She led the whole village to prosperity by raising koi fish.

Chapter 22 Learning to Make Sour Soup

The new day was sunny and bright, and the Zhou siblings came early to find Su Yuning to go to the market together.

Upon hearing about going to the market, Su Yuning immediately nodded in agreement. She asked her father what she needed to buy, and Old Su instructed her, "There are many ancient books at the market; could you bring back a few for me?"

"Okay, no problem!" Su Yuning readily agreed, then slung her basket over her shoulder and prepared to head out.

"Be careful on the road, and come back soon, my dear!" Old Su reminded her from behind.

"Understood, Father!" Su Yuning replied, then waved goodbye to him and happily set off with her friends for the market.

"Sister Zhou, where are we going to the market today? In the city or outside the city?" Su Yuning asked as they walked.

Zhou Xi tidied up the basket and then replied to her, "Let's go to Qinghe Market."

“Ah, so it’s that market outside the city. I’ve heard my mother mention it. It’s a small market with not many goods. We might as well go to the market in the city. It’s so much more bustling there!” Su Yuning offered her opinion.

Before Zhou Xi could speak, Zhou Dong explained to her, "Sister Su, you don't know this, but Qinghe Market has a lot of secondhand goods. You can buy a whole bunch of things for just a few copper coins."

Su Yuning asked, puzzled, "Where did these secondhand items come from? Could they be junk that someone threw out?"

The Zhou siblings exchanged a glance and both laughed. They thought Su Yuning's ideas were truly unique.

Zhou Xi explained softly, "High-ranking officials and nobles have a lot of unused collectibles that they sell at low prices. They also sell books that students used to study. In addition, some young girls make their own hair accessories, handkerchiefs, and shoes to exchange for money at the market. These are all brand new."

The thought of her father asking her to help buy ancient books instantly motivated Su Yuning. She smiled and called out to the Zhou siblings, "Let's hurry to the market! I want to buy things!" The Zhou siblings had no choice but to run after her.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group arrived at the market. Compared to the market in the city, it wasn't very big, but it had stalls selling steamed buns, wontons, vegetables, and fruits.

At the tool stall, Zhou Xi bought a new slingshot, and Zhou Dong bought several fishing traps. Su Yuning looked around; the stall had a fairly complete selection of items—shovels, axes, and hammers. But she had absolutely no use for any of them.

She continued walking and saw an elderly man with an extraordinary air selling ancient books. She went over, picked out a few, and paid for them.

Knowing that her rice container was empty and her flour container was also empty, Su Yuning bought five catties each of rice and flour.

Continuing on, Su Yuning came across a jewelry stall. Although the items were mostly inexpensive things like peach wood hairpins, peach wood combs, and rattan bracelets, the jewelry was exquisite. She bought a hairpin for herself and a rattan bracelet for Zhou Xi. The stall owner, overjoyed to have made a sale, gave her a peach wood safety buckle pendant, which she then gave to Zhou Dong, as she felt that safety buckles were more suitable for boys.

Afterwards, the Zhou siblings bought watermelons, grapes, and a bag of rice. They then went home together.

When they returned to the village, Zhou Xi gave Su Yuning a watermelon as a gesture of goodwill. Su Yuning happily accepted the watermelon and then went home to cook.

After returning home, Su Yuning remembered that her mother had told her to make tomato soup. She had no idea how to make it. She wanted to ask Zhou Xi at the Zhou family for help, but she was afraid that Zhou Xi would laugh at her for not knowing how to cook. After thinking it over, she decided that the village chief's wife was more practical. So she brought some vegetables to the village chief's house and took the opportunity to ask him how to make sour soup.

When the village chief's wife saw that Su Yuning had brought cucumbers, eggplants, and green beans, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Miss Su, you've come all this way, and you even brought a bunch of vegetables. Have you eaten yet? Why don't you eat at my place?"

Su Yuning shook her head. "Auntie, we haven't eaten yet. I want to make tomato soup for my father, but I don't know how. Could you teach me?"

The village chief's wife readily agreed, "No problem! I'll go with you. I'll make soup later, and you can learn how to make it yourself!"

Su Yuning was overjoyed and quickly nodded in agreement. And so, the two of them went to the Su family home, one after the other.

In the kitchen, the village chief's wife quickly washed and chopped the tomatoes, then poured oil into a pot, heated it, added chopped scallions, and then the tomatoes. She quickly stirred the tomatoes with a spatula, then instructed Su Yuning to add enough water to the pot at once. After the water boiled, she leisurely skimmed off the foam, then added salt and vinegar to taste. And just like that, the sweet and sour, appetizing tomato soup was ready.

Su Yuning was very grateful, "Thank you, Auntie!"

The village chief's wife waved her hand with a smile, "We're all from the same village, no need to be so polite! I'm going back now, call me if you need anything!"

"Okay, Auntie, take care!" Su Yuning said politely as she saw her off.

Then she continued to busy herself in the kitchen. She rinsed the rice, added water to the pot, poured the rice back in, and then cooked a pot of fragrant rice porridge.

For lunch, the father and daughter ate thick rice porridge and drank sweet and sour tomato soup while chatting. Old Su asked his daughter, "Daughter, didn't I ask you to bring me some ancient books? Why haven't I seen them?"

Su Yuning said unhurriedly, "I'll give it to you after we finish eating. There's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Old Su nodded in response, "Speak frankly, there's nothing we family shouldn't talk about."

Su Yuning mustered her courage and replied, "Father, you should go out for a walk. Just lying around won't do. Getting more active will improve your mood and help you recover faster. I'm worried about your eyes because you're always reading. You need to balance work and rest!"

Old Su responded, "I've always been a loner. I don't even have a single friend in the village. Where am I supposed to go?"

Su Yuning replied, "I'm here. I can take you for a walk by the lotus pond. It's cool there in the evening, and the scenery is beautiful too."

"Alright, I'll do as you say," Old Su nodded in agreement.

In the afternoon, while Old Su was reading, Su Yuning went out again. Following her father's instructions, she scooped the rice from the pot into a bowl and delivered it to Old Lady Su's house.

Grandma Su was a little unhappy when she saw that her granddaughter had only brought rice, and she muttered to herself.

"Why didn't you even cook a dish and bring it over? You just let me eat rice!"

Su Yuning replied helplessly, "Grandma, there were no stir-fried dishes for lunch today, but there are small salted fish under the rice. My mother made them herself. Would you like to try them and see how they taste?"

Grandma Su reluctantly accepted, "Alright, I'll accept it reluctantly."

After Grandma Su finished eating, Su Yuning put the bowl away.

"How is your father's injury? Can he walk again?" Grandma Su asked with concern.

"Don't worry. My father is almost fully recovered and can walk again, but the doctor advised him not to do heavy work and to rest for a while longer," Su Yuning replied with a smile.

"What about your sister-in-law? Is there any news?" Grandma Su asked again.

"I didn't go, so I don't know," Su Yuning said truthfully.

"You, you're so lazy! Go visit your sister-in-law when you have time, and tell me as soon as she has a baby!" Grandma Su instructed.

"I know," Su Yuning said jealously. "You only care about your sister-in-law, you don't even ask me how I am."

Grandma Su pretended not to hear, "Go back now, I'm going to take a nap."

"Alright, you can rest now. I won't bother you any longer." With that, Su Yuning left Grandma Su's house.