Jiang Ran asked about the rent and deposit.
The rent was two guan per month.
The deposit was equal to one month’s rent.
That was roughly what she had heard as well.
“When can we move in?”
“The previous tenants need one day to finish packing. Once they’re done, we can move in.”
“So that’s basically tomorrow. This house must have been very popular.”
Jiang Song laughed.
“It was. The places I looked at these past few days were either unsuitable or reserved by someone else first.”
The rain had reduced the number of people viewing houses today, which was how he had managed to secure this one.
The previous tenants had also come to Bianjing to do business, but things hadn’t worked out, so they were eager to leave.
Jiang Ran said, “If someone owned several houses and collected rent every month, they’d make a fortune without even working.”
“One house costs one or two hundred guan. Several houses? How much money would that be? We could never afford it.”
Jiang Song would already be satisfied if he could buy a single courtyard house in Bianjing during his lifetime.
Even that felt impossibly distant.
Jiang Ran thought silently:
We’ll get there eventually.
She asked whether he still had money left.
“I do.”
After paying four guan for the house, he still had several hundred wen remaining.
The deposit would be returned later.
As long as they worked hard, they should be able to save the next month’s rent.
Jiang Song planned to move their belongings tomorrow.
They wouldn’t actually live there yet because the house still needed cleaning.
But now that they had a place, they no longer had to store their cart at Zhao Daniu’s home.
Every night when they went there, most of Zhao Daniu’s family was already asleep.
It was inconvenient and disruptive.
They would still need Zhao Daniu to help reserve their spot at the market for a few more days, though.
To move in properly, they would need clothes, bedding, cooking supplies, and many other things.
For now, Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli would stay behind to take care of the fields, vegetable garden, and livestock.
Jiang Ran was counting on those things to keep their costs down.
They would have to start packing that afternoon.
Jiang Ran was about to return to her room to pack when she noticed the worried expression on Jiang Song’s face.
He wasn’t sure whether he had made the right decision.
His worries about the future overshadowed much of the excitement he should have felt.
Renting a house still felt risky.
They hadn’t earned that much money yet, but they had already spent a large amount.
The deposit had been paid, though.
There was no point regretting it now.
Jiang Ran grinned.
“The vegetables grew a lot today. We can sell some tomorrow. I still have money too. Tomorrow we can order a large pot, and if there’s anything left over afterward, even better. We’ll buy a few more bowls too.”
She smiled brightly.
“Brother, don’t worry. We’ll definitely make money. Once we do, we’ll save the rent first and divide the rest afterward.”
After all, renting the house was for the business.
If they couldn’t even save enough to cover the rent, then renting it would have been pointless.
Jiang Song finally smiled.
“I’m going to turn over another couple plots of land.”
The napa cabbage and radishes still needed transplanting.
There wasn’t enough space in the family’s existing fields.
The rain continued relentlessly outside.
Only Jiang Song, wearing his straw rain cape, remained busy.
He worked until evening, when the rain finally stopped.
The blue sky seemed bluer than before.
The green plants looked greener.
Drops of water still clung to the leaves, dripping steadily to the ground.
Jiang Ran took two empty baskets and went to harvest vegetables.
The children from the other households were catching fish in the muddy river after the rain.
The first and second branches had gone out to work the fields.
Seeing Jiang Song still wearing his rain cape, Madam Lin said, “This rain came at just the right time. Since you planted early, all that extra effort wasn’t wasted.”
Then she asked, “By the way, how’s the business?”
The second branch’s Madam Lin looked confused.
“What business?”
It wasn’t surprising she was confused.
The siblings had hardly been seen lately.
The third branch rarely talked much anyway, so nobody asked where they went.
Madam Lin said, “You don’t know? Jiang Ran and Jiang Song have been going into Bianjing to do business. They leave before dawn and come back late every night. They work terribly hard. But doing business isn’t easy. If everyone could make money from it, then everyone would become merchants.”
Madam Lin didn’t know whether she should agree with Madam Lin or comfort Jiang Ran.
Jiang Song remained silent.
Jiang Ran immediately put on a pitiful expression.
“Eldest Aunt, could you lend me some money?”
Madam Lin jumped in surprise.
Why was this girl suddenly asking to borrow money?
Before Madam Lin could respond, Jiang Ran continued, “My brother wants to continue studying. He can’t study well at the farmstead, so we want to rent a house in Bianjing and find an academy.”
Madam Lin was shocked.
“You two really come up with ideas out of nowhere. Studying? You should first consider whether he’s even cut out for studying!”
Business.
Studying.
Madam Lin felt Jiang Ran had become far too ambitious. She had never noticed it before.
She muttered to Xiao Madam Lin, “Third Brother and his wife are the same. They let those two do whatever they want. In the end, they’ll probably squander the entire family fortune.”
