Chapter 23

When Sang Luo returned, the young siblings were already up. Finding the back basket and the newly purchased bag of millet gone, along with two pieces of "fairy tofu" missing, they surmised their sister-in-law had gone to the Chen family.

They took the stone hoe they had made that day and went behind the house to till the vegetable patches they had previously cleared. By the time Sang Luo returned home, a small patch had already been loosened, and the weeds had been pulled up by the roots and tossed aside.

Seeing Sang Luo, Shen Ning trotted over to meet her. "Big Sister-in-law, my second brother and I are tilling the vegetable garden. We also watered the drying hemp."

The little girl’s eagerness to be praised was truly adorable. Sang Luo couldn't help but offer a few words of encouragement before putting the back basket away and joining in the work. The difference was that the siblings were working on previously cleared soil, which was relatively easier, while Sang Luo tackled the uncultivated mountain land.

After several days without rain, the soil was packed hard, the wild grasses had deep roots, and the ground was littered with stones of all sizes. By mid-afternoon, despite her best efforts, Sang Luo had barely managed to clear half a square meter, leaving a pile of rocks and grass roots behind.

She finally understood why the Shen family hadn't cleared this land before. Clearing wasteland was exhausting, and the soil quality was poor; aside from resilient wild weeds, it was doubtful anything else would grow well here without intense, meticulous labor. And if one were to expend such effort, it would be better spent on more fertile fields.

For Sang Luo, however, this was the only land she had to work with.

After a long day of labor, gathering the fish basket, and eating dinner, the one thing Sang Luo craved most was a proper wash. But that remained a dream; with no bathroom or buckets, she and Shen Ning had to sneak off to a secluded, clean mountain stream while Shen An stood guard far away, washing themselves as best they could while still wearing their clothes.

It was the third day now, and they had been managing like this every day. Sang Luo felt she would never be as dirty as she was in this lifetime.

With no body wash or shampoo, she was fortunate to have wood ash. After filtering out the impurities, it worked surprisingly well at removing grime and oil. At that moment, Sang Luo deeply regretted not having expanded her skills as a DIY content creator back when she lived in the mountains in her previous life. She had been somewhat popular for her videos then, yet she never thought to learn how to make soap. She only vaguely remembered reading in some novel that it used pig pancreas, but knew nothing more.

If she possessed that craft, it would have been a real "golden finger." Of course, that was just a daydream—one couldn't expect to have everything go their way.

Once Sang Luo finished washing, she saw that Shen Ning could only reach the top of her head. She called the little girl over, helped her scrub her hair thoroughly, and wrung it out. Then, the two sisters-in-law, wearing their wet clothes, threw their dirty outer garments over their shoulders and hurried home.

The mountains were sparsely populated, and with young Shen An scouting ahead, the trip was smooth and uneventful. Compared to her and Shen Ning, Shen An had it much easier as a boy; he didn't need to hide or shy away, simply finding a clean spot in the nearby stream to wash to his heart's content in just his undergarments.

Preparing for their second day of vending, all three were much calmer; at least the two little ones weren't too excited to sleep. Sang Luo rested well that night, having prepped all the ingredients beforehand; she only had to get up for half an hour in the middle of the night before returning to a peaceful sleep.

At the first light of dawn, the birds chirped right on schedule. Sang Luo and the children quickly rose, washed up, cut the two basins of solidified fairy tofu into sixteen large blocks along with some smaller scraps, packed their supplies, and brought along the hemp cloth they had traded for the day before, heading toward Sanli Village.

Since they would be peddling from door to door, they didn't even need to prepare lotus leaves this time.

Shen An felt a bit uneasy because they hadn't brought the bamboo tube of sugar water from yesterday—they had no sugar left.

"Big Sister-in-law, will the fairy tofu sell well without sugar water for the samples?"

Sang Luo knew it would sell better with samples, but she wasn't thick-skinned enough to keep asking the old woman for malt sugar. Human relationships relied on sincerity and propriety; if one couldn't grasp the right measure, it would only breed resentment.

She said, "It will. We’ll just visit more houses and spend a little more effort talking."

Sanli Village on a market day was vastly different from a non-market day—it was much quieter. However, as it was a large village with several shops, its population was naturally incomparable to a small village like Shili.

At this hour, the men had already headed to the fields while the sun was out and the air was cool, and the women were managing household chores, washing, and preparing breakfast.

Shen An, who had been full of ambition on the way, imagining how he would help shout and sell, found that without the bustling atmosphere of a market day, he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth.

When they arrived, the women sweeping the village entrance didn't pay them any mind. They were used to seeing outsiders passing through; they likely assumed they were just heading to the shops.

It wasn't until the young woman with the two children called out in a clear voice: "Fairy tofu! Selling fairy tofu—clears heat, detoxifies, delicious and refreshing!"

Both women looked over in surprise. Fairy tofu? What was that?

