The man couldn't understand what she was muttering, but he continued his sales pitch relentlessly, "Miss, for just twenty more coins, you can easily get a seat. It saves both effort and time, isn't that great?"
"It seems so," Zhou Chenyu replied. The man thought he had a chance and spoke even more enthusiastically, but soon Zhou Chenyu shut him down with two sentences: "But I don't have any money. Brother, it's fate that we met, why don't you give me one?"
Upon hearing this, the man felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of flies, and his expression immediately changed. "Hmph, wishful thinking."
Zhou Chenyu watched him angrily fling his sleeves and leave, raising an eyebrow and laughing out loud: "Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon."
After getting rid of the scalper, Baoyu ran back, drenched in sweat. They arrived at a good time, neither too early nor too late, and their assigned spot was neither good nor bad.
Zhou Chenyu didn't know if this choice was right or wrong, but in business, how can you make big money right away? Events always develop in a spiral.
They followed the crowd into the market and found their rented spots.
Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu arranged the tables, chairs, benches, and sweet soup neatly. It was still early, and there were only vendors doing business in the market. They hadn't seen a single person buying anything yet, let alone anyone coming to drink sweet soup so early in the morning.
Zhou Chenyu sat down with a steamed bun made by Li Xiuju, munching on it while observing the market. In the past, every time she came to buy things, she would come and go in a hurry, without having time to explore the market properly.
The entire market area looked to be about the size of three football fields. It was filled with local products: chicken, duck, fish, lamb, beef and pork at the butcher stalls, fresh green vegetables and fruits at the vegetable stalls, pancake stalls, fragrant steamed buns, pastries and candied fruits, dried fruits and other snacks, as well as some daily necessities. It could be said that everything related to clothing, food, housing and transportation was available.
The siblings leisurely finished their steamed buns, while the other stalls gradually became busier, with the sounds of bargaining rising and falling. They walked from before dawn until the morning mist and dew dissipated, finally arriving at the city gate.
Looking at the officials and constables below the city gate, Zhou Chenyu was reminded of yesterday's events. With the city entrance fast approaching, it would be too late if he didn't pretend to be lame.
Baoyu wiped the sweat from his face with one hand and saw his sister limping. "Sister, what happened to your foot?"
Seeing his worried expression, Zhou Chenyu decided to avoid trouble and told him everything about how she had lied to Yang Xi yesterday.
"Sister, how dare you lie to Headmaster Yang?" Baoyu exclaimed. Zhou Chenyu quickly covered his mouth and smiled, "If I didn't pretend to be lame, how would he talk to me? It's a tactic, okay?"
"Sister, this is all a lie. What will you do if Chief Yang finds out?" Baoyu frowned anxiously.
Zhou Chenyu stuffed some leaves into the sole of her shoe, pleased with her flawless acting skills. "We'll talk about it when he finds out."
Upon reaching the city gate, the vendors quickened their pace and rushed inside, hoping to secure a better spot by arriving earlier.
Selling sweet soup is different from selling winnowing baskets, bamboo shoots, or summer mushrooms. The latter can be moved around to find customers as long as they don't block other people's space. Selling sweet soup, however, requires tables and chairs, so you must have a fixed location.
In Qingshui Town, apart from the fixed storefronts on both sides of the street, mobile vendors who want a place to do long-term business have to rent a stall from the market management office.
The stalls are divided into three categories based on their location: top, middle, and bottom. The better the location, the more customers it receives, and the higher the rent, ranging from one hundred to several hundred coins.
They ran a small business selling sweet soup, earning at most a few hundred coins a day. After deducting the cost of materials and labor, their profit was even less.
Zhou Chenyu then told Baoyu to rent a stall at a moderate price. Without saying a word, Baoyu took the money and headed to the market.
She waited outside the door, and as she waited, a man came over. "Young lady, you look unfamiliar. Are you here to rent a spot at the market?"
Zhou Chenyu noticed his expensive attire but cunning expression and became wary. "What's it to you?"
The man looked around, leaned closer and whispered, "Miss, I have a few good spots, only thirty coins more expensive than the market stall. I think we're meant to be, so I'll sell them to you for ten coins less. No one else can get this price."
"There are still scalpers these days, everyone wants to make a profit from the middleman's markup," Zhou Chenyu complained.
Baoyu was both envious and anxious. "Sister, when we were outside the city, we had already sold several bowls of sweet soup at this time. Why is there no sign of it today?"
Zhou Chenyu sat on a small stool, watching the passing customers. "Outside the city, there are travelers and people working in the fields. They must be thirsty. People strolling around here are leisurely. They've only been walking for a short while, so they don't have the appetite to eat. If you don't believe me, look at those food stalls. Their business is just as bad as ours."
Baoyu glanced at the surrounding food stalls. Some people were so idle that they were swatting flies and mosquitoes. He scratched his head in annoyance, "Sister, it's true, how come I didn't think of these things?"
Looking at his dazed appearance, Zhou Chenyu thought it was good enough that he wasn't being fooled. "You should learn from him in the future."
An hour later, when it got a bit hotter, the dessert shop indeed welcomed its first customer.
A woman carrying a basket of groceries wandered around the food area near the dessert shops, looking at one shop and then another, but never actually ordering anything.
Seeing that her face was flushed and her clothes on the back were a little wet, Zhou Chenyu smiled and said, "Sister, would you like some sweet soup? Our mung bean and taro ball sweet soup is both thirst-quenching and filling, only three coins a bowl."
Upon hearing the word "thirst-quenching," the older sister immediately became interested. "What are all these fancy things you have? Are they glutinous rice cakes?"
Zhou Chenyu suppressed her excitement, "These are taro balls made by my family, not glutinous rice cakes. They are smoother and stickier than glutinous rice cakes."
Baoyu quickly scooped up a spoonful and handed it to the woman, saying, "You can try it if you don't believe me."
"Really? Then I won't be polite." The woman took a bite, raised her eyebrows, and found the taste to be exactly as described. She immediately waved her hand, put the food on the table, and readily replied, "Miss, give me a bowl."
"Alright." Zhou Chenyu personally carried the sweet soup over, and another woman came straight to the sweet soup shop. She thought she was a new customer and was about to greet her when she heard the woman happily call out "Old sister".
Her expression and tone were exactly the same as Baoyu's annoying way of calling her "sister" from behind.
After they greeted each other, the older sister immediately ordered a bowl of sweet soup for her younger sister as well. The two then sat down facing each other and chatted endlessly about everyday things.
With customers at the stall, others were also willing to come and take a look. Many people saw that the taro balls were fresh and rare, and the price was not expensive. More importantly, on a hot summer day, a bowl of cool mung bean soup would make people feel much more refreshed and comfortable. Therefore, from noon to afternoon, the dessert shop was doing better business than ever before.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com