Chapter 16

"What reputation? Being too formidable? Disrespecting elders?"

Sang Luo sighed. "Grandma, I am a widow now—a fifteen-year-old widow. I still have to raise Xiao An and A-Ning, so having a formidable reputation is actually a good thing."

Sang Luo had only been transmigrated for a little over a day, but she could tell that the old woman had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She was truly kind, which was why Sang Luo was willing to explain a bit more.

"As for disrespecting elders, even a little tot like Shen Jin can call Xiao An and A-Ning 'beggars' to their faces. I learned today that he picked that up from Third Aunt. If a senior lacks kindness, I really cannot bring myself to respect them. As for my reputation, let it be whatever it will be."

It was not that she was unaware of how important reputation was in this ancient era, but the actions of Shen San and the Li woman had repeatedly trampled on her bottom line. She could not bring herself to respect such people.

Flexibility and compromise depended on the situation and the person. With people like Shen San and Li, Sang Luo was unwilling to let herself be shackled by reputation and suffer this kind of stifling injustice.

Moreover, the original owner of this body had only returned with Li because she was desperate for a way to survive, unaware that Li had ulterior motives for bringing her home—which ultimately led to her dying of illness and starvation. As someone who survived only by relying on this body, if she were to act like a filial daughter-in-law to Li, where would that leave the original owner?

Furthermore, Sang Luo believed that she could gradually build a life for herself. With people like Shen San and Li, it was better to make a clean break early on; everyone knew where they stood.

When Grandma Chen heard the words "fifteen-year-old widow," her heart constricted.

She had been willing to look after Sang Luo these past few days mostly for the sake of Shen An and Shen Ning, but at this moment, she felt a genuine sense of pity for the girl.

She was also a person of bitter fate.

Thinking of the behavior of Shen San and his wife, she said, "Fine. It is better to bring some things out into the open today, so they cannot use their status as elders to pressure you in the future."

This was effectively her endorsement of Sang Luo's approach.

As Sang Luo was about to leave, the old woman called her back. "Wait a moment."

Sang Luo looked over and saw the old woman's jaw twitch before she asked, "How are you planning to take that sugar water to the market?"

Sang Luo smiled. "I'll bring the ceramic basin, pour it in when I get there, and carry it in a backpack basket."

The old woman didn't say anything further, just waved her hand. "Alright, go back and get to work."

Sang Luo bid the old woman farewell and headed home. Without ginger or cooking wine, fresh shrimp porridge would turn fishy if it got cold. Besides, the big market was tomorrow, and she had a ton of preparation to do.

Watching her walk away, the old woman muttered to herself, "That won't even last the journey."

...

The day passed in a flash.

The next morning was the day of the village market.

This was their first time selling "Fairy Tofu," and Sang Luo and the two children treated it with great importance. In the mountains during the eighth month, the days were still hot. To ensure the ingredients remained fresh, aside from the leaves which were gathered in the evening, Sang Luo woke up in the middle of the night to make the tofu fresh.

The two little ones couldn't sleep either, hovering around her, fetching water and handing over spoons.

Although they had planned to split one bucket into two, in practice, seeing how lacking their home was in everything, it was impossible to make too little.

The market only happened once every five days, and since they were doing this business with no overhead, it would be a waste of the mountain's resources not to try and make as much as possible.

As for whether carrying two buckets of Fairy Tofu would be exhausting, Sang Luo figured it was just something she would have to grit her teeth and endure.

After staying up for most of the night and making two batches, they had four full ceramic basins. By the time the sky began to brighten, the second batch had set perfectly. Sang Luo used a bamboo knife to cut it into neat squares, stacking them into two wooden buckets borrowed from the Chen family—thirty-two pieces in total. She didn't waste the scraps either, putting them in to be used as samples at the market.

The imagination was beautiful, but when it came time to actually lift the two buckets, Sang Luo clenched her teeth, yet it was of no use...

It was truly heavy! This stuff was incredibly dense.

In her previous life, because of her health, Sang Luo hadn't done much strenuous work. As for the original owner, even if she had been a refugee for a few months, her life before the floods could be described as being waited on hand and foot. With little maids serving her, she was hardly someone who could do heavy labor.

From the mountains to the village, they hadn't even reached the village entrance when Sang Luo's shoulders began to ache, and walking became an arduous struggle, which terrified the young siblings, Shen An and Shen Ning.

"Big Sister, why don't I go back home and get another ceramic basin? We can split some of it and A-Ning and I can carry it in our baskets?"

Their sister had just been so ill that she nearly lost her life, and she had only been recovering for two days.

Sang Luo had initially thought she could manage, but after this short distance, she began to have her doubts. The original owner's constitution seemed much weaker than her own in her previous life.

It wasn't that she was sickly, but rather that she had been pampered too much since childhood. She barely walked, let alone exercised, and simply lacked the physical strength.

