On the second day, early in the morning, Ziyin felt that she was woken up by someone while still in her sleep, as if she were in a big vegetable market. She sat up dazedly and found that Zifeng had already gotten up, while Zilu was still sleeping. Zifeng touched her head and pushed her back into the quilt, "Ziyin, be good and sleep some more. Be careful not to catch cold. Brother is going to school now, listen to mothers words at home today, dont run around in the market."

  "Alright, big brother." As soon as Zǐ Fú left, Zǐ Qíng woke up Zǐ Lù. She went to Shěns room first and found that Zēng Ruì Xiáng had already left. Shěn was getting dressed to send off her younger brother Shěn Jiàn Rén and his family. Zǐ Qíng and Shěn came out together and ran into Zēng Old Lady and younger sister-in-law Xiāo coming out of the room. Everyone walked to the wooden house together, but Xiāo wouldnt let Shěn go out no matter what, saying that catching a cold wasnt something to be taken lightly.

  "Yu Mei, go back to the house and live a good life. Your little brother will be heartbroken if you dont take care of yourself. Dont worry him. After the New Year, well bring all the kids back home. Zi Qing, your mothers name is quite nice, isnt it? Auntie gave you some copper coins to buy something you like." Zi Qing was suddenly excited, feeling money for the first time as Xiao Shi secretly put a few copper coins in her sleeve pocket.

  Mrs. Peng was busy with her eldest son Xiao Fusheng, second son Xiao Jiansheng and Xiao Xiuying, and hastily said goodbye. Xiao Xiushui and Shen Wenyu were whispering to each other, "Ziqing, after big sister leaves, Ill take you out for a walk." It seemed that Xiao Xiushui still remembered to buy something to eat for Ziqing.

  Ziying and Xiushui were sent to the door, it turned out that Shen Jianrens family had a donkey cart of their own, which made it very convenient for them to come and go. After Shen Jianren and his family left, Xiushui secretly took two freshly baked buns and was about to take Ziying out the door, "Second aunt, Im taking Ziying out to play, dont worry, just at the door."

  "This child hasnt even eaten yet, and his hair isnt even combed, he looks like a little madman." said Shen.

  Xiao Xiushui immediately pulled Zi Qing to the main hall, went into the house and took out a comb, not knowing what to use to tie it up, she combed her hair into a bun. "It really looks much better, in the future when your mother is busy and doesnt have time to comb your hair, you can come find me, Ill comb it beautifully."

  Zi Qing agreed. Looking at Xiao Xiu Shui, she was a child who loved to show off her beauty. She herself also had a wrapped head with two additional pink ribbon-made silk flowers.

  Finally arrived at the market, Zi Qing wanted to see what kind of farm products were available and how much they cost. However, Xiao Xiu brought her directly to the snacks section, it seems shes also a foodie. Most of the things Zi Qing couldnt name, nor did she dare to speak up easily. Zi Qing tried many things, most of which were made from glutinous rice, some with mung bean paste, some with red bean paste, some with sesame paste, and some without filling, fried into a ring shape, coated with white sugar powder on the outside, sweet and really delicious. It seems that the sugar industry here is relatively developed and not expensive, most of them cost one or two cents for two or three pieces, spending four or five cents can fill up two people. Then bought two cents worth of roasted pumpkin seeds to bring back home.

  Zi Qing didnt want to go back like this, "Auntie, I havent had enough fun yet, lets go take a look over there."

  "Alright, my mother also asked me to buy some vegetables on the way back, they dont have time to come out." So the two of them held hands and came to the agricultural products section. Zi Qing discovered that they were all poor people who grew their own vegetables or raised chickens and brought them here to exchange for a few coins. There were small white cabbages, huang ya bai (a type of yellow-leafed cabbage), which was similar to the big white cabbages in the north, but with yellow leaves, basically one coin per kilogram. The prices for celery, parsley, and scallions were two coins per kilogram. Eggs were one coin each, and there was another type of vegetable that was even cheaper, two kilograms for one coin, but Zi Qing didnt like to eat it much. Zi Qing loved the vegetable baskets, they were all things she had seen in her past life. Old hens were eighteen coins per kilogram, roosters were fifteen coins per kilogram, ducks were twelve coins per kilogram, and pork was also eighteen coins per kilogram. The prospects for raising chickens were still bright. There were no potatoes or sweet potatoes, but there were taro and burdock. She didnt see any apples, probably because they werent suitable for cultivation in this area. There were also people selling wild rabbits, forty to fifty coins each, and wild chickens, fifty coins each. Zi Qing almost asked about everything she saw.

