The System Wanted Me to Be a Landlady (GL) - Chapter 8: Hawking

Chapter 8: Hawking

Back at Aunt Fierce’s shop, Song Yuyan got busy right away. Aunt Fierce gave her a basket of food and told her to take it to a big restaurant in the county called Drunken Abundance to hawk.

Song Yuyan went to Drunken Abundance and felt a bit scared when she saw the workers greeting customers at the door. But they didn’t seem to mind her arrival, so she nervously stepped inside the restaurant.

At that moment, she saw the workers who seated the guests start to sing. Listening closely, she realized they were singing the names of dishes, so guests knew what to order without looking at a menu.

Song Yuyan felt lucky that her job only needed thick skin. Singing dish names was so hard that without training, she definitely couldn’t do it.

And what did hawking involve?

For Song Yuyan, who had accessed the original owner’s memories, it wasn’t too hard. It meant boldly placing the food on the guests’ tables. If they wanted it, they’d pay her; if not, they’d ask her to take it away.

Perhaps because the restaurant’s cooks couldn’t serve food that fast yet, Song Yuyan soon sold all the food in her basket. She quickly returned to Aunt Fierce’s shop with the money.

Seeing her back so soon, Aunt Fierce handed her another basket to go sell, without asking if she had any trouble.

After Song Yuyan left, a man came in and said quietly, “Her hands are pretty clean. She didn’t steal any food or pocket a few coins.”

Aunt Fierce said, “Then it seems he really changed.”

Song Yuyan didn’t know someone was watching her. She took a deep breath and confidently started her second round of hawking.

At first, her heart was pounding. After all, she had never done this kind of work before, so even with her boldness and thick skin, she could barely hold it together.

But after one round, she got the hang of it. From stumbling over her words at the start, she later used the smooth-talking skills of a TV shopping host to avoid returning with unsold food.

That evening, Song Yuyan didn’t know how many trips she made. Her throat felt like it was on fire. Aunt Fierce finally said, “We didn’t prepare much food tonight, and I didn’t expect it to sell out so fast, so let’s close up!”

Song Yuyan let out a big sigh of relief. Her feet burned with pain, probably rubbed raw by her straw sandals. Her calves ached too, and she didn’t know how sore they’d be tomorrow.

Aunt Fierce gave her thirty copper coins. Looking at the money, Song Yuyan’s eyes and nose stung.

This was her first pot of gold in ancient times!

When she was in college, she often thought about taking part-time jobs. But when she decided to try, her grandpa wanted her to stay in the countryside to focus on improving her carving skills; her dad wanted her to work on a construction site to get used to that life; her mom wanted her to work at a porcelain factory; and her teachers wanted to take her to various art exhibitions…

In the end, she worked at the porcelain factory for five days, spent two days in the countryside refining her carving, and went to exhibitions with her teachers to show her face.

So, her first pot of gold, and even several pots, came from her family. She never felt the thrill of earning money herself.

Thinking of this, she remembered her family, teachers, and friends.

Why get so sentimental? Better to admire the copper coins and see what it feels like to be corrupted by money!

She took out seven coins and gave them to Aunt Fierce, saying, “Aunt Fierce, you helped me in my time of need, and I’m endlessly grateful. I can’t take those baskets for free.”

Aunt Fierce looked at her in surprise, then scolded after a while, “You’re fussing over food given to you? Are you foolish?”

Song Yuyan: “…”

“Hurry up and go. Come back on time tomorrow, or I’ll dock your pay!” Aunt Fierce shouted.

Another worker came up and whispered to Song Yuyan, “Hey, you sold so much food. Just take it as a small bonus from Aunt Fierce!”

Song Yuyan stopped being coy. After Aunt Fierce packed up, she told her to go home. Song Yuyan carefully tucked away all her earnings and headed back.

By now, it was so dark she could barely see her hand in front of her face. If not for the lanterns at some restaurants and small taverns lighting the uneven dirt road, Song Yuyan might have walked like a blind person.

Where was the promised flat, grand road in the city? It was just sticky soil packed tight.

When walked on for long or after rain, it easily washed away, leaving lots of pits and bumps.

