Their new place still lacked many essentials. Yan Xiaoyu planned to go to town tomorrow with his elder sister to buy household items and pick up some meat and vegetables. Thanks to Yan Shaocheng and Aunt He’s help these past few days, Yan Xiaoyu wanted to cook a special meal herself to show her gratitude.

Yan Shaocheng declined when he heard about the planned banquet, but seeing his determination, he suggested he could take them to town tomorrow since he was heading to the county seat for supplies.

Yan Xiaoyu happily agreed.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue opened the courtyard gate and sat by the main hall door, working while waiting for Yan Shaocheng. Hearing the sound of an oxcart approaching, they didn’t wait for him to call out—both grabbed their baskets and hurried out to meet him.

Only when they stepped outside did they notice Yan Shao Xuan was also there, carrying a cloth sack and walking beside his elder brother.

“Have you had breakfast? Hop on,” Yan Shaocheng called out with a smile.

“We did! Mother made pumpkin cakes with millet porridge and pickled cucumbers—so delicious!” Yan Xiaoyu said, helping Yan Xiaoyue onto the cart.

Yan Shaoxuan stood silently by, waiting until both Yan siblings were seated before climbing aboard. Remembering yesterday’s events, Yan Xiaoyu intended to thank him once he sat down and perhaps chat to see if any misunderstanding existed.

Unexpectedly, upon boarding the oxcart, Yan Shaoxuan walked straight to the rear without a glance to the side, taking the seat furthest from Yan Xiaoyu.

“…” Yan Xiaoyu turned his head in frustration, rolling his eyes discreetly.

He ignored Yan Shaoxuan completely, focusing instead on chatting with Yan Shaocheng.

Yan Shaocheng was a traveling peddler who spent most of his life on the road. He knew many amusing anecdotes and was easygoing and talkative. Yan Xiaoyu was actually quite chatty by nature, but neither his parents nor his sister Yan Xiaoyue was particularly talkative. The members of the eldest branch were talkative, but not a single word they said interested him. He had been bottling things up these past few days.

Yan Shaocheng’s breadth of knowledge and perspective set him apart from the villagers. Yan Xiaoyu found themselves clicking with him instantly, feeling he’d made his first friend since arriving in this world. Yan Xiaoyue remained silent but listened with rapt attention.

Both siblings were so absorbed in Yan Shaocheng’s traveling merchant tales that they failed to notice the oxcart climbing the slope. They both slid backward simultaneously.

Yan Xiaoyue was caught by Yan Shaocheng’s swift grab, but Yan Xiaoyu, left unheld, slid straight to the rear of the cart.

When he snapped back to awareness, Yan Shaoxuan’s warm chest pressed against his back, and Yan Shaoxuan’s firm thigh met his bottom. The proximity was so close he could even catch the faint scent of pine ink emanating from Yan Shaoxuan’s body. Yan Xiaoyu froze completely.

Even with his thick skin, he felt a bit embarrassed now.

“S-sorry, I’m sitting on you!” He stiffly turned his head, forcing a dry smile.

Yan Shaoxuan’s gaze was deep, his expression suggesting he saw right through him. “Can you get out of my lap now?”

Yan Xiaoyu sprang up from his lap, flustered and annoyed.

Yan Shaocheng chuckled so hard his shoulders shook, nearly losing his grip on the reins. Yan Xiaoyue forgot her own earlier embarrassment, staring wide-eyed at the pair.

Yan Xiaoyu, ears flushed crimson, shuffled back to his original spot, feet dragging.

Yan Shaocheng tried to reassure him: “It’s fine, sitting for a moment won’t hurt…” But he couldn’t help bursting into laughter again, only stopping when Yan Shaoxuan shot him a glare.

Yan Xiaoyu stared at Yan Shaocheng’s retreating back and sighed resentfully. And he’d considered this guy a brother!

