Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu stood in front of her makeshift stall, cleared her throat, and shouted loudly towards the construction site: "Don't miss out! Refreshing and delicious jelly, free samples! Limited quantity, only ten servings, first come, first served!"

Ten brand-new white porcelain bowls were arranged in a row. The jelly in the bowls was shiny and translucent like crystal gems. It was bouncy and jelly-like, covered with thick brown sugar syrup, and sprinkled with some red hawthorn pieces. It looked extremely tempting.

"free?"

Upon hearing those two words, four or five young men in their early twenties who were closest to the stall immediately put down their tools and rushed over. As if they had seen food after years of famine, they picked up the tasting bowls and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls.

The cool, silky texture glides down the throat, instantly dispelling the heat throughout the body. The coolness spreads from the lips all the way to the heart, leaving the whole person feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

"So comfortable! So comfortable!" a young man exclaimed joyfully.

Tang Susu stepped forward at the opportune moment to promote the product: "How do you gentlemen think the taste? This cold jelly is two coins a bowl. Buying it will help you relieve fatigue and cool off in the summer heat."

Without a word, the man at the front immediately pulled out two copper coins and handed them over: "Give me a bowl! Add extra sugar water, I like it sweet."

"Okay!" Tang Susu took the coin, quickly ladled out a bowl of cold noodles, added a full spoonful of brown sugar water as requested, and handed it over.

The man took the bowl, drank most of it, and couldn't help but praise it: "This jelly is so refreshingly cool, it's more effective than drinking ten bowls of cold water! It's so satisfying! You must come again tomorrow!"

With the first customer taking the lead, the business took off.

One after another, the burly men on the construction site surrounded them, either paying for the food or asking if they could get some more samples.

Tang Susu, Tang Lifu, and Tang Liqiang had a clear division of labor: one collected money, one served cold noodles, and one handed out bowls. They were all very busy.

There were a total of 42 strong men on the construction site, and they eventually sold 35 bowls of cold noodles.

The remaining seven people were really strapped for cash, so they could only stand aside and watch with envy, too embarrassed to step forward.

Tang Susu glanced at the hundred or so bowls of cold noodles left in the bucket and knew that the construction site's customer base was already saturated; staying any longer wouldn't result in selling many more.

She immediately decided, "Lifu, Liqiang, pack your things, let's go somewhere else, let's find a place with more workers."

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang then stopped what they were doing and excitedly began counting the money.

The two men spread the copper coins in their palms and counted them one by one. After they finished counting, Tang Lifu exclaimed with wide eyes, "Mother, we earned seventy-seven copper coins! That's so much!"

Tang Liqiang, his face full of anticipation, rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "Mom, are we going to become super rich?"

Tang Susu chuckled helplessly at their antics and tapped their heads: "Don't be too happy yet. After deducting the cost of thirty coins for brown sugar and twenty-five coins for the porcelain bowls, we've only just broken even and haven't even started making money yet."

The siblings' excited expressions froze instantly. They looked at each other, then lowered their heads, counting on their fingers and toes, seriously trying to figure out the criteria for "becoming a wealthy man." But no matter how they calculated, they couldn't figure it out, and they scratched their heads in frustration.

"Alright, stop thinking about it," Tang Susu instructed. "Let's pack up first and fill our stomachs so we'll have the energy to keep working. We haven't sold all the jelly in the bucket yet."

The three of them quickly packed their things, carried their loads on their shoulders, and arrived at a noodle stall on a nearby street.

Tang Liqiang tugged at Tang Susu's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, let's just buy two copper-coin steamed buns to tide us over. We don't need noodles; they're too expensive."

Tang Lifu nodded in agreement: "Mom, I'm not hungry. I'll just eat what Aunt Yulan makes when I get home tonight."

Tang Susu stopped them with a headache: "Sit down, all of you! You need to fill your stomachs to have the energy to work. We still have so much cold noodles to sell, we can't go hungry."

Without saying a word, she pulled the two of them down to sit and ordered three bowls of noodles from the owner.

The owner worked quickly, and soon brought out three bowls of steaming hot noodles. The aroma of the noodles filled the air, and Tang Liqiang's mouth watered. He secretly wiped the drool from his chin with his sleeve.

"Eat up," Tang Susu gestured for the two to start eating.

The siblings could no longer resist and devoured the noodles like hungry wolves. In no time, they had finished the noodles in their bowls, even sucking up the last drop of broth, and then licking their lips with lingering satisfaction.

Seeing the two of them looking at each other, Tang Susu awkwardly turned her head away and asked the noodle stall owner, "Sir, I'd like to ask if there are any schools around Dongtai Town?"

The shopkeeper wiped his hands and replied with a smile, "Yes! The largest school in town is Zhiyuan Academy, where an old scholar teaches. However, this old scholar is getting on in years, his mind isn't very sharp, he can't remember many things, and his teaching is just so-so."

He paused, then added, "Now, many families in the town who can afford it send their children to school in the neighboring town of Jiangtou. There, a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations is teaching; he is very knowledgeable, and children who study under him have a better chance of passing the imperial examinations in the future."

Tang Susu's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "How far is it from Dongtai Town to Jiangtou Town?"

"It's not far, it only takes the time it takes to burn an incense stick," the shopkeeper replied.

Tang Susu thanked the owner, paid for the meal, and, with her two younger brothers, walked towards Jiangtou Town.

It was noon, and there were no oxcarts to ride in at the street corner. The three of them walked for a full half hour before finally arriving at the entrance of Jiangtou Town.

Upon arriving in Jiangtou Town, Tang Susu immediately noticed that the economic situation there was much better than that of Dongtai Town.

Pedestrians come and go on the streets, and a wide river flows on the edge of the city, with a few boats drifting slowly on its surface.

She thought to herself that there must be many workers working near the dock, making it a popular spot to sell jelly.

Compared to the streets of Dongtai Town, which gradually quiet down after the morning market ends, Jiangtou Town remains bustling with activity.

Tang Lifu and Tang Liqiang were visiting Jiangtou Town for the first time. Everything here was new and exciting to them. They kept looking around, their eyes wide with wonder.

As the three walked through the bustling street, Tang Susu caught a glimpse of a price tag hanging in front of a grain store.

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that grain prices in Jiangtou Town were also alarmingly high, with millet reaching twelve coins per pound.

White rice and white flour were not sold at all on the shelves, presumably because the owner knew that ordinary people couldn't afford them, so he simply didn't display them.

Just as she was about to turn around and say something to her two younger brothers, she caught a glimpse of a woman in her twenties lying on the ground crying at the entrance of the grain store.

Beside the woman knelt a little girl of about five or six years old. The little girl was so thin that she was skin and bones, and her face was sallow. It was heartbreaking to see her like that.

"Please, kind people, save my child..." The woman cried, her voice filled with sorrow and helplessness. "We've been without food for days. We can't go on like this. If this continues, my children will starve to death. I have no choice but to give my child away. I only need three coins. Please, kind people, take her away and give her a bite to eat..."

Tang Susu stood there, looking at the scene before her, her heart filled with mixed feelings.