Gu Yuchun, the village head's grandson, was five years younger than Jiang Shan, and he was the leader among those who bullied Jiang Shan.
Having not bullied the fool for several days, Gu Yuchun was itching to do so. After smelling the fragrance wafting from inside the Jiao family's courtyard, he couldn't resist climbing over the wall.
At that moment, he was half-lying against the wall, holding a thin pen in his hand, and shouted at Jiang Shan, who was washing vegetables in the yard, "Idiot, I'm asking you a question, what delicious food are you making at home?"
Jiang Shan was too lazy to deal with the naughty child. She needed to wash the basket of wild vegetables as soon as possible, make them into pickles, and serve them as a side dish with porridge in the winter.
"You idiot, come here! If you don't come here, I'll slap you!" Gu Yuchun shouted even more enthusiastically.
Jiang Shan ignored him. Jiao Sanlang, carrying a broom, rushed out of the house, his little face flushed with anger. "Gu Yuchun, you're not allowed to insult my sister again!"
Gu Yuchun smugly shouted, "Sickly brat, what good food do you have at home? Bring it out for me to see!"
Jiao Sanlang was so angry that he brandished his broom and wanted to rush up and fight, but Jiang Shan stopped him.
"Sanlang, calm down, don't be so impatient! Let me ask you, if you get bitten by a dog, do you have to rush back and bite it again to feel better?"
Saburo stammered, "No, not really..."
"That's settled then. Just think of it as being bitten by a dog, but not actually bitten!"
After saying that, he casually pointed at the wall and said, "You're the idiot, your whole family are idiots!"
"Pfft...!" Sanlang chuckled and was led back into the house by Jiangshan.
Gu Yuchun, standing atop the wall, was stunned for a long time before he reacted, then shouted angrily, "Who are you calling a dog? Who are you calling stupid!"
Jiao Sanlang stood by the stove, watching with admiration as Jiang Shan deftly chopped up a pot of wild vegetables, then skillfully added various seasonings, even the way he stirred them was so graceful.
"Sister, it smells so good!"
"Is that so!"
"Sister, can I try some?"
"Wait a minute, I'll go get some more bitter medicine."
"Sister, please leave a small bowl."
"Alright, leave two bowls!"
"Sister, can you take me up the mountain tomorrow?"
"Then you have to fill a whole basket!"
"Hehe, I can help my sister find wild mushrooms."
Why didn't you say you wanted to catch a rabbit?
"whee……."
As Jiao's mother watched the siblings chatter on and on, a thin mist slowly welled up in her eyes.
It seemed like I hadn't seen such a scene in a very long time, and for a moment I felt a little dazed.
Her Shan'er... yes, it's her Shan'er! Her Shan'er didn't have a brain injury from the fall; she's well-behaved, clever, and lovable—that's her Shan'er!
"Mom, I'll make two more baskets of steamed cakes tonight and take them to town tomorrow morning to see if I can sell them for a good price."
While they were talking, Jiang Shan had already spread the mixed wild vegetables out on a winnowing basket and let them dry to the side. He then took a few washed yams and began to peel them.
Upon hearing that steamed cakes were being made, Jiao Sanlang's eyes lit up, and he excitedly spun around in circles.
Jiao Sanlang has been living like a god these past few days. Ever since his sister-in-law became his older sister, he has been eating delicious food every day that he could never have imagined before. He couldn't be happier!
Jiao's mother was still worried, after all, she was a young woman, and it was really inappropriate for her to show her face in public.
Besides, the villagers can't tolerate Shan'er anymore. If they were to run into him, who knows how he would be bullied.
Jiang Shan seemed to see through Jiao's mother's worries and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll just get up early to avoid them. Once I'm out of the village, they won't dare to do anything to me."
Although human life may seem cheap in this world, it is not without laws. Murder and robbery are not things that ordinary people can easily attempt.
That night, Jiang Shan made several pots of steamed yam cakes, carried them out of the village, and headed straight for the town ten miles away.
She arrived in town early, so she found a busy three-way intersection and started calling out her wares in her clear, bright voice.
"Selling steamed cakes! These fragrant and sweet steamed cakes are good for the stomach and spleen, suitable for all ages, and have anti-aging, health-preserving, yin-nourishing, and qi-tonifying effects. Don't miss out!"
Whether it was her sweet voice or the novel advertising slogan, a considerable number of people came to watch.
Jiang Shan was in a dilemma when someone asked about the price.
She didn't know the value of goods in this world, and she was a little hesitant to say it. If she said it was too expensive, no one would buy it; if she said it was too cheap, she would feel cheated.
"Try it first. If you like it, you can buy it. If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it!" Jiang Shan said as he cut a small piece of cake and handed it to the person, his mind working quickly.
The man took a bite, nodded, and asked, "It's alright. How much does it cost?"
Jiang Shan handed a small piece to another elderly man who was watching, hesitated for a moment, and then remained silent.
After tasting it, the old man's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed approvingly, "It's actually a pastry made from yam! How rare! It's not bad at all compared to the pastries at the temple. Two pieces for one coin, not expensive at all!"
Jiang Shan's eyes lit up, and he laughed, "What the old man said makes sense. My steamed cake is made with the best wild yam and syrup made from mountain pears. It's very sweet and suitable for all ages. How about this, if you buy five pieces, I'll give you one extra; if you buy ten pieces, I'll give you two extra."
As soon as he finished speaking, the onlookers started shouting "three yuan here, five yuan there," creating quite a scene.
Jiangshan ingeniously used fresh lotus leaves picked at the village entrance to package the steamed cakes, and even stuck a lotus flower on the outside of the packaging. The people who bought the cakes were extremely satisfied.
The steamed cakes sold out quickly.
When asked when Jiangshan would come back to town to sell steamed cakes again, Jiangshan didn't give a specific date, only saying that he needed to go up the mountain again to dig some yams before he could make steamed cakes again.
As the crowd dispersed, Jiang Shan, while tidying her purse, noticed the old man who had bought cakes earlier was still standing there watching her. She stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said with a smile, "Old man, is there anything you'd like to ask?"
The old man stroked his beard and nodded. "How did you come up with the idea of making pastries from yams?"
Jiang Shan didn't want to say it was common sense, so he tentatively asked, "Is it possible that among all these pastry shops, no one has ever thought of using yam to make pastries?"
The old man laughed heartily, “Not at all. Such snacks are available in the capital and provincial capitals, but they are extremely rare in the countryside. Judging from what you’ve said, you seem to know a bit about pharmacology, so you should know that yam can be used in medicine.”
Jiang Shan smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, my daughter's family is poor. She dug up some yams on the mountain and originally intended to sell them to a pharmacy, but unfortunately the price was just too high..."
“Indeed! Freshly dug yams are indeed worthless, but processed yams can be worth three times as much. If you are interested, I will teach you how to process them, and you can then sell the processed yams to me at a price slightly lower than the market price.”
Jiang Shan smiled sweetly and innocently, "Why don't you tell me your terms?"
The old man nodded approvingly once again. He was right; this girl was no ordinary person.
However, this condition is actually a bit difficult to say.
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