"I'm looking for baby rabbits. The litter of baby rabbits we caught last time was found by my second brother. He said there might be a nest of baby rabbits around this big rabbit."

An Mancang broke out in a cold sweat. "Lewa, the rabbit you just killed was a male rabbit. There are no rabbit nests around here."

Anle paused, scratched his head awkwardly, and chuckled dryly.

"Uh, hehe, is that so? Then let's go back."

The group of people followed them down the mountain again. The very next morning after they returned to the village, the news spread that An Mancang's family had a hunting treasure bestowed by the gods.

People from the village came to visit An Mancang's family one after another, wanting to see what kind of treasure the gods had bestowed upon them that day.

Qiao Qiuniang did nothing all day but entertain the An family.

"They keep coming in waves, but our mother never gets annoyed."

Anle pouted. It was such a beautiful day, with warm sunshine and a gentle breeze. She had originally planned to sit in the yard and bask in the sun for a while, but now her idea of ​​sunbathing was ruined.

An Ding, who was busy sanding the wooden planks inside the house, looked up and smiled.

"What can we do?"

We can ignore the other families in the village, but we can't just leave our own An family hanging, can we?

Especially with so many elders coming, and Grandpa going to town, who else will our mother entertain if not us?

If people get out that you're so indifferent, won't they gossip about you?

We all live in the village, we see each other all the time, so we have to be polite to each other.

Anle leaned back on the kang (heated brick bed), her index finger wrapped around a handkerchief, swinging it around and around.

"I don't know if Grandpa can manage to set up a stall in town by himself. I just don't feel at ease with that. I think you should come with me, Second Brother."

"It's alright, Grandpa is in good spirits. He's been making so much money every day these days, he's very happy!"

"He looks so much younger now, what could possibly be wrong with him?" An Ding glanced at the handkerchief waving in An Le's hand, then hesitated to speak.

I really want to say, could you please leave that handkerchief alone?

This is a handkerchief that Mother just embroidered. If it gets undone or dirty, my little sister might get a scolding.

“Little sister, if you’re bored, why don’t you go to the fields and play with your older and fourth sisters? They’re picking wild vegetables for the rabbits in the fields up ahead.”

Anle looked sickly and was in low spirits.

"I'm not going. There are so many people blocking the courtyard. It's such a hassle to squeeze in and out."

If she does anything like that, the house will turn into a noisy market, how can she live like that?

"Second brother, after Mother finishes dealing with these people, have her pay your tuition, eldest sister's tuition, and fourth sister's tuition. You should all hurry up and go to school."

Look at how excited Third Brother is every day, like he's on steroids, he's so smug.

"Wait until you're all in school and see how he still acts so cocky in front of you."

An Ding raised the corners of her mouth and said, "Mm."

The family used to be poor, but now they have money. Even if all of them go to school, they will have more than enough money and won't have to worry about paying for their tuition.

His younger sister is incredibly good at earning money.

He never imagined that his family would become so wealthy.

At noon, An Mancang returned with an oxcart from the neighboring village. As soon as he entered the house, he went straight to the west room to find his little girl without even catching his breath.

"Le Wa Zi, I went to check. There are two shops on the street with the most food stalls that want to resell their wares, but they're right next to Yi Kou Su (a popular pastry brand). If we open a pastry shop there... I'm afraid we won't be able to make it work!"

"Come on, don't rush, Dad. Let's have some tea and rest for a bit before we talk." Anle jumped up and poured Anmancang a cup of cool tea from the kang table.

An Mancang downed a cup of cold tea, his brows furrowed.

"Le Wa Zi, do we really have to open a pastry shop?"

Last night, after Lewa told him about her idea of ​​opening a pastry shop, her determined little face appeared before him, and he nodded as if possessed.

Now that I've calmed down, all I feel is regret.

He also felt that his family couldn't make a living in this industry.

But since I'd already agreed, it's not easy to go back on my word now.

“Of course! Once we open the pastry shop and make some money, our family can build another big house.” Anle began to paint a beautiful picture of the future for Anmancang.

An Mancang licked his dry lips.

"But the two shops I visited were originally pastry shops, and they couldn't keep going because of that flaky pastry."

If our family does it, we'll probably end up like those two families, knowing it's just throwing money away. Your mother probably wouldn't agree to you doing it.

Anle waved her hand.

"My mother's temperament and mindset are such that listening to her is a recipe for disaster. A woman's mindset has no future."

Dad, tell me the details about those two shops that resell goods!

How's the location?

Is that shop big?

"The two shops are right next to each other, one is big and the other is small."

The larger house has a courtyard behind it, with three main rooms and four side rooms, two rooms each in the east and west wings, and three storefronts in front of the main building. The courtyard is quite large, and there is a well in the courtyard, which makes it very convenient to get water. However, it costs eighty taels of silver, which our family cannot afford.

The smaller one next door is worth considering. The courtyard isn't small either, with three main rooms and two side rooms, one room each in the east and west wings, and three storefronts in front of the main building. There's no well, so getting water is a bit inconvenient. From a feng shui perspective, it's not as good as the larger house, but it's cheaper, only fifty taels of silver.

If our family is frugal and saves up for a while, we might actually be able to buy this small shop.”

Anle blinked and asked thoughtfully.

"Dad, are you saying that these two shops are right next to each other and both are selling to the public?"

"Yes, that small shop originally made osmanthus cake, jujube paste pastry and mung bean cake, but the one-bite pastry they make tastes even better than the ones in that small shop."

Later, the sheer volume of delicious pastries made it impossible to continue operating, and business failed, so they decided to sell the shop.

"What about that large shop?"

"They make chestnut cakes, but they were completely outdone by Yi Kou Su."

"Dad, I've made up my mind. We'll take both shops, then open a small door in the courtyard wall to connect them, and then we'll have one shop, right?"

An Mancang was stunned by An Le's outrageous demand—

"You want...you want them all?"

Coming to his senses, An Mancang shook his head violently.

"No, no, Lewa, this won't do. Our family can't even afford a small one right now, let alone a big one. How can you possibly want two?"