Chapter 35, Buying Fruit at the 35th Inn
Yunyin was quite surprised to hear Zheng Xi's words, "Isn't it good that your brother helps your village sell fruit?"
Zheng Xi smiled wryly, "It would be good if they could sell them, but if they can't, they'll blame my brother."
“My brother brought Linzi back to the village before, and they almost got into a fight. Although some people stockpile mushrooms every year and sell them to Linzi to make money, many families don’t have this habit, or they only stockpile enough for themselves, since mushrooms aren’t easy to find. Those who didn’t sell their mushrooms felt that my brother wasn’t helping them make money, and they often caused him trouble. The village chief has told them off several times, but they don’t listen and continue to cause trouble for my brother.”
Zheng Xi shrugged and said, "My brother said to let everyone chip in to rent a boat, but who would be willing to put up so much money to rent a boat? They won't let my brother make the decision until they see the exact amount."
She turned to look at Yunyin, "Miss Yun, you have to be careful. Not everyone is as easy to talk to as my brother. They might fight over the fruit to sell more."
Yunyin initially thought her words were a bit of an exaggeration, but it turned out she was right. When Zheng Dong arrived with the village chief, a large group of people followed behind them, all chattering and asking the village chief to recommend their family's fruit. Some even abandoned the village chief and ran towards Yunyin.
Before the man could even catch his breath, he unleashed a barrage of attacks on Yunyin, making her head feel like it was about to explode. Fortunately, Zheng Dong quickly came over and pulled the man away.
Yunyin spat out a breath and said, "Your village is a bit scary."
Zheng Dong smiled apologetically: "I'm really sorry, they were just too impatient."
Yunyin waved her hand to indicate that she was fine. At this moment, the village chief walked over, bowed to her, and said, "I haven't thanked you yet, Lady Yun. You bought our village's mushrooms before, which helped us save some money. I really don't know how to thank you."
"He's come to buy fruit from our village again. He's such a good person."
The village chief's eyes were red and tears were about to fall, so Yunyin quickly interrupted, "Village Chief Zheng, let's discuss the fruit. Have you agreed on a price?"
The village chief beckoned her in and said, "Let's go inside and talk. I'll select some of the best quality fruit from several vendors and sell it to you at a price one coin cheaper than the market price. What do you think?"
Of all the ripe fruits, mulberries were the most expensive, costing 5 coins per pound. The other fruits were only 2 or 3 coins per pound. Yunyin thought the prices were good and was about to nod when a woman rushed in from outside. She and her daughter knelt before the village chief and said:
"Village chief, you can't just watch us die! We can't go on living. Please, have mercy and choose my peaches."
Yunyin watched as her thin, pale-faced wife lay prostrate on the ground, wailing loudly, which caused the little girl beside her to also cry incessantly.
She murmured, "I can't go on living, I really can't go on living."
The man lay on the ground crying incessantly, which immediately silenced the others who were scrambling for the item.
One of the women sighed, "Guilan is unlucky. She was divorced by her husband's family and now she has to raise a daughter. She has no land and no man to support her. It's not easy for someone to come and collect mushrooms, but her family doesn't have any, so she can't earn that money."
Another woman scoffed and said, "We get up before dawn every day to pick mushrooms. She only goes into the mountains after we've come back. How could she possibly have picked any?"
“That’s not how it works. We don’t need to work in the fields. There are family members who can weed. Can Guilan do it? They only have one acre of land that we help them clear. If they don’t work hard, will they starve?”
The woman snorted and said, "That's why she refused when someone introduced her to someone. She's barely surviving herself, yet she still looks down on others."
"Besides, which family doesn't grow some fruit? They did grow some, but no one has taken care of it for years. Can those peaches still be eaten? Everyone buys fruit, and we have so many people in our village waiting to sell theirs."
The woman also had fruit at home, so she didn't say anything more after hearing this.
Yunyin overheard the people talking and learned that this girl named Guilan was living a hard life and wanted to sell her family's peaches, but the village chief refused. She looked at Village Chief Zheng, wanting to ask about the details, but he couldn't hide his embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry you had to see this. I'll have someone take her out right away."
The village chief's wife stepped forward and grabbed the woman, saying, "Zheng Guilan, stop crying. We've tried our best to help you, but we're all poor and really don't have the extra resources to help you."
Zheng Guilan wiped away her tears and said, "Sister-in-law Jinhua, I know everyone's predicament, but didn't someone come to sell fruit this time? I have a peach tree at home."
Chen Jinhua frowned and slapped Zheng Guilan, saying, "How many times have I told you, the fruit you sell this time must be of good quality. How many years has it been since you've tended to your peach trees? Can your peaches compare to the neighbor's?"
"Don't be unreasonable. After we sell the fruit, we can still help you out a bit. But if you keep making trouble and ruin things, don't blame the villagers for being ruthless."
Zheng Guilan couldn't stop her tears from falling again. "But how long can you help me? What am I and my daughter going to do? Selling fruit is at least a long-term livelihood, and I don't know any other skills."
Chen Jinhua was well aware of Zheng Guilan's family situation. She sighed and said, "If all else fails, send Ahe back to Dazhu Village. After all, she is a daughter of the Fang family. That way, you can remarry."
