her eyes to the sight of the dilapidated roof beams, she finally realized where she was in a daze and had no choice but to accept reality.
Qiao Suluo was not someone who wasted time on internal conflict. Since she was already here, she would make the best of it. She quickly got out of bed.
When she got up, the sky was just beginning to lighten. Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo were already awake, busy with their chores—one fetching water, the other chopping wood. Qiao Suluo quickly washed up and prepared breakfast so she could head to the county town early to set up her stall.
For breakfast, she made a radish and egg soup, along with multigrain pancakes. This was all thanks to the provisions everyone had given her last night; otherwise, there would have been no food to eat this morning. Later, she would have to figure out a way to repay everyone’s kindness.
Eating the simple pancake felt very unfamiliar to Qiao Suluo. In the past, whenever she made pancakes, she would make them giant and stuff them with numerous ingredients to make them delicious and satisfying. The pancake she made this morning was just a plain multigrain crepe, wrapped around some chopped green onions and cilantro. There was nothing else inside.
Even so, she thought it was decent enough—certainly better than having nothing to eat at all. If she wanted to eat good food, she urgently needed to make money.
"You guys eat too. Multigrain flour might not taste great if used for other foods, so I made these Jianbing. Try them and see how they taste."
Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo nodded and began to eat. As always, their dining etiquette was noble and elegant, their demeanor completely out of place in this shabby environment.
Que Hongjin took a bite of the multigrain pancake and suddenly revealed a look of astonishment. Having lived a life of luxury since childhood, he had initially found multigrain foods coarse and hard to swallow, even causing his stomach discomfort as it struggled to digest them. But in order to fill his stomach and survive, he had forced himself to adapt.
He never expected that multigrain flour could be made into such a delicious pancake. When he bit into it, a crispy, savory aroma exploded on his tongue, accompanied by the fresh taste of green onions and cilantro, greatly stimulating his appetite.
He scooped a spoonful of the simple radish and egg soup. The sweetness of the radish and the rich flavor of the egg intertwined with a slightly spicy kick. It flowed into his stomach with a comforting warmth, like the winter sun, giving him a healing sense of satisfaction.
That spicy kick came from the white pepper powder Qiao Suluo had added. She had exchanged it from the Space Mall using her points. She didn’t have many points, so she couldn’t exchange them for anything else, but getting a little seasoning was still feasible. Mainly because the seasonings in the Space Mall were cheap.
Que Hongjin had to admit, "It’s very delicious. Does wife also plan to sell multigrain pancakes at the market?"
Qiao Suluo shook her head. "No, making multigrain pancakes is too labor-intensive, and it requires a custom flat pan. All of that costs silver. I’ll start with some low-cost businesses first."
Bai Qianluo ate his breakfast quietly. With a cloth covering his eyes, his expression was unclear, but he had paused slightly when he first took a bite, seemingly amazed by the taste of the food. "It’s very delicious. Thank you, wife."
After speaking, he continued to eat silently, unhurried, looking as quiet and serene as a painting.
"You’re welcome."
She hadn’t seen them this polite before. In the past, Bai Qianluo had been like a mute toward the original owner of the body, avoiding speaking whenever possible.
"Also, this is Konjac. I don’t know if you guys eat spicy food. If you do, you can have it as a side dish."
They were in the south now. According to her predecessor’s memories, she knew the people here were particularly fond of spicy food. However, Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo had come here from the Capital City, so they might not like it. That was why Qiao Suluo hadn’t stuffed the Konjac inside when making the multigrain pancakes. Actually, if one liked spicy food, eating it that way would be exceptionally delicious.
"I can only eat a little spicy food."
The Konjac was made with so much chili that Que Hongjin couldn’t eat it. Bai Qianluo couldn’t eat spicy food at all. Only Qiao Suluo ate it with great relish.
After breakfast and packing up, Qiao Suluo prepared to head to the county market.
