After Rebirth, I Accept The Arranged Marriage

Chapter 214: Making Money

Joanne Warren and Jessie Sterling’s coffee-selling venture wasn’t going smoothly. Most of the people who came to the market were Tibetans, and they simply weren’t interested in coffee.

With fragrant milk tea and other drinks like butter tea available, who would want to drink bitter coffee?

On the verge of returning empty-handed, Jessie Sterling, now feeling full, simply took the pen and paper Joanne Warren had intended for bookkeeping and started to sketch.

They hadn’t made a single sale anyway, so they might as well just enjoy the breeze and relax.

At first, Joanne Warren would call out to passersby, but gradually, she couldn’t be bothered anymore.

All that shouting for nothing didn’t earn them a single cent and only made her voice hoarse.

Seeing Jessie Sterling with her head down, scribbling and drawing, Joanne Warren leaned over to look at the notebook.

"Whoa!" Joanne Warren didn’t know Jessie Sterling had an arts background. She’d also momentarily forgotten that Jessie had been introduced on the show as an illustrator. So, when she saw Jessie quickly sketch the figure of the amma who had given them fried cakes earlier, Joanne was completely taken aback.

"You’re amazing!" Joanne Warren said.

Jessie Sterling felt a little embarrassed. ’A layman just cares if it looks good, but an expert sees the technique.’

She hadn’t majored in sketching, nor was she particularly interested in quick portraits. Doing it now on a whim, she felt quite out of practice.

’It might look decent to a casual observer, but she knew it wasn’t actually very good.’

"Oh, it’s nothing special," Jessie Sterling said. "I wasn’t formally trained in this. I’m just doodling."

It was a small drawing, and she finished the sketch quickly. Then she tore the page from the notebook, walked over to the fried cake stall across the way, and gave it to the amma from earlier.

From where she was sitting, Joanne Warren couldn’t quite hear what the amma was saying to Jessie Sterling, but judging by her body language and expression, she could tell the woman was delighted.

A moment later, Jessie Sterling returned.

"Elena, should I draw one of you, too?" Jessie Sterling asked.

Joanne Warren replied, "Me? Really?"

"Of course. It’ll be quick."

As Jessie Sterling spoke, she was already putting pen to paper, outlining the sketch.

Joanne Warren suddenly felt a little nervous, which she found rather amusing. She didn’t think she’d ever been this serious, not even during auditions.

The amma who sold fried cakes had hung the portrait Jessie Sterling gave her right on the side of her pushcart for everyone to see.

It was hard to say whether it was the portrait that attracted the passing locals, or if people had noticed Jessie Sterling drawing Joanne Warren. In any case, when Jessie finally looked up, she found a crowd of people had gathered around them.

She jumped in surprise.

"Hey, that drawing is really nice!" someone in the crowd praised.

"Are you filming a show? Are you stars?" someone else asked Jessie Sterling.

Jessie Sterling and Joanne Warren had come out with cameramen following them.

In the simple market of the Tibetan village, they looked completely out of place.

People had noticed them earlier. They were curious but also a bit wary, so they just watched from a distance.

But neither Jessie Sterling nor Joanne Warren did much of anything, looking more like they were on vacation. For a time, the secretly observing Tibetans couldn’t make heads or tails of what the two were trying to do.

It wasn’t until Jessie Sterling sat down and drew a quick portrait for the amma that a few curious and friendly villagers finally came over to ask questions.

Jessie Sterling replied good-naturedly, "We’re filming a reality show, but my friend here is the big star, not me."

"When you stars film a show, you don’t do anything?" a curious amma asked, looking at Jessie Sterling and Joanne Warren. The two had come to the market but didn’t seem to be doing much of anything. ’What are they up to?’ It was all very puzzling.

Jessie Sterling gave a dry laugh. ’We’d love to get moving, but what can we do? Nobody bought our coffee, so we have no money to buy ingredients.’

"That drawing is lovely. Could you draw one for me, too?" an amma dressed in an indigo robe asked Jessie. "I just saw you do it in a few quick strokes, and it was finished."

Jessie Sterling’s eyes lit up. An idea flashed through her mind. "Of course! But, Amma, I have to charge for the drawings." Jessie looked at the crowd, which had grown without her realizing it. "But it’s very cheap! For the first three customers, it’s only five yuan! First come, first served for the best deal. After that, it’ll be ten yuan a drawing!"

’This kind of street-corner sketch usually costs more than ten yuan, even for the cheapest ones.’

But right now, Jessie Sterling just wanted to earn some money for breakfast. She and Joanne Warren had eaten, but there were still six other people back at the house who probably hadn’t.

’If she set the price low enough, these aunties and uncles, who were just out shopping for their daily groceries, might be willing to spend a little money on a portrait.’

After all, it was only five yuan. A pastry cost about the same.

Hearing this, Joanne Warren, who was standing to the side, felt a little anxious.

’What if the local villagers had no intention of paying for a drawing? Wouldn’t Jessie be put in an incredibly awkward position?’

Just as Joanne Warren was about to chime in with something to drum up business, like "Five yuan is a real bargain!", the amma who had first spoken to Jessie immediately pushed her way forward. "Me, me, me! Young lady, can you draw me?"

Joanne Warren froze.

A smile bloomed on Jessie Sterling’s face, and she nodded readily. "Of course! Amma, that’s a beautiful outfit you’re wearing!"

Jessie’s words were completely sincere. She truly believed that the traditional clothing of every culture was beautiful and full of character.

After hearing Jessie Sterling’s praise, the amma in the indigo robe became a little shy.

"Oh, you’re exaggerating, haha. But I did get this new outfit to wear for my daughter’s birthday next week. Haha, she works in the provincial capital and only comes home once a month." The amma spoke humbly, but anyone could hear the pride in her voice.

Jessie Sterling said, "Wow, that’s amazing."

Many locals in the Tibetan region preferred to stay in their hometowns.

It wasn’t very common for someone to go to university and then work elsewhere.

As Jessie Sterling spoke, she was already sketching rapidly.

She didn’t require her models to stay perfectly still. On the contrary, by capturing their natural movements with her eyes and her pen, she felt her drawings came out much more lifelike.

The sketch was done in a flash. In just a few moments, Jessie finished the drawing and handed it to the amma before her. "What do you think? Is it okay?"

’It was just a small drawing, after all. Something just for fun.’

But to her surprise, the moment Jessie handed over the drawing, the other ammas who had been watching the spectacle surged forward, scrambling over each other.

"Oh, that’s not bad at all! I want one, too!"

"I was first."

"No, it was me!"

Not only was Joanne Warren stunned, but even Jessie Sterling herself was taken aback for a moment.