Xu Anyan carried the small bowl and headed next door to the Wu family with Erbao.
Before she could even raise her hand, Xiaobao had already lifted his little hand and started banging on the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As he knocked, he called out, “Big Brother Xiaohu!”
A moment later, the door opened. Standing there was the sturdy, tiger-headed little Xiaohu.
The moment he saw Xu Anyan, he obediently called out,
“Aunt Xu.”
“What a good boy, Xiaohu. Is your mother and grandmother at home?”
Xiaohu nodded.
“Grandma isn’t here, but Mother is.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yu came out of the main room. Seeing Xu Anyan, she quickly greeted her warmly.
“Sister Xu, you’ve come! Come in, come in.”
Erbao called out, “Aunt Zheng.”
After greeting her, the three little ones had already run off to play in the yard.
Xu Anyan stepped forward and handed over the bowl in her hands.
“Sister Zheng, I made some bone broth. Have a taste later and tell me how it is.”
Zheng Yu smiled.
“It smells wonderful already. You have such good cooking skills. I’ll shamelessly accept it.”
Since the soup had already been brought over, it would be awkward to refuse and make Xu Anyan carry it back.
Xu Anyan said sincerely,
“You’re joking. The three of us owe your family so much for taking care of us these past days.”
She was genuinely grateful. Although Jiang Huan had given Old Madam Wu money, she could tell just how attentive and caring the old woman had been.
Then Xu Anyan explained why she had come.
“Sister Zheng, I have something I’d like to trouble you with.”
Zheng Yu looked puzzled.
“What is it? Just tell me.”
“I want to plant some vegetables in my yard, but I don’t know how. So I’ve come to ask for your help.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yu replied casually,
“Oh, it’s just that? I happen to have some seeds at home. I’ll go get them, and I’ll come over and help you plant them.”
“Thank you for troubling yourself, Sister Zheng.”
Zheng Yu waved her hand.
“It’s nothing, just a small matter.”
After a pause, she added,
“It’s already the end of October, so you can only plant things like bok choy and radishes now. I have those seeds. Let me go look around and see what other seasonal seeds I have and bring them all over.”
Hearing this, Xu Anyan was delighted.
“Great! I’ll go clean up the yard right now.”
Afterward, Xu Anyan took back the kitchen utensils Zheng Yu had lent her and returned home. Erbao and Xiaohu remained in the yard playing.
The empty corner of the courtyard was only about two square meters in size. During the past few days, she’d been pouring the water from washing and rinsing there to soften the soil.
Since her right arm still couldn’t exert much strength, she could only slowly dig with a small hoe.
Before the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, Zheng Yu came over.
Not only had she brought vegetable seeds, she had also brought a small bowl of pickled cabbage.
The moment Xu Anyan saw the pickled cabbage, her eyes lit up.
What perfect timing! It was like someone delivering a pillow when you were sleepy.
Tomorrow she could make pickled cabbage fish soup.
Only after buying vegetables recently had she realized that this place actually had quite a variety of produce, though some vegetables went by different names.
At this moment, she deeply hated her former lazy self.
Watching piles of silver slip right through her fingers was simply heartbreaking.
Soon, the two women got busy digging and planting.
Zheng Yu had brought bok choy seeds, radish seeds, and even some carrot seeds.
After an hour of work, they finally finished sowing all the seeds.
After Zheng Yu left, Xu Anyan had just prepared to clean up the clutter in the backyard when she heard a knock at the courtyard gate.
She opened the door and saw Old Master Li, the man who sold hawthorns. At his feet were two baskets covered with coarse gray cloth.
“Little girl, I’ve brought your hawthorns,” Old Master Li said.
Though surprised, Xu Anyan quickly reacted.
“Grandpa Li, you gathered two baskets so quickly?”
“I didn’t gather them. My grandson went outside the city to pick them.”
“How many jin are there? Have you weighed them yet?”
“Not yet, but I brought a scale.”
As he spoke, he lifted the cloth from one of the baskets. Sure enough, there was a large scale lying on top.
Xu Anyan secretly admired him.
The old man was truly honest.
In total, the hawthorns weighed ninety jin and cost one hundred and eighty wen.
Old Master Li conveniently poured all the hawthorns into the basket she’d used last time and then took his leave.
Looking at the bright red hawthorns, Xu Anyan felt she needed to think of other ways to make money.
After all, once hawthorn season ended, this business would also have to stop.
By now, late autumn had arrived.
A chilly breeze blew through the air.
Xu Anyan touched the little hands of the two children and made up her mind to buy each of them two thick sets of clothes later.
Today they had closed their stall half an hour earlier than yesterday.
As she packed up, she said,
“The three of us are going to have a good stroll along Qili Street today.”
Dabao looked puzzled.
Don’t we go shopping every day already?
Xiaobao’s eyes lit up.
Shopping is great! There’ll be more delicious food!
After they finished packing, Dabao and Xiaobao habitually reached out and tightly grabbed the hem of their mother’s skirt.
Xu Anyan led the two children into the bustling marketplace.
Looking at the signboard of Luoshang Cloth Shop, she remembered that this ready-made clothing store catered to ordinary families in the county town. The prices were affordable, and there was a wide variety of clothing styles.
It was also one of the few shops that sold ready-made clothes for children.
Children grew quickly, and most families simply let the younger children wear hand-me-downs from their older siblings.
Most people also made clothes themselves, which meant that very few clothing shops in the county sold children’s clothes.
Although Xu Anyan was good with handicrafts, her skills only extended to making cloth dolls.
She truly didn’t know how to make clothes.
The original owner of this body knew a little, but making money was the most important thing right now, and she had no time to figure out sewing.
As she entered Luoshang Cloth Shop, there were no customers inside.
The only sound was the clicking of abacus beads.
Xu Anyan looked up and saw a female shopkeeper behind the counter, her head lowered as she worked the abacus.
Sensing someone’s gaze, the shopkeeper looked up and saw a young woman with two adorable, similarly featured but rather skinny little boys beside her.
Their tiny hands were tightly clutching the woman’s skirt.
Before Xu Anyan could speak, the shopkeeper immediately came out from behind the counter and greeted her warmly with a professional smile.
“Madam, are you looking for ready-made clothes or fabric? I can recommend some for you.”
The shopkeeper was a plump, prosperous-looking woman in her thirties.
After looking around, Xu Anyan said slowly,
“Shopkeeper, do you have any recommendations for children’s clothes suitable for late autumn?”
Seeing the two children beside her, the shopkeeper immediately understood.
“Of course! I’m not boasting, but my shop has the most complete selection of children’s clothing for all four seasons.”
As she spoke, she brought out five different sets of children’s clothing.
“Feel these. Aren’t they warm? Each piece is lined with fine cotton, perfect for late autumn. When winter comes, we have new styles too, and the cotton stuffing is even thicker.”
The shopkeeper talked enthusiastically.
Xu Anyan was astonished.
They had even thought of padded clothing already!
What money-making opportunities were left for her?
She carefully felt all five outfits.
They were indeed very warm, suitable even for early winter, and all made from fine cotton.
Her gaze swept over the clothes before she finally chose two sets.
Each set consisted of small trousers and a long-sleeved top, along with a little vest that even had two tiny cloth pockets.
Two outfits for each child—just right.
As for the colors, she made the decision herself.
Green and dark blue.
Practical colors that didn’t show dirt easily.
Seeing that she was a big customer, the shopkeeper quickly introduced another item.
“We also have seasonal shoes. Would you like to take a look?”
Xu Anyan agreed immediately.
“Sure, let me see.”