Chapter 12 The Little Cart Life is unpredictable, but good food is the only thing we should never miss…
After a busy day, they finally returned to the neighborhood. The advantage of crowded houses is that there is plenty of shade. Places like Longjin Bridge would be exposed to the scorching sun. Fortunately, they only set up their stalls in the morning, so the sun wasn't too strong then.
As soon as they opened the door, they saw Xue'er guarding the courtyard gate, wagging her tail happily as she ran towards them, circling around the two of them.
Lu Xuan also knelt on the ground, picked up Xue'er, and stroked its thrashing head: "Xue'er has grown a lot stronger today, it's got some meat on its bones."
Lu Qiong put the things into the kitchen, counted out some money from the money box, and hurriedly stepped over the threshold: "I'm going to take care of something. Xuan'er, go and wash the fish and rinse off the blood."
Lu Xuan nodded in agreement, and after a few playful moments with Xue'er, she went about her business.
Tongji Lane is a maze of alleys with five lanes in total. Lu Qiong lives in a house further inside the lane. To get to Longjin Bridge, she has to pass by Jinniang's house. The houses in that area are relatively spacious and usually house several people, and some even have four generations living together.
It's lunchtime now, and every household is cooking, the aroma of food wafting through the alley.
A wheelbarrow approached, so Lu Qiong had to walk along the wall. It was loaded with some fruits and vegetables, all leftovers: scattered radishes and cucumbers, and a small basket of peaches. As summer approached, the variety of fruits increased, with more than twenty kinds of plums alone.
Just as they were about to exit the alley, they came to the Pei family's house. Compared to the lively festive atmosphere of other houses, the Pei family's house seemed deserted. Lu Qiong lingered outside the wall for a moment and could only hear faint sounds, like someone knocking on something. Apart from that, he couldn't hear any woman's voice. Yang San Niang must have gone to celebrate the festival.
The door was fitted with a door knocker. She gently tapped the door knocker ring with her hand: "Is anyone home?"
The knocking in the courtyard stopped, and after a long while someone opened the door. Sure enough, it was the young man from that day. Today he was wearing a short jacket, revealing his strong forearms. He was expressionless when he saw Lu Qiong, as if he was waiting for her to speak.
This person is really cold-hearted.
Lu Qiong had no choice but to bow to him before explaining the purpose of her trip, from the type of car to the budget.
Pei Yu pondered for a moment before responding, her brows furrowing slightly: "I've never seen the car you're talking about before. It'll probably take a lot of work. And you don't have enough money. Just the two wheels alone will cost eighty coins to make."
The most common cart on the street is the wheelbarrow we just encountered. It has one wheel in the front, two handles in the back, and two short wooden supports underneath, forming a triangular relationship.
Lu Qiong wanted a cart similar to those used in the food streets of later generations, with wooden planks at the bottom, a hollowed-out center for a stove, and miscellaneous items piled on both sides, which would save a lot of effort.
Since she could do it, she didn't need to be afraid of spending money; she comforted herself that it was all for the sake of earning more money. Finally, she negotiated with Pei Yu for 350 coins, paying 100 coins as a deposit, which included the cost of the timber.
Having resolved this major concern, Lu Qiong returned to prepare the ingredients.
The fish had been washed and placed in a basin. It took her two hands to hold it completely. She first cut it into chunks with a knife, then added ginger, scallions, salt, soy sauce, and wine, stirred it well, and let it sit for a while.
“Sister,” Lu Xuan returned from elsewhere and ran excitedly into the kitchen, showing her the five-colored rope in her hand, “This was given to me by Jin Niang, and it’s just right for you and me to each have one.”
After saying that, he tied one of the cords to Lu Qiong's wrist and admired it for a while.
While washing the fish, Lu Xuan had made a lot of glutinous rice balls, steamed them for a short while, sprinkled them with osmanthus flowers, and brought a portion to Jin Niang's house. Seeing that her hands were empty, Jin Niang gave Lu Xuan a five-colored rope for the Dragon Boat Festival, which could be used to pray for good fortune and ward off evil.
Seeing her happy, Lu Qiong smiled too. She was about to get some flour when she realized her hands were wet and it was inconvenient: "Xuan'er, go scoop a bowl of cornstarch and get some eggs."
Lu Xuan agreed and rushed to the cupboard to take out the flour, pouring it all into an empty bowl. Lu Qiong also cracked in two eggs, stirred them into a paste with chopsticks, mixed it evenly with the fish pieces, and was ready to cook.
She was making fried fish pieces, which required a lot of oil. The fire was lit, and the oil was sizzling in the pan. The fish pieces were fried until golden brown, then flipped over after they were set. They were fried twice and then taken out of the pan, crispy on the outside and fresh and fragrant on the inside.
This prompted Lu Xuan, the little glutton, to wait nearby early on. As soon as it came out of the pot, she couldn't wait to pick up a piece. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she squinted her eyes and exclaimed, "So crispy and crunchy!"
Lu Qiong tried a piece; it was a bit salty, but still good with rice.
In the following days, they continued to set up their stall in the morning as usual, and would also go to Zhouqiao to sell Xiangyinzi for an hour in the evening. With a regular customer base, their income became more and more stable.
The Zhouqiao Night Market was even more crowded than the Longjin Bridge Market. Lu Qiong's stall could no longer meet the demand, so she introduced a five-coin serving of bayberry juice. The bayberries were mashed into a paste, the juice was filtered through cotton gauze, and then simmered in a pot until it became a sauce, similar to concentrated fruit juice. It was dark red in color, but after adding water, it turned into a translucent light pink. The taste was sweet and sour, and it was very popular.
