Lin Yuming sighed, pushing the emotions in her mind aside. Following the original owner's memories, she walked to the village entrance and spotted Zhang Liushan with his cart from a distance.
"Brother Zhang!" Lin Yuming approached. "Are you still going to town today?"
Zhang Liushan glanced at her indifferently. "Yeah, once there are enough people."
"How much for a trip?" Lin Yuming quickly asked.
"Fifty wen."
Lin Yuming searched her pockets, finding only a few copper coins left. Fortunately, it was just enough for the fare. She paid and boarded the cart, which typically shuttled between villages, carrying fellow villagers and neighbors.
However, these people held an extremely poor impression of Lin Yu'er, practically avoiding her at all costs.
Lin Yuming was quite content with the peace and quiet.
After asking passersby for directions to the school area, Lin Yuming slung her basket over her shoulder and headed toward the nearby Green Mountain Academy. Upon reaching the entrance, she set down the basket and poured out all the candies inside onto the ground.
Many students were arriving for school, but none paid attention to Lin Yuming. Most hurried over to the nearby breakfast stall to buy a couple of steamed buns. The stall owner, a kindly-looking auntie, glanced at Lin Yuming's setup and couldn't help but strike up a conversation with a smile. "Little lady, you can't sell things like this. You need to call out to attract customers!"
"Mainly, I only brought this little bit of stuff, so there's not much to shout about," Lin Yuming replied with a laugh.
"What are you selling here? It's so colorful—I've never seen such pretty little things before," the auntie asked curiously, craning her neck to get a better look at Lin Yuming's display.
"These are all candies."
At these words, the people around froze in surprise.
However, since it was already late, only a few students remained, with just two or three stopping to watch.
Who doesn't love candy? Everyone does! Whether it's Sugar Man Li's figurines at the street corner or the candied hawthorns at the market, they were all familiar! But what were these things on this woman's stall?
Inside the transparent packaging were brightly colored items!
When had they ever seen candy like this?
Lin Yuming remained unflustered. She picked up a piece of milk candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. "These are all from the Western Regions. I'm the only one selling them here."
A young, slightly shorter boy instantly lit up with excitement! He was Xu Jinli, the young master of the Xu family in town, who had a particular fondness for sweets. Hearing about this rare treat, he hurried over.
"Miss, how much for your candy?"
"Twenty wen per jin," Lin Yuming replied.
"Give me half a jin first!" Without another word, Xu Jinli took out his money, handed it to Lin Yuming, and then walked into the classroom carrying the candy wrapped in oiled paper.
That morning, Lin Yuming had only sold ten wen worth of candy. The auntie at the steamed bun stall sighed repeatedly, but Lin Yuming wasn't the least bit worried.
Meanwhile, in the classroom.
Master Liu swayed slightly as he recited the Four Books and Five Classics. Some of the students were growing drowsy, especially since they faced an exam in another hour.
Xu Jinli forced himself to stay alert and suddenly remembered the candy he had bought at the entrance.
He placed a piece in his mouth, and instantly, an incredibly sweet fruity flavor burst forth! Looking down at the wrapper, he realized it was lychee-flavored!
"Hey, Jinli, what are you eating?" Lu Guangzhi, Xu Jinli's close classmate, quickly leaned over. Xu Jinli immediately shielded the candy in front of him: "What do you think you're doing!"
"You're eating candy, aren't you! It's just candy, what's so special about it!"
"Pah! This isn't just candy, it's practically an elixir!"
In the blink of an eye, one piece was already gone! Xu Jinli hurriedly unwrapped another!
Milk flavor!
"Jinli, you should share the good stuff!" Seeing this, Lu Guangzhi grew anxious and pleaded, "Such a rare treat. Let me have a taste too?"
Lu Guangzhi had woken up late that morning and hadn't had time to eat. Now, seeing Xu Jinli's expression, his mouth watered uncontrollably!
"Here's one for you, but don't expect more," Xu Jinli whispered, handing over a yellow fruit candy.
Lu Guangzhi quickly unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth: "What flavor is this! So sweet!"
The wrapper read "pineapple," but what on earth was a pineapple?
Even after the teacher arrived, Xu Jinli and Lu Guangzhi couldn't stop eating!
The other students nearby couldn't hold back either and flocked to Xu Jinli, begging for candy! Xu Jinli wasn't a stingy person, but he guarded this candy fiercely!
He only had half a catty of such delicious candy. What if his older sister sold out after school?
Unaware of all this, Lin Yuming at the entrance exchanged another gold coin for a basketful of candy!
This time, the main candies for sale were hard candies. If they were well-received, she planned to gradually introduce soft candies, cheese candies, and the like.
As the sun began to set, students streamed out of the gate one by one, but still, no one came to buy.
Could it be that they didn't like it?
Lin Yuming sighed softly and prepared to pack up her stall.
"Older sister! Older sister!"
A voice called out from not far away! Xu Jinli rushed toward Lin Yuming in a fluster: "Older sister, do you still have any candy in stock?"
Behind him were Lu Guangzhi and others—a full twenty people!
Even the auntie selling steamed buns nearby couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise!
She had never seen such a swarm of students rushing to buy something after school!
Lin Yuming pointed to the candy on her stall: "Young man, if I remember correctly, you already bought half a catty earlier…"
Before she could finish, Lu Guangzhi spoke up ahead of Xu Jinli: "Older sister, we were starving all day and couldn't focus in class! After eating your candy, it felt like we'd taken an elixir! The taste was absolutely incredible! It even made memorizing texts feel enlightening!"
"That's right, older sister, I hardly got to eat any!" Xu Jinli quickly added, clasping his hands in a pleading gesture.
That extraordinary sweetness that exploded on the tongue, each piece so unique, as if eating an entire fruit! If this woman stopped selling such delicious candy, they'd have nowhere to cry!
"Is it… really that amazing?" Lin Yuming was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. "I'm not refusing to sell, but eating too much candy can damage your teeth. Remember to rinse your mouth afterward." She paused. "How much would you like? I'll weigh it for you."
"I want one catty!"
"Two catties!"
"I'll take another catty!"
"I'll buy whatever you have left!"
In no time, all the candy on Lin Yuming's stall was snatched up in a frenzy!
And Lin Yuming earned a full five hundred wen in silver!
Even so, many still missed out on buying any candy.
"Big sister, will you come again tomorrow?" Xu Jinli asked hopefully, clutching the small packet of candy left in his hand.
Lin Yuming nodded. "I'll bring more goods tomorrow, so don't worry."
Hearing this, the students who hadn't managed to buy any candy could only disperse with regret.
Lin Yuming calmly folded the cloth in front of her, tucked it into the basket behind her, smiled at the auntie beside her, and turned to leave—only to be stopped by the auntie.
"Little lady, what kind of candy are you selling? How…" the auntie tentatively stepped forward and asked, "How is it selling so well?"
"This was brought back from overseas by a friend of mine. I'm the only one selling it in our town," Lin Yuming said with a smile. She reached into her pocket, found a few pieces left, and handed them to the auntie. "These are for you."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept this!" the auntie quickly tried to refuse, but Lin Yuming pressed them into her hand.
"I'm new here and don't know anyone. When I come back in the future, I'll need your help," Lin Yuming said.
The auntie still wanted to decline, but Lin Yuming had already turned and left without looking back.