"Aunt Zhao, my mother asked me to bring you some meat."

Aunt Zhao was stunned and didn't react for a long time, thinking she had misheard.

"Auntie?"

Song Ning called out again, and Aunt Zhao finally came to her senses, looked outside, and quickly pulled Song Ning into the house.

As soon as Song Ning entered the house, he called out "Uncle Li" and put down the bowl.

"Uncle and Aunt, this was sent by my mother. We just didn't have any oil or salt at home, so we made do with this. Please try it, and then I'll head back."

"Hey, wait a minute." Aunt Zhao immediately called out to the person and turned to go into the kitchen.

A moment later, the person came out, carrying some small paper packets and two eggs, and stuffed them into Song Ning's hand: "Good child, take these back with you."

“Auntie, you and Uncle have helped our family a lot, I can’t accept these.”

"It's alright, these are all things we have at home, so you can take them back. Otherwise, I won't accept this meat," Aunt Zhao said, feigning anger.

Helpless, Song Ning accepted the gifts, thanked them, and ran home.

Li Daniu and his wife were both very surprised when Song Ning left.

"When did Brother Dahai's family start having meat?"

The two families lived not far apart, so how could they not know what Song Dahai's family situation was like? They were so poor that they could hardly afford to eat meat.

"It must have been hunted in the mountains. Since we've brought it here, let's have a taste."

Although the Li family was considered well-off in the village, they hadn't had meat in a long time.

I added a little salt, took a bite, and found it to be tender, delicious, and with a unique aroma—truly a wonderful dish.

After delivering the items, Song Ning returned home and handed them to Liu Yuelan, saying, "These are from Aunt Zhao."

When Liu Yuelan opened the small paper packets, she found they contained some cooking ingredients!

These things aren't cheap these days, and Aunt Zhao actually brought so many, plus two eggs.

Eggs are a good thing. The villagers don't have much money, so they raise chickens and rely on eggs to support their health.

I picked up the salt, sprinkled a little into the chicken soup, and hid the rest of the ingredients.

"Alright, let's eat."

Liu Yuelan ladled chicken soup into a bowl and took the chicken to the next room. She was worried and insisted on waiting for Song Dahai to finish eating everything in the bowl before she would leave.

Song Ning tasted the soup and wondered if it was because of the salt, but the soup tasted exceptionally good today.

She drank three bowls of chicken soup before she felt full.

After the meal, Song Ning looked at Liu Yuelan and said, "Mother, I'm thinking of going to town tomorrow."

What are you going to town for?

“Dad is sick now and needs to rest and recuperate. I want to go to town to buy some food.”

Although meat is a good thing, you can't eat it all the time; you need a balanced diet.

“That won’t do. It’s not safe for you to go alone. Let me go with you,” Liu Yuelan said worriedly.

"Mom, just stay home and take care of Dad. I can manage on my own."

Later that evening, Song Ning went to Li Daniu's house again.

The Li family owned an oxcart, which they bought before the village suffered a disaster. Back then, the Li family was considered one of the wealthiest families in the village.

Now that everyone has no crops to grow, Li Daniu relies on this oxcart to support his family.

Anyone in the village who wanted to go to town would book an oxcart with their family in advance. It cost one copper coin per person for a round trip. If they didn't have money, they could exchange food for it. In short, it was enough to feed two people.

After arranging a ride, Song Ning went into her spatial storage that evening to organize the things she had found on the mountain.

The space preserves things perfectly; the items we found earlier haven't changed at all and are still very fresh.

Last time she went up the mountain, she caught three pheasants, a brood of rabbits, and some herbs and wild fruits.

If we sell all these things, we should be able to get some money.

Nanshan Village wasn't close to the town, so Song Ning got up at dawn the next day to drive the oxcart.

Fearing that people from the old house might cause trouble for her, Song Ning took the remaining money after getting the medicine with her.

As soon as they got in the car, Li Daniu asked, "I just found out your dad was injured yesterday. Is he alright?"

"It's nothing, I just bumped my head and need to rest for a while."

“If you go to town, things will definitely be too busy at home. I’ve already sent my spouse over, so you don’t need to worry,” Li Daniu comforted him.

"Thank you, Uncle Li."

There weren't many people going to town today, so it was just Song Ning and Li Daniu in the car. They chatted as they drove, and time passed quickly.

Li Daniu's son works in town. After Song Ning got off the bus, Li Daniu drove off to see his son.

The two agreed to meet at the place where they got off the bus.

This was Song Ning's first time in town. It was still early, but the streets were already bustling with people and food stalls. After getting off the carriage, Song Ning headed straight for the pawnshop.

She had inquired and found out that the pawnshops here accept almost anything.

They took out the mountain goods they found and put them directly into the pawnshop.

There weren't many people in the pawnshop yet. When the clerk saw her come in, he thought she was a beggar and started shooing her away without any politeness: "Where did this little beggar come from? Go away, go somewhere else to beg."

Song Ning handed over the contents of the basket: "I'm here to pawn this, will you accept it?"

Upon seeing what was in her basket, the shopkeeper's expression lit up, and he immediately said, "Take it, take it."

The shopkeeper took the contents of the basket and examined them carefully before giving the price: "Fifty coins."

Song Ning raised an eyebrow. He had heard that these mountain products used to be worth a lot of money in town, but now this basket of mountain goods was only worth fifty coins!

"Young lady, you know the current market situation. In this world, grain is the most precious commodity. These things can't fetch a good price anymore. Only we still need these things."

The implication is that I've already given quite a bit.

Nowadays, those who like these mountain products are mostly wealthy people who are used to eating good food all year round. Occasionally, they can enjoy something from the mountains.

But this basket of things is only worth fifty coins, so she might as well take it back and eat it herself.

Thinking of this, Song Ning picked up the basket and walked outside.

"Then I won't sell it."

The shopkeeper had thought he could easily sell the naive young girl after a few sweet talk; this basket of goods could fetch a good price from wealthy families. But to his surprise, she simply left.

However, he didn't stop them. There are plenty of people like that nowadays, and if there's really no other way, they'll have to come back again in a while.

Undeterred, Song Ning went to several more pawnshops after leaving one, only to be offered increasingly lower prices each time.

Later, I asked several restaurants and eateries, but none of them could give me a price.

These places collect these items and usually resell them directly to wealthy families, naturally driving down the price.

"Forget it, I'll just take it back to my own home to eat," Song Ning sighed.

Just as she was about to turn back, a voice suddenly rang out behind her: "Little girl, wait a minute."