Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

Chapter 33: 33 selling fish

Old Yang understood the girl’s intention, but he truly didn’t want the money.

At his age, he had seen a lot and experienced a lot, and didn’t have much sympathy to spare.

The reason he treated this little girl so well was because he was moved by her sincerity and her approach to life.

This little girl was only eight years old, yet she was already thinking about her future, which was not easy.

”Sir, you’re making me embarrassed.”

”It’s fine, just bring over good stuff in the future. I can tell you’re a lucky girl. Not everyone has wild boars walking into their doors, yet you do, and these fish seem like they’re handpicked, all of them are so big.”

”You trust me that much?”

”Of course! We just love good food.”

Su Yuanyuan smiled and nodded, ”Alright. I’ll go catch more fish in the next few days.”

”Girl, it’s getting late, why don’t you stay for dinner and taste the fish I cooked?”

”Sir, do you have chili and Sichuan peppercorns here?”

”Yes, why? Should I pack some for you to take home?” believing this girl didn’t have these spices.

”Sir, let me show you a trick today. I’ll tell you, this is my grandpa’s technique. I guarantee you’ll want a second serving after the first one.

I have two unfrozen fish in my basket.”

”You have such a skill?”

”You’ll know when you try it, won’t you?”

”Alright, I definitely want to taste it.”

Old Yang only had three apprentices here, and his wife had gone to look after their grandchild, so all the cooking was done by the men, whose skills were quite average.

Old Yang’s apprentice cleaned the fish, while Su Yuanyuan had already prepared the ingredients. Green onions, ginger, and garlic were essential.

She directed an apprentice who was good with knives to slice the fish.

There were no vegetables, but there were tofu sheets, which they cut into strips.

Old Yang’s corn pancakes were already steaming.

So when the water-boiled fish was finished, a spoonful of hot oil was poured over it, releasing the aromas of Sichuan peppercorns, chili, and minced garlic.

”It smells amazing! This girl’s skills are truly remarkable.”

The small kitchen was filled with this special aroma, making the mouths of all four men water.

The two big fish weighed over ten pounds, with just the meat being five pounds, and there were tofu sheets too. Yet, even the soup was finished.

”Girl, what amazing skills!” the men all praised her.

Su Yuanyuan thought about their compliments for her water-boiled fish along the way and found it quite amusing. Knowing how much someone like Old Yang, who enjoyed life (or rather, loved to eat), appreciated good food, he would definitely try to make it himself.

This time, she had another ninety yuan in her hands. Her little savings were really starting to build up bit by bit.

When she got home, it was already evening. She quickly lit a fire; the house was cold, barely warmer than outside.

Today was quite exhausting, so she planned to rest tomorrow. The day after, she’d continue to the county and also inquire at the train station, considering it might be more assuring to turn the wild boar into cash. It sat in her space, unused and inedible. Selling it would save her worry.

However, a single trip would take at least two days, so what about the sheep? It’s not that she couldn’t bring it into her space, but there was no way to explain it to others, and she still had to live here.

The next day, Hu Chunhua came by. She dropped by every couple of days, bringing some meat back for the kids to eat, ensuring it wasn’t too conspicuous.

”Aunt, I caught some fish too. Do you want to take one back?”

Hu Chunhua looked at the big fish in the large water tank outside with envy but still shook her head. Her family didn’t even give fish to this girl, so how could she accept it?

”So many?”

”Aunt, I’m thinking of going to the city to see if I can sell the fish.”

”Going to the city is not safe. What if someone abducts you?”

”Aunt, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Hu Chunhua knew how determined this girl was. ”Do you even know the way to the city? Are you planning on walking?”

”Aunt, I went to the county yesterday to buy fish. I’ve already asked around; there’s a carriage going to the city, so I don’t have to walk.”

”This girl didn’t even step outside the village before, and now she wants to go everywhere. Too wild.”

”Anyway, I have nothing else to do. I didn’t get the chance to go out before, and now that no one is controlling me, I just want to go and take a look.”

”Yuanyuan, I’m just worried someone might trick you.”

”How could they? No one notices me. I should seize the moment to save some money.”

Hu Chunhua fell silent.

”Aunt, don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Honestly, even if someone wanted to abduct me, they’d probably ignore me.”

”Fine, I know that even if I don’t agree, you’ll still go. Be careful. I’ll feed the sheep for you.”

Su Yuanyuan felt reassured. She could go catch more fish tonight.

”Girl, are you just going for a one-time trip?”

”Yes, just going once, then preparing for New Year at home.”

Hu Chunhua left with some stewed meat and a key, while Su Yuanyuan spent the afternoon sleeping.

In the evening, she used her old tricks again, but this time the fish caught were of varying sizes, slightly fewer than last time.

She was already very content. She stored all the fish outside in the snow, planning to sell both the fish and the wild boar on this trip.

At around five o’clock, she got up to find the fish were frozen. With a wave of her hand, she collected them all into her space.

Since this trip would take a while, she gave the sheep some Spiritual Spring Water, ”I’m going out to earn money. You’ll stay home and someone will come to feed you. Be good.”

Traveling alone this time meant she moved much faster.

She still ate fried dough sticks and bought a few more, wrapped them in packing paper, and headed straight to the train station.

She wasn’t familiar with the place names here at all, so she found someone who seemed particularly composed and friendly-looking.

”Uncle, may I ask which city near ours is the closest and wealthiest?”

”Oh, why is a little girl asking this?”

”I just want to take a look.”

”Where are your family members?”

”No family.”

The man thought this little girl was struggling to survive here and wanted to move to a wealthy city.

Su Yuanyuan got the answer she wanted. She suddenly realized that with her small stature, she didn’t even need to buy a train ticket. This instantly pleased her. It’s just human nature to relish in such small wins.

She was lucky, as a train to T City was departing in just fifteen minutes. Perfect!

She followed a man onto the train, and nobody stopped her.

The train wasn’t very full, so Su Yuanyuan got a seat.

It took six hours to get from here to T City. That’s as long as it would take to travel from the south to the north in later generations, but she was content. At least she had a train ride.

Although her clothes were worn, they were clean, so no one was annoyed by her presence. However, because she was young, no one interacted with her, which suited Su Yuanyuan just fine.