Chapter 21: Why Don't You Just Go Rob

It is often said that June weather is as changeable as a baby's face, but little did they know that September weather can be just as fickle.

One day it was drizzling continuously, and the next day it was bright and sunny.

With a thick white fog overhead, Lin Ruanruan, carrying the cold rabbit dish she had prepared the day before, quickly walked down the path to Changping Town.

Although the sky had cleared, the road was still muddy from a day and night of rain.

She walked cautiously to avoid getting mud all over herself.

Given the muddy conditions, she had to abandon her cost-free plan of knocking chestnuts from the trees.

Chestnuts covered in mud are hard to clean and become heavier, which means she wouldn't be able to sell much in a day.

Rather than wasting time, it was better to buy some chestnuts from the supermarket. Although it cost some money, it saved her labor.

She placed the cold rabbit dish in a wooden bucket and prepared some oiled paper for wrapping it, setting the price at fifty wen per portion.

Each portion was a full scoop with a large wooden ladle, just enough to wrap in oiled paper.

If she sold all the rabbit meat in the bucket, she would make about one or two taels of silver.

Additionally, if she prepared a basket of chestnuts and sold them all, she could redeem Bai Cheng'an's jade pendant today and return it to him.

Thinking of this, she worked with even more energy.

She busily cut slits into the chestnuts and heated the pot.

Before she even started roasting the chestnuts, a few people who had bought from her before gathered around.

"Hey, little stutterer, you're selling chestnuts again?"

"Why aren't the chestnuts roasting yet? I came yesterday and you were sold out."

Several people started talking at once, each asking a question. Since Lin Ruanruan had a stutter, she just smiled at them to show her gratitude for their patronage and her apology for not being there yesterday.

Everyone knew she had a stutter, so they didn't mind her silence.

As the chestnuts started roasting and the aroma spread, Lin Ruanruan had an idea. She uncovered the white cloth on the wooden bucket beside her.

Scooping out a ladle of the oily cold rabbit dish, she offered it to the crowd.

"Try... try it."

"What is this?" asked a scholar in a brown cotton robe, holding a folding fan and looking gloomy.

"Rabbit... rabbit," Lin Ruanruan answered with a sweet smile.

"Rabbit?" The scholar's eyes widened.

"Don't fool me, girl. I've eaten rabbit before, and it doesn't look like this."

The meat was red and oily, unlike the dry rabbit meat he was used to.

"Cold... cold rabbit," she said, switching hands to stir the chestnuts in the pot.

"Cold rabbit? Isn't that still rabbit?" The scholar sneered.

While he was talking, several people had already tasted the rabbit meat.

"Little stutterer, is this really rabbit meat?" asked a drunkard holding a wine gourd, his eyes lighting up as he chewed the delicious rabbit meat.

"Yes," she nodded. In no time, the rabbit meat on the wooden ladle was gone. Lin Ruanruan poured the leftover chili pieces next to the bucket and put the ladle back in.

"This rabbit meat is really flavorful. Wow, it's so spicy!"

The drunkard looked at the bucket of rabbit meat, drooling.

Just then, the aroma of the roasting chestnuts intensified.

Taking a moment, Lin Ruanruan scooped up two pieces of chili with the ladle and offered them to him.

The drunkard looked at the red chili, grabbed one, and put it in his mouth.

Having soaked overnight in the rabbit meat, the dried chili was even more flavorful, with the fresh taste of the rabbit meat and the spicy, oily soup.

It was both fragrant and spicy.

At first, the spiciness wasn't too strong, but it grew with each bite.

The drunkard chewed quickly, swallowed it, and then started panting, his tongue slightly sticking out.

"Drunkard, it's just food. How did you end up eating like a dog? You look just like my old dog, Huang, with your tongue sticking out."

A few people standing nearby started laughing and mocking him.

However, the drunkard seemed focused only on the rabbit meat and his drink, ignoring the jibes from others.

This attitude suited Lin Ruanruan just fine. If others wanted to laugh, let them. It wouldn't make any less meat for her to sell. As long as it didn't hinder her earnings, she didn't care.

"Little stutterer, what is this stuff? Why is it so spicy?" The drunkard quickly took a swig of his wine to cool his mouth, but it still felt like it was on fire.

"Spicy... spicy..."

"I know it's spicy. I'm asking what it is," the drunkard interrupted impatiently, unable to tolerate her stuttering.

Lin Ruanruan rolled her eyes while continuing to stir the chestnuts in the pot.

Her stutter was indeed a problem.

"Chil... chil... chili!" She finally managed to say the word, carefully controlling her tongue.

"Chili? What is that?" The drunkard took another swig of wine, his eyes constantly glancing at the bucket of rabbit meat.

Lin Ruanruan didn't plan on explaining further. Instead, she poured out the fully roasted chestnuts.

"Little stutterer, how much for this rabbit meat?" The drunkard, perhaps tired of trying to understand her explanation, asked about the price.

"Fi... fi... fifty wen," she stammered, holding up five fingers.

"Fifty wen?" The drunkard exclaimed, "Why don't you just go rob people!"

Lin Ruanruan, who was pouring out the chestnuts, pursed her lips. She would like to rob people, but she wasn't capable of that yet.

"It's just a bit of rabbit meat, and you want to sell it for fifty wen? That's too expensive."

"Yes, at that price, I'd rather buy sugar-roasted chestnuts."

Several people who had been waiting saw the chestnuts were ready and quickly paid for them.

But the pot could only roast so many chestnuts at once, making just five or six servings at best. Once those people had bought their chestnuts and left, even more people gathered, attracted by the commotion.

Suddenly, Lin Ruanruan's small corner stall was busier than the ones on the main street.

Other vendors looked over with jealousy and frustration, wondering why her stall was so crowded while their own businesses were slow.

Lin Ruanruan, however, couldn't worry about what other vendors thought. She had to focus on roasting chestnuts. With so many people waiting, she was confident she could sell all the chestnuts she had bought from the supermarket.

The drunkard, after drinking several large gulps of wine and hesitating for a long time, couldn't resist the tempting smell of the spicy rabbit meat. He finally took out fifty wen and bought the first portion of cold rabbit.

Once the first portion was sold, the rest sold more easily. Lin Ruanruan was overwhelmed with work, roasting chestnuts and packaging rabbit meat, almost burning a batch of chestnuts in the process.