She placed one tael of silver in front of the noodle stall owner.
“This is a deposit. I’ll pay the rest when it’s done,” Hua Wanxi said, then drove her cart toward the steamed bun stall.
It was still the same clean-looking old lady.
“Auntie, I’ll take all your buns and plain steamed buns. Please count them quickly!” Hua Wanxi called out.
“Alright!” the old lady replied, recognizing her again. Her eyes narrowed into a smile. What vendor wouldn’t like such a generous customer?
Hua Wanxi ended up with 78 buns and 90 plain steamed buns.
That should be enough, she decided, and didn’t plan to restock more.
While the noodle shop owner was still kneading dough, Hua Wanxi took the chance to look around nearby stalls.
One bakery was sending out a very tempting aroma. The baked flatbreads were golden and crisp-looking, very appetizing. She bought all of them—63 in total.
Next to it was a pastry shop. The pastries there were more expensive. Hua Wanxi tried a few samples and finally bought 20 jin of the ones she liked.
Beside that was a candy shop. She didn’t particularly like sweets, but since New Year was coming, it felt appropriate to buy some. And in case of low blood sugar, sugar could be useful. She casually bought another 20 jin.
There was no more space left in the “bathroom storage,” so she put everything into her vegetable baskets instead. Once the vegetables she had stored earlier were cooked in a few days, space would free up again—no problem.
Just as she was about to drive back to the noodle stall, she overheard people chatting nearby. Someone mentioned that the braised dishes on the next street were delicious and they planned to buy some as drinking snacks.
After asking for directions, Hua Wanxi drove over.
From afar, she could already smell it—so fragrant!
She whipped her whip and hurried forward until she saw the sign of the braised meat shop.
It was a century-old brand—no wonder it smelled so good.
After the first two customers finished buying, Hua Wanxi quickly got off the cart.
“Madam, what would you like?” the shopkeeper asked politely with a professional smile.
Hua Wanxi looked at the trays in front of her: pig head meat, duck heads, goose heads, rabbit heads, pork knuckle, chicken legs, rabbit legs, chicken wings, duck wings, goose wings—so many choices that she wanted everything.
She checked the remaining space in her storage. Several newly bought large jars were still empty and could fit some more.
“I want 10 jin of pig head meat, 5 pork knuckles, 20 chicken legs, 20 rabbit legs, and 30 pieces each of chicken wings, duck wings, and goose wings. Slice the pig head meat and pork knuckle thinly, and wrap everything tightly in oiled paper!”
“Alright, please wait a moment!”
The shop was large with plenty of staff, and everyone worked quickly together. Before long, everything was neatly packed.
Total cost: 36 taels of silver.
So expensive—but it smelled amazing! After the New Year, she would free up more space and come back to stock up again.
The owner wasn’t surprised at all. Big bulk buyers were common—likely people preparing for banquets.
After buying the braised food, Hua Wanxi didn’t dare look at anything else anymore. There was simply no space left.
She returned to the noodle stall, where the two large vats of noodles were already cooked, steaming hot. Golden fried eggs and green vegetables were neatly placed on top, looking very appetizing.
“You’re back, customer!” the noodle stall owner finally relaxed. He had been worried she might not return, leaving the food wasted.
“How much?” she asked. “Help me load it onto the cart.”
The large vats filled with noodle soup were extremely heavy. The stall owner even hired two nearby workers with copper coins to help lift them onto the ox cart.
“Customer, after subtracting your 1 tael deposit, the total is 3 taels 7 qian plus 20 copper coins,” the owner said honestly. He wasn’t trying to round it down—he had barely made any profit after buying extra flour and eggs and hiring labor to cook such a large amount.
Hua Wanxi didn’t bargain and paid in full. In fact, she even felt it was cheap.
She stored the noodles in the bathroom space and headed home.
On the way, she removed her makeup, took off her jewelry, and changed back into her original clothes—her “identity” shifting once again.
Back home, she tied up the ox in the shed, gave it some hay and water, and finally lay down on the bed for a while. Exhausted—her back ached from a full day of travel.
After resting, she stripped the bedsheets, threw away the old pillow, and put everything into the bathroom trash bin. She took out the newly bought mattress, sheets, and pillows, cleaned a small wooden bed carefully, and placed it at the inner side of the bed.
She hung up a mosquito net and nodded in satisfaction. The house finally felt a bit warm and homely.
She placed the two babies into the two small beds. They waved their little hands and smiled at her, adjusting well.
Now she no longer had to worry about them falling off the bed while sleeping.
She hadn’t made soap today. All the finished soap bars in the bathroom were moved into a cabinet. It was too late to scrape more raw soap—tomorrow would be another day of only selling finished goods.
She originally planned to start cooking dishes, but she was too tired. She decided to postpone it and only cook rice tonight.
She prepared white rice the traditional way: first boiling it until 60–70% done, then steaming it.
She liked this method—the rice came out fluffy and separate, not too soft or too hard. The rice water could also be saved for drinking or making porridge, which was gentle on the stomach.
After cooking, she separated the rice and rice water, then added clean water again to steam.
She also placed dozens of washed eggs into the water so they could be steamed at the same time—killing two birds with one stone.
But then she realized a problem: her firewood might not be enough.
Tonight would still be fine— Jiang Wenwan occasionally brought her some. But she was now using large amounts, and she couldn’t let Jiang Wenwan become suspicious. She would need another solution.
While working, she suddenly thought of someone.
Her neighbor, Jiang Ergou
Being neighbors already suggested their houses were similar—both poor, dilapidated mud houses.
Jiang Ergou had a tragic background. His father died when he was very young. The next year, his mother remarried, leaving him to live with his grandmother.
His grandmother raised him alone with great hardship, but years of overwork left her nearly blind.
As a half-grown boy, Jiang Ergou had to take on the burden of the family. He farmed the fields, collected firewood in the mountains, and once enough was gathered, carried it to town to sell.
He couldn’t bear spending even one copper coin on a one-way ox cart ride. He always walked both ways, and even then, a trip only earned him three to five copper coins.