Jiang Ran said angrily, “If you won’t lend it, then don’t. Why say all that?”
She grabbed her brother’s sleeve and walked away.
Madam Lin called after them, “You don’t even like hearing advice. I’m saying it for your own good. The worst thing is aiming too high when you don’t have the ability. In the end, you won’t accomplish anything.”
“Enough, enough,” Xiao Madam Lin said. “Stop talking.”
Those words, she thought, ought to be returned to Madam Lin exactly as they were.
Had Madam Lin forgotten why the third branch had failed to save money all these years?
Wasn’t it because they had supported Jiang Feng and Jiang Chuanbao’s education?
And now she was standing there making sarcastic remarks.
Still, things had turned out exactly as Jiang Ran expected.
The moment studying was mentioned, Madam Lin stopped asking how much money they made.
She stopped asking anything else.
All she did was sneer and mock them, clearly hoping they would rent the house and fail.
Jiang Ran looked at Jiang Song.
His expression remained calm.
There wasn’t the slightest change in his eyes.
A few harsh words wouldn’t take a piece of flesh off him.
Far better than actually letting the first branch take the third branch’s money.
Once they truly had money, they wouldn’t need to worry about Madam Lin or Madam Liui anymore.
Jiang Ran pulled vegetables while Jiang Song dug them up and placed them in baskets, their roots still wrapped in soil.
The seedlings had grown large.
Packed together so densely, none of them could thrive.
Jiang Ran selected the tenderest seedlings: bok choy, radish greens, and napa cabbage.
After shaking off the dirt, she arranged them neatly in the baskets.
“Brother, if we stay in Bianjing and only come back every few days, I’m worried we’ll miss the young ladies returning to the Marquis Manor. We still need to keep selling vegetables to them.”
After all, she didn’t know whether selling vegetables in Bianjing would work.
Or whether they would sell well.
And money was always welcome.
While they were away, Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli would have to handle things.
They also needed to watch the vegetable garden carefully so nobody else came and harvested it.
Ideally, the siblings would return often enough to prevent the first branch from taking advantage.
Jiang Song nodded.
“I’ll talk to them.”
He looked at his sister for a long moment.
“When we make money in the future, we won’t have to do this every time. Once we save next month’s rent, I’ll buy you clothes and good food before dividing the rest.”
As he said those words, guilt filled his heart.
The whole business had been Jiang Ran’s idea.
He had only helped a little.
Yet now he was acting like he controlled the money.
Realizing it sounded wrong, he quickly added, “No, after we save the rent, we’ll still divide it. But the clothes I promised you—I’ll definitely buy them.”
Jiang Ran burst out laughing.
“Alright! I’ll hold you to that, Brother. A promise is a promise.”
She didn’t stand on ceremony.
Why would family members be so formal with each other?
If someone treated her well, she would treat them well too.
If Jiang Song bought her clothes, she could always buy something for him later.
And if Madam Yun and Jiang Chuanli stayed out of trouble, they wouldn’t be left out either.
They harvested twenty jin of vegetables.
Jiang Ran cleaned them up, weighed them into one-jin bundles, and tied them with straw rope.
Jiang Song went out again.
He hadn’t brought enough money with him that morning, so he still needed to pay the rent and deposit that afternoon.
Jiang Ran asked him to buy meat and eggs on the way back for tomorrow’s stall.
Everything went smoothly.
When Jiang Song returned, he brought not only the meat but also the key.
That evening, the siblings packed their belongings.
Besides bedding and clothes, Jiang Song also packed the books he had used in the past.
The next day, they would take the family’s large handcart and bring as much as possible.
Jiang Song remembered his sister telling him to pick up his studies again.
But to him, there was nothing to pick up.
The pages were yellowed with age, yet if someone quoted any sentence from those books, he could immediately tell them the page and paragraph.
Studying felt distant and unattainable.
Academies cost money.
Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones cost money.
He had always resented how the first branch and Madam Liui had forced the third branch to support Jiang Feng and Jiang Chuanbao’s education.
How could he bear to let his sister alone support his studies?
Still, knowing how to read and write was useful.
He could keep accounts.
That was better than being illiterate.
Jiang Song wrapped the books and placed them in a chest.
Nothing was loaded onto the cart yet.
Everything was stacked in the kitchen, just in case it rained again overnight.
Since they were only renting a house, there was no need for elaborate moving rituals.
It wasn’t really moving into a new home.
They simply wanted to avoid the long commute and have somewhere to rest after finishing the morning market.
Even so, Jiang Ran was delighted.
She packed her money and planned to ask about the new pot tomorrow.
She also needed a large basin for laundry and the vegetables they had harvested that day.
