Eavesdropping on Fu Bao's inner thoughts, emptying the stored grain and fleeing the famine

After the two returned, they went straight into Ruan Nianzhi's pharmacy. Lian Rongrong was quite shocked to see the walls full of medicine cabinets.

She couldn't believe that a doctor in a small border town would have such a complete range of medicinal herbs.

It wasn't that Lian Rongrong looked down on Ruan Nianzhi, but rather that she was well aware of how difficult it would be to obtain so many medicinal herbs in such a small border town.

"Did you gather all of these yourself?" Lian Rongrong asked Ruan Nianzhi as she walked up to the medicine cabinet.

Ruan Nianzhi rarely showed a proud expression. He nodded and replied:

"Most of them were picked by my mother and me on the mountain, and some were given to me by my mother's friends."

"Miss, please feel free to look at whatever you wish."

Lian Rongrong nodded and began to examine them one by one. She was astonished by what she found.

It turns out that many of the seasonings that Lian Rongrong wanted could be found in Ruan Nianzhi's medicine cabinet.

Sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon...

If it weren't for the many other medicinal herbs stored here, even Rongrong would have suspected that this wasn't a medicine cabinet but a spice rack.

"Can I take some of these things with me?"

"Please go ahead, Miss."

"Thank you, Dr. Ruan." Lian Rongrong bowed slightly, a smile on her face.

The girl's smile was bright and captivating, which made Ruan Nianzhi momentarily lose her composure.

For some unknown reason, Ruan Nianzhi suddenly said to Lian Rongrong as if possessed:

"Miss, please don't be so polite. Here, we don't stand on ceremony."

Your constant use of formal, polite language makes me feel a little awkward. I'm not much older than you; if you don't mind, you can call me Brother Ruan.

Lian Rongrong didn't think much of Ruan Nianzhi's attitude.

In fact, for Lian Rongrong, who came from modern times, she had long found ancient etiquette awkward and uncomfortable, so she responded quite naturally:

"In that case, Brother Ruan, please stop calling me 'Miss' all the time. Just call me Rongrong, like my brothers do."

Ruan Nianzhi slightly twitched the corners of his mouth, his eyes brimming with undisguised joy, and softly replied, "Okay, Rongrong."

With the seasonings in hand, Lian Rongrong was ready to get started.

After the Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers were added to the pot, the aroma immediately filled Ruan Nianzhi's entire courtyard.

Wang Yang squatted by the pot, watching the fire for Lian Rongrong, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of saliva.

"What are you making now? It smells so good!" Wang Yang smacked his lips and looked intently into the pot with his chin raised.

But Lian Rongrong swung a spoon and hit Wang Yang on the head, saying, "Don't even think about it, these are for sale."

Lin Chuyue looked at the two of them with amusement. The once arrogant and domineering young master was now completely subdued by the third young lady of the Lian family.

"You were so busy this morning that I didn't have a chance to ask. What do you mean by selling crayfish?" Lin Chuyue asked Lian Rongrong while helping to chop cilantro.

Lian Rongrong wiped the sweat from her face and then replied, "Sister-in-law, we've almost used up all our money."

Although Brother Ruan doesn't charge for his mother's medical treatment, we can't all depend on him for our livelihood.

“You’re right, we already owe Dr. Ruan enough.”

"Furthermore, once Mother recovers, we still need to visit Father and Second Brother. We don't know how much travel money we'll need to get from here to Kyoto."

We need to think about all these things in advance. Things are different now than before; now that the ring is gone, we'll have to rely on ourselves.

Lin Chuyue nodded in agreement and then buried herself in her work again.

Before long, a small bowl of spicy crayfish was ready. Lian Rongrong peeled one and put it in her sister-in-law's mouth, asking expectantly:

"what about the taste?"

"Excellent!" Lin Chuyue exclaimed.

"That's good." Lian Rongrong ladled out a plate and handed it to Lin Chuyue. "Keep this plate for you, and I'll take the rest to the market to sell."

"Let Wang Yang go with you, he can help you carry some things or something."

“Even if my sister-in-law hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have let this laborer off the hook.”

Lian Rongrong led Wang Yang and the freshly cooked crayfish out of the yard and headed to the market in the direction Ruan Nianzhi had indicated.

After the crayfish incident, almost everyone in the town recognized Lian Rongrong. When they saw this quirky girl, everyone greeted her warmly.

Even Rongrong's face was stiff from smiling, but she finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and arrive at a small open space.

However, people quickly gathered around.

"Sister, sister, this box smells so good."

A little boy who looked about five or six years old stood next to Lian Rongrong's food box, his mouth watering.

Seeing people gathering around, Lian Rongrong shouted loudly:

"Fellow villagers, this is my newly developed spicy crayfish. You are welcome to come and try it."

Lian Rongrong took out a sample for everyone to try.

Everyone who has tried spicy crayfish raves about it.

"How much does this cost?" asked those who had eaten it.

"Five copper coins a share." Lian Rongrong opened her palm and displayed five in front of everyone.

"Give me one, then."

"I want one too."

"And I!"

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all of Lian Rongrong's spicy crayfish were snapped up by the townspeople.

Lian Rongrong weighed the heavy money bag in her hand and thought to herself: Doing business is pretty simple.

Lian Rongrong bought some good wine and meat from the market and then went home with Wang Yang.

When everyone heard that Lian Rongrong's lobsters were selling so well, they all raised their glasses to celebrate.

The next morning, Wang Yang, Lin Chuyue, and Lian Rongrong went to the fields to catch more crayfish.

Because it sold extremely well yesterday, Lian Rongrong specially made extra.

But for some reason, they only sold five portions that day, by evening.

With the sun about to set, Lian Rongrong and Wang Yang had no choice but to push the remaining crayfish back to Ruan Nianzhi's house.

Seeing Lian Rongrong looking dejected, Lin Chuyue came up to her and asked with concern:

"What's wrong? Business is slow today?"

Before Lian Rongrong could answer, Wang Yang interrupted:

"I don't know what happened. Yesterday everyone was scrambling to buy, but today the place is deserted."

"I only sold five servings after a whole day. Here, the rest are all here."

Lian Rongrong sat dejectedly on a stone bench in the courtyard, and Lin Chuyue hurried over to comfort her.

At this moment, Ruan Nianzhi also walked outside the courtyard. He glanced at Lian Rongrong and Wang Yang's frustrated expressions.

After glancing at the food box that Wang Yang had tossed aside, she immediately understood what had happened.

"Business must be slow today." Ruan Nianzhi opened the food box, took out a crayfish, peeled it, and ate it.

Seeing that Lian Rongrong was looking at her, Ruan Nianzhi continued:

"I didn't say anything yesterday because I saw you were happy, for fear of spoiling your mood."

But in reality, it's almost impossible to make a crayfish business successful in the town.

It's impossible, at least for now.