I won't be a prince's concubine; I'll cook delicious food and raise two villainous cu

Noticing that all eyes were on him, Li Erlang's face turned bright red, even his ears turned red.

He studied the classics from a young age and knew that doing business was considered a lowly profession in the eyes of the world and could not be considered a proper way of making a living.

However, he also knew that his older brother often took the good things he hunted to town to sell for money, so Li Erlang did not look down on Shen Yu's act of selling mushrooms from the bottom of his heart. It was just that he was a young man and felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

His face flushed red, and he pursed his lips without saying a word. Instead of dodging or running away like other children, he straightened his little body, raised his neck, and stood side by side with Shen Yu, facing the strange gazes of the crowd.

The three people patrolling the stalls were indeed attracted by the commotion and quickly walked over.

The person walking at the front looked a bit older, around thirty years old, and had an exquisitely embroidered sachet hanging from his waist, clearly not an ordinary commoner.

The two men following behind him were clearly his attendants, their faces showing amusement and their every move revealing their obedience to their leader.

Seeing this, Shen Yu immediately picked up a high-quality morel mushroom, her face beaming with a warm smile, and proactively promoted it to the leader, saying, "Sir, would you like to take a look at this? Do you recognize what it is?"

The man's eyes lit up instantly when they fell on the morel mushrooms, and his voice rose several decibels in surprise: "Wow! These are morels! They're actually morels!"

Seeing that he recognized its value, Shen Yu smiled and replied, "As expected, you have a discerning eye; you recognized it at a glance."

"Look, sir, these are morels, these are porcini, and below them are shiitake and brown mushrooms. I picked them all from the mountains; they're rare and high-quality mushrooms, and absolutely non-toxic. Why can't they be sold?"

"I refuse to believe that even if the Li family is rich and powerful, they can't control what other people eat or drink. Just because they had a past incident doesn't mean everyone can't eat mushrooms, right?"

As soon as Shen Yu said this, the surrounding vendors and passersby couldn't help but gasp, their faces filled with shock.

Immediately afterward, a murmur of discussion erupted: "This woman is too audacious, daring to speak ill of the Li family like that!"

"You probably haven't seen how powerful the Li family is yet, have you? That family is incredibly arrogant and domineering, running rampant in the village like local tyrants!"

"Especially those tenants who rented land from the Li family, which one of them wasn't bullied to the point of misery..."

"Young lady, don't speak carelessly, or you'll get yourself into trouble!"

Unfortunately, a servant of the Li family happened to be nearby and overheard every word they said.

Upon hearing the discussion, the servant immediately frowned, his face turning ashen. He turned and ran towards the Li family's direction, clearly intending to return and report the news.

Someone with sharp eyes recognized the servant and hurriedly exclaimed, "Isn't that Li Dawei from the Li family!"

"Oh no, this woman is in trouble! Hurry up and leave, woman, or it will be too late!" The surrounding vendors kindly surrounded Shen Yu, urging her to leave quickly.

Shen Yu was actually very nervous and flustered, but she forced herself to remain calm and put on a fearless expression.

afraid?

How could she not be afraid? In this era, powerful and wealthy people have all sorts of insidious methods to deal with ordinary people, torturing them to the point of wishing for death.

She had no idea that the Li family had been poisoned by eating mushrooms, so now, whether she sells mushrooms or not, as long as these mushrooms appear in the market, the Li family will probably hold a grudge against her.

For a wealthy family like the Li family, there are managers who specialize in purchasing goods and services at the market every day. If she showed up here with mushrooms, she would have no chance of escaping it long ago.

Since that's the case, why not just sell openly and make our stance clear, putting the Li family on a moral high ground? Do you think they'd dare to physically assault someone in public?

The head steward looked at Shen Yu, slowly stroking his beard while nodding slightly, a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

"Because of the Li family's affair these past few years, I haven't tasted mushrooms in Shanqing Town for a long time."

"Young lady, these mushrooms of yours all look fresh and of top quality. They are truly excellent!"

