Chapter 29

Qiao Mai, who was burying her head in her food, slowly raised her head and looked up, immediately feeling like she wanted to cry.

"I say, why do you haunt me and keep pestering me? Hmm?"

"Fruit, I want to eat fruit."

Qiao Mai really wanted to cry. Do I look like fruit to you?

"There isn't any. If you want fruit, go find your sister."

She hardened her heart and buried her head to continue eating. She had to feed herself first; she had been tired all day and still needed to find an inn to rest.

The little boy just wouldn't leave, as if standing there would get him the fruit.

Qiao Mai had almost finished her meal when his sister walked over.

"What a coincidence, we meet again." Actually, she had been standing to the side watching for a long time.

Qiao Mai raised her head, "I'm sorry, I'm too hungry. Let me finish eating first."

The young girl and her brother weren't in a hurry; they just sat across from her and watched her eat. Even so, it didn't affect Qiao Mai's eating speed.

Two dishes, a bowl of rice, and half a pot of water—she finally wasn't hungry anymore.

She called the waiter to settle the bill before speaking to the two people across from her.

"Are you here to eat as well?"

"Yes. I felt a connection, which is why I came up to strike up a conversation. I hope you don't mind, sister."

I do mind. Why wouldn't I mind? Your brother is scaring the life out of me.

"Is there something you need? If not, I have to go."

The young girl looked a bit embarrassed, "My name is Wang Jiaru, and this is my brother, Wang Zihan. You've probably noticed it already—he isn't quite right in the head."

"I noticed a long time ago, otherwise I wouldn't have given him the fruit when he asked for it."

"I don't even know how to thank you."

"You're too kind, miss."

Qiao Mai didn't know why she wanted to get to know her, so she just looked at them calmly.

"Well, you know, it's not the season for apples yet; we have to wait until mid-July to eat them. I wanted to ask you, sister, do you have any more of that fruit? My brother really likes it."

"None left. There were only two in total, and I gave him one."

"Did you buy them, or..."

"On the way here, a man was selling them by the side of the road, saying he picked them in the mountains. I thought they were rare, so I bought two."

The girl showed a disappointed expression; it seemed she truly cared for her brother.

Qiao Mai thought of the two boxes of pitted strawberries, so she turned around and took them out of her basket.

"I see he really likes fruit. Look, I have two boxes of these here. I don't know if this will solve your urgent need."

When the young girl saw the strawberries, her face immediately lit up with surprise.

"Oh my, these are berries, right? They've grown this early?"

"I came across these by chance. I intended to keep them for myself, but if you like them, shall I sell them to you?"

Giving them to you for free is impossible; this girl only recognizes money, not people.

Miss Wang hurriedly looked at the little maid who had been following her not far away.

"Take ten taels of silver and give it to this sister."

"Yes, Miss!"

Five taels a box really wasn't expensive. If she were to buy strawberries like these in her past life, they would cost at least twenty or thirty yuan a box.

This box looked like it held a jin, so two boxes would be two jin.

Qiao Mai took the silver, but there was no happy expression on her face. Miss Wang asked cautiously.

"Is it enough? If not, I can get more."

"It's enough."

Putting away the silver, she stood up to leave, but Miss Wang hurriedly asked.

"I don't know where you live, sister? Shall we be friends?"

"Tianshui Town. I'm just a street vendor, so let's skip the friendship."

"What do you usually sell?"

"Watermelon and ice. They are all brought over from the prefecture city. I come to Weicheng every once in a while."

"That's truly wonderful. If you have fresh fruit next time you come, could you come to my house and sell it to me?"

Qiao Mai thought for a moment, "I can. Where is your house?"

"It's on the street behind this one. You'll see it as soon as you arrive. I will instruct the gatekeepers, and they will definitely not treat you poorly."

Seeing that the young girl was polite and humble, Qiao Mai nodded.

"Then let's do it next time."

