Falling into the mortal world

Lan Qingqing asked a woman who had just walked by at the village entrance for directions to Wang Ming's house. The woman pointed Lan Qingqing in the right direction and then started chatting with a group of women.

The old woman standing nearby scolded the woman: "Do you even know who she is? You're talking to her!"

This young lady used to be a prostitute. Be careful she doesn't bewitch your Dazhuang.

Next time you see this person, avoid them, otherwise it might jeopardize your daughter's marriage prospects.

Lan Qingqing listened to the filthy words that were gradually fading away.

Cai Die said somewhat angrily: How can these people talk like that? Is entering a brothel voluntary?

Lan Qingqing was already numb to these foul words. Back in Menghua Tower, she had heard all sorts of nasty things.

Lan Qingqing comforted Feng Caidie. No one is perfect. When God gives you one thing, He will take away another.

Feng Caidie seemed to understand but not quite, and Lan Qingqing was unwilling to say too much.

In this life, God gave her family; in her previous life, she lived each day in a daze. God gave her ability, fame, beauty, and wealth.

But she wasn't happy. Although her reputation was tarnished in this life, her family's unwavering support made her genuinely happy.

Lost in thought, the oxcart arrived at Wang Ming's house. Lan Qingqing didn't bring Lan Xiaoya along, afraid that she would be reminded of unhappy things.

After the incident where the Wang family tried to take Lan Xiaoya away, Lan Qingqing was still somewhat worried. So she asked Lan Xiaotian to stay home with Lan Xiaoya.

Lan Qingqing saw that Wang Ming's door was closed, so she went up and knocked on it.

A moment later, the sound of a door opening came from inside the courtyard. It was Wang Ming's wife who opened the door.

Wang Ming called out from inside, "Hua, who is it?"

The woman named Hua replied, "I don't know her." Lan Qingqing peeked inside through the crack in the door. Inside were large stones.

He glanced again at the woman in front of him; her hair was disheveled.

Wang Ming hurriedly put on his shoes and came out of the house. Lan Qingqing understood everything when she saw this.

Lan Qingqing pretended not to know anything and asked, "Do you sell stone mills?"

Wang Ming said: "These stone mills need to be ordered a month in advance."

Fortunately, I happened to have a finished stone mill. It was the stone mill I had ordered for the Hu family before. I heard that the Hu family had made a fortune and moved to the prefectural city, so they naturally didn't need the stone mill anymore.

Lan Qingqing asked about the price, and Wang Ming said: "These sell for five taels of silver each, but if you buy them today, I'll give you a discount of five hundred coins."

Lan Qingqing wasn't sure if she had overpaid or underpaid. She wasn't good at bargaining either. In the end, Lan Qingqing bought it at the price Wang Ming had quoted.

Old Li sighed, "With the return of the Lan family's eldest daughter, life has improved dramatically."

Several people worked together to lift the stone mill onto the oxcart. When Lan Qingqing arrived home, she saw her father, who had already set up the shed for storing the stone mill.

Lan Qingqing looked at the shed and was very satisfied that this way, even on rainy days, it wouldn't prevent her from grinding tofu.

The next afternoon, Lan Qingqing showed everyone what true culinary delights were.

In ancient times, meals were very limited, so this unusual dish is sure to attract attention.

Lan Xiaotian pushed the millstone, and Lan Xiaoya added water and beans. The beans had been soaked the day before. Feng Caidie boiled the bean juice in the earthenware pot. Lan Qingqing's big iron pot hadn't been brought back yet, so they could only make a little bit in the earthenware pot for everyone to try first.

Lan Qingqing put the cooked soy milk into the pan. After it cooled for a while, she started to add lime powder.

Lan Qingqing asked her mother to bring a bamboo basket with a wooden basin underneath. A cloth was placed inside the basket, and the tofu had already formed into the shape of tofu pudding.

Lan Qingqing poured the tofu pudding into a bamboo basket, covered it with a cloth, and weighed it down with a heavy object. Now everything is ready; she just needs to wait for it to set.

One by one, they peeked over every now and then, and after more than ten minutes, the tofu had taken shape. They stared in amazement at the bamboo basket, the white and tender tofu filling them with wonder. Mother Lan poked it with her finger; the tofu was truly beautiful.

"Mom, this tastes the best!" Lan Qingqing said.

I've never actually eaten anything traditional in ancient times since I came here, and I kind of miss it.

Lan Xiaoya said from the side: Sister, how are you going to eat this!

That's right! Everyone was very curious about how to eat it.

Lan Qingqing looked at the earthenware pot in the house and said: Let's make tofu soup!

I'll cook something even tastier for you when I bring the iron pot back from home tomorrow.

That evening, Lan Qingqing made a whole earthenware pot of tofu soup, which everyone finished. Lan's father exclaimed in surprise, "I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life! The tofu is so smooth and tender, it doesn't even need chewing; it just slides right into your mouth!"

Lan Qingqing asked her father, "How about we do this business?"

Mr. Lan said: I think it's a good idea.

Lan Qingqing opened her purse and counted the silver inside; there were only a little over sixty taels of silver. That should be enough to rent a shop.

"Dad, I'll go to town tomorrow to see if there are any suitable shops," Lan Qingqing said.

Mr. Lan said: Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow.

The next morning, Lan Qingqing went to town with her father, while Lan Xiaoya, Feng Caidie, and Lan's mother stayed home making clothes. Lan Xiaoyu followed behind Lan Xiaotian, setting up the stove.

There are fewer houses at the end of the village, and the nearest one is two or three hundred meters away.

When Lan Qingqing arrived in town, she went to find a brokerage firm first, as that would be more efficient; otherwise, asking each firm one by one would be too time-consuming.

Lan Qingqing tried to walk slowly so that her father could keep up with her pace.

The first thing Lan Qingqing thought about after earning money was to find a doctor to take a good look at her legs with her father.

Upon arriving at the brokerage firm, a woman dressed in red and green was seen sitting in the main hall.

When the woman saw that a customer had come, she went up to ask if the customer was planning to sell or buy a person.

Judging from their clothing, the woman assumed they were likely being sold.

Lan Qingqing said: I neither sell nor buy people.

The woman asked, "Then what are you here for?"

Lan Qingqing said: We're here to see if there are any suitable shops for rent or sale in this town.

The woman glanced at the two men and thought, "Their clothes don't look like those of business people!"

Is this just someone making fun of themselves?

Lan Qingqing took out a tael of silver from her bosom and handed it to the woman. "Thank you for your trouble," the woman said with a smile as she accepted the silver. "Yes, yes. I'll take you two gentlemen to see it right now."

The woman first asked Lan Qingqing about her needs, specifically how big a shop she wanted. Lan Qingqing thought for a moment and decided it didn't need to be too big. She planned to run a food business.

The woman picked up a small booklet and looked at it. Then she led them to see the shops. The first one was at the end of South Street and looked like it had very few people.

The second shop is located in the middle of South Street, where there is a lot of foot traffic, but the rent is too high, costing ten taels of silver a month, and requiring a year's rent to be paid upfront.

The third shop was on East Street, where most of the shoppers were women and housewives; it was like a modern-day farmers' market. Most vegetable vendors gathered here. The rent was three taels a month, payable annually.

Lan Qingqing and her father visited five shops in a row, and Lan Qingqing thought the third shop was acceptable.

Mr. Lan also thought the third company was acceptable.

The woman asked: "Among these houses you've looked at, have you found one you like?"

Lan Qingqing said, "Let's go with the third shop!" As she spoke, Lan Qingqing prepared to pay and reserve the shop.