After returning to the capital to farm, the abandoned concubine made a comeback.

Lin Qin's thatched cottage was so poor that even describing it as bare walls seemed extravagant.

A few crooked logs barely supported the roof, as if it were about to die at any moment.

The room was completely empty, with almost no other furniture except for a dilapidated wooden bed and a table with a missing leg.

She took stock of her possessions: three dried-up radishes, five wrinkled potatoes, and...

I don't have a single penny.

"System, are you sure this isn't a hellish start?" Lin Qin asked helplessly to the childlike system in her mind.

"Don't be discouraged, host! The road to wealth is right in front of you!" the system replied energetically, and then issued a task to "earn ten taels of silver," which would bankrupt the system if not completed.

Go bankrupt?

That's it?

Lin Qin smiled bitterly; she was cleaner than her face.

In order to complete her task and avoid truly going bankrupt, she decided to try her luck at the market to see if she could find any way to make money.

The market was crowded with people and the sounds of hawking could be heard one after another.

Lin Qin was dazzled by the wide variety of goods available, but the prices here were also outrageously high.

A simple white flour steamed bun costs five coins!

Her non-existent savings account wouldn't even make a ripple here.

What frustrated her even more was that the well-dressed merchants completely ignored her, a woman dressed simply and covered in dust.

It was as if she were a carrier of some kind of plague, and people avoided her at all costs.

Lin Qin walked around and found that most of the stalls ignored her.

She couldn't help but feel discouraged. Was she really going to starve to death in this wretched place?

Just when she was about to give up, a shop called "Harvest Grain Store" caught her attention.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a shiny lip, who was smiling and greeting customers.

Lin Qin hesitated for a moment, but still walked over.

"Shopkeeper, what kind of seeds do you sell?"

The shopkeeper sized her up, a flash of disdain crossing his eyes: "Seeds? Of course we have them! But..." He paused, then added meaningfully, "Miss, can you afford them?"

Lin Qin took a deep breath, suppressing her displeasure: "Shopkeeper, you haven't even given a price yet, how do you know I can't afford it?"

The shopkeeper smiled and pointed to a pile of dusty seeds in the corner: "Those, I'll clear them out cheap, only... five taels of silver!"

Five taels!

Lin Qin almost jumped up.

These seeds look like old stock; you could buy good quality seeds for five taels of silver!

This shopkeeper is clearly taking advantage of her, treating her like a fool!

Lin Qin suppressed her anger and asked calmly, "Shopkeeper, isn't this too expensive? These seeds are all..."

"Oh, sir, you can't say that!" the innkeeper interrupted her. "This is top-quality..."

"Top-quality aged seeds?" Lin Qin replied with a half-smile.

The shopkeeper's face stiffened.

"How about this," Lin Qin pointed to another pile of seeds that looked quite good, "how much for these?"

“Those…” Manager Sun’s eyes darted around, “Those are top-grade seeds, ten taels of silver!”

Twelve!

What about grabbing money?

Lin Qin almost burst out laughing.

This Manager Sun really won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin.

She pretended to ponder, then pointed to the old seeds and said, "Shopkeeper, I suddenly feel that these seeds are still the best. Five taels of silver, right? I'll buy them!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Sun was overjoyed, as if he could see gleaming silver coins flying into his pocket.

He quickly took out a cloth bag, preparing to put the old seeds inside.

“Wait a minute,” Lin Qin called out to him, “Shopkeeper, it’s the rule to exchange money for goods.”

Shopkeeper Sun's smile froze, and he coughed twice: "Miss, look at you... this money..."

Lin Qin took out a coin from her sleeve and placed it on the table, making a crisp sound.

"Shopkeeper, I only have one coin. Please give me one coin's worth of seeds first."

Shopkeeper Sun's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver. A single coin for seeds? Was he trying to fob off a beggar?

The onlookers began to whisper and point.

Feeling utterly humiliated, Manager Sun lowered his voice and said menacingly, "Miss, are you playing me for a fool?"

Lin Qin looked completely innocent: "Shopkeeper, what you're saying is fair. It's cash on delivery, no cheating the young or old. You just said these seeds cost five taels of silver. I've paid one coin now, shouldn't you give me the corresponding amount of seeds?"

Manager Sun was furious, but he was speechless.

He glared at Lin Qin fiercely and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Fine, you wait!" After saying that, he turned and went into the inner room.

Lin Qin's lips curled up slightly. It seemed that Manager Sun had another trick up his sleeve.

She wanted to see what tricks he could pull.

A moment later, Manager Sun came out with a small cloth bag and slammed it heavily on the table: "Take this! One coin's worth of seeds!"

