Huo Ye salivated as he approached the food stalls. Shengu was very different from what he was used to. Only fresh food could be found, harvested directly from the farms. The lone baker was the only one who invested any time to cook for the populace. The inns rarely had any visitors and would only prepare food on demand for the few travellers who decided to stop by on their way.

Huo Ye approached the baker, eager to lay his hands on the loaves which beckoned to him from afar. The baker was a round woman with a tiny man by her side. The disparity between the couple was very glaring, but seemed quite natural.

By now, Huo Ye had got used to suddenly learning the villagers’ backstory and barely flinched as he recognised Tang Lei and her husband, Tang Fu. Ling Ye had had little interaction with the couple before, outside of the usual. Huo Ye didn’t even have time to spit out a greeting before the prices were introduced to him.

“Two coppers for a small loaf and five for the large one. If you don’t have any money, let’s see what you have to trade.”

Huo Ye wiped off the drool at the corner of his lips. “I’ll pay with money.” He had snuck about a hundred coppers out of his sack earlier and tied it up with the edge of his shirt.

There’s no need to let everyone know about my fortune.

He excitedly pointed at the large loaves and handed over twenty coppers. “I’ll take four of them.”

As Tang Fu wrapped up his purchases, Huo Ye remained fixated on the bread. Logically, there was no need to buy more than two. Each loaf was about the length of his forearm and was more than enough for a single meal. He knew that the Tangs set up shop every morning so he could get a fresh loaf each day, however, having money was pushing him to spend.

Huo Ye shook his head to let go of his desire. He thanked Tang Fu as he placed his new acquisitions on the cart then moved on to examine the vegetables in the next stall. Huo Ye was relieved when he saw that the produce didn’t vary too much from what he knew. He could recognise some tubers and… Oh! Tomatoes!  He’d never learnt to cook because his budget would not allow, but he’d learnt quite a lot about foodstuff in kindergarten. His only hope was that Ling Su knew how to cook because his knowledge didn’t extend beyond cup noodles.

 Browsing for whatever looks good, Huo Ye decided to give up because he didn’t have much culinary knowledge to know what’s right for a meal. He greeted the owner, Du Jingyi, a cheerful woman, very tall for either sex with hands worn by her hard work on the farm. He was tempted to ask for advice but decided to grab whatever looked attractive.

His cost came to a whopping seventy-eight copper. Disapproving gazes fell on Huo Ye pondering how he could afford to pay such a sum. His expenditure was not only a waste as it was too much for a family of two to consume, but it was very likely that most of the produce would go bad because of its low quality. It was far more reassuring to purchase goods fresh from the farm.

Huo Ye could hear the mumbling of the crowd and instantly regretted letting the excitement get to him. He scrambled to get the shopping onto the cart, avoiding the curious look of Gu Yin, the grocer, hurriedly thrusting all but two coppers into her hand as he made his getaway.

The villagers who had witnessed the scene either scolded him out loud for wasting his sister’s hard earned money or shook their heads in pity. Huo Ye had missed this as he lumbered up the hill back home.

Ling Su had still not returned from her hunt for spiritual plants. With a rumbling stomach, Huo Ye decided to go ahead with lunch. He unloaded the cart, carrying the shopping into the dingy house, placing it on the rickety table. He stared at the pile in front of him blankly. Although Huo Ye had lived a great part of his life on his own, his extent to cooking covered instant noodles and the occasional omelette. It seemed impossible to have a meal delivered so he could only resign himself to snacking on an apple.

After his quick meal, Huo Ye began to organise the foodstuff. He’d got some onions, tomatoes, a bit of rice, some tubers he believed to be yams and potatoes, peppers, bananas, and the apples. Although they were perishable goods, the idea of having to eat the devilish meal Ling Su had prepared the previous nights had spurred him into getting a lot. A crease appeared in Huo Ye’s forehead as he thought of what he would do if it turned out that Ling Su just didn’t know how to cook.

As he pondered over it, the door creaked open and Ling Su appeared in its frame. She had not spent too much time picking the herbs as she had realised that Xiao Ye had been skipping his meals and wanted to prepare something for him. The look on her face reflected Huo Ye’s current expression as she was confused by the harvest on the table.

Seeing her apprehension, Huo Ye rushed to explain his rounds for the day. Ling Su’s eyes kept getting wider, unable to believe that the person sitting in front of her was her little brother. The look of shock which was now permanently fixed on her face could only deepen when Xiao Ye showed her the sack which was full of copper coins. Ling Su silently contemplated.

Xiao Ye spent our last hundred copper but was able to gain back fifty times just the next day. Not only did he make a profit, but he also established a steady business for us.

Ling Su was determined not to lose any face as the older sibling and could only eagerly show her gains for the day. She was not too educated in the matters of spiritual herbs, but was able to tell which plant was rarer by looking at the density it was available in. There was also the possibility that the environment was not right for the plant to grow so what they think is special could be common. Because of the siblings’ lack of information, they could only pray they didn’t get scammed by Shaluyu.

Huo Ye had made sure to include trips out of town as a condition to working with Shaluyu, not because he intended to expand his customer base, this would have to come later, but rather to learn more about the spiritual plants. He couldn’t help feeling that he had made a loss when he gave away the Silent thorn.

After huddling together to discuss a schedule to harvest plants and make deliveries, the siblings turned their attention to lunch. Lucky for Huo Ye, Ling Su was a rather talented cook who just did not have the right opportunity to shine. Xiao Ye was admonished for not having the common sense to buy some protein for the meal and was instructed to buy some more vegetables the next time he went into town. Because Ling Su was afraid of the bread going mouldy, they had bread and stew for the meal.

After drinking some water which tasted a bit stale, Huo Ye went out to test his new axe. With his safety in mind, he decided to swing with less strength than he’d used before. A fine notch was made and would probably have been deeper if he was of a better physique.

He’d only have five days to his deadline after today and had been planning on taking it a bit slow. However, he realised the need to improve his living conditions. Having grown up in the modern world, a shower every day and a bath occasionally was what he was used to. Having to relieve himself outdoors always made him a bit self-conscious. A source of water to drink was an urgent issue to resolve and if possible a different sleeping arrangement. Although he had rationalised sharing a bed with Ling Su, a part of him felt uncomfortable as he had to maintain sleeping in the most decent position. His usual habit was to hug whatever was next to him but now he found himself facing the wall each night so as to not end up wrapped around a minor who he barely considered as family.

Huo Ye rhythmically hacked at the tree as he made his plans. By sundown, after spending almost six hours, Huo Ye had still not been able to bring the tree down. There remained a third of the trunk to get through. Giving up as the last rays of light disappeared, Huo Ye washed up and grabbed a loaf of bread, too tired to focus on eating.

He lay on the bed and nearly jumped out of his skin as Ling Su began to massage his tired shoulders. After settling down, Huo Ye allowed himself to be lulled to sleep as he sighed in comfort. He felt a slight pressure on his head as Ling Su whispered to him. “Good job.” Huo Ye wasn’t able to process what had happened before he fell into a deep sleep.