Chapter 28

The next morning, Ye Jia and Yu carried the cakes and the stove, and put the ten pieces of fragrant pancakes they had packed yesterday into a basket and took them to the town together.

Zhou Jingchen went to the base yesterday, and now there is no one to accompany Ye Jia to the town to do business, so Yu naturally has to come.

She came over first to lend a hand and secondly for Ye Jia's safety. Jia Niang's figure was becoming increasingly voluptuous, her skin fairer from eating well. Even coarse linen couldn't hide her radiance. She was so attractive. Rui Jie'er, as usual, sent her to the home of Old Lady Wang next door, asking her to look after her. Now that the Zhou family had money, Yu Shi had specially obtained several large locks to securely lock the doors and windows in the house and yard.

The two were sitting on Old Man Sun's ox cart at the moment, and Ye Jia told him about his plan to make braised pig's head as a side dish and sell it with pancakes.

"Will this sell?" Yu rarely questioned Ye Jia's decisions, but she was curious when she heard Ye Jia suddenly bring it up. "A lot of people eat beef and mutton here, so I'm afraid things like pig's head won't sell well."

Ye Jia naturally knew this. A little further south in Libei Town, a group of Uighurs settled there. Uighurs are what later generations called the Hui people. Hui people don't eat pork. There are many theories about the specific reason: some say it's a religious belief, some say the defeated Uighur ancestors were blessed by pigs, and some say pork is unclean and will defile the soul.

In short, I don’t eat pork and won’t even touch it.

Before cooking the pig's head, Ye Jia considered ethnic customs. But on closer inspection, Libei Town wasn't particularly foreign. While there was a mix of races, it was true, and there were indeed quite a few mixed-race people. Most people were Han Chinese. The focus on beef and mutton was a result of the region's location and environment, though pork, if cooked well, was also acceptable.

"It's nothing. We're just doing a trial sale of the pig's head. If it sells well, that would be great. If not, we can still eat it at home." Ye Jia had thought about this problem when he was thinking about the pig's head, so he wasn't too upset when Yu pointed it out.

"As long as Jia Niang knows what's going on," Yu Shi didn't object to Ye Jia trying out new food. After all, she rarely did anything she wasn't sure about. "But when we do business in town in the future, I think we need to be more careful. Without Yun An here, we're alone, so we should try to make money through harmony."

Ye Jia understood what she meant. The ox wheels made a squeaking sound as they pressed against the grass.

I looked up at the sky; it was already bright. It was May, the season of long days and short nights. As the sun rose, the temperature gradually rose. The morning mist dissipated, and dew wet the lush greenery. The morning breeze caressed my cheeks, a refreshing feeling. Honestly, the countryside had its inconveniences, but as long as one worked hard enough to support themselves, life was still quite fulfilling.

It was already evening when the group arrived home yesterday. Ye Jia hurriedly cooked a meal to fill their stomachs before getting busy. The leeks in the backyard didn't need much attention; they would sprout again after each harvest, growing incredibly quickly. Yu Shi changed her clothes, hurriedly cut a handful, washed them, and then she and Ye Jia hurriedly kneaded the dough and made pancakes. They were a bit rushed, but they still managed to make around 400.

Ever since the Xishi stall was established, more and more people have been coming to buy pancakes. A while ago, a new stall opened for breakfast. Coincidentally, it was run by Aunt Liu, Yu's former embroiderer. Aunt Liu had previously wondered how much money could be made from pancakes, but after hearing that the Zhou family regularly bought delicious food to eat at home, she realized they must be making a lot of money from the stall, and she felt uneasy.

Why?! The Zhou family was so poor before, why?

Aunt Liu hadn't found work since she was fired from the embroidery workshop, and she was worried every day. But when she saw the booming pancake business in town, her desire to make a pancake came to her. She desperately came to Zhou's house to ask Ye Jia, relying on her thick skin to ask how Ye Jia made the filling for the pancakes.

When Ye Jia ignored her, she started yelling at him, saying he was stingy. They lived in the same village, but he wouldn't even teach her how to make a flatbread.

