Dabao blinked his eyes. He hadn't misheard—this woman was praising him and his sister for being cute. But was the money they'd used to buy meat these past two days really not from Lin Yuming selling his sister?
Xiaoya was more direct than Dabao. She stumbled over and asked, "Mother, you really won't sell me anymore?"
"Silly girl, of course not! This silver is money I earned myself. Do you both remember what I said to Grandma Guihua today?" Lin Yuming scooped Xiaoya up into her arms.
"I remember!" Xiaoya nestled in her mother's embrace, grinning a bit foolishly.
Dabao couldn't help but roll his eyes. He turned and headed toward the dining table.
Fortunately, the food hadn't gone cold yet, and the meat was still fragrant and delicious.
Exhausted from the recent days' turmoil, Lin Yuming watched Dabao and Xiaoya return to Yin Chiyan's room before she herself fell asleep almost immediately. Early the next morning, Lin Yuming was awakened by noises in the yard.
She rubbed her eyes. The two children were still asleep—it must be Yin Chiyan returning.
Thinking this, she rolled out of the kang bed. After all, the straw bedding wasn't comfortable anyway.
Little did Lin Yuming expect that as soon as she stepped outside, she would see Yin Chiyan standing in the yard, covered in blood.
The man's dark gaze happened to fall on her, but he looked away after just a moment. Lying in the yard was a wild ox that looked thin but had considerable weight.
"Are you injured?" Lin Yuming hurried over but hesitated, stopping in her tracks.
She and this man were neither relatives nor friends, and given their previously hostile relationship, his injuries had nothing to do with her.
"Mhm, just a minor injury. It's fine," Yin Chiyan said flatly. "Have this ox butchered by a butcher today. Sell some to the villagers and keep the rest of the money for yourself."
For her?
Lin Yuming frowned deeply.
"Weren't you going to need money in a couple of days?" His voice was devoid of inflection as he walked straight into the room. Only after seeing the two children sleeping peacefully and cleanly on the kang did he feel at ease.
If this woman tried to sell the children again while he was away, he would definitely kill her!
"Wait!" Lin Yuming stepped forward and grabbed the man's sleeve.
Yin Chiyan turned around. Under the morning sunlight, their eyes met, and silence fell between them.
"Let me clean your wound," Lin Yuming said quietly, pulling Yin Chiyan into the yard. Soon, she brought out a basin of hot water. She had intended to find a cloth to wipe the wound, but there were no clean cloths in the house.
Glancing at the inner lining of her own clothes, she tore it off directly and soaked it in the warm water.
Carefully, she used the cotton cloth to wipe away the bloodstains. The moment it touched his skin, it stung slightly. Soon, the dried blood was cleaned off, revealing a wound on Yin Chiyan's back. It must have been caused by the ox's horn—it had bled quite a bit, but the bleeding had stopped by now.
"The medicine is in the cabinet in my room. Clothes are there too."
A deep voice sounded. Lin Yuming was startled for a moment before she went inside to fetch clean clothes for Yin Chiyan.
She sprinkled white medicinal powder over the gruesome wound. Seeing that it wasn't serious, Yin Chiyan pulled his clothes on.
"My relationship with the villagers isn't good. You handle the ox yourself," Lin Yuming said before walking back into the house.
From a distance, Yin Chiyan watched Lin Yuming's retreating figure, lost in thought.
Perhaps she really had changed somewhat.
Lin Yuming returned to her room, picked up the two worn-out bamboo baskets placed nearby, and once again filled them with candy exchanged from the System. In addition to the fruit candies from before, she had specifically added a new item—Snowflake Crisp.
Snowflake Crisp cost one gold coin for twenty catties, but Lin Yuming planned to sell it at a slightly higher price.
After all, today was about testing the new product, so it wouldn’t be unusual if it didn’t sell well.
Lin Yuming once again arrived at the spot where Zhang Liushan’s ox cart was parked. Not many people were heading to town today, and no one paid her any attention along the way. Lin Yuming was quite content with the solitude.
She had always disliked socializing.
