After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Let's go to town to exchange money.

"Let's go to town to exchange money." Lin Qianqian slung the bag over her shoulder.

"Exchange for money?" Ding Xiaohu's eyes widened. "Sister Qianqian, these wild vegetables aren't worth anything!"

"I have a way." Lin Qianqian smiled.

She carried the bag of wild vegetables ahead, while Hu Zi and A Long followed behind carrying baskets on their backs. The three of them hurried towards the town, their feet wet with dew.

I left early today, before the sun got too strong, so walking was much easier than yesterday.

Upon arriving in town, Lin Qianqian skillfully turned into the alley and stopped in front of a restaurant with a sign that read "Tianxiang Restaurant".

"Miss Lin is here!" The waiter, with sharp eyes, greeted her with a broad smile. "What good things do you have today?"

"Waiter, is Manager Su here?" Lin Qianqian put down the bag, wiped her sweat, and said, "These are wild vegetables I just picked this morning. I wanted to ask if the manager will buy them."

"Yes, yes, come with me." The waiter warmly led them to the backyard.

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in a silk shirt lifted the curtain and came out.

"Manager Su," Lin Qianqian stepped forward, "These are wild vegetables we just picked this morning. The leaves still have dew on them, they're very fresh. Would you like them?"

Shopkeeper Su walked up to the bag, bent down, picked up a wild vegetable, pinched the stem, and brought it to his nose to smell it, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Yes, I want it." He straightened up. "I'll take as much as you have. The batch you sent over yesterday, the kitchen cooked it up, and the customers loved it."

Lin Qianqian stepped aside, revealing the bags and baskets on the ground: "They're all here."

Shopkeeper Su peeked inside and his eyes lit up: "So many?"

At this time of year, most of the wild vegetables outside are too old and not very edible. But the ones this girl brought were tender and fresh. Yesterday, he sold a plate of stir-fried vegetables for fifteen coins.

Things are valued for their rarity. Those wealthy people are after this novelty, and they're willing to pay a higher price.

Shopkeeper Su pinched the stems again, then nodded in satisfaction: "I'll give you three coins a pound today. I'll charge you the same price for any future orders."

"Thank you, Manager Su." Lin Qianqian curtsied. "Whether it will be available tomorrow depends on luck."

She phrased it cleverly—neither making a definitive statement nor being overly definitive.

The waiter quickly weighed it.

"Fifty catties in total, one hundred and fifty coins." Manager Su took out a small blue cloth bag from his sleeve, counted out the coins, and handed it over.

Lin Qianqian accepted the gift with both hands, thanked them, and led her two followers out of the restaurant.

As soon as they stepped outside, Ding Xiaohu couldn't hold back any longer: "Three copper coins a pound? Sister Qianqian, this doesn't make sense, does it? My mother and I sold wild vegetables here before, and nobody wanted them even for one copper coin a pound. These things are everywhere on the mountain, why would anyone pay such a high price for them?"

Lin Qianqian carefully put away the coins, saying as she walked, "Back then, wild vegetables were plentiful, so they were naturally cheap. Now, the mountains outside are all open to the elements, and the wild vegetables are too old to eat. Only those deep in the mountains are still tender. Scarcity makes things valuable, so of course they're worth more!"

Ding Xiaohu was stunned, scratching his head: "Sister Qianqian, how do you know everything?"

Lin Qianqian smiled but didn't reply. She counted out fifty coins from the bag, put them into the old cloth bag from yesterday, and handed it to Ding Xiaohu.

"This is yours. The money we earned today was made by the three of us together."

Ding Xiaohu recoiled as if burned, pulling his hand back immediately: "Sister Qianqian, I can't accept this! I only helped pick some wild vegetables, how can I share your money? No, no, if my mother finds out, she'll give me a good spanking!"

"Take it if I give it to you." Lin Qianqian deliberately put on a stern face, "Otherwise, I won't take you up the mountain next time."

Ding Xiaohu glanced at her expression, stammered as he took the money, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Lin Qianqian's eyes crinkled into a smile: "That's more like it."

She knew that Aunt Ding's family had a hard life. Uncle Ding and Aunt Ding were kind people, and they had three half-grown sons. The old saying, "Half-grown sons eat their fathers' pants," was no joke.

Even such a family sent the siblings cakes. Those cakes were probably saved up by the couple from their own meager savings.

And those eggs, such precious things.

Aunt Ding even called a doctor for her that day, although the doctor didn't charge her any money afterwards.

She wrote down every single one of these acts of kindness.

Now that I can make money, I'm taking Tiger along as a way of repaying that kindness.