Zhao Liangcai carried two snake bubble thorns to send Qin Junyao home. He said hello to the Qin family and left in a hurry.
Qin's mother, seeing that Zhao Liangcai couldn't be kept, turned to scold Qin Junyao.
"Why did you come back so late? It's almost dark. Did you go into the water? Your pant legs are wet."
"I shouldn't have agreed to go to the mountains with you. The mountains are so dangerous! What are those plants you carried back?"
"Mother," Qin Junyao handed the basket to Qin's mother. "The ones on top are wild garlic. You can eat them or plant them as you wish. There are also small fish below, they're probably dead."
Qin's mother turned over the wild garlic in the basket and indeed saw quite a few inch-long small fish. She quickly called Qin's second aunt to get a basin from the house.
Qin Junyao thought she had avoided her mother, but unexpectedly there was still her father.
"Junyao, you and Zhao Liangcai are not married yet. It's not appropriate for you to go into the mountains alone for a whole day..."
After the two snake bubble thorns were finally planted, Qin's father went to fetch water. Qin's three brothers and Qin Xiaoyu surrounded Qin Junyao again.
"Big sister, did you hunt anything in the mountains?" Qin Erniu asked.
"Sister, did you see a tiger?" Qin Xiaoyu continued to ask.
"Yaoyao, Zhao Liangcai didn't bully you, did he?" Qin Daniu asked last.
Qin Junyao raised her hand to signal them to speak one by one. She answered each of them. Only after Qin Daniu and the others got their satisfactory answers did she allow Qin Junyao to leave for the kitchen.
"Mother, Second Aunt, is there anything to eat?" Qin Junyao looked around the kitchen and saw only warm water in the pot, with no sign of dinner.
Qin's mother pointed to the cupboard. "Over there. Did you eat at noon?"
Qin Junyao opened the cupboard and took out a bowl of sorghum rice, topped with stir-fried greens. "Yes, Zhao Liangcai roasted a wild chicken. He asked me to take the leftovers home, but I refused and told him to take it back for Ax."
"Liangcai can roast chicken?" Qin's second aunt asked in surprise.
"His father is a hunter, so he learned from a young age."
"Didn't you try roasting it yourself?"
Qin Junyao, who was eating, paused with her chopsticks at her second aunt's question. After hesitating, she decided to tell the truth. "I tried, and I set the stick the wild chicken was on fire."
Qin's second aunt and Qin's mother exchanged a look and couldn't help but laugh. They lowered their heads and continued to clean the small fish.
"Where is my grandma?" Qin Junyao hadn't seen Qin's grandmother yet.
Qin's mother replied to Qin Junyao, "She's sleeping. She stayed in the room all day. She was clutching her neck during dinner. When you go to Salt County, try to see if Doctor Sheng has any pain relief plaster."
"Okay, I'll go to Salt County tomorrow to buy some. Mother, our snack stall can open now. Let Aunt Hou make some steamed buns, filled pancakes, and the like to sell with us."
"If Aunt Hou has enough money, she can set up a stall like ours."
Qin's mother thought for a moment, then got up and went to wash her hands and head to Hou's house.
This was a big deal, and it was better to discuss it sooner rather than later.
Qin Junyao ate a couple of bites of rice and then remembered to have San Niu go to Salt Lake to learn about mechanical boxes. She also told Qin's second aunt that good mechanical boxes sold for a high price.
Although Qin's second aunt was a little worried about Qin Er Niu, she agreed. Not everyone wanted to learn a money-making skill.
After dinner and washing the bowls, Qin Junyao went back to her room. Qin Xiaoyu was still playing outside and hadn't returned.
Qin Junyao didn't wait for her. She washed her feet and got into bed to sleep. She still had many new plants in her space that needed to be planted.
She entered her space and first looked for suitable places to plant them.
After walking around, she dug up a small patch of wild vegetables and soybean field, and planted the newly collected plants in the cleared area.
Qin Junyao planted the plants close together, like planting wheat. As long as the plants survived, successfully bloomed and fruited, and produced seeds, then the plants would become part of her space.
She only discovered this rule after the number of plant species in her space increased.
First, Qin Junyao dug up all the trees that were not useful in her space, as they took up space and grew quickly.
It was almost midnight when Qin Junyao finished planting the plants she had brought back from the mountain.
She boiled water in her space, and then her main body entered the space to take a bath before finally going to sleep.
The next morning, on the mountaintop, Qin Junyao learned from Ax that Zhao Liangcai had gone back to Salt Lake with Suozi after returning from the mountain yesterday.
Because the matter was urgent, he had not informed Qin Junyao and had asked Ax to tell her in the morning.
With Zhao Liangcai back in Salt Lake, Qin Junyao could focus on her family matters.
She refused Qin Daniu's offer to accompany her and went to Salt County alone.
She thought that after the grain was collected, there would be more wheat in the grain shops in Salt County. However, after visiting several shops, the grain prices were still high, and there was no new grain.
What was going on?
Without grain, how could their snack stall operate? The miscellaneous grains they grew themselves were not yet ready for harvest, and they had only harvested wheat from two acres of land, which was not enough.
She needed a plausible reason to bring grain out of her space.
After leaving the Department of Disease Treatment, Qin Junyao had been struggling with how to reasonably transport grain home.
As she walked, she arrived at the entrance of Tingyin Pavilion.
"Miss Qin."
The shop assistant at the entrance of Tingyin Pavilion recognized Qin Junyao and greeted her warmly.
"My lady is inside. Miss Qin, please wait a moment. I'll go in and report."
Before Qin Junyao could speak, the assistant entered the backyard from the shop.
Qin Junyao thought she might as well go in since she was passing by. She entered the shop and saw customers selecting musical instruments. Judging by their attire, they were all from wealthy families.
Her simple farmer's attire instantly drew disdain, and some people were saying that this shop was not a place for village girls to visit.
Before Qin Junyao could speak, Ling Manshuang came over with her maid. As before, she clasped Qin Junyao's hands.
This made the customers in the shop dumbfounded, thinking that Qin Junyao might be a poor relative of the shop owner.
In the backyard, Ling Manshuang called Zhuhua forward. "Go to the front and watch. For those people from earlier, no matter what they buy, increase the price tenfold for me. If they can't afford it, tell them that my shop is not for poor people."
Qin Junyao shook Ling Manshuang's hand. "Sister Manshuang, it's not necessary."
Ling Manshuang patted Qin Junyao's hand. "It is necessary. You are my distinguished guest, not someone those people can compare with."
"Come and sit," Ling Manshuang pulled Qin Junyao to a pavilion.
"What are you here in the county to get? You entrust the ox-cart driver to bring me some vegetables every few days. Why don't you just tell me what you lack, and I'll have someone deliver it to you."
"The sun is strong now, and sunburn is not good."
"I'm wearing a straw hat, it doesn't matter."
"Sister Manshuang, I wanted to ask you, since the wheat has been harvested in the villages, aren't there any villagers selling grain in the county?"
Ling Manshuang took a sip of tea. "I'm supposed to be asking you that. There's a girl named Qian Duo, she's from your village, right?"
"How does Sister Manshuang know her? She's Zhao Liangcai's cousin, if I remember correctly."
"To be honest with you, this Miss Qian is remarkable. Besides your village, she's been going to over a dozen nearby villages to buy grain, offering one copper coin more than the grain shops."
Qin Junyao asked uncertainly, "A dozen villages? One copper coin more?"
"Yes, one copper coin more, and they come to your door to buy grain. The common people are not living well, so they sell their newly harvested wheat for money."