Familiar with the route, she arrived at Qingshan Shuyuan, set up her stall, and the auntie selling steamed buns nearby was the first to approach.
“Young lady, your candy is truly delicious,” the auntie said with a warm, honest smile. “I have guests coming to my home today, so I’d like to buy five catties of your candy in advance.”
“Of course, auntie. I’ll pack it for you right away,” Lin Yuming quickly replied, picking up a nearby winnowing basket and swiftly selecting candies for Aunt Qinglian.
“Ah, you can just call me Aunt Lian from now on,” Li Qinglian said as she placed the candies from the winnowing basket into her cloth bundle. Just then, her sharp eyes caught sight of the candy Lin Yuming had placed to the side.
“What’s this?”
“This is Snowflake Crisp,” Lin Yuming explained, picking up a piece. “It contains raisins, dried strawberries, and various nuts. It’s a type of pastry.”
“A pastry? How much is it?”
“Five hundred wen per catty.”
Hearing the price of five hundred wen, Li Qinglian’s face showed a flicker of hesitation. But after a moment, she still counted out some copper coins and handed them to Lin Yuming. “Eating too much candy isn’t good anyway. Just give me half a catty.”
“Alright!”
Lin Yuming quickly began packing the Snowflake Crisp, deliberately adding a little extra. “Aunt Lian, I’ll give you a bit more. It’ll help you save face when entertaining guests today.”
“How could I accept that!” Li Qinglian said, though inwardly pleased. She hurriedly tucked the Snowflake Crisp away. “Young lady, if you ever need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m familiar with this whole area.”
“Of course.”
After chatting with Li Qinglian for a few more moments, Lin Yuming settled in quietly, waiting for the students to arrive for their classes.
Before long, a familiar figure appeared in the distance. As he drew closer, she realized it was Xu Jinli!
Now, as for yesterday—after Xu Jinli took the candy home, the sweet taste helped him finally memorize the lessons he had struggled with for so long. But this morning, he found himself with no candy left to eat!
Just as he was thinking about buying more from Lin Yuming, he spotted her stall.
“Big sister! Big sister!” Xu Jinli rushed over to Lin Yuming. “I’ve been craving your candy so much! Give me some more!”
Seeing how eager he looked, Lin Yuming couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, how many catties do you want?”
“Ten catties! I want ten catties!” Xu Jinli immediately placed two qian of silver in front of Lin Yuming. Just then, his eyes fell on the neatly arranged Snowflake Crisp beside her.
Its snow-white appearance, with the faint gleam of dried fruits visible through the transparent packaging, made Xu Jinli swallow hard.
“Big sister, what’s this?”
“This is Snowflake Crisp,” Lin Yuming said, handing him a piece. “Here, try one on the house!”
Xu Jinli felt a bit embarrassed in his heart—how could he accept someone's gift for no reason? Yet, gazing at the tempting candy before him, he still carefully took it, unwrapped the packaging, and took a bite!
Sweet, fragrant, soft, and chewy, accompanied by the crispiness of nuts and pastry, along with the sweetness of fruit! It even perfectly blended the rich flavor of milk!
What kind of heavenly candy was this!
"Big sister! I want this too." Xu Jinli swallowed the entire Snowflake Crisp in one gulp and took out another tael of silver: "All my pocket money for today is yours…"
"Alright, I'll pack some extra for you to enjoy slowly." Seeing the boy's happiness, Lin Yuming couldn't help but feel a bit of joy herself.
Who would have thought that the Snowflake Crisp produced by the System would be so delicious? She decided to try some herself when she got back.
After packing the candy for Xu Jinli, she pretended to take more candy from her basket but actually exchanged some Snowflake Crisp with the System, discreetly placing it on the stall!
Soon, Lu Guangzhi arrived, but this time he was accompanied by a woman of similar age. The woman wore a green ruqun, her hair simply tied back, and adorned with a jade hairpin—clearly a young lady from a wealthy family!
And, in just an instant! Lu Guangzhi's gaze fell on Lin Yuming's stall!
"Sister! The candy I gave you yesterday was bought here!"