"Sigh, what money do you need?" The boss waved his hand. "If you don't mind, just come by at this time every day to pick it up; I'll save it for you."
Seeing Jiang Tang covered in patches, he couldn't help but feel pity.
In a daze, she remembered her own childhood, when she would be so naughty that she always wore holes in the seat of her pants, and her mother would cut two pieces of patterned cloth to patch them up; her little friends would jokingly call them "electric eyes."
Those days of being both embarrassed and happy, now that she thought about them, were full of beauty that could never be returned to.
The boss efficiently weighed the pork fat, eleven jin and two liang, but only charged for eleven jin, fifty-five yuan.
He even packed up that basin of minced meat.
Jiang Tang was filled with gratitude, thinking that when she came to pick up the minced meat tomorrow, she would pick out some fresh seafood to give to the boss.
After leaving the pork shop, Jiang Tang pondered that she should buy some Sea Gathering Tools.
There was only a knife over there that was too dull to use, which was truly inconvenient.
She walked along the street looking for a shop, planning to pick out a sharp small shovel, a few sturdy net bags, and preferably buy two pairs of non-slip rubber shoes so she would suffer less while out Sea Gathering.
Jiang Tang didn't know where to buy Sea Gathering Tools, but as she was walking, she saw a two-yuan shop. The shop was quite bright, and she thought she might be able to find what she needed inside.
Although it was called a two-yuan shop, it actually started at two yuan, and more expensive items cost several tens or even over a hundred.
Just as she stepped into the shop entrance, she saw the boss sitting behind the checkout counter humming a song while watching the surveillance monitor. He suddenly straightened up, his gaze shifting from the screen to her, his eyes filled with a touch of disbelief.
This young lady was dressed so plainly!
Jiang Tang ignored that scrutinizing gaze; as long as she wasn't chased out for being a Beggar, it would be fine.
Although her clothes were full of patches, they were washed clean without a single stain, at least enough to show that she was not a Beggar.
She took a basket at the entrance and walked straight inside.
She went to the tool section first and took two sturdy clips, which would be useful for prying oysters and catching crabs; she also picked out two battery-powered headlamps, as there was no place to charge them over there, so battery-powered ones were the most convenient.
Besides, the moon was very bright at night, so batteries would be enough.
She conveniently grabbed a landing net, which was perfect for scooping fish and shrimp on the shoals.
Turning to the pots and pans section, she remembered the bowl full of chips from last night, the edges of which hurt her mouth, so she took three porcelain bowls without a second thought.
It was also inconvenient not to have plates to store vegetables, so she conveniently took three small plates as well.
The earthenware pot at home that lacked both a lid and a rim was really impossible to cook with properly, so she hesitated for a moment and took an earthenware pot with a lid.
Every time she picked up an item, she stared at the price tag and calculated the money silently, as if she had a small abacus in her heart.
By the time she put all these things into the basket, she only had fifteen yuan left in her hand.
What could fifteen yuan do? Here, she was afraid she couldn't even buy a decent fast-food meal.
Jiang Tang looked at the dazzling array of small commodities on the shelves and suddenly had an idea: could she pick out some things to bring back to the Dong Yuan Kingdom to sell for money?
The Thatched Cottage over there needed to be repaired quickly, otherwise, it would be hard to get through the winter with wind and snow leaking in.
She strolled slowly along the shelves, her eyes scanning the cheap and practical small objects, calculating which ones she could take back there to sell for money.
A cabinet displaying glassware suddenly caught Jiang Tang's attention.
She almost laughed out loud; it seemed there were no glass products at all in the Dong Yuan Kingdom, so could she buy one to test the waters?
She picked out a large glass vase with patterns, priced at only nine yuan and nine jiao.
With the remaining five yuan and one jiao, she simply took two large rows of small Hair Clips, pink and tender, with small pearls and tiny flowers; they looked pleasing, and perhaps young ladies from wealthy families would like them.
When she reached the entrance to pay, the money on her body was spent without a cent left.
She clapped her hands, carried her things away, and returned to the beginning.
She came without a cent, and left without a jiao!
She found a quiet alley nearby without surveillance cameras, and with a thought, she entered the Space.
Looking at the pile of things on the ground, the pain of spending money just now faded a lot, and her mood gradually improved.
When she looked up, she saw the System, which looked like a small child, floating above her head, its transparent little face expressionless with its eyes closed.
It turned out that she always felt something was watching her before; it was this.
As soon as Jiang Tang saw it, her mood, which had just improved, became blocked again.
It took so much of her money all at once; no matter how she looked at it, it was annoying.
This little fellow seemed to have calculated it perfectly, leaving her with just over a hundred yuan.
