Seeing Xia Chunmei catch so many big fish, Xia Ping'an, who had been following her all the way, was also very happy.
"Girl, although I don't know how you managed to get these fish to bite, I suggest you get all the neighbors together. If you girls suddenly have food and clothing, it's easy for trouble to happen," Xia Ping'an kindly reminded her.
Xia Ping'an knew that Xia Chunmei was someone who would listen to advice, so he continued, "The Huo Hua family alone is not enough. You can invite others next time. The Xia Tianji and Xia Qiang families are also good."
There were other people around, so Xia Chunmei couldn't talk to him. She nodded slightly to indicate that she understood.
………
The next day, when Xia Chunmei asked Xia Huohua and Xia Qiang to help her take the fish to the market, it still alarmed the villagers!
"So many fish, could they have been caught by fishing again?"
"Wow, it weighs several tens of kilograms!"
"Chunmei, you're going to be rich this time!"
"There seem to be an unusually large number of big fish in the river this year."
Chunmei, do you have some secret?
"How do you always manage to catch so many big fish?"
...
The villagers chattered amongst themselves, all envying Xia Chunmei.
"There are no secrets, it's all just good luck."
“It was Uncle Ping’an who appeared to Chunmei in her dream.” Xia Ping excitedly told him the story. “Last night I went night fishing with Chunmei and we caught three big fish.”
"Your father appeared to you in a dream." The villagers looked at Xia Chunmei in shock.
"Yes, I dreamt about my father. I initially thought it was a coincidence, but it turned out to be true," Xia Chunmei admitted, forcing herself to speak.
"No wonder you're so lucky. It turns out your father's spirit has appeared. Our ancestors haven't been able to protect us, their descendants. All the paper money we burned before was for nothing."
"I guess Xia Ping'an appeared because he saw that Chunmei was having a hard time making ends meet."
"Chunmei, take your uncle with you next time you go fishing."
"Take me with you, and I'll share half of the fish I catch with you."
“Okay, next time my dad appears in my dream, I’ll call everyone, and we’ll go fishing together.” Xia Chunmei agreed readily.
She's got her own advantages now, so there's nothing wrong with being generous. After all, she still has to live here, and it's beneficial to maintain good relationships with everyone.
However, Xia Chunmei didn't realize at that moment that her casual remark had caused the fishhook and fishing line vendor to sell out of stock!
Xia Dongmei looked at her eldest sister with envious eyes: "Big sister, why doesn't Dad appear in my dreams?"
Xia Qiumei was also a little angry: "Father didn't come to me in a dream either. Father is biased and doesn't miss me."
"What do you mean I'm biased? I'm the eldest, and my elder sister is like a mother to me. Dad will definitely come to me if he has any problems. He even said that if either of you disobeys, I'll whip you hard with a bamboo stick."
“We are very obedient.”
“Yes, we are the most obedient. The disobedient one is Yaomei, who always cries.”
“If Yaomei doesn’t listen, she’ll get a beating too. All three of you are the same.”
...
They chatted and laughed all the way, and soon arrived at the market entrance.
Xia Chunmei thought she had arrived early enough, but she didn't expect that some people had arrived even earlier and had already set up their stalls, such as Wang Fuchun and his wife and their eldest daughter Wang Xiuxiu.
The Wang family's stall was huge, selling everything from clothes and shoes to needles and thread, grains and oils—it was like a general store had been moved there.
"Uncle Wang, Aunt Wang, are you here to do business?" Xia Chunmei stepped forward and greeted them.
“Miss Xia, you sell…fish,” Wang Fuchun glanced at her stall.
"Yes, I was lucky enough to catch a fish weighing about 100 pounds. I thought I'd try my luck and exchange it for a few copper coins."
"You sisters are amazing! I've never seen anyone so good at fishing!"
"It was just good luck; they didn't have any clothes or shoes that the four of us sisters would wear."
"You want to buy it?"
"Yes, I want to buy it."
“We’re all acquaintances, if you want it, I’ll give you a discount.” Little Zhang quickly found suitable clothes for Xia Chunmei.
Taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people at the market yet, Xia Chunmei quickly selected her fish, because she was afraid she wouldn't have time to come and select them when there were more people later and she was selling her own fish.
How much is one piece?
"This big one is 130, and this small one is 120."
Even the worst clothes cost over a hundred!
Thinking about my sister and me, we worked ourselves to the bone all day at the Wang family's birthday banquet, and we only managed to buy two children's clothes!
(Here, we set adult clothes to be more expensive than children's clothes, and clothes for overweight people to be more expensive than clothes for thin people, because the amount of fabric used varies.)
In two years, when they grow up a bit, we'll need to buy larger clothes, which will require more fabric and be more expensive.
But I have to buy it.
"What about the shoes?"
"Shoes are eighteen."
Do you have shoes for a two-year-old?
