Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

It was not yet two in the afternoon when we finished eating. Sanniang cleaned the mulberries. There were no scissors at home, so she just pulled off the stems with her hands.

Add some water and sugar to the pot and cook until it melts, then put the mulberries in, mash them with a spatula, and stir constantly until the pulp is completely melted.

It was then that I remembered that I forgot to buy something to hold the jam, so I could only put it in a bowl and then cover it with a plate.

Song Lao Er had gone to take a nap, and Song Ersao was grinding cassava flour in the yard. "Sanniang, you should go and have a rest. You must be exhausted after working all day."

Sanniang agreed and went back to her room to lie down and rest for a while. Even after lying down, her mind was still not calm.

I thought that if I made 100 bowls of sugar water every day, I could earn 800 coins a day. After deducting the big expense of buying sugar and other expenses, it would be no problem to earn half of that.

That would be about twelve taels a month, and twenty or thirty taels would be more than enough to build a three-bedroom, one-living-room blue brick house here.

I was thinking about building a house, and I was thinking about not having eaten meat for a long time. I was so hungry that I had to buy some meat tomorrow.

There are still many fruits in the market. I will buy some to try tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t see any mangoes. Then I will blame myself for being greedy and thinking of squandering money without earning any money.

When I turned my eyes to the empty room, I wanted to get myself a wardrobe and buy more clothes. These two sets of clothes were patched up and were almost worn out.

My parents’ clothes were so torn, and my two younger sisters were so thin that only their heads were left. As I thought about it, I slowly fell asleep.

When I woke up, the sun had already set.

The setting sun in the distance slowly descended behind the deep mountains. The sky was intertwined with orange and gray-blue, and gradually turned into the color of night.

Smoke rises from the quiet countryside and the aroma of dinner wafts from the kitchen.

Sanniang walked into the kitchen, where Song Laoer and his wife were talking and laughing.

"Sanniang, wake up. Wash your face and get ready for dinner. You've been sleeping so long that you may have to sleep tonight." Mrs. Song said to Sanniang as she brought out the prepared dishes.

"How about I go sell the sugar water myself tomorrow? I will make a lot tomorrow, so I will have to carry a load and cannot walk on the mountain road. I will take a bullock cart."

Song Laoer didn't want to tire his daughter out.

"No, I want to go too. I have to go to the market to buy things tomorrow." How could Sanniang agree?

"Let her go. She'll help you." Mrs. Song thought that it would be better for the father and daughter to go together, even though it would cost a little more money.

For dinner, there was scallion-flavored cassava and a plate of sweet and sour fried eggs. The eggs were fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, then served. Some water was added to the pot to melt the sugar, and then white vinegar was added and cooked until it became thick, and then poured over the fried eggs. It was sweet and sour and delicious.

The last one is taro porridge. The taro is stewed until it is soft and melted into the porridge, making it smooth and silky. Sprinkle a little bit of chopped green onion as the icing on the cake.

"Mom, this meal is better than meat. We haven't eaten meat for a long time. Mom, can we buy some meat tomorrow?"

Sanniang, who used to eat meat every day, now has no meat to eat, and she can finally understand the hardships of life of the ancients.

"It's delicious, eat more. We haven't eaten meat in a long time. You can buy a pound of pork belly and two pounds of pork fat tomorrow."

The oil in the house was also delivered by Niu San, and it is almost gone.

When Si Niang and Wu Niang heard that there would be meat to eat tomorrow, they shook their heads happily while drinking porridge.

The family spent a pleasant dinner time chatting and laughing, and the night passed quickly.

The next day, the whole family got up early again. Song Laoer went to get the milk first, and Sanniang took out the mulberry jam.

"Mom, add some of this mulberry jam to the taro paste. It will turn purple and look nice.

Let’s make the pearl balls purple, one white and one purple, and add osmanthus honey, it will look so good.”

"Our Third Mother is really smart. She will do as you say." Mrs. Song said and immediately started to do it.

At this time, Song Laoer also came back with a bucket of milk. The fourth and fifth mothers brought two small stools and sat in front of the stove to help watch the fire. The whole family worked together.

When the finished product came out, the couple and Sanniang were all excited because it was really beautiful.

The combination of purple and white, with osmanthus embellishment, looks elegant, and it is even more pleasing to the eye when paired with a green bamboo bowl.

