Moreover, they seemed to have come specifically for something, crowding into one place with a purpose.
Among the crowd was Li Si, whom Pei Yao and the others knew.
"There are so many people, I'm sure I won't be able to get any. If I don't get any, my husband will definitely be angry." Li Si looked at the crowd he couldn't even squeeze through, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Someone chimed in, "Don't even mention your husband being angry. If I can't buy this, my tigress will probably skin me alive."
The person who said this had a miserable expression, as if they had really seen something terrible.
"Me too. After I brought some back yesterday, my wife kept saying she hadn't had enough, so she asked me to come and buy some this morning."
Since Niu Qingshan couldn't drive the oxcart directly through the crowd, he had to go around them from behind.
Pei Yichen had been to the dock before, but there weren't this many people there back then, so he was quite shocked: "Cousin, with so many people at this dock, our family business will definitely be even better."
It was the first time Pei Yao had ever seen so many people at the dock. She couldn't help but feel fortunate that she had prepared enough ice jelly today, otherwise she was afraid she wouldn't have enough to sell.
When they circled around to the stall where they had been standing, they realized that these people hadn't come for anyone else, but for Pei's ice jelly.
Because they were all gathered in front of Pei Yao's stall at that moment.
"Brother Qingshan, they're not waiting for us, are they..." Pei Yichen said in disbelief, looking at the crowd in front of the stall.
There were many people when they came to sell spicy snails before, but far fewer than today.
Niu Qingshan said somewhat awkwardly, "It seems so, you see they keep staring at our buckets..."
Pei Yao was still very excited to see so many people, and they all seemed to be ready to make a big splash.
Having many people isn't the problem; the problem is having no one. Pei Yao quickly led everyone to unload the items from the oxcart and arrange them neatly.
The people who had been crowding in front of their stall erupted in cheers when they saw them arrive.
"Young boss, why are you here so early today? I thought I'd have to wait a while," the man who had bought from Pei Yao yesterday teased her when he saw her.
Pei Yao smiled after hearing this and quickly arranged the things in her hands. In addition to the ice jelly, Pei Yao also brought the lychee glutinous rice wine that she made yesterday. She placed the half-jar that was left over from yesterday on the table as a tasting sample.
"Girl, give me five bowls first, wrapped up so I can take them away. My mistress heard that your sweet soup is delicious, so she specially asked me to come and buy some," one of the old women called out to Pei Yao.
Pei Yao had just put her things down and quickly replied, "Okay, Auntie, please wait a moment, I'll mix it for you right away."
Pei Yao and Niu Qingshan were in charge of mixing the ice jelly, while Pei Yichen was in charge of making lychee glutinous rice wine.
Last night, Uncle Niu heard from Niu Qingshan that Pei Yao really liked the bamboo cups he made, so he made a lot more overnight and asked Niu Qingshan to bring them to Pei Yao today.
Because of the bamboo cups, all the takeaway containers have been changed to these. The bamboo cups come in different sizes; the small bamboo cups can only hold one bowl, but the large bamboo cups can hold five bowls at a time.
Bamboo cups are not as rare as bamboo roots, nor as difficult to make as bamboo root bowls. A single bamboo stalk only yields one bamboo root, which can only produce one bamboo root bowl, but a single bamboo stalk can produce more than a dozen bamboo cups.
Niu Qingshan once said that some people had tried to sell bamboo cups in town, but they couldn't sell two for a penny.
So now, as long as it's packaged in a bamboo cup, it only costs an extra penny. Many customers prefer the bamboo cup so they can take it with them and drink it while walking.
This is actually better. There are limited tables and chairs at the back, and often there aren't enough seats, which means many guests have to eat standing up.
Compared to the wildly popular ice jelly at Pei Yao's place, the lychee wine at Pei Yichen's place seemed rather lukewarm, because Meilin Town was, after all, still a small town, and there weren't many women drinking alcohol.
However, most of the men who tried the lychee wine only said it tasted good, and none of them liked it enough to buy it immediately. Moreover, the price of lychee glutinous rice wine is not cheap.
One tael of silver for one jar, and one jar is one jin (500 grams).
Those who tried it and thought it tasted pretty good bought a bowl of ice jelly after asking the price, which resulted in Pei Yichen only selling one jar of wine after half a day.
When Chen Fang arrived, she took over Pei Yao's post. Pei Yao had gone to sell lychee and glutinous rice wine with Pei Yichen.
However, the lychee wine business did not improve because of Pei Yao's arrival. Pei Yao looked at the pile of lychee wine that was still left and thought, "This won't do."
She brought so much lychee wine with her. If it doesn't sell, it'll be a waste... That won't do. This glutinous rice wine is made from grains.
Pei Yao then turned her gaze toward the merchant ship not far away.
"Miss, give me a cup to try." Li Si, who was standing in front of Pei Yao, had just bought some ice jelly and was walking over with the ice jelly in his hand when he looked at Pei Yao and said.
Li Si often came to Pei Yao's shop to buy things, and the two became somewhat familiar with each other over time. Pei Yao smiled sweetly at him and then handed him a cup: "Uncle Li, this is lychee glutinous rice wine, all homemade. Please try it. If you like it, you can take it back for your husband to drink."
"Okay, I'll give it a try." After saying that, Li Si took a small sip and, after tasting it carefully, found that it was indeed as Pei Yao had said. The wine tasted pretty good and had the aroma of lychee.
After finishing his drink, he asked for two more jars: "Miss, your wine is really good. It doesn't cause heartburn. My husband can drink a lot, so give me two jars."
"Hey, I'll install it for you."
After Li Si left, Pei Yao sold a few more jars. Looking at the remaining fifteen jars of wine and the people who only tried them but didn't buy, Pei Yao fell silent. This was not the effect she wanted.
...
Pei Yao gave Pei Yichen a few instructions to keep an eye on the stall, then took the half-jar of wine she was trying out and walked toward the merchant ship not far away.
If Pei Yao wants to sell the lychee wine, she can only find a way to take it out of the small town of Meilin and sell it to larger, more prosperous places.
Pei Yao walked through the crowd toward the merchant ship.
........
Gu Renhan stood on the deck, looking at the bunk not far away, holding a bowl of lychee shaved ice that A Yuan had just bought.
While looking at where Pei Yao and the others were sitting, he ate some ice jelly. The cool, refreshing ice jelly instantly dispelled the summer heat.
His gaze never left Pei Yao...
"Ah Yuan, what kind of person do you think the girl is who can make such amazing food...?"
After hearing his young master's words, A Yuan followed his gaze and saw a girl in front of a stall not far away who seemed to be thinking about something. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she picked up a jar of lychee wine and walked towards them.
"Young master, that girl is coming this way." A Yuan didn't know how to answer his young master's question.
Gu Renhan put down the bamboo cup in his hand, his eyes darkened, and a smile appeared on his lips: "Let's go, let's tease the kitten."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com