Falling into the mortal world

When Youniang arrived at the Lan family's house with a basket of eggs in her arms, Lan Qingqing asked Aunt Li how much each egg cost.

Aunt Li said, "I sell them for two coins each in town, but I'll sell them to you for three coins for two in the village! There are eighty eggs in total."

Alright, Lan Qingqing didn't stand on ceremony and directly counted out 120 copper coins and handed them to Aunt Li.

Aunt Li took the money and put it away, trusting that Lan Qingqing didn't need to count it.

Lan Qingqing took the eggs and began making bread. With the experience from last time, everyone made it much easier.

In one afternoon, Lan Qingqing made a large basket of bread. Tomorrow the roof of the house will be completed, which means the roof will be closed. Due to her special circumstances, Lan Qingqing does not plan to hold a banquet.

In the afternoon, Lan's mother also fried some fried dough sticks.

That evening, Lan Qingqing and her family divided the bread into portions, giving each worker two loaves of bread and some fried dough sticks. Each paper package contained eighty-eight copper coins, as Lan Qingqing had requested, saying that eight eights meant good fortune, and her mother agreed.

Lan Qingqing gave two loaves of bread to everyone in the family who did the work. Everyone accepted the bread with a smile, but Aunt Li refused, saying that she had already taken one yesterday and didn't need to take another one today.

"Auntie, don't worry, just take it! It's a benefit from our store." The others chimed in. Aunt Li accepted it somewhat sheepishly; she knew perfectly well that it contained expensive items. That's why she had initially refused—it was too pricey.

Looking at the few remaining breads, Lan Qingqing kept some for herself and gave some to her master. She hadn't visited her master for several days and wondered if he was angry.

The house was topped out the next day. Many villagers knew that the Lan family was not hosting a banquet, so none of them came. Second Uncle came early in the morning and brought some fruits and vegetables.

Second Uncle, why did you send all this over? We're not planning a banquet at the main house," Lan Dashu said.

"Big Tree!" Uncle Er knew. But the roof-raising ceremony was a big deal, so Uncle Er still had to come and see. The ancients believed that the roof-raising ceremony had to be lively and bustling for the family to prosper. A little while later, the village chief also arrived, bringing some eggs.

The Lan family patriarch also came over with some eggs.

Youniang also came with several children, bringing an old hen for the Lan family.

A few more families arrived shortly afterward; they were the women who had learned to make vermicelli from Lan's mother a couple of days ago. Each of them carried rice, flour, and other similar items.

This made Lan's mother feel a little embarrassed, as they hadn't even hosted a banquet themselves, yet they were still receiving gifts from others. Seeing this, Lan Qingqing went inside and gave each of the guests three loaves of bread as a return gift.

I put some fried dough sticks in the oil paper and wrapped them up.

Lan Qingqing carried the basket outside and distributed a package to each of the visitors.

"What is that girl from the Lan family doing?" Second Uncle asked, puzzled.

Lan Qingqing said politely, "Second Uncle, this is a small token of our appreciation. We haven't held a banquet at home, but we happen to have some bread at home. We hope you won't find it too cheap."

Lan Dashu chimed in, "That's right! My legs aren't very mobile, and it's difficult for my family to organize a feast. The food and snacks we have at home are just a small token of our appreciation. Once my legs are better, we'll put on a banquet and invite everyone to come and have a meal."

"What are you saying? How could Second Uncle possibly complain? We're just starting to get by now, so we need to be more careful with our money," Second Uncle said earnestly.

Lan Dashu humbly accepted his second uncle's teachings.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the village chief and the others took their return gifts and left.

Once the last roof tile is in place, the house is considered complete.

Lan Dashu gave everyone a paper package. Although everyone was curious, no one opened it in public, as that would be very impolite.

After everyone packed up their tools, they prepared to go home.

When they got home, everyone was very curious about what was in the oil paper package. After all, they could smell the sweet aroma even through the oil paper.

As soon as everyone got home, they couldn't wait to open the oil paper package and see what was inside; it smelled so good.

Upon opening the oil paper package, one sees three steamed bun-like objects inside. They are soft to the touch, golden in color, and emanate a fragrant aroma that makes one's mouth water at first glance.

The fried dough sticks next to them are easy to spot; every household fries some during the Lunar New Year.

The Lan family is really generous; they're willing to fry dough sticks even when it's not a holiday.

And this thing called bread looks expensive; it's something only wealthy families could afford. People like us, who are just peasants, have never even seen it, let alone eaten it.

When the village chief returned home, his wife looked curiously at the oil paper package he was holding. "What's inside that smells so good?"

"I've been holding back all the way here, and I'm really curious about what's inside. It smells so good." The village chief said, also looking puzzled.

The village chief recounted the return gift given by the Lan family.

Curious, the two opened the oil paper package. They recognized the oil fruit, but this golden, soft, bun-like thing was unfamiliar to them.

The village chief said uncertainly: It should be called bread. That's what they said when I left.

Just then, the village chief's grandson came running over, drawn by the aroma.

"Grandpa, Grandma, what smells so good?" Lan Xiaocai asked.

"You little glutton, you came here just by the smell," the village chief's wife said with a doting expression.

Grandma, Lan Xiaocai snuggled into Zhang's arms like a spoiled child.

The village chief's wife picked up a loaf of bread from the side and handed it to her grandson, saying, "Here you go, you little glutton!"

Lan Xiaocai took a piece of bread and took a bite. The sweet taste was something the little boy would remember for a lifetime.

"It's so delicious, Grandma! Grandma, have a bite!" he said, handing the bread to Zhang. Zhang, amused by her grandson, took a bite. The aroma successfully won her over.

Oh my! Old man, you have to admit this is really delicious. I've never eaten anything this good in my whole life!

Lan Xiaocai then held the bread to the village chief's mouth, meaning his grandfather should also have a bite. The village chief, curious about the flavor, took a small bite and found it indeed delicious. The village chief exclaimed, "It seems the Lan family is truly on the verge of prosperity!"

The village chief's wife asked, puzzled: What do you mean?

"Have you ever seen this kind of food before?" the village chief asked.

Zhang shook her head, saying she had never seen it.

That's right! Even though our family is considered well-off in the village, we've never seen this kind of food before, which means it's not an ordinary food.

This place definitely doesn't sell it, which means it must be food from a big city like the prefectural capital. Only a wealthy family could afford to buy this kind of food and give it away so generously. Do you think the Lan family is far from rising to power?

The village chief's wife agreed. For ordinary people like them, being able to reciprocate with steamed buns was already a sign of wealth; such generosity from the Lan family was indeed rare. This was far more valuable than the gifts they had sent.

On that day, the villagers who had returned the gifts all stayed at home, marveling at the Lan family's generosity.

When the family who had helped build the house for the Lan family returned home and opened their oil-paper packages, they not only received gifts but also a large red envelope containing eighty-eight copper coins. This amazed the family who had worked there! They were truly impressed by the Lan family's generosity; they had given them not only food but also a red envelope.

Previously, when they worked for other families, the more generous employers would give them two white steamed buns and two copper coins at the end of the job. These were considered generous families. The stingier ones would only give them two mixed grain steamed buns.