CHAPTER 212: CHAPTER 212 ORIGINAL SIN 21

When Yun Shuangshuang was setting up her stall, a fellow vendor who seemed rather idle wandered over to chat with Feng Jinyan, "Young lady, you don’t look like someone short of money, so why are you also out here with a stall? And in this darkness, why are you wearing sunglasses, can you see clearly?"

Clearly, Feng Jinyan had been made quite intimidating by Yun Shuangshuang. This woman didn’t notice anything unusual about Feng Jinyan and just came over to chat directly.

Feng Jinyan remembered Yun Shuangshuang’s repeated warnings: if someone speaks to her, she should just smile and not respond. So, Feng Jinyan stood up and politely smiled at the woman without speaking.

The woman was baffled by Feng Jinyan’s smile. What did this mean? She didn’t speak or acknowledge her, but the smile was quite polite. Was this welcoming her or showing dislike?

Before the woman could say anything else, Yun Shuangshuang quickly stepped forward, her face full of a sweet smile as she responded, "Hello, Auntie! I’m really sorry, my mother isn’t very well. Her eyes can’t tolerate strong light, and she can’t speak. It’s not that she deliberately ignored you."

Upon hearing this, the woman immediately gave Feng Jinyan a sympathetic look, thinking this woman must have a hard life. No wonder she has such a good demeanor but still comes out to set up a stall for a living like the rest of them. It seems to be due to her health issues.

When she saw Yun Shuangshuang, the woman’s eyes lit up again, "Oh wow! I didn’t notice earlier, but this kid is really cute! But she seems a bit too young, right? Are you ten yet? Why are you out working with your mom, is there no other adult in your family?"

Yun Shuangshuang blushed and said with a shy smile, "Auntie, don’t be fooled by how small I look; I’m actually thirteen! I have mild dwarfism; I won’t grow up, but I do grow slower and shorter than most people."

The woman found Yun Shuangshuang articulate and didn’t doubt her words, only feeling more sympathy for Yun Shuangshuang and Feng Jinyan, the mother and daughter pair.

Here is a child whose mother is sick, yet they have to come out and work hard to earn a living. There’s not even a man helping them. The woman quickly imagined several melodramatic family dramas in her mind!

Of course, a little sympathy for such matters is enough. The woman didn’t plan to do anything about it. She exchanged a few more words with Yun Shuangshuang and then left, knowing the night market was about to become busy, and she needed to tend her stall.

However, it was clear that this woman was a gossip. After going back, she started chatting with her neighbors, and soon Yun Shuangshuang noticed that the people on that side looked at her and her mother with a bit of sympathy.

Yun Shuangshuang didn’t mind. They felt sympathy for her and her mother Feng Jinyan because they didn’t know about Feng Jinyan’s troubled mind. They were tricked by Feng Jinyan’s sharp disguise; even though they pitied her for being ill, they didn’t doubt her intelligence.

If Yun Shuangshuang appeared here as a child with a silly mom, unless she was begging, she’d be looked down upon or bullied. If she managed to start a business, someone might even come to steal her stall and recipe.

Although there are good people in the world, there are also many evil-hearted bad people. Yun Shuangshuang didn’t want to bet on the possibility of luckily not encountering bad people. She just wanted to eliminate all potential dangers in their infancy.

Later, two more people wandered over to Yun Shuangshuang’s stall to greet her, while Feng Jinyan just sat on the side.

If the owners of other stalls came to talk to her, she would smile politely and wouldn’t engage in much conversation. Yun Shuangshuang explained to those who came that because of her illness, her mother had become somewhat withdrawn and doesn’t like to talk much.

Everyone expressed their understanding. They thought with both her and her child being sick, and no husband to take care of them, with stories of husbands running off or eloping with a mistress, deserting their wives and children—thinking about men abandoning this mother-daughter pair, anyone would be open-hearted if they could remain cheerful after all this.

After everyone took their turns satisfying their curiosity, they all left, leaving Yun Shuangshuang breathing a sigh of relief. It was finally peaceful. The wickedness of humans, with an innate tendency to enjoy gossip and new curiosities, doesn’t just apply to cats; it’s the same for humans.

)

After sending away the onlookers and the curious sympathizers, as the evening gradually darkened, people began shopping at the night market. Yun Shuangshuang decided to start a fire and grill some fish.

With spring in the air, the daytime temperatures were mild, but the evenings were starting to get chilly. Yun Shuangshuang first helped Feng Jinyan put on an outer garment, then began to start a fire, selecting the fish to grill.

You can’t use high heat or open flame when grilling fish. You need to use medium heat to gradually cook the fish thoroughly. This preserves the tenderness inside while removing any fishy smell, keeping the fish juicy and tender.

Yun Shuangshuang lit the charcoal and waited until a layer of white ash appeared on the burning coals, with no open flame visible, before spreading them out and placing the marinated fish on top to grill.

Yun Shuangshuang used a custom-made large grill, capable of grilling seven or eight fish at once. Confident that her fish would sell well, she grilled three grass carp, three catfish, and one snakehead, a total of seven fish.

While grilling, Yun Shuangshuang sniffed the aroma to gauge the heat. When the fish gave off the most inviting smell, she immediately removed the heat. With her sense of smell as her aid, Yun Shuangshuang’s cooking skills were better than even a five-star chef’s.

The aroma of the grilled fish was incredibly enticing. With the light breeze wafting it far away, not long after finishing several fish, someone came over, attracted by the smell.

A young couple approached, seemingly a pair of lovebirds, holding hands in a sweet atmosphere.

The woman had been drawn by the aroma, looking quite interested in the grilled fish in front of Yun Shuangshuang. She sniffed the air and eagerly asked Yun Shuangshuang, "Little sister, how much is your grilled fish?"

"I have three types of grilled fish here: grass carp, catfish, and snakehead. The grass carp and catfish are thirty each, while the snakehead is fifty each. Miss, which one are you interested in? Each type has a different flavor," Yun Shuangshuang quickly and adeptly invited the woman.

Having been in the hospitality industry in her past life, Yun Shuangshuang didn’t feel nervous welcoming guests.

Upon hearing Yun Shuangshuang’s price, the woman didn’t speak, but the man beside her became anxious!