The atmosphere on the oxcart was a bit awkward. Fortunately, once they left the mountain foot and reached the village gathering spot, people kept striking up conversations with them. Yan Xiaoyu’s attention diverted, and the heat on his face gradually faded.

Yan Shaocheng was quite popular; villagers of all ages greeted him warmly along the way.

He called out to several more villagers heading to town to board the cart. Two young lads sat beside Yan Shaoxuan, chattering nervously to him. Yan Shaoxuan remained expressionless, looking somewhat impatient.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Upon reaching town, villagers disembarked in small groups along the roadside. After bidding farewell to Yan Shaocheng, Yan Xiaoyu and her sister headed straight for the ironmongery.

They’d bought a pot the day before but forgotten to get a kitchen knife. Today, the pumpkin for their pumpkin cakes had been smashed open with Yan Xiaoyue’s fist.

Besides the kitchen knife, they also needed to buy a sickle for harvesting rice, a wood-chopping axe for gathering firewood, and a hoe for tilling the soil. These valuable tools were things Old Master Yan absolutely refused to let them take with them. Yesterday, when cutting bamboo, they had borrowed tools from Aunt He.

There was only one ironmonger’s shop in town. Inside, there were two types of ready-made kitchen knives: one cost three hundred wen, and the other cost four hundred wen. Both were sturdy iron blades suitable for chopping and slicing. Yan Xiaoyu examined them. While the designs weren’t as varied as modern ones, they seemed perfectly functional.

‘A craftsman who wants to do his work well must first sharpen his tools.’ A kitchen knife is one of the most essential tools for a cook. Many renowned chefs have high standards for these tools and will spend a fortune to have them custom-made. Yan Xiaoyu, however, was self-taught and didn’t fuss over such things, though he still needed tools that felt right in his hands.

He picked out a four-qian kitchen knife and had Yan Xiaoyue select two sickles, a wood-chopping knife, and a hoe.

Iron tools were shockingly expensive these days. The combined cost of the knives came to eighteen hundred wen. After some haggling with the blacksmith, Yan Xiaoyu managed to buy them for sixteen hundred.

After purchasing the tools, the siblings headed to the market for groceries.

With guests coming for dinner, the meal couldn’t be too meager. Yan Xiaoyu decided they needed at least one fish or meat dish. Tofu was also an option, while greens could be supplemented with what they had at home, saving money for seasonings.

On the way back, he asked Yan Xiaoyue, “Sis, do you prefer fish or meat? Let’s make something we both like today.”

Due to her enormous appetite, Yan Xiaoyue’s staples differed from others’. Back at the Yan household, while the others occasionally ate rice, she was always served steamed sweet potatoes, multigrain porridge, or millet cakes—all grains grown at home that couldn’t be sold for silver. As for vegetables, forget it. The few days when Yan Xiaoyu deliberately fought with Yan Xiaobao over food at the table were the best meals she’d ever had.

Fish or meat? It was the first time anyone had ever asked her that question.

Yan Xiaoyue paused, then a flicker of joy slowly spread across her eyes. “I like both.”

“Alright.” Yan Xiaoyu nodded. “Then let’s buy both.”

The siblings bought a pound of marbled pork belly from the butcher, then headed to the fishmonger for a three-pound sea bass. The meat cost thirty-five wen coins, while the fish—caught by villagers from the river—was cheaper at twenty-four coins.

Both rivers in Xiling Village teemed with fish, but catching them wasn’t for everyone. Yan Xiaobao had once followed a few village lads to fish in the river for several days, but they hadn’t caught a single one. Others in the village specialized in catching fish to sell in town, but the fish had grown wiser from being caught so often, making them harder to snare. Earning this money wasn’t easy.

When Yan Shaoxuan’s foster father, Yan Dahu, was alive, he was quite skilled at catching fish. However, he rarely fished in the rivers. There were several small streams on the back mountain. Because they were in a more secluded spot, few dared to venture in. The fish there weren’t as wary, and the shallow, clear water made setting traps easier than in the river. When Yan Dahu went hunting in the mountains, he would often stop by the streams to fish.

