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Da Qiangzi’s words became increasingly unpleasant to the ear. At that time, there were quite a few people buying vinegar in the workshop, and many of them were of modest means. Hearing his words, they couldn’t help but start criticizing him, wishing they could just throw him out!

Da Qiangzi sneered coldly and rolled his eyes at this group of poor people.

The shopkeeper had already noticed the commotion here and hurried over. Before he could ask what was happening, a cool voice had already spoken first, "The words this gentleman speaks seem to make some sense."

Everyone looked towards the source of the voice and saw a woman standing at the entrance, dressed in simple elegance and with a proud demeanor. Her face was expressionless, but her features were very beautiful.

Da Qiangzi swallowed, the look of amazement in his eyes fleeting. Wasn’t this the rich and beautiful woman he had encountered at the door the other day? Dawang had said that this woman was the young mistress of Jin Ji Vinegar Workshop, of age to marry, but yet unmarried.

Since their chance meeting that day, Da Qiangzi’s dreams at night were filled with Jin Yuyu’s cool, beautiful appearance and her graceful, delicate figure. He had not expected to see her again today. His heart began to itch once more.

Jin Yuyu glanced coldly at Da Qiangzi, then her gaze shifted and she looked towards the woman and the young assistant, seemingly understanding the situation. She lowered her head and asked, "Shiwen, how do you think we should handle this?"

As soon as Jin Shiwen entered, he immediately noticed the lecherous look in Da Qiangzi’s eyes. His eyes, sharp as thorns, stared intently at him. If looks could be knives, by now Da Qiangzi would have already been cut to pieces.

"Sister, let me handle this," Jin Shiwen said with a smile as he glanced at his sister. With a light turn, he used his as yet small frame to block Da Qiangzi’s disgusting gaze. "Grandma, this vinegar is really as cheap as it can get. If we make it even one wen cheaper, we will truly be losing money. However, you don’t seem like someone who can’t afford it, so why are you being so. .."

Perhaps it was Jin Shiwen’s gentle gaze that made the woman feel warmth.

She tightened her grip on the child’s hand and said to Jin Yuyu and her brother, "I’m not someone who covets small advantages.

I have no choice. My child here, when he entered the door, was looking at the sugar figurines on the vendor’s stall next door.

The sugar figurine vendor also comes but not every day.

I did not expect him to be here today. Alas, I hurried out of the house and only brought three copper coins.

The sugar figurines vendor doesn’t give any discounts.

So I thought, since the people at the vinegar workshop are all kind, perhaps they could give me a small discount.

However, I already told the young assistant that I would pay the difference on my next visit. "

The young assistant quickly took over the conversation, "Miss, young master, just now the grandma said this to me. I hadn’t had the chance to ask the shopkeeper yet when this uncle just..."

So that’s how it was.

Jin Shiwen glanced at the woman holding the child’s hand. The little boy was two years younger than him, looked timid with downcast eyes, and tightly held his grandmother’s hand.

A feeling stirred in Jin Shiwen’s heart as he saw in the little boy a reflection of himself when he had first come to Jin Yuyu’s side. He felt an inexplicable sense of kinship.

"Grandma, what you’ve just proposed sounds good. However, you must live quite far from here, and who knows when you’ll be able to come by again. Thus, it’s best if you could pay in full this time."

The woman’s expression turned extremely awkward, and she nodded hesitantly.

The child she was holding looked downhearted, tears swirling in his eyes, yet he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Da Qiangzi, hearing this, was overjoyed and chuckled, "The miss and young master are really sensible. No wonder the miss also said my words made sense earlier!"

Jin Shiwen gave him a cold look, flipping his eyes in disdain, "You’re right, your words do make sense. However, it’s not that poor people can’t enter our shop—it’s the irrelevant people who can’t! If you’re not buying vinegar, please leave at once!"

Taken aback, Da Qiangzi hadn’t expected to be upbraided by this milk-nosed youngster. He opened his mouth to claim he was there to buy vinegar, but couldn’t produce even a single copper coin from his person.

"I am here to find my..."

Before Da Qiangzi could finish, Jin Shiwen looked up at his sister with a mischievously cute smile, "Sister, I just saw the sugar figurine vendor outside too. They look really nice. Can I buy a sugar figurine?"

Having spent so much time together, how could Jin Yuyu not see what her brother was thinking? She affectionately stroked his cheek and nodded with a soft smile, "You are grown up now. Whatever you want to buy, just buy it. You don’t need to ask me about everything."

Jin Shiwen nodded joyfully, "Then I’ll buy sugar figurines for both sister and mother too. Mother has been worried about the household these days; if Shiwen buys her a sugar figurine, she will definitely be very happy."

After saying this, Jin Shiwen happily went over to the child the woman was holding, extending his hand, "My name is Jin Shiwen, what’s your name? I’ll buy you a sugar figurine, and we can play together, shall we?"

The little boy stared with innocent eyes at the hand extended towards him, then looked up at his grandmother, who was frozen in place, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Jin Shiwen asked again, and it was only then that the woman snapped back to reality, laughing with gratitude and nodding at her little grandson.

Watching Jin Shiwen and the little boy hop and skip their way to buy sugar figurines, the woman was immensely grateful. She had said it before, the people at Jin Ji Vinegar Workshop were all very kind and would never make things difficult for others.

As Jin Yuyu saw how Jin Shiwen handled the situation, she couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction. This child had finally grown up.

Da Qiangzi, however, felt as if his face was on fire. Clenching his lips and hanging his head low, he sneaked away from the edge of the door while nobody was paying attention.