Chapter 9: Reward

Zhang-shi frowned and said, "Stop talking! Hurry and go check on your eldest brother!"

Although she didn't like Jiang-shi either, it was a fact that the woman had lent them thirty-five wen. To accept someone's help and then badmouth them behind their backs—she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.

With Zhang-shi’s shout, everyone’s attention shifted.

Jiang Ning and Yang Datou bought some more grain at the grain shop before leaving the town.

After returning, the other children were even more excited to hear that all the melon seeds had been sold. They wanted to head to Qingfeng Mountain to pick *gualou* (snake gourd) right under the scorching sun. Jiang Ning thought of that one-hundred-wen deposit and felt immense pressure; she couldn't even spare a thought for the grass shed.

The whole family put their backs into it and ran to the foot of Qingfeng Mountain to pick *gualou*. It wasn't the peak harvest season yet, so it took some effort to find the ones that were fully ripe and rotting. The family picked until it was nearly dark, and only after the people working in the fields had left did they start transporting them home. They made three or four trips in total, finally getting all the *gualou* back.

Jiang Ning took a large gulp of spring water and panted, "We’ve pretty much picked all the ripe *gualou* at the foot of the mountain. We’ll have to wait about half a month for the rest to be ready. I asked the medicine boy at the clinic today; Hong’an Hall buys dried *gualou* for five wen a catty. From now on, when you go into the mountain, focus on picking the ripe, fresh ones. Remember, no one is allowed to tell anyone about this. Whether we can live in a house this winter depends entirely on these *gualou*."

The children nodded solemnly as soon as they heard this. Even the youngest, Yang Sizhuang and Yang Xiaoya, patted their chests to guarantee they wouldn't let it slip.

In fact, they didn't have much opportunity to talk to outsiders anyway. Thanks to the original owner's reputation, the children had no friends in the village; they only played among themselves. Yang Datou had two or three friends because of his honest nature—Yang Xiao was one of them—while Yang Erdan only had one little companion.

Yang Santie was at that mischievous age where the village children were afraid of him and didn't want to play with him. As for Yang Sizhuang and Yang Xiaoya, they were just Yang Santie’s little shadows.

Yang Santie was a clever little devil; with him around, Jiang Ning wasn't worried at all about the two little ones letting anything slip.

Once Jiang Ning finished giving instructions, she began directing the children to work. The whole family stayed busy until the middle of the night, producing a total of fifty catties of melon seeds. Yang Santie was so excited by Jiang Ning’s words that he couldn't sleep. Thinking of the grain in the room, he said, "Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, can I stay home tomorrow to help fix the grass shed instead of going to the mountain?"

Jiang Ning didn't even open her eyes as she replied, "You can. You go cut some thatch, and Erdan, you go get some bamboo. We’ll try our best to reinforce all four sides of the shed with bamboo and plug the gaps with thatch. It should be fine to live in until the snow falls in winter. Once the shed is done and you have free time, go gather mud bricks. If you save up enough by autumn, we should be able to build two rooms."

"Also, regarding these two dilapidated rooms, the kitchen is definitely unusable. The other one can be cleaned up to store things, but it needs a new wooden door. Which one of you knows how to make one?"

Yang Erdan said weakly, "Mother, I can try."

"You have this skill?" Jiang Ning was a bit surprised.

Yang Erdan smiled honestly, "I used to play at Third Great-Uncle’s house and learned a bit from his son, Fuguang. But I was young then, and Third Great-Uncle wouldn't let me touch those things. I can go cut wood in the mountain and borrow a saw from Fuguang; it should be fine."

Jiang Ning was overjoyed, "Not bad, not bad! I didn't expect my eldest son to be so capable! I’ll buy you something delicious tomorrow after we earn money!"

This sudden display of maternal love surprised Yang Erdan immensely. Even Yang Datou felt a bit jealous, and Yang Santie shouted, "Mother, I worked hard too! I picked most of the *gualou*!"

"I picked some too!" Yang Sizhuang and Yang Xiaoya chimed in.

Jiang Ning laughed heartily, "Alright, alright, you are all very capable, and you’ll all get rewards!"

The children cheered and huddled together, and before long, they were all fast asleep.

The next day, Jiang Ning and Yang Datou set off before dawn as usual. They spoke to the innkeeper at Dashan Inn, and Li Changsheng came over personally to conduct the transaction. He was overjoyed to learn there were fifty catties of seeds, though he was disappointed to hear there would be no stock tomorrow. Still, he paid every single wen owed and repeatedly told them to bring any future seeds directly to Dashan Inn.

For Jiang Ning, this was truly a great piece of news. If nothing else, she now had a stable, major client. She wouldn't have to worry about her melon seeds not selling, even if she produced several hundred catties.

The mother and son collected the final payment and began wandering around town. The big market was still five days away, so the town was quiet. They decided to wander into the alleys and actually ran into a peddler.

The peddler’s goods were quite complete, and the prices were cheaper than in the shops. Jiang Ning chose some needles and thread and spent fifty wen on a pair of scissors. The peddler happened to have a few pieces of flawed fabric that were thicker than regular summer cloth, suitable for making autumn clothes. Usually, this fabric cost fifteen wen a foot, but he was selling it for ten. To Jiang Ning, those minor flaws were not a problem at all, but unfortunately, she didn't have enough copper coins on her.

She had to turn her attention to the items in the system. After finding a way to distract Yang Datou, she whispered, "Can I trade with goods?"

The peddler narrowed his eyes, looking reluctant, "Ma'am, I run a small business. I can't trade for just anything!"

"I have honey here. Want to trade?"

The peddler was just thinking about how to refuse, but he couldn't stay calm upon hearing the word "honey."

"You really have honey?" Honey was a precious commodity—priceless and in high demand. Even one tael could sell for thirty wen.

Jiang Ning pretended to search her basket, but in reality, she moved a jar from the system space into the basket. She still had one of the two jars she had bought earlier, which came in handy.

She filled the jar with two catties of honey. When the peddler saw it, his eyes nearly popped out of his head, "It really is honey! Fine! Ma'am, I’ll trade with you! But I’m just a peddler, I can't offer a very high price. How about twenty wen per tael?"

Deal! Why wouldn't it be? Before she transmigrated, she was best at making pastries; things like honeycomb cakes required a large amount of honey. She had at least fifty catties of honey stored in the system, and since she had no use for it right now, she didn't feel bad about selling two catties.

Two catties of honey were worth four hundred wen. She asked for three *zhang* of fabric; with careful cutting, she could make a set of autumn clothes for everyone in the family. With the remaining one hundred wen, she bought a copper lock.

Yang Datou had been keeping watch at the alley entrance. He didn't ask any questions when he saw the peddler and Jiang Ning come out one after the other. It wasn't until the peddler was far away that he looked curiously at her basket, "Mother, did you trade something with the peddler again?"

Jiang Ning nodded, "I traded for three *zhang* of fabric and a copper lock. Later, when the door for that room is fixed, we’ll lock it up. From now on, the grain will be kept in there."

Yang Datou grinned like a happy, oversized child. He felt wonderful inside. He had grown up without ever having many new clothes; they were always hand-me-downs from his father and grandfather, only getting a new set when the old ones were truly beyond repair. A set would last at least three to five years. As for his younger siblings, they all wore his old clothes; they had never even worn new clothes themselves.