Chapter 13: Grand Opening – Is the Golden Finger Here?

Jiang Qingshi offered no comment on the matter, merely meticulously writing the four large characters Lin Guilan had decided upon onto the banner sign. Lin Guilan gazed contentedly at the four characters her husband had written, her heart swelling with pride in that instant.

From this day forward, she could finally call herself a boss—however small her enterprise might be! Though her current setup was merely a modest stall, hadn’t many great shopkeepers started from humble stalls to build their fortunes? How many were truly born into wealth anyway?

The elderly woman selling Chinese yam beans watched as Lin Guilan displayed so many peculiar novelties, her curiosity piqued as she glanced over. “Young lady, what are you selling here? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“This is a cooling tea drink,” Lin Guilan replied. Being straightforward by nature, she immediately picked up the teapot. “Elder sister, what flavor would you like? I’ll make you a bowl to try right away!”

The old woman hastily waved her hands. “No, no, I was just curious. At my age, how could I possibly appreciate such delicate creations?”

“It’s really not difficult to make,” Lin Guilan chuckled, already busying her hands. “Since it’s just the two of us here now, that means we’re fated to meet. This isn’t anything valuable anyway—what does it matter if I make you a bowl to taste?”

With deft movements, Lin Guilan prepared a bowl of Snow-Froth Bean Drink. She had already ground soybeans into milk at home, which she now sweetened with sugar water before handing it to the elderly woman. Considering the woman’s advanced age and potentially sensitive teeth, she deliberately didn’t add too much sweetness.

The old woman initially hesitated to accept, but seeing that Lin Guilan had already prepared it and thinking what a sincere young woman she was—having made the drink without even being asked—she wiped her hands on her clothes before tentatively accepting the porcelain bowl. Under Lin Guilan’s encouraging gaze, the woman took a sip, immediately tasting the subtly sweet, cool liquid that was refreshing without being cloying. Her eyes widened in delighted surprise, and she quickly drank the entire large bowl.

“Young lady, what is this? How does it taste so wonderful?”

“This is called Snow-Froth Bean Drink, used for relieving summer heat,” Lin Guilan explained with a smile. “I specially chilled the soy milk in the Ice Chest, so it should feel quite refreshing.”

Her brother had brought her several large blocks of ice yesterday, but with no proper ice cellar at home, she had dug a simple one in a shaded spot a couple days earlier. Though she stored the ice carefully in specially made boxes, she still doubted the ice would last more than a few days.

Situated between north and south, Lingzhou—though relatively northern compared to the sweltering south—still experienced summers that were far from cool. Preserving ice remained quite challenging here.

Her brother’s family had specially built an ice cellar on the hillside to store ice, making it quite difficult to fetch ice in the summer. In recent years, the price of tofu had become increasingly low. Although her brother’s tofu had gained a reputation, it still couldn’t compete with the ever-decreasing market prices. She knew her brother had it tough, but fortunately, her sister-in-law was resourceful, using tofu to make cooked dishes that were delicious and hard for others to replicate. Her brother’s family had partnerships with the large restaurants in town, which helped them make ends meet. Sometimes, when the restaurants needed large quantities of cooked food, her brother would invest heavily in building the ice cellar. In winter, they would collect ice and store it in the cellar. Since food spoiled easily in summer, when the restaurants received large orders, they would prepare the dishes in advance and preserve them in the Ice Chest.

But ice was too precious. Nowadays, the market price for ice could reach several hundred wen per jin. She felt too embarrassed to constantly ask her brother for ice and had to use it sparingly. She placed the ice in the Ice Chest, which had several compartments to chill the ingredients she needed for today’s cold drinks.

Her brother had also given her some Niter he had painstakingly collected, but it was too precious for her to use. Making ice with Niter required extremely harsh conditions, and it often took a large amount of Niter to produce just a little ice. It was time-consuming and labor-intensive. The fact that her brother had given her such precious Niter showed how much he cared for his younger sister.

Alas, ice remained a major challenge. The ingredients for these items weren’t expensive and were easy to prepare, but ice was the real problem. Because ice was hard to come by, the cost of her snacks would have to increase, and she wasn’t sure if anyone would buy them at such high prices!