While Sang Luo had made quite a stir at her stall the day before, it was localized, and because she sold out so quickly, very few people in Sanli Village actually knew what it was.

As Sang Luo approached, she saw one woman stop sweeping, staring at her. Sang Luo asked with a smile, "Ma'am, would you like to buy some fairy tofu? You can eat it cold-dressed or cooked. It works as a sweet or savory dish. Mix it with sugar water for a refreshing dessert, or cook it like a vegetable dish for a savory meal."

The woman hesitated, saying nothing.

Sang Luo took the ceramic basin from Shen An’s basket and said with a smile, "I offer small samples. If you bring a bowl, I'll give you a piece. You can add your own sugar water or prepare it like a cold salad to taste it. Buy it if it’s good; if not, the sample is free."

Upon hearing it was free, not only that woman but also the neighbor who had been listening in leaned over with her broom. "Free? Can I have a piece?"

"Certainly! Bring a bowl; it’s best with some seasoning to bring out the flavor."

The woman understood—like any dish, boiled water alone wouldn't taste as good as when seasoned.

"Wait for me, I'll go dissolve some sugar water!" The woman hurried home with a smile.

Free food? Why not try it?

Seeing her neighbor take the lead, the first woman was also moved. "I'll go get a bowl, too."

In the blink of an eye, both were gone, leaving Sang Luo and the two children standing there. Shen An and Shen Ning were thrilled. If people were willing to try, they would be willing to buy, right? The people of Sanli Village were wealthier than those in their own village.

While waiting, Sang Luo didn't idle; she stood there calling out, and before long, people began peeking out from their courtyards.

Perhaps her persistent calling made the two women hurry back even faster, followed by several children.

The first woman had clearly been preparing breakfast; she returned with some standard seasonings, adding salt, soy sauce, and chopped green onions to create a savory sauce. The other woman returned with a bowl of water that didn't look hot, and the color didn't resemble malt sugar water.

Seeing Sang Luo eyeing her bowl, the woman laughed, "Honey water. You should give me a bit more to taste, little lady, or it wouldn't be worth the price of the honey."

Honey! That was a luxury in this era, something only the wealthy could afford. Ordinary folks rarely bought it. It seemed this woman was either well-off or had family members who ventured into the mountains to find beehives.

Sang Luo smiled and agreed, having Shen An hold the basin while she took out a bamboo knife and a wooden spoon. The sample pieces had been cut at home into mahjong-sized blocks. She scooped one out and used the bamboo knife to cut it into four smaller pieces.

The jade-like tofu tumbled into the savory sauce. The surrounding children couldn't take their eyes off it, especially the children belonging to the woman with the sauce, as it was for them.

"Mom, let me have a piece!"

"Auntie, let me have a piece!"

Three children swarmed forward. Sang Luo saw this, smiled, and scooped out another piece of equal size, cut it into four, and poured it into the honey-water bowl. The children behind that woman cheered as well.

"Mom/Auntie, give me a piece!"

Both women had brought spoons, and the vending site turned into a tasting show. Nearby women who had been watching grew curious and gathered around.

"What is this?"

"Can we try it?"

"Zhuzi, is it good?"

The child asked was from the household that had the savory version. "It’s good!" he replied.

He looked enviously at the siblings and asked, "Erlang, is the honey one good?"

"It’s good, so good!" The boy named Erlang proved how much he liked the new snack, tugging at his mother’s sleeve. "Mom, it’s delicious! Buy some, I want to eat this for breakfast."

It was such a small piece; it was gone in a single bite. The woman who had been tugged by her son finished her last piece, and her eyes lit up. She looked at Sang Luo and asked, "Little lady, how do you sell this fairy tofu?"

As she asked, she glanced at the size of the blocks in the basin; the portions looked quite generous.

This was a serious buyer. Sang Luo replied with a smile, "It's not expensive. Two copper coins per block. The portion is generous enough to fill a large bowl."

For the villagers of Sanli Village, who could trade things from the mountains or fields for money at every market, two copper coins wasn't expensive. The woman agreed readily. "Fine, give me one."

The children cheered, and the older girl volunteered to go get money from her grandmother.

With a sale made, the children of the other woman began pestering their mother and aunt. The woman couldn't resist, nodding, "Fine, give us one too. Wait here, I’ll go get the money."

Two families tried it, and two families bought it.

As the woman turned to get the money, the neighbors who had just been watching also hurried home to get their bowls—not everyone wanted to buy, but everyone wanted a free taste.

Sang Luo wasn't afraid of them tasting—the more they tasted, the better. She reminded them to add their own sauces while continuing to call out for customers. As the commotion grew, more people emerged from their homes to see what was happening.

Shen An and Shen Ning were incredibly excited, glancing toward the direction of the pork butcher shop from time to time. Meat! They would be able to eat meat today.