Chapter 29: Strolling and Snacking in the City

Although it was said that Wen Nuan Nuan was taking the two little ones shopping, in reality, she was following their lead.

After all, she didn’t know her way around.

Combining the daily necessities she mainly needed to buy, the three little ones had planned a route: first, bamboo products, then medicinal herbs, followed by books, and finally fabric.

The fabric was too heavy for them to carry far, so they decided to wait under the big tree outside the fabric shop. There, they would eat lunch while waiting for Eldest Brother to join them.

After regrouping, they would buy heavier items like ironware, clay pots, and stoves, which were all available on the same street. Once done, they would exit the city through the nearby West Gate, walk along the moat to the main road they had come from, and head home.

Earlier, Eldest Brother had asked for her opinion.

What opinion could Wen Nuan Nuan possibly have?

The route was well-planned and logical—she couldn’t have been more pleased. How could she have any objections?

Eldest Brother truly lived up to his future as a military commander skilled in marching and fighting. He remembered the routes and shop locations with remarkable clarity and organized the itinerary flawlessly!

Wen Nuan Nuan thought to herself that specialized tasks should indeed be left to the experts.

“Candied haws! Candied haws! Fresh candied haws!”

A loud hawking call drifted over from a distance.

Wen Nuan Nuan noticed Leng Yun eagerly poking his little head out to look.

This child really has a sweet tooth, she thought happily.

But she loved sweets too. Candied haws and roasted sweet potatoes were must-buys for her during winter strolls. Even though she didn’t enjoy them as much as she did in childhood, she still bought them persistently.

Perhaps what she was buying was that nostalgic taste from her memories.

She hadn’t expected Tongcheng to already have candied haws now!

But then again, it made sense. After all, it got cold early here, so she couldn’t apply the habits from her previous life in the Jiangnan region.

“Does Little Brother want some? Go ahead and buy it if you do.”

Leng Yun shook his head, his bright eyes fixed on the candied haw skewers, but he said, “We already ate lots of delicious sweets on the way here. Besides, candied haws are expensive—eight coppers per skewer.

Hawthorns are everywhere in the mountains, but they’re very, very sour. What’s worse, eating them makes you especially hungry. In our village, no one even bothers to pick them.”

Wen Nuan Nuan was about to say that eight coppers wasn’t expensive, but then she remembered how Second Brother had worked so long on his handicrafts, selling dozens of items for just one string of cash. For the three little ones, one skewer of candied haws could buy a pound of coarse grain. With careful saving and plenty of vegetables, that could feed them for several days.

Naturally, they couldn’t bring themselves to spend the money.

Yet, all three of them likely wanted to try it—it was just their rationality holding back their cravings.

Bright red berries coated in transparent, sweet syrup—what child could resist such a snack?

“The hawthorns aren’t expensive, but the sugar syrup coating them is. Since we’ve made the effort to come into the city, we should definitely try the things we want to eat. Otherwise, we’ll keep thinking about them after going home.

Let’s buy some and give it a try. If we don’t like it, we won’t crave it anymore. If we do like it, you can pick some hawthorns when you go to the mountains for firewood, and I’ll make candied haws for you at home!” Wen Nuan Nuan persuaded them with a different approach.

The joy of snacking while strolling was irreplaceable.

So was the taste of childhood. Even if you could eat your childhood favorites without limits when you grew up, you could never recapture that original flavor.

She would do her best to ensure their childhoods held no regrets.

Leng Yun was clearly tempted and asked hesitantly, “Really? Can we?”

In the past, he could only secretly swallow his saliva when he saw them, never daring to think of spending eight coins just to buy a skewer of tanghulu that wouldn’t fill his stomach—it was too expensive and too wasteful.

“Of course you can! Your sister-in-law will buy it for you. How many skewers do you want?” Wen Nuan Nuan understood Little Brother’s thoughts perfectly, after all, she had been that age once too.

For such a small wish from Little Brother, she naturally chose to fulfill it without hesitation.

“One skewer, one skewer is enough!” Leng Yun quickly replied with delight.

One skewer had nine pieces! He could let his sister-in-law eat three first, and then he, Second Brother, and Third Brother could each have two!

Each piece was almost worth one coin, so two pieces was already plenty and very good.

