I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 78. Upgrade (3)
‘Excellent! How fortunate that even in this ancient age where wilderness thrives, nature conservation is regarded as a proper value.’
Truth be told, the Bamboo Container recovery campaign had started purely as a cost-cutting measure. Making new containers every time she sold Twuahwa was exhausting, and she feared the bamboo groves near the village would soon be stripped bare. Yet somehow, it had evolved beyond just the So Family’s customers—street children now scavenged discarded containers from the So Household to trade for a bowl of Twuahwa.
Thanks to this, beyond the Good Deed Points she accumulated by distributing sample Twuahwa by the spoonful, the container recovery alone now netted her a steady forty to fifty points daily.
Even after she’d burned through a hefty sum of Good Deed Points to buy materials for constructing her house, her point balance had exceeded one thousand within just four days of opening the shop.
‘Of course, my “patent fee” scheme played no small role in that either.’
To solve the problem of building a water conduit system without using bamboo, So Yeon-hui had taught Ju Ha-yun about Brick Water Channels and Aqueducts.
Instead of crossing the gentle hills that belonged to the local gentry, she’d taught him how to build Roman-style aqueducts that spanned mountain gorges.
Wi Jung had taken the ideas So Yeon-hui provided and made them concrete. He’d decided to construct a Brick Water Channel first as a trial project.
And—well, here’s the thing: every time wages were paid to workers on that construction, So Yeon-hui accumulated Good Deed Points as well.
It seemed that within the profit she should have received as her “patent fee,” the workers’ wages were being paid on her behalf instead.
It was rather like having an auto-farming feature enabled.
Thanks to this, she had far more flexibility in purchasing spices for brown sugar confections and spiced preserves.
As a bonus, she could discreetly stock modern goods in the back room where prying eyes wouldn’t notice.
‘Since we’re on the subject, I should probably buy a quilted comforter set or two later.’
It was now late October. Winter would soon arrive, and the So Household was in the thick of winter preparations.
“A quilted comforter and two bags of rice—that’s going over budget. Yes, absolutely.”
Goodness. Who would have guessed cotton batting cost so dearly?
In modern times, she could have simply grabbed a ten-thousand-won blanket from a mart.
As it was, she was carefully accumulating Good Deed Points to purchase a winter bedding set for each room.
With four rooms now, the points didn’t come cheap, but she couldn’t bear the thought of her family shivering through winter.
‘Well, what else can I do? Family comes first.’
After roughly two hours of selling, as the sun began its slow descent from its highest point in the sky,
the So Household children stared at the empty Twuahwa bowls in amazement.
“Wow, did we really sell out completely again?”
“Right? The brown sugar syrup is practically nothing but dregs now.”
All that Twuahwa, sold without a single ladle remaining.
Just how much had they earned in a single day?
So Yeon-u and So Yeon-su wiggled their small fingers busily, counting hard.
Recalling that one batch of Twuahwa held about fifty ladles, they seemed intent on doing the math.
“Um… if we sold one hundred fifty ladles, that’s six hundred coins, right?”
“But there were a few free samples given out in the middle. If we subtract those, it should be around five hundred sixty-five coins?”
Impressed by So Yeon-su’s surprisingly detailed calculation, So Yeon-hui quickly opened her coin purse and counted today’s total earnings.
To her astonishment, the purse jingled with five hundred seventy coins—remarkably close to what the two children had estimated.
“This time Yeon-su was a bit closer. The fact that she carefully accounted for the free Twuahwa samples made the difference.”
So Yeon-su nodded matter-of-factly, while So Yeon-u wore an aggrieved expression and started counting on his fingers again—he was sure he’d gotten it right. So Yeon-hui closed her purse and suppressed a smile.
‘Five hundred seventy coins. Not bad at all.’
How much soy was needed to make one batch of Twuahwa? She couldn’t recall it ever exceeding 1.3 kilograms.
While the profit margin wasn’t quite as good as with Tofu, Twuahwa had an advantage: she could purchase soy milk at Jijang Market to reduce raw material costs.
And depending on the toppings, the flavor varied considerably.
So Yeon-hui gazed into the distance for a moment, then tucked her purse away.
