She watched for the moment when Madam Yu was busy dividing up the second batch of lard in the kitchen, then slipped quietly and swiftly into her room.
Opening the Mall, she directly selected five jin of lard.
[Purchase successful! Pure edible lard 2.5kg / 26 yuan]
[Current balance: 41.6 yuan]
As the System's notification tone faded, a large package of snow-white modern lard appeared in the grain sack.
Jiang Wan hugged the bag of Mall-produced lard, sneaked back to the main hall, and pulled out the empty jar she had swiped right from under Madam Yu's nose, beginning to mix the lard.
The freshly rendered lard was still scalding hot, easily melting the solidified lard blocks purchased from the Mall.
The clay jars Madam Yu had prepared were all uniformly two-jin capacity, so she only needed to do a simple blend to successfully mix the Mall-bought lard in.
The two types of lard quickly merged under the high heat, their colors gradually becoming consistent—with the naked eye alone, no flaw could be detected.
After handling these five jin of lard, Jiang Wan carefully arranged them in place, then thoroughly checked the tabletop to confirm no traces were left before returning to the kitchen.
Over fifty jin of pork leaf fat couldn't be rendered in a single pot—Madam Yu had already started on the second batch.
Sweat slid down her temples, yet she remained completely unaware.
Seeing this, Jiang Wan quickly pulled out a handkerchief and gently dabbed away the fine beads of sweat at her brow.
"Mother, go drink some water and rest a bit—I'll stir…"
Today was the ninth day of the month, the unshakeable market day in Yongxing Town.
Just past the third watch, the dirt road at the town entrance was already bustling.
Many villagers from remote hamlets, carrying their saved grain, woven bamboo baskets, and raised chickens and ducks, hurried toward town, eager to get to the front and secure a good stall for themselves.
Jiang Wan opened the shop, letting the smell of rendered fat drift out from the back courtyard.
The rich, meaty aroma was strong, and many townsfolk followed the scent, poking their heads in to peer around, though few asked any questions.
Jiang Wan wasn't worried.
She found a cloth and wiped down the shop inside and out, top to bottom.
The few goods on display were rearranged again and again, striving to ensure every passerby would notice their presence.
Time ticked by, the sun growing brighter, until the general store finally welcomed its first customer.
It was a middle-aged woman carrying a basket.
She walked straight up to the shop, swept her gaze around, then picked up an egg and examined it closely.
"How much for these eggs?" the woman asked, her tone somewhat sharp.
Jiang Wan maintained her smile. "If you pick them yourself, two wen each. If not, three wen for two."
"Oh?" The woman looked up at her with slight surprise, rubbing the egg in her hand as she asked with pointed meaning: "So you're the new wife the Zhou family just brought in?"
Judging by the woman's attire and the bamboo basket on her arm, Jiang Wan figured she was from the town itself.
There was no trace of her in the original owner's memories, so she likely wasn't close to the Zhou family—just familiar with a bit of their gossip.
With that, Jiang Wan also raised a familiar smile. "Yes, sister-in-law. I just came in and haven't had the chance to meet everyone yet. Once I'm free, I'll come find you for a chat—don't get annoyed with me now."
At this, the woman's lips curled upward, her smugness written all over her face. "That's nothing. I'm from the Liu family at the east end—I even held Qi Shan when he was a child. There's a daughter-in-law at home about your age, so feel free to come by anytime."
With that, she began picking through the eggs in the basket.
"The eggs are fresh, sure, but they're too small—nothing worth picking over." She clicked her tongue in disdain as she spoke. "Just sell them to me at three wen for two, and I won't bother choosing."
That's what she said, but her hands never stopped sorting through the eggs.
Too small—no. Too dirty—no. Didn't catch her eye—no.
After all that picking and choosing, she only selected the largest, smoothest eggs.
"Here, these six—nine wen, right?"
She glanced at Jiang Wan, a hint of testing and entitled calculation in her eyes.
Jiang Wan froze for just a moment before quickly catching on.
This woman was taking advantage of her being new here, trying to get a bargain.
She raised an even more dazzling smile than before and politely declined, "If Sister-in-law Liu truly wants them, let's round it up—ten wen. But if you're here to step on Zhou Ji's toes, I'm someone who can talk things out openly. Why don't we lay it all out in front of the neighbors and see exactly what Zhou Ji has done wrong?"
Her smile remained, but her gaze carried a sharp edge that was hard to miss.
They all lived in the same town—people crossed paths every day.
Her meaning couldn't be clearer.
If she was willing to go that far and spread word of Sister-in-law Liu's unreasonable behavior, Sister-in-law Liu would surely face gossip behind her back.
For one or two wen, being talked about—no one would accept that.
Seeing that the new wife of the Zhou family wasn't as easy to push around as the rumors suggested, and was even somewhat "picky about every penny," Sister-in-law Liu's shrewd expression quickly faded.
She pursed her lips and, with a huff, placed the eggs back in her bamboo basket. "Ten wen it is. You're being far too rigid about this."
With that, she counted out ten copper coins, slapped them onto the counter of the general store, and stormed off in a huff.
Jiang Wan watched her leave, then calmly gathered the coins and put them into the money box under the counter.
The transaction, though not pleasant, was at least a start.