It wanted money, but wouldn't let her starve to death!
Too lazy to pay attention to it, Jiang Tang left the Space and found herself standing in the Thatched Cottage of the Dong Yuan Kingdom, right beside her wooden bed.
It turned out that wherever she entered the Space from, she would be in the same place when she came out.
She pondered that she would have to go there tomorrow to verify if it was the same.
Jiang Yi was not seen in the house, but there was an extra bucket of crabs, a bucket of octopus, and some scattered fish and shrimp in the Kitchen; it seemed he had gone Sea Gathering again.
Just as she was about to take the things out of the Space, a series of urgent shouts came from outside: "A'Tang, A'Tang!"
It was Su Lianxue's voice, filled with an anxiousness that was like her hair being on fire.
This young lady was a good sister of the original owner who used to go Sea Gathering together, and also her cousin; she was the same age as her, but a few months younger.
So she called Su Lianxue cousin, and Jiang Yi called her cousin.
Su Lianxue ran over with her little face flushed red, and the loose hair on her forehead was soaked with sweat.
Jiang Tang walked quickly to meet her: "What's wrong? Why are you in such a rush?"
"A'Tang, come with me quickly, your Aunt is going to beat Jiang Yi."
As Su Lianxue said this, she tried to pull her toward the seaside.
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Feng's voice came from inside the house: "A'Tang, come in and help Grandma up; Grandma will go with you."
When Jiang Tang entered the house, Madam Feng was propping herself up against the bedside, trying to sit up; her expression was still somewhat pale, but it revealed a stubbornness that would not be denied.
Although she didn't know why the old woman insisted on following, she still walked over quickly, squatted down, and carried Madam Feng on her back; walking while supporting her was too slow, and she was afraid it would be too late.
Su Lianxue had just caught half a breath, and then hurriedly followed Jiang Tang's steps.
While helping to steady Madam Feng, she followed Jiang Tang and jogged toward the seaside, telling the reason intermittently, unable to even catch her breath.
It turned out that after dawn, Jiang Yi had followed the Villagers to go Sea Gathering again, and his luck was extremely good; as soon as he went, he picked up a Large Grouper.
It just so happened that Aunt Madam Li ran into them, and Madam Li was covetous; she actually wanted to snatch the fish away and even blamed them, saying that the fish was stolen by Jiang Yi from her bucket.
Hearing this, Jiang Tang was so angry she wanted to hit someone; it was enough that they had driven them out of the house while they were sick.
Now that she saw they had some harvest, she actually came to rob them openly; this kind of face was truly ugly!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and her pace quickened, even forgetting that she was carrying Madam Feng, who had just returned from the Gate of Hell, on her back, causing the old woman's chest to ache with every jolt.
She couldn't care about that. Jiang Yi was her Younger brother now, and although Madam Feng was her Grandma, she still had an eldest son.
If Madam Feng wanted to return to her eldest son in the future, then she would only have Jiang Yi as her relative.
In her previous life, she was lonely and helpless; in this life, she finally had a bond, and she absolutely would not let anyone bully them.
They arrived at the seaside very quickly. The Tidal Flats were surrounded by quite a lot of Villagers watching the excitement, pointing and whispering.
"This Madam Li is really something; she even wants to snatch a fish that a child picked up. Isn't this forcing Jiang Yi and his sister to their deaths?"
"Who's to say not! During the storm a few days ago, she even forced that girl Jiang Tang to come out and pick up Seafood. That girl was blown by the storm and returned covered in injuries, and fainted at the entrance as soon as she got home."
"That's not even the most miserable part; I heard that when Madam Feng saw that girl Jiang Tang meet with an accident, she fainted herself, and was driven out of the New House by Madam Li along with the two children. Now they live in that dilapidated old house, and I don't know if she has woken up yet."
"The Village Chief went to see yesterday, and I asked him; he said she was still unconscious and hadn't woken up."
"What a sin! To actually run into an Aunt like Madam Li, she's not giving the children a way to live!"
In the middle of the crowd, she saw Jiang Yi and Madam Li, as well as Su Lianxue's mother, Madam Ye.
Madam Ye was the Female Cousin of Jiang Tang's mother; according to seniority, Jiang Tang should call her aunt.
Before she could even squeeze in, she heard Madam Ye's loud voice explode in the crowd: "Bah! Madam Li, you shameless woman! How long has my brother-in-law been gone, and you've already driven A'Tang, A'Yi, and your Mother-in-law out of the house? Now that the children have picked up some good items, you're trying to snatch them; your greed is truly ugly."
Jiang Yi was being tightly protected behind Madam Ye, his small body still trembling.
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