Falling into the mortal world

Lan Qingqing thought it would be nice to make some hawthorn berries and sweets at home, as that would be more festive. Her mother was a little hesitant about spending the money, but she didn't want to argue with her daughter, so she reluctantly agreed. Lan Qingqing then asked her mother where she could buy hawthorn berries.

Lan's mother was taken aback. "Hawthorn? What hawthorn?" Lan's mother asked curiously.

"It's a red fruit," Lan Qingqing explained.

These red fruits are not commonly eaten by ordinary people. Apart from those who make candied hawthorns, they are mostly bought by women suffering from morning sickness.

Thinking that her daughter was probably craving sour foods due to morning sickness, Lan's mother said, "There are many hawthorn trees in the next village. If you want to eat some, I'll go and buy some today."

"Mom, buy a few hundred catties first," Lan Qingqing said.

Lan's mother widened her eyes and said: "How can we eat so much? Buying a dozen or so kilograms would be enough."

Seeing that her mother's expression was a little funny, Lan Qingqing explained: "Mother, I didn't buy it for myself. I plan to make fruit wine to sell."

Hearing this, Lan's mother felt relieved, thinking that her daughter had another idea. The family's current success was all thanks to her daughter, so whatever her daughter said was always correct. Lan's mother now had blind trust in her daughter.

The next day, Lan Qingqing and Feng Caidie went to town. The candies in the general store were ridiculously expensive and didn't look very good. Lan Qingqing only bought some rock sugar. She asked about the price and it was 500 coins a bag, which actually weighed less than a pound. It was really too expensive.

Lan Qingqing asked about the price of white sugar again. White sugar cost 300 wen per catty. This price startled Lan Qingqing. Is sugar really that expensive?

No wonder ordinary farming families can't afford white sugar; the price is truly frightening.

Lan Qingqing was not good at bargaining, so Feng Caidie stepped forward and said: Shopkeeper, can we get a discount since we are buying a lot?

The shopkeeper asked: How much are you planning to buy?

Lan Qingqing said: Five hundred catties.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper exclaimed, "A big customer!" and said excitedly, "Since you're buying so much, I can give you a discount of twenty coins per pound, but that's all I can offer. I would charge two hundred and sixty coins per pound for this."

Lan Qingqing thought for a moment and then said: Okay! Weigh it for me now.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper happily went to the warehouse to get the white sugar. Few people bought white sugar; only wealthy families or people visiting relatives and friends bought it. Otherwise, who would be willing to buy such a precious item as white sugar?

The shopkeeper weighed the white sugar and started calculating the bill: 280 wen per catty, 500 catties would be 140 liang, plus a bag of rock sugar for 500 wen, totaling 140 liang and 5 mace.

Lan Qingqing paid the money, and the shopkeeper had his assistant carry the goods to the donkey cart outside.

Today, Lan Qingqing arrived in town. Ah Er had just finished delivering the goods, so Lan Qingqing immediately had someone drive a donkey cart and come out with her to buy things.

After leaving the general store, Lan Qingqing went to the grain and oil store and bought some rice and flour. With more people in her family lately, they were consuming more food. After finishing her shopping, Lan Qingqing headed home.

The villagers were extremely envious when they saw what was on Lan Qingqing's donkey cart. The Lan family was really something now; did you see that donkey cart was full of grain?

The villagers were talking about it. Some said, "Following the Lan family will definitely make you rich. I heard that Lan Dashu's family also invested five taels of silver. If they don't make money, why would they invest any more money?"

Don't be greedy for such a small gain. If these fans could really make money, would they be willing to share their recipe? They must know it's not profitable. Why are they trying to fool everyone?

If you're really that kind, why don't you share the recipe for making tofu?

Those who said this were people whose families didn't plan to invest any money, and they were all greedy, narrow-minded, and only people like that would assume others were the same. The people in Lan Qingqing's family, however, had already invested money. Since the money had already been invested, no one wanted to hear that they had been scammed, so they all went home.

Before Lan Qingqing even got off the donkey cart after returning home, Lan Xiaoya quickly ran over and shouted: "Sister, did you bring me anything delicious?"

Lan Qingqing teased with a smile: "You little glutton! Come and help, or you won't get any treats."

"Okay, sister, I'm coming right now." As soon as the donkey cart came to a stop, Lan Xiaoya quickly went forward to help carry things. Lan Xiaotian saw his sister coming back from afar and hurriedly went forward to help carry things as well.

Hearing the commotion, Lan's mother came out to see what was going on. She was shocked to see that Lan Qingqing had bought a lot of rice and flour. "Why did you buy so much rice and flour? Don't we have some at home?"

Lan Qingqing knew that her mother must be worried about the money again, so she said to her mother: Mother, I need these things. Did you buy the hawthorns that I asked you to buy?

Lan's mother pointed to several burlap sacks in the corner of the yard and said: "Here, today I went to the next village to buy hawthorns. When they heard that I was there to buy hawthorns, they were all very enthusiastic."

The hawthorn harvest is good, but it's hard to sell. They can only keep some for their own consumption, and even then, they can't finish them all. Some families want to cut down the trees but can't bear to do so," said Mother Lan.

"Can't you make candied hawthorn berries?" Lan Qingqing asked curiously.

"How many hawthorns can you use for candied hawthorns? There's sugar on them, and most farming families can't afford sugar. Candied hawthorns don't earn much; if you don't make one properly, the whole batch of sugar is wasted," Mother Lan explained.

Lan Qingqing understood and asked her mother, "Mother, how much did all of this cost in total?"

Blue Mother held up one finger.

Lan Qingqing said: One tael of silver?

Are these red berries really that expensive? Lan Qingqing muttered to herself.

Mother Lan shook her head. Before she could speak, Lan Xiaoya interrupted, "Sister only spent one hundred copper coins."

Lan Qingqing was a little surprised. There were only 100 copper coins, but there looked to be at least 500 jin of hawthorns. Are hawthorns really this cheap?

Lan Qingqing thought about it for a moment and realized that the hawthorns here were too sour and had no other use except for making candied hawthorns.

Hawthorn berries may not be very useful to others, but they are quite useful to Lan Qingqing.

After thinking for a moment, Lan Qingqing decided to buy all the hawthorns from the neighboring village. That way, the farmers could have some income from them.

I can also earn some money myself.

After unloading the goods from the car, Ah Er went to help Aunt Li. Lan Qingqing had observed the group for a while and, finding them not to be irredeemably evil, decided not to pursue the matter further. They hadn't dared to use their full strength when they attacked. Feng Caidie's injury was an accident.

Since everyone is alright, I don't want to keep pursuing this matter. I'll just consider it as accumulating good karma for the child in my womb!

Lan Xiaotian fed the donkey some grass and water. After the donkey finished eating and drinking, Lan Xiaotian led the donkey cart to town. It was almost noon, so Lan Xiaotian went to the shop to pick up the people to come back for lunch. The shop was selling dried tofu, and business was even better than before. Now the quantity was enough to sell all day.

Lan Qingqing poured the hawthorns into the wooden bucket and then found a thin bamboo tube.

The bamboo tube is made into a pointed shape, and the inside of the bamboo tube is hollow. The bamboo tube is inserted into the middle of the hawthorn, and the seeds inside the hawthorn are brought out.

Seeing her older sister doing this, Lan Xiaoya followed suit. Seeing the two sisters preparing red berries, Lan's mother went to cook. Lan Xiaotian carried everything inside and then went to check on the new house, which was almost finished.