Falling into the mortal world

Mr. Lan quickly stopped Lan Qingqing from taking out her money. He sighed inwardly, thinking, "Doesn't my silly daughter even know to haggle?"

Lan Qingqing looked at her father with some confusion, but her father didn't even notice her questioning gaze.

He asked the woman next to him if the rent for the shop could be reduced a little more.

The woman said, "Sir, this price of three taels of silver is the lowest I can offer."

Mr. Lan said: If you give us a smaller amount, we will rent it.

The woman said, "How about this? Two taels and nine mace, that's the lowest I can go."

Mr. Lan said: "We'll rent it right away for two taels and five mace."

The woman thought to herself that this shop had been hanging in the brokerage shop for more than half a year.

It hasn't been rented out yet; most of the people here are women and old folks buying and selling vegetables. Who would want to rent a shop here?

So this shop has remained empty.

Mr. Lan also noticed that there was a thick layer of dust on the shop.

Lan Qingqing had actually noticed it too, but she had never been good at bargaining.

The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright, then two taels and five mace of silver." The landlord's lowest price was two taels and five mace. This way, she would earn less.

Back at the brokerage, Lan Qingqing took out 30 taels of silver from her bosom and handed it to the woman. Soon after, the person who had gone to inform the landlord arrived.

The landlord was a slightly overweight middle-aged man. After signing the rental agreement, the woman gave the shop keys to Mr. Lan.

Lan Qingqing and Lan Dashu went to check out the shop first. It was covered with a thick layer of dust, and there was a small courtyard in the back with houses on the side. This way, they would have a place to stay on cloudy or rainy days.

Mr. Lan tidied up the front of the room briefly. It was almost lunchtime.

Lan Qingqing and her father locked the door, found a noodle shop, and ordered two bowls of noodles. After eating, the two went to the blacksmith's shop.

The blacksmith recognized Lan Qingqing at a glance and took out two iron pots.

Mr. Lan took the iron pot and inspected it. Finding nothing wrong, he then let Lan Qingqing pay. Lan Qingqing paid the remaining amount.

Then the two went to buy some tools they needed from the shop. They had bought everything. Lan Qingqing checked her hand and found she still had thirty taels and five hundred coins.

Lan Qingqing sighed that money really doesn't last long!

Suddenly, Lan Qingqing thought of something and asked her father, who was standing beside her, "Dad, let's buy a donkey!" Lan Qingqing looked at her father with anticipation.

When Mr. Lan saw that his daughter wanted to buy it, he couldn't bring himself to object.

Mr. Lan said, "Okay. Let's go to the livestock market later."

When Lan Qingqing arrived at the livestock market, she saw that there were cows, horses, and donkeys.

The young man stepped forward and asked: What are you two planning to buy?

Lan Qingqing asked, "How much do you sell your donkeys for?" Lan Qingqing pointed to an adult donkey next to her.

The young man looked in the direction Lan Qingqing was pointing and said, "This donkey costs 37 taels of silver here."

Lan Qingqing glanced at the silver in her hand. She had thought it would only cost a few taels or ten taels of silver.

After all, this person is only worth about ten taels of silver. Even livestock are more valuable than people.

Lan Qingqing was somewhat disappointed and wanted to leave, but her father, seeing the disappointment in her eyes, couldn't bear to let her go.

So they talked to the young man to see if they could lower the price. Mr. Lan negotiated with the young man for a long time, and finally the young man agreed to throw in a bicycle frame. But the price was still quite high.

Mr. Lan looked at the frame; just buying the frame alone would cost seven or eight taels of silver. He thought it was acceptable.

Lan's father took out seven taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to Lan Qingqing.

Mr. Lan said: Your mother gave it to you this morning before she left. She was just in case you didn't have enough money on you.

Lan Qingqing still had thirty taels of silver, which, together with the seven taels of silver her father had, was just enough.

Lan Qingqing took the money from her father and handed it to the young man. The young man immediately had someone verify the information and register it at the county government office, as the sale of livestock could only be done through the government.

Lan Qingqing and her father don't need to go over there; they can just wait here.

The young man didn't expect to close the deal. When they first came in, no one was willing to come and greet them.

Judging from their clothes, they didn't seem to be wealthy. I just went up to greet them out of politeness. I never expected that I would actually close this deal.

The person who went to the county government office to process the contract returned shortly afterward.

After checking the contract and finding no problems, Mr. Lan put it into his pocket.

The young man harnessed the donkey cart and handed it to Mr. Lan. "Your donkey cart is ready."

Lan's father took the rope of the donkey cart and sat on it.

"Dad, do you know how to drive a donkey cart?" Lan Qingqing asked her father with some doubt.

"Don't underestimate your father. When I was young, I drove an oxcart for a wealthy family," said Mr. Lan with a proud look.

Hearing her father's words, Lan Qingqing felt reassured and got on the donkey cart.

Lan Qingqing placed the iron pot in the car and began her journey home. The sun was setting, its afterglow shining on Lan Qingqing's face. She held up her hand in the sunlight.

The sunset is so beautiful. Lan Qingqing has never really seen the world properly in all these years.

The two arrived at the village entrance. The gossiping women from the village had not yet left.

A woman asked: "Big Tree! Did you buy a donkey cart?"

Lan Dashu said, "Yes, Auntie, I just bought it today." After the two left, the group started chatting enthusiastically.

This family has really struck it rich! Did you see that? Their hard times are over now that their daughter is back.

One of the women said sourly, "What's there to envy? That money was earned by selling her body. Such shameless people should be kicked out of the village."

The older woman said, "This girl didn't do anything immoral when she came back. Don't talk nonsense."

The woman said, "This isn't just me making things up; it's been spread throughout almost every village for miles around. They're saying there's a prostitute in our village."

Lan Qingqing had no idea what these people were saying behind her back.

When Lan Xiaoyu arrived home, she saw that they had bought a donkey and excitedly circled around it.

Lan Xiaotian couldn't hide his excitement as he looked at the donkey; it was their donkey now. Lan Xiaoyu excitedly went outside to pick grass and feed the donkey.

Lan Xiaoya then stroked the donkey; its fur was so soft!

The family circled around the donkey, and Lan Qingqing asked Lan Xiaotian to give the donkey a name.

Lan Xiaotian thought for a moment and said, "Sister, you should give me a name! A name that sounds good."

Lan Qingqing pondered for a moment and said: How about calling it Lightning?

Everyone muttered the word "lightning" to themselves. They all agreed that it was a good name.

And so the donkey's name was decided: Lightning.

Lan Qingqing took the iron pot off the car and placed it on the new stove, which fit perfectly.

Lan Qingqing made pan-fried tofu for everyone in the evening, and everyone ate their fill!

Over the next few days, Lan Qingqing led everyone to tidy up the shop.

The signboard is hung up and covered with a red silk cloth, which can only be taken down on the day of the opening.

Lan's mother said: "Would making 100 catties of tofu tomorrow be too much?"

Lan Qingqing reassured her mother that if they couldn't sell them all, they could be dried into tofu.

After hearing Lan Qingqing's words, Lan's mother felt somewhat relieved. The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lan Qingqing took her family to town. Everyone was dressed in new clothes that day.