Chapter 27

The location of the stall has changed, which has had some impact on the business.

Many of the regular customers who habitually went to Xishi's stall didn't find them there, and thought they hadn't come to the stall this morning. But the fillings were good, the ingredients were generous, the food was delicious, and the quality was genuine and better than other stalls. It was still sticky. Besides, Zhou Jingchen's face was quite eye-catching. Standing next to the stove, he still attracted more attention than the other stalls.

Sales were slow early in the morning, but once the Luzhai opened and the stalls filled up, Xishi's stall was still the most prosperous. As the saying goes, first come, first served. The Zhou family had a good relationship with the two gatekeepers, and their location at the entrance to the tile market had never changed.

Later, some people followed the Zhou family’s example and sent food to the gatekeeper, but everything has a first-come, first-served basis. Whatever the Zhou family gets first belongs to them.

There were more than 300 pancakes. Because of the Zhang family's operation, they closed their stall much later than usual.

Ye Jia felt a surge of rage, and for the first time, she felt so nauseous she hadn't smiled the entire day. She didn't consider herself that overbearing, running her own business and eating the meat while denying others the soup, but she couldn't just take over the magpie's nest like this. The Zhang family behind her seemed to have tasted the sweetness and were even more shameless. They were riding on the Xishi stall's reputation, grabbing the spot every day, acting as if it was their due.

After three or four days of business, Ye Jia simply asked someone to build a stall. He hung a bamboo pole and stood in front of the stall to do business.

In small markets like Libei Town, vendors set up their stalls simply by placing their wares wherever they could, then standing or sitting to hawk their wares. Xishi's stalls operated similarly, with a wok perched atop a stove half a man's height, relying solely on the aroma of the pancakes themselves to attract customers. People working at the stalls often hunched over, and if they lowered their heads, they wouldn't be too noticeable.

The signboard Ye Jia had made was made of bright blue linen. The calligraphy was written by Zhou Jingchen and embroidered by Yu Shi herself. No matter where their stall was set up, as long as they propped it up high on a pole, you could see it from afar, no matter how far away you went.

As expected, once the sign was up, it proved effective in providing directions. Even if most people in Libei Town couldn't read, they had eyes. Early in the morning, people jammed the entrance to the tile market. Even those who couldn't see the stalls in the crowd could spot the sign and follow its directions to Xishi's stall.

It had to be said that Ye Jia's trick was simple yet effective. It made the Zhang family's daily midnight rush to town to usurp the throne useless. Secondly, in the food business, the truth is in the mouth. If it's delicious, it's delicious. No matter how low the price, you can't deny that the food is poorly made. After ten days of hard work, Xishi's stall was back to business.

However, this incident did serve as a reminder to Ye Jia: no matter how delicious the chive egg pancakes were, one shouldn't rely solely on one product. A single product was easily affected by market fluctuations, and Ye Jia wondered if he should add some other foods to the mix.

Before deciding what to build and sell, Zhou Jingchen had to pack up and report to the military camp.

Since it wasn't too far away, Ye Jia and Yu decided to go together to see him off. Yu was so worried that even though Zhou Jingchen had said the base was in the nearby town, she still wanted to go along to see it. It just so happened that Ye Jia hadn't left the town in the six months since he arrived, so the family decided to hire Old Man Sun's oxcart to take him there. It was a good opportunity for him to go with Sun Yushan.

Zhou Jingchen felt a little helpless, but he could also understand Yu's worries, so he went along with them.

At this time, the two of them were in the house, and Ye Jia was hesitating whether to give him some money to support himself.

This guy needs to make some money wherever he goes. He can't get away without some money. Late at night, Ye Jia was counting copper coins, and as he did so, he couldn't help but turn his head to look at the person across from him, rubbing the candlelight against his chair. Zhou Jingchen had been writing and drawing lately, and after a few nights, he had finally completed the map of the border defense.

Ye Jia took a moment to glance at it; it was quite meticulously drawn. Even the sandy area sixty miles west of Libei Town, where there were salt lakes, was marked.

