Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Today, the sky is unusually cloudy.
It's a rare cloudy day today.
The sky is gloomy and it is very hot and humid.
Although it was a small market, it was obvious that there were many people taking advantage of the fact that the sun was not out to play.
Song Mian stood under the sycamore tree, wiping her sweat with a cotton handkerchief from time to time. Under her hands, the pie was baked golden on both sides, emitting an irresistible wheat aroma.
"There are so many people here today, it seems like we didn't bring enough meat." Song Fuxue looked at the crowd with a relieved smile on her face.
He worked more and more skillfully, and his white fingertips turned red from being burned by the pie.
Song Mian nodded in agreement. With such a flow of people, even if he brought five more kilograms of stuffing, it would be enough to sell.
"I want three pancakes." A clear male voice suddenly came to my ears.
She looked up at the sound and saw a man wearing a brand new cotton robe and with a refined look on his face. He looked different from ordinary people.
Song Fuxue, who was standing beside him, frowned slightly and said softly, "Nine copper coins."
The man nodded politely, took the pie, put the copper coins in the cash box, and turned away.
Song Mian withdrew her gaze from him. After running the stall for a while, she also developed a skill that allowed her to tell whether someone was educated by their voice.
People who have not been educated, relatively speaking, speak in a broader voice, while educated people have a warm and delicate voice, and pronounce words slowly and clearly.
Subtle differences can also be noticed.
This is an old person.
Song Mian was selling pies with a normal expression. He was willing to risk his life to come and see the descendants of the Song family, which shows how popular the other party is.
"I want two spicy dishes and one non-spicy one." Zhao Bosheng ordered with a smile.
He is used to eating here and likes the pies very much. He misses them whenever he doesn't eat them.
"The pie in your house is so delicious and the ingredients are really good. It's so good." He couldn't help but sigh.
Song Mian smiled and said softly, "We also have to thank you for introducing so many diners to us. Just give me ten copper coins."
He always came to buy pies. Gradually, she learned that Zhao Bosheng's family ran a cloth shop. He was the eldest child and had three younger brothers.
Zhao Bosheng put down the twelve copper coins and said with a smile, "You are a small business, so I can't take advantage of you."
Although he would not give less, the other party was willing to waive some money on his own initiative, which made him feel comfortable and had a sense of closeness as an acquaintance.
It makes people feel soft and comfortable.
Song Mian smiled when he heard this: "I exempted it to thank you, you're welcome."
She picked up two coppers and handed them back to him.
Zhao Bosheng then took it and said with a smile: "If you want to buy cloth, come to my house. I will give it to you for free."
"Okay, I'm going to buy some cotton cloth today to make clothes at home. I'll tell you my name then." Song Mian said with a smile.
When Zhao Bosheng heard this, he suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility. He looked around at his body and found nothing that could serve as a token of trust, so he picked up a sycamore leaf and carved a message on it with a thin stick.
"With this note, go to Zhao's Cloth Shop and buy cotton cloth. I'll give you a 95% discount. I'll redeem it immediately upon seeing the note. Zhao Bosheng keeps it."
Song Mian watched him carve each stroke and then read it out loud.
"Have you ever been educated?" Zhao Bosheng was immediately shocked.
Nowadays, most women focus on studying and embroidery, but she is selling pies here, which shows that her family is not rich. How strange.
"My ancestors were once rich." Song Mian said modestly.
Zhao Bosheng held the pie in his hand and said with approval, "My ancestors were rich and even had a scholar. It's okay."
He said this to comfort her and then hurried forward.
"I have to go to private school. I'm going to be late."
Song Mian waved to him.
Unexpectedly, just saying a few more words would result in some discounts. It’s good to be able to save some money.
When closing the stall, Song Mian thought that an old friend would come today, so she looked carefully below. Unexpectedly, she saw a small gray-brown package. She didn't dare to look at it, so she put it in the pile of items, gave her father a wink, and went to Zhao's Cloth Shop as usual.
Zhaoji Cloth Shop is very big.
From a distance you can see colorful cloth banners with Zhao Ji Cloth Shop written on them.
Song Mian raised his eyebrows and walked inside.
The cloth shop is very big. There are many people at the market today, and the coming and going of people is dizzying.
"Three-edged cloth? Broad white cloth?" She stared with wide eyes.
"Blue cloth? Summer cloth?"
They are all cotton, and there are so many different kinds.
In the end, she honestly chose the three-edged cloth, which cost three qian of silver per piece. The two taels of silver she had saved was barely enough.
If it were any cheaper, the cloth would be too loose, and if it were any more expensive, she wouldn't have enough money.
Song Mian chose the three-edged cloth, took out the leaves Zhao Bosheng gave her, handed them to the shopkeeper, and said with a smile, "I sell pies under the sycamore tree. The noble young master gave me this voucher, saying that I can get a discount."
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man who could not read, except for the characters Zhao Bosheng had mentioned. He looked at the leaves pretentiously and nodded, "I heard him mention that he uses his money to buy pies every day. He said yours are clean and delicious."
It was rare for his son to bring business home, so he naturally gave him face.
He took out an abacus and dialed a number directly for her to see: "How is it?"
Song Mian looked at the abacus. She bought seven pieces of cloth, which should have cost two taels and one qian of silver, but the shopkeeper waived one qian.
"Okay, the shopkeeper is generous." She couldn't help but smile.