____

Passing the rice shop, Song Yuyan saw it was still open and bought two dou of rice. One dou cost seven coins, taking half her money, but at least she wouldn’t worry about food for half a month.

When she reached the alley, she saw a faint flame in front of the Tang family’s door. Getting closer, she saw Tang Zhi holding a lamp, looking out.

Tang Zhi heard a noise and thought it was her brother, so she took two steps toward the figure in the dark. But looking closely, it was Song Yuyan, panting and exhausted.

Song Yuyan was holding a sack of rice. Two dou didn’t seem like much, but it weighed twenty-four jin, and carrying it for long was tiring. Plus, this body wasn’t strong, so she was already sweating buckets.

“Tang Xiao—” Song Yuyan thought for a moment and stuck to her own way of addressing her, “Tang Little Lady!”

Tang Zhi, by the faint lamplight, saw Song Yuyan clearly. Noticing she was wearing the outfit only worn on important days, Tang Zhi got curious about where she’d been.

But seeing the rice sack, she couldn’t help but assume Song Yuyan stole it from somewhere, based on her usual impression.

Thinking this, anger flared in her heart. She was annoyed that Song Yuyan was indeed beyond reform, hopeless!

“Hmph!” Tang Zhi didn’t bother to say more.

Song Yuyan set down the rice sack, pulled a few coins from her pocket, and held them out to Tang Zhi, saying, “Tang Little Lady, I found a job today and earned some wages.”

Tang Zhi raised her brows slightly and glanced at her, “You were still loitering in the streets at noon. Is that what you call a job?”

Song Yuyan couldn’t help but smile. This little girl sure misunderstood her.

But she didn’t mind and said, “Tang Little Lady is kind-hearted and lucky. I met you at noon, and this afternoon I found a hawking job. If it wasn’t for the good luck you passed to me, I probably wouldn’t have found it.”

Tang Zhi froze, slowly realizing Song Yuyan was praising her?!

Though Song Yuyan used to sweet-talk and flatter when caught doing bad things or needing a favor, and then turn cold once the issue was resolved, Tang Zhi always hated her praise.

But hearing Song Yuyan’s praise now, why did it feel so comforting?

At that thought, alarm bells rang in her head. How could she let her guard down just because of Song Yuyan’s compliments?! She said, “My brother doesn’t have to work at the yamen tomorrow, so he’ll guard the vegetable garden tonight. Don’t even think about stealing vegetables!”

Song Yuyan: “…”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. Though the girl’s words were meant to scare, didn’t they also hint that when Tang Haogen was at the yamen, the garden was unguarded?

She was just a fourteen-year-old girl, after all. Good thing Song Yuyan had no plans to steal from the Tangs’ garden again.

“Whether you believe me or not, this money is clean, and Aunt Fierce can vouch for it. It’s not stolen. I’m not sharing loot with you but thanking you for lending me some salt today.”

Tang Zhi, hearing her mention Aunt Fierce, half-believed her. Song Yuyan was scared of Aunt Fierce and would run at the sight of her. If she dared bring up Aunt Fierce to prove her innocence, she probably wasn’t lying.

Looking at the few coins in Song Yuyan’s hand, Tang Zhi felt mixed emotions. She reached out to take them, testing if Song Yuyan was sincere. But Song Yuyan just watched quietly, not pulling her hand back.

“Forget it, it’s just a few grains of salt. I’m not that stingy!” Tang Zhi pushed Song Yuyan’s hand back.

But Song Yuyan seized the chance to grab her hand and stuff the coins into her palm, saying, “Your kindness is your strength, but I can’t take advantage of it. From today, I keep my word and repay what I borrow.”

The system popped up, simulating applause in Song Yuyan’s mind: “That speech was bold and moving, enough to make listeners cry. Well said!”

Song Yuyan: “Are you a flatterer?”

System: “I’m boosting your confidence!”

Tang Zhi’s eyes widened, the firelight flickering in her pupils.

She quickly hid the coins in her inner clothes, making sure Song Yuyan couldn’t take them back, then sighed in relief, “It’s only when I feel the coins’ warmth that I feel at ease.”

Song Yuyan: “…”

She forgot this girl was a sharp little merchant.