“Oh, right. The blacksmith Li has been urging again. If you don’t settle things soon, he’ll marry someone else. A family that good won’t wait forever.” Her second brother casually relayed the message.
Shen Yunzhi felt nothing but disgust at their habit of scheming under the guise of “doing it for her own good.”
“Whether it’s the compensation money, the grain, or the cloth — those were given by the authorities to the Su family. I have no right to claim the Su family’s property as my own. Last time I already gave you half the compensation. That was more than generous. From now on, I will not interfere in Shen family matters.”
Her second brother exploded. “You’re a Shen! Everything you have belongs to the Shen family. I’m telling you — if you don’t handle this properly, don’t ever think about stepping into the Shen household again!”
“Perfect. I have no desire to return. And you’d better stop coming to me. Go back and tell Mother — from today on, I, Shen Yunzhi, sever all ties with the Shen family.”
He stared at her in shock. She really meant it.
“Get out. Don’t make me call someone.” She suddenly shouted toward the door, “Help! There’s a thief—!”
He hadn’t expected her to actually yell. Throwing down a threat, he said, “Just wait. I’ll have Mother deal with you.”
He vanished into the night.
Shen Yunzhi’s lips curved faintly. That was all he amounted to.
On the other side, Song Yinuo had just picked up her phone and saw everything.
“Well done. You should cut ties with those bloodsuckers.”
Shen Yunzhi hesitated. “Don’t you think I’m too heartless?”
“You already repaid what you owed them in your previous life. This life, you should live for yourself.” Song Yinuo added cautiously, “Your mother isn’t easy to deal with. She won’t let this go.”
“They wrote the severance document themselves. No matter how much they make trouble, it won’t matter.” From the moment she arranged for Mother Shen to sign it, she had prepared for backlash.
“How’s business?” Song Yinuo asked.
“Not very good,” Shen Yunzhi sighed.
“It’s always slow at first. Take your time. I know plenty of recipes. I’ll teach you more. Sell them together — one of them will make money.”
“I only have fifty wen. The stall fee costs thirty. With twenty left, I can’t buy much.”
“What about the ginseng you found?”
“It’s being used for Mother-in-law. She needs it to recover.”
“Alright. If there’s no money, we control costs.”
After thinking it through, Song Yinuo decided roujiamo was the best option.
Using pork offal — ingredients others avoided — would keep costs low, taste good, and be harder to imitate.
Shen Yunzhi couldn’t imagine how something as foul-smelling as pork offal could be edible.
But after the success of the ice jelly, she chose to trust Song Yinuo.
“Tomorrow after closing the stall, I’ll go buy pork offal.”
“Oh, right — do you have crayfish there?” Song Yinuo pointed her phone at a picture.
Shen Yunzhi’s jaw nearly dropped. “That thing… can be eaten?”
Behind the mountain was a muddy marsh full of them. Thick shells, strange appearance. Someone had tried eating them once — tasteless and unpleasant.
Afterward, that person’s face swelled like a pig’s head. No one dared try again.
“In our time,” Song Yinuo explained, “some people are allergic — but not everyone. When you sell it, just explain clearly. Let customers taste a little first. If there’s no reaction, then sell.”
Shen Yunzhi nodded thoughtfully.
From ice jelly to pork offal to crayfish, she couldn’t help asking, “Yinuo… is your world short on food too?”
It wasn’t strange that she thought that. By their standards, the clothes Song Yinuo wore had less fabric than undergarments. Only a poor household unable to afford proper clothing would dress like that.
And the things she ate — no one here would touch them. If they weren’t short on grain, why would anyone eat such things?
“We eat those because once they’re specially prepared, they’re delicious,” Song Yinuo said. Some snack crumbs fell onto her phone screen. As she tried to wipe them off, she froze.
The crumbs had appeared on Shen Yunzhi’s jade pendant.
“Wait… can objects travel between ancient and modern times?” Song Yinuo’s eyes lit up. She grabbed a small pack of crispy noodles from the table and placed it on her phone.
It disappeared.
On Shen Yunzhi’s side, the item appeared in her hand — the very thing Song Yinuo had been eating.
“Try it,” Song Yinuo instructed, teaching her how to open the packaging.
Shen Yunzhi followed her directions and tasted it.
Fragrant. Crunchy. Shockingly good.
“This is what we call a snack,” Song Yinuo explained eagerly. “Now you try — see if something from your side can pass through the pendant to mine.”
Shen Yunzhi looked around. She had nothing impressive on hand. So she placed a copper coin onto the jade pendant.
It vanished instantly.
Song Yinuo stared at the coin now in her palm, excitement filling her voice. “It works! Ingredients can be exchanged! I’ll prepare the spices you need for pork offal. Oh — I actually have some right now. I’ll send them over so you can use them tomorrow.”
A full packet of seasoning appeared.
Shen Yunzhi’s face glowed with gratitude. “Can I taste the ice you made?”
Song Yinuo’s version had so many ingredients Shen Yunzhi had never seen. Completely different from her simple brown sugar version.
Sweet and tangy. Bright in flavor. Addictive.
Suddenly remembering something, Song Yinuo ran to her refrigerator and sent over the remaining hawthorn cake and raisins.
“Add these into your ice jelly. It’ll definitely sell.”
“How can I repay you?” Shen Yunzhi asked sincerely. She didn’t want to take advantage.
Compared to the modern world, she felt she had nothing worthy to offer.
“When you make money, buy me things from your era — hairpins, porcelain, writing brushes, anything like that. We treasure those kinds of items here.”
“Deal. Once I earn money, I’ll buy them for you,” Shen Yunzhi promised happily.
With these additions, she felt far more confident setting up her stall the next day.
Not long after opening, the woman from yesterday returned.
“Miss, you’re finally here. My mistress loved the ice you made yesterday and sent me to buy more. Can you keep yesterday’s price?”
Shen Yunzhi handed her the improved version.
“This is newly developed — even better than yesterday’s. The price is slightly higher.”
“But since you were my first customer, no matter which one you choose or how many you buy, I’ll give you one regular bowl for free.”
The woman tasted it.
Her eyes lit up instantly. Yesterday’s had seemed wonderful — but compared to today’s, there was no comparison.
“How much for the new one?”
“Ten wen.”
Song Yinuo had advised her to divide her market: one version for common folk, another premium version for wealthy households — priced at ten wen per bowl.
Several times higher than before.
Shen Yunzhi lowered her head, unsure, not daring to look at the woman.