Yan Xiaoyu thought he could try out the traps he’d seen online when he had a chance.

Today definitely wasn’t going to work—there wasn’t enough time.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The Qian family’s tofu shop stood right by the market. After buying fish and meat, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue stopped by to get tofu on their way out.

Yan Xiaoyu wasn’t keen on seeing the eldest branch’s people. Fortunately, Yan Yongfang wasn’t there today; her husband, Qian Hong, was minding the shop.

Qian Hong recognized Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue, but his attitude toward them was lukewarm. Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t be bothered with small talk either. He grabbed the tofu and turned to leave, only to hear Qian Hong’s sarcastic voice.

“Once you’ve split the family estate, things change, huh? You can actually afford to buy tofu now—and four pieces at that.”

Had he not already paid, Yan Xiaoyu would have smashed the tofu right into Qian Hong’s face.

What was wrong with these people? Did selling tofu really make them think they were someone special?

“Seems Shopkeeper Qian isn’t too keen on doing business with us,” Yan Xiaoyu sneered coldly. “No problem. We won’t be back. Hope your shop stays in business for a long time.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you cursing me?!” Qian Hong glared at Yan Xiaoyu, his embarrassment turning to rage. “The Qian family has been making tofu for over a decade! Within ten miles, every household buys tofu from us! Do you think our business needs a poor beggar like you to worry about?”

Yan Xiaoyu ignored him, pulling Yan Xiaoyue along as they strode off.

He’d made up his mind—he would take over the Qian family’s tofu business!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Yan Xiaoyu had been unstoppable these past few days, but this was the first time he’d been berated without retaliating—truly unusual.

Yan Xiaoyue looked worried. “Why didn’t you yell back at him just now?”

“…” Yan Xiaoyu felt both amused and exasperated. “I have other ways to make him suffer more. Let him gloat for a few more days.”

“Oh.” Yan Xiaoyue let out a quiet sigh of relief.

She carefully placed the lotus leaf-wrapped tofu into the basket and followed Yan Xiaoyu to the grain shop.

The meager rice and grain they’d scavenged from the Yan household yesterday would only last two or three days. They needed to buy more provisions. Fortunately, the summer harvest was imminent. Once the crops were gathered, they could save this silver.

After buying the grain, Yan Xiaoyu and Yan Xiaoyue went to purchase seasonings.

At home, they had barely enough salt to cover the bottom of a jar, and no other condiments at all. Yan Xiaoyu figured that since they were already out, they might as well stock up on all the sauces they’d need later.

At the general store, besides staples like salt, sugar, soy sauce, and vinegar, they bought a clay pot, a small stove, ten bowls, and various odds and ends. The total came to two hundred sixteen wen coins. After haggling with the shop assistant, Yan Xiaoyu rounded it down to two hundred wen.

Some spices unavailable at the general store had to be purchased from the medical clinic. Being medicinal, they weren’t cheap, though fortunately, he only needed a small amount.

After buying the spices at Yu’s Medical Clinic, Yan Xiaoyu had only a little over two qian left from the two taels of silver he’d brought today.

Yan Xiaoyue looked troubled. “Why does this silver go so fast?”

Yan Xiaoyu couldn’t agree more.

They received fifteen taels from the family division and two taels from Yan Xingsheng, totaling seventeen taels. Treating Yan Xingmao’s leg and buying medicine cost about one tael. Renting the Yan family’s house for half a year cost six hundred wen, the iron pot and medicinal clay pot bought the day before cost nearly two taels, pastries for the village chief and Aunt He’s family cost thirty wen, and today’s miscellaneous purchases added up to about one tael and eight wen. In just a few days, the seventeen taels of silver had dwindled to little over eleven taels.

Building the house, purchasing land, and acquiring the tools needed for tofu-making were major expenses—this silver would likely fall short.

Yan Xiaoyu could only hope his tofu business would take off quickly.