Chapter 10

I'm a Little Millionaire

Three days later, Uncle Phin took care of all the land matters for Manfah. Manfah now had a total of seven rai[1], including the two rai she originally owned. She managed her land by planting more vegetables than fruits, so she decided to plant an additional two rai of vegetables.

Manfah asked Uncle Pai, "What kind of vegetable seeds are the foreigners selling to the Siamese people now?"

This way, Manfah could plant with peace of mind.

Manfah planted asparagus, cherry tomatoes, purple cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and corn.

As for local vegetables, she didn't plant a wide variety because she only chose to grow the ones most people liked to eat.

Manfah planted mint first, as Uncle Pai had requested it, saying it was heavily used in the restaurant. For the remaining two rai, she planted more fruit.

Manfah planted seedless grapes because she loved eating them. She decided to let others plant them too. Manfah planned for Uncle Pai to tell others that they were wild grapes he happened to find and gave to Manfah to try planting.

Uncle Pai kissed her cheek twice, impressed by her cleverness.

Manfah's seedless grapes didn't exist anywhere else in the world.

Uncle Pai tasted them and was very impressed, praising them endlessly. Her grapes bore fruit all year round thanks to the fertilizer and water from the dimension. He noticed that plants from the dimension grew and bore fruit abnormally well.

Sometimes they grew out of season, unlike typical plants. So she told Uncle Pai to share her grape seedlings with others to try planting. Uncle Pai was initially surprised, but after hearing her explanation, he respected her decision.

"The farmers in the village will have a better livelihood, right? I believe everyone will love these grapes because they are seedless and taste better than regular grapes. If my garden is the only place growing them, it might seem too unusual, and people could become suspicious and dissatisfied with me. The villagers might not harbor ill intentions, but outsiders could be a problem."

Moreover, the God of Dimension had instructed her to help the villagers.

"You're right, Little Man. Let's have Uncle Phin take the lead. He'll be thrilled, and the village farmers will surely prosper."

"Yes, just say that Uncle Pai found them in the forest while hunting. That way, the villagers won't question my grapes."

"You're really clever," Uncle Pai gave her a thumbs-up.

"I won't plant too many, since others will be growing them. I'll just keep some for myself to eat, hehe."

"Alright, let's go with three rows."

"I was thinking just one row."

"Three rows would be better. I think your grapes will be superior. The ones the villagers plant might not be as good because of the water from your dimension."

Manfah understood then. Uncle Pai probably planned to sell them to wealthy people. "Alright then."

Either way, it meant more money for her. So, three long rows—no big loss, really.

Uncle Pai shared the grape plan with Uncle Phin at work, and Uncle Phin immediately drove over to see Manfah. She had already prepared the seedlings, leaving only the task of Uncle Phin distributing them. Then she handed Uncle Phin grapes from her dimension for the farmers to taste, so they could decide if they wanted to grow them. Uncle Pai would buy these grapes to sell because they were truly delicious, suitable for all genders, ages and, ethnicities.

Plus, they looked elegant and luxurious. Hoho.

The villagers didn't question why grapes were ready in just half a month because they were too focused on planting grapes to make money. Why question so much? Struggling to survive is exhausting enough. Without money, you'd have to sell yourself into slavery! (Being human means thinking positively! Oh!)

Uncle Phin mentioned that workers would come to renovate her house in two days, so Manfah hurried to plant all the trees in her garden, leaving one rai for worker accommodations and a warehouse for storing fruits and vegetables.

Now she had five hundred thousand in cash, making money in just half a month was quite fast. Even more impressive was... the nationwide love of Siamese people for her Monthong durians. Oh... amazing∼

It's just durians, really! Goodness!

In the evening, she was free, so Manfah took Grandpa Puang to buy clothes at the same market shop. Manfah picked out ten outfits without hesitation. Afterward, they went to meet the person selling the shop to them. The seller wanted to sell it for twelve thousand.

It seemed cheap to her, but Grandpa Puang was shocked by the high price for buying the shop.

"So, little girl, are you going to buy my shop?" the shopkeeper asked with a skeptical look.

"Of course. Let's meet tomorrow at the land office, okay?" Manfah replied to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked surprised. Did this kid really have money? And why weren't her parents with her? He thought the old man who came to negotiate would be the buyer. Initially, Grandpa Puang came in shabby clothes, so he assumed they wouldn't buy it. But today, he brought this young girl along, saying she would be the one to buy it.

"Is there a problem, Uncle? Are you selling or not?"

"Yes, yes, I'll sell if you have the money. I'm moving to the Capital of Siam with my children and grandchildren."

Manfah nodded. "Alright then, see you tomorrow morning."

After finishing the shop purchase, Manfah took Grandpa Puang to buy street food. Since they were already there, she wanted to see what one baht could buy. Her curiosity was piqued, so Manfah led Grandpa Puang to the pork vendor immediately.

"How much per kilo?" I asked.

"Thirty baht per kilo," the pork seller replied.

"Alright, I'll take one kilo."

"Sure thing."

Grandpa Puang tugged at Manfah's sleeve repeatedly. "Little Man, don't you already have pork? Why are you buying more?"

"I just wanted to know how much it usually sells for."

Grandpa Puang nearly fainted. Buying pork just to find out the price? "That's wasteful, dear. It's thirty baht."

Once she had the pork, she put it in her woven market bag. Then she bought some snacks: two pieces of palm sugar cake for one baht, rice at five baht per kilo, fish sauce at five baht per bottle, five candies for one baht, cane sugar at ten baht per bag, and palm sugar at five baht per bag. Regular clothes were about three baht per outfit, while the more expensive fabric was ten baht per outfit. Silk was only sold in upscale shops, starting at a hundred baht per outfit.

