After Jiang Huan carried the second child out, Xu Anyan finally opened the bundle. Inside was a light blue ruqun dress and a short outer jacket. It felt quite warm to the touch and was made of fine cotton.
After putting them on, not only did she feel warm, but the fit was also just right. Although she already had many clothes in her wardrobe, this was a gift from her two sons—how could she not accept their filial intention?
Before she even pushed the door open, the younger child’s soft voice came from outside.
“Mother, are you done changing?”
“I’m done. Don’t stand right by the door, I’m going to open it.”
“I’m not at the door,” the little one insisted.
When she opened the door, she saw the three of them standing in the courtyard, all looking toward the main room.
The younger boy exclaimed happily, “Wow… Mother looks so beautiful!” His tone was full of exaggeration.
The older boy’s eyes lit up as he echoed, “Mother is beautiful.”
Jiang Huan asked, “Does it fit well?”
Xu Anyan nodded. “It fits perfectly. Thank you.”
Jiang Huan was slightly surprised, since she rarely said “thank you.” He awkwardly turned his head and stammered, “It… it’s nothing.”
Xu Anyan didn’t mind and returned to the room to change out of the new clothes.
After changing back, she thought of something else and said, “Jiang Huan, help me buy five large clay jars from the market. I have use for them.”
“Alright, I’ll go now.” He agreed, then asked, “How big?”
Xu Anyan gestured roughly with her hands—it was about the size of a washbasin.
At that moment, the younger child immediately said, “Father, I want to go too, and so does my brother.”
Xu Anyan was about to stop them from causing trouble, but Jiang Huan immediately agreed, “Alright, I’ll take you both.”
Hearing this, she didn’t insist.
She was planning to pickle some vegetables and make pickled cabbage fish. Although she didn’t have enough money yet, she could prepare the jars first and make one jar for herself in advance.
The next day, when Xu Anyan woke up, the two children were already gone.
After she went out, as expected, the two were squatting in horse stance again. When they heard the door open behind them, they immediately straightened up and began rubbing their legs.
“Mother, you’re awake,” said the older boy.
“Mother, can you wake up earlier tomorrow?” the younger one added.
“……”
“One plans for the day in the morning; one plans for the year in spring.”
“If the young don’t work hard, the old will regret it.”
Xu Anyan continued lecturing them.
“Mother, what does the second one mean?” the older asked.
The younger one stared blankly.
“It means if you don’t work hard now, you won’t even have food to eat later,” she explained.
“I don’t want to starve. I’ll work hard!” the younger immediately said.
“That’s more like it. Where is your father?” she asked.
The older replied right away, “Father said he went to work. Breakfast is ready, and there’s hot water in the pot.”
Xu Anyan didn’t expect him to have prepared everything before leaving.
These two children were also quite serious—even without supervision, they still persisted in their horse stance until she woke up.
When they arrived at Qili Street and set up the “Sugar Snowballs” stall, Xu Anyan took the opportunity to teach the two children some basic arithmetic since there were no customers.
“Five plus six equals how much?”
“Eleven,” the older answered.
“Eleven steamed buns,” the younger added.
Xu Anyan sighed helplessly. “You look like a steamed bun yourself.”
The younger pouted immediately. “Mother, I’m not a steamed bun, I’m a tangyuan (glutinous rice ball).”
Xu Anyan couldn’t help laughing. “So do you want steamed buns or tangyuan?”
The younger’s eyes lit up. “Tangyuan! Sesame filling!”
Now he even had requirements.
Xu Anyan had no choice but to go to the tangyuan stall next to the tea stand and order a bowl—ten tangyuan in total.
“Uncle Zhao, I’ll borrow your table for a while and let these two little gluttons finish this bowl,” she said.
The tea stall owner, Uncle Zhao, laughed heartily. “No problem, use it as you like.”
“Thank you.”
She then helped the two children onto nearby stools, gave them each five tangyuan, and told them to sit properly and eat.
She returned to her stall. She was making about forty jin of sugar snowballs each day, and they usually sold out within an hour. At this point, half an hour had passed and she had already sold seventeen jin.
There were repeat customers as well as new ones introduced by old buyers, so sales were very fast.
“Miss, how many sugar snowballs are left? I’ll take them all.”
Xu Anyan was delighted when she looked up—it was a familiar face, the woman who had once bought five jin at once.
“Sister, it’s you. There are thirteen jin left. Are you taking them all?”
The woman smiled. “I’ll take them all. But I also want to talk to you about business. Do you have time? Let’s go somewhere else to talk.”
Xu Anyan was pleasantly surprised—big business.
“May I ask your surname, sister?”
“My name is Feng Yun, the manager of Baiwei Residence.”
“My surname is Xu, given name Anyan,” she replied politely.
She then remembered that on West Street, the top pastry shop was Piaoxiang Residence, and Baiwei Residence was second. This was indeed a big deal.
She glanced at her two children eating tangyuan and said, “Sister, please wait a moment. I’ll bring my children with me.”
The woman nodded. The two children looked a bit thin, but very cute—about the same age as her grandson—so she quite liked them.
Xu Anyan returned the bowl and packed up her things. The woman even helped carry her basket.
“Miss, I’ll carry the basket. You hold your children’s hands.”
Soon, they left the stall.
The two children looked confused, wondering where their mother was taking them.
Xu Anyan, on the other hand, was thinking that this woman dressed too plainly—she had no idea she was a shop owner.
Not long after leaving Qili Street, they arrived at Baiwei Residence; it really was close.
As soon as they entered, the aroma of pastries filled the air. There were two clerks attending customers.
The shop layout was comparable to Piaoxiang Residence, with shelves filled with pastries and preserved fruits.
The two children’s eyes were once again wide with curiosity, but they stayed quiet and obediently held their mother’s hand.
Feng Yun led them to a private room behind the curtain. After sitting down, a clerk brought four cups of tea and a plate of osmanthus cakes.
The two children glanced at the cakes but quickly looked away.
Feng Yun chuckled. “Madam Xu, your two sons are quite interesting.”
Xu Anyan felt a bit embarrassed—these two little food lovers were seen through instantly.
“You flatter them, Manager Feng.”
“It’s fine. Let the children eat while we talk.”
With Xu Anyan’s permission, the two children finally took the osmanthus cakes—but each only had one piece.