"Mom, do you think we can make the meatballs colorful? Wouldn't that be more attractive?" Sanniang had wanted to make colorful meatballs since she saw the dazzling array of fruits at the market.

"I was wondering how come you have such a smart head?" Song Laoer was very happy. After all, praising Sanniang was the same as praising himself, because she was his own child.

"I think you're going to sell out again today. Come on, get ready quickly and be careful on the road." Mrs. Song couldn't help but feel happy.

Although Si Niang and Wu Niang didn't know why everyone was so happy, they also laughed foolishly.

I don't know how Wu Niang got her hands covered in dust, and her face became black, like a little cat. Everyone was delighted when they saw it.

The father and daughter walked out of the door and headed towards the village entrance. There were three ox carts in the village, one of which belonged to the clan leader. He bought it to pick up his grandson to go to school in town. He would also pick up villagers coming to the city to make some money.

One of them belongs to Niu San's family. His cow had recently given birth to a calf and was resting.

The other car belonged to Song Ersao's family. Her two brothers had gone to a farther place to collect grain and were not at home. Otherwise, since she and Song Erlang were almost kicked out of the house, they would have come to their door and robbed them.

At this time, the clan leader's son Song Dazhi and grandson Song Zuen were waiting for the villagers. Generally, each villager was paid one penny, regardless of whether you brought anything with you.

But the villagers are very simple and honest. They usually just carry a backpack and don't bring any big things.

Seeing Song Laoer and his daughter carrying a load, Song Dazhi hurried over to help, "Second brother, do you want to take a ride? What are you carrying?"

"Dazhi, your sister-in-law and I made some sweet soup to sell. There are too many of these things and they take up too much space, so you can charge me two cents more."

"That won't work. Your thing isn't heavy. Just give me two cents." Song Dazhi declined hurriedly.

"Then we can only walk," said Song Lao Er as he was about to pick up the load again.

"Second brother, how long can you walk? Okay, I'll take your money, I'll take your money." Song Dazhi had no choice but to carry the two bamboo baskets into the car.

"Thank you, Uncle Dazhi." Sanniang hurriedly climbed into the car. Song Zuen was older than Sanniang, so Sanniang had to call him brother.

"Brother Zuen"

"Sanniang, what kind of sweet soup are you selling? Sell me a bowl, I want to eat it too." Song Zuen heard from his grandfather about how Song Laoer was kicked out of the house, so he wanted to help them.

"Brother Zuen, we sell milk sugar water and double skin milk." Song Sanniang didn't dare to say too much because there were other villagers in the car.

People’s minds are unpredictable. It would be bad if others were jealous and started selling the product or spread the word that adding cassava is poisonous.

Song Zuen was very curious and asked, "What is double skin milk?"

Sanniang did not explain, but took out a bowl of sugar water from the bamboo basket and gave it to each of them, telling him that he would know after tasting it.

Song Zuen wanted to give money to Sanniang, but suddenly an idea came to her mind. "Brother Zuen, I don't want your money. Can you teach me how to read?"

You have to know that Sanniang is illiterate now. Learning to read will help her solve a lot of problems.

"If you want to learn to read, I can teach you. Why do you have to do this?"

"Then how can I have the nerve to learn to read from you? I heard that studying is expensive. From now on, I will send you two servings of sweet soup every day as a gift."

Song Zuen was in a hurry to refuse. At this time, Song Laoer said, "Brother En, don't refuse. Our family doesn't have much money, but we have to sell this sweet soup every day. We have enough. Just accept it and teach Jixiang to recognize a few words so that he won't be blind."

Song Zuen pulled Song Dazhi's clothes, and Song Dazhi had no choice but to say, "In that case, Zuen, you should teach your sister Jixiang well."

Sanniang gave Song Dazhi another bowl of sugar water, but he refused to take it and asked Song Zuen to take his own portion to the private school. Song Zuen had no choice but to take it.

Villagers came one after another to take the bus, and when it was full, Song Dazhi drove the cattle and set off.

Some of the villagers on the road were gossiping and asking what Song Laoer and his daughter were selling. Some looked into the bamboo baskets, and some even wanted to take them to have a look, but Sanniang and Song Laoer dealt with them using Tai Chi.