The exterior of Moon Tower was full of exotic charm.
Since arriving in this world, this was the first time Lu Qianqian had seen architecture in such a style.
As soon as she entered, a blonde, blue-eyed young woman approached her.
The woman’s clothing was rather revealing, though it had been modified to suit Great Xia customs. While her outfit was still light and airy, only her arms were exposed, and even those were covered by a layer of translucent gauze.
“Welcome, honored guest. Is there anything you’re looking for? I’d be happy to introduce our products.”
To Lu Qianqian’s surprise, the foreign-looking woman spoke the language of Great Xia fluently.
“I’m just browsing.”
“Of course. If you need anything, please let us know.”
Lu Qianqian nodded.
At that moment, the sharp voice from earlier rang out again, dripping with mockery.
“You’d better take a good look. If you can’t afford anything, all you can do is stare.”
“Jiayu, enough!”
Hearing Lu Jiayu ridicule someone again, Shen Yalan frowned and rebuked her coldly.
Lu Jiayu saw Shen Yalan’s displeasure and shot Lu Qianqian a fierce glare but didn’t dare say anything else.
Turning to Lu Qianqian, Shen Yalan apologized.
“Miss, I’m truly sorry. My cousin was rude. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf.”
“Cousin!”
Lu Jiayu protested unhappily.
She didn’t think she’d said anything wrong.
Judging from Lu Qianqian’s clothes, she was obviously poor.
What right did she have to shop at Moon Tower?
“Be quiet!”
This time Shen Yalan was genuinely angry.
She had always thought Lu Jiayu was merely foolish, not malicious.
Apparently, she’d been mistaken.
Lu Qianqian smiled faintly.
“I accept your apology.”
“But I don’t forgive her behavior. Where I choose to go is my own business.”
Lu Jiayu was furious, but she knew better than to provoke Shen Yalan further.
It had taken enormous effort for her to stay close to someone like Shen Yalan.
She couldn’t afford to ruin that now.
“What the young lady says is fair.”
Shen Yalan nodded.
“Then I won’t disturb you any longer.”
With that, she led Lu Jiayu away.
The encounter didn’t affect Lu Qianqian’s mood in the slightest.
There were too many people like that in the world.
If she got angry every time she met one, she’d only be making herself miserable.
She continued exploring Moon Tower.
Before long, she had a general understanding of the business.
It specialized in cosmetics, perfumes, and beauty products for women.
No wonder there were so many female customers coming and going.
Since Moon Tower was operated by people from the Moon Kingdom, many of its products couldn’t be found elsewhere in Great Xia.
One example was something called Moon Soap.
It could be used for washing and left behind a pleasant fragrance.
The scent didn’t last very long—roughly two hours at most—but it was still popular.
The soap was made from the Moon Kingdom’s national flower, the Moon Laurel Blossom, a flower unique to that country.
Because of its gentle fragrance, women throughout Great Xia loved it.
After browsing for a while, Lu Qianqian’s mind began working.
Besides fruit, perhaps cosmetics and beauty products could become another source of income.
From her perspective, Moon Tower’s cosmetics were fairly ordinary.
Especially the Moon Soap.
It was actually quite simple.
With enough flower petals, she could easily create many different varieties of scented soap.
Without buying anything, she left Moon Tower.
She had already learned everything she wanted to know.
Afterward, she and Lu Zhengjun headed to the butcher’s shop.
They purchased:
The total cost was fifty-three copper coins.
Watching from the side, Lu Zhengjun’s heart trembled.
He was already imagining how angry their mother would be.
Yet he couldn’t say anything.
After all, every coin being spent had been earned by his younger sister.
Next, they bought soy sauce, vinegar, salt, cooking oil, and other seasonings.
After seeing the bland meals at home for days, Lu Qianqian simply couldn’t tolerate it anymore.
Compared to meat, seasonings were surprisingly expensive.
Buying only a modest amount cost two full taels of silver.
Once everything had been purchased, Lu Qianqian decided it was enough for today.
Anything else could wait until later.
They finally returned home before dinner.
Old Madam Lu had been standing at the entrance for quite some time, anxiously watching the road.
The moment she saw her daughter return, she hurried over with a smile.
“Qianqian, you must be tired.”
“I’ve already heated water for you. Go wash up first.”
“I’m not tired, Mother.”
Lu Qianqian pointed at the cart.
“I bought some things. Have Big Brother help carry them inside.”
Only then did Old Madam Lu notice the large pile of goods loaded onto the ox cart.
Her eyes immediately locked onto the stack of pork.
A surge of anger rushed straight to her head.
Smack!
She slapped Lu Zhengjun.
“You prodigal son!”
“Do you have so much money that it’s burning a hole in your pocket?”
“Why did you buy so much meat?”
“Are you trying to bankrupt the family?”
The more she spoke, the angrier she became.
At that moment, Lu Zhengjun was carrying a sack of rice.
After getting slapped, he felt wronged beyond words.
None of this had been his idea.
But he couldn’t exactly throw his sister under the cart.
Nearby, little Lu Chen and Lu Pan stared at the meat with shining eyes.
Their mouths practically watered.
They couldn’t even remember the last time they had eaten a proper serving of meat.
Even when meat appeared at home, their aunt always received the best portions first.
By the time it reached the children, there was barely anything left to divide.
Then Old Madam Lu noticed something else.
The rice sack.
“Why did you buy rice too?”
Before things escalated further, Lu Qianqian quickly pulled her mother aside.
“Mother, I bought all of it.”
“The food at home has been too plain lately. Let’s eat something better and nourish ourselves.”
Old Madam Lu immediately replied,
“Why would you buy all this?”
“If you wanted something good, you should’ve bought it for yourself.”
“Why waste it on those people? They’ll eat it and still never appreciate you.”
Hearing the commotion, Lu Zhengguo came out and immediately helped unload the goods.
Lin Gui and Liu Zhaodi followed behind him.
Both women were shocked by the amount of food that had been purchased.
Liu Zhaodi’s eyes nearly glowed when she saw the meat.
After everything was unloaded, Lu Zhengjun returned the ox cart.
The entire family then gathered in the main hall.
Old Madam Lu looked at the supplies and felt her heart ache.
She had already checked the rice sacks.
They contained newly harvested rice.
Not old grain.
New rice!
Liu Zhaodi stared at the mountain of goods for a long moment before cautiously speaking.
“So… Little Sister really became a Florist?”
“Does that mean our family won’t have to worry about money anymore?”
Old Madam Lu’s face darkened instantly.
She immediately began scolding her.
“What does Qianqian’s money have to do with you?”
“The fact that she lets you eat some of it is already a blessing.”
“And you think you’re qualified to ask about matters like that?”
Liu Zhaodi lowered her head.
Inside, she was deeply dissatisfied.
Why couldn’t she ask?
A Florist’s official stipend alone was worth dozens of taels of silver.
Everyone in the family benefited from that money.
When the family had been poor, she hadn’t complained.
Her husband handed every coin he earned to his mother.
Their own household never kept a single copper coin.
Now that Lu Qianqian could earn money, why was it suddenly forbidden to even ask about it?