Jiang Sheng was unusually generous and bought two small meat buns for one coin. She gave Fang Heng one whole one and split the rest with Zheng Ruqian.
"It's not fair! It's not fair! Why am I only half?" Zheng Ruqian cried, his eyes brimming with tears. "Little Jiang Sheng, you're being unfair."
Jiang Sheng said earnestly, "Brother Fang Heng has just arrived, we should treat him well."
Only in this way can we firmly hold onto our protective umbrella and not be afraid of the enormous mountains.
Sigh, Brother Ruqian is always so stupid. If he had even a fraction of his own intelligence, he wouldn't be so confused about this.
Xiao Jiangsheng sighed deeply as she ate her steamed bun.
They soon arrived at the bookstore. Jiang Sheng finished her steamed bun in a few bites, wiped the grease off her clothes, and ran up to the owner, saying in a clear voice, "Boss, two books to copy."
"Where did this little beggar come from?" The shopkeeper glanced at Jiang Sheng's dirty clothes and immediately waved his hand, "Get out of here, go somewhere far away."
Jiang Sheng was caught off guard and knocked to the ground.
Fang Heng's expression turned grim. He immediately rushed forward and shielded Jiang Sheng behind him.
Zheng Ruqian argued with the boss, "We are here to work, not to beg. You can't look down on us just because of our clothes. You're judging us by our limited perspective."
His fine cloth robe was relatively clean, which eased the bookstore owner's expression. "We need to deposit money to copy books here. Do you have the money?"
"Yes!" Zheng Ruqian pulled out eight copper coins from his pocket. "Tell me, how much?"
The bookstore owner glanced at it, "Eight copper coins."
He didn't actually want to do business with these kids. The reason he said eight coins was just to make things difficult for them, since copying books not only required mortgaging the books, but also pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.
A regular bookstore would only accept two coins as collateral.
Zheng Ruqian stood there, stunned.
Fang Heng frowned, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Fortunately, Jiang Sheng got up from the ground, grabbed one of her brothers with each hand, and snorted, "Big shops bully customers. We won't copy from you anymore. You don't deserve to display the books my brothers copied here."
After saying this, the three fled before the bookstore owner could get angry.
As they rushed to the end of the alley, before Jiang Sheng could even lament that Xu Mo's career was about to collapse, Zheng Ruqian spotted a small bookstore. "Look, they have it there too."
This bookstore must be newly opened; there weren't many people or many books inside.
Jiang Sheng wasn't very confident that this shop wanted to copy books, so she tentatively asked at the door, "Boss, do you want to copy books?"
There was a pause, but no one responded.
Just as the group was about to leave, a young scholar suddenly darted out from inside, shouting, "I want it, I want it! I want as many as you have!"
"Then, how much is the deposit here?" Zheng Ruqian asked softly.
This time he was smarter and hid the eight coins tightly in his sleeve, not daring to reveal a single one.
"Two coins for a deposit, four coins for a book," the scholar said with a smile. "If you become a regular customer, the deposit will be waived."
This is what a proper businessperson should be like.
On the way back to the dilapidated temple, Jiang Sheng held the two books as if they were priceless treasures.
Fang Heng held a brush and ink, while Zheng Ruqian carried paper and inkstone.
Jiang Sheng was still counting on her fingers. She had earned a total of sixteen coins today, spent ten coins, and had six coins left.
This can be considered the family's first income.
What made Jiang Sheng happiest was Fang Heng's addition. Although he always had a cold face and didn't speak, Jiang Sheng felt particularly at ease when he rushed over at the bookstore entrance.
I'll never be afraid of being bullied again.
Back at the dilapidated temple, Jiang Sheng took out a hot steamed bun from her bosom. "Brother Xu Mo, this is for you."
Although the steamed buns were expensive, costing only one coin for two, they ate them all, so there was no reason to leave Xu Mo in the dilapidated temple out.
"Thank you, little sister." Xu Mo ate the steamed bun politely and picked up his pen to start copying the book.
The dilapidated temple had limited space; there weren't even tables and chairs, so he could only painstakingly write on his bedding.
Even so, Xu Mo's handwriting is neat and elegant, clearly showing his early training.
Fang Heng glanced at Xu Mo, said nothing, went outside and walked around, finding a small wooden board.
The small wooden plank offered no support, and since both of Xu Mo's legs were broken, it couldn't be compressed.
Fang Heng was not discouraged. He found some stones to place around the table and then put the small wooden planks on top. Although it was a bit cramped and shabby, at least he had a flat table.
Xu Mo and Fang Heng exchanged a glance. Although they did not introduce themselves, they could see each other's suppressed feelings through their eyes.
Perhaps they had seen wealth and glory, but after falling from grace and suffering hardships, life still held a glimmer of hope.
The sprout of hope was given by the little girl who was cooking mushroom soup.
Jiang Sheng.
Before long, the steaming mushroom soup was ready.
There was still no salt; it was still just boiled in water. But Xu Mo drank it calmly and peacefully, as if he were savoring some delicacy.
Fang Heng's face contorted for a moment, but seeing the other three people enjoying their food, he began to doubt his own taste buds.
"Brother Fang Heng, please don't look down on us. Our family is poor and we only have mushrooms, but we're almost out of mushrooms." Little Jiang Sheng started to worry about what was to come. "It seems we'll have to go into the mountains again."
Zheng Ruqian, who had been relatively calm, sat down on the ground upon hearing this.
That deep mountain infested with worms?
Can you please stop going in, please?
Hearing the noise, Jiang Sheng turned around and said earnestly, "Brother Ruqian, don't you want to make money anymore? Don't you like the feeling of having money? You can make money by picking mushrooms, don't you want money?"
Zheng Ruqian scratched his head blankly. It really felt good to be rich. If it weren't for so many long worms, he probably would have fallen in love with picking mushrooms too.
"If you don't want to go into the mountains, then don't." Xu Mo stopped writing, looked up, and said, "I can copy one of these comic books a day, which is enough for us to eat."
“That won’t do.” Jiang Sheng was the first to jump up and object. “How can we put the whole burden of supporting the family on Xu Mo’s shoulders? I’m not going to be a freeloader.”
She turned to look at Zheng Ruqian, "Brother Ruqian wouldn't just eat for free, right?"
Zheng Ruqian nodded blankly, "Yes, yes."
“Then we’ll go into the mountains to pick mushrooms, and we can earn lots and lots of copper coins a day, right?” Jiang Sheng clenched her fist. “In that case, the two of us will earn more than Brother Xu Mo. We’re so awesome.”
"Wow, that's great!" Zheng Ruqian's eyes widened. "Let's go into the mountains and pick mushrooms."
If Fang Heng hadn't stopped him, he would have picked up the bamboo basket and headed out.
"Let's go tomorrow." Jiang Sheng stuck out her tongue; she seemed to have fooled her brother Ruqian.
Night fell.
Xu Mo wanted to copy the book by the moonlight, but was forcibly stopped.
"Brother Xu Mo only has a problem with his leg, does he really want to go blind as well?" Little Jiang Sheng muttered. "We don't have the money to get his eyes checked."
Xu Mo was both amused and exasperated, and had no choice but to force himself to lie down.
The next morning, the mushroom soup was cooked and shared among the group.
Jiang Sheng, along with the energetic Zheng Ruqian, carried bamboo baskets and set off into the mountains.
Fang Heng picked up a stick and followed behind without saying a word.
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