The manager's gaze swept over Shen Yu. Seeing that although she was beautiful, she was dressed like an ordinary village girl, his mind immediately began to stir.

This young woman was different from others. While others would call him "Master" or "Grandpa," she immediately recognized his identity as the manager, indicating that she was a knowledgeable girl.

If we could introduce her to a better place, perhaps she could have a bright future?

Li Erlang keenly noticed that the steward's gaze lingered on Shen Yu for too long. He frowned and subconsciously took half a step forward, using his small body to shield half of Shen Yu's face. His eyes were fixed on the steward warily, full of defensiveness.

The manager was startled by the sudden appearance of the young boy. Looking at his still-childish yet wary face, he paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Interesting! Truly interesting! To have met two interesting people like you at this market today! Little lady, I'll buy all these mushrooms!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu was both surprised and delighted, but still politely replied, "Manager, I have quite a lot of mushrooms here; I'm afraid you won't be able to finish them all by yourself."

The manager laughed heartily, "What's wrong with not being able to finish them? Just dry them and save them for winter. Just sell me all the mushrooms, and I promise not a single one will go to waste!"

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "Thank you so much, manager!"

With a wave of his hand, the steward immediately sent two attendants forward, one lifting Shen Yu's basket and the other taking the basket containing the mushrooms.

"Young lady, come with us. We'll go back and clean your basket and carrying rack."

Shen Yu nodded, took Ya'er and Li Erlang's hands, and calmly followed the three of them out of the market.

The merchants who remained in place were dumbfounded, each one staring in disbelief.

No one expected that someone would actually dare to buy mushrooms under the Li family's name, and even buy them all in one go, showing such generosity!

"Who on earth is this guy? He's not even afraid of the Li family, and he dares to buy mushrooms so openly?"

In an instant, the entire market was in an uproar, with people gathering in small groups and discussing the matter.

"You don't know yet, do you? That's the head manager of Mingyue Tower. He only comes to our Shanqing Town for two or three months each year."

"Mingyue Tower? Isn't that the most luxurious restaurant in our town?"

"That's right! I heard that a meal there costs at least two taels of silver!"

"Two taels of silver? My goodness, that's my family's expenses for a whole year! I can't even afford three coins' worth of wontons, and this person spends two taels on a single meal!"

"We're just a small town, how can we have such an expensive restaurant? Besides the Li family, who else can afford to go there?"

"You guys don't understand, do you? Many shop owners consider it an honor to visit Mingyue Tower once a month."

"Although not many people in our town can afford it, Shanqing Town is adjacent to the official road, and every year many wealthy merchants, officials and dignitaries who pass through will stay here."

"So what exactly is the background of Mingyue Tower?"

"I heard it was opened by a nobleman from the capital... That nobleman's restaurants have already spread all over the entire Daliang..."

After leaving the market, Shen Yu was still preoccupied with the price, so she quickly asked, "Manager, how much silver should I pay for this whole bunch of mushrooms?"

She was actually worried that the Li family would cause trouble, so she quickly left the market as the steward suggested.

She had already planned it out in her mind. If the manager offered too low a price, she would rather not sell and immediately take Li Erlang and Ya'er back home. If the price was right, that would be the best. She could sell the mushrooms without worrying about the Li family causing trouble, and she could also take the two children for a stroll in town.

The steward turned and glanced at her, asking, "Young lady, how much do you want to sell it for?"

Shen Yu had no idea of ​​the market price of these rare mushrooms. With a gentle smile still on her face, she said softly, "Just give me whatever you think is appropriate. It's just that I brought my younger siblings and I went into the mountains before dawn to pick these mushrooms; it really took a lot of effort."

She didn't explicitly say how hard she worked, but her words conveyed the difficulty of mushroom harvesting.

Moreover, she has difficulty walking and walks with a limp; anyone with eyes can see that there is something wrong with her legs.

The manager looked at her legs, a hint of regret flashing across his face.

Pity.

This clever, quick-witted, and beautiful young woman actually has a leg ailment.

Otherwise, if we send her to the Second Master in the capital, she might actually make a name for herself.