“We don’t have any right now. If you want, I can make them for you right away. They’ll be ready in three days. The thickness will be about the same as what you see now. They’ll cost ten coins a pair,” Wang Xiuxiu said.
"You're so young and you can already make shoes, that's amazing." Xia Chunmei looked up at Wang Xiuxiu and couldn't help but praise her.
Upon glancing up, Xia Chunmei noticed that something was off about Wang Xiuxiu's appearance and hesitated whether to tell her.
"Miss Xia," Wang Xiuxiu called out when she saw Xia Chunmei in a daze.
Xia Chunmei then came to her senses.
"Dongmei, Qiumei, come and try on the shoes." Xia Chunmei waved her hand, and the two sisters immediately ran over, leaving the stall to Xia Ping and Xia Fengshou to watch over first.
"Do the shoes fit?" Xia Chunmei asked gently.
“It’s a bit long, but that’s okay. We have longer ones, and bigger ones can be worn for longer,” Xia Qiumei said.
"Then it can't be too long. We have so much work to do every day. If the shoes don't fit properly, they'll be uncomfortable and will interfere with our work."
"Sister, it suits you perfectly."
Xia Chunmei had them put them on, and after carefully checking them, she said to the Wang couple, "These three pairs of shoes, three pieces of clothing, plus my younger sister's shoes, make a total of four hundred and twenty. How about that?"
Wang Fuchun fiddled with the abacus, then said, "That won't do. It's too cheap. We won't make any profit. If you want it, I'll round it down by four coins. Take it for four hundred and thirty."
"Could you make it cheaper? I need to buy a quilt and cotton clothes in a few days, and I'll come here to buy them then."
Cotton quilts and cotton-padded clothes are high-priced items; a thick quilt can cost at least one or two taels of silver.
They weren't the only ones selling shoes and clothing at the market.
"There's really not much of a discount left. Our purchase price is also very high. If you want it, I can only give you a discount of two coins at most. You can take it for four hundred and twenty-eight."
"Okay, you can keep it for me first, I'll give you the money after I sell the fish."
The Wang family had no objection to this, mainly because they were not afraid that Xia Chunmei would change her mind.
Xia Chunmei prepared to return to her stall, but after taking a few steps, she turned back and said, "Miss Wang, if I told you I could read faces, would you believe me?"
The Wang family members looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Miss Xia, you're not trying to say that I'm going to have some kind of bloody disaster recently, are you?" Wang Xiuxiu said with a disdainful look.
"No, it's just that I observe your face. Your forehead is sunken and not flat enough, and there are downward lines at the corners of your mouth, which are pale bluish-gray, indicating that you may have a flood accident."
"Miss Xia, you don't think that we'll give you a discount or a free meal just because you make up a story, do you? You'd better give up on that idea. We, the Wang family, are not that easy to fool."
Wang Xiuxiu was convinced that Xia Chunmei didn't want to pay, so she deliberately made these claims to cheat her out of money and goods.
"You've misunderstood. The price has already been agreed upon, and I won't go back on my word. Your Wang family is a wealthy and influential family in the surrounding area. If you wanted to deal with an orphan like me, it would be a piece of cake. If I lied to you, wouldn't I be courting death?"
In short, be careful and stay away from water. While you won't be in mortal danger, you'll suffer quite a bit.
People tend to believe the older fortune tellers and doctors are.
How old is Xia Chunmei?
The Wang family's disbelief in her reaction was the only normal one.
Xia Chunmei has fulfilled her duty to remind them; the rest is up to them.
The Wang family didn't believe Xia Chunmei, but Xia Chunmei was right about one thing: deceiving the Wang family was tantamount to courting death. Could Xia Chunmei really be a fortune teller?
Before the Wang family could think it through, customers came to buy things, so they had no choice but to serve them first.
Xia Chunmei returned to her stall, and Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei were so happy they couldn't stop smiling.
"Sister, the butcher is here." Xia Qiumei's mouth watered at the sight of the meat.
"All you ever think about is eating meat. We just spent so much money. If we don't sell all the fish today, we won't even have enough food for the winter, let alone meat."
Clothes were so expensive these days. Xia Chunmei originally wanted to buy three sets, but she was short of money, so she could only buy clothes first and make do with her old pants for now.
Upon hearing this, Xia Dongmei became anxious and quickly opened her mouth to shout, "Fish for sale! Fish for sale!"
Xia Qiumei wasn't to be outdone, shouting, "Fresh grass carp! Fresh mandarin fish, come and buy!"
"Miss Xia, do you have any pouty lips?" Wang Fuchun heard the shout and quickly ran over.
“There are several, Uncle Wang. I’ll give you a discount if you want to buy them.”
Wang Fuchun took a closer look and, wow, there were five or six jin (2.5-3 catties) of each chubby catfish, and Xia Chunmei had three of them!
What's the price?