Looking at the remaining space on the cart, she decided to bring some firewood as well.
Save where you can.
That was how life should be lived.
As for Madam Yun, Jiang Ran not only reminded her about things but also said,
“Mother, you and Father take care of things here. Once things settle down over there, we’ll bring you to Bianjing too. We’ll make new clothes, eat at restaurants, and even go to a proper tavern.”
Worry lingered between Madam Yun’s brows.
She helped pack the belongings but still said nothing.
Jiang Ran guessed that Madam Yun was worried about them.
The siblings had never told Madam Yun or Jiang Chuanli how much money they were making.
If Madam Lin made a few sarcastic remarks now and then, Madam Yun might think they weren’t earning anything but insisted on going to Bianjing anyway.
And because she felt guilty for letting her children suffer before the family split up, she no longer knew how to express herself.
“Mother.”
“What is it?”
“If there’s anything you want, I’ll bring it back for you.”
Madam Yun shook her head.
“No need. Go to sleep. I’ll finish packing.”
Jiang Ran didn’t want to sleep yet.
“Then heat some water for me. I want a bath.”
Madam Yun immediately went to boil water.
Jiang Ran scrubbed herself thoroughly.
She spent every day covered in dust, smoke, and cooking oil. She felt like a layer of grime had formed over her entire body.
Jiang Song, being a man, wasn’t afraid of the cold. Every night he simply washed with cold water.
Watching him always made Jiang Ran’s teeth chatter in sympathy.
After bathing, she felt clean, refreshed, and comfortable as she went to bed.
The next morning arrived with a couple of rooster crows and barking dogs.
Madam Yun had already prepared the bone broth and chopped the meat.
Jiang Ran only needed to fry the minced meat.
Once they moved to Bianjing, she would have to do all of it herself.
The tea eggs had been made yesterday.
Large and small items, basins and buckets, were all loaded onto the cart and secured with rope.
Jiang Song had already loaded most of their belongings.
He even brought two straw rain capes.
They would still return home that night, so neither sibling felt reluctant to leave.
As usual, after packing their food, they pushed the cart toward the village entrance.
They headed northwest all the way until they finally reached Bianjing and entered the city alongside other merchants and shoppers.
It was still early.
The siblings first took their belongings to the rented house.
Even at dawn, there were already many people on the streets.
Because they were pushing a large cart, they had to carefully avoid pedestrians.
After walking the route once, Jiang Ran still couldn’t remember it.
The maze-like alleys left her completely disoriented.
When they reached the house, Jiang Song unlocked the door.
The key rattled in the lock a few times.
With a click, it opened.
It had rained yesterday, so the courtyard and doorway were still damp.
Jiang Song pushed the cart inside and carried their belongings into the rooms.
Jiang Ran only had time for a quick look around.
Three rooms.
One kitchen.
Maybe because the morning sun hadn’t fully risen yet, the house seemed dark and cramped.
There was a bed in each side room.
Nothing else.
Back at the Jiang family home, she and Jiang Song shared a room divided in half.
Even that had seemed larger than this place.
Jiang Ran comforted herself.
It’s for the business. Don’t be picky.
After locking up, the siblings headed to Bianhe Street to set up their stall.
When they arrived, Zhao Daniu already had customers.
Someone bought two sesame cakes, two sugar cakes, and ten glutinous rice cakes filled with sesame paste.
One transaction brought in fifty wen.
Zhao Daniu was delighted.
“Xiao Ran, you’re here! It rained all day yesterday, though it eased up a little at night.”
Some vendors had still come out, but Zhao Daniu had taken the day off after working so many days in a row.
The rain at the farmstead had stopped yesterday afternoon.
The distance between the two places was great enough that the weather wasn’t always the same.
Jiang Ran first thanked Zhao Daniu’s son before unpacking her things.
As she worked, she said, “Auntie, we won’t need to store the cart at your house anymore. But I’ll still need your help reserving our spot in the mornings.”
“No problem, no problem. We have an empty cart we can use for that.”
Then she suddenly realized something.
“Wait—you rented a house?”
Of course they had rented one.
Otherwise, why would they no longer need storage space?
Jiang Ran smiled brightly.
“My brother rented it yesterday. It cost a huge amount of money, so we need to earn even more today.”
Zhao Daniu laughed.
“Then won’t you be able to stay and sell longer? Business was still good after you left before.”
Jiang Ran shook her head.
“Not today. The house still isn’t cleaned up. My brother will work on it when he has time. We’ll move in once everything’s ready.”
It would only take a day or two.
No need to rush.
“That’s wonderful,” Zhao Daniu said.
With her sharp eyes, she noticed the two large baskets of vegetables they had brought.
The vegetables looked fresh and vibrant.
“Xiao Ran, are those vegetables for cooking today, or are you selling them?”
