Meng Chijian smiled faintly, then reached out and grabbed A-Mian's ankle, pulling her into his arms: "Who usually shoves their feet here when the hot water bottle isn't warm enough? Who pushes me to the side while they're sleeping? You little bastard, you're kicking me after you've served your purpose, aren't you?"

Ah Mian cried out a few times, turned around to try to escape but couldn't move, her face turning bright red. "I mean, from now on!"

"Fine, don't ask me to dry your clothes tomorrow morning, let's see if you can even get out of bed then." Meng Chijian gritted his teeth, then grabbed the little bastard's wrists tightly with one hand. "Why have you been avoiding me all day?"

“…You,” A-Mian felt that she was affected by that strange dream, but she didn’t know where to start. Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and said, “The book says that husband and wife should treat each other with respect.”

"Can't understand."

Meng Chijian, looking fierce, was determined to rub Ah Mian's fur. After struggling for a long time, Ah Mian finally gave up and rested her head on his shoulder, saying, "You must be that monster."

He ignored all that nonsense.

Seeing that she no longer resisted, and obediently let herself be molded and kneaded like a lump of clay, nestled in his arms, he finally let her go.

This is only because Ah Mian has a good temper. If it were someone with a fiery temper, being controlled like this all the time would surely have led them to grab a kitchen knife and fight him to the death.

Amian was sleepy and couldn't move him, so she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

In her mind, Meng Chijian had always been a very rule-abiding and demanding person. He wouldn't allow her to divide the bed into sections or avoid him, so there was nothing she could do about it.

Five days passed, and the donkey cart was finished.

On the day she picked up the car, A-Mian was extremely proud of herself.

She had intended to bring the brick to "photograph" this moment, but unfortunately the magic weapon seemed to be broken. No matter how she pressed it, it didn't respond, so she temporarily put it away in the cabinet where she usually kept her trinkets.

The donkey cart was simply constructed: a rectangular wooden carriage with shafts made of fine locust wood. The yoke was fitted around the donkey's neck, and then it could be used to carry goods. The front of the carriage also had seating for passengers.

For Adou, it's lighter and easier than carrying heavy loads directly, yet it allows him to carry more (similar to the difference between carrying luggage on your back and pulling wheeled luggage).

After getting a car, A-Mian's business became much easier.

She prepared this as the meal for the laborers when they finished work. On the first day, she didn't dare to cook too much, but prepared thirty or forty bowls of pork kidney soup and five or six portions of deluxe tonic soup.

Because of the large quantity of goods ordered, some vendors offered discounts. The main items were four catties of pork kidneys (180 coins), three oysters (130 coins), and one catty of chicken kidneys (80 coins). The total cost, including labor (Xiao Jing), was about 400 coins.

Seeing the excitement, Meng Jing also wanted to join in selling food.

The donkey cart could barely squeeze two young women in. After lunch, A-Mian and her group set off.

The winter sky is always dark, and after walking for a while, you can faintly hear the shouts of laborers. A-Mian followed the sound and stopped a short distance away when she saw a minor official walking towards her angrily.

"What are you doing?! This isn't a place for you to play house! Go away, don't fool around here!"

Meng Jing suddenly became frightened and grabbed A Mian's arm. What if setting up a stall here is not allowed at all? Does that mean she can only earn one day's wages?

“Brother, we’re not here to cause trouble.” A-Mian quickly stepped forward and said, “We saw how hard you’re working, especially in this freezing weather. It’s really tough! So we thought we’d bring you some hot soup. Look, all the ingredients are ready. How comforting it would be to have a bowl of pork kidney soup in the winter.”

Upon seeing the materials and firewood, the official hesitated and said, "Are these a gift? In that case... just don't go near the work area over there."

"Okay."

Ah Mian hurriedly got to work, setting up the pot and lighting firewood at the bottom. She reheated the broth, and when it started bubbling gently, she added pork kidneys and chicken gizzards to begin simmering.

After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the farmers began to discuss the matter.

"What kind of fragrance is this? How can it be so overpowering..."

"Silly, it smells good! I saw two young women setting up a stall there!"

"This... I wonder how many copper coins it will cost. It's hard to get money out of the pockets of us country folk."

The corvée laborers were actually provided with a meal, which was a midday meal. Each person was given a cold and hard pancake, which those with weak teeth probably couldn't even bite! Therefore, the families of these men (if they had any) would make them some rolled pancakes, steamed buns, or similar food.

It's impossible to pay for a meal with a single coin.

Ignoring the gossip, A-Mian first prepared two bowls of pork kidney soup, along with two large steamed buns, and delivered them to the two minor officials.

The one who looked particularly fierce rubbed his hands together, saying, "Really giving it to us? That's not a good idea..."

"It's nothing, we should thank you both for maintaining order. This is our way of showing our appreciation, drink it while it's hot, it's very nourishing." Ah Mian's words were a bit dry, something she had learned from Song Dongjia.

However, Song Dongjia spoke these words very naturally, which made people feel that he was very sincere.

Ah Mian's way of speaking makes it sound like she wrote this passage at home, memorized it, and then said it.

Another minor official suppressed a laugh, and the two thanked him before accepting the bowl.

When A-Mian turned around, she couldn't help but say, "Whose young lady is this, actually thinking of going out to do business? I wonder how her family can let her go..."

After speaking, he took a sip of the soup and paused slightly. The soup tasted quite good, especially since it was so warming. He glanced at the stall again; it was very clean, with the wooden buckets all covered, and two jars of condiments on display: one for chopped green onions and the other for pickled vegetables.

"It's delicious. Besides, it's not breaking any rules. We'll just keep an eye on things a little to prevent those brutes from messing things up."

The logic here is clear: if you're full at one meal, you'll be full at every meal, and you'll wish Ah Mian would come back again.

After finishing her social engagements, A-Mian breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't very good at saying many polite words.

By the time the laborers finished their work, the soup was already very delicious. The first guest was Meng Er, who had noticed his younger sisters were there earlier and had been quite worried about them, fearing they might be chased away.

How much are these?

Ah Mian thought it wouldn't hurt to give him a bowl, but in business, a good start is always important. Sometimes, if the first sale goes well, business will inexplicably be good all day. So she replied, "The pork kidney soup is ten coins a bowl, and the steamed buns are one coin each. If it's for you, Second Brother, I won't charge you for the steamed buns."

"Second brother, hurry up and say some good things for us! This is related to my wages!" Meng Jing grabbed her second brother's sleeve and shook it.

"Okay, okay, give me a bowl and two steamed buns."

The second brother placed twelve copper coins on the table. After a long day, his back was so sore he could barely straighten up. At least he had some hot soup to drink.