On the bridge at night, the wind blows and crowds throng. In the restaurants, music plays everywhere, couples chat and drink together. On the painted boats below the bridge, beautiful women play instruments, and ripples spread across the water.
On her first day setting up a stall at Zhouqiao Bridge, Lu Qiong was almost arrested and taken to the authorities because she didn't have official documentation for setting up a stall. Terrified, she immediately pulled out the official seal from the street office. The patrol officer explained to her that this document was only valid at Longjin Bridge, and different locations would be charged separately. Setting up a stall at Zhouqiao Bridge required another registration.
Previously, Longjin Bridge cost twenty coins a month, while Zhou Bridge cost fifty coins a month. Although it hurt her heart, she gritted her teeth and finalized the deal. After all, this was the largest night market in Bianjing, and she could only keep the rest of her suffering to herself.
On the third day of setting up his stall, trouble struck again. A bearded customer grabbed a young woman, insisting that his sister had gotten a stomachache after eating a drink there. Lu Qiong recognized the woman; she had indeed been a customer not long ago. His heart sank, and his palms began to sweat.
Seeing that the bearded man was all flesh and his clothes were taut, making it seem like he could punch three of her away, Lu Xuan didn't dare to say anything.
The bearded diner was fierce and completely unreasonable: "Why aren't you saying anything? My sister is only sixteen. If anything happens to her, you won't be able to keep this stall open."
There were already many people at night, and his shout attracted the attention of many, who whispered among themselves as they looked at their stall from afar.
"Sir, please calm down," Lu Qiong had encountered similar situations in her previous life, but she was somewhat taken aback by this sudden occurrence. Now, she recovered and asked politely, "When did you come to eat here, young lady? What did you buy? Have you eaten anything else before this?"
These days she only sells yam cakes and bayberry juice. Logically speaking, the ingredients are all fresh, and there have been no unsanitary situations during the production process. The drinks are also at room temperature without ice, so stomach aches are rare.
The young lady remained silent, only glancing timidly at Lu Qiong before lowering her head. On the contrary, her brother kept making a fuss, which was quite unreasonable.
A hint of doubt flashed in Lu Qiong's eyes. Were they not here to cause trouble, but to want money?
But everyone around was watching, and if this matter wasn't resolved properly, business would be difficult in the future. She smiled and said, "Young lady, from the moment I saw you speak until now, you haven't said a word, and your complexion seems normal. But your stomach doesn't hurt anymore?"
The young woman's lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, she was silenced by a look from her brother.
The bearded diner continued to act shamelessly, but couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.
This is the most troublesome situation; the other party refuses to cooperate, seemingly trying to extort money. In her previous life, Lu Qiong could have used surveillance footage to prove her innocence, but now that the other party is being unreasonable, she's afraid she'll suffer the consequences.
"If you continue to make such a fuss, we will have to report you to the authorities."
As Lu Qiong spoke, she grabbed Lu Xuan's arm, leaned close to her ear, and pretended to tell her to report to the authorities, but in reality, she told her to make a show of going for a stroll elsewhere and then come back.
Unexpectedly, the young woman was timid. Seeing that he was about to report to the authorities, she tugged at her brother's sleeve and whispered, "Please wait, young lady. It's my fault for forgetting. I didn't get an upset stomach from eating here. I drank a bowl of ghee this morning, and I must not be used to it, which is why I have an upset stomach."
Tigo is a dairy product extracted from cow's milk and is also a great tonic. People who are lactose intolerant will naturally get an upset stomach after eating it, but this is not a common belief nowadays. People just think that they are not used to the taste.
As for whether what the young lady said was true or false, Lu Qiong didn't want to investigate. Both sides gave each other a way out, and he thought the matter would just pass.
But the bearded diner wouldn't give up. It was only when the young woman stood up for herself and pulled the man away that the matter was resolved.
Seeing everyone disperse, Lu Qiong finally breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't be unreasonable just because others were cheating; even if she won, she'd be the subject of gossip, and her business wouldn't last. But being too soft-hearted wasn't good either; she'd be led by the nose by whatever others said—today it was someone with a long beard, tomorrow it was someone without eyebrows—and then she'd have no business at all.
Fortunately, the onlookers were on her side, and some saw through their scheme and were indignant.
But after all that commotion, Lu Qiong lost interest in setting up her stall. Fortunately, the bayberries were popular and there weren't many left. After a few quick fixes, she packed up and went home.
It was getting late, and the neighborhood seemed quieter than the street. Entering the alley automatically blocked out the noise outside. Few houses had lanterns hanging on their doors, which illuminated the two of them as they walked a short distance.
Lu Xuan lowered her head, looking somewhat sullen: "Sister, were those people causing trouble just now?"
“It should be,” Lu Qiong said, looking ahead at the increasingly narrow road. “But we still managed to resolve it. There will only be more of these kinds of incidents in the future, so we need to be more vigilant.”
Fearing she might overthink things, Lu Qiong smiled and said, "Pei Yu said this morning that the stroller was almost finished, and it should have been delivered by now. Let's hurry back and check it out."
They thought Pei Yu would just leave the finished product outside the door, but when they returned, they found him waiting outside.
Lu Qiong couldn't take her eyes off the cart. The handle was smooth and flat, waxed so it wouldn't hurt her hands. It was much better than the bamboo tubes she had made before. She touched it several times before smiling and saying, "Young master, you did a great job. It's exactly what I wanted, even better than I imagined!"
Pei Yu, who is usually reserved, was a little uncomfortable with such a direct compliment. However, it was late and not so obvious. She simply said that she had something to do, accepted the money, and turned to leave.
Lu Qiong also pushed the car into the yard and observed for a long time before she was willing to make dinner.
A note from the author:
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I don't know if I'll make the list tomorrow [fear] anxious
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