  "Youre so curious about everything and ask about everything. It wasnt like this when I took you out before."

  "Am I not helping you? Arent you going home to buy vegetables?"

  "Oh, okay. Ive finished shopping, lets go."

  "Whats over there? I see quite a few people."

  "Over there they sell cows, calves and piglets. Theres nothing much to see, and it smells terrible."

  "Lets take a look, Im curious, its not easy to come out and stroll around."

  "Lets go, I really cant do anything about you."

  This time, Ziqing didnt dare to ask randomly, but by standing aside and watching others ask, she understood what she wanted to know. A cow and a donkey cost about the same, around three or four liang of silver. A piglet costs over one hundred to two hundred wen. There are also people selling chicks, ducklings, and goslings, not many in quantity, it seems they were hatched by mother hens. If only she could master the incubation technique. Ziqing only knew that she had to keep a constant temperature of 37 degrees, and with conditions permitting, she would slowly explore further.

  Ziying finally returned home with a satisfied heart. Zilu was looking for her everywhere. Ziying pulled him to Shens room, "Mother, Im back. Mother, I saw someone selling chicks, can we buy a few and raise them first? Is that okay?"

  "Buy it now? Where will you keep it? Be good, Xiaoxiao, when we move house, mom will definitely let you have one."

  "Mother, the chicks are very small and dont eat much, just picking some vegetable leaves will do. We can raise them under the peach tree, and at night put them in a bamboo cage and bring them in. Second brother can help me with this. Mother, just let me try raising a few first, by the time we move after New Years they should be big enough, then we can buy some smaller ones to take care of."

  "Alright, I wont argue with you anymore, little Qiangs wife. Mother will give you 30 cents, see how many you can buy, and dont forget to also buy a small bamboo basket." Shen handed over a purse to Zi Qing, putting in 30 cents for her.

  "Alright, Second Brother, lets go buy some chicks."

  The brother and sister rushed out, Zi Qing still remembered to bring the small basket. "Brother, lets ask about the bamboo cage first, and see how many birds we can buy with the remaining money."

  Zi Qing found a vendor selling bamboo baskets, and after haggling for half the day, the vendor asked her to pay three more coins because she was just a kid. Zi Qing didnt rush to buy it, and instead ran to the chicken vendor, squatting down in front of an elderly woman. "Auntie, how much is this chick?"

  "Little girl, where are your parents?"

  "My mother has just given birth to a little brother and is still lying in bed. My father has gone out."

  "Oh, hens are five cents each and roosters are three cents. How many would you like?"

  Ziying took out her purse and thought of the few coins that Xiaoshi had given her, which she hadnt counted yet. Now she counted them and found there were ten coins in total. With this amount, Ziying could only buy seven small hens after deducting the three coins for the bamboo basket. She thought for a moment and decided to buy five hens and five roosters instead. After all, its said that men and women working together wont get tired easily, and raising chickens should be no exception.

  Ziying planned to ask the old woman to give her one small rooster as a gift, but unexpectedly, the old woman agreed readily. Ziying carefully put the ten chickens into the basket, picked up some vegetable leaves, and then bought another bamboo basket before heading home with a happy heart. This was her first investment, and Ziyings heart was filled with expectation and hope.

  Actually, Ziying was the type of person who was content with small wealth and didnt have any grand ambitions. She just wanted to live a stable and peaceful life, especially after coming to this unfamiliar ancient era. She felt it was better to go with the flow, and not stir up trouble unnecessarily. So, she put aside her knowledge of glass and cement, even though she had studied engineering.

  After all, if she wasnt careful, she might lose her own life, and that would be a disaster. Therefore, at this moment, Ziying made a vow to the few small chickens: she would definitely rely on her own abilities to farm and become rich.

  After Zi Qing returned home, she immediately ordered Zi Lu to find some straw, spread it in the bamboo basket, and then found a slightly larger bamboo basket, spread the straw again, chopped the vegetables finely, found a broken bowl with a missing corner, gave the little chicken some water first, and then put the vegetable dregs inside.

  "Alright, mission accomplished. Lets go eat first, after lunch, well put them out to sunbathe."

  "Sister, brother found you are so great, when did you learn math? You can also raise chickens, brother thinks you know a lot."

  "What? Oh, Qinger just learned from watching the old ladies do it normally. She cant calculate numbers, but shes good at simple arithmetic. Normally when she goes out to buy things with her mother, shell get a little better each time." Zi Qing lied without batting an eyelid.