I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

Granny Qian was stunned. What slap? What thirty?

The constables, following orders, immediately restrained her until she was pinned to the ground. Even then, Granny Qian persisted, crying, "My lord! I'm innocent! It's all the second son's family's fault! They're all up to no good!"

"The family division documents and the severance of kinship documents clearly state that your division is due to your intention to sell your second wife's daughter." The county magistrate stroked his beard, as if to suppress his anger. "When you signed and sealed these documents, your village head should have read them aloud in person!"

Was this written in the family division document? Granny Qian recalled, "Yes! It was written! When the village head read it, she was only happy to get the IOU and completely forgot that these things would be written in the family division document!"

The bailiffs began slapping the faces. In this form of punishment, the slaps to the face were not made with the hand, but with a leather clapper the size of a palm. With each slap, a loud sound echoed from the back of the hall to the front.

Before Granny Qian could beg for mercy, another slap came quickly, one after another. When she was dragged back to the main hall, Granny Qian's face was swollen high, and she was almost fainting.

The county magistrate put down his teacup. "Continue!"

"You caused trouble at the stall today. Please explain the whole story in detail."

Granny Qian tried to speak, but couldn't even open her mouth. She could only look at Madam Sun beside her, signaling her to go and explain.

Pushed forward by her mother-in-law, Sun met the county magistrate's gaze and forced herself to say, "We went because we thought about how hard the second son's family had been, and we wanted to help them..."

"Sun, you have seen the consequences of deceiving me. The laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty state that those who deceive their superiors or subordinates shall be slapped thirty to one hundred times, depending on the severity."

If it gets even more serious, they'll be sentenced to death by strangulation.

She'd been warned! Sun glanced back at her mother-in-law, trembling. Within moments, Granny Qian's face swelled even more, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

She swallowed hard and said, "Sir, it's...we saw that the second wife's family made money, so we thought we'd go and see if we could also start a business."

She didn't say directly that she was there to steal the prescription. Seeing her mother-in-law's miserable state, even if Sun was dull-witted, she knew that if her intentions were exposed, everyone who came today would suffer.

"You lot, tell me, is it true?" the magistrate asked the other men who were cowering behind the woman.

Old Zhao never looked up or spoke.

Zhao Laosan nodded hastily.

Boss Zhao shrank back and remained silent.

—A bunch of spineless men!

The county magistrate shook his head and went to ask the aggrieved party.

Zhao Ningning naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. "Reporting to Your Excellency, they simply came to cause trouble and steal the prescription. Passersby can also testify for us."

When she arrived, several people who love to watch the excitement followed her, and Zhao Ningning certainly wouldn't let go of such a good candidate for "witness".

"Not only did they cause trouble, they also overturned our stall. If they had come to 'inquire' politely, how could they have become enemies with my family?"

There was a family division document to prove that Zhao Ningning was arrested. The only way to find evidence and witnesses was to disrupt the business and cause trouble. The county magistrate called over a few people, and the onlookers told him what they had seen and what had happened without holding back.

The hall fell silent for a moment. Old Zhao felt a chill run down his spine. When did the second branch of the family become so eloquent? Wu Ya used to be a little girl who would never utter a sound no matter how much she was beaten or scolded.

He glanced at Wu Ya, who was kneeling on the ground, and then at her second wife, who was kneeling beside him, looking at Wu Ya with admiration.

Everything has changed...

How could the second son's family have come to this! Old Zhao's heart skipped a beat. Before the magistrate could pronounce the sentence, he crawled to the front and pleaded, "Your Honor, it's my fault for failing to discipline them properly. Please forgive my family!"

The magistrate ignored him, and after some deliberation, said, "Robbing others' property is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane and three months of imprisonment."

According to standard punishment, the ringleader should be flogged thirty times, but since they were all from the same family, the magistrate distributed the punishment equally among the others: Granny Qian twenty times, Granny Sun twenty times, and the remaining people fifteen times each.

All things considered, it's not a light punishment.

Only the mastermind, Granny Qian, was imprisoned for three months, while the other accomplices were imprisoned for one month.

Zhao Ningning and her fellow victims accepted the sentence without question.

After leaving the county government office, Ning's mother stroked the two children's heads, still shaken, and said, "I was so scared. When Madam Cao came to find me, I was afraid that you two would be arrested and interrogated. Next time, let's just eat something at a nearby stall."

Zhao Ningning shook her head, "What's there to be afraid of? I knew Madam Cao went out to look for you, that's why I stood there arguing with them. Otherwise, I would have already taken my brother and run away!"

Money is just an external thing. If she really encounters danger, Zhao Ningning will risk exposing her spatial dimension to protect the lives of her family.

"Come on, you've all been through a fright today, and your stall was overturned. Let's clean up and go eat out!"

Back at her stall, Zhao Ningning was surprised to find that the broken porcelain shards and spilled ingredients had been swept away, and the table had been straightened.

