Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 22

“Sure enough, we’re late. It’s all your sister’s fault for holding us up for so long.” When Liu Xiaodi and his wife arrive at the stall, Lu Xiuyu has already set out her goods and started selling.

Many caravans pass by that day. Under the shade of the trees at the stall, the nearby tea shop bustles with pedestrians taking a rest. Liu Xiaodi also notices several luxurious carriages. Maids and elderly women gather firewood and prepare to cook for themselves, while guards keep a vigilant watch over the surroundings. The carriages likely belong to the women of wealthy families traveling on the road.

Such families do not buy food from vendors whose cleanliness they cannot guarantee. After glancing at the pretty maids of the wealthy families, Liu Xiaodi turns his attention back to his own stall and hurries to set it up.

“Sour and spicy pork offal is five cents a bowl, and braised large intestine is nine cents a bowl. Half portions for eight cents each. Delicious and generous portions! Come and buy!” Liu Xiaodi shouts at the top of his lungs, managing to attract some customers.

“They smell similar, but this one seems cheaper. Let’s buy this one.”

“Give me a bowl of hot and sour pork offal, and make it extra rice.”

“I want braised large intestine. That little girl from that stall is enjoying it so much; I wonder if it’s really that good.”

Many merchants don’t have much cash on hand; most of their silver has been converted into goods. Only after the goods are shipped to their destination and sold can they turn back into wealth.

So, when cash is limited, it makes sense to spend less.

Of course, some people don’t mind the difference of a cent or two. They simply think Lu Baobao’s food is delicious and want to enjoy the same offerings, which keeps them at Lu’s shop. However, such customers remain a minority.

“Sister, are we really not going to lower the price?”

Lu Baobao is a bit impatient. Even though business has been slow yesterday, her cousin still gives her ten cents as a reward. If the situation continues like it did the day before, she feels embarrassed to accept any pay.

“Just relax,” Lu Xiuyu replies, casting a glance at Liu Xiaodi and his wife as she calmly continues her business.

After another half hour, Liu Xiaodi’s food is mostly sold out, with only two or three servings remaining. If another caravan arrives, they might be able to close the stall and head home soon.

Today, they make two or three hundred coins. Liu Xiaodi and his wife cheerfully count the money, secretly pocketing thirty to forty wen, hiding it in the seam of their clothes. The remaining amount is enough to settle their accounts.

“Your sister is just jealous that our business is doing better.” Liu Xiaodi’s wife bumps him with her shoulder and nods toward Lu Xiuyu’s desolate stall. “As soon as we arrive, her goods can’t sell anymore, so that’s why your sister is anxious. It’s a good thing she usually pretends to be close to us; in reality, her heart has long been won over by her in-laws. Otherwise, how could she have kept such a good business secret from us until now?”

She has already done her research. The girl from the Lu family has been setting up a stall here for over a month, selling her pig offal at higher prices than theirs. With so many families hosting banquets recently, and each needing two or three servings of pig offal every day, it is clear how much money she is making.

“Oh, a married-off daughter is like spilled water. Do you really expect her to help us?” Liu Xiaodi says, reaching into the bucket for a piece of large intestine. He chews happily and then uses his fingernails to clean his teeth.

“Look at what she’s holding in her hand!” Liu Xiaodi’s wife says, her eyes lighting up with intrigue as she spots Lu Xiuyu retrieving a round, flat object from her cart. Behind the cloth, there is a strangely shaped iron lump.

“What is it? I don’t know what it is either,” Liu Xiaodi says, squinting at it for a long time before shaking his head in frustration.

“Hey, what is this? How can it spit out silk?” he exclaims.

“It’s rolled up! Is this cotton? How can this iron lump spit out cotton?”

What Lu Xiuyu takes out is a cotton candy machine. She starts making cotton candy, following the steps she practiced several times the day before.

Not only the native villagers of Sandangkou but even merchants traveling from far and wide have never seen such a peculiar device. This round, flat tool appears to be made of iron, but they can’t comprehend why so many silk-like strands fly out of the hole as the girl turns the handle.

It looks like cotton or silk, but they have no idea what it is used for.

“Darling, here.” Lu Xiuyu hands the freshly made cotton candy to Lu Baobao.

