Meng Chijian wondered if there were any laborers in the Immortal Realm who could move goods.

The two of them were penniless and needed to find a place to spend the night, so they couldn't help but frown.

Turning her head, she saw Ah Mian staring intently at a piece of glass. Inside, people were holding trays filled with golden, crispy fried chicken wings.

"This might even taste better than roast chicken." Ah Mian mustered her courage and, imitating others, pushed open the door and ran to the counter to look around. She could barely recognize a few characters, which looked like the kind of "characters" Yuan Hua had written a long time ago.

"How much does that food cost?"

The fast food restaurant server looked at the strangely dressed girl with a puzzled expression. "Today is Crazy Thursday. We have a bucket of chicken wings for 39.9 yuan. They're all freshly fried."

"A few dollars?" A-Mian couldn't help but ask, "How much does an egg cost at the market?"

"They're about one yuan each."

Ah Mian understood; one yuan was about the same as one coin. She was a very resourceful young woman, and in no time she came up with a solution: "Didn't someone ask me before if this was real hair or a wig? Since there are wigs, they must be made of real hair. I'll go sell my hair."

Anyway, among the young women coming and going on the street, some had long hair and some had short hair, but none of them had hair as long as hers.

Meng Chijian said, "All the men here have short hair, so why don't you cut my hair short and sell it? You can't sell your hair."

"Well... let's go ask how much they can sell for first." A-Mian asked a few passersby, and many people thought she was playing a prank or filming a video, but fortunately someone finally answered, "There seems to be someone who buys hair over at the market, you can go ask them there."

Upon arriving at the market, the two finally felt a sense of reality in this world.

The market was enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see, displaying an incredible variety of vegetables that broadened Ah Mian's horizons. Meng Chijian inquired about the prices of each item and discovered that vegetables they grew in their backyard, worth no more than a few copper coins, were selling for a considerable sum here. There were also seafood items that Ah Mian loved, including various kinds of fish and shellfish, which was very convenient.

"We buy hair, long hair, and offer high prices for old cell phones. You can trade your old cell phone for a kitchen knife!"

Hearing someone banging on a basin and shouting, A-Mian followed the sound.

There was already a line of people in front of me selling their hair. It was a little girl, about eight or nine years old, with tears streaming down her face. The person buying the hair parted the hair and asked the girl's parents, "Hey, did you explain this to your child? I'll only cut her hair if she's willing."

"Washing my hair every day is such a hassle, I should just cut it already."

The girl silently shed tears, so her parents had no choice but to say, "Can't we just cut it all off? Let's just cut the braid a little shorter."

"No way, my price is too high, thirty-five yuan per gram, this should cost at least four or five hundred yuan."

"Oh dear, don't cry. I'll buy you popsicles later. Sir, please cut it. Kids' hair grows very fast," the parent said, taking off their sun hat and fanning themselves. "It's not about the money. This hair is so thick and plentiful, and it's hard to wash in this heat."

The hair seller said no more, took a razor, and began to remove strands of hair close to the scalp.

Meng Chijian didn't want A Mian to sell her hair in the first place, but seeing her still queuing up, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her away: "Don't sell your hair anymore. What kind of image is this? He took all the good hair. In the end, there will be bald patches here and there, and when it grows back, it will be frizzy."

"But I don't have any money for food." She was very hungry.

Meng Chijian said, "I already told you, sell my hair. Use the money to buy food, and then we'll figure out another way."

A-Mian shook her head: "No! If you become ugly, I... um... my eyes will hurt."

So they were just cutting her hair, since she can't see it herself anyway!

Meng Chijian laughed angrily.

While the two were bickering, the little girl's hair was already cut. The little girl touched the back of her hair and cried even more sadly.

The adult scolded, "Cry, cry, cry! You're crying away all your good fortune all day long. What a burden you are, being raised like a debt collector..."

The person collecting the hair tied it up with a rubber band, weighed it on a scale, and then took out five red pieces of paper from their wallet and handed them to the adult.

"If it's so valuable, why don't you sell your hair too?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at A-Mian.

"What did you say?" The little girl's parent walked over aggressively.

An adult from Amian's family stepped forward to block her way, speaking in an equally unfriendly tone: "What's wrong with that? I see your hair is quite long too."

Amian peeked out from behind Meng Chijian and said, "Why are you angry? I was just asking."

"Wah—" The little girl burst into tears, rushed forward and clung tightly to the adult's leg: "Auntie, sell your hair too! Didn't you say things weren't easy at home?"

"Well, my hair's been permed, so it won't fetch a good price..."

"Then let's sell it at a lower price!"

Chaos erupted immediately. The parent slapped the little girl twice, but she wouldn't let go. The hair collector, realizing he couldn't do business, scrambled to break up the fight…

stamp.

Poke, poke, poke.

Amian has made a huge mess again.

Meng Chijian turned around, and A Mian nudged him a few times before sneaking away...

He chased after them, and the two ran far away until they could no longer see the crowd behind them.

After a while, Ah Mian, panting, held her knees and said, "I should be alright now."

"..."

"I can't run anymore, I can't run at all now."

She sat on the steps, thirsty and hungry. "Sell the gold coins on my feet, and I'll make another one when I get back."

There is no other way at the moment.

A poor family should travel with extra money. Besides, the gold and silver jewelry I bought for A-Mian before was originally intended to help her get through difficult times if she ever had to resort to it.

The most important thing right now is to fill our stomachs.

Meng Chijian nodded, looking for jewelry shops on the street while also checking if there were any places hiring laborers.

He had already realized that many things in the world had changed, but people themselves remained the same, much like them, not otherworldly beings.

"Today's gold price is 730 yuan per gram."

Ah Mian took off the gold coin she always wore on her ankle and nodded knowingly, "I see. Then I'll go and take a look at other stores."

After visiting three or four jewelry stores (gold shops), I found one that would buy back gold for 735 yuan.

"Let me weigh this gold coin. How much is it?" Ah Mian carefully put the red string back into her pocket and handed over only the gold coin.

“Eight point three two grams,” the salesperson at the gold shop said amiably, pressing the calculator. “Then that’s six thousand one hundred and fifteen yuan.”

Gold is so valuable!

It's worth many times more than the copper coins it could be exchanged for in ancient times.

Let's go eat that thing called 'fried chicken'!