Chapter Thirteen: A New Path

Lu Kun bought this scale in hopes of opening up new avenues. At this time, having a scale in hand meant finding a meal was a fairly secure prospect. One could easily make a living on the street at the town’s vegetable market.

In his previous life, Lu Kun recalled hearing villagers gossip about Lazy Li Erniu from the neighboring village. Li Erniu entrusted his family’s land to others to farm and ventured into town with nothing but an inherited scale slung over his shoulder.

For a while, Li Erniu’s refusal to farm became the biggest joke among several nearby villages. Yet Li Erniu was stubborn; knowing everyone was waiting to see him fail, he refused to back down and was determined to prove himself.

After several years of hard work, Li Erniu truly made something of himself. He married a beautiful young woman, built a three-story house in town, and became half a city-dweller in the eyes of the villagers. He was a classic example of silent perseverance followed by sudden brilliance.

Lu Kun reckoned that, if he went to the market street to eke out a living, his reputation would soon be infamous far and wide. In this era, any behavior that didn’t involve diligent farming was considered as frivolous as playing with cats and dogs.

...

No face, then so be it. As the saying goes: when a person becomes shameless, they become invincible! For the sake of his wife and children’s well-being, if there were truly no other options, even selling himself wouldn’t be shameful!

Of course, Lu Kun had plenty of ways to make money; in both his past and present lives, he never needed to resort to such extremes.

The family’s land still needed to be farmed—otherwise, he would seem too out of place. Lu Kun planned to let Liu Liping manage their two acres, lend a hand during busy seasons, and spend mornings earning money on the market street and evenings working near the cinema and public square in the county town.

It might be tiring, but there was no better way at present; earning money was the priority.

He bought twenty pounds of brown rice—not only because the family had run out and needed more, but also because Lu Kun wanted to try selling popcorn in town.

After all, whether selling one or two, popcorn and river snails could probably do well together near the cinema. Besides, relying solely on his family to collect snails would never be enough for sales; mixing in with the street crowd was the only way to find new sources.

As usual, Lu Kun was very clear about his cooking abilities and didn’t meddle in the kitchen. Both the stir-fried snails and popcorn were handled by Liu Liping.

There was no need to make more toothpicks; there were plenty left from yesterday.

Lu Kun had also realized that, as long as the snails were properly cleaned, most could be eaten by sucking out the meat directly, without needing toothpicks.

At the moment, Lu Kun was cutting paper. He laid out a square sheet of white paper, carefully cut it into small, equal pieces, and then folded them into funnel shapes.

Since today’s popcorn was for a trial sale, Lu Kun was uncertain how much he could sell. He guessed that the popcorn would only attract buyers at the cinema entrance, and wouldn’t be popular at the square.

He didn’t dare ask Liu Liping to make too much, instructing her to use just two pounds of rice for the batch.

Whether it was farm work or housework, Liu Liping was highly capable, and she was beautiful as well—a woman fit for both the parlor and the kitchen. Her parents originally hoped their pretty daughter would land a wealthy husband, but unexpectedly, Lu Kun managed to win her over, and things went further than they’d anticipated.

Liu Liping was a caring person. Last night, her husband came home exhausted and devoured his food like a starving man, which tugged at her heart.

Today, with daylight still early, Liu Liping quickly prepared the meal, and the family gathered around the table for supper. It was only about four o’clock in the afternoon—a time when most rural families had just started their second round of daily work, and hardly anyone ate supper so early.

Lu Kun was moved, with a slight smile at the corner of his mouth and good spirits, but he didn’t say much, urging the two children to come eat.

Chinese people are practical, storing love in their hearts and expressing it through everyday actions.

The eldest and second daughter found it strange; the family had never eaten supper so early before.

Because he’d bought rice, Lu Kun had promised that tonight there would be plenty of it.

With meat and rice, and plenty for everyone, the whole family nearly ate themselves into a stupor.

“Papa, will we have rice again tomorrow? I ate so much tonight...” the younger daughter asked earnestly.

“Haha, yes, yes, there will be rice tomorrow,” Lu Kun replied with a smile.

“Daddy’s out earning money. You be good at home, listen to your mother and sister, and remember to do your homework with your sister. When Daddy has time, he’ll check it.”

In his previous life, his youngest daughter had always been clever and talented at school.

She overcame every hurdle, becoming the top scorer in the county’s entrance exams, the city’s college entrance exams, and among the top ten in the province...

Lu Huiying, his second daughter, accumulated a series of honors, which finally washed away all the gossip Liu Liping had endured over the years, allowing her to start anew.

...

Perhaps motivated by the drive to earn money, Lu Kun arrived a bit earlier today than yesterday.

After parking his bicycle and setting out his wares, some regular customers from yesterday gathered around.

“Young man, do your words from yesterday still count?”

Lu Kun looked up and saw it was the same woman who’d first bought five-spice snails from him yesterday. He replied loudly, “Of course! As long as I’m selling five-spice snails, the promise I made yesterday will always stand!”

“Well, you’re an honest lad. Look, today I’ve brought my close friends along. Whether you can convince them to buy snails depends on your skills!” The woman chatted with Lu Kun while introducing him to the other ladies.

After a while, Lu Kun finally understood the situation.

The woman’s name was Zhang Qiuyan; before retirement, she was the head of finance at the county textile factory. The other ladies were all ordinary retired workers from the same factory.

Zhang Qiuyan’s husband had been the deputy chairman of the factory’s union before retiring, making her the natural leader of this group.

Lu Kun sold snails to the other ladies at twenty cents per portion, just with a bit more oil sauce.

To the “big sister” Zhang Qiuyan, he gave three portions of five-spice snails with a generous helping of sauce, and as yesterday, only charged fifty cents. This delighted her so much she couldn’t stop laughing, regretting that Lu Kun had married too early; otherwise, she could have introduced him to some pretty girls.

Lu Kun took the opportunity to promote his new product—popcorn.

The ladies weren’t interested—mainly because Lu Kun charged fifty cents a portion, which scared them off.

He couldn’t help it; each portion cost about ten cents to make, so selling for less wouldn’t be profitable.

That’s just how it is—whether the logic is sound or not, he had to act confidently!