I survived the famine by scavenging and supported my family.

That evening, Ning's mother scooped out some of the coarse grains she had been given and mixed them with red beans to cook. The four of them sat on the edge of the bed, each holding a bowl, and drank the food. Ning's father looked bitter and said, "This time travel is really testing our willpower."

"Just consider this a reminder of the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present!" Ning's mother comforted everyone. "Fortunately, the family division was thorough. After that, the four of us will stick together as one, use our brains, and we'll be able to live a good life."

"We have some ice jelly seeds. I'll figure out how to make them first thing tomorrow morning. We can take them out and sell them. We're sure we can make money!" Zhao Ningning raised her hand. "There are also some deliveries coming up. In two or three days, we'll be able to eat wheat flour. Dad, hang in there!"

Ning's father, holding the bowl, chuckled and said, "Alright, Dad will hang in there."

The four of them quickly finished their meal, washed up, and lay down on their beds. Because of the heat, it was a bit stuffy without blankets. Zhao Ningning went home and broke off a few shoebox lids from the shoe cabinet, giving them to her brother and parents to use as fans.

After praising her daughter for being clever, Ning's mother fanned herself while arranging the household chores for tomorrow.

As dusk settled, the noise outside gradually subsided. Ning's mother estimated that it was about time, so she shook the drowsy Zhao Ningning and told her to use her cheat code.

Zhao Ningning wiped her face, summoned the system's map, and began her first trash-collecting activity.

[System: Exploration complete! Found a bag of trash. Open it now? Yes/No]

Upon hearing this notification, Zhao Ningning immediately perked up. After quietly sharing the news with her family, her mother told her to open the door when she got home.

There are automatic sensor lights at the front door so we can see things clearly, but here it's pitch black. We didn't even get a candle when we separated from the family, and we can't see anything at all.

Unable to wait until tomorrow to demolish it, Zhao Ningning rushed home to her front door and clicked "Yes".

The next second, a flash of white light appeared before Zhao Ningning's eyes, and a large woven bag, about half the height of a person, appeared in front of her. She circled around it first, and after carefully getting closer and not smelling any strange odor, she reached out and opened it.

Inside were some construction debris, including broken bricks, a small bucket of cement ash, and a red plastic bucket with broken edges.

It must be trash that people in the neighborhood who are renovating are cleaning up. Zhao Ningning took two buckets and flashed out of her spatial dimension, placing them on the ground.

"Mom and Dad, brother, this is the trash I found."

Seeing Ningning emerge from the spatial dimension, the group couldn't resist crowding around her. Unfortunately, the room was too dark, so Zhao Qi could only ask, "What kind of bucket?"

"That's great! I was just thinking of buying a bucket tomorrow, and now we have one right away," Ning's father exclaimed.

Zhao Ningning described to everyone: "The other one is a plastic bucket that people use to mix cement mortar when building houses. It's a big red plastic bucket with a piece broken off the edge. Both of these buckets should be used for house renovations."

"Then it can only hold domestic water, not drinking water. Old Zhao, you still need to go to the village tomorrow and ask around to see where you can buy a wooden bucket to hold drinking water."

"Alright then." Ning's father smacked his lips. "Ningning's trash-collecting cheat is quite useful. We can't easily use our family's cheats outside, or it won't be a small matter if we get caught."

When Ning's mother remembered that Zhao Ningning had used a tree branch to gather firewood into her space, she repeatedly reminded her to behave herself when she was out.

Although they had traveled to ancient times, the family of four was still able to stay together, and each of them had their own special abilities, so life wasn't hopeless. Zhao Ningning put the two buckets against the wall, went back to bed, and happily lay down next to her mother.

The next morning, all four of them slept until it was fully light before getting up.

Ning's parents were beaten yesterday, and there is no medicine to treat them right now. The bruises on their faces and bodies are gradually appearing, and they look a bit scary.

Zhao Ningning gently touched the bruise on her mother's face, feeling extremely distressed.

"Alright, there's no broken skin or bleeding. The bruise will go away on its own in a few days." Ning's mother moved her sweet little girl's hand away, both amused and exasperated. "You should study the ice jelly business today. When you earn some money, you can buy me whatever you want."

Zhao Ningning then moved her hands aside, first showing the two buckets to her family, then putting them back into her storage space along with the shoebox lid. The four of them then took the earthenware pot to the river to wash up.

When I went out, I ran into my eldest son's family and was mocked for being lazy.

After the family property was divided, Ning's mother, unlike yesterday, didn't pretend to swallow her anger. She rolled her eyes, grabbed her children, and left. Just as she finished washing up and returned home, the village started banging gongs. Ning's father put down his pot and said, "It's probably about the grain tax."

