"Goodness, your Master has some incredible powers. You just think of him here, and he knows it all the way over there. He's a true Immortal," the old lady muttered to herself.
"Mhm, that's what Master said. He said it's not convenient for him to show his face in public, so if anything comes up, I'll have to help him take care of it. You can think of this as my wages, paid in advance." Yuan Si was laying the groundwork, giving herself an excuse for going out in the future.
"What nonsense are you spouting, child? Isn't it your duty to run errands for your Master? Why would you need wages?" The old lady quickly spat on the ground three times, terrified the distant Immortal Master might hear and take offense.
"Hehe, it's fine. My Master is very good to me," Yuan Si said, forcing a smile as she continued her fabrication.
"No matter how good he is to you, you can't be disrespectful. Do you hear me?" the old lady chided, her expression stern.
"I hear you. I'll listen to you, Mom," Yuan Si relented.
"What do you mean, listen to me? You should be listening to your Master," the old lady hastily corrected her. Her sharp, triangular eyes darted around the room, terrified that her daughter's disrespectful words had been overheard by her Master. It wouldn't do for him to get angry.
Yuan Si was amused. 'So in the end, doesn't that still mean I'm listening to her?'
"Right, I'll listen to my Master." She nodded with conviction this time.
"Alright, go wash your hands and face. I'll go get you the congee. You must be hungry." The old lady picked up the bundle and started toward the kitchen.
"Wait, Mom! Don't we have fish? We can just eat this for dinner," Yuan Si said. The moment she thought of that greenish gruel, even the bland roasted fish seemed incredibly delicious.
The old lady glanced at the dozen or so cooked fish on the table. She couldn't even use the excuse that there was no time to cook. "How about this? You can have one fish with your congee. I'll put the rest away. It's not good to eat such greasy food late at night. I'll save these for you for tomorrow." As she spoke, fearing her daughter wouldn't have enough for the future, she quickly rolled up the bundle cloth and swept all the roasted fish off the table.
Yuan Si was speechless. She had already told her the fish supply was unlimited, so why was her mother still being such a skinflint? "Mom, one is fine. But they didn't put any salt on the fish when they roasted it. How about you give me some money? I'll go buy some salt to dip it in." 'I have to hand it to her,' she thought. 'Who lives like this? To save firewood, they boil everything in one pot. To save oil and salt, they've never even had a stir-fried dish.'
"You silly girl, since when did you become such a picky eater? You should be grateful you have something to eat at all, yet you're asking for this and that. Where would we get the money?" The old lady soured at the mere mention of spending money. "Besides, with the communal canteens running, the state has forbidden ordinary people from cooking at home. How are you supposed to buy salt right under everyone's noses? If someone asks why you need salt, what are you going to say? Wouldn't that be as good as announcing that our family is hoarding food? Now, just be quiet and eat."
Yuan Si felt incredibly stifled. 'What kind of world is this, where it's so hard just to eat something with a bit of flavor?' She also felt frustrated by her own destitution. 'I don't have a single penny to my name. I have to hold out my hand and ask for money for everything I want to buy. The feeling is just indescribable.'
'Sigh... In that moment, she was struck by the full force of her poverty. It's so hard for the poor to eat a single satisfying meal. Just getting the ingredients isn't nearly enough. I have to work even harder.'
For the sake of a decent meal, Yuan Si gave it her all. Starting the next day, she stopped slacking off when she went to cut grass. She worked much more earnestly, and after quickly finishing her tasks, her little eyes would scan her surroundings. She'd gather anything that could be burned, like twigs and branches, and take them home. In the evenings, she diligently joined her mother in plaiting straw braids, because she had discovered it was the only way for her to earn a little bit of money.
Finally, after more than a week of persistence, she managed to plait a full string of braid.
But she was a beginner, after all. Plus, she had deliberately made parts of it crooked and uneven while trying to practice her spiritual power. After examining it, the old lady just shook her head and gave her an honest assessment: if she took this string of braid to the purchasing station, she definitely wouldn't get twenty-four fen for it. At most, she'd get twenty-one.
Yuan Si turned her "masterpiece" over and over in her hands. In the end, she could only sigh and admit the truth. 'I'm a woman in my thirties, and what I made is basically a reject.'
Feeling rather dejected, Yuan Si decided not to go to the purchasing station after all. She would just trade it for some salt with the peddler right at her doorstep. 'Even if someone sees,' she reasoned, 'they'll just assume it's a child's toy. It shouldn't be a problem.'
The area was remote. Aside from the village co-op at the entrance to the village, a peddler carrying his wares on a shoulder pole would stop by from time to time. Many people felt it wasn't worth the long trip to the county seat just to sell a couple of eggs they'd saved, so they would wait for the peddler and trade them for things like needles and thread.
The peddler's scope of business was quite broad. He would essentially buy anything the purchasing station would, and sell most of the small goods the co-op did.
Yuan Si had seen the villagers barter before, so when she heard the peddler's call ring out from her doorway, she quickly grabbed her "masterpiece" and went outside.
The peddler took the braid she had plaited and inspected it carefully before shaking his head. "You won't get twenty-four fen for this. The most I can give you is eighteen fen. Take it or leave it. If you're selling, I'll pay you. If not, we can forget it."
Yuan Si shot him a look. 'He's trying to bully me because I'm a kid. Mom clearly said it could sell for twenty-one fen.' 'Hmph. People say everyone back then was simple and honest, but I don't think so. There's no shortage of cunning, deceitful people in any era.'
The little girl had a temper, too. She snatched her braid back. 'If you don't want it, then I won't sell it to you! So what if I have to go to the purchasing station in the county? Worst case, I'll just ask my Master for help again, and I can go just as easily.'
The peddler hadn't expected the little girl to have such a temper or to be so unpredictable. Seeing the deal was about to fall through, he quickly tried to salvage it.
"Hey now, little lady, you've got quite a temper. 'Even if the deal falls through, the goodwill remains,' as they say. It's not like I was going to snatch it from you if you didn't sell. What're you scared of? Besides, for a thing like this, I'm the only one who'd offer you such a high price. If you take it to the purchasing station, I bet they'd only give you fifteen fen." As he spoke, the peddler kept glancing at Yuan Si, trying to gauge her reaction before deciding his next words.
Yuan Si, of course, was unmoved. "Then you don't have to worry about it. I'd be perfectly happy with fifteen fen."
Her words were a sharp retort.
"Tsk, you sure have a sharp tongue for a little girl. I was just trying to be nice, and you threw my kindness back in my face. Fine, fine, I'll see my good deed through to the end. How about nineteen fen? You won't find a higher price than that," the peddler said, as if he were making a huge sacrifice.
Yuan Si didn't reply. Instead, she craned her neck to peek at the wares on his shoulder pole.
The peddler immediately got the hint. "If you trade for goods directly instead of taking cash, I can give you an even better price."
"Do you have any salt?" Yuan Si finally asked.
She had eaten so many meals of bland fish congee over the past few days that she felt she would throw up if she had to eat it again. That was why she had worked tirelessly, practically forgetting to eat or sleep, just to finish that one string of braid and trade it for some salt.
"Of course, I do. How could I not?" Seeing that she was finally engaging, the peddler quickly pulled a bag of salt from one of his baskets to show Yuan Si.