Besides the food business stabilizing, Xu Genzhu, the peddler, also made a lot of progress. The newly arrived hair ties sold exceptionally well; young women and sisters-in-law all bought them, and some even asked him to bring more hair ties the next day.

This also led Xu Genzhu to discover some business opportunities. Many families in the village were willing to spend money on dressing up, especially those with daughters of marriageable age.

He sells them for a little less than in town, so these people don't find it difficult to buy them. As a result, half of the items in Xu Genzhu's two bamboo baskets are household items.

The other half consisted of items for women and children, along with some snacks. On a good day, they could earn over fifty coins, more than two or three times what they used to earn.

He looked so pleased with himself. He hadn't even had breakfast yet, and he was already fiddling with his two baskets of goods, humming some random little tune.

Now Xu Genshan and his group don't go to town as early as they used to; they usually go out after breakfast.

“Genzhu, when you have some free time, find a carpenter to make a cart. It can hold a lot of things, and you won’t have to work so hard.” Xu Genshan looked at his two bamboo baskets, which were stuffed full.

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Thinking about how much distance my younger brother has to walk every day, I feel he must be working very hard.

Xu Genzhu had the same idea. Perhaps because he was happy, he became more talkative today. "I wonder how long I can keep doing this as a peddler and finally get ahead, and whether I can open a small shop in this lifetime."

He was a little embarrassed as he spoke, after all, his idea was really too far-fetched. He had only made money for a few days, yet he dared to say such nonsense.

Xu Genshan patted his younger brother on the shoulder and said, "Take it slow, one step at a time. I used to think that I would spend my whole life toiling in the fields, but now I have another way out."

It all feels like a dream; in the blink of an eye, a lot has changed in our home.

"Brother, I'm just daydreaming. It's just something we brothers say casually." Xu Genzhu chuckled. His older brother really thought too highly of him.

"Man'er, tell me, how about your second uncle opens a shop when he makes money in the future?" Xu Genshan saw his daughter sticking her bottom out and pulling radishes out of her little bamboo basket, so he simply picked her up and hugged her.

It's rare for my daughter to get up early today; it's really not easy for her.

"Okay!" Fu Man'er didn't hear what Xu Genshan said at all. She was in the middle of pulling the radish when she was scooped up. Now she just wanted to finish her perfunctory reply and quickly go back down to continue pulling.

Xu Genzhu was even more perfunctory than her, "Okay, I'll listen to Man'er. Your second uncle will open a warehouse and find more new and interesting things for our Man'er to play with."

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"Okay, thank you, Second Uncle." The two chatted back and forth as if the warehouse had really opened. Fu Man'er twisted her body, trying to get to the ground.

Xu Genshan could see that his daughter's heart was still with the bamboo basket, so he finally put her down.

The little girl tumbled to the ground, dragged her small bamboo basket, and headed to the backyard to feed the sheep. She wondered if the radishes were still fresh after two days.

The small radishes were fine, but the long, thin radish she dug up looked rather dry and old; the sheep probably wouldn't like to eat it.

The roots were incredibly long. Fu Man'er glanced at them and saw a chopping board and knife in the corner of the yard, used to chop up rotten vegetables to feed the chickens.

She ran over with a small radish in her hand, and clumsily used a kitchen knife to cut off the tendrils. The knife was particularly dull, and it was quite difficult to cut. She spent a long time sharpening it before she could finish.

Then she cut two more pieces off the long, thin radish, intending to feed the lambs first.

"Baa, baa." Fu Man'er held up two slices of carrot and waved to the little lamb.

The two little lambs already recognized her. As soon as Fu Man'er called out, they came over and ate the carrot slices in her hand.

Ma Hong happened to be carrying some vegetable leaves when she saw Fu Man'er pressed against the door, trying to squeeze into the circle. She immediately frowned.

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"Man'er, I already fed the sheep this morning, so please don't feed them anymore." She was afraid that feeding them too much would make them sick.

"Oh, I see." She could tell that the sheep was really full. Before, after finishing its meal, it would bleat at her again to indicate that it wanted more. Today, after finishing its meal, it went to lie down next to its mother.

Fu Man'er stood up listlessly. She decided to feed her again at noon, before her second aunt.

Ma Hong carried the vegetable leaves to the corner. When she saw something on the board, she knew that Fu Man'er had used a knife. Just as she was about to say something to her, she felt that the thing on the board was a bit strange.

She put down the vegetable leaves and picked up the half-eaten radish. This radish looked so strange; it didn't look like a radish at all, but rather...

Oh my god, Ma Hong suddenly felt that the radish in her hand was a little hot because of her own thoughts. She took a deep breath and ran to the front yard with trembling hands.

"Mother, Mother, my Mother!" The voice cried out, making it seem as if something terrible had happened.

Fu Man'er looked at her second aunt with suspicion. Why did she take away the carrots she used to feed the sheep? Did she mean she wouldn't let her feed the sheep anymore?

When Ma Hong ran over, Xu Genshan and the others were about to set off. They stopped when they heard her shout. "What are you doing? What are you doing? Can't you live without your mother for a day?"

Hearing the noise, Old Mrs. Xu came out of the house cursing, and the others looked at Ma Hong with suspicion.

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"Mom, look." Ma Hong nervously swallowed and held up the half-radish with both hands to show it to Old Lady Xu.

"You have to show me even a broken radish? Are you bored?" When Old Mrs. Xu came out, she immediately noticed the half-eaten radish in her hand and felt that her daughter-in-law was increasingly clueless.

Ma Hong exclaimed anxiously, "Mother, doesn't it look like ginseng?!"

Upon hearing this, the people who were about to get up stopped in their tracks. What? Ginseng?

Grandma Xu had already taken the things from Ma Hong's hands. Her cloudy eyes seemed unusually clear. She calmed herself down and after a long while, she finally spoke, "Close the door."

Xu Genshan, who was closest to the door, quickly closed it. The whole family gathered around, but seeing how solemn Old Mrs. Xu's face was, no one dared to speak for a moment.

"This, this really is ginseng!" Old Mrs. Xu held the ginseng so tightly that she didn't dare to use her hands, and suddenly looked at Ma Hong, "Second daughter-in-law, where did you get this?"

"I, I, I..." Overwhelmed with excitement, Ma Hong's mind went blank, and she couldn't speak.

When Fu Man'er walked out slowly with her little hands behind her back, she saw everyone gathered together. "Dad, Mom, why hasn't Second Uncle come out yet?"

When Ma Hong heard and saw her coming, she looked as if she had seen a ghost, "She, she..."