Not to mention that this was a skill that other people used to cook at home, so no one should ask. Aunt Liu was truly hilarious. She wanted to learn the skill without even spending a penny, and even dared to use her status as an elder to show off without even asking. Ye Jia immediately lost her temper. This led to a minor argument, and Aunt Liu was scolded by the visiting Old Lady Wang, who indirectly criticized her. She fled in disgrace, and the next day she set up a pancake stall in town to do business.

The Liu family also learned how to make pancakes from Ye Jia, but they didn’t learn how to make the pancakes, but how to set up the stall.

She somehow managed to get a piece of blue linen and embroidered a similar sign, which she then placed at the entrance of her stall. Aunt Liu had previously worked with Yu in the embroidery studio, embroidering and making clothes, and had learned the art exactly. The color and style were similar to Xishi's stall sign. But this person had also eaten Zhou's cakes and once watched Ye Jia make them. But Ye Jia had already prepared the filling. She knew how to make the cakes, but not how to make the filling.

But the exterior looked pretty much the same, and with a sign erected in a crowded area, it naturally looked a bit confusing. Furthermore, there were so few literate people in this town that it almost looked like the real thing.

It's true that every scholar is difficult to deal with.

Early in the morning, as soon as Xishi's stall was set up, someone curiously asked Ye Jia why he had two stalls. Ye Jia hadn't noticed it at first, but when he saw the similar signs, he was stunned for a moment: "Two stalls?"

"Isn't it?" The regular customer thought the shop had set up two stalls because business was so brisk that they couldn't sell enough hot cakes. "That one's also called the Xishi stall."

Yu quickly put down what she was doing and went to take a look. When she came back, her face was red with anger.

"Thankfully, I felt sorry for her family's hardship and always wanted to take care of her. She took advantage of me on a daily basis and never complained, turning a blind eye. But who knew she would be so heartless and sell things under our family's name? Her greed is truly shameless!"

Yu's chest heaved up and down, she was really angry.

The person with the calmest temper in the family had left, and since Mrs. Yu was a bit weak-tempered, someone had to be steady. Ye Jia suppressed her temper, quietly lit the stove, and greased the pan. She put about thirty pancakes in, and with a sizzling sound, the fragrant aroma spread. She hurriedly asked Mrs. Yu to straighten the door. She took a spatula and knocked on the edge of the pan, then started shouting, "Brothers and sisters who are passing by, there is only one Xishi stall in Libei Town, there is no other stall. When you buy something, look at the sign, don't buy the wrong one!"

Ye Jia's voice is clear and pleasant, and it can be heard from far away.

Many people turned their heads to look, but Yu had come to her senses. This wasn't her first time doing business in town, and she was quite comfortable with it now. She started shouting, imitating Ye Jia's words.

Xishi's stall had been operating in town for nearly five months, and its food was universally recognized for its deliciousness. Someone who had just bought a pancake from Auntie Liu complained that the taste wasn't right, and was grumbling about it. Yu's shouting finally made them understand. This place, impersonating Xishi's stall, had a completely different flavor with its chive and egg pancakes, and even less chives and eggs, yet they still charged the same price. How unscrupulous!

Not to mention that it was disgusting that the Liu family did this the first time they set up a stall. Those who were just muttering about the taste being bad said it out loud, and those who wanted to buy later turned around and went back to Ye Jia.

Yu's shouting was enough to make the following calls flow more smoothly. She was well-educated and could compose poetry, doggerel, and witty remarks with ease. Her voice was soft, and her gentle whispers were incredibly pleasant. Even those who couldn't understand flowery doggerel could still enjoy the fun of Yu's words and feel at ease while eating their pancakes.

When it comes to buying cakes, one family does it well, and all the other families get jealous. Ye Jia went from being angry at first to calming down later, and he actually had a way to deal with it.

The four hundred or so cakes were sold out at three quarters past noon. Ye Jia was worried that his pig's head would not be bought by anyone, so he quickly asked Yu to clean up the stove, wiped his hands, and went to check on the butcher's stall.

