Chapter 32

Jiang Li did not hide the money from the sale of the wild boars from her two children. She pulled it out from her basket right in front of them. Seeing the pile of money, both children were stunned.

"Mother... this... this is..."

After stuttering for a while without finishing a sentence, Jiang Li simply said, "Money."

"I've shown it to you both, but you are not to tell anyone else."

The two nodded frantically, like garlic cloves hitting a chopping board. Xue Man was so excited his face turned red. "Mother, how did you earn so much money?"

"I caught two wild boars today and sold them."

"Once the new house is built, we will use this money to buy grain."

"With this much money, we can buy a lot, lot of grain, right?"

The siblings' eyes sparkled with anticipation. Jiang Li thought to herself that if prices didn't rise, this money might buy five shi of grain, but if prices went up, they wouldn't be able to get that much. To Jiang Li, five shi was very little, but to children, it was a vast amount. She didn't want to dampen their spirits.

"Yes, we can buy a lot."

Ah Ning looked at Jiang Li with worship, praising her from the bottom of her heart: "Mother, you are so amazing. You must be the most capable person in our village."

Jiang Li chuckled at this.

With money and meat in the house, the siblings were too excited to sleep. They delayed washing up until Jiang Li urged them to go boil some water. While they were occupied, Jiang Li set aside the loose five hundred wen and hid the rest carefully. Letting them know there was money and letting them know where it was hidden were two different things. With the house busy and children wearing their thoughts on their faces, if they knew where it was, they might check on it constantly, and if someone else noticed, it would only invite unwanted curiosity.

The next morning, Granny Zhao arrived early, the first to show up. Upon seeing the large chunks of meat hidden in the room, her jaw dropped.

"Good heavens, child, did you slaughter a whole pig?"

Jiang Li did not hide the truth from Granny Zhao: "I went into the mountains yesterday and hunted wild boars. I took them to town to sell to the butcher. I only sold half and brought the rest back. We want to host guests once the house is finished, and we want to have a little extra grain stored for the house's peace of mind."

Granny Zhao understood; moving into a new home was a joy, but an empty pantry would only bring worry. "So much meat, and in this summer heat, how will you preserve it?"

"I need to go to town today. I saw a large earthenware jar there; I'll buy one to store it in."

"Those jars cost quite a bit of money."

Jiang Li looked at her. Although they were just neighbors, the old woman had been good to her. She guessed Granny Zhao wanted to advise her to spend carefully but was afraid of overstepping. The old woman hesitated several times.

"Utensils like that can be used for many years. Once the house is built, the three of us will finally have a true home."

Granny Zhao sighed softly: "That is true, one is good to have. But for storing grain, once you have more money to spare, you can have Xiao Man's fourth uncle make you a large wooden cabinet. It won't get damp, and mice won't be able to steal from it."

"How much would that cost?"

"It depends on the size. A large one is twenty, and smaller ones are fifteen or sixteen."

Hearing this price, Jiang Li thought that if Xue Chengwen had such skills, they should be quite wealthy.

Granny Zhao saw her thoughts and smiled: "In the countryside, many people have carpentry skills. Some might not be masters, but they can make the basic things they need for their own homes without spending money. As you know, in this village, besides scraping by, there are almost no ways to make extra money."

"That is true."

The room had no roof, and the meat was sensitive to the sun. Granny Zhao helped spread straw under the bed and moved the meat there for safekeeping. Jiang Li prepared to go to town, and Granny Zhao asked Zhao Qingzhu to take some chicks and eggs along to sell. Since Jiang Li was looking to buy eggs, she decided to purchase them to save them the trouble of carrying them. She bought forty in one go. There were only sixty to begin with, so after Jiang Li bought more than half, Zhao Qingzhu didn't have much left to sell. She left with just eight half-grown chicks.

With Zhao Qingzhu along, Jiang Li's pace was much slower. However, once they reached town, as soon as Zhao Qingzhu set up the chicken coop, acquaintances came by. Jiang Li realized they brought chicks to sell every year; some families who had good luck raising them would return the following year to buy more. The eight chickens were sold in no time: six hens at thirty wen each and two roosters at twenty-four wen each. They made two hundred and twenty-eight wen in total.

After selling the chickens, it was time for lunch. Jiang Li wanted the mutton pie she had bought before, so she bought two, one for each. When Zhao Qingzhu tried to pay, Jiang Li wouldn't hear of it.

The two went to the general store, where Jiang Li had seen earthenware jars and locks. The shopkeeper was eating noodles, but he set down his bowl and stood up to greet them as they entered.

"What can I help you two ladies with?"

Jiang Li circled the jars, inspecting them carefully. The shopkeeper boasted, "Lady, these jars are fired by the Song family. They are durable and spacious. Look at this lid; it fits perfectly. If you store oil or meat in it, not a speck of dust could get inside."

The shopkeeper was exaggerating, but the lid did fit snugly.

"Shopkeeper, how much for one?"

"Ninety wen."