Lin Qin opened the cloth bag, which contained only a few shriveled seeds, along with some weed fragments.

She looked up at Shopkeeper Sun with a half-smile: "Shopkeeper, are you sure... these are the seeds in your shop?"

Seeing that this woman was not easy to fool, Manager Sun's eyes lit up and a plan came to mind.

He forced a fake smile and rubbed his hands together, saying, "Oh dear, look at my eyes! This lady is clearly an expert. How could she buy these scraps? Come, come, take a look at my newly arrived top-quality goods!" With that, he took out a brocade box from the counter, carefully opened it, and revealed plump, shiny seeds inside.

"This is the newly harvested 'Golden Ear Rice' this year. It has a high yield and strong disease resistance, guaranteeing you a bumper harvest!"

Lin Qin raised an eyebrow. This Manager Sun's face changes faster than flipping through a book.

She picked up a seed and examined it closely, feigning surprise, and said, "Wow, the quality is really good! But the price..."

"The price is negotiable, negotiable!" Manager Sun said with a pained expression. "Seeing that you're a straightforward person, I'll give you a fixed price of two taels of silver!"

Two ounces?

This Manager Sun is really asking for an exorbitant amount!

Lin Qin sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm: "Two taels? Shopkeeper, that's too expensive! I'll go look at other shops." With that, she made a move to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey, Madam, wait! Don't go!" Manager Sun quickly grabbed her. "One tael and fifty cents, how about one tael and fifty cents?"

Lin Qin shook her head again: "It's still too expensive, goodbye!"

"One tael! No less than that!" Manager Sun said through gritted teeth.

Lin Qin stopped and turned around, looking at him with a half-smile: "Shopkeeper, your 'Golden Ear Rice' looks good, but I heard that the 'Jade Pearl Rice' from 'Fu Man Cang' next door is even better, and it's only 800 coins a catty. What do you think..."

Upon hearing this, Manager Sun panicked.

This "Jade Pearl Rice" is indeed better than his "Golden Ear Rice," and it's also cheaper.

If this woman really goes to "Fu Man Cang", then his business will be ruined!

"Alright, alright! Eight hundred coins it is! Madam, you have a good eye!" Manager Sun gritted his teeth and agreed to Lin Qin's terms.

Lin Qin nodded in satisfaction, took out a handful of copper coins from her sleeve, counted out eight hundred coins, and handed them to Manager Sun: "Manager, cash on delivery."

Shopkeeper Sun reluctantly accepted the copper coins, wrapped up the "Golden Ear Rice" seeds, and handed them to Lin Qin.

Lin Qin took the seeds, weighed them in her hand, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"Shopkeeper, there's one more thing," Lin Qin suddenly said.

Manager Sun's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up in his mind.

“Your scale doesn’t seem very accurate…” Lin Qin looked at him with a half-smile.

Manager Sun's face turned green instantly, as if he had swallowed a fly.

He said with a forced smile, "Madam is too kind. This is an official, certified scale; it's fair and honest, treating everyone equally!"

Lin Qin didn't refute, but simply took out a small stone from her pocket and placed it on the scale: "Shopkeeper, could you please weigh this stone to see how much it weighs?"

Although Manager Sun was displeased, he couldn't refuse, so he picked up the weight and pretended to weigh it: "Two ounces and three mace."

Lin Qin nodded, then took out an identical small stone from her pocket and placed it on the other end of the scale pan: "And now?"

Manager Sun was taken aback. What was this woman up to?

He weighed it again, but found that the pointer did not move at all.

"Still two taels and three mace."

Lin Qin laughed: "Shopkeeper, I knocked these two stones off the same rock. Are you sure they weigh the same?"

Sweat beaded on Manager Sun's forehead; he knew he had been tricked by this woman.

The surrounding crowd burst into laughter, accusing Manager Sun of shortchanging customers and cheating them.

Manager Sun's face flushed red and then turned pale; he wished he could disappear into the ground.

He suppressed his anger and said, "Madam, I've lost today! You can take this seed!"

Lin Qin didn't stand on ceremony, put away the seeds, and turned to leave the grain store.

She knew that this was only the first step in her survival in this strange world, and that the road ahead was still long.

As Lin Qin walked out of the market, she breathed a sigh of relief, clutching the packet of seeds tightly in her hand as if holding onto hope.

She understood that in this unfamiliar era, knowledge was power, and she had to keep learning in order to gain a foothold in this world.

Back at the farm, the sun was setting, and the sky was dyed a golden-red hue.

Looking at the dilapidated thatched hut, Lin Qin felt a mix of emotions.

She had no idea what awaited her...

With a creak, Lin Qin pushed open the rickety wooden door...