Zheng Guilan shook her head repeatedly: "I can't send Ahe back. Who knows what will happen to her if she goes back to the Fang family? They didn't care about Ahe at all because she was a girl. Now that the man has remarried and is pregnant, they will definitely treat Ahe even less well."
"Besides, the people they introduced before were unreliable. What kind of people did they find? They wanted us, Ahe, to be their child brides. Do you think I could agree to that?"
Chen Jinhua was also helpless: "But selling fruit is really not something we can decide. Besides, the peaches you grow are just so-so. Everyone wants to make some money. It's not that we don't want to help you."
"They're almost at each other's throats. If we sell your peaches, they'll cause a huge uproar. Your Uncle Zheng and I will never have a peaceful day again."
Upon hearing Chen Jinhua's words, Zheng Guilan sat down heavily on the ground, her eyes filled with lifelessness, as if there was no hope left.
After understanding the situation, Yunyin looked at the thin little girl beside her and felt a surge of pity. She asked, "I wonder what kind of peaches Sister Guilan's family has? Can I go and see them?"
Village Chief Zheng also wanted to help Zheng Guilan, so he got up and led the way: "It's just ahead. I'll take you to see it. Their peaches haven't been tended to for many years, so the taste can't compare to other people's peaches. That's why I didn't take any from them."
Zheng Guilan's house is near the back of the mountain. The house is very old and has cracks. The yard is very clean and there is no chicken or duck droppings. The peach tree in the corner of the yard is full of peaches.
Yunyin picked a fruit from the tree, washed it, took a bite, and remained silent for a long time.
Zheng Guilan looked at Yunyin expectantly, hoping that she would buy her family's peaches.
Yunyin silently finished eating the peach. It wasn't exactly bad; it was better than the wild peaches she'd picked before. But it wasn't delicious either. The peach was neither sweet nor sour, and it didn't taste like a peach at all. She couldn't bring herself to praise it.
Her money didn't come from thin air; she had saved it up little by little through hard work. She still owed money to Madam Luo, so she couldn't just spend it recklessly. Although she felt sorry for the mother and daughter, she couldn't bring herself to say she would buy the peaches.
She bought the fruit to make some food and sell it to the wealthy women in the county so that she could pay off her debts as soon as possible; being in debt is a terrible feeling.
Seeing that Yunyin remained silent for a long time, Zheng Guilan realized that her peaches were not selling. Just as she was feeling discouraged, she heard Yunyin ask, "Are you making soybean paste?"
Zheng Guilan glanced up casually and saw her pointing to the moldy beans drying next to her. She said listlessly, "Yes, we're making some sauce while the weather is nice. Our family is poor, so we can only use soy sauce when cooking, which also saves on salt."
Yunyin smelled the moldy beans she was drying; the stinky smell was strong and authentic.
Do you have any homemade soybean paste at home? Can I try some?
Zheng Guilan didn't know why she suddenly wanted to eat her family's beans. Although the woman didn't intend to buy her peaches, she still went into the house and brought out a bowl of sauce: "This is very salty. I usually only use a little when cooking."
Yunyin picked up a little with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. The rich aroma of beans and soy sauce blended together, creating a delicious and mellow flavor. The salty taste had a hint of bean fragrance, making it very appetizing.
After tasting Zheng Guilan's soybean paste, she asked, "Do you sell soybean paste? I can buy yours."
Their peaches were just average, but their jam was incredibly flavorful, almost as good as the jam she used to buy in the county.
"You really want to buy my sauce?" Zheng Guilan asked incredulously. "This sauce is very easy to make. People usually trade things with me for it. This sauce isn't worth much."
Yunyin said, "I really like your sauce. I run a restaurant and I often need to use sauce, so I'd like to buy some from you. Do you have any extra sauce?"
Before Zheng Guilan could react, Chen Jinhua patted her awake and said repeatedly, "Yes, Guilan's family may not have much else, but they have plenty of sauces."
Zheng Guilan was woken up by her slap and quickly said, "Yes, I still have a lot of sauce at home. How much do you want, madam?"
Yunyin randomly picked a jar from the ones she had brought out, opened it, and tasted it. The taste was still very good. She nodded and said, "Take one dou first. If I need more later, I'll buy more from you."
"The soy sauce in the county town sells for 50 coins a dou (a unit of dry measure), I'll give you the same price, what do you think?"
Zheng Guilan stood there stunned. She hadn't expected to sell it for 50 coins. When her daughter saw that her mother didn't react, she knelt down and bowed, saying, "Thank you, madam. Thank you, madam."
Yunyin quickly pulled Fang He up and said, "Alright, no need for formalities. I bought the sauce because your mother's sauce tastes really good. No need to thank me."
Although Fang He is young, she does understand some things. If it were really valuable, why don't other people spend money to buy their sauce? It's only because Yun Niangzi is a good person that she is willing to buy their sauce.
After buying the sauce, Yunyin also bought a basket of each type of fruit she needed. The village chief will help deliver the fruit to the other side of the street early tomorrow morning, which will save her a lot of trouble.
Yunyin bid farewell to Zheng Dong, promising to come back again when the grapes ripened. Just as she was about to leave, a short figure darted out of the woods, startling Zheng Dong.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