"You two go and find out what's going on in the village, and while you're at it, ask around about buying wooden buckets. We'll stay home and work on making ice jelly." After arranging the help, Ning's mother led Ning Ning to the house, locked the door, and had Ning Ning take out the package.

Zhao Ningning quickly unpacked several packages from her spatial storage. Inside were small bags of ice jelly seeds, and the seller had also included small packets of lime. One batch was enough to make a large basinful. In case the buyer didn't know how to make it, the seller thoughtfully provided a paper instruction manual.

Then she opened another package, which contained the toppings Zhao Ningning had bought for her ice jelly. She bought hawthorn, raisins, red beans, and other ingredients. Because she was too lazy to make her own brown sugar syrup, she also bought concentrated syrup. It could be said that as long as she could make ice jelly, she could just sprinkle these toppings on top and start selling it at a stall.

There was only one pot at home, so Zhao Ningning first boiled a pot of water. After the water boiled, she poured out some to cool so she could soak it in lime water later. Then, after the remaining water cooled, she put the ice jelly into the gauze bag provided by the seller, washed the bag and soaked it. Finally, following the instructions, she soaked the lime water in cold water and set it aside to clarify.

After soaking the ice jelly seeds, she held the bag and rubbed it open little by little with her hands to squeeze out the liquid inside.

This was a delicate task, and Ning's mother was getting a little anxious watching from the side. She asked Zhao Ningning several times, but Zhao Ningning said it wasn't done yet.

After rubbing for more than ten minutes, Zhao Ningning felt that she couldn't rub anything out anymore, so she carefully poured in the lime water from the side, stirred it evenly with a spoon, and set it aside.

"That's it?" Ning's mother exclaimed incredulously. "So fast?"

"Of course! And it's not difficult to make, otherwise I wouldn't bother!" Zhao Ningning moved the pot aside to cool. "Once it's completely set, we can eat it. It'll be perfect for waiting for my brother and the others to come back so we can eat together!"

"Okay, I haven't had breakfast yet." Ning's mother helped empty and wash the bowl of lime water. The two of them didn't wait long. Less than half an hour later, Ning's father returned with Zhao Qi.

"It's so hot..." As soon as Ning's father came back, he drank the cold water in his bowl, wiped the sweat with the corner of his clothes, and then said, "The village just announced that the grain tax will be increased by 20% this year, and the villagers are protesting. They all say that they have to tighten their belts to survive these past few years, and if the grain tax is increased, they will not be able to survive."

In the courtyard, the eldest and third sons had already started arguing.

"Thank goodness we separated yesterday, otherwise we'd still be tied to that family and worrying about them." Ning's mother was relieved. Although she had been beaten and in debt, at least her family was free from those oddballs. "Never mind them, hurry up and try the ice jelly Ningning made. We haven't had any yet; we've been waiting for you to come back so we can eat together!"

With the bowl empty, Zhao Ningning first served her mother a bowl, letting her add the condiments herself. She then served her father a bowl. When it was her older brother's turn, he hadn't finished the cold water in his bowl. Zhao Ningning smiled at him and urged, "Brother, drink faster, I'll serve you more."

Zhao Ningning and her brother both love sweets. After Zhao Qi finished drinking the cold water, Zhao Ningning ladled out a big bowl for him and added plenty of toppings. The four of them then picked up their chopsticks and started eating the ice jelly.

There was no ice added, but it was still refreshingly cool on such a hot day. The group was very satisfied to eat such a familiar taste in this unfamiliar world.

"How about it? Can we set up a stall to sell it?" Zhao Ningning asked her father, who was the only one among them who had been to the county town and seen the world.

"It should be fine." Ning's father clicked his tongue as he recalled what he had seen and heard when he went to the county to get the stamp yesterday. He repeated, "There are similar small glutinous rice balls and sweet soups sold in the city. I remember they were hawking the glutinous rice balls for five coins a bowl of six, and the sweet soup was two coins. It was mostly mung bean soup with sugar."

"The vegetarian buns cost two coins each, and that's after the price increase. In better years, they cost one coin each," Ning's father added.

"We can sell our ice jelly for five coins a bowl," Ning's mother analyzed. "Mung bean soup is easy to make, the beans are inexpensive, and it doesn't require much skill. In the county town, it can still sell for two coins and people will still buy it."

"Our positioning is similar to that of tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). Tangyuan is made with glutinous rice, and the cost of glutinous rice, sesame seeds, and sugar is not low. Ours is ice jelly seeds. One small packet can make about ten bowls. The main reason for the high price is the added ingredients: raisins, red beans, and syrup. These ingredients are also not cheap and are our selling point."

Zhao Ningning opened her mouth in surprise. What was she supposed to say? Her own mother had already given her the whole analysis.