Jiang Ran stepped aside so Zhao Daniu could see clearly.
“The bok choy is for cooking. Everything else is for sale.”
“Then sell me two jin first.”
Jiang Ran laughed.
“Auntie, even if you want to buy them, at least let my brother and me get settled first.”
After all, they had never sold vegetables here before.
They needed to find out the market prices first.
While Jiang Ran arranged their stall, Jiang Song fetched two buckets of water.
After setting them down, he went out to ask around.
When he returned, he reported that radish greens sold for four wen per jin, while napa cabbage and chives sold for six wen per jin.
Zhao Daniu had originally wanted to buy more.
But after learning that Jiang Ran now had a place to stay in Bianjing and would frequently return home to bring supplies, she knew there would be plenty of vegetables in the future.
So she wasn’t in a hurry.
She bought only two jin of napa cabbage.
The vegetables were all good quality, so Auntie Zhao didn’t pick through them. Jiang Ran also gave her a discount, since Auntie Zhao had helped her many times before.
All the vegetables were weighed properly and tied up with straw. There were no rotten or old leaves mixed in, and the weight was always accurate, often a little more rather than less.
Just then, customers began arriving, and Jiang Ran started doing business. Whenever someone came by, she casually mentioned that she was selling vegetables too.
Most of the customers were on their way to work and had things to do, so it wasn’t convenient for them to carry vegetables around.
But even if they didn’t buy today, they might remember her stall and come back when they needed some.
Her vegetables really did look good. Although there wasn’t much, they sat neatly in baskets, their leaves a rich green color. The heavy rain from yesterday had made them look especially fresh and tender.
By the end of the morning, she had sold nearly twenty bowls of noodles, but only two or three bundles of vegetables. Jiang Ran wasn’t discouraged. As the sun came out, she moved the vegetables into the shade and sprinkled some water over them, making sure they wouldn’t wilt in the heat.
Watching this, Auntie Zhao couldn’t help feeling worried.
“To sell vegetables, you really need to come earlier,” she said.
Jiang Ran blinked, then realized Auntie Zhao wasn’t talking about this morning. She meant the morning market that she had mentioned before.
Freshly picked vegetables were at their best. Customers were willing to buy them, and by this time of day, most people had already finished shopping. No matter how good Jiang Ran’s vegetables were, people simply didn’t need them anymore.
Jiang Ran thought to herself, If that’s the case, won’t they be even harder to sell this afternoon?
But getting up that early…
The whole reason she had bought a house in the city was for convenience. If she had to run back and forth just to sell vegetables, wouldn’t that only add more work?
Jiang Ran bit her lower lip.
There were so many people in the capital. Surely not everyone got up early to shop at the morning market. Normally, from morning until noon, there weren’t many customers coming to eat anyway. Since they were idle, why not give it a try? Maybe the vegetables would sell.
“Brother, try calling out to customers,” Jiang Ran said to Jiang Song.
Without hesitation, Jiang Song immediately shouted, “Vegetables for sale! Vegetables for sale! Fresh vegetables!”
Jiang Ran joined in.
“Fresh vegetables! Sweet, tender, and delicious! Buy some and make dumplings for lunch! Vegetables for sale! Vegetables for sale!”
They had only shouted a few times when they saw someone walking toward them.
It was a woman carrying a basket on her arm. The basket was still empty.
One look at her and Jiang Ran knew she was here to buy something, so she called out even more enthusiastically.
The woman stopped in front of the stall and looked at the vegetables. She examined them carefully, then crouched down and sorted through them before finally asking, “How much are these?”
Jiang Song answered, “Six wen per jin for chives and napa cabbage. Radish sprouts are four wen per jin.”
Jiang Ran added, “Take a look, Madam. They’re very fresh. There are hardly any insect holes, and all the old and rotten leaves have already been removed.”
The woman lowered her head and inspected them closely.
“One bundle is one jin?”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Don’t worry. If the weight isn’t right, come back and find me. I’m always here.”
The woman picked up a bundle and weighed it in her hand. It felt about right.
“Make it a little cheaper,” she said.
Jiang Ran replied awkwardly, “This is the price everywhere on this street. But if you buy more, I can give you a discount.”
The woman bought two jin each of napa cabbage and chives. Jiang Ran charged her five wen per jin.
After paying, the woman spent quite a while choosing. Every bundle looked good to her. In the end, unable to decide, she simply picked four bundles at random.
That came to four jin.
Adding the five jin she had sold earlier that morning, half of the vegetables she had brought today were already gone.
Jiang Ran was delighted.
The woman then asked, “Do you sell vegetables here every day?”
Looking at Jiang Ran’s stall, it really didn’t seem like the stall of someone who sold vegetables.