The most expensive items were usually imported goods like electrical appliances.

Jewelry, especially gold, was already costly, and there were only two gold shops in the market.

Vegetables and fruits in the market weren't very expensive, as most people grew their own. Pork, ducks, and chickens were the pricey items.

"Grandpa, why don't we have many farms for chickens, pigs, and ducks in our province?"

"It takes a lot of money, you know. You have to manage diseases. If you only raise a few like we do at home, it's manageable. But if you want to run a farm like others, you have to follow our country's cleanliness regulations. There was an animal epidemic before, causing chaos all over Siam."

"I see."

“The foreigners advised us to follow these rules.”

“Are there many foreigners in our government?”

“Yes, quite a few. But our king assigns them to other tasks, not internal governance, because the Siamese people would never accept that.”

“You know a lot, Grandpa.”

“I often help with deliveries and hear people in the market talking about politics. As Siamese, we should know these things.”

“Okay.”

“By the way, is there anything else you want to see, Little Man?”

“No, Grandpa. Let's go have some cake.”

“Cake is expensive, you know. It costs several baht per piece. Only rich people go to those shops, right?”

“Mafueang and I go often.”

Grandpa Puang had forgotten that Manfah was now wealthy. A few baht for cake wouldn't make a dent in her finances. Just the clothes she had bought for him already made this old man so overwhelmed with joy.

“Grandpa, go change into some nice clothes first so you won’t feel shy. Don’t forget—we’re rich now, the both of us. We’re family, you and me, grandpa and granddaughter. There’s no need to be so reserved anymore. You’ve got to start acting like a rich man too, okay, Grandpa?”

“Alright! I understand. Thank you, Little Man.”

Then Manfah took Grandpa to change clothes and brought him to the cake shop. The owner, Praewa, greeted her with a warm smile.

“Little Man, you’re here.”

“Hello, Sister Prea.”

“It's been a while since I last saw you.”

“The garden has been busy lately. I had some free time this evening, so I brought Grandpa Puang to try some cake.”

“What would you like to order?”

“Strawberry cheesecake and a blended milk drink. What would you like, Grandpa?”

“I can't decide. Why don't you choose for me?”

“Then let's have the fresh fruit jelly cake and green tea, not too sweet. Grandpa is getting on in years.”

“Alright, I'll make it less sweet for you. Go ahead and wait at the table.”

Manfah led Grandpa Puang to a seat inside near the fan. Grandpa Puang looked around the shop with interest. “This place is beautifully done.”

“Yes, Sister Prea probably got the idea from the Capital of Siam.”

“People in the city must live quite comfortably and luxuriously.”

“Luxury is possible if you have money. Without it, you’re on the streets.”

“True, it's tough in different ways. I'm not skilled at anything else, just farming. Now that I'm older, I can't do much.”

“Do you miss your children and grandchildren?”

“Well, I'm a bit worried about them.”

“Even though they left you, Grandpa?”

“Parents always forgive their children.”

But her grandpa never forgave her mother...

“Grandpa Puang, you're better than my grandpa.”

“Mrs. Jitlada was from a well-off family, wasn't she? Your grandpa was a Phraya, right?”

“Everyone in the village knows, don't they?”

“Very much so. The love story of your parents is legendary in our village.”

“Did my grandpa ever visit my parents at home?”

“He came once. That one time was enough to make the whole village talk. Everyone found out who your mother really was. We all felt so much sympathy that we were moved to tears.”

Oh... it's like a live drama in the village. No wonder it's so famously talked about.

“The cake and drinks are ready.” Sister Prea came to serve just in time. “Isn't Mafueang coming today?”

“I didn't invite her. I'll ask her on Saturday when school is off. She's been complaining about homework.”

“Why don't you study with your friends?”

“I don't have time. I have to take care of the garden. We're building worker accommodations now, so I have to oversee them too.” Sister Prea looked at the young girl in amazement; at just twelve years old, she was already managing workers.

“Little Manfah, you're so talented. I can't compete with you.”

“I'm just doing what I'm good at. You're talented too, Sister Prea. Your cake is so delicious that Mafueang and I have to come often.”

“I'm glad to hear my cake is good. Honestly, I didn't plan to open here, but this is my home, so I wanted to give it a try. I can't sell as expensively as in the Capital of Siam.”

“Do they sell for more in the Capital of Siam?” Grandpa Puang asked in a high-pitched voice, utterly surprised.

“Yes, in the capital, these shops do well. People often come to discuss work, and there are students from noble families and foreigners too. Siam is very developed, and people spend money freely, mostly to show off their status. Social appearance is quite important there.”

“You must have spent a long time in the Capital of Siam, Sister Prea.”

“Yes, but I don't like it much. I'm more comfortable here.”

“Where did you learn to bake cakes?”

“There was a school run by foreigners, but the teachers were Siamese. Western pastries are quite complex, which makes them expensive. If you add their country's fruits, it gets even pricier. I've adapted some recipes for our local ingredients; otherwise, the costs would be too high to sell here. I had to tweak some of the menus.”

“You're so talented, Sister Prea. Why don't you sell Siamese sweets to the foreigners? Our local sweets have a long shelf life, are reasonably priced, and taste great. I'm sure you could sell them. Siamese sweets are too sweet for them, so maybe you could reduce the sweetness to suit their taste.”

Sister Prea considered the young girl's suggestion. It seemed like her idea could be profitable. Praewa's eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I'm not surprised you're a little millionaire at such a young age.”

[1] A rai is a unit of area equal to 1,600 square metres or 16 ares or 0.16 hectares or 0.3954 acres