Miss Wang saw that her brother wasn't making a fuss anymore, but was clutching the two boxes of strawberries tightly and eating them intently, and she felt very happy.

"When should you deliver them?"

"How about this: tomorrow morning, I'll deliver a batch of fruit to your house that will last you for a while. Have the silver ready; my fruit isn't cheap."

Having finally achieved her goal, Miss Wang breathed a sigh of relief and nodded with a smile.

"Then my brother and I will wait at the gate tomorrow morning?"

"No need to be too early. I'll arrive around the time the sun comes out."

"Very well."

Qiao Mai picked up her basket and, without saying anything more to them, walked out of the restaurant, leaving them with a view of her back.

"Miss, wouldn't ten taels of silver for these two boxes be too expensive?"

Miss Wang stroked Wang Zihan's head, "It's not expensive. In the old days, the Emperor had people transport lychees at breakneck speed from the south, killing countless horses just to win a smile from a beauty. It's not the season for berries yet; being able to eat berries like these is something to be content with. This is something money can't buy, do you understand?"

"This servant understands."

Qiao Mai turned left and right, finding an inconspicuous inn on one of the streets.

Most of the people who came here to stay were ordinary people like her.

She asked for a standard room for one hundred wen a night, with no extra services—just being able to sleep was enough.

She bolted the door and entered her space, coming to Ling'er's side. When the little one saw her, she pouted her little mouth and was about to cry.

She hurriedly stepped forward to change her diaper, put on a new one, and then held her in her arms.

"Are you hungry, baby? Mommy will mix some milk powder for you right now."

"Ah, ah."

Ling'er opened her little mouth to ask for food, and her appearance was beyond adorable.

After mixing the milk powder, she fed her one spoonful at a time. Perhaps she was too hungry, as Ling'er's two little hands wanted to grab the spoon.

Half an hour later, the little one was full. Qiao Mai held her head up, let her lean against her shoulder, and gently patted her back as she slowly walked outside.

The seven little quail were full and satisfied, and she didn't know where they had gone to nest.

She came to the edge of the strawberry field and saw that a new patch had appeared beside it, also planted with strawberries, just as she had expected.

Qiao Mai smiled happily. Once she mastered this pattern, she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of planting and harvesting over and over again.

Holding Ling'er, she returned to the freezer. The fried pork fat she had put in there yesterday was still frozen inside.

Up to this point, she had discovered that only the consumables she had brought from her past life could be replicated; she hadn't yet discovered anything she had put in after arriving here that could be replicated.

To prove her theory, she took the basin out of the freezer and deliberately took a piece from the corner to eat.

But after waiting for half an hour, she didn't see any replicated fried pork fat.

Although she was a little disappointed, she was still very satisfied.

The black soil could replicate itself, not to mention the crops inside, and the previously stored consumables could be replicated—this was already heaven-defying; she couldn't ask for anything more from the space.

That night, she didn't do anything else; she just played with her child, and mother and daughter fell asleep together.

The next day, Qiao Mai got up, paid the room fee, and left the inn to buy a few small baskets at a general store. Thinking that she would be coming to the prefecture city often, it wouldn't be convenient to take other people's carriages, so she decided to buy one of her own.

So she went to the agricultural market and picked out a tall, spirited, jujube-red horse in its prime.

In her past life, she loved horseback riding, but she always had to go to a ranch to do it. To own a decent horse would cost at least a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand; she had the ability to buy a horse, but nowhere to keep it.

She could only satisfy her craving at the ranch, but now that she had come here, she could achieve freedom in horseback riding.

This horse was very strong and had a good temperament. She walked over and approached it, and it didn't resist. She readily bought it for one hundred taels of silver.

She spent another twenty taels of silver to buy a covered carriage, which could be used to haul goods or people, and others wouldn't be able to see what was inside—how wonderful was that?

When busy, she used it to haul goods; when idle, she rode the horse—neither interfered with the other.

(End of chapter)