After counting, he found that business had picked up in the past few days, earning around eighteen taels. He now had eighty taels of silver in his savings. Add to that the twenty taels Zhou Jingchen had pawned for his personal jade, and the total was one hundred taels. In Libei Town, this amount of savings would be considered wealthy. Ye Jia banged the coins in one hand, making a loud bang. Finally, he took out twenty taels of change and pushed them in front of him.

The silver appeared right under his nose, and the person busy painting naturally noticed it immediately. Zhou Jingchen's eyes shifted and he raised his head.

"My dear husband, these are for you. Take them with you when you leave." Although Ye Jia hadn't decided whether to accompany Zhou Jingchen to the end, she was unwilling to part ways for now. She didn't want to go back to the Ye family, so naturally she had to do her best to protect Zhou Jingchen.

"Although I'm not sure whether I can leave the camp normally, if I can, I will definitely invite my colleagues to have a drink." Ye Jia's eyes were very clear, and under the candlelight, two flames danced in his eyes, shining brightly.

Zhou Jingchen's heart moved, and his eyes softened as he looked at Ye Jia. He curled his lips and put down the pen in his hand. Just as he was about to take it, he saw Ye Jia staring at the silver with a frown, then reached out and fiddled with a large piece of silver, and then ten taels appeared in front of him.

Looking up again, she smiled confidently, "Twenty taels is too much. I might be taken for a ride. Ten taels is better."

Zhou Jingchen: “…”

Tomorrow we should return to the base and close for the day. Although he didn't have to get up early tomorrow, Ye Jia glanced out the window, yawned, and prepared to retire. It's no wonder that coming to the ancient times had corrected Ye Jia's night owl habits. It's true that bad habits can't be broken because of the excessive entertainment in the world. A quiet place with no one around immediately restored a healthy lifestyle.

Since we didn't have to make cakes in the afternoon, the family had a rare free time, so they washed up after dinner.

Zhou Jingchen had packed his luggage long ago, and Ye Jia stood up and closed the box.

She walked around the room, one hand on her chest and the other on her hip, thinking. The hiding place under the bed was no longer safe. Thanks to her son, Ye Jia realized that his hiding place often found and urinated on it. Everything else was fine, except his urine, which was so smelly that it left a lasting impression on her.

It would be safer to hide the things up high anyway. Ye Jia looked around and saw the beams along the wall of the house.

Ye Jia placed the box beside the bed, told Zhou Jingchen to turn away and not look, and then tiptoed to place the box on the partition next to the beam. She couldn't reach it, so she brought a stool over to step on and put it in.

After a long day of hard work, they finally stuffed the box in. Ye Jia clapped his hands and moved the bench away. He leisurely looked around, but the box was nowhere to be seen.

She nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, get ready for bed."

Zhou Jingchen silently turned his head, his eyes casually scanning the room before landing on Ye Jia's nonchalant face. He silently put down his pen and stood up, his slender figure casting a huge shadow in the candlelight. He raised his leg and slowly walked to Ye Jia's side. Then, under Ye Jia's puzzled gaze, he raised his head and extended his hand. With a flick of his hand, he easily hooked a box down.

When their eyes met, Ye Jia was shocked.

She looked at him first, then at herself, then raised her head and looked at where she had hidden the silver.

Very shocked: "!!!!!!"

Zhou Jingchen hooked his left finger around the pull tab on the wooden box, lowering his head and gazing at Ye Jia's gradually crumbling expression. His eyelids drooped, and the corners of his mouth curled up sharply.

"What are you doing! It's great that you have a broad perspective!" Ye Jia said angrily, his face flushed red.

Although he didn't know what a broad perspective meant, Zhou Jingchen quickly suppressed his smile and said tactfully, "No... just hide somewhere else, right?"

Ye Jia snatched the money box he had taken away and stuffed it onto the bed. Then, without saying a word to him, she kicked off her shoes, lay down on the bed and pulled the quilt over her: "What do you care? Go to sleep!"

Zhou Jingchen stared at her stiff back and finally laughed out loud. After a long moment, he suddenly said, "Jia Niang, will you come visit me when you have time? Linzhen isn't far away; it only takes half a day by oxcart."

The figure stood stiffly and motionlessly, not wanting to pay any attention to him.

Zhou Jingchen continued, "I heard the food in the camp is terrible. Can you bring me some snacks?"

