Ethan Sullivan sighed, “Striving is my nature, success is my goal... Why do I put myself through this!”

When the patrol officers came to disperse the vendors, only three barely conscious ruffians and a few shoes were left on the ground.

The patrol officers struggled to recognize the three battered ruffians, then looked at the vendors in astonishment.

The vendors were raising their arms and shouting, “United as one, we are invincible!”

“Potstickers, fresh out of the pan!”

Ethan Sullivan started hawking a bit guiltily.

The pyramid scheme tactics worked very well.

No, they worked too well.

In just a few days, this group of vendors had become so united and fearless.

But if anyone discovered the frightening manipulative side of all this, Ethan Sullivan figured he’d have to take his sister and run far away.

“We are the best! Let’s go!”

A group of vendors shouted in unison, then dispersed, leaving the patrol officers looking at each other in confusion.

When did these vendors become so bold?

The three most notorious ruffians had been taken down.

The next day, word spread, and the surrounding shopkeepers cheered, though they were also baffled.

“The vendors did it?”

The shopkeepers found it unbelievable.

Those three ruffians were ruthless but never left evidence, and it was said they had connections in the patrol office, so they were always arrogant and domineering.

And now they’d all been wiped out?

Then rumors spread that they were taken down because they bullied a vendor, but that was dismissed as a lie.

“When did vendors ever get to call the shots in Bianliang City?”

So even more people flocked to the Zhouqiao night market.

Everyone gathered around Ethan Sullivan’s stall, staring at him, trying to figure out what kind of skills he had to make all those vendors work for him.

There were so many people that Grace got a little scared, so she stood next to Ethan Sullivan, holding onto the hem of his clothes with one hand and covering her eyes with the other.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Ethan Sullivan was teaching a few of the slowest vendors how to make potstickers.

The appearance of potstickers was easy to imitate, but the key was in the vermicelli and the sauce.

Without those two things, the potstickers just weren’t the same.

They had already learned the core parts, but were still at a loss about the process of making potstickers.

“You have to brush oil first, or they’ll stick to the pan.”

Ethan Sullivan taught them step by step, then let them try it themselves while he guided from the side.

Five wen a day, that’s about a hundred and fifty wen a month.

He had taught fifty-three people; as long as forty of them stuck with it, he could make six strings of cash a month without doing anything else.

Rent was three strings, and he planned to save the other three.

Back home, he put the coins into a jar, then said to Grace, “We’re saving up a dowry for Grace.”

Grace yawned, but had no interest in this so-called dowry.

...

The long journey had taken a toll on Ethan Sullivan and his sister’s health; they had both lost a lot of weight.

So Ethan Sullivan kept coming up with new dishes.

A chicken was tumbling around in a clay pot, filling the air with a rich aroma.

Grace stood nearby, holding a few ginseng roots in her hand.

Ginseng had been used in medicine for a long time, but at this time it wasn’t mythologized, so it wasn’t expensive.

But since Grace was still young, Ethan Sullivan wouldn’t put in too much.

He lifted the lid, and the fragrance wafted out with the steam.

“Smells so good.”

Grace happily put her little hand on the side, but the steam scalded her, so she cried out in panic and hurriedly tossed the ginseng roots in.

“Brother, it’s hot!”

Grace whined to Ethan Sullivan, and Ethan Sullivan laughed as he hugged her, warning, “Don’t put your hand there next time, or you’ll get burned like a pig’s trotter.”

“Brother, what’s a pig’s trotter?”

Grace asked, tilting her head.

Ethan Sullivan realized he’d been neglecting his sister’s education, so he turned down the fire a bit and asked the landlord to help keep an eye on things.

The siblings went out and bought the Four Treasures of the Study. Ethan Sullivan wanted to buy some books, but the prices were daunting.

Breakfast was fragrant chicken soup over rice.

The steaming chicken soup, with yellow drops of oil floating on top, warmed you all over with just one sip.

Grace was eating diligently with a little wooden spoon.

Ethan Sullivan tore some chicken leg meat and put it in her bowl, earning a big smile.

“Brother, where’s our home?”

Grace suddenly remembered their house in Xiongzhou.

Ethan Sullivan was at a loss for words.

Houses were just too expensive!

When he’d bought the Four Treasures of the Study, Ethan Sullivan had casually asked about it, and the shop assistant had scoffed, saying that if you weren’t rich, don’t even think about it.

A thousand strings of cash would only get you an ordinary house in an ordinary area.

A better one would cost several thousand strings—enough to make anyone despair.

“I didn’t expect there to be real estate here too!”

Deep down, Ethan Sullivan was still a traditional Chinese at heart.

Establishing a career was the first priority.

But after doing the math, he had no confidence in buying a house with his current income.

Three strings a month, just over thirty a year—it would take fifty years to buy a decent courtyard in the inner city.

Back when Emperor Renzong wanted to expand the palace, he eventually gave up. Most people said it was because the emperor was benevolent, but now Ethan Sullivan suspected it was because the demolition costs were too high.

A single courtyard cost over a thousand strings, and those near the imperial city must be even more expensive...