“This is truly unheard of. Sometimes, when ships dock here, people just want a cool drink!” the older woman said. “It’s just that ice isn’t easy to preserve. You must have put in a lot of effort… I see you’ve styled your hair in a married woman’s bun and have a child with you, so you must be married. What is your husband’s surname?”

Lin Guilan thought for a moment and smiled warmly. “Auntie, my husband’s surname is Jiang, but you can just call me Guilan. We country folks don’t stand on ceremony. May I ask how I should address you?”

“I’m a widowed old woman. My maiden surname is Zhao, so you can call me Aunt Zhao,” she replied with a smile. “Well, one has to make a living somehow. These yam beans can last for a while, and sometimes people on the ships buy them for their journeys.”

“Alright, Aunt Zhao. From now on, we’ll be neighbors,” Lin Guilan said with a smile. “I just don’t know if I’ll be able to sell anything…”

“Are you selling tea drinks? What do you have?”

Before Lin Guilan could finish speaking, a man with a cloth draped over his shoulder walked over. Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the cloth, he asked her.

“We have Perilla Drink, Iced Fruit Paste, Sour Plum Drink, and Snow-Froth Bean Drink…”

“Are they all cold?” the man leaned in curiously. “I don’t know much about these things. Just serve me a bowl of whatever—this bean drink will do. How much for a bowl?”

Lin Guilan glanced at the man and replied somewhat hesitantly, “Twenty wen, because it’s been chilled in the Ice Chest…”

She felt quite uneasy. After all, thirty wen could buy a whole jin of pork! This little drink was almost as expensive as half a jin of pork. If it were her, she wouldn’t buy it either!

“One bowl, please.”

Unexpectedly, the man directly took out copper coins and slapped them in front of Lin Guilan.

Lin Guilan widened her eyes in surprise, then without daring to hesitate, prepared the Snow-Froth Bean Drink and handed it to the man. He drank it in one gulp, feeling noticeably cooler. After a moment, he suddenly pulled out a string of copper coins from his pocket.

“Well made! Give me another bowl of Sour Plum Drink!”

Even after the man had left, Lin Guilan hadn’t fully processed what happened. In just this short while, she had earned forty wen – enough to buy over a jin of pork at the market!

Aunt Zhao winked at Lin Guilan: “Guilan, these people aren’t short on money. Few traveling merchants come to do business in our area – most just stop here for a break. If they have plenty of time, they might go to the town’s tea houses to rest and eat, but most are in a hurry to continue their journey and don’t have time to go into town! Besides, the tea snacks in town’s tea houses are much more expensive. Anything soaked in ice easily costs one to two hundred wen, and they’re not even as good as what you make! What you offer is quite a bargain in their eyes!”

The ice was indeed hard to come by… but fortunately the Ice Chest was well-sealed. The ice inside could make many bowls of drinks. If business continued smoothly, she could still earn quite a bit!

As Lin Guilan was thinking this, she saw the man who had just patronized her business leading a large group of people toward her stall…

Jiang Zhimiao watched Lin Guilan bustling about and felt happy for her. It seemed his mother’s business was booming! Though he was feeling a bit bored himself – with his mother present, he couldn’t practice walking.

Still, today he had unlocked the skill of speech, which was definitely worth celebrating!

[Bzzzzzzzzzz…]

Jiang Zhimiao suddenly heard an electric buzzing sound coming from somewhere…

What?

How could there be such an electric buzzing sound in this era?

Wait… this buzzing seemed to be coming from inside his head…

Could it be… his brain was about to explode?

Jiang Zhimiao thought in panic.

It seemed… it really was coming from inside his head.

Watching his mother’s busy figure, the little boy’s face showed a bitter smile.

Mother… your son might have to leave you soon… but no matter which world I go to, I’ll always love you as always…

[Finally reboot successful! Congratulations, host, for unlocking the “speech” skill, allowing me to successfully awaken!]

Awaken? Hearing this voice that seemed to come from within his heart, Jiang Zhimiao vaguely felt this was similar to many novels he’d read in his previous life. That is to say, this was… a system he had bound to?

Hey, he knew it! Having traveled through time, how could he not be granted a Golden Finger!

Was this his Golden Finger arriving?

Author’s note:

Don’t scrutinize the pricing too much [facepalm]

Most were searched online, plus some I made up myself…