When the shopkeeper quoted the price, Zhao Qingzhu gasped—it was too expensive. Jiang Li pondered for a moment and made a direct counteroffer.

"Will you sell it for sixty wen?"

The shopkeeper's expression changed. Zhao Qingzhu was also stunned. She had followed Granny Zhao everywhere and seen her bargain, but it was always a friendly back-and-forth. She had never seen anyone like Jiang Li, who calculated and then spoke so coldly. She was afraid the deal would fall through and turn into a grievance.

"Young lady, that is too harsh a bargain. I would lose money at sixty wen; I definitely cannot sell it for that."

Jiang Li fell into deep thought. After a long while, she asked again: "How about sixty-three wen?"

The shopkeeper: ...
Zhao Qingzhu: ...

Seeing the shopkeeper remain silent, Jiang Li said to herself: "Can't you sell it? The jar is quite nice, but I have no more money. If it's any more expensive, I can't afford it."

She said it with such sincerity that the shopkeeper frowned slightly.

"Add two more wen, and I'll sell you one."

When the shopkeeper said this, Jiang Li was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Really? You are truly a kind soul, shopkeeper; you will surely make a great fortune."

Hearing that he would make a fortune, the shopkeeper beamed and brought the jar over. Jiang Li then asked about the price of a padlock. The shopkeeper quoted one hundred and twenty wen each. This shocked Jiang Li, as she had estimated the price to be around forty wen. She had planned to buy two, but she never expected a lock to be more expensive than the jar.

Zhao Qingzhu whispered from the side: "Ah Li, we don't really need locks in the village. We have door latches for sleeping at night, and since there are many people around during the day, things don't get stolen."

That was true if someone was always home, but Jiang Li thought that if she could lock the door, she wouldn't have to worry about the house and could take the two little ones into the mountains to help gather wood ear mushrooms or wild vegetables. Unlike now, where they always had to leave someone behind.

Jiang Li eventually decided to buy just one for now, planning to come back later if she had extra money after stocking up on grain. She also picked up an earthenware basin and paid the shopkeeper one hundred and ninety-five wen. She counted the money out readily, while Zhao Qingzhu watched the pile of coins with a sense of heartache. She had only made two hundred-odd wen selling eight chickens, and Jiang Li had spent that much without even blinking.

Carrying the basin, the jar, and the lock, Jiang Li was in high spirits, her face full of joy. Zhao Qingzhu couldn't understand it, thinking that this must be the way a lady from a wealthy family spent money—without a second thought. Noticing Zhao Qingzhu's expression, Jiang Li smiled helplessly.

"A lock is something that can last for generations. You probably don't have to worry about buying one, but look at me and the two little ones—every single thing we need, we have to provide for ourselves. Even for this lock, since his father didn't leave him one, I have to buy it no matter how expensive it is."

Zhao Qingzhu chuckled, "No wonder my mother always said not to marry into a family that doesn't even have a lock. It's my first time knowing they are so expensive."

"What else do you need to buy?"

"Reed mats."

"Are you using them for the windows? You don't need to buy those. My sisters-in-law know how to weave them. I'll have them weave two for you."

"The windows aren't urgent. I need them for the roof. I'm thinking that once the roof beams are up, I'll lay a layer of reed mats and then thatch over them; that will be better for moisture protection."

"That will take a lot; they won't be able to weave them in time. Let's go buy them first."

Thinking of more money being spent, Zhao Qingzhu sighed. "Your money is just flowing away. I know an old woman I met when I was selling chicks who weaves reed mats to sell. I'll take you to see her."

As she spoke, she nimbly led Jiang Li away. They didn't find the old woman at the market, so Zhao Qingzhu took Jiang Li directly to her home.

"Granny, did you not go to the market to sell your reed mats today?"

The old woman turned around, looked at Zhao Qingzhu, and suddenly remembered who she was. "Oh, it's you, girl. Did you hatch more chicks this year? I was just saying I'd go look for your mother one of these days."

"They hatched. I brought a few today and sold them. Granny, do you still want some this year?"

"Yes, yes, save me six little hens."

Before even buying the mats, Zhao Qingzhu had already made a sale. Jiang Li looked at the finished reed mats in the courtyard; they were woven tightly and smoothly. She touched them and realized they weren't even rough to the touch—they could easily be used as sleeping mats.

The old woman looked at Jiang Li, and Zhao Qingzhu quickly said, "My sister here needs to buy reed mats. We looked for you at the market for a long time before coming here."

The old woman was happy to have a customer and had someone bring two bowls of water for them. "I don't go to the market every day now; there isn't much money in it. I just wait for the market day to go sell a bunch so it's not a wasted effort. What do you need them for, miss?"

"For covering the roof."

"Then you need ones woven from thicker reeds. They are in the backyard; I'll take you to see."

In the backyard, rolls of thick, sturdy reed mats were stacked neatly. Jiang Li measured them with her eyes, calculating that two rolls would cover one side. She asked about the length of each roll and eventually decided to buy five rolls. The old woman quoted nine wen per roll.