Ning's father worried: "The problem is that it's a long way to the county town. If we do business in the town, it's closer, but the sales volume might not be as high."

"Let's do it! We're going to do business in the county town. Anyway, it's not a hassle to bring ice jelly along. If all else fails, we can always bring some ice jelly seeds to make it ourselves. Since we're going to do business, we'll definitely sell it where sales are good." Ning's mother said, "If we sell it in town, we're more likely to run into the Zhao family."

After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

Zhao Laosan's wife's family is from the town, and the Cao family girl that Zhao's eldest grandson wants to marry is also from the town. These people are like time bombs; you'll either run into them directly or you'll run into someone they know.

"Let's go to the county town then. At least it's closer to the government office. If they cause trouble, we can call the police... report it to the authorities." After finalizing the location, Ning's mother asked, "Have you two found out about the wooden buckets?"

Ning's father: "I've found out that they sell them at the general store in town. A regular large bucket costs 80 coins, and a small bucket costs 60 coins."

After reviewing the family's existing assets, Ning's mother said, "Now we're going to start a business selling ice jelly seeds. We need to buy four buckets, two large and two small, with lids. We also need to buy some bowls and spoons."

Zhao Ningning reminded her, "Mom, don't forget about the condiment container."

"Buy those rough porcelain jars with lids so they're easy to store, and we'll also need to buy a basket..." Ning's father calculated that once this business was started, he would have to put in at least three or four hundred coins. Fortunately, the ice jelly seeds and toppings used in the initial stage were all bought by Zhao Ningning beforehand, so it was a business with no initial investment.

These two large boxes of ice jelly seeds should be enough to make at least two thousand bowls. Once they're sold out, we'll think of other ways to make them.

Ning's mother pondered, "Once the business is stable, Ningning and I will run the business, while Xiaoqi will go up the mountain to look for seeds. We don't know if there were any in ancient times. If not, we'll keep a few packets as seeds and sell them along with the recipe later."

Like a reassuring pill, Ning's mother calmed the remaining three adults and children down, and they were all eager to get started.

They had to wait until it got cooler in the afternoon before going to town. Zhao Ningning was just about to tell everyone to finish the remaining ice jelly when a commotion suddenly broke out in the courtyard outside the door.

Zhao Ningning's first thought was to go see what was going on. As soon as she went out, her mother grabbed her and said, "Let's just listen from inside. Don't go out and get involved."

"If you want to survive here, the first rule is to 'survive'," Ning's father shared his experience.

So the family of four stood close to the only window in their house, listening to the sounds coming from the yard.

Inside the Zhao family courtyard.

Sun, from the eldest branch of the family, and Wu, from the third branch, got into a fight.

"Stop! All of you stop!" Granny Qian, who had come running at the sound, was furious. They had just had a fight that morning, and now that everyone in the village was watching the Zhao family, the second branch of the family had calmed down, but the two daughters-in-law were fighting again.

What a terrible sin this is!

Granny Qian reached out to stop them, and just as she was about to separate the two women by holding onto Madam Sun's shoulder, a gust of wind swept through, and she was almost slapped across the face by Madam Sun! Granny Qian turned her head to dodge, and angrily said, "Madam Sun! Madam Wu! You two, stop!"

With one shout, the two daughters-in-law stopped, but they were still pinching each other and cursing.

Madam Sun: "You shameless woman! You're getting a good deal and you're still acting innocent! Don't think I don't know you and your third son are always pestering your mother for money!"

"What are you saying! That's my dowry money!" Wu cried out in pain as her waist was pinched, "Tiebao—"

Before she could finish speaking, Madam Sun grabbed Madam Wu's hair bun and violently yanked out a tuft of hair from Madam Sun's temples.

Looking down, she saw a large clump of her carefully grown hair that had been torn out. When she looked up again, Wu's eyes were red. She charged at Sun like a leopard, knocking her over. Not content with that, she looked around and found a stone, which she grabbed and was about to smash it on Sun's head.

"Stop! Stop!" Granny Qian was terrified and rushed over to grab her younger daughter-in-law's wrist to stop her. "Sun, get up first."

"I won't accept it! Last time, Tie Bao and I had just gone to the market, and she snatched my sixth daughter's flower right after! Don't think I don't know it was you!" Wu spat and continued, "And last time, your man secretly bought some maltose candy from outside, and you didn't share a single bite with anyone!"

"You woman who spews filth!" Sun grabbed some dirt from the ground and tried to shove it into Wu's mouth.

"Slap!" "Slap!"

Granny Qian slapped them both.

The courtyard finally quieted down. When Granny Qian saw the two separate, she angrily said, "You've got some nerve! You wouldn't listen to me. I have to slap you to shake the water out of your head."

At this point, the men outside the courtyard finally arrived.