The butcher's stall was in the middle of the tile market, on the north side. He'd only sold most of the pork, leaving behind half a pig's shank and a few pig's trotters. The townspeople lived in poverty, and few ate meat. The butcher had only slaughtered one pig today, and now there was only a pig's head under his stall.

Ye Jia asked the butcher to bring up the pig's head. He looked it over and it looked very fresh. He then asked the price. The butcher knew Ye Jia quite well, as Ye Jia often came to buy meat, and he was always very generous with his purchases. He didn't offer any empty words, simply saying that if Ye Jia wanted it, plus the collar of pork neck, he would pay four hundred and fifty coins.

To be honest, not many people eat pig heads these days. Aside from families buying them for ancestor worship, it's not often eaten on a regular basis. In the northwest, where sheep are raised, sheep heads are more popular. Pork is around 23 wen per jin, while pig heads are a bit less expensive, at 18 wen per jin. This pig head, with a layer of pork neck meat, costs 400 wen, which isn't too expensive. Ye Jia immediately laughed and bought the pig head.

After buying and carrying the goods back to the stall, Yu and Old Man Sun had already loaded the goods onto the oxcart. Seeing from a distance that Ye Jia was carrying a heavy load, Old Man Sun came over to help. After the goods were loaded, Ye Jia asked Yu to go back first. She went to the tile market again to buy spices for the marinade.

The good thing about the border area is that many spices that are not available in the Central Plains are available here.

Ye Jia walked around and found the spices she wanted. She was willing to spend a small amount of money to buy a small bag. She turned around and went back to West Street with the scented soap in her pocket. Having been delayed setting up her stall that morning, she was worried about whether the scented soap could be consigned, so she hurried to the rouge shop to ask.

The rouge shop in the town was in the center of the west street, not far away, about an incense stick's walk away. Yu Shi probably knew where she was going, so she asked Old Man Sun to wait and catch up with Ye Jia.

When I arrived at the rouge shop, the door had not yet been removed. A short clerk was flicking ashes in the shop with a cloth.

Hearing someone coming in, he hurried over to greet them. Seeing Ye Jia, greasy and untidy, with a package in her hand, he thought she was a country woman looking for work in town. He immediately put away his smile, waved his hand, and said perfunctorily, "Are you here to apply for a job? You're late. The shop staff were fully hired the day before yesterday. Let's go."

Ye Jia blinked, but was stunned by what he suddenly said.

After a pause, she didn't mind his bad attitude and said good-naturedly, "I'm not here to recruit workers. I'm looking for a shop owner. Is the owner of the rouge shop here? I have some things I'd like him to take a look at and see if I can consign them to the shop."

"What good stuff?" The boy squinted his eyes and looked at Ye Jia. "Just tell me."

Ye Jia frowned, holding the package without moving. Without intending to be sullen, she said matter-of-factly, "If it's convenient, please ask your shopkeeper to come out. I'm afraid you can't make the decision on this matter."

"I'm a shop assistant, how come I can't make the decision?" The shop assistant was unhappy. "I'm the one who looks after the shop on weekdays. Do you have something to say? If so, please say it quickly. If not, please don't delay our business. I have other things to do."

Honestly, before arriving, Ye Jia had already thought about how she was going to negotiate with the rouge shop owner and agree on a price. She'd even thought about it several times, but she hadn't expected any of it to come to fruition. A shop assistant could prevent her from meeting the owner. Ye Jia wanted to say more, but the assistant, already impatient, turned and went back into the shop, ignoring Ye Jia.

Ye Jia's brows knitted tightly together, realizing she was inappropriately dressed. As the saying goes, one should respect the garment before the person, and she had neglected that.

She was wondering what to do, whether she should change her clothes and come back this afternoon. Suddenly, a surprised voice called out from behind her. The rough, deep voice was quite memorable. Ye Jia knew who it was without even turning around: "Jia'er, you're in town?"

Ye Jia turned around holding the package and saw Cheng Feng standing in the middle of the street with a few teenagers of similar age, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

I don't know where it came from, but I was sweating all over.