Madam Han's eyes showed a hint of admiration. This little girl may be poor, but she is neither humble nor arrogant, and has a certain pride.

"But my family is large, and this jar is probably only enough for one meal. Little girl, do you have any more of this? When will you come back to sell it again?"

Mrs. Han thought that eating it every day, or at the very least every two or three days, would be wonderful.

"Actually, there are a lot of them, but these things are not easy to make." Qiao Lian'er sighed helplessly.

"How do we make it?" Mrs. Han asked quickly.

"It needs to be deep-fried in a lot of oil, and after frying, it needs to be soaked in oil to keep it fresh for a longer time so it won't spoil. I don't have any oil at home, so I really can't supply it." Qiao Lian'er lowered her head, looking somewhat sad and helpless.

"If there's any oil, send five catties to Madam next time. There's only one catty in this jar."

"So that's what you're worried about. Oil is a minor issue; I'll provide it to you. You just need to fry it up and bring it to me to sell."

After hearing such detailed explanation, Madam Han was almost convinced that the young girl was alright.

Qiao Lian'er subtly curled the corners of her lips; she had achieved her goal.

A moment later, two servants carried out a jar.

"There's about twenty catties of oil in here. Let me know when you've used it all up," Madam Han said.

Twenty catties—it has to be said, wealthy families are indeed very generous.

Qiao Lian'er politely bid farewell to Madam Han, and left carrying twenty catties of oil. The heavy load made her, who was thin and ill, hunch her shoulders, but she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

I went to the condiment shop again and bought enough soy sauce, salt, and vinegar. After thinking for a moment, I also went to the butcher shop and asked for five pounds of lean pork.

Thinking of his mother's leg injuries, he went to the pharmacy and bought three good plasters, each costing two hundred coins, enough for two days.

As for her own illness, it was due to weakness caused by excessive hunger. The water from the divine talisman would work, and she would recover after a period of rest.

After all that, one tael of the two taels of silver had been spent, and the remaining tael would be saved for later.

Qiao Lian'er found some rags and draped them over her basket.

She walked down the street carrying a heavy basket on her back, and some people teased her when they saw her.

"Little girl, did you collect a whole basket of junk? Look how hard you're carrying it."

Qiao Lian'er rolled her eyes and ignored her.

She bought two meat buns and left Qingshui Town while munching on them.

She had to hurry home, in case someone had their eyes on the things in her basket.

But carrying the thirty-odd pounds of stuff was too tiring, and the sun was blazing overhead. She was panting heavily as she walked, so she sat down by the roadside and stopped. She glanced into her space and saw that a little more of the Divine Talisman Water had been squeezed out. She drank it, and her body regained some strength, so she continued on her way.

"Dad, it's delicious! Thank you for buying it for me. I've never had it before."

A child's innocent voice came from behind, carrying a hint of ingratiation.

Qiao Lian'er recognized the name and turned around to see Song Rui'er and Song Lao Er on their way back to the village.

Song Ruier held a string of candied hawthorns in his hand. The candied hawthorns melted easily in the sun, and he carefully and reluctantly licked the melted part.

Looking at Song Lao Er, one could see nothing but the deep affection and reverence a junior has for his elder.

Song Lao Er's face was serious: "Then who will you take care of when you grow up?"

"Of course it's my father and mother. They are the only ones in my eyes."

Song Lao Er nodded in satisfaction.

Qiao Lian'er turned her head back, pretending not to see.

However, Song Ruier saw her and noticed that she was bent over by the weight of a basket on her back. Her eyes darted around and she said, "Sister Lian'er."

As he spoke, he gave Song Lao Er a wink and ran over to Qiao Lian'er.