Xiao He approached Jiang Wan with some concern. "Sister-in-law, for the sake of fighting over one wen of profit, what if Sister-in-law Liu never comes back…"
Jiang Wan turned her head and emphasized firmly, "Xiao He, you need to understand—we're not fighting over one wen of profit; we're giving up one wen of profit."
She sighed, looked at the bewildered Xiao He, and patiently explained, "In business, you can't break the rules just because you're familiar with someone. There's no room for sentiment in the marketplace. Zhou Ji has already given plenty of leeway, and what did that get us?
That one wen may seem small, but what we earn is exactly that one-wen, one-wen difference. Remember this: wealth doesn't come to the impatient, and it certainly doesn't come to the doormat."
She was beginning to understand why Zhou Ji had fallen to such a state.
A merchant who doesn't value profit can indeed win people's hearts, but they can't accumulate enough wealth to withstand rivals' targeting.
People's goodwill is like water—it can push the small boat of Zhou Ji steadily forward in the little town of Yongxing.
But when faced with natural disasters or man-made troubles, it simply isn't enough.
Xiao He listened, nodding in a way that suggested she half-understood. Though she didn't quite grasp the deeper reasoning, she simply felt that her sister-in-law was absolutely right.
So she obediently helped Jiang Wan arrange the jars of already-solidified lard onto the shelves.
The smell of meat from the sundry shop was overwhelming, wafting through the streets and alleys.
There was no need for Jiang Wan to go out and hawk her wares—people who hadn't managed to grab any suet were already following the scent to their door.
The oil yield from suet was generally around sixty to seventy percent; at most, one catty of suet could render six and a half taels of lard.
Three catties of suet barely produced two catties of lard.
At the current market price of seventeen wen per catty of suet, buying the suet alone would cost fifty-one wen—and that didn't even account for the firewood, the labor, or the suffering endured while hunched over a scorching stove.
But at Zhou's shop, two catties of lard cost only fifty-four wen if you brought your own container, and sixty wen with a jar included.
No matter how you did the math, buying it ready-made was the better deal!
Seeing that the timing was right, Jiang Wan quickly shifted into gear.
She rolled up her sleeves high and stood at the door, calling out with poise and confidence.
"Freshly rendered lard, right here! Come take a look—great quality, great price, only twenty-seven wen a catty! Limited supply, first come, first served!"
Her voice was crisp and bright, brimming with enthusiasm.
With that shout, combined with the near-zero profit margin on the lard as a draw, Zhou's shop instantly became the hottest spot at the market.
Countless villagers at the fair came flocking, drawn by the sound and the smell.
With such a crowd, the shop's other goods started selling briskly too.
"Auntie, these are the last five eggs—just seven wen!" Jiang Wan wrapped them up with quick, nimble hands.
Then she turned to greet someone on the other side. "Wood ear mushrooms are cheap! How about I grab you a handful? Soak them at home and toss them in a salad—crisp and refreshing!"
Spotting a woman staring hesitantly at the gleaming white lard, Jiang Wan hurried over. "The lard is only twenty-seven wen a catty, or sixty wen with the jar. This jar is sturdy—whatever you store in it won't get damp easily. Would you like to take one home?"
"Hold on! Those dried mushrooms are thoroughly air-dried—just soak them in water and they'll make anything you stew smell amazing!"
"…"
While Jiang Wan bustled about in a flurry of activity, Xiao He finally mustered her courage.
She stopped shrinking timidly in the corner and, imitating Jiang Wan's manner, began helping out with a bit of awkwardness.
"Auntie, are you waiting for the lard? There's more in the back—I'll go fetch it in a moment…"
"Want me to scoop you two taels of cracklings? Just a moment, I'll weigh it for you…"
In the kitchen, Madam Yu was tending to the fire and stirring the lard in the pot.
Though she was run off her feet, hearing the long-missed bustle from the shop filled her heart with both tenderness and pride.
The lard solidified far slower than it sold.
Some customers who couldn't wait simply left a deposit, urging Jiang Wan again and again to set some aside for them.
"Madam Jiang, here's thirty wen as a deposit. I still need to buy other things—can't dawdle."
Jiang Wan noted each one down carefully.
At the height of the rush, an old woman from Lijia'ao came looking for her.
Behind her trailed a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, her hair styled in the manner of a married woman. She wore a faded blue cloth top, carried a bamboo basket on her back, and stood off to the side, looking very ill at ease.
The two of them waited quietly by the side, watching the customers come and go at the general store, not daring to squeeze in even a step, for fear of disturbing the shop's business.
It was Xiao He who spotted him first with her sharp eyes.
She told Jiang Wan, who hurriedly welcomed the man inside.
"Oh! Old sir, you've finally arrived, please come in."
She helped the young woman set down her carrying basket, took out the furs, and handed them to Xiao He beside her. "Stretch these furs open with bamboo sticks and hang them on the most eye-catching shelf."
"Right away!" Xiao He responded and moved into action.
Before long, the two rabbit furs were stretched flat and hung neatly on the shelf.
Jiang Wan patted the old man's wrinkled hand reassuringly. "Old sir, the furs are hung up now, just waiting for the right buyer. You can go about your market business with peace of mind. But I should say this upfront—since it's summer now, these furs might not sell as easily."