When Wen Nuan Nuan returned with four skewers of tanghulu, a radiant smile on her face, the two younger ones were so overjoyed and shocked they couldn’t speak.

They felt as if Wen Nuan Nuan was radiating a soft, gentle light—she couldn’t be any better.

“Here, one skewer each, and there’s one more in the bamboo basket for Eldest Brother,” Wen Nuan Nuan said, handing the tanghulu to her two stunned younger brothers.

Even if they could make it themselves at home, buying and eating it on the street felt completely different from making it at home—it was all about the atmosphere!

Besides, the hawthorns on this tanghulu were truly beautiful—large and round, and most importantly, free of wormholes!

She was always afraid of finding wormholes in tanghulu, but these were even better than the ones she had bought before.

Once the two younger ones snapped out of their daze, they beamed brightly and said in unison, “Thank you, sister-in-law!”

Each of the three held a skewer of tanghulu, eating as they walked toward the medicine shop.

“Do you always sell your herbs at that medicine shop?” Wen Nuan Nuan asked casually, taking a bite of the sweet-and-sour tanghulu, her mood cheerful.

Leng Chen quickly swallowed his tanghulu and replied earnestly, “Yes, the shopkeeper at ‘Renxin Hall’ has excellent medical ethics. He never shortchanges the weight of the herbs we bring or arbitrarily lowers the prices. Eldest Brother told us to bring the dried herbs directly here. After verifying the weight with the shopkeeper, we settle the accounts once a month. It’s very convenient.”

Oh, so it was Leng Xiao’s arrangement. Then there couldn’t be any mistake.

Wen Nuan Nuan was now quite calm whenever she heard anything related to Leng Xiao. After all, Leng Xiao was favored by the heavens—he was practically omnipotent.

Thinking of the small portions of ginseng slices she had prepared, which would accumulate over time, Wen Nuan Nuan asked Leng Chen, “Second Brother, when you deliver the herbs, could you also ask what price they offer for ginseng sliced into pieces, not very old in terms of years?”

Leng Chen was taken aback and asked in return, “Why are you asking about that, sister-in-law?”

“Oh, just ask for me, will you? I just want to get an idea of the price for ginseng slices,” Wen Nuan Nuan replied, of course not revealing her true intentions.

Fortunately, Second Brother didn’t press further.

While Leng Chen went into Renxin Hall to deliver the herbs, Wen Nuan Nuan took Leng Yun to the pastry shop next door.

As soon as they entered, they were stunned.

Jujube paste pastries, jujube paste rolls, small crispy pancakes, hawthorn cakes, red bean chestnut cakes, mixed fruit cakes, cloud slice cakes, walnut cakes, crispy candies, sesame peanut brittle, patterned sugar candies…

Good heavens, Wen Nuan Nuan’s mouth was practically watering uncontrollably!

She had always thought modern desserts had a wide variety, but she never imagined there were so many types even in an ancient town!

But then again, with thousands of years of culinary culture accumulated, it was only natural that all kinds of pastries had been developed.

Wen Nuan Nuan wanted to eat everything she saw, and her mouth watered at the sight of each one.

This was the basic cultivation of a foodie and the greatest respect one could show to food.

“Wuwu, Little Brother, what should I do? I want to buy everything!” Wen Nuan Nuan tugged at Leng Yun’s sleeve, her eyes unable to tear away from the variety of pastries.

Leng Yun was also staring intently, swallowing hard before hesitantly suggesting, “How about… we buy some?”

When the two emerged from the pastry shop, they were carrying seven or eight packages!

Wen Nuan Nuan was still muttering to herself, “Let’s buy these for now. Next time Eldest Brother comes to town, we can buy the ones we haven’t tried yet.”

When Leng Chen came out after selling the medicinal herbs and saw what they were holding, he was startled.

But seeing the two beaming with joy, he swallowed his words and silently placed the pastries into the basket on his back.

“Speaking of which, the oiled paper used to wrap the pastries is really convenient. Should we buy some to take home? That way, when you go into the mountains, you can bring pastries along.” Not just for pastries—it would also be handy for wrapping sugar and fruit.

“Sure, the bookshop sells it.”

“By the way, Second Brother, did you ask about the price of ginseng slices?”