Seeing Ningning looking at them, Madam Cao said rather embarrassedly, "I thought they were a bit messy, so I called someone to sweep them away."

A clean stall is essential to avoid affecting passersby's impression of it. Otherwise, unsuspecting people might think the stall has gotten into trouble and be hesitant to eat there in the future.

Ning Ma went over and grasped Cao Niangzi's hands. "Cao Niangzi, I don't know how to thank you enough. If it weren't for you today, my two children would have been in danger!"

"We all set up stalls on the same street. When I go out, you watch the stall for me. We all help each other out." Cao Niangzi patted Ning Ma's hand. "The food you bought is getting cold. Here, let me heat it up for you."

Overwhelmed by such a great favor, Zhao Ningning and Zhao Qi took turns going over to thank Madam Cao.

Cao Niangzi was quite delighted. She used her own pan to heat up the sweet pies that Ning Ma had bought before handing them over one by one.

After finishing the pancakes, Ning Ma packed up the stall and left it where it was. She told Cao Niangzi that she was going to buy more things to use for the stall before leaving with her two children.

After buying new containers for the condiments, Ning's mother took the child inside and sat down before the restaurant closed.

Unlike the street stalls, restaurants in Fengning County don't get as much heat. To keep customers coming back, they store ice in ice cellars during the winter and only use it in the summer.

Smaller restaurants, or those without an ice cellar at home, can only buy ice from places that specialize in selling ice. When Ning's mother first started selling ice jelly, she considered adding ice to the bucket, but gave up after inquiring about the price.

A block of ice costs one tael of silver! Selling it for a month would only bring in ten taels of silver, so no matter how you calculate it, it's a loss.

Ning's mother came over for a meal while she had some free time. She was thinking of handing over the ice jelly business because the weather would gradually get colder in another month, which would affect the business and prevent her from raising the price of the ice jelly recipe.

All of this required careful planning. At this moment, Zhao Ningning looked at the menu in the store, thought for a while, and ordered four dishes.

One hot dish each of meat and vegetables, served with a bowl of rice, made the three of them very satisfied.

As they were leaving the store, Zhao Ningning said, "Mom, we should try to find out if our recipe has been sold."

Ning's mother nodded: "I had the same idea, but do you have any ideas on how to sell it?"

Zhao Ningning nodded, "There are only a few big restaurants in the county, and they're all competitors. Let's find out who's competing with whom, and then spread the word that we're going to sell our recipes. We don't have to worry about them not being interested."

"Business that comes to us is business. We need to hold back. The rest is up to me..." Zhao Ningning chattered on and on about business to her mother. Her mother was delighted and told Zhao Ningning to make the arrangements herself.

In the afternoon, when Ning's mother went to buy a thank-you gift, she also bought the things Zhao Ningning wanted.

In the afternoon, when Madam Cao was closing up her stall, Zhao Ningning and Zhao Qi went to visit Madam Cao's house with Ning's mother.

Zhao Ningning helped Cao Niangzi push the cart. As they walked, Cao Niangzi talked about how her home was in the county town, in a small courtyard at the west end of Changkou Lane.

Cao Fengchun's parents only had her as their daughter. They had some savings, so they arranged for her to marry into a wealthy family. Their dowry for her was a shop, and the two elderly people also owned one of the shops. Both shops were rented out.

When Zhao Ningning entered the Cao family home, she realized how humble Madam Cao was.

This yard is not small at all!

The courtyard was square, with a shed at the entrance. Under the shed, firewood and charcoal for the stall were neatly stacked. As soon as Cao Niangzi pushed her cart in, she could park it here, where it was protected from the sun and rain.

Further ahead, on the right is their kitchen, and next to the kitchen are two small houses.

Facing the courtyard are three neatly arranged rooms, with people living on the left and right, and the main room in the middle.

A small vegetable garden was cultivated under the wall on the side of the courtyard where no house was built. It was surrounded by bricks, and the ground inside the courtyard was clean and tidy.

Upon entering, the two elderly people waiting for their daughter to return home were surprised to see outsiders. They went over and greeted the guests, asking them to put down their things and then asked Madam Cao to lead them to the main room.

Inside the courtyard, two children who looked only five or six years old peeked out and their eyes lit up when they saw the pastries and cakes that Ning's mother was carrying.

Not long after, Yang Liu returned from his shift.

"Madam Cao, Lord Yang, thank you so much for your help today." Ning Ma and the two children stood up and thanked them solemnly.

"No need for formalities—" Madam Cao went to help Ning Ma up.

The group sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries.

After delivering the gift, Ning's mother excused herself, saying she had to hurry home, and thanked the Cao family.

When we returned to Wangli Village, it was already dusk. At the dark entrance of the village, we could see two people standing in the distance.

Zhao Ningning didn't carry anything heavy. She quickly stepped forward and saw the faces clearly. It turned out to be her father and Zhou Jian!

