The Chen family started getting busy early this morning. It was too noisy outside, and Chen Kai couldn't sleep, so he had to get up.
As soon as Chen Kai opened the door, he saw a lot of finished konjac in the yard. He saw Daya carrying basins of konjac over, so he asked in confusion, "Daya, why did you make so much konjac?"
Da Ya sighed and said helplessly, "It's because you men don't know how to make konjac. Of course we have to make more. We've all gone out to play, so there's no one to restock for you."
Chen Kai said, "Then why did you put it here? It takes up so much space."
Daya yawned and said, "We made a lot. There are still piles of freshly squeezed juice and jelly in the backyard and kitchen."
Chen Kai saw Da Ya yawn and asked in surprise, "You guys stayed up all night working?"
Daya said, "No, I just got up a little earlier."
In the Chen family's main hall, the village chief had also arrived early in the morning and was now chatting with Old Man Chen.
The village chief said enviously, "Chen Dong, your family has prepared so much food, but you don't even bother to share some with everyone."
Old Man Chen said smugly, "What benefit would my family get from teaching you?"
The village chief rolled his eyes inwardly and said speechlessly, "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Where does your family plan to set up a stall today?"
Many families in their village will be setting up stalls today, and their family will be too. The village chief plans for everyone in the village to set up stalls on one street so that everyone can look out for each other.
Old Man Chen chuckled smugly, “We’ve already found a stall on North Third Street, so we won’t be joining you.”
The stall was in a good location, just across the street from where the flower festival was being held.
Yesterday's decision was definitely right. We found the yamen runner, and the matter was resolved quickly. They even reserved a huge space for their family there. It cost the runner two hundred coins; it really hurt his wallet. But with such a good stall, they're sure to make a lot of money.
The village chief exclaimed in surprise, "You found such a good spot! You're squeezed in so far in front!"
Old Man Chen said with heartache, "That stall is nice, but our family spent a lot of money to reserve it."
The village chief said, "Then I'll have the villagers set up stalls on the streets behind your house. Your family often does business in the county, so please take care of the villagers."
Old Man Chen said smugly, "Alright, our family will protect you."
Chen Kai, who had just walked over, remained silent for a moment, then turned and left. His father's tone was too arrogant; did he think the county town belonged to him, that he could protect whomever he wanted? Besides, there would be so many people there, and they weren't even that close; even if something happened, they wouldn't be able to get there in time. That's why he had his father secure a large area, trying to connect their stalls together as much as possible.
Chen Kai had just finished breakfast when his four uncles' families and his sister's family all came over.
Zhou said, "You guys go load the goods and go ahead. We women will get dressed before we go out. When you come back to pick up the goods, just drop us off on your way."
Besides Zhou Da Jiu's family, the women from Chen Kai's other three uncles' families were also pulled over by Zhou Shi to dress them up, so that they could rest well today and let the men do the work.
Uncle Zhou and the others found out about this last night, so they all agreed.
Chen Kai instantly felt as if he had returned to modern times. His mother and sister always dressed up beautifully before going out, and he and his father often had to wait for them for a long time.
Old Man Chen said, "Alright, then you all need to be careful when you go out to play, especially you little ones, stay close to your adults and don't get kidnapped. Also, there are a lot of scammers on the street, so don't get cheated out of your money. If anything happens, have someone pass on a message to us."
Zhou said impatiently, "Alright, alright, we know."
Old Man Chen said, "Then let's load the goods and set off!"
Before long, the goods were loaded, and then the seven oxcarts set off in a grand procession.
As soon as they arrived in the county, they saw a lot of people, and there were also a lot of street vendors.
Chen Kai remarked with a sigh, "There are already so many people so early in the morning!"
Old Zhou said with a smile, "This is nothing. There will be even more people later. The flower festival area will be packed with people, and you won't be able to squeeze in."
Before long, they found the stall they had rented. Old Man Chen reluctantly gave the person watching the stall ten coins and sent him away.
Chen Kai looked around the place; it was quite nice, rather large. There were also many vendors busily setting up their stalls and preparing to sell their wares.
Chen Kai said happily, "Dad, we'll set up our stall around here, and we can put some tables and chairs in the middle."
Old Man Chen said, "Alright! Let's get to work!"
After Chen Laoda and his men unloaded all the goods from the truck, Zhou Dajiu said, "Go home again and bring back more goods. Take all seven oxcarts back, and pick up the helpers as well. It's too slow for them to come by themselves. After this trip, let the deliverymen come by themselves."
Chen Laoda said, "Okay, Uncle."
Chen Kai and his team also set out the wooden signs they had prepared. They gave the juices new names that would never be associated with the common fruits from the countryside.
Uncle Zhou saw them put the newly written juice name next to the wooden bucket and said worriedly, "You're really putting it up there?" Although he was illiterate, he had asked them what it meant when they wrote it at home. He could tell from the sound that it was just a name that a child had randomly come up with. How could they put it up there?
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Third Uncle, of course we should put it up there, so that no one will know that our juice is made from common fruits."
When Chen Kai said that, Uncle Zhou understood immediately. It turned out that it was to prevent others from guessing the raw materials and thinking that their juice was expensive.
They set up more than a dozen stalls, which was quite a large scene.
Old Chen was setting up wooden bowls and bamboo tubes for the reeds to drink from next to each stall, while Uncle Zhou's son was setting up tables and chairs in the middle.
They only brought small tables and chairs; they didn't bring any large tables because they take up too much space.
Chen Kai looked around. There were so many vendors! The stalls on both sides of several streets were almost touching, leaving only a small space in the middle, barely enough for two people to walk side by side. Their stall was located at the intersection of several streets, quite conspicuous.
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