"If that doesn't work, you could at least send me a few changes of clothes."

Ye Jia: “…”

"Jia Niang?" The night was silent. Zhou Jingchen sighed and asked in a faint voice, "Are you asleep?"

“Send, send, send!”

Ye Jia turned over with her eyes sparkling, she hadn't slept at all. She frowned and said, "Go to sleep quickly."

Zhou Jingchen's eyes curved as he nodded, then turned to get the quilt from the cupboard and spread it on the floor. His son had been moved to his feet at Zhou Jingchen's insistence. He spread out the quilt, lay down, blew out the lights, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Yu was up early, tidying up the yard. She took Rui Jie'er to Old Lady Wang's house next door, brought some things, and asked her to take care of her for the day. The two families lived close together, and Old Lady Wang had a good relationship with Ye Jia, so Yu gradually gained some influence with her.

Yu sent the person over and Old Lady Wang agreed immediately.

The neighboring town is called Dongxiang Town. Although both are located in the northwest, it's far more prosperous and populous than Libei Town. Perhaps because the garrison is located on the northern outskirts of Dongxiang Town, even the most rampant horse bandits dare not attack directly there. The garrison usually turns a blind eye, knowing they can't provoke them under their noses. Free from horse banditry, life there is much more peaceful, and the streets are naturally lined with shops.

Ye Jia sat next to Zhou Jingchen, knees hugged. That morning, the box had finally been hidden under the ceiling partition. Zhou Jingchen had tucked it in himself, shoving it in deep. It was said that unless someone was much taller than him, it wouldn't be visible.

On a morning when he was not working and yawning, Ye Jia was dazed and swayed by the car body.

Zhou Jingchen and his family sat in the back, with Sun Yushan and Old Man Sun sitting on the shaft of the cart, one on each side. Along the way, apart from whispering to Sun Yushan for a few moments, he spent most of his time gazing into deep thought. Occasionally, he felt a gentle warmth close to him, and his gaze drifted to Ye Jia's face. Yu Shi, who was nagging him with instructions, noticed his expression and a hint of something strange in her eyes.

It was past noon when they arrived at the camp, and many soldiers recruited from various villages began to arrive. At the entrance of the camp, several men dressed as soldiers set up a wooden table with a thick pile of business cards on it, and everyone who arrived had to mark their name.

Sun Yushan had only a small bag, and when the ox cart stopped, he jumped off with the bag in his arms and stood aside to wait.

Zhou Jingchen didn't have much. Yu had hurriedly sewn him some inner clothing and a set of outerwear. He also had a package of homemade soap that had dried to a decent standard and a map he had drawn himself; he didn't bring anything else.

As soon as the two got out of the car, they heard someone calling them, and they went over with their bags to mark their names.

Yu Shi stood at the edge of the camp for a long time, watching. They couldn't get in, so they could only watch from outside. This garrison looked quite decent, and their worries were relieved. Ye Jia followed and noticed that there were actually farmlands and sheep near the camp. This meant that the soldiers in the garrison not only had to fight, but also had to farm and raise sheep in their free time.

After marking their names, they were allowed in. As usual, the guards at the gate checked their belongings. If there were no suspicious items, they would be assigned to battalion commanders and their equipment distributed. Ye Jia didn't have much to say, so it was Yu who pulled Zhou Jingchen aside to give him the long explanation.

After the explanation, they went in without delay. Before entering, Zhou Jingchen glanced at Ye Jia again.

Ye Jia blinked and said, "I'll bring you some snacks when I have time."

After hearing this, the man nodded with satisfaction.

The rush to send someone here made it easier to leave. It just so happened that neither Ye Jia nor Yu had ever been to Dongxiang Town. Yu was much more timid than Ye Jia. She had been exiled to this place for three years and had never left Libei Town. Ye Jia simply dragged her along for a stroll before leaving.

Dongxiang Town was densely populated, and vendors hawked their wares along the streets, selling everything from mutton to beef. With Old Man Sun driving the ox cart, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law felt less apprehensive walking down the street. Ye Jia took Yu Shi from shop to shop, noticing a significant increase in food stalls. Among them were two meat shops, selling braised mutton and braised beef.