“Mmmm.” Lu Baobao plays along perfectly. After receiving the cotton candy, she tears off a piece, closes her eyes, and displays an expression of pure joy and delight in front of all the curious onlookers.

“Little girl, how can you eat that? That’s cotton, right? You can’t eat it.”

“Little girl, spit it out quickly!”

A group of nearby adults looks on anxiously. Cotton and silk aren’t meant to be eaten, and they fear for the safety of the adorable child.

“How can you, as the older sister, not stop her?” Someone even criticizes Lu Xiuyu.

“Hey, she eats it all. She eats it all up!”

“This… is it not cotton? Not silk?”

The cotton candy made by Lu Xiuyu isn’t very large; Lu Baobao finishes it in just two or three bites. As the cotton candy on the stick dwindles and no pain registers on Lu Baobao’s face, the onlookers quickly realize that what she is consuming is neither cotton nor silk, but something entirely edible.

“Make way, make way!”

A few guards squeeze through the crowd and approach the stall, with a nanny holding a young boy protected in their midst.

It seems the commotion has caught the attention of the wealthy family resting nearby. The young master, curious about this unfamiliar object, instructs his servants to bring him over to watch the excitement.

Finally, the big fish has arrived, and Lu Xiuyu’s smile becomes even more radiant.

“Everyone, this is cotton candy. It looks like cotton, but it’s actually made from high-quality cane sugar.” As she speaks, Lu Xiuyu presents the crystal-clear cane sugar to everyone, then pours the sugar granules into the machine after giving a little demonstration. She waits for the sugar to melt before turning the handle again.

“It’s flying threads! It really is sugar threads!”

“How did you do this? You just turn it a few times, and the sugar water becomes strands thinner than silk!”

Everyone is surprised and curious, unable to grasp the inner workings of the machine. Some businessmen, seeing potential for profit, even contemplate disassembling it to uncover its secrets.

Following her cousin’s instructions, Lu Baobao pours in a few more rounds of sugar syrup mixed with fruit and vegetable juice, and this time the flying sugar threads are infused with various colors.

“Nanny, I want it!” The young master gazes at the colorful cotton candy, clearly enchanted. If the nanny doesn’t hold him tightly, he jumps right into Lu Xiuyu’s arms.

“How much is it? Our young master wants this cotton candy,” the nanny inquires, intrigued by the novelty. Knowing it is made from the most common sugar grains and poses no health risks, she feels comfortable indulging the young master’s request.

“Twenty cents?” The nanny frowns. After all, it is just sugar—why is it so expensive? Candied haws at the market sell for only two copper coins.

“Nanny, quickly give the money! I want this cotton candy!” The young master is quite domineering; seeing the nanny hesitate, he angrily slaps her arm.

“Alright,” the nanny relents. Not wanting to anger the young master, she instructs a nearby girl to pay.

“Just a reminder, cotton candy can’t be stored for long. After a while, these sugar threads soften until they turn back into a lump of syrup. In hot weather, the sugar threads dissolve even faster,” Lu Xiuyu explains as she accepts the payment and hands over the cotton candy.

“So troublesome?” The nanny frowns. Their young master has a very overbearing temperament; if he doesn’t get what he wants right away, he cries.

The old lady adores her grandson, and if he cries, the servants face the consequences.

The nanny initially plans to buy more cotton candy before leaving, thinking that once the young master loses interest, he probably won’t remember the treat. But now, this girl says cotton candy can’t be stored for long. What will they do when the young master wants it again in the future?

The nanny glances at Lu Xiuyu, feeling as though she is being manipulated. It seems that the girl has said that on purpose.

But after reconsidering, she dismissed the thought. After all, she was just a country girl—how could she be so cunning? Perhaps the nanny had been in the mansion for too long and was overthinking the situation.

With that, the nanny departed with the guards. Other merchants, deterred by the high price of the cotton candy, were content to observe the production process but were unwilling to purchase. Soon, Lu Xiuyu’s stall was deserted once again.

“Sister, let me massage your hands.” The little sycophant was back at it again. Lu Baobao remembered her mission to cling to her older cousin. Seeing her cousin relax her hands, she stepped forward to offer a hand massage.