"Eighteen per jin (500 grams)."
“Miss Xia, you can certainly sell mandarin fish for this price in the county town, but you can’t sell them for this price here,” Wang Fuchun said with a smile. “I sincerely want to buy them. Thirteen per catty, I’ll take all three fish.”
"Thirteen is too cheap. It should be at least sixteen. Mandarin fish are rare, let alone such a big one. What do you think?"
"Look at yourself. Do the people coming and going here look like they can afford a fish like yours? No one but me will buy this kind of fish. If I don't buy it, you won't be able to sell it even if you leave it until dark."
"If you transport it to the county town, renting an oxcart will cost money, at least five or six copper coins. There's also a fee to enter the town, and it's risky for a young woman like you to go alone. If you sell it to me cheaper now, you won't lose out."
Xia Chunmei hesitated, but then Xia Mingshi gently nudged her, indicating that she could sell.
Xia Chunmei pointed to the wooden basin in front of Xia Mingshi and said, "Thirteen yuan a pound. You can buy my grandma's fish too. It makes a presentable gift. What do you say?"
Wang Fuchun bought three strips of "Qiaozuizi" (a type of spicy snack) at once, and Xia Chunmei guessed that they were probably not for her.
"Alright, four fish it is then. But you need to lend me this big bucket first. I'm not going to eat these fish right now; I need to keep them alive for a while."
"No problem, I'll bring them back when I come to your house to pick up the shoes in a few days."
Xia Chunmei breathed a sigh of relief after the most expensive fish was sold.
These three fish weighed a total of sixteen and a half catties and sold for two hundred and fourteen coins, which was exactly half of the price he paid for the goods he bought from the Wang family.
Xia Mingshi also earned sixty-eight coins, and her whole family was overjoyed.
"You guys watch the fish stall here, I'm going to take a look over there."
Wang Fuchun's words enlightened Xia Chunmei: people who come here may not be willing to buy big fish to eat, so she needs to take the initiative.
She first went to the stall selling chicks and ducklings: "Uncle, how much are your chicks and ducklings?"
"Ducklings are 18 coins for 10, and chicks are 20 coins for 10."
"Uncle, I'm the fishmonger over there. My grass carp and black carp were caught last night, they're very fresh. I'd like to trade you some chicks and ducklings, is that alright?"
How much do you sell your fish for?
"Grass carp is eight coins, snakehead is nine coins, and sea bass is ten coins. I'll trade you ten ducklings and ten chicks for a five-pound grass carp, is that alright?"
Is it alive?
"Of course it has to be alive!"
"Okay, I'll switch with you."
...
Immediately afterwards, Xia Chunmei traded a five-pound grass carp for two pounds of fatty meat and four bones.
A two-and-a-half-pound black carp was traded for a pound of dried mushrooms.
A five-pound grass carp was traded for a palm-fiber blanket.
Palm blankets are mats woven from palm fibers. In those days, there were no latex mattresses or anything like that, and poor people couldn't afford cotton quilts, so they used palm blankets to put on the bed board, which could provide some softness and warmth.
Xia Chunmei originally wanted to exchange two fish for two beds, but the shop owner disagreed, so she could only exchange them at the next market day.
Next, Xia Chunmei traded a black carp weighing over two pounds for a bathtub and a foot bath. The old bathtub had been used to hold fish, so a new one had to be bought.
He traded a five-pound grass carp with another vendor selling cloth and shoes for a pair of thick cotton shoes.
Xia Chunmei felt a pang of regret trading a five-pound grass carp for a pound of soy sauce, thinking about the current prices of fish and soy sauce.
Here, a pound of soy sauce costs 38 yuan! Five pounds of fish can only be exchanged for one pound of soy sauce!
There's no way around it, salt is too expensive! Technology is too expensive!
After going through all that, seven fish were traded away. Now there is one 3-pound bass, one 5-pound grass carp, and three 5-pound bighead carp left.
The number of people going to the market gradually increased, and the scene became very lively and crowded.
Xia Chunmei refused to believe she couldn't sell these few fish!
She was God's own... illegitimate daughter!
Around noon, Xia Chunmei finally sold all her fish and earned 190 coins.
The money wasn't enough for the Wang family, but luckily Xia Chunmei had one hundred coins on her, which was enough to pay the rest.
She now had seventy-six coins left, and Xia Chunmei spent another sixteen coins to buy three catties of yam, planning to have bone stew with yam this afternoon.
Xia Ping sold the fish she caught, but her family didn't buy anything else. By this time, everyone was preparing to go home.
When we arrived, the cart was mostly filled with Xia Chunmei's things, and when we left, the cart was filled with her family's things again. I felt quite embarrassed.
Luckily, I bought bones and yams today, and we also have three carp at home. When the soup is ready, I can give one bowl to each family, and I can also cook the three carp and give one to each family. Perfect!
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