During this period, the entire courtyard lived a very frugal life.
The family spent six hundred taels of silver to build a workshop, leaving them with only ten taels to live on.
Actually, this was no small amount of money; at least the siblings who lived in the dilapidated temple back then would never have dared to dream of it.
But life is always easier to go from frugality to extravagance than from extravagance to frugality.
Everyone has gotten used to Aunt Zhang stewing a pot of meat, stir-frying three or five dishes of side dishes, and adding seasonal fruits and vegetables every day, making for a nutritious and balanced diet.
Suddenly, living expenses were reduced.
The first thing that happened was that the daily pot of meat was gone, replaced by a plate of vegetables, and the side dishes were all vegetarian. There was no sign of seasonal fruits and vegetables, and the whole meal looked shabby.
Jiang Sheng felt extremely embarrassed, feeling that she was the one who caused the current situation, making her brothers suffer along with her.
Unexpectedly, Xu Mo took the lead in picking up some green vegetables, and only after finishing them did he politely say, "Our ancestors said in their books that eating more green vegetables is good for your health."
Wen Zhiyun and Chang Yan followed closely behind, enjoying most of their plate of vegetables.
Seeing this, Zheng Ruqian quickly joined in the fray, reminding Jiang Sheng while eating, "If we don't eat now, they'll snatch it all away."
How could they possibly fight over a pile of green vegetables? They were so tired of eating rotten vegetable leaves that they almost threw up. So after Aunt Zhang took care of them, she cooked all kinds of meat the most.
Braised pork knuckle, stir-fried chicken pieces, stewed fish...
The memory seemed to bring back the aroma of the meat. Jiang Sheng slurped her saliva, picked up some greens, and swallowed them in large gulps.
To protect her pride, her brothers chewed the vegetable leaves until they tasted like meat.
She also needs to work harder for her brothers and earn more money.
Fengjing in July and August can be described as hot, but this heat is more dry, lacking the humidity and moisture of Anshui County, and even rain is rare.
Jiang Sheng was very happy.
In summer, manual fanning is required, and the production of sausages and cured meats is much lower than in winter. However, with the prerequisite of drying, the production can be 20% higher.
Although, it's okay if it's not high.
In a simple vegetable market in Fengjing West City.
According to the laws of the Dayu Dynasty, in order to regulate the city, all vendors selling vegetables and meat were required to sell their produce in designated vegetable market locations, and most of them paid rent on a monthly basis.
Zheng Ruqian searched several places before finally finding this vegetable market where rent is paid daily.
"Second brother, we're selling sausages in such a remote place, will Youranju be able to get the news?" Jiang Sheng asked cautiously, carrying ten pounds of sausages while dodging dirty water.
Just as Zheng Ruqian opened his mouth, the fishmonger behind them grabbed a handful of blood mixed with fish entrails and splashed it at their backs.
Jiang Sheng was so frightened that she immediately protected the sausage.
It was so dirty, really so dirty. There was so much blood, fish scales and entrails mixed together, along with dead fish, rotting fish heads and gills that had been removed. The fishy smell was overwhelming, but the worst part was that there was nowhere to put your feet on the ground.
If another basin of water were poured over her, Jiang Sheng would be waiting to go home and change her clothes.
However, after closing my eyes, the expected fishy smell did not come; instead, I felt myself rising into the air.
When Jiang Sheng opened her eyes, she found that her second brother had picked her up.
She held the sausage, and he held her, holding her upright like he was comforting a child, just enough to avoid the splashing blood and filth.
From her vantage point, Jiang Sheng could clearly see that Zheng Ruqian's shoes were completely soaked in sewage, and his clothes were stained with fish scales and entrails.
"Second Brother!" she exclaimed.
Zheng Ruqian laughed nonchalantly, wading through the dirty water to place her on a clean pebble. "I'm fine, it's just a little dirt. Let's sell the sausages first, then we'll change our clothes later."
After saying that, he turned around and patted off the fish scales and entrails stuck to the hem of his clothes.
Fortunately, the fishmonger who had thrown the dirty water also noticed the two innocent children who had been caught in the crossfire and quickly came over. "Are your clothes dirty? I'm sorry, I'm just used to doing this."
Zheng Ruqian waved his hand, "It's alright, boss. Their clothes and shoes are worthless. It's their honor to have your fish flavor on them."
The fishmonger laughed heartily, and the two began to chat.
Upon learning that the two children were there to sell sausages, he waved his hand and said, "See that spot over there? Hurry up and go over there; it's the entrance, and there are a lot of people there."
Zheng Ruqian clasped his hands together in gratitude, saying, "Thank you so much, Uncle."
That's why people say that strong interpersonal skills bring more benefits; even if they searched for a long time, they might not be able to find that location.
Jiang Sheng nodded in agreement, taking the opportunity to learn.
Before long, the two siblings arrived at the stone table and laid out cured pork, sausages, and a few pieces of cured fish.
This is a great location, right at the corner of the market entrance. People going in to buy groceries can see it, and people coming out can also spot it.
The brightly colored sausages and cured meats were laid out right in front of you, and people were always tempted and couldn't help but ask the price.
Jiang Sheng extended her left palm, her smile sweet and lovely, "Five hundred coins."
The brother and sister had already discussed it beforehand. The price of the cured meat and sausages could not be too low, lest someone with ulterior motives hoard them and resell them to Youranju.
It can't be too high either, lest it frighten the people of Fengjing.
After thinking it over, I decided to quote the price of 500 coins, the same price I would have paid to Youranju.
The person asking the price was still taken aback, exclaiming, "Five hundred coins? That's robbery!"
The customer rolled his eyes, turned and left, followed by the other customers.
Jiang Sheng sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
Although selling sausages wasn't her real goal, the key was to get You Ran Ju to come to her, but she was still a little surprised that the people of Fengjing would complain that something costing 500 coins was too expensive.
"Silly girl." Zheng Ruqian tapped her head. "Don't forget, this is the west side of the city."
Where there are rich people, there are poor people.
Fengjing may have more rich people, but that doesn't mean there are no poor people.
No matter where you are, there are people who eat rotten vegetable leaves, people who scrimp and save, and people who are starving and poorly clothed.
Don't you see, even the largest cities have homeless children, and even the wealthiest mansions have beggars passing by?
Fengjing was merely the capital of the Dayu Dynasty, not a paradise. People in the east of the city spent money like water, while those in the west were also shrewd and calculating.
There's nothing surprising about it. The most important thing is to work hard and not be among the lowest-ranking people in the city.
Jiang Sheng nodded obediently, but a touch of melancholy drifted through her heart.
How wonderful it would be if there were no more homeless children in the world and everyone could have enough to eat.
That day, not a single sausage was sold before the stall closed.
Zheng Ruqian was cunning. He specially wrapped two sausages and a piece of cured meat and gave them to the fishmonger, saying that he wanted his uncle to try them.
The vendor couldn't refuse, so he gave them two cleaned fish.
That evening, Aunt Zhang braised it, and it was a delicious meal.
the next day.
Still in this dirty and chaotic vegetable market, Jiang Sheng had gone from being enthusiastic at the beginning to feeling dejected. She felt that she might not be able to sell a single sausage, and she couldn't find out about You Ran Ju.
"How about we go to the vegetable market in the east of the city? We can just pay a few taels of silver for the stall fee, which is better than wasting time here," she muttered, tilting her head.
Just as Zheng Ruqian was about to tell his sister that the family could no longer afford the few taels of silver for the stall fee, there was a commotion behind him.
Immediately afterward, the fishmonger and his men rushed over, pointing at them and saying, "This is it!"
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