During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Still shopping?"

Looking at that enigmatic, smiling face, Li Chunyan exclaimed in disbelief.

"You bought three taels of silver worth of rice and flour in one go, and you still want to shop around? You spendthrift..."

The word "thing" almost slipped out of Li Chunyan's mouth, and she quickly glanced at Ye Qingqing, afraid that she would get angry.

Although Er Yatou seems like a completely different person these past two days, a leopard can't change its spots. When she throws a tantrum, she cries and screams, and I can't stand it.

"Sister-in-law, look at you! We went to all this way to town just to buy some rice and flour, and you're already this scared?"

Ye Qingqing gave her a half-smile and then took her arm.

"We're out of oil at home, so go buy some fatty meat and render it into oil, otherwise the stir-fries won't taste good."

Let's add a little more oil and flavor, then make some sauerkraut dumplings to satisfy our cravings!

Upon hearing "youzila," Huanhuan's round eyes lit up instantly. She clapped her little hands and jumped and shouted in Ye Cuicui's arms.

"Auntie, I want to eat fried dough! I want to eat fried dough!"

"You little glutton!"

Ye Qingqing pinched her little cheek and said with a grin, "Auntie will buy you more meat to fry in oil and eat, it'll be crunchy and delicious!"

Li Chunyan shook her head and sighed.

"What kind of family is this, splurging on rice, flour, and oil? Even landlords wouldn't dare to do this!"

Complaints aside, who wouldn't want a bite of fragrant, oily goodness?

It's crunchy and delicious, and every bite is bursting with flavor!

"Young lady, sister-in-law, what kind of meat would you like?"

As noon approached, the pork vendor's business seemed to be slow; there was still a small half-eaten pork and some scattered pieces of meat on his stall.

Ye Qingqing glanced at it and asked, "How much is the pork, sir?"

The fat boss pointed at it, holding a butcher's knife.

"These fattier pieces are 28 coins a pound, these leaner pieces are 25 coins. How many ounces do you want?"

"So expensive?"

Li Chunyan stuck out her tongue, "It's almost as much as a pound of rice!"

Ye Qingqing looked at the half-portion of pork. The fat was as thick as a child's fist, and it was snow-white. It would definitely yield a lot of lard if rendered.

Although we still have wolf meat at home, Dad says it's tough and not tasty, so we should buy more pork.

She pointed to the pork slice, "I'll take the whole half, give me a discount."

Wow, this is a big deal!

"Okay, if we take them all, of course it'll be cheaper!"

The portly shopkeeper immediately beamed with joy and shouted, "I'll sell the whole fan for 25! If anyone in town sells it cheaper than me, I'll give you the pork for free!"

Ye Qingqing nodded confidently, "Alright, weigh it then."

"What?"

Li Chunyan was genuinely startled and grabbed Ye Qingqing's sleeve. "Second girl, are you crazy? We still have wolf meat at home, why do you need so much pork jerky?"

Ye Qingqing frowned. "Dad said wolf meat is tough and dry, not tasty! Buy more pork to mix in, what's wrong?"

"No, not so good."

She glared at Li Chunyan, who immediately became obedient, turning her head away and muttering through gritted teeth.

"I told you a leopard can't change its spots! You spendthrift, you're throwing money away like water!"

Having lived in poverty for too long, she simply couldn't accept Ye Qingqing's extravagant spending habits.

"Look closely, he weighs a hefty 98 pounds..."

The fat boss told his men to lift the pork onto the weighing rack, then tossed it onto the chopping board with a thud. "Sheng Hui, 2450 copper coins."

Ye Qingqing took out three one-tael silver coins and slapped them on the chopping board.

"give change!"

With a snap, Li Chunyan's heart shattered.

She only got ten taels of silver from selling wolf pelts, and immediately bought three taels and two mace and five qian of grain and two taels and nine mace and five qian of pork. With Er Yatou's spending habits, will she still have one tael of silver left to pay Dali's child purchase fee?

That's your own older brother!