"Dad, Uncle, what are you doing at the village entrance?" Zhao Ningning called out.

"We were worried about you because you hadn't come back so late." Seeing that his wife and children were alright, Ning's father was relieved and walked home with his cane.

Zhou Jian walked over, took the small wooden bucket from Zhao Ningning's hand, and then went to the back to take the basket from Zhao Qi's hand.

After having her bucket taken away, Zhao Ningning went to help her father.

On the way, Ning's mother told him what had happened during the day, which made Ning's father so angry that he immediately wanted to take his cane and go to Old Zhao's house.

After calming Ning's father down, Zhao Ningning said, "It's okay, it's okay! They've gone straight to jail for causing this scene today. Our family can finally have a few months of peace and quiet!"

Ning's mother nodded, hoping that after this incident, the Zhao family would behave themselves in the village.

The family walked towards the village chatting and laughing. Today, Ning's mother took the two children out to eat, and of course, she didn't forget Ning's father, who was still recuperating at home. Before going home, she bought braised chicken and braised pork, as well as some meat and vegetables.

Stopping Zhou Jian from leaving, Ning's mother asked the two children to go to Zhou's house and call He Shi over for dinner.

The two children couldn't persuade the old lady, so Ning's mother went there herself and coaxed He Shi to go home by saying that something big had happened at home.

The next day.

Zhao Ningning got up early and pestered her brother to help her make an egg beater. Yesterday, she asked her mother to buy bamboo strips in the city.

Zhao Qi sat in his room, with several different types of carving knives on the large table. He thought for a while and described the general design of the egg beater. Zhao Ningning nodded vigorously.

So he picked up a bamboo strip, split the two-finger-wide strip into thin strips, carefully polished them, then heated and bent them over the fire, finally tying them to a wooden handle and securing them with hemp rope.

The simplified version of the ancient egg beater is ready.

Zhao Ningning tested the bamboo whisk in the water; it was lightweight and efficient, giving her more confidence in today's business.

After preparing everything for the stall, Ning's mother took her two children to the county town to set up their stall.

In the morning, Zhao Ningning only made an egg beater. She still needed to buy other ingredients to make the food. She didn't need her mother to accompany her. She called Zhao Qi, and the two of them walked around the neighborhood and bought all the ingredients.

Because she didn't want others to see her making new food, Zhao Ningning even spent 100 coins to book a room at the inn across the street.

Ning's mother lived right across the street downstairs, and she confidently ran her ice jelly business, letting her two children do whatever they wanted.

Zhao Qi helped watch the door, while Zhao Ningning brought the ice delivered from the ice shop into her spatial dimension.

The space was kept at a constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, which slowed down the melting of the ice. Zhao Ningning then took the clay stove and earthenware pot out of the space.

After lighting the clay stove, Zhao Ningning added the hard-won goat milk and simmered it slowly over a low flame. The fresh goat milk had almost no goaty smell, and Zhao Ningning herself found the aroma tempting.

Once most of the moisture had evaporated, Zhao Ningning added some sugar, then took out two wooden bowls, cracked the eggs into them, put the egg whites aside, and used an egg beater to beat the yolks.

Carefully pouring the egg yolk liquid into the pot, Zhao Ningning slowly stirred it with a spoon from the bottom until the liquid in the pot became thick before she stopped.

There was no fine mesh strainer here, so Zhao Ningning used a clean, coarse-mesh gauze to filter the cooled goat milk.

Just to be on the safe side, she set half aside and poured the other half into a pre-prepared frying pan.

Back in the space, much of the ice in the basin had melted. Zhao Ningning felt a pang of heartache. She poured the melted ice water into the small gray bucket and took the rest out of the space.

Zhao Qi took the kitchen knife and helped break the ice. The broken ice melted faster when it came into contact with the hot, stuffy air outside. Zhao Ningning quickly sprinkled salt on it, put the frying pan on it, and slowly stirred it with a spatula.

Energy exchange caused a layer of liquid at the bottom of the pot to condense into frost. Seeing this, Zhao Ningning kept working and soon a pot of authentic, additive-free ancient-style ice cream was ready.

Not having time to taste it with Zhao Qi, Zhao Ningning picked up the other half of the ice cream liquid that had just been divided up, added some red bean granules used for street vending, and made a pot of red bean ice cream.

There was still a lot of ice left in the basin, and Zhao Ningning didn't dare to waste it. She wrapped it in a blanket, put the ice cream she made into the topping jars, closed the lids, and placed them steadily in the center of the basin.

After making five jars, Zhao Ningning kept one jar for herself, scooped out the bottom of two bowls with a porcelain spoon, and handed one bowl to her brother, saying, "Try it."

Zhao Qi took it, tasted it, and gave it a thumbs up. No need for further explanation, it was delicious!

Zhao Ningning asked her mother for the materials and asked her brother to help assemble it.