Ye Jia thought it was a rare opportunity to go out, so he decided to try something new. He then dragged Old Man Sun from the Yu family into a restaurant that looked quite prosperous.

They ordered two pounds of their signature braised beef and two pounds of their signature braised lamb, along with a few vegetarian dishes. Not wanting to drink, they ordered three bowls of plain noodles. Old Man Sun was embarrassed to eat, but Ye Jia said frankly that they would need Old Man Sun's care in the future, so this meal was nothing.

After she said that, Old Man Sun couldn't refuse anymore, so he ate some. But it must be said, the quality of this food is obvious the moment it enters your mouth. The signature dish of this supposedly popular restaurant in Dongxiang Town wasn't as good as Ye Jia's. The beef sauce was dry and salty, perhaps because it was meant to be eaten with alcohol. It wasn't that it was unpalatable, but it just felt dry in the mouth.

Yu was more picky and after eating two chopsticks, she felt that the vegetarian dishes were more palatable.

Ye Jia took a few bites, glanced at the diners who kept coming in to ask for meat, and an idea came to mind. Speaking of side dishes, a well-cooked pig's head would be a perfect match for alcohol. Besides, Ye Jia actually knew how to braise pig's heads.

The braised meat is fragrant and tender. Cut it into thin slices with a sharp knife, chop a few cloves of garlic, and pour the marinade on it. It is especially delicious when eaten with wine.

Libei Town had only one butcher shop, and the town's mutton and beef sold quickly, forcing the shopkeepers to work tirelessly. The mutton and beef were always sold out before noon. Ye Jia hadn't considered opening a butcher shop, not because the costs were high. She could make home-cooked meals for her family, but she still didn't trust the purchasing power of the people of Libei Town. Her thoughts were still on the caravan.

If you want to make braised pig's heads, you don't need a lot. You can braise two pig's heads a day, cut them into thin slices and sell them with pancakes.

With this idea in mind, Ye Jia pondered for a moment and decided to go back and give it a try before bringing it up with Yu. The three of them quickly finished their meal and strolled around the streets. There were two embroidery and cloth shops in Dongxiang Town, as well as three rouge and powder shops.

It just so happened that the scented soap made by Ye Jia had dried up, so he could wash his face and hands properly.

Ye Jia dragged Yu around the rouge shop. The rouge shop in Dongxiang Town had scented soap, but the production process was probably crude, and it didn't look as good as Ye Jia's. Smelling it, it wasn't fragrant enough. Even the most ordinary soap couldn't be called scented; it had an indescribable smell.

With this discovery, Yu and Ye Jia looked at each other and their eyes lit up.

The two of them thought the same thing. The pancreas from Dongxiang Town was not as good as Ye Jia's. They asked the price and it was just over one tael of silver. In other words, the fragrant pancreas at home could definitely be sold for one tael of silver, and it might even sell much better than this unscented pancreas.

"Don't underestimate this thing; it's perfect for washing your face and hands!" Seeing the two people circling around the scented soap, the waiter from the rouge shop said quickly, "This thing is in short supply, only the wealthy in the Central Plains can afford it. It's the best seller in our shop. Would you like one each? If you take more than one, we can give you a discount."

"No," Yu said, handling the situation with ease. "Just a casual look. The owner can just send other people on their way."

They looked at the soap, then at the rouge, lip balm, and powder. The products were better than Li Beizhen's, but due to the limitations of technology and knowledge at the time, the powder's color was a fake white. The rouge and lip balm did come in a few more colors, but they weren't very attractive on the lips or face.

"I do know a few recipes for lip balm. I can apply red, sandalwood, crimson, and black lipstick, and I know a thing or two about the recipes. But the ingredients are so particular. Now that I think about it, it's really extravagant." Yu Shi was also a master of makeup. Which noblewoman in Yanjing doesn't know how to apply makeup? She could easily pull off the light makeup of aristocratic ladies, peach blossom makeup, lazy makeup, flying cloud makeup, wine-dizzy makeup, and so on. These rouges and powders were not to Yu Shi's liking. She glanced at them for a few seconds, then stopped and pulled Ye Jia out.

Ye Jia noticed a hint of sadness in her brow, guessing that she might be emotionally moved by the scene. After thinking about it, he simply started talking about business again.