However, the two children weren't empty-handed either. Each had a basket on their back. Shen An carried the heavier ceramic basin and several bamboo tubes they had made yesterday, filled with the sugar water for samples and clean water for washing hands.

Yes, they were makeshift bamboo tubes—not made by Sang Luo, but by the old woman's son, Chen Youtian, and given to her when she went to pick up the buckets in the evening.

Shen Ning carried a half-basket of washed and air-dried lotus leaves.

There were no plastic bags in this ancient world, and she couldn't have people hold the tofu in their bare hands. After pondering for a long time, she had walked quite a distance the previous evening to find a wild pond and pick over thirty lotus leaves, along with dozens of smaller leaves to serve as makeshift cups for samples.

Sang Luo looked at the small stature of the siblings and feared that adding more weight would stunt their growth. She gritted her teeth. "No need to fuss. I should be able to make it if I take a few breaks along the way."

As she spoke, someone ahead called out, "Is that Xiao An?"

"It's Uncle Youtian!" Shen An exclaimed, running forward. "Uncle Youtian, it's me! Why are you here? Are you going to the market too?"

Chen Youtian looked at the little boy, then at Sang Luo, who was struggling visibly under the weight of the yoke. He thought to himself that his mother had been right.

He nodded. "I'm going to the market to sell some things. Your grandmother told me to wait for you at the crossroads, fearing your big sister wouldn't be able to carry the load for six or seven miles. I'm here to help, and we can look out for each other at the market."

The latter part of his sentence was for the benefit of Sang Luo, who was approaching with her load.

In reality, his mother's exact words had been: "That Sang woman is as thin as a twig, but her ambitions are huge. Two buckets? I suspect she'll be collapsing on the side of the road tomorrow! You take our eggs to the market to exchange for some cash. Go early and wait at the village entrance. If you run into them, help her carry the load and keep an eye on them at the market. Then we won't have eaten half a bowl of her fish for nothing."

And indeed, wasn't she about to collapse?

Long before they even reached the village entrance, Chen Youtian could see that she was already exhausted.

For the rest of the journey, the bamboo yoke rested on Chen Youtian's shoulders, while the basket of eggs was in Sang Luo's hands.

It was called a basket, but Sang Luo noticed it only held a dozen or so eggs.

Either the Chen family didn't have many chickens, or because of the heat, they didn't want the eggs to spoil, making a trip necessary; or, the Chen family didn't actually need to go to the market today and were only doing so to help her. Given that the old woman had quietly had Youtian make those brand-new bamboo tubes for her yesterday, the latter was highly likely.

She felt grateful, but at this moment, any words of thanks felt hollow. Her tongue, usually so skilled at sweet-talking, went quiet, and she simply said, "Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Youtian."

In her heart, however, she resolved to build a strong relationship with the Chen family. People always said that distant relatives were not as good as close neighbors, and compared to the Shen family, the Shen Third Uncle's household—despite being right next door—wasn't even worth a finger of Grandma Chen.

Chen Youtian smiled. "Let's go. We need to hurry to get a good spot."

As they walked with the load, he noticed the green lotus leaves in Shen Ning's basket. "Are those lotus leaves for packing the Fairy Tofu?"

Before Sang Luo could speak, Shen Ning nodded repeatedly, proudly telling Chen Youtian about how they had found smaller leaves for the samples, and ending with a boast: "My big sister knows so much!"

Hearing that even the details of the samples had been considered, Chen Youtian nodded in agreement. "She certainly is well-organized."

The six or seven miles passed quickly amidst the excited chatter of Shen An and Shen Ning. When they had left, the sky was just turning light, and people were only silhouettes in the distance; by the time they reached the market, the sun was already high in the sky.

The so-called "big market" was actually held in a large village centrally located in Qingpu Township, making it convenient for villagers from surrounding areas to trade.

"This is called Sanli Village, named because it is three miles from the county town. Several villages along this line are named by distance—Sanli, Wuli, Qili, and Shili."

Sang Luo realized for the first time that the market was so close to the county seat. Curious, she asked, "We passed more than two villages on the way, didn't we? What about the others?"

Chen Youtian laughed. "Many are settlements of a single clan, so they are mostly named after surnames. Others are named after the local landscape."

Sang Luo learned quite a bit. As they spoke, they entered Sanli Village. The market was already bustling with people. Villagers who lived nearby had already claimed their spots and set up their stalls—some carried loads, some used baskets, some used straw ropes, and some simply placed their goods on the ground.

Shen An and Shen Ning were wide-eyed, taking it all in. The last time the siblings had come to the market was when Shen Lie was still alive.

Shen An scanned the market and pointed to an intersection. "Big Sister, there are a lot of people setting up stalls over there, and it's an intersection. Should we set up our stall there?"

Only after asking did he realize his sister was unfamiliar with the area. Then, the one adult and two children looked expectantly at Chen Youtian.