"Alright, brother, you carry the pork, let's find a place to eat."

Ye Qingqing weighed the money bag, which felt half as light as before, and realized that money was so easily spent.

After eating, they can find a restaurant to sell the roe deer meat and recoup some of their losses.

"Food in town is so expensive, why would you even bother eating out?"

Li Chunyan muttered dejectedly, "There's nothing at home, so let's just go home and get something to eat."

In her own time and space, Ye Qingqing was in charge of the entire Taoist temple by herself. She always had the final say and no one would listen to her.

The family carried rice, flour, and half a pig, following Ye Qingqing through the streets and alleys until they found a steamed bun shop to eat at.

Pork and scallion, or pork and sauerkraut, cost 4 coins each; cabbage and tofu, cost 2 coins each; and vegetarian wontons cost 2 coins a bowl.

"Boss, one basket each of pork and sauerkraut, and cabbage, and one bowl of wonton soup for each person."

Ye Qingqing glanced at the price list and ordered directly, "This will do for now, we'll order more if it's not enough."

"Okay, just a moment!"

The shop owner brought over steaming hot buns; the aroma of wheat flour mixed with the fragrance of pork filled my nostrils.

She had been hungry since she got up early, and the bowl of millet porridge she had eaten had long been digested.

As they walked toward the steamed bun shop, Ye Dazhuang followed beside her, and Ye Qingqing could hear his stomach rumbling.

As soon as the two baskets of twenty steamed buns were placed on the table, the family devoured them, finishing every last bit of the buns and wonton soup.

"Auntie, the meat buns are so delicious!"

Little Huanhuan hugged a steamed bun bigger than her palm, covered her mouth with it, and ate it with gusto, shaking her little head contentedly, saying, "I want to eat more after I finish this..."

"You little glutton, you're lucky you finished one!"

Li Chunyan bit into the meat bun with a sense of satisfaction, her mouth dripping with oil, then slurped up a mouthful of wonton soup, feeling an indescribable sense of relief.

Although she complained that her sister-in-law was wasteful, this was the most enjoyable meal and shopping she had ever had in town!

"Eat slowly, there's more."

Ye Cuicui wiped Xiao Huanhuan's mouth, and then ate the meat buns one after another with great relish.

Is eating big meat buns in a shop in town the kind of good life she can have?

Ye Dali ate five in one go, then patted his stomach contentedly, "I'm full... burp, I'm full."

Ye Dazhuang ate about four or five as well.

The two of them carried over 90 kilograms of pork and over 50 kilograms of grain, expending a great deal of energy.

Ye Qingqing ate two steamed buns, counted out some copper coins for the shop owner, and then stood up.

"Brother and sister-in-law, sit in the shop for a while. I'll find a restaurant to sell the pork belly, and then we'll go home."

She passed by a restaurant called Fu Shun Lai, which was quite large and had a grand entrance; it should be able to sell roe deer meat.

Ye Dazhuang quickly put down his chopsticks, picked up the roe deer meat, and silently followed behind Ye Qingqing.

It was just past lunchtime, and there weren't many people in front of Fu Shun Lai's shop.

A young waiter stood by the door, his hands tucked into his sleeves, hunching his shoulders as he waited for customers.

"Hey buddy, do you buy wild game around here?"

Ye Qingqing stepped forward and struck up a conversation, saying with a smile, "My second brother hunted some fresh mutton on the mountain yesterday, do you want some?"

The waiter glanced at her and Ye Dazhuang's clothes and knew they were hunters from the mountains. He said casually...

"Our shop does buy wild game, but only from long-standing relationships. Yours..."

"Young man, could you help me make a connection and pull some strings?"

Ye Qingqing had already prepared twenty copper coins, which she stuffed into the young waiter's hand. She winked and smiled, "If I take wild game from my family a couple more times, won't I be considered an old friend?"

Ye Dazhuang, who was carrying the robe-shaped meat behind him, almost laughed.

How come this girl is so at ease wherever she goes?