“Well then, shall we prepare for the second round?”
At So Yeon-hui’s words, the twins tilted their heads slightly in confusion.
They hadn’t the slightest inkling of what was about to unfold.
* * *
So Yeon-hui retrieved the sack of Okara she’d brought that morning and poured water into a pot.
The Okara left over from making Tofu would have been wasteful to discard, so she decided to make porridge.
So Yeon-hui chopped dried radish greens fine to ensure essential nutrients like vitamins, and didn’t forget to add pre-soaked millet she’d purchased from the dawn market.
‘If you simply boil Okara alone, the texture becomes too monotonous and people tire of it quickly.’
When combined with the chewiness of radish greens and the small grains of millet, however, it became far more palatable.
Season it with salt and bring it to a simmer, and you’d have a rather respectable meal for relief purposes.
“…Hmm. It feels like something’s still missing. Should I add a bit of sesame oil?”
After a moment of hesitation, So Yeon-hui retrieved the sesame oil she’d hidden in one corner of the cabinet.
Despite knowing it was a precious thing to be rationed, her hand moved of its own accord.
As she drizzled it in a circle over the pot, a fragrant aroma wafted through the kitchen and beyond. It was the kind of smell that made one’s stomach rumble.
It was around then that So Yeon-su peered into the pot and asked a question.
“Is that Okara Porridge? You added radish greens too.”
“Well, if you only eat Okara and millet, the texture lacks substance. Even relief food should have decent variety.”
“Relief?”
So Yeon-su’s eyes narrowed. She glanced back and forth between the pot and So Yeon-hui, then asked quietly and clearly,
“You’re not actually… going to distribute this to people for free, are you?”
So Yeon-hui answered not with words but with action. She flung open the shop door and called out loudly toward the street.
“Hey, you kids! Come get some Okara Porridge! One bowl per person! Free! Get in line, now!”
At that, the street urchins who’d been loitering near the alley entrance all lifted their heads at once.
Free food? Not scraps, but freshly cooked porridge?
Their expressions were doubtful.
They hesitated at first, suspicious—but the So Household shop was already known as that strange place where you could get free Twuahwa if you collected ten Bamboo Containers. One or two at a time, they crept forward and formed a line.
“You’re really giving it away free? I didn’t bring any containers…”
A thin boy in ragged clothes asked with wide eyes.
He rubbed his dirt-stained hands against his clothes, his posture suggesting he’d already braced himself to be turned away.
“Yeah. You don’t need containers for this one. It’s made from leftovers at home.”
So Yeon-hui said this and without taking a single coin, ladled generous portions of steaming Okara Porridge into containers for him.
There was no command about what he should do or how to behave—nothing like that. She simply gave, and that was the end of it.
“How is it? Does it taste good?”
At So Yeon-hui’s question, the boy found himself nodding involuntarily. Then, at some point, he began wolfing down the porridge desperately.
Watching him eat without even pausing to breathe properly, a quiet sigh escaped So Yeon-hui’s lips.
“Eat slowly. You’ll get indigestion at this rate.”
“That’s right. My sister’s worried about you.”
Displeased that So Yeon-hui was watching the boy with such concern, So Yeon-su offered unsolicited advice to the thin boy holding the container.
Then, without a word, she brought over a bowl of water and gently handed it to him as he coughed.
‘Huh? Did our Yeon-su take after grandmother’s temperament?’
That sharp, grating voice with its stinging remarks—yet the actions that followed were completely opposite: tender and kind.
Thanks to this, the boy could gulp down not just the porridge but the water afterward, all in one breath.
But afterward, finding it embarrassing even to think about, he suddenly lowered his head and bowed.
“Thank you. All three of you will be blessed.”
It was a brief greeting. There were no ornate phrases or exaggerated reactions.
Yet that sincere blessing caused So Yeon-su’s gaze to waver for a moment. She suddenly took the ladle from So Yeon-hui’s hand.
Was it because the sight had bothered her?
“I’ll do it.”
By the time So Yeon-hui blinked in surprise and looked at her younger sister, the twins were already taking turns ladling porridge to the children.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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