Perhaps brainwashed by Ye Jia, she no longer considered merchants inferior. Whether farming or trading, the goal was to provide for the family. If trading could keep the family alive, it was a good career. But now that Yun'an had moved to the garrison, it would be just her, Jia Niang, and Rui Jie'er left at home. It was up to them to run this business.

As soon as the topic of business came up, Mrs. Yu's melancholy quickly faded. "Now that our scented soap is usable, shouldn't we send it to the rouge shop and try selling it?"

"I'll have to ask the shop when I get back." Ye Jia had originally considered selling the products herself, but her breakfast stall had little to do with fragrant soap. Besides, her clientele was different. If her pancakes could convince a burly, rough-hewn man to buy a few, how could she convince him to buy a few more of her fragrant soap? Thinking of this, she decided to give up retail sales and instead sell on consignment.

But there is a saying that big stores bully people. There is only one rouge store in town, and there is no other place to consign my products except to that store, so I am afraid that the price will be lowered.

Yu knew that business couldn't be won by just talking, so she comforted Ye Jia, "Take your time. Everything is difficult at the beginning. If we take the first step firmly, the rest will be easier. As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush, and good things always find someone who appreciates them."

Of course Ye Jia was not in a hurry, she had plenty of patience when it came to making money.

After strolling around the town for a while, Yu bought two bags of snacks to take with her, and then the group asked Old Man Sun to drive them back.

It was evening when the three of them arrived at Wangjia Village. Rui Jie'er hadn't seen her aunt and grandmother all day and had already cried twice at the Wang family's house. Hearing the sound of the oxcart, she ran out of the yard. Yu Shi saw her and quickly squatted down to embrace her. Ye Jia brought a bag of snacks to the Wang family's house and thanked Old Lady Wang profusely for taking care of the child.

"No, it's just something that happens to me. Rui Jie'er is so cute!" Old Lady Wang was usually lonely at home. It was fun to have a child running around. Besides, Ye Jia was polite and Yu Shi was good-tempered, so she was happy to help look after the child. "Are you back from sending someone off?"

As she spoke, Old Lady Wang winked at Ye Jia mischievously.

Ye Jia smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries with her. She told Old Man Sun to go back early to take care of his grandson and then returned home with Yu.

In the yard, the little dog could already run very fast. He rushed out at the sound of the noise, and when he saw Ye Jia, he circled around her and barked non-stop. Then, with a twist of his little butt, he rushed towards the door like a cannon. Ye Jia followed the little thing over, only to find that the food bowl was already empty. He had clearly put food in it for Diandian all day, but the little dog had eaten it all in a short time.

Diandian grew very fast, having grown a full circle in just half a month. This was because Ye Jia was generous and fed her only the best food. Other guard dogs ate leftovers, but Diandian ate rice mixed with broth. Naturally, she grew fast.

"How come Diandian is such a big eater?" The little thing was brought back by her son specifically to protect the family, so Yu Shi didn't seem to dislike it. But thinking back to the first three years with Rui Jie'er, she did grumble, "Thank goodness our family's life has improved. If it were the old days, and I were the one raising this little thing, I'm afraid it would have starved to death."

Ye Jia quickly scooped a ladle of goat milk for Diandian. The little guy was now eating complementary food with goat milk. Seeing its two hind legs flying up while eating, Ye Jia couldn't help laughing: "Maybe there will be a famine one year, and we will have to rely on Diandian's hunting to feed us!"

When she was little, she'd heard her grandmother tell of famines in which families were so hungry they had to gnaw on grass. Her fourth uncle relied on an old dog and cat to feed them, hunting for game and catching sparrows in the mountains. When the dog died at the age of twenty-four, her uncle even made a special trip back home to see it. Ye Jia didn't experience the Great Famine, but hearing about it so often as a child gave her a lot of patience with dogs and cats.

After looking at it for a while, Ye Jia went inside to get the soap. She gave one piece to Zhou Jingchen, leaving fourteen pieces.

Ye Jia decided to use one piece for herself, one for Yu Shi, and keep two for backup. She would then send the remaining ten pieces to the rouge shop in town for consignment. She wondered if the rouge shop would accept the one or two taels she would ask for.