Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

’We can’t go on like this,’ Juhua resolved with grim determination.

Xiatang Market was a small place. Besides goods like rice, wheat, and pork, which could be sold for money, everything else was something every household already had. Take vegetables, for instance—even if you had a surplus, who could you sell it to? Forget vegetables; even pork was hard to sell at a good price in the latter half of the year!

Being far from the city meant the economy was stagnant and goods didn’t circulate well. This was the core of the problem. How could they turn Xiatang Market into a hub that merchants would be eager to visit?

How could their family get rich?

Zhang Huai and Qingmu were also pondering this very question.

When the tax month designated by the county government arrived, villagers from all the surrounding areas flocked to pay their taxes, crowding Xiatang Market. The small boats docked at Erli Village arrived low in the water, loaded down, but floated back high and empty.

Some people also sold their surplus grain to the wealthy families in town in exchange for daily necessities. But this was clearly not a good time to sell grain, so the air was filled with the constant clamor of haggling and shouting.

If Juhua were here to see this scene, she would have been reminded of Mr. Ye Shengtao’s essay, *More Than Three to Five Dou*. While things weren’t as tragic as in the chaotic era described in the story, the low prices were a certainty.

Qingmu and Zhang Huai paid their grain tax, then wandered around for a bit. They watched the villagers selling their grain amidst the chaotic scene, silent for a long moment.

Qingmu’s thick, dark brows furrowed slightly. He said to Zhang Huai, "No matter how much rice we grow, we can’t hope to get rich from it. After the taxes are levied on each mu of land, there’s not much left, and the spring planting and summer harvest work us to the bone. Besides, buying land requires a huge amount of Silver as capital."

Zhang Huai watched the crowd, his expression grave. "You said the price of pork in Qinghui is even lower than at Xiatang Market. It wouldn’t be profitable to ship our pork there, especially once you add in the transport costs."

Qingmu waved his hand. "Selling it like that will definitely not work. Juhua and I have been trying to figure something out. What if we could turn the pork into some kind of delicacy? Then people would come to Xiatang Market to stock up on it themselves. Wouldn’t we be able to sell the spicy cabbage and acorn jelly along with it? The only problem is getting started. It won’t be easy. We have to let people know that Xiatang Market has good things to offer."

Zhang Huai’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. "In the winter, we can give some extra spicy cabbage to Manager Mao. Won’t he help spread the word? And the pork—if we can really make something good out of it, we can have his shop sell it first. Changfeng’s aunt could also open a small shop to sell these things. In any case, we can’t sell it ourselves. For one, we don’t have the capital. For another, we aren’t experts at it, and we’re too busy at home. We can’t afford the hassle."

Qingmu nodded. "Let’s start with that. If we make a name for ourselves, then the boats traveling up and down the Qinghui River might make a detour to stop at Xiatang Market and load up on our goods. That would be ideal."

Zhang Huai said, full of confidence, "Let’s not rush things. We’ll take it one step at a time, and we’ll get there eventually. Also, even if we don’t open our own shop, we can’t be completely in the dark. We still need to find time to make a trip to Qinghui County to see how things are done. Otherwise, we’ll be totally clueless. It’s not like the country folk living next to Qinghui County don’t know how to raise pigs and grow vegetables, right?"

Qingmu nodded repeatedly. "I was thinking the same thing. We always complain about the travel costs, but the less we see of the world, the poorer we’ll stay. You should go take a look too. Yangzi will probably be taking the Scholar exam next year, right? Even if he doesn’t pass on his first try, he needs to start preparing. If he goes to the city and can’t even tell east from west, it’ll be a problem."

Zhang Huai nodded. "That’s right. He’s a diligent student. As his older brother, I have to support him."

The two of them walked another circuit, commenting on the prices of various goods. It was as if they had suddenly taken a keen interest in the small market town of Xiatang Market, wanting to understand it inside and out.

As they walked and talked, they didn’t notice a young, finely dressed woman with a slight belly watching their retreating backs from a corner of a narrow street in the distance.

It was Liu’er.

She no longer had the vibrant glow she’d possessed before her marriage. Though her face was coated in powder and rouge, it couldn’t hide her haggardness.

Seeing her staring blankly, the young maidservant by her side grew concerned and reminded her, "Mistress, we should be heading back. If we’re late, the Old Madam will have something to say about it."

Liu’er nodded and looked away from Qingmu.

The last time, when she was still at home and unmarried, her secret meeting with Qingmu had caused him so much trouble. If she were to go and speak to him now and someone saw them, she couldn’t dare to imagine the consequences. So, she took her maid’s arm and slowly turned to leave.

********

After the rice was harvested, the days were spent gradually bringing in the Huangdou, Shanyu, and corn. The harvest for these other crops wasn’t as rushed, but it meant every day was a busy one.