Bai Qianluo broke his silence, his clear voice sounding, "I will accompany wife."
A soft, rippling light flashed through Que Hongjin’s magnificent eyes. He stepped forward and said, "I will accompany wife as well. Supporting the family is something a Beast Husband should shoulder. How can we let wife work hard alone?"
Hearing these words, Qiao Suluo’s mouth twitched. Que Hongjin would never have said such things in the past. They used to wish they never had to say a single word to her, keeping as far away from her as possible.
Qiao Suluo had originally planned to go to the market alone, but since they were willing to go together, they might as well. Although the two of them were sickly and disabled, they were beautiful. Just standing there might improve her stall’s business.
When they reached the village entrance, an ox cart was parked there. Many people were already seated on it, and the old man driving the cart seemed to be waiting for more passengers.
Seeing Qiao Suluo and her two companions, the old man greeted them warmly, "Miss Qiao, Mr. Que, Young Master Bai, are you heading to the county town too? I still have space on this cart. I can give you a ride."
Qiao Suluo suddenly remembered that the old man usually charged one cent per trip to the county town. For the three of them, it would be three cents. A round trip would cost six cents, which was almost enough to buy a pound of coarse rice to eat. Besides, she didn’t even have one cent on her right now. She could only shake her head and say, "Uncle Lin, we won’t be taking the ox cart."
"I’m offering you a free ride."
Qiao Suluo waved her hand and said, "Uncle Lin, thank you for your kindness, but I’m too fat right now. Moving around a bit will help me lose some weight."
In the past, the villagers would avoid her like the plague. They had probably changed their attitude toward her because she had saved someone and taught them first aid yesterday.
Shortly after Qiao Suluo declined the old man’s offer, some other villagers arrived and got on the ox cart, and it departed. Qiao Suluo and the two men walked toward the county town.
While passing along a particular stretch of road, Qiao Suluo spotted some black locust flowers.
"These are black locust flowers. I can’t believe there are so many black locust trees on both sides of the road!" Qiao Suluo’s eyes lit up with excitement.
This was the exact season when black locust flowers bloomed. They could be used to make many delicious dishes. These were ready-made ingredients!
Assuming Qiao Suluo simply liked the flowers, Que Hongjin, though a bit surprised, offered, "If wife likes these flowers, I’ll pick some on our way back. However, they aren’t easy to keep alive once we take them home."
Qiao Suluo shook her head. "Black locust flowers are edible."
Que Hongjin and Bai Qianluo both paused in their steps. It was their first time hearing such a claim. They had never heard that black locust flowers could be eaten. Otherwise, with so many blooming, why wasn’t anyone picking them?
However, thinking about the food Qiao Suluo had made over the past two days, they had no choice but to believe her words. They were just curious—could this flower really be eaten when made into food? And they wondered how it would taste.
"Let’s go to the market to sell our things first. We’ll pick plenty of them on our way back."
Once she cooked them, she would give some to the villagers who had sent her provisions to try. It would be a polite return of favors, and it would introduce everyone to a new food ingredient.
It wasn’t until Qiao Suluo and the others entered the county town that they realized how bustling it was. Moreover, there were a lot of people coming into town today.
Qiao Suluo happened to overhear some chatter discussing the fox Beast Husband that her predecessor had sold off.
"Hurry up and grab a seat at the Nanfeng Building! If we’re late, there won’t be any left."
"Exactly! I heard that this morning is Young Master Tushan’s very first stage performance."
"That’s Young Master Tushan! What will he be performing?"
"Young Master Tushan is a master of the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting! He is especially skilled at sword dancing. A beauty dancing with a sword is a rare and magnificent sight. It’s normally very difficult to see a fox beast here in the south, and fox beasts are naturally breathtaking. Let alone a fox beast from the Direct Lineage of Qingqiu Mountain! I heard that just one glance from him is enough to make someone faint from excitement and awe."