“Sister, is this comfortable? Am I using enough pressure? Is it too heavy?” Lu Baobao works diligently, massaging Lu Xiuyu’s wrists and fingers, keeping busy with the task.

Lu Xiuyu imagines she can see a wagging tail behind her cousin, like a happy little dog. It is a peculiar thought, and she smiles, shaking her head at how considerate her little cousin is.

“This young lady, our madam requests that you take this iron item over there.”

Before long, a girl dressed as a maid approaches. Lu Xiuyu follows the direction she points to, which is where the young master who purchased the cotton candy is located.

The fish has taken the bait!

She instructs Lu Baobao to wait and then picks up the cotton candy machine before following the maid.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Lu Xiuyu returns, but the cotton candy machine is nowhere to be found.

Lu Xiuyu is in a good mood, not expecting such good luck today. Usually, a group of officials’ families passes by only once every ten days or half a month, but today she happens to encounter them.

Lu Baobao thinks her time-traveling cousin wants to sell cotton candy, but in reality, Lu Xiuyu’s true intention from the start is to sell the cotton candy machine.

Hand-cranked cotton candy machines are labor-intensive. If sold at a high price, the customer base dwindles; if sold too low, the effort and income don’t match. Thus, Lu Xiuyu capitalizes on the principle that scarcity adds value, defining the cotton candy machine as a “toy” from the outset to attract the wives of wealthy families traveling along the official road.

She just sells the cotton candy machine for an impressive fifty taels, while the cost of having the blacksmith make the spare parts is only a little over three taels. This is a highly profitable business.

However, Lu Xiuyu also understands that such customers are not something she can encounter often.

“Time to pack up and head home.”

Lu Xiuyu glances at Liu Xiaodi and his wife, realizing it is time to address the trouble at home.

******

“There’s still so much leftover today.” Jiang Bai’e sighs as she looks at the uneaten food in the bucket.

“By the way, your third aunt seems to have offended your grandmother. Everyone is in the main hall now. Your grandmother says that when you return, we should all go over.”

A gloating expression crosses Jiang Bai’e’s face. Since the third daughter-in-law has said some unpleasant things when her daughter is seriously injured, the two sisters-in-law have completely fallen out.

Seeing Liu Lanhua in trouble brings her great satisfaction.

“Oh.” Lu Xiuyu nods and walks toward the main hall.

“Everyone’s here. Now tell us what you’ve been up to.”

Seeing her eldest granddaughter return, Lu Miao points at Liu Lanhua, prompting her to speak.

“I—I…”

Liu Lanhua sits pale-faced in the chair, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. She lowers her head, clutching her skirt with both hands, struggling to find her voice.

“Since you won’t say anything, I’ll speak for you.”

Lu Miao recounts the scene she has just witnessed in full.

“Well, Liu Lanhua, so it is you who harmed my daughter!” Jiang Bai’e explodes in anger, letting out a cry as she lunges at Liu Lanhua.

Of course, Liu Lanhua doesn’t just stand there waiting to be hit; she runs in the opposite direction as Jiang Bai’e charges at her.

The main room is small, with one person running and another chasing, while a crowd of onlookers tries to intervene, creating complete chaos.

Lu Jiafu, concerned that these people might harm his pregnant wife, quickly takes Xu Jiaoniang and Lu Baobao, who have just returned home, and hides them in a corner. He then produces a handful of melon seeds and peanuts, which he has presumably taken from somewhere, and watches the commotion with casual interest.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiuyu stands in the center, stunned, seemingly unable to comprehend how cruel reality can be. Her third aunt has stolen her secret recipe and given it to her family to compete with her in business.

In the midst of the chaos, Lu Xiuyu reaches out and wipes her eyes. Her eyes are red, and she looks helpless and pitiful.

Such a scene naturally stirs deep concern in the couple from the first house. Even Old Butcher Lu and Lu Miao feel a pang of sympathy for their eldest granddaughter, realizing they can’t treat the third daughter-in-law lightly this time.

At this point, Lu Baobao is almost certain that her cousin is putting on an act. Furthermore, it seems that from the very beginning, the third aunt has already been in her cousin’s calculations.

Goodness, is this still her simple rural life? Her cousin has single-handedly escalated it into a domestic power struggle. Now standing before her is Lu “Girl Boss” Xiuyu.