Without further ado, Jiang Ling stuffed the silver back into Jiang Zhishan's arms and said, "Consider it a loan from me. You can pay me back when you have the money!"
Jiang Zhishan hesitated for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and saying to Jiang Ling, "I will never forget your kindness to me, elder sister. I will definitely repay you properly after I pass the imperial examination!"
Jiang Ling smiled and said to Jiang Zhishan, "I have only one wish: that you teach my children well during your time here, especially Suihe. I want her to apply to Linghui Academy next year!"
"Don't worry, elder sister, of course. Suihe is a really smart girl!" Jiang Zhishan replied.
The siblings exchanged a few more pleasantries before slowly emerging from Jiang Ling's bedroom.
The next morning, Uncle Lu's oxcart arrived at Jiang Ling's door. Jiang Ling pushed a large pile of things onto the oxcart. Uncle Lu looked at Jiang Ling's pots and pans with some curiosity and asked, "What? Are you moving or something?"
Jiang Ling smiled and said to Uncle Lu, "Uncle Lu, you're joking. I'm just preparing some food to sell in Pingxi County!"
"What kind of snack can go to such lengths?" Uncle Lu wanted to ask, but in the end he kept quiet.
Lu Bo's oxcart slowly arrived at the entrance of Pingxi County. This time, Jiang Ling did not get off the cart. Instead, she asked Lu Bo to drive the oxcart to the side of the dock, where a number of people had already begun to appear.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Jiang Ling arranged the water-drenched green vegetables one by one on a plate. Then she neatly arranged the fried tofu, shredded eggs, kneaded noodles, and marinated meat, and placed them all on Uncle Lu's oxcart.
Then Jiang Ling lit the charcoal with a tinderbox, and the red-hot pot began to churn.
The spicy and fragrant aroma gradually wafted into the noses of passersby, attracting their attention.
As the crowd was discussing, a well-dressed woman approached, pointed to the items displayed on the oxcart, and asked, "How much are your vegetables?"
"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm not selling vegetables, I'm selling food! This is called Mala Tang, would you like to try some?" Jiang Ling picked up a wooden basin and handed it over with a smile.
The woman paused for a moment, then, instead of taking the wooden basin from Jiang Ling, asked, "Spicy hot pot? What's that?"
"Simply put, it's a boiled vegetable, but it tastes much better than boiled vegetables. So, sister-in-law, would you like to try it? Since we've just opened, I can give you a discount! Or I can give you some extra!" Jiang Ling said fluently.
Upon hearing about the discount, the woman seemed somewhat tempted. She looked at the wooden basin in Jiang Ling's hand and asked, "How much is this?"
"Ten copper coins a bowl, choose whatever you want to eat, and put as much as you like in the bowl. Except for these three items which are limited, everything else is yours! If you want to eat, I can charge you eight copper coins!" Jiang Ling said, pointing to the tofu, eggs, and sliced meat.
"What? You...you...you mean this basin? It can hold as much as you want?" The woman clearly didn't believe Jiang Ling's words and quickly asked again.
"Yes! It's ten copper coins a bowl! I'm right, sister-in-law, don't worry, there are so many people here, how could I lie!" As she spoke, Jiang Ling glanced around.
The woman glanced back at the crowd before hesitantly taking the wooden basin from Jiang Ling's hand. She then took out eight copper coins from her pocket and placed them on the table.
Jiang Ling happily accepted the money and waited for the woman to choose the vegetables. The woman looked around carefully and finally filled a wooden basin with more than half of the vegetables before handing it to Jiang Ling. As she handed it over, the woman's hand trembled slightly.
Jiang Ling deftly poured the contents of the bowl into the boiling pot. After a few minutes, she scooped all the vegetables out of the pot, then poured on her special seasoning and some of the red broth from the pot before handing the bowl and chopsticks to the woman in front of her.
"Try it!" Jiang Ling said with a smile.
The woman glanced at Jiang Ling, then at the bowls and chopsticks nearby. Only after confirming that Jiang Ling wouldn't try to rip her off did she sit down, pick up her chopsticks, and put a piece of cabbage in her mouth.
"Hmm...hmm..." The woman's expression gradually became complicated.
"Oh my, is it delicious?" Several people nearby couldn't contain themselves and hurriedly asked.
The woman in front of her just nodded silently. Seeing this, Jiang Ling's heart began to race. At least for now, she couldn't tell from the woman's face whether the food suited her taste or not.
With a "glug," Jiang Ling saw the woman's slender neck twitch slightly. Then, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Ling, saying, "This! What's this called? This is so delicious! The numbing and spicy flavor is so satisfying!"
Upon hearing the woman's words, Jiang Ling immediately relaxed. She gently patted her chest, composed herself, and said to the crowd, "Is there anyone else who wants to try?"
"I!"
"I!"
"Hey, don't push! I want some too!"
Jiang Ling's words immediately made everyone in the crowd eager to try it out. The quick-thinking ones had already started paying Jiang Ling for their bowls, while the slow-thinking ones could only swallow their saliva and wait in line.
In no time, all the dishes Jiang Ling had prepared were sold out. Seeing that there were still dozens of people queuing up, Jiang Ling could only apologize to them and promise to set up her stall here again tomorrow.
Having won her first battle, Jiang Ling, carrying her pots and pans, boarded Uncle Lu's oxcart and returned to Lu Family Village.
"Jiang Shi, is this stuff really that delicious?" On the way back, Lu Bo finally couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked.
"Hmm, I think it's alright. Uncle Lu, I'll prepare a bowl for you to try tomorrow!" Jiang Ling said.
"Oh dear, that won't do! You're selling this pot for 10 copper coins, I'm not going to take advantage of you!" Uncle Lu quickly waved his hand and said.
"Uncle Lu, don't be so polite. I'll need your oxcart for a while! We're all from the same village, so don't stand on ceremony with me!" Jiang Ling said.
Lu Bo seemed to want to say something, but in the end he just opened his mouth and shook his head without saying what he was thinking.
Back home, Jiang Ling closed the door and began calculating her earnings for the day. At 10 copper coins per pot, she had sold fifty pots. After deducting miscellaneous expenses, she netted 400 copper coins.
Based on the calculation that autumn and winter last at least four months, Jiang Ling could earn at least fifty taels of silver. Just thinking about that gleaming white silver made Jiang Ling feel a surge of excitement.
Jiang Ling carefully put away the four hundred coins, then walked out of the room, just as she ran into Zhao Erleng's wife walking in from outside.
Zhao Erleng's wife couldn't hide anything on her face, and Jiang Ling could tell at a glance what she wanted to say, but Jiang Ling didn't expose her and instead asked, "Erleng's wife, what brings you here?"
"Hey, I... I just wanted to ask you how your business is going. I was able to make a little money before because of you..." Zhao Erleng's wife didn't finish her sentence.
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