The shopkeeper also gave her a pound of cloth, saying that it would be enough for her to make silk flowers or shoes when she got home.
Seven pieces of cloth were a lot, so the waiter helped carry them outside to the cart and then secured them with hemp ropes.
Song Fuxue was pushing the cart and couldn't help but smile as she looked at so much cloth. At least they had autumn clothes.
There is always hope, which is good.
"There is no wind on the ground and no clouds in the sky, so it won't rain today." Song Fuxue frowned. If it doesn't rain, the soybeans in his field will probably be a total failure.
Song Mian nodded. At least he could take some time off without being scorched by the sun.
When the two of them got home, Song Fuxue took the small package back to her hut.
Song Mian took a glance at it. It looked so mysterious, so he guessed it must be a good thing.
Unexpectedly, she heard suppressed crying.
It was short and quick, as if it was her illusion, but Song Mian had been drinking spiritual spring water since he traveled through time, and his ears and eyes were very sharp. She was sure that she had not heard it wrong.
It seems that what the other party gave him touched his heart deeply.
She guessed it was a relic from her grandfather or uncle.
Otherwise the other person wouldn't be so sad.
Wenlan heard the noise and came out. Seeing so many pieces of fabric on the cart, she immediately smiled and arranged them by color. After a moment, she frowned and asked, "Why are there only four pieces of light-colored fabric?"
"You and I have two children, and we all wear light colors."
In fact, for Song Mian, he should wear dark colors so that he can be less likely to get dirty while working, but when selling food, wearing light colors will give people a cleaner feeling.
Wenlan hesitated for a moment and said, "It's enough for me to wear dark colors."
She is a widow now, so there is no need for her to dress too neatly and beautifully.
"My aunt is still young. Although she is guarding my uncle, her life is her own. She should live it the way she wants."
Wenlan smiled and said nothing.
That being said, her life can be seen at a glance.
She wasn't going to wear those pretty clothes anymore.
As they were talking, they saw Aunt Zhao's daughter-in-law, Sun Erya, come over to play. When she saw that they had bought so much cloth, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"How do you make so much money selling pies?" She couldn't help but touch the cloth. The three-edged cloth was produced in Songjiang and has always been known for being 'tight and fine like silk'. It is fine and soft to wear, and rich families would also use it to make underwear.
She was wearing Zhuji cloth, which was half the price of Sanling cloth.
This is still the case after getting married. They tear up good cloth to make clothes. Generally, they use the old coarse cloth they spin themselves, cut it and make it into clothes to wear.
This was a bit difficult to respond to, so Song Mian smiled softly and said gently, "My family suffered a disaster and we don't have any autumn clothes, so I bought more."
Sun Erya looked at their house curiously. It was indeed very poor and had nothing in it.
"Your house is so clean." She made small talk.
She had just gotten married and it was summer, so she didn't have to do any work. She was free so she wanted to come over and chat with people. She liked this family very much. They spoke softly and gently, which was comfortable to listen to.
"We're all free at home, so everything is naturally tidy," Wenlan replied with a smile. She whispered, "Do you have a bamboo ruler? Lend it to me. I need to finish my autumn clothes soon."
She was doing it alone and didn't have enough time.
Sun Erya touched the three-edged cloth reluctantly, her eyes almost fixed on it. She felt a little envious of Song Mian, who didn't need to save money and could just buy the three-edged cloth whenever she wanted, unlike her. Even if she had money, she had to save it and could only wear the old coarse cloth from her family.
"I'll get it for you." She replied with a smile.
Sun Erya came back quickly, not only with a bamboo ruler, but also with marking powder and a basket.
"My grandma said you might not have any marking powder either," Sun Erya explained.
"I have a basket of August peaches for you to eat. They were sent by my parents. They are so sweet."
She immediately picked up a peach, rubbed it with her hands, and started eating it.
Song Mian went back to the kitchen, brought a basin, picked up a few peaches, washed them, and brought them back.
Sun Erya: So particular?
"Your peaches are so good, why don't you sell them?" Song Mian asked curiously.
Sun Erya's eyes widened: "Can it still be sold? Who would buy something that every household has?"
Song Mian: "Sell it to the people in the city."
Sun Erya:?
"Tomorrow you can bring a basket of peaches and ask your husband to go with us to sell them. Let's try it first. If they sell well, we can sell them again. If they don't, we won't come back next time. It's so simple."
Song Mian receives so much kindness from Grandma Zhao all day long, and wants to give something back to them.
No one can be sure whether their products can be sold, so the important thing is to give it a try as long as the costs are under control.
Sun Erya pinched her fingers: "Can I do it?"
"Try it. If it doesn't work, don't go back next time." Song Mian encouraged: "Go home and discuss it with your family. If they let you go, then go again. You can sell your own peaches for a copper coin and buy some malt sugar to sweeten your mouth."
"Well, I'll go back and ask. You guys can eat these peaches."
After Sun Erya finished speaking, she skipped home.
After a moment, she came back.
"Mianmian, my grandma asked us to carry a basket of peaches with you guys tomorrow morning. What time are you leaving?"
Sun Erya's dark little face flushed with excitement. She clenched her fists and imagined that after she made money, she would buy triangular cloth, make clothes, wear them home, and be envied by a group of little sisters.
She couldn't sleep when she got home. She poked the man beside her and muttered, "How much are our peaches per pound?"
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