Gu Lao Si squatted beside Gu Yuan. He opened the grain sack and peeked inside. His eyes widened.
“Finely ground, no residue… little sister, where did you and Mother get this from? This flour isn’t cheap, right? Tell me honestly, did our family recently strike it rich?”
Otherwise, why would his mother be willing to buy such good flour—and so much of it?
Gu Lao Si checked each sack carefully. Whether it was coarse grain or white flour, all of it was better than what his father-in-law’s shop sold. Naturally, he assumed it was expensive.
Gu Yuan shook her head.
“Nothing like that. Didn’t Mother say? We met a traveling peddler on the way. We bought it all from him. The white flour is even cheaper than what you sell here.”
She held up her index fingers, forming a “ten.”
Gu Lao Si didn’t believe her at all. He thought she was teasing him.
“If you don’t believe me, ask Mother. And this coarse grain only costs five coins per jin. Same price, so of course we bought the better quality.”
She had expected him not to believe her—just like her mother at first. Thankfully, she had prepared in advance.
Gu Lao Si looked at Old Madam Gu. Seeing her calm expression, he understood Gu Yuan wasn’t lying.
Rubbing his hands, he walked to his mother.
“Mother, let’s discuss something. Can you sell me this flour? You know the young master of Master Jia’s family in town is very picky. He only eats good food. I was thinking…”
He chuckled awkwardly and didn’t continue, but he knew his mother understood.
Old Madam Gu snatched the flour bag from him and tied it shut quickly.
“Forget it. Your sister is still injured and needs nourishment. You want to please that Master Jia? Go buy your own.”
She then told him where she met the peddler.
“He still had some goods left when I came. If you go now, you might still catch him.”
Gu Lao Si immediately called a servant to go look for him.
But they didn’t know—the peddler was a system-rented persona. Once the transaction was done, he had already been withdrawn.
Gu Yuan awkwardly added,
“Brother, good goods sell fast. Maybe he already left. But he did say he’ll come back in a few days with another batch—you can wait then.”
Gu Lao Si thought about it and agreed.
“That makes sense.”
He felt his sister was lucky, while he simply had no fate with it.
Since the shop belonged to his father-in-law, his monthly income was fixed anyway, so he didn’t care much whether goods were cheap or expensive.
Seeing this, he stopped worrying.
Gu Yuan then took out two jin of wild purslane.
“Brother, I picked this on the mountain. It’s really good. Try stir-frying it or steaming it.”
Gu Lao Si sighed emotionally.
“My little sister has grown up… she even knows how to care for her fourth brother now.”
He then added, “Once things get less busy, I’ll come back to the village to see you.”
Meanwhile, Wang Shi quickly brought her father, Wang Fa Cai.
He looked like his name—plump, sharp-eyed, and shrewd.
After tasting the salt, he narrowed his eyes.
“Mother-in-law, business is business. I’ll be honest—this is good stuff, but 400 coins is too high. I can only offer 300.”
Salt is different. Too expensive and it won’t sell.
But Old Madam Gu refused to budge easily.
“Then I’ll lower it by twenty coins. 380. Take it or I’ll go elsewhere.”
Wang Fa Cai quickly raised his offer again to 330.
After some back-and-forth, the deal was made at a high price, and the Gu family left with a full pouch of money.
On the way back, Old Madam Gu smiled and tapped Gu Yuan’s head.
“Stunned already? This is just the beginning.”
She shook the pouch.
“Come on, Mother will take you to eat meat buns.”
She even bought pork belly, bones, and pig intestines on the way back.
When they took the village ox cart home, villagers began gossiping.
Old Madam Gu responded casually, half-truths mixed with lies, leaving everyone guessing.
Meanwhile, someone in the crowd quietly watched Gu Yuan—